Thursday, August 18, 2011

pencils and zippers

pencil case
I know a little girl who is getting excited about fall... she's so READY for pencil sharpening season to arrive. So today we began the process of gently letting summer go... just a tiny bit since I'm not ready! All morning she sharpened. And sharpened. Then she stuffed her old pencil case with fresh and pointy pencils.   I sewed my daughter this case during my recycled zipper pouch craze last spring. Getting it ready for a new school year made me think of pouches again, so we made a trip to Sew Green, our local fabric re-use shop, to check for old zippers.
zippers
Score! Would you take a look at what was in one $5 bag? Although I'm quite happy with any used zippers, cotton twill tape with sturdy metal hardware in neutral colors equals perfection in my book! The pink and purple were happily (and quickly) snatched up by my counting assistant.
zipper counting
Total tally: 40 zippers!! One of the zippers was longer than me! Wonder what I'll do with that one? Have you had any good thrifting scores recently? Pin It
Posted by mayaluna at 12:40 PM Labels: , ,

18 comments:

  1. Tracey ~ CloverAugust 18, 2011 at 12:44 PM

    How wonderful! Hey, you could make a sleeping bag with the longest one! I'm not ready for summer to end either. xx

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  2. mayalunaAugust 18, 2011 at 12:46 PM

    Tracey- I love the sleeping bag idea!

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  3. CinnamonAugust 18, 2011 at 1:06 PM

    I've seen these purses that are essentially one long zipper sewed to itself in a spiral. Another shorter zipper is used sewed to the spiral at the top to close the purse. They look like a lot of fun for little people (and bigs ones too). Here's a link: http://www.thezipperpurse.com/products?gclid=CILQ742q2aoCFYcZQgodeRDS6g

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  4. RebeccaAugust 18, 2011 at 1:08 PM

    Sew green sounds more like sew dreamy! How cool that you have a thrift store of all sewing things near your house! Sew cool!

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  5. ShaletAugust 18, 2011 at 1:15 PM

    *Love* that fabric! A sleeping bag is a great idea. I, myself, will soon be making a seat cushion for my hope chest and need a long zipper. Not one quite as long as me but nearly so given my, ahem, short stature. I'll have to peruse our local thrift stores and keep my fingers crossed.

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  6. charlotteAugust 18, 2011 at 2:56 PM

    yep, sleeping bag!
    I made one with a hand-painted top for my girls when they were little. It's still here 25 years later!
    Today is free swatch day at Spoonflower! and a fundraiser for Heifer International too.

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  7. LizAugust 18, 2011 at 3:32 PM

    Wow - I am so jealous that you have a fabric thrift store in your neighborhood. What a fabulous idea.

    I swing by our local goodwill store on a weekly basis and almost always come away with a good fabric find. No matter the length, it's always 99 cents!

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  8. LizAugust 18, 2011 at 3:35 PM

    Speaking of pouches, they're on my 'to learn' list of projects for this winter. Can you recommend a good tutorial? I'm new to zippers. Thanks!

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  9. Mousy BrownAugust 18, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    My last find was a perfect yarn winder for £1.50 - I had wanted one for ages and now I keep making gorgeous ball of wool with a smile on my face! I love the idea of a green store and those zippers in a bag would be my idea of a fantastic idea too, I look forward to seeing your sleeping bag! :D PS loving your bit in rhythm of the home! :D

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  10. GinaAugust 18, 2011 at 6:02 PM

    a "sew green", I wish we had a store like that around here! How wonderful. You've got me curious as to what your planning on sewing with yours.

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  11. JoeyAugust 18, 2011 at 11:51 PM

    I LOVE that fabric!!!!
    We used to have a 'fabric traders' store that you could bring in your fabric and get store credit to buy other pieces of unloved fabric. I love to visit our local thrift stores as often as I can...!
    http://madebyjoey.blogspot.com/2011/08/thrifting.html

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  12. Hullabaloo HomesteadAugust 19, 2011 at 12:04 AM

    I just got Amanda's new book in the mail and saw you live in Ithaca, so I just wanted to pop in and tell you we were just up there and how much we LOVE Ithaca! We come up every year and camp and swim and explore and eat lunch at Green Star. Next time we come up for a good bit of time I would love to meet up!

    :)Lisa

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  13. DawnAugust 19, 2011 at 2:28 AM

    Ooooh....maybe use the really long one for a comforter cover!

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  14. mayalunaAugust 19, 2011 at 7:13 AM

    Such great suggestions for that long zipper- yay!

    Yes, we are so lucky to have such a great resource like Sew Green, but sewing and fabric supplies do abound at thrift stores and yard sales... just keep yours eyes peeled!

    Cinnamon thanks for the spiral zipper link!

    Earthmama- glad you had fun in Ithaca... it's a special town! Hope to see you someday.

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  15. angieAugust 19, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    Oh what fun! My kiddos are getting ready for fall too! Personally I'm not quite there yet, but I will be soon enough!

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  16. KellyAugust 20, 2011 at 10:17 AM

    These are on the to do list for this weekend for us! Lovely little bits of love to send off with them :)

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  17. *August 21, 2011 at 1:33 PM

    my mom passed away last year. when i went to help my dad sort through her things, i found a giant tin filled with vintage zippers. some had been picked from clothes, others still in their packaging (a zipper for 15c???).
    anyway, one zipper was freakylong, like the one you mentioned. i still have no idea what to do with it. if you come up with an idea, let me know!

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  18. CassyAugust 21, 2011 at 8:16 PM

    A lot of colorful pencils to choose from. Perfect for my kiddos!


    Cassy from Acoustic Guitar Lessons

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