Fabric grab bag

It has been a hard week around here, as we battled two upper respiratory bugs back to back.  Finally, we’re on the mend!   So,  to cheer everyone up after all that time cooped-up indoors,  following homeschool co-op yesterday, we had lunch at our favorite Asian market (where else can you get a fresh, delicious hot lunch for $1.25/kid?  Steamed buns stuffed with Asian pork sausage, hard-boiled egg, shiitakes and onions?  Yum!!).

After lunch, we walked across the street to the best thrift store in Portland.  We’re not big on shopping, but a trip to the thrift store tends to be our favorite pick-me-up ( besides our weekly visits to OMSI).  PACS thrift store had the nicest volunteers, great prices, and an amazing selection of vintage fabric, games, toys, craft supplies, dishes, stationery, books, etc.   And it’s right in our part of town – about 5 minutes from our house (and, of course, just across the street from the above-mentioned amazing Lily Market).

We have pretty strict  self-imposed rules for thrift-store spending – we may not spend more than 50 cents on a toy, $1 on dishes, $2 on vintage board games or linens, $5 on a bag containing several items or any one “extraordinary” item.  Well, yesterday in the fabric section, there was a 1x2x3ft plastic bag crammed full of wrinkly bundles of fabric.  The price was $5 (on sale!).  I could see some pieces of very pretty high-quality quilting fabric, and took a risk and bought it.

Oh my goodness, it was a good risk to take!!

When I got home and sorted through the bag, there was quite a stack of good-quality flannel (enough to make about three kits when we have another sewing service party in the coming months.), and a total of approximately 4+ yds of fat-1/4, 1/4 yd and 5×5 inch squares of lovely cotton prints.  But, the vast majority of the fabric was my favorite – Depression-era reproduction fabric!

Altogether, there were over 40 pieces of 1/4-yd, fat-1/4 and 1/2 yd remnants of high-quality Depression-era reprints (just a few are pictured above), and many more little pieces (great for doll and scrap quilts).

My favorite (even though I’m not partial to pink), is the 1/2 yd of coffee-mug print above.  It will go perfectly in some French-press cozies or some mug rugs for Christmas gifts, don’t you think?

Well, now to get outside and string up our raspberry canes (yes, better late than never), and muck out the chicken coop.  Then, we have nothing on our schedule for the afternoon except playing the two new games we also picked up yesterday (a wooden puzzle-based game and a 1960’s board game) and Christmas-gift crafting!

Blessings on your weekend!