Recent Stash Photo Story

I'm giving my hands and eyes some rest, and since I can't share my finished projects yet, I thought it would be a great idea to share my recent stash for you guys to drool over... lol

Let me first start with fabric groups: First group are all cross stitch materials, 2 yards of 28 count mauve Quaker, 2 yards of 28 count red Lugana, and 1 yard of 28 count lavender Quaker. Second group are various felt fabrics for my sewing/stitching accessories of course.:) I got various colors, plain and printed. The ones on top were springy theme (hearts & butterflies prints) & metallic effects (black & brown). Most are 8.5" x 11" cuts (greens, whites, yellows, blacks, blue & lavender), but I also bought yardages of red and green for my "Quaker" theme designs. The third group are mostly cotton and cotton-poly-blend for my dimensional needlework finishings. The cuts ranges from 1 yard to 4 yards.

28 count Quaker and Lugana Fabrics

Various Felt Fabrics

Yardages of Cotton & Cotton-Poly-blend Fabrics

Whenever I go at craftstores, my stashing won't be complete without taking a peek at the button isle... you should know by now that I'm a button junkie, right? lol. I think I haven't shared yet why and when I started collecting buttons but will post my story some other time.

By now, DH' so used to my button stashing... unlike before, he'll say I got more than enough. He's now quite familiar how expensive some buttons are, and why I often buy "bags" of buttons instead of the individual packs that only contains 2 to 6 buttons. When I really really like a button and it fits or coordinates very well with the project I'm working on, I pay high $ for it... lol I love using elegant type or OOAK buttons on my sewing/stitching purses.

Anyways, my recent buttons stash were from Walmart & Hobby Lobby. What you see in the next 3 photos are from 4 grab bags (2 from Walmart & 2 from HL). They're made of various materials, i.e. plastic, shell, stones/gems, acrylic, metal, pearls, wood, etc. I haven't finish selecting them yet. I usually group them per color, size and material then put them in a tiny sealable bag before they end up in clear jars/bottles (and clear cookie jar... lol). I have 6 jars upstairs and 4 jars downstairs (as what you see in the first buttons photo) that contains buttons, not to mention the old ones that are on tin boxes and ziplock bags.

Yummy-licious Buttons

Be it Ben Franklin, Walmart, HL, or JoAnne's, I have to check-out the jewelry supplies too... lol I always get 1, 2 or 3 beads or any jewelry supplies. The next photo are all from Walmart... I love using the sticky magents on my sewing accessories (of course), particularly on needle books/case and altoids. I usually put a 2" to 3" on the flaps to hold loose needles while working on a project. As for glass beads and/or swarovski crystals, I love using them on small biscornus. I replace buttons with bead crystals when I want a project to look elegant.:)

Jewelry Supplies, Sticky Magnets and Pins (Heads & T-Quilt)

Photo below are part of my Hobby Lobby stash last Friday. Again, I can't resist not to get some jewelry supplies... lol The retractable tape measure (color orange in the photo) will be for one of my models, I'm making a cover or case for it. I like this kind 'coz it's so smooth to use, and very affordable too. With just a light press at the middle button, it will retract the tape measure.:) Once it's inside the case, you won't notice that it's a cheapy kind, instead it will look elegant.

Hobby Lobby Stash: Jewelry Supplies, Pinbacks, Beads & Retractable Tape Measure

With my visits at Quilting Connection in Ames late last year, I noticed a completed piece that caught my attention... a Sewing Case. Though I know how to make a version of it with stitched piece cover instead of crazy patchwork, I fell in-love with the piece that I promised myself I'll get that pattern. I waited for months before I got the pattern... lol I'm not sure if it's always sold out or they didn't order right away. I want to make my own versions of both cross stitch and crazy patchwork so I also purchased some embellishments. I also bought a couple of fat quarters hand-dyed fabrics... in shades of purples and greens, a darker version.

Quilting Connection Stash: Silk Threads, Beads & Patterns

These trinket boxes will mostly be added on my collections. They're just simple and cheapy kinds but I want to insert small stitched pieces inside the boxes, similar to what I made for MIL and her sister (refer to my previous post). I had to drag DH to take me where he got those heart-shaped ceramic trinkets, unfortunately, there's only 5 pieces left. DH told me he saw squares and rectangular shapes before. But then, considering how long they've been on display, I'm still so happy I got some.:)

Ceramic Trinket Boxes

DH, like MIL, keeps their eyes open for items I might like... lol These pincushions were found by DH at Hyvee Store (yeah, would you believe?). He had to drag me on them once he found them... lol These are the kind of cushions I use on my daily stitching. I bought 4 pieces of these.:) It's better to have some reserve, right? lol

Americana / Primitive Pincushions

And finally, the conclusion of this post... findings from estate auction MIL went at last week. She handed me late last week a tin box full of goodies and a bag full of red and green laces. There's more items not in the photo. I dunno yet what I'll gonna do with the laces/trimmings but I'll surely find a way to use those.:)

Estate Sale Findings From MIL

Well my dears, I think I have to sign off now... lol I'm writing this post while watching the finale of American Idol and Dancing with the Stars... lol I actually recorded American Idol so me and DH can watch it tomorrow.

Thanks for dropping by everybody! Have a great night!