Garage Sale Finds: Handy Stitch & Sand

Happy Labor Day! I had a very fun labor day weekend which included going to the zoo, the beach, nice lunch and dinner outdoors with hubby, and getting some organization done around the house. I also visited a few garage sales, something I've gotten in the habit of looking forward to on Saturday mornings. I'm playing along with Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Monday party again this week to share my finds.

This week, I didn't find anything overly exciting but I did get a few good deals. But first I must confess something...I'm not very good at sewing. In fact, I don't even own a sewing machine. My aunt is an expert sewer and is a total whiz at everything from tailoring clothes to making beautiful window treatments. She's really amazing at it so I've been spoiled and have taken anything I needed to sew to her. Other than a sewing class in the 8th grade, I haven't done much on a sewing machine! I hope to change that with a little cheating. I bought the Handy Stitch hand held sewing machine at a garage sale for $1. I've wanted to try one for a while and I've been playing around with it and like it. It's really a lot like a regular sewing machine and seems to sew really well, but it's hand held making it really simple to use. I'm excited to try it on projects like my diy window valance and a table runner I'm hoping to make. I'll report back on how it goes!


At the same garage sale, I got another great deal. 4 bags of all purpose/play sand for $3. I warned you, this isn't a very exciting find but it made me happy. We've been using it while renovating our yard this summer and have been paying $2.50-$3.67 (Home Depot has jacked up their prices for it unfortunately). Since we've been buying mass quantities of the sand, finding a few discounted bags is a great deal to us.