I needed to visit the amazing Colleen, assistant extraordinaire, today. On the way home, I stopped at the Salvation Army Thrift Store to drop off some of my daughter's outgrown clothes. Usually they want you to drop off around in the back. Not today. I had to go through the store. Guess what? Surprisingly to me, the place is a knitter's bargain basement. I walked around waiting my turn to donate, and found multiple pots of gold.
In the book area, I found three different knitting books. They were all ones I had, but good ones none the less. There was a classic Barbara Walker, an excellent Jacqueline Fee, and recent Melissa Leapman. $2 each for hardcovers. Oooooh! Okay. Maybe I'll nose around after my turn.
And nose around I did. In the housewares area, there was a garment steamer. Any knitter who blocks their work will tell you that a garment steamer is the fastest way to block anything, and $6 is definitely the right price. A couple of shelves over, some very large canning pots would be great for dyeing projects. $2. In arts and crafts, several skeins of high end yarn (Gefrida, Knit 1 Purl 2, Louet). $1 ea. Yep, this is good stuff.
In the kitchen department there were 8 sundae glasses for 50 cents each. That would be perfect for a yarn tasting at the Knitting Guild or LYS. An old wooden changing table with two shelves ($11) would be a great storage/display for baby yarns. A teapot without a lid (75 cents) is a perfect yarn bowl - put the working yarn through the spout and never have the yarn roll across the room again!
In shoes and luggage there were easily a dozen different tote bags perfect for a project bag, many of which still had their tags on and hadn't been used. In the window was a huge empty apothecary jar that would make a joyful display piece for a dozen balls of color-saturated wools. So would the very large fishbowl. And the wine rack. Okay, I need to get out of here while there's still room in the car for the kids.
If you've never shopped at a charity thrift store, you should know that the money you spend goes to support the charity. Purchases should be checked before you buy, as it's an As-Is situation. If you're a non-smoker or an allergic person, you may want to give things a cursory sniff. And everything that can be cleaned should be, on principle. A little Lysol goes a long way. Loosely skein your yarns you've bought and wash lightly in SOAK or Woolite or shampoo. Hang 'em to dry away from the sun to avoid fading. For a fraction of full price, you'll have some fresh and lovely new knitting tools and stash members.
In the book area, I found three different knitting books. They were all ones I had, but good ones none the less. There was a classic Barbara Walker, an excellent Jacqueline Fee, and recent Melissa Leapman. $2 each for hardcovers. Oooooh! Okay. Maybe I'll nose around after my turn.
And nose around I did. In the housewares area, there was a garment steamer. Any knitter who blocks their work will tell you that a garment steamer is the fastest way to block anything, and $6 is definitely the right price. A couple of shelves over, some very large canning pots would be great for dyeing projects. $2. In arts and crafts, several skeins of high end yarn (Gefrida, Knit 1 Purl 2, Louet). $1 ea. Yep, this is good stuff.
In the kitchen department there were 8 sundae glasses for 50 cents each. That would be perfect for a yarn tasting at the Knitting Guild or LYS. An old wooden changing table with two shelves ($11) would be a great storage/display for baby yarns. A teapot without a lid (75 cents) is a perfect yarn bowl - put the working yarn through the spout and never have the yarn roll across the room again!
In shoes and luggage there were easily a dozen different tote bags perfect for a project bag, many of which still had their tags on and hadn't been used. In the window was a huge empty apothecary jar that would make a joyful display piece for a dozen balls of color-saturated wools. So would the very large fishbowl. And the wine rack. Okay, I need to get out of here while there's still room in the car for the kids.
If you've never shopped at a charity thrift store, you should know that the money you spend goes to support the charity. Purchases should be checked before you buy, as it's an As-Is situation. If you're a non-smoker or an allergic person, you may want to give things a cursory sniff. And everything that can be cleaned should be, on principle. A little Lysol goes a long way. Loosely skein your yarns you've bought and wash lightly in SOAK or Woolite or shampoo. Hang 'em to dry away from the sun to avoid fading. For a fraction of full price, you'll have some fresh and lovely new knitting tools and stash members.
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