Thrifty Finds

My sisters and sister-in-law attended he AQS quilt show in Lancaster, PA this past week.  Unfortunately, I was unimpressed with the quilt show.  I had attended in 2011, then skipped last year and found that this year seemed pretty much the same.  While I found lots of pretty fabric, for some reason the Wow Factor was missing.  We spent three days in Lancaster and only 3 hours at the show.

I always love trips to Lancaster for visits to my favorite places like Zook's Fabric Store, Goods Store & Shady Maple.  This time my sister, Jean, and I spent most of our time in the local thrift stores as well.
My favorite was definitely Re-Uzit .  We went to two different locations (New Holland and Ephrata) and we definately scored some great stuff.  The prices were so low compared to the Baltimore area thrift stores, we went a little crazy!

One of my favorite finds was a bunch of vintage scissors for .25 to .50 each.  They immediately found a home in my craft room in a small square jar.

We also found a ton of zippers - some vintage, some newer.  They found a home in a half gallon mason jar that is place conveniently in my sewing area.  We each got a huge bag of reclaimed zippers for 1.00.

I immediately tried my hand at something I've been dying to try - a zipper flower. 

I used this great tutorial I found on Pinterest.   I'm super happy at how it turned out and can't wait to make more.  (Note to those who may try this: Cut the zippers with scissors, cutting with a rotary cutter may lead to slicing your finger open and interrupting your project for 15-20 minutes while you apply pressure and bandage the wound.  Further note: If you do end up with a bandaged finger, it works really well to block the hot glue from burning you.)

Look for another post soon to share more thrifty finds including linens and reclaimed wood finds from a roadside store.

Always,
K