My Knitting and April's Thrift Haul

Well it's the end of the month and this one sure did fly by. I had a pleasant break from the hum-drum of my everyday life last week. My mom and nephew drove up and spend a few days with me. I say me because Jesse was away the whole week for work. I'm okay with him going away for business but  it does get lonely in the evening for Ridley and I. Well, at least this time Ridley did jump me.  The first time Jess went away, Ridley was really upset and decided to attack my arm to let me know. Luckily, I didn't scar.

My mom decided she needed a break and drove up for a few days of R &R. For us that usually means thrift stores and eating. We had a great time. We tried a new pho place in Carson City and I really liked it. The food is fresh and MSG free. Also they have some bomb steamed pork buns. We also saw Captain Americe: Winter Soldier. That was a great movie. It was action filled and had a great plot.

Needless to say, I had a blast with my mom and nephew.  I get very home sick sometimes and don't really know how to deal with it. I start to get a bit depressed and want to see my family. I'm hoping that we'll be able drive down to So Cal for my sister's high school graduation. It would be nice to see the rest of the family  and do a little shopping.  Okay, maybe a lot of shopping. I try and take advantage of all the awesomeness that is So Cal. I try and stock up on Japanese food staples like miso, curry, pickled veggies, and ramen (among other things). My mother in law has been awesome and gotten us stuff before too.


Here's my first vintage elf on a log. This sucker is heavy. It's a solid piece of wood. I found him hidden under a ton of Christmas items at the Goodwill in Reno. His hat is a little faded and the Merry Christmas sign is broken but I think he'll make Christmas more fun.

I got this vintage St. Thomas wallet for 50 cents. Some of the fabric is cracked at the joints but I think a bit of nailpolish will fix it up. I really like this wallet because of its compact size. It'll fit perfectly in a small evening purse. It had a coin purse, a bill holder and a couple of slots for IDs/ATM card/ credit card.

How cute and kitsch is this planter? It still has the maker sticker on the bottom. I don't usually buy planters but I had to have this one. No chips or cracks and I think it was used as a pencil holder too. There are a bunch of graphite marks on the inside. I figure I'll buy a succulent plant and add it to my kitchen windowsill collection.

Anytime I go to thrift stores, I always look for circular knitting needles (left) and double pointed needles (right). I bought this lot for $4.25 Which( if you are a knitter or crocheter) you know is a steal. There were a lot of needles that day but I only buy the sizes I don't have. I also bought a hand press (used to steam flat seams and edges) for $2.00

Oh, how I love straw bags and purses! I bought this one for under $2 and it's in excellent condition. I love the top design on this but I may need to change the tiny straw handle. I just need to figure out with what and how.

Last year I saw a bunch of girls post photos of their Christmas cards using these tiny clothes pins. Aren't they cute? I bought  this dead stock package for 10cents. I love how cheap some items are in rural areas.

This jacket is perfect for the chilly Autumn days. I often have a hard time dressing casual whenever we go out to run errands. I think this will work perfect. Besides, I love front pockets on jackets and sweaters.

Another thing I look for and won't pass up (if priced right) when out thrifting is yarn. Especially vintage wool yarn. Fleisher's yarn is one of the brands I often see in vintage knitting books and have never come across. I bought 4 skeins of yarn for $2.00 .  I may make a pair of mittens and a matching hat.

 Another package of yarn for 99 cents. Not sure what I'm going to make with it but I'm sure I'll use it in no time.

I haven't bought any brooches in a while.I often come across some very big and very gaudy brooches that are over priced. This brooch was a dollar and as cute as a button. I love the tiny spoon and rhinestone details.

This is my first pair of vintage rhinestone earrings. They have screw backs which I don't like too much but the glitter and shine they provide is gorgeous. Now to make a nice dress to wear them out with.

I have been on a knitting binge for the last few weeks. I have been "craving" matching or co-coordinating hat and scarf sets. I don't know how or why the idea started but it's taken over. I made myself this hat and scarf set a couple of weeks back. I bought the  yarn at Goodwill and bought the only  two matching skeins. If there had been more of this color, I would have bought it all up. Can I just say,  I love the key hole scarfs. They give you all the warmth of a scarf without the added bulk. They are easy to knit and look so chic with coats and jackets.

This second set I knitted for my mom. She's always cold and hates long scarfs, so I made her  a shorter version of the scarf. I did add a small pom to the top of the hat. It's the same color as the scarf.

This is the second time I've knit this pattern and I totally love it. It's super easy to memorize and has a wonderful leaf pattern. I did alter the pattern to include a thumb gusset. Now I want to knit one in every color I can.

I haven't been in a sewing mood lately. I tried to make a pouch the other day and it had some issues. I think I'll wait until I'm not so tired to try again. I want to make more tops and dress but just don't have the drive. I'm hoping I can knit my nephew a stuffed dinosaur for his birthday. I want to knit him a stuffed cat too but I guess we'll see how things go.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I leave you with this photo of Ridley sleeping and being cute.

YouTube: What I'm Watching

Hello my dear readers. I hope everyone had a great weekend. We spent some time working on our backyard and had of first BBQ of the season yesterday. Yay! The wind finally calmed down enough to start the grill up. Wind is a huge factor for us because we love to use our charcoal grill and don't want to risk embers flying up and starting a fire.

Today I wanted to let all of you into my YouTube world. The videos and channels I subscribe to. I truly love YouTube. It can be a helpful place. You can find almost anything you want to learn or do there. I learned to knit from using many of the helpful tutorial on YouTube. I still use it to learn new techniques or refresh my memory.

Today I will show you some of my favorite channels. They aren't all vintage/retro inspired but I thoroughly enjoy them.

A Vintage Vanity: This is a chnnel hosted by Jennifer. She has awesome tutorials on vintage/retro hair, a sewing serious and talks about her life and he hobbies. She is really fun and her videos are easy and helpful. I love all of her videos and am always eager for the next one.




 
Cooking With Dog  I love this show. If you love Japanese food and a cute dog mascot named Francis this show is for you. Chef and Francois will walk you through many authenic Japanese meals and desserts.




Lisa Fremont Street  Im sure a lot of vintage/retro gals have come across Ashley's channel at one point or another. Here is a lady that works her butt off, bringing  us great hair tutorials, product reviews, VLV tips, and makeup reviews. She has a lot of cute and fancy hair tutorials.




RunnyRunny999 RunnyRunny is a Japanese man who started making how to videos for fun. He makes great easy meals and is very entertaining too.






CherryDollFace Cherry is another awesome lady who does hair and makeup tutorials. She's easy to follow and has a great personality too. I particularly love the winged eyeliner tutorial of hers. Here eyebrow tutorial is also good.






These are a few of the channels I look forward to whenever I check out my YouTube feed. Do you have any favorite channels. Let me know in the comments.

I hope everyone's week goes well and is a good one.