Thrift shop fun today

[eleny]

On the way to the library, I took a wrong turn and found myself at the ARC thrift shop. :)

I've been wanting to get some Corelle dishes but can't decide which pattern I like. I only need the dinner plates. Today I found a set of four with a cheerful orange & green floral pattern around the rim. One holy grail crossed off the list. Nice to find four at once.

Also found a large, yellow mixing bowl with USA on the bottom. I figure it's got to be no later than the 1950s. Someone took very good care of it and so will we - I'm going to use it.

Vintage craft books are also a passion with me. Even though 1970s is now considered "vintage". Hmmm.
Successful Machine Applique - I can always use tips for this.
Country Bazaar Crafts - Instructions for handkerchief dolls with heads made from wooden beads and some cute softy animal patterns caught my eye especially.
The Encyclopedia of Needlecrafts from 1998 that's huge! Over 500 pages of color pictures and full sized templates.
Last but not least The Outdoor Build It Book from 1971 with lots of practical projects for the yard. Many pictures and diagrams.

Funny thing about thrifting. You can pass something up but as soon as someone else grabs it, you can have feelings of regret. I always look for clear bar glasses that are heavy and flare at the top. So I checked out the glassware first thing. I saw 6 matching cobalt blue water glasses. Picked one up and put it down since cobalt doesn't go with any of our colors. After making the rounds of the book section I went to look for the Corelle dishes. A 40-something couple came in and the guy was a jerk. Bossing his wife around to hurry and just grab some glasses - generally making her get a move on. She picked up one of the cobalt glasses and whined that she liked them. (Yes, she did whine) So he zipped around the aisle, grabbed all six and demanded in a loud voice "Can we go look at CLOTHES NOW?!" I wouldn't have given those glasses a second thought. But I've got a renewed fascination for Japanese "boro" textiles and those are usually indigo blue designs. I'm glad she got the glasses she liked. And the Corelle dishes are just what I was looking for. But I'm still thinking about those cobalt glasses!

[NMDemDist2]

1. fun!

that is what I miss most here in the country :cry:

PHX had some awesome thrift stores for sure :bounce:

and i'da snatched up those coblat glasses lol

[eleny]

2. Being a retirement area, Phx would have to be a gold mine of good deals

I think it would be so much fun to go thrifting with you!

I'm going to have to ask Skinner to add the word "thrifting" to the DU spell check dictionary!

[NMDemDist2]

5. I took my MIL one day (she was very skeptical I might add, but polite)

she ended up spending $40 on kitchen stuff and decor items for her Yuma place

and last time I was down there, the items were on proud display

she's hooked lol

[eleny]

6. That's nice - you helped her break the ice

If she spent 40, her cart was probably darned near full.

[NMDemDist2]

7. oh yeah, we had bags and bags of stuff, in fact she bought Bri a present

of a Ironwood carved angelfish thing that stands 10" tall and is on display here in the living room right now with his similarly carved dolphin

i'll be right back to edit if I have a pic of it (it was like $2)

[DrDan]

3. I drop in on Habitat for Humanity thrift

every few weeks just to look for wine glasses . . .

I will never buy another one new . . . 50 cents is tops for an everyday wine glass.

[eleny]

4. Decent quality glassware is easy to find at the thrifts

We have a Humanity thrift a few miles form here. I should plan a trip up there soon.

[yy4me]

8. It was a great day at the "thrifty". I found a 12" Griswold cast iron

skillet (pan #9). It was crusty, black and ugly, I could have chipped off the stuff with a chisel. The clerk in the store looked at me like I was buying garbage. Cleaned it up by placing it in a good fire in the fireplace, rotating it every-so-often. All the grunge cooked off and it now looks good as new. Oiled up and ready for my first venture on the stove. Oh happy day.

[NMDemDist2]

9. SCORE!!!

another way to clean them is put them in the oven when you run the 'self cleaning' cycle if you oven is equiped with that

don't ya just love scores like that? what did you pay for it? I'm guessing less than $5 for a pan that fetches from $20 to $70 on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/GRISWOLD-9-Large-Logo-EPU-cast-iron-skillet-p-n-710_W0QQitemZ170076139722QQihZ007QQcategoryZ976QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item170076139722

[yy4me]

10. Boy, I feel great. Paid $4.00 . Thanks for the link too.

Made me feel even better. I know these pans are great, I have several plus I buy them for my kids and for friends. Never could find this size and I am now commissioned by my daughter to find one of this big one for her. It took me years to convince both of my girls that they are better off using these oldies than spending their money on the anodized aluminum stuff they bought when they got married. Both now have asked me to get them full compliments of either the old Wagner or Griswold pans. It is a great excuse for me to go "junking". We grew up with cast iron, but now, since the Food Network came to being, good old cast iron is back in style. Plus it is such a good feeling to see what a beautiful piece of work these pans are once you get rid of the grunge. The metal is so smooth, not like the new iron ones. I tried the oven cleaning method once but it filled my kitchen with smoke as the stuff burned off. I don't have an adequate kitchen vent over the stove. Now if I could only find a large dutch oven with cover...I can dream.

[Quakerfriend]

11. Fabulous! Don't you just love the feeling it gives you !

... And,yes, seeing someone pick something up after you passed over it is a funny part of it all.

I stopped to drop some stuff off last night but, did not have time to shop.:( But, just before XMas I happened to walk in and find a small box that contained a set of beautiful solid brass stocking hangers for the fireplace. They sold me the box for $6 and when I got home my 10-year-old son discovered another surprise inside- Three little ivory statues- one of Buddha and two matching of Confucius. My son was very enamored with them so I told him he could have them. And, later that night when I was saying goodnight to him I noticed that he had put each of the statues in the windows of the three corners of his bedroom. I told him I liked that and he said, "I feel like they are looking over me." :hug:

And, oy, those caste iron pans. You are going to want to wring my little neck...Several years ago my husband's cousin left us with several large boxes of these (maybe 12 or so). He was a chef for years and these were his prized possessions. After lugging them from his apt to our attic and then finding that some mice had gotten into them, I made my husband get rid of them. They were in PERFECT shape ...I guess some lucky thrifter was overjoyed, eh!!

[Warpy]

12. I've given up thrifting

because I needed to for so many years. I'm leaving it to people who need to now.

I really, really miss it.

I still do consignment shopping, though.

[yy4me]

13. I can see your point, but when you buy something at a thrift shop,

the dollars from that sale help the organization fund itself. All the places I go to scrounge need every dollar that they generate. I have seen things at thrifts that I have not bought remain on the shelf for weeks. After a point, I have decided to buy the items and give them to someone who could use them. I really have no extra funds but I spend the few dollars that I can on items that will give someone real utilitarian use. Sometimes I misjudge and end up donating the goodies back for them to sell again. As for consignment shops, I will visit them but rarely buy. Too $$$ for used stuff, at least in our area. Also, on a visit to a local thrift shop some time ago, I saw the owner of a local consignment shop with a cart full of stuff. She told me she buys high end labeled clothing every Monday when a certain color ticket goes on sale for a dollar. She takes them back to her shop and resells them. I have no problem with a little entrepreneurship but it was a bit of an awakening. I'd just as soon buy those high end labels myself.

[eleny]

14. Agreed

I buy from and donate to the same thrift. My husband gets a kick out of that. But it works for me. I've donated everything from older tv sets, furniture, clothing. You name it, they get it. And I don't feel that I'm taking away anything from anyone. In fact, we help keep the thrift shops alive and thriving. The ARC where I shop recently moved a few blocks to a much larger building and is continuing to do a great business.

What I find out of bounds are people grabbing things out of other people's carts or pushing others out of the way to grab something.

[yy4me]

15. Out of their carts? That's certainly a new one. Is the ARC a

national group of thrifts? When my daughter lived in Virginia, during our visits,I went to a shop that I think had locations all over the country. I could never remember the name of it but what goodies. Tons of new stuff as well as the usual fare. Wish we had one in our neck of the woods.What does ARC stand for?

[eleny]

16. The ARC is local to the Colorado Front Range area

I wish I hadn't tossed their newsletter. It's a non profit. The name used to stand for Association for Retarded Children. But that has been dropped to describe themselves. They now more appropriately describe that they advocate for people with developmental disabilities. Here's their web site http://www.arcthrift.com/index.html