Estate Sale Gems!

Last week my mom sent me a link to an estate sale that was going on in Raleigh. She noticed there were lots of craft supplies and fabric and thought I might be interested. I had never been to an estate sale before so I had no idea what to expect. Claire came with me in case it was a total bust.

It was awkward. If you go to one, you should count on that. It was worth it though! It was only awkward because I didn't know what to expect and the people running this one kind of followed me around. As long as you are strong enough to stand up and say "No! I do not want that rusty colander, I'm here for craft supplies!" you'll be fine.

I had made my way through most of the house and really  hadn't found anything when the angels started singing in the last room. The estate owner was a costume designer so she had fabric and sewing supplies galore! I went nuts!

My favorite find were these wooden spools of thread!

I LOVE the wooden spools and I got all of it for $12! If you go to Joanne's you're going to pay somewhere between $1.50-$3.50 per spool and they aren't even on cool wooden spools! I geeked out over them for about half an hour after I got home.

I also grabbed this jar of buttons for $2 because you can always find a use for buttons. I used green buttons that I painted black for the Harry Potter pillows I made Nikki. Plus I really liked the little jar :) I was also super excited to find this tomato pin cushion and these two thimbles hidden among the spools of thread after I got home. The tomato pin cushion reminds me of one my mom used to use and who uses thimbles anymore? I love them!

This looks like a bunch of junk but I got this whole tub for $2. It's twine and cord that I can use to pipe furniture.

And I also made out with some pretty good fabric. They were selling them for $2 a yard but they didn't measure anything so I probably got even a better deal than that. The large stuff is pretty basic but I really hope to find a chair to recover in that top grey one. It's really soft and I just think a chair in it would be so cozy! I like that print on the right too. It's only big enough for a pillow but I think the colors are really nice. And finally, my favorite fabric score is that fabric flour sack. How awesome is that? It was hanging on the wall and I think it was getting overlooked. It was the last thing that I grabbed and I would have paid more than $1 for it. I don't know what I'm going to use it for but I really am excited about it.

Needless to say I will be looking for more estate sales in the area. The nice thing about them is they typically put a list online of what will be at the sale so you don't waste your time if you're not interested in what's there. I lost my craft bug for a little while there but between the bench and these finds it's back!