I Hit the Jackpot!!!

Every year one of the large Methodist Churches here has a huge rummage sale the first weekend in November. They have two big warehouses on the church property where they store stuff as it is brought in all year long. I heard that last year they cleared over 60,000.00! People start waiting to get in way before it opens at 7 AM. I got there at 6:30 this morning and had to park outside the parking lot that is a really good sized lot. I stood with the crowd and knitted a sock until it opened.

Every year I head for the crafts department and then to the place where they have wooden boxes and shelves.

See that itty bitty bouquet of mums on top of the pile? That is what I do with quilling paper. Beneath it is the pile of quilling paper I bought. The 39 packages were mostly unopened. I priced it at Michael's not too long ago. One package was way more expensive than the three dollars I paid for this whole mess. I have a lifetime supply of mini flowers and leaves. If I start making them now and don't stop until I am a hundred, I won't run out. I am thinking that I may be able to make some baskets out of some of it. It has to come in handy for something.....Experimentation can be fun.

When I got over to the wooden items I found this. It has Hermes miniature paper inside and I assume that it was once used for a miniature vignette. I seem to remember something similar to this that we used to sell at the mini store. It was put out by Houseworks and there was a drawer in the bottom. That was back in the early 80s. This one has been through the mill and someone glued the front of the drawer onto it so that it doesn't open. I am wondering if it will be possible to turn it back into a drawer.

Anyway, I have a new project. That's just what I need!!! It will be fast to finish. It would hold a piece like the Chrysenbon Kitchen Stove. They never put a floor in it. They just left the wood raw on that part. That makes it easier that it would be if they had done something that I didn't like and had to rip out.

I also bought five needlework books and some embroidery hoops.

The prize was on a table on the way out. I got the hand painted Japanese panel that you see in the photo and a fine grass mat for yoga from Old Navy. I thought that one or the other would make a good rush ceiling in the basket shop. I think that this one is going to win. It is the finest matchsticks and can be stained. The other one is really grass like. I hung it over the roof so that you could get an idea of the scale. I plan to glue a piece of it to the ceiling and then cover the threads with beams. I guess that I should mention that the panel is not in good shape on one end and the hand painting is crude or I would be keeping it.

When I left the church to come home I had to wade through cars parked at least a mile down the road and people streaming into the sale. I am so glad that I am an early riser! I hit it all three days last year. If you get there early, the second and third days are not so crowded. An added bonus is that on Saturday everything left is half price. Believe it or not, sometimes they still have a lot of good stuff on Saturday.

I am going now to play with my new toys. I think that I'm going to like the ceiling. See you tomorrow.