Moderate Sewing Accomplishments

• Fixed two blouses (including that pink floral ON on from you, Annie!)
• Hemmed a new skirt from a thrift store and stitched the pockets shut
• Stitched bulky pockets shut on four new pair of pants/shorts
• Made a skirt from a dress six sizes too small.  Did a bad job on the waistband.  Removed waistband.  New waistband almost done.  UPDATE: skirt finished!  Phone dead, no not photo.

New highlight of visits the the family -- the most magical goodwill ever.  In two trips in two days (the first day was so amazing I HAD to go back):

• One pair pants for me
• 2 pair of pants for my girl
• 1 pair capris for my girl
• 3 pair capris for me
• 2 pair shorts for me, that are shockingly shorts I could wear to work
• 1 pair shorts for Walker
• 2 shirts
• 2 skirts

They are all schmancy, too.  Clothes I'd actually buy at a regular store.  Well, I wouldn't, because my cheapo bone would act up.  But you get the picture -- all clothes I actually want that actually fit.  BAM.

Walker is out control.

Walker's milk glass collecting is verging on hoarding.  It's outrageous.  At night, he clears aside a few vases to make a spot for himself to curl up and sleep amidst the bounty.

What? You don't believe that this is Walker's doing?

Could it be ... more plates?!

Plates here from all over the Chicago suburbs and city proper (major thrift missions the day before and days following Mom's knee surgery), Tacoma & Salem (shout out to my most excellent future inlaws who took me to Value Village on the morning of bro-in-law-to-be's college graduation), and Clinton/Lincoln/Morton/Pekin/Bartenville/Washington/Bloomington, Illinois (the recent Saturday thrift mission of Annie & I).

Plate Update!

We are now up to 123 dinner plates.  Yahoo!  Some new additions:

 

Escalation.

We started this process knowing there no running water on the farm, horrified by rental costs, and even more horrified when they told us we had to return everything clean.  We settled on bagasse plates, corn plastic cups, and utensils provided by the food man.

Then we started collecting wine glasses at thrift stores, because, ewww, wine in plastic cups.  Then the punch cups, for our cider toast, so we could get a good clink.  Then on to the pint jars to eliminate the disposable cups all together.  The bagasse plates were the lone hold out.

Last Saturday, my sis and I were thrifting in Springfield when we stumbled into a Salvation Army with everything 50 percent off, and some things 75 percent off, and a LOT of awesome plates.  I quickly called Walker.  Game on.  We're collecting plates.

Mom asked that I post some pictures so she could get a feel for what we're looking for and get in on this game, too.  We've been paying twenty five cents to three dollars a plate, shooting to average out to less than a dollar per plate.  I actually have a spreadsheet of all of purchases so I can keep tabs on the average cost per item.  So far, the average plate costs around 75 cents.
 

What else ...We're totally cool with duplicates, also with chipped plates, love year and location plates.  Not buying white plates, unless they are badass fire king plates (such as the white plate with barely visible gold edge paint, right beneath the brown/green plaid plate). We've been maintaining, we think, a pretty high standard, and think we'll be able to keep the bar high and still meet our goals.  This high standard mainly means no fake vintage plates, and nothing from our life time, and NO PFALTZGRAFF.  What can I say.  I'm a hater. 

Mega-hoard update!

The craigslist bandits strike again!  32 wine glasses, acquired for 16 bucks!  They are cheaper yet at the Habitat ReStore, but the opportunity to get so many at once could not be passed up.  Here they are with our most favorite craigslist score ever -- the free cat!  Also pictured, the not-free shelter cat. 

We are happy to give a home to the displaced crochet doilies of the world.

I can't help but wonder who this "Cler" is.  Walker calls initials, but I prefer to imagine an angsty teen changing the spelling of her name, and her loving grandmother immortalizing in it doily. 

Milk glass collection is progressing! 

The current stash status:  AWESOME

Boring for you, exciting for me! Hoarding update!

A glassware hoarding update!  We hit the jackpot on 25 cent wine glasses the other day!  An update on our stash:

Chubby cat will not be coming to the wedding, though if I had my way and chose to exercise poor judgment, she'd be on a leash and wearing a tux at the event.

A list of what we're hoarding, for those who wish to participate in our thrift store/recycling bin raiding frenzy (any takers, locals?):

• punch glasses
• caraffes of all sizes
• wine glasses of any size or variety, preferably without etching/painting/decoration
• milk glass anything -- in particular the old mixing bowls
• quart mason jars
• clear glass bottles
• clear glass pint size (or approximate) jars
• other clear jars and bottles

I've also started buying old crochet bits and table clothes with lace trim from the thrift store, but only when they are cheap cheap cheap.  Stains are not big deal, since I plan to toss them in a dye bath.  It is much harder to define what I'm looking for in this arena.

We've been paying between 17 and 55 cents per item for most things -- 17 cents a piece for the bulk buy of punch glasses, 25 cents a piece for small jars and wine glasses, and fifty cents for small caraffes and actual mason jars in the quart size (most of these will be used for centerpieces).  I will admit paying a dollar for an occasional item, and know my milk glass mixing bowls could run me 1-3 dollars a pop, but am ok with that, because I will use them as our indoor planters after the wedding. 

This may look time consuming, and you might question the savings.  Renting, glasses were going to cost about 33 cents a piece, would have to be cleaned and delivered back to the rental company an hour away the Monday after the wedding,  and we'd be charged for broken pieces (and I'm sure there will be plenty).  Also, there was no fun to be had.  No fun, big hassles, plus big costs?  Not an option. 

With this system, no one cares what breaks or when it's clean by.  After the wedding we'll toss it all in boxes, bring it home, run it through the dishwasher, let our friends take what they want, and donate the rest back to the thrift stores.  We're planning to collect enough that each guest has a pint size jar for drinking whatever, and some sort of receptacle (punch glass or other charming tiny cup) for the cider toast.  Wine glasses will be available for the wine drinkers.  With renting, it felt easy for it to spiral into trying to provide real barware or full place setting -- this allows for more creativity in defining what is needed in a place setting.

And, it's fun.  We love exploring thrift stores, and we love doing things together.  This gives us a fun way to together each week engage in preparation for our wedding.

AND it's going to look really cool.  I promise.

Hoarding Glassware and Taking Names

Given the limited amenities at the farm, renting dishes seemed like a bad idea.  Ben, our caterer, and owner of a local supper club, is lending us inexpensive utensils (we hate disposable silverware), and we plan to use disposable (and compostable!) plates made from bagasse, the fibrous residue remaining after sugarcane stalks are crushed to extract.  They look like chinet, but are "greener".

Glassware sent us round in circles.  Glass glasses would be a nightmare.  Thirty five cents a glass to rent, and they have to be returned clean -- and not broken.  On the flip side, the disposable/compostable variety, made from corn plastic, don't offer the nice clinking sound when people toast, and boy -- people could go through a LOT of disposable cups.

The solution?  We've taken up scouting the local thriftstores a little more regularly and our buying what we need for the wedding at a fraction of the rental cost.  After the wedding, we'll donate most of it back.  We've been stocking up on caraffes and widemouth mason jars for centerpieces, wine glasses for the wine drinkers, and punch cups (and other assorted fancy looking and small glassware) for our champagne cider toast (since they are more common and cheaper at thrift stores than are champagne glasses and still give a rewarding clink).

We're also collecting pint size jars -- hopefully enough for one for each place setting -- to be marked with sharpie and used for water, beer, whatever.  And we'll have some corn cups for those who misplace their jar or insist on a clean glass from drink to drink. 

There is no great way to show off your hoarded used glassware that your piling in the basement, but that's what I want to do!  So, above please find a photo of 100 punch cups on display in our unfinished yet wood paneled basement.