Thrifty Treasures

On my list of must finds has been a Liberty of London printed blouse. Last week I spotted one when I popped into the Nearly New Shop of Christ Church Cathedral and discovered that everything in the shop was fifty per cent off. My husband found a sport shirt and I found a beautiful old handkerchief and a silk square in a beautiful icy blue. Before Christmas, I found a beautiful brown patent leather Ferragamo purse and a brown printed Liberty silk scarf so I knew that this was a location with potential.





On this occasion I also found a Kasper jacket. As a student of fashion history, I have been aware of the designer for a long time with his designs being in the Vogue Patterns catalogue years. This particular jacket seems to be like many 'designer' clothes in that it is just an off-the-rack item with a designer's label sewn in but it does fit me well and it is pink!

The Liberty blouse also came with a skirt and shirt jacket. They are slightly faded compared to the blouse and the styling is fairly dated (or too old for me as my daughter said) so I think the parts are slated for a reworking. I am not a big label chaser but the quality of Liberty fabrics is well known and the beauty of the prints is almost matchless. Liberty of London is definitely a place I want to visit when I am in England with the choir. This was definitely my thrifting high of the week but I was also able to make another thrift store visit and some Saturday Garage Sale finds.




I occasionally find hand potted pieces and have a preference for blue glazes. Here is one that caught my eye shown here in our family room with Lily of the valley from the garden. The glaze matches the fruit bowl we use in the kitchen so I can see that this will be used frequently. The other photo shows another cache pot which is one of my recent thrifting obsessions. It is sitting on a new, thrifted linen skirt which combines my favourite blues with a light brown and should prove a versatile addition to my wardrobe.




Another cache pot, this one being made in West Germany with an apron in blue. Have others noticed how we often find items in themes or colours without intending to. The blue apron is beautifully handmade and if you click on the picture to enlarge it you can find the perfectly matched pocket. Sometimes the shorter stitch length used in some home sewing can create an obviously homemade look which is not the case in this apron.


Saturday's garage sale finds included some Ikea storage containers and rail system spotted by No. 3 with plans for its use for his art supplies. We used the same system in my recent sewing room makeover and it is very reasonably priced but he bought it for $2. He is already becoming quite good at finding good bargains and enjoys it like me. He just needs a little more experience in figuring out what we will actually use.

I am a sucker for vintage office supplies, so this mail scale was an exciting find. It does seem odd to me that an item (dated 1982)from the time I was in high school is vintage but I am sure that I will encounter such vintage items again. I certainly remember the postal rates of the time and remember with fondness the letters I received from my long distance boyfriend of the time. I had No. 3 study the scale for a while to figure out what it was and within a minute he had it even though the scales at the post office now are nothing like this one.


I found these jars and the carafe when I went back to pick-up a wood and cor-plast Ikea wardrobe with the van. I will use for summer storage of the snowsuits and parkas. The jars and carafe were free!!! Sometimes the best deals are the things that others have passed over. The jars will likely be used for food storage. With a family of six, I buy a lot of food stuff in bulk through a natural food buying club. It is less expensive and avoids excessive packaging. The carafe still had the tag on it and will allow us to make more than one pot for entertaining. There is also a vintage jar chopper. I already have one so I am not sure if I will keep it.

I love to share all my thrifted and garage sale finds and I have found other bloggers who like to do the same at Rhoda's blog where many other are sharing their treasures.