Dishfunctional Designs: My Rummage Sale Treasures!

Last night I unpacked some goodies that I bought at a huge rummage thrift sale

last May. This was the Boutique At The Rink rummage sale in Bethlehem,

PA, whose proceeds benefited St. Luke's Hospital Cancer Center & Hospice.

This was my first time visiting this huge sale, and when I say huge, I mean huge!

The previous year, the sale raised $150,000, so just imagine all that STUFF!

In any case, take a look at what I scored!

The first thing that caught my attention was a gigantic rusty tin object that was

far across the room on a high shelf in the appliances section. I wasn't sure

what it was, but it was mine! On closer inspection, it turned out to be an

old punched-tin pendant light fixture. What a fabulous vintage farmhouse find!

It cost $15. I grabbed it. It filled up most of my shopping cart!

I was happy to see there was a crafts section. Here I found box upon box of odds and ends

of craft supplies. There were things like knitting needles, yarn, fabric remnants, leftover project supplies, etc., but what caught my eye was a bag of sequin and bead-filled large glass cigar tubes. Forget the sequins, those glass tubes were going to be turned into something fabulous! I'm not sure what they'll be transformed into yet, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. What's that you say? The bag of nine test tubes for 50 cents? Sold!

Next!
Well what to my wondering eyes should appear but a set of nine old embroidery hoops of various sizes all tied together and priced at $1.50. Can you say dreamcatchers? I can't wait to see what happens with those. They will be a great project to do with my daughters this winter, perfect for the first school-closed snow day of the season.

Fabric? Why yes, please.

I'm not an avid sewer, though I have made a few quilts and I know how expensive fabric

can be, so I was sure to take my time and go through this section thoroughly. I found some

great remnants in all types of colors, patterns, and materials. One that immediately

caught my eye was this lightweight canvas vintage horse print drapery material. The piece was 1 & 1/2 yards and only cost a few dollars. Wow.

Along with the horse fabric, I collected a mixed selection of upholstery, quilting, and decorating fabrics. For some time now, I've been wanting to craft up a Bohemian style flag similar to the art flags made by Sara Rahbar (see her flags below at the end of this post). These remnants are perfect for that project. They sold them in packs of 4 or 5 remnants for 50 cents a pack. What a great deal!