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Monday, December 28, 2009

Treasure from the Thriftstore or My Best Chrismas Present


I got this really cool set of books from my husband for Christmas. He had wrapped up two books from the Life Time books series titled "The Art of Sewing". He said he didn't want to wrap all of them. Too much work, you know. But he had hidden "a few more" under his desk in our basement.

All in all I found 13 from the set. It took a couple of days to pry out the information of where he found them: At the local thriftstore. Does your spouse shop for your Christmas presents at Salvation Army? If not you may want to give him a hint. LOL
I love the set! Though I did not get the complete set and at first glance the book content doesn't appear organized and thourough enough to the German reader, I found the books quite entertaining. The series was published in the early 7os. Totally retro! Even if you don't care about sewing but love James Bond movies, you would enjoy this set. Psychadelic pictures of clothing will dazzle you, and every outfit James and his mistresses ever wore in the 70s movies are pictured in the books.
I am not sure about the quality of the sewing tips. The writing appeared to be a bit on the superficial side at first glance. But who cares? Each hardcover volume is beautifully bound in a different fabric. From fine silk to chunky corduroy. My husband loved the thick bright red corduroy one. I am kind of partial towards the pink butterfly book with the title "The Personal Touch".

Unfortunately my set was not quite complete. An internet search for a complete list of titles showed that there are 17 volumes in all in this series. I found that I am missing smashing titles such as
"Exotic Style"
"Novel Materials"
"Boutique Attire"
and "The Master Index" to the series.
Luckily I was able to find and order the missing books. I can't wait to see them in person.

5 comments:

mrsbeccijo said...

I love that he hide them for you to find!! My mom always hid one present on Christmas Morning!
Beccijo
http://www.beccijo.com
http://www.theenchantedcupboard.etsy.com

germandolls said...

I think it was more because he was too lazy to wrap the whole stack. they are heavy too. That way I had to carry them up from the basement. =) They were totally worth it, though. LOL

Kim van Waardenburg said...

wouw looks like a super collection!!

Anonymous said...

that a great quilt pattern you made out of the books there

Alessandra@ Tribal Times said...

What a wonderful gift and what a thoughtful hubby!
-Alessandra