A couple of days ago I received this email from one of my readers…
Hey Paulette. I was just checking out "Used Victoria" under sewing and I noticed there is an ad for an estate sale of quilting fabrics coming up this weekend and they mentioned some of the fabrics include Japanese fabrics. Just thought you might be interested.
Sharon (in Victoria)
Was I interested? Do ducks swim? Does it rain on the West Coast? Of course I was interested!!
So bright and early I toodled off to Victoria…to be quite honest I didn’t think this sale was going to be great…Japanese fabric (aside from Daiwabo Fabric) isn’t my ‘thing’, but hey…it’s Saturday and it’s a Garage Sale and they might have other stuff!! Keep an open mind is my motto…and there was also the Moss Street Artist Street Fair to fall back on and it was in the same neighbourhood. SEW it was all good!
This sale must have been a well guarded secret because ONLY four quilters showed up at the 10 o’clock opening!! AND wouldn’t you know that I would forget my camera!!! I wish I could show you the ‘stuff’!!
It was an Estate Quilter’s Garage Sale, so you know what that means…you can’t look TOO happy about your finds!
So I walk into the room and see a table heaped with bags and bags of CIVIL WAR FABRIC…be still my heart!!! I almost had a coronary right there on the spot!! And mixed in with the Civil War Fabric was HOMESPUNS!! EUREKA!! (a subtle, somber happy dance!!) And the prices were…well they weren’t giving the stuff away… but they were pretty good! Each ziploc bag went for $2-$10 depending on how much was in the bag.
My first thought was ‘I didn’t bring enough $$…but I would have thought that regardless of how much I brought! Make do and be selective…:)
I was counting pennies, nickels and dimes by the time I paid…but I got everything in my bins…yes BINS!
Here’s the LOOT!!
I KNOW it LOOKS like a lot…but it’s not really…(Yeah my husband didn’t buy that either!! haha)
I also bought some books…they were $1 and $2 each…
Loved these two…ideas and patterns for hand and machine quilting…
I think this quilter and I were Kindred Spirits…we liked the same fabrics and the same books…(AND I didn’t see one piece of Japanese Fabric!)
Now for a close up of the fabric…
The Homespuns…makes me want to whip up some more Homespun Houses!!
A package of hand dyed cottons…
The Civil War Fabrics…
I see a pink and mauve quilt in my future… 
With a sprinkle of cheddar…
So THANK YOU, Sharon from Victoria!! I was hoping to thank you in person…but alas there was no Sharon at the Sale:( I did meet a VERY NICE Shelly from Salt Spring Island though! By the time the doors opened for the Sale we were Best Buddies…during the sale we compared finds and then of course, after the sale, we went for coffee …like old friends…where we talked Quilting for over an hour…like ONLY QUILTERS can do!
It’s SEW nice to have friends in all the right places! Don’t YOU just LOVE a GOOD Garage Sale!!
Have a Sunny Sunday and Happy Quilting!~P
Omg Paulette, you won the lottery there. I have been covering the home sweet home book for years but it still sells for such a high price. Your cheddar fabrics are to die for.
ReplyDeleteGood job. Enjoy !
SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWow!! You hit the jackpot!! What a great find!! You will be able to dream up new projects now for all this fabric!!! And you have tons of inspiration with all those books!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a deal for you... Yahoo. It must have been like winning the lottery.
ReplyDeleteBINGO!! What an awesome sale and so nice of Sharon to give you the heads up!!
ReplyDeleteThat was a seriously fantabulous sale! The Civil War fabrics are so pretty... with the cheddar coming in a close second... and the quilting patterns are fun! The bird with the pears design is a must stitch! And the other books... sigh... how did you manage to keep a poker face? :-)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a serious SCORE!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great sale for you. It reminds me of a time I walked into the break room, and took a one second glance at the newspaper on the table ( I don't read the paper) and all I saw was the word fabric, had to sit there and read the whole page to find that word again. There was a garage sale the next day with fabric for fifty CENTS a yard..........I was going! I bought 63 yards of fabric, and I got there really, really, really late too. It stunk like a dirty ashtray, but I took it all home and straight to the wash machine it went. ( four loads later) I had nice fresh smelling fabrics. :D
ReplyDeleteWow! That is awesome! Hey, if you want to sell that Pepper Cory quilt design book, please let me know. I've been replacing books that were stolen when I moved and that is one of the few I haven't been able to find. Congratulations on your great find! Woot!
ReplyDeleteCheery wave from Bev
http://44thstreetfabric.blogspot.com
Wowsers, what a haul, wish I could find a sale like that, lol. Love most of the books you got, am always on the lookout for designs to use for free motion, great finds.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Yeeowza!! That's one heck of a booty! All those treasures, what a haul.
ReplyDeleteWowsers is right!! No garage sales for me yesterday, I was resting my very tired feet from all the walking in Disneyland. Had an awesome time though!
ReplyDeleteWHOA NELLIE - you hit the jackpot - that never and I mean NEVER happens to me lol - great score and how fun to meet a new friend. I bet your glad you checked it out.
ReplyDeleteMy heart is palpitating just looking at your pictures. What a deal! Good going, Lucky Duck!!!!
ReplyDeleteSCORE! Again, P! Do you have an extra Garage Sale gene that the rest of us weren't born with? One that tells your inner mojo that one is a great garage sale and another isn't?
ReplyDeleteThat Civil War fabric is really a great score because we both know how hard it is to find any here on the island. Or even in Vancouver for that matter. Now you can sit down and dream about all the things you can use it for. Perhaps a few small quilts to start off with from the "Remembering Adelia" book. There are some very sweet ones. I'm hoping to get started on the "Calico Comfort Nine Patch Quilt" on page 60 soon. Love the "Quick Classic Quilts" book, I've practically worn mine out. Have a fun Sunday pawing through the loot over and over and over again.lol
ReplyDeleteWow, "you done good girl"!!!Just like Christmas morning only better.
ReplyDeleteI think tat quilter would be truly delighted to know someone else had got such delight from her buys- which must have delighted her too originally. I think your joy is the best epitaph you could give her.
ReplyDeleteLucky you , that was quite a sale and your choice of fabrics is awesome !
ReplyDeleteSeriously jealous. Sinfully jealous. Painfully jealous. Did I tell you I'm jealous? :) blessings, marlene
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a great time and found some special treasures.
ReplyDeleteLove those cheddar fabrics, and great score on all those lovely books.
So great of Sharon to give you the heads up. The books are fabulous, and of course, so are the stacks of fabric.
ReplyDeleteWOW what a fabulous find, I wish they had those sort of garage sales here! Linda x
ReplyDeleteI'd say that was THE best garage sale ever!!! Nice shopping Paulette! Hugs,
ReplyDeleteElaine at the Beach
SCORE big time! Great finds!!
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.shopmartingale.com/. Check this out...I'm next week!
Wow! You must have filled your sewing room with your treasures! Sounds like it was a fantastic day! It is so neat that you discovered this opportunity through a blogging friend! Way to go!
ReplyDeleteWell, clearly Sharon is your new BFF. What a haul! I'm going to come visit, so you can give me some lessons on looking for the right sales.
ReplyDeleteWOW! You are the luckiest person I know! LOL Did you pinch yourself? I love all your finds!~ will you adopt me? :-D Have a great week Paulette!
ReplyDeleteMy eyes are green with jealousy -especially for that cheddar!!! What great finds - really meant to be!
ReplyDeleteHey Paulette. Glad my tip payed off for you. I wasn't able to make it until today. WOW - it was an overwhelming amount of fabric! I was able to come home with some lovely fabrics after perusing for a while. Turns out my husband used to work with the fellow so they had a good chat while I hummed and hawed. Maybe next sale they have we will be able to meet up.
ReplyDeleteSharon (in Victoria)
WOW! What an awesome sale it sounds like and lucky you had someone nice enough to look out for you.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds much like the estate sale I ran into a few years ago. I bought a ton of homespun although I wasn't sure what to do with it exactly. I bought a lot of other fabrics also. My biggest buy from the sale I ran into was quilting tools; tons of them. She was not only a quilter but taught classes and had a little shop. I got home and looked up all the tools I came home with which most still in packages as they were new. I found that I had spent somewhere near $20-$30 and got approx $250 worth of tools from rulers, templates and that type of stuff. There was even some dressmaking stuff I pickedup like a huge french curve or whatever it is called.
I can certainly 'feel' your excitement since it was probably the same as I had.
Wow, you did well!
ReplyDeletelove the CW fabrics...that's what I would have made a dive for..
Enjoy!
Julia ♥
You scored big time. I would have bought all the same stuff. This lady has great taste in fabrics and books.
ReplyDeleteBooyah!
ReplyDeleteOMG, I am so green with envy. You scored some wonderful things there.
ReplyDeleteNow that's what I call a S-C-O-R-E!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sooooooo jealous! *wink*
You hit the jackpot- again!!! :) I think I'm going to plan a trip to spend some time with you- maybe some of your luck will rub off onto me!!:) Great finds Paulette!!
ReplyDeleteSweet! I hardly ever find the type of fabric I really like at garage sales...of course that doesn't stop me from buying! Anything looks good in a scrap quilt. :) I went to a g.s. last month and scored a dozen quilt books for 25 cents each!
ReplyDeleteI'm going yard sale shopping with you , my dear! You have karma.
ReplyDeleteWhat a score! The books and fabrics are terrific. I especially love the cheddars.
ReplyDelete