Thrifting

In search of a new lampshade for an antique lamp, my husband and I were in and out of thrift shops. It was here I stumbled upon a resource I had not even thought of.

While browsing the home section of Value Village, my attention was drawn to a rack of what I thought were curtains. Having just moved to a new house, I thought I would take a look and see if there were any I could alter to fit an arched window in our bedroom. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was hangers of fabric! Honestly, I was a little taken aback. I had been in Value Village many times and had never seen this. It makes sense, though. Active sewers are hoarders when it comes to fabric. Sales are found and we stock up, only to find years later we never touched the piles of fabric we “had to have”.

As I went through the rack, ideas were going through my head as to what I could make. I chose a piece of red wool, a piece of stretch poly stripe and a navy satin. Each was a few metres long. As I gathered my find and was ready to leave the store, Jake pointed to a wall that had sewing patterns, bags of miscellaneous buttons and various other notions.

Score!

I don’t usually use commercial patterns. Normally I make my own, but on occasion, I will use one as a base for a design to save time. I chose a couple of patterns, at 50 cents a pop you can’t go wrong. Off to the checkout I went. Woohoo!

My Loot

I am now intrigued. Do other thrift stores have such a section? I will make it my business to find out.

BTW, I never did find a lampshade.