Spontaneous Generation

a long time in the thrifting

i've been looking for a pencil cup for a good month.  i feel like this one is doing the trick.

86'd

i had a super-happy-super-sad experience today!  i discovered a new thrift store on the corner of 1st & 1st west, called, apparently, "thrift store" (and/or "for rent").  i had just picked out an amazing set of wooden-handled silverware, when another customer walked into the store and the clerk said, "hey, can you come back later this afternoon? because i'm going to close for lunch now."

really, old guy?  you're so hungry that you can't keep your store open for ten more minutes to let me ransack this fresh meat?  because i'm hungry too, you know.  hungry for thrift.  i don't have the luxury of coming back in 45 minutes.

i'll have to go tomorrow and pray my lunch doesn't coincide with his lunch.

so, i guess we'll stop drinking out of mason jars, then

i got 13 of these pretty blue glasses at the salvation army.  they were marked $1.50 each, which would have come to $19.50 . . . asked if they'd sell me the set for $10 and they said yes!  it never hurts to ask.

my mom gave me a really sweet set of glasses last christmas, but we immediately broke a couple of them (preschoolers + wood floors) so those are grown-up only.  these blue beauties are thick pressed glass, so basically they should be as durable as our mason jars, which we've never broken.  hooray for a pretty table!

also thrifted this week:
puffy cream comforter with dainty navy trim*
navy velvet toss pillow
cream satin sheets (new! really!)
vintage pillowcase with flowers and the word 'mine' embroidered on it
half slip
curtains for my dining room*
two pillows (new! i swear!)
amazing little japanese pitcher which will be an excellent vase
dangly earrings and a sparkly necklace
hankie
vintage wooden lamp with three kids in some kind of freaky parade
pair of amber shot glasses on teeny tiny stems and bases

you know - things everyone needs.

*these are the two items i was actually looking for

heartfelt wreath (get it?)

some random stuff (and bobby pins):

a little thanksgiving activity while the tofurkey was in the oven . . .

and - we have a wreath!

wreath form: thrifted last year
sweaters: thrifted and felted for projects last year, these were the scraps
bobby pins: well . . . they actually worked okay!

the only bad thing about this project was the enormous thickness of the wreath.  it wouldn't fit in the hanger, so i had to rip the back open a little bit and jam the wreath hanger up into the straw, behind a wire form inside of the straw.

it's not the most christmasy wreath in the world, but i like it!  and since all the thrifting occured more than a year ago, it was free.  you can't beat that.

tools of the trade

so much goodness

 

forgive the photo quality - i took this in the middle of the night when i just couldn't sleep.

those are all insanely awesome swatches of wool fabric, about 6" x 10" although some are twice as long.

they were all bundled in a bag for $1.something . . . can you believe it? i think most of them going to be the sweetest and loveliest little baby blanket.

oh yeah, and in another $1.something bag?  a 19" x 58" piece of this thick, textured teal and seven 8" x 28" pieces of various textures and shades of deep red wool (the background pieces in these two photos).  they will make an equally awesome little blanket - just a bit sassier than sweet.

i better get sewing.

i've got spring wrapped around my finger

can you stand it?  it's seriously one of the best thrift scores of all time. 

thrift score

this vera pot holder makes me lonely for amy g.  it even has heat-proof silver space-age fabric on the back.

i found this while thrifting for play-kitchen items as requested by klaus.  other scores: avocado green enamel saucepan, set of four pickle forks, solid walnut bowl, speckled enamel mug.  but this item?  might belong in my kitchen, not theirs.

thrift score

dig that nelson lamp.  copyright date 1955.

i also got a knitting pattern book for "toddlers to teens" which is awesome, because while baby patterns are everywhere, kids' stuff is harder to find - and it has lots of things boys would actually want to wear.

other scores:
three pairs of jeans
snow pants for sonnen (since he refuses to wear the snowsuit)
a ginormous spool of red cotton string which brian desperately needed for an art project
bag-o-pom-poms for klaus (approximately 20 of which he strung onto thread last night - his first "sewing" experience with an actual sharp needle)
a baggie of suncatchers (three butterflies and a bluebird, complete with window suction cups, just because i really needed them)
a pair of chocolate brown suede and leather ladies gloves
a pair of mittens
and about a yard of gray and beige striped cotton stretch velour so i can make klaus and/or sonnen the sweatpants with attached legwarmers from this book which i got for christmas.  (yes, it's called carefree clothes for girls but you know what?  it has a ton of sweetness for my boys, too.)  i'm pre-excited to shop for the yarn for the legwarmers.

i think that's it.

dusu thrift guide

(can i say dusu?  or do i still have to say duluth-superior?)

so, my camera and my computer are not speaking to each other, which means i can't post photos of the awesome new fingerless gloves i made.  i can, however, post a list of the most awesome area thrift stores. 

goodwill: on garfield in duluth, near gordy's in hermantown, and on tower in superior. 
i rarely make it out to the hermantown gw, but the last time i went there, i got an amazing two-piece sterling silver lotus which is going to look thriftastic on my christmas table.  wait, is it a lotus or a water lily?  i think it's a water lily.  anyway, it's incredible.  pictures?  yeah, sorry.  estupido camera/computer silent treatment. 
superior gw seems to get tons of sewing notions/trims and funky 70s polyester on a regular basis.  i also got a fabulous duvet cover there for $3.99.
duluth gw is my favorite, of course, for the 50 cent sale, every other saturday.  it's a workout digging through the bins (bring a water bottle and, if you're a germophobe, hand sanitizer) but it's worth it.  i'm wearing super cute 50 cent jeans right now.  in the main part of the store, i've found very cute vintage furniture.  if you can wait for the right color tags to go on sale, you get it for half price.

saver's - never been there.  i suck.  if i still lived in west duluth, i would probably go there all the time, but the mall area is such a hike these days.

st michael's used-a-bit - never been there.  seriously.  i have trouble believing it really is a thrift store.  it's on 1st avenue west, halfway up the block from superior st.  something about the storefront scares me.

st vinny's on 4th st downtown and on central ave . . . are these still functioning?  i have such limited thrifting time with the boys - i haven't been to either since before klaus was born.  the one on central was great for knitting/crocheting supplies, and the one downtown - i only went in there once, but i got two rolls of amazing vintage wallpaper for mere pennies.  i use it for special wrapping paper, and i still have some (six years later).  i miss living downtown.

earth exchange on belknap.  clothes are priced a little high, but are organized by size and color, which makes it easier if you know what you're looking for.  household stuff and crafty stuff (upstairs) are cheap.  bargain basement smells like pee.

vintage duluth & obscuriosities aren't typical thrift stores, but the prices are just as good.  vintage duluth is the best for super cheap vintage kids' clothes.  obscuriosities has the most awesome coats, boots and bags - i can't imagine why anyone would buy new, when you could buy excellent-condition 60s (and visit patrick, and get a good deal).  patrick will give you a discount if you bring in (and give him) a photo of yourself wearing something you bought there.

salvation army in the west end and on broadway in superior.
the pricers at the west end salvy are out of their minds when it comes to furniture (in a bad way).  my best finds there are kid stuff and pyrex.
the pricers at the superior salvy are out of their minds - in a good way.  it is thrifting mecca.  i once walked out of there with suede boots (which i'm currently wearing), a fancy little glass thing we use as a moss terrarium, a vintage burlap and green-embroidered bag (as seen on my coat rack, holding cloth shopping bags), and like five other finds for $7.  remnants of vintage fabric are unmarked, and the cashier just holds each one and judges it - generally finding them to be worth 59 cents.  packages of bias tape / rick rack, 10 cents.  now you know my best-kept secret.

so, what did i miss?  has anyone been to the 10,000 items store on west 4th st downtown?  oh yeah, and there's a thrift store in two harbors, near the waterfront, that i want to go to reeeeeeeally bad, called neighbor to neighbor.