Home of the Free

Went garaging on Friday with buddies Judy and KK, and we all found free stuff! We spent a few bucks too, $7 in my case, but it was the free stuff we were talking about at the end.
Judy went home with a great apron, the kind that goes over your head and ties at the sides. It was the pockets that sealed the deal. (Well, the pockets and the price!) KK was terribly pleased with the little gardening implement she found, like this one.

We all kept admiring it, and exclaiming, “The claw! The claw!”
I grabbed my freebie to give as a gift. Three unopened boxes of tea for a Keurig machine.

Several family members have the machines so I’m sure someone will be glad to have these. I have no idea why the folks having the sale put them in the free box, since they are unopened and would retail for about $45. I imagine they could have gotten a few bucks. But I was happy to walk off with them!

I also paid nothing for this little soil test kit. Nope, didn’t steal it!

I bought some other things at that sale and she threw this in since it was only marked a quarter. I’m always happy to save a quarter, knowing I can turn it into something really good at another sale down the road.

So what did my seven bucks go for? Mostly more clothing to play upcycling with. (I turned a too-small vintage shirt and matching pants into a really great top this week, and am almost done adding some length and an inverted back pleat to a linen shirt.) I’ve never been able to wear any of the interesting stuff from Chico’s, but this travelers knit jacket came with coordinating black pants and I think I can do something with them.

This silk shirt also has matching pants, and for once both are too large, so I’ll get to play with these in a different direction.

And I’m always looking for linen items, so was happy to find a couple of shirts

and this little jacket, which is not printed but embroidered!

Then there was The Tablecloth. I do have quite a few tablecloths, and looked long at this one while the debate ran through my head: Ooooh, really nice. But you have so many already. But it’s really nice. It’s decor, you’re not buying decor. But I like it a lot. And it’s French. And it looks like it might be the perfect size for the table on the deck. And – the clincher! – the price was $1. So I brought it home. And I love it. And it IS the perfect size for the table on the deck

and has so many colors in it that lots of our napkins will go with it. 

But I have to admit the real thrill came when I looked up the company on the tag.

Turns out they’ve been printing textiles since something like the 1700s, and these tablecloths are screen printed. So each color is applied separately. Think of the work! I imagine it’s all automated these days, but still. And it explains the price tag for these puppies on the retail market, which for this tablecloth would have been in the $250 - $400 range. Zowie. I’d be terrified to spill something on a $400 tablecloth.

But I can use a $1 tablecloth with impunity. And compared to retail, this was practically free too!