Organization: My Quest to Conquer Chaos

Damn, that sounds noble. The truth is I am disorganized. If it wasn’t for my daily “to do” list I would get little done. Even with it I am a little bit on the hurting side. So many thoughts and ideas go through my head that I fall off the path quickly. I have to constantly tell myself to finish what I start so I won’t have so many odds and ends to complete.

Well, yesterday was my lucky day. I was on the way to town when I spied a yard sale sign (I swore I wasn’t going to stop before I ever left the house but I shouldn’t swear. I just had to stop). The folks didn’t have too much I was interested in except for a big, 4 drawer file cabinet. Woo Hoo, my name was written all over it, even before I paid for it. Finally a place to keep my million and one patterns (authentic vintage sewing and knitting, of course). Cut a deal with the folks and called the hubby who very lovingly picked it up for me (too big to fit in my car).

After I got home from my shopping trip I found the file cabinet sitting on my front porch waiting for me. My hubby said he would help me with it but I was so excited I started moving things from the storage room. I measured the cabinet to make sure of where to put it then walked it in. Kept a towel under it to keep it from scratching the floor (a scratch would have totally sucked). By the time the hubby came it the cabinet was tucked away just where I wanted it. It is now the home for Butterick patterns and the “Not Yet Listed” books and patterns that were cluttering my storage room.

I still have a long way to go to get the room right but yesterday was a big step in the right direction. I feel like a champ taking control of my life. Therapy couldn’t have made me feel so good. Cheap therapy for $15.

Now all I have to do is put labels on the drawers so I won’t go crazy looking from drawer to drawer. Maybe I’ll get more listed in my Etsy shops now that I know where everything is.

Here’s to gaining control of one’s life. Feels damn good.

The Pill Box Hat

 

I love going to yard sales. Estate sales are pretty good, too, but I get this eerie feeling, like I am picking over the remains of the dead. I then start feeling ghoulish, then become depressed. Only lasts a few moments, but ewww, even if it is only a few moments. Lucky for me there aren’t too many estate sales in my neck of the woods which either means our population is incredibly healthy, the person died without anything to leave behind, or the family found a home for everything. Hmmm. Anyway, my favorite of all sales are the church yard sales. People just love to donate their “don’t need this anymores” to the church or synagogue. True, sometimes the stuff is out right junk but a lot of the time there is some cool stuff that comes out of the closet or out from under the bed.

Yesterday the hubby and I were road tripping to meet my daughter in Orlando. Fun little see-the-grandkids moment and relax. I am still sore. We must have walked 20 miles through Universal’s parks. My legs, which are starting to look a little better since I got the treadmill, have shin splints. Both legs from the knees to the ankles. I guess that means I have a lot of training to do if I want to do the 3 day Walk for Breast Cancer in the fall. On the way to Orlando we drove through Williston, FL, a cute little town just outside of Ocala and Gainesville. It seemed like everyone was having a yard sale. No, the hubby did not stop. We would have gotten to Orlando after dark. Surprisingly enough, though, he stopped at a church yard sale. Could have knocked me down with a feather.

The yard sale had all kinds of stuff, baked goods, handmade jewelry, and assorted stuff. I was just looking around when I saw one table with lots of junk, the kind of junk that gives me goose bumps, so I started poking around. I found this cool pillbox hat with socks in it. The lady selling it was a little elderly woman who told me it was a very old pillbox hat. When I asked her if she had anymore cool stuff she showed me a bag full of leis and proceeded to tell me how she acquired them. She said she got them at a party. Me, in my smart-ass way, said (quietly, we were on church grounds and she is my elder) “Oh, so you got laid” to which she said with a twinkle in her eye “Yes, twice.” Boy, did I blush. Guess I deserved that. It was pretty funny.

Pillbox hats are so classic, and classy, too. Jackie Kennedy made them very popular in the 60’s.

Here’s a picture of the cream colored pillbox hat. It is now in my shop, MissEileen, on Etsy.

The hat looks a lot like a pattern from my stash, McCall’s 6515 from 1962, a smocked hat, with pillbox variations.

Are they not wonderful? And with the Royal wedding coming, don’t you just want to wear a hat? Even for a moment? sigh

 

Post by Eileen of GoofingOff.etsy, GoofingOff.Artfire, and MissEileen.etsy

Patterns, Patterns, and more Patterns

I have an addiction to patterns. Must be an addiction. I think about patterns whenever I see a yard or estate sale and my heart skips a beat when I see them. I just love Vogue patterns (especially Vintage Vogue OOOOOhhhh) and the vintage patterns from the 40's, 50's, and 60's with the illustrations of pouty faced women or pudgy cheeked children. I get all fluttery inside. I feel the same way about the knitting and crochet patterns from the 40's and 50's. The patterns are usually in such rough shape from use but every so often you find patterns from a wanna-do, you know, the person who wants-to-do but never has the time? Yes, like me. I have the knitting needles but I don't knit. I know how. I just don't do it. The sewing machine is ready and threaded but it gets less action than my treadmill/clothes hanger. Oh, well at least the addiction won't hurt my lungs or rot my teeth. I just need to make sure I have a room big enough for them.