The Week in Thrifting: April 20-26

My friend Rachael and I made a trip to The Goodwill Outlet last week, and here are some of my finds:

 

For those of you who aren't aware, The Goodwill Outlet (commonly known as The Bins) is where they send items deemed not good enough to be put in a Goodwill Store, or things that were in the store for several weeks and didn't sell.  Everything is jumbled together in shallow bins that people rummage through and almost everything is sold by the pound.  It's kind of a mess, and not for the squeamish.  You never know what you will find, but I usually find a bargain or two.

Like a Vera Bradley purse!!  It looks like it's never been used.  I cannot for the life of me figure out how it ended up at The Bins,  I'm just glad it did.  There are several pockets in it that should make it a great project bag for crochet.

 

A cashmere sweater.  Mom and I have already started unraveling it for the yarn, and I think I will try overdyeing it to get a darker variegated purple color.  It will eventually become a shawl for a friend.

 

I picked out the silk tie because I want to try using it to dye eggs.  The small skein of yarn feels like chenille, so I had to get it, but I'm not sure what I'll do with it.  The Santa needs some repair and will go into my Christmas supplies, and I couldn't pass up toy Corningware.  Rachael and I wanted something for a journal cover, and we really liked the pretty green pattern of the heavy library binding on this book.
 

Although the Vera bag is definitely the best deal, this is my favorite find.  It's a wool hat, I'm guessing from the 1930s or 1940s, and I would have rescued it from The Bins regardless, but the best part is, it fits my giant head.

Here's the label stamped inside.  I can't find anything about Henry Pollak hats on the internet, but there are an awful lot of them being offered for sale, so he must have been pretty successful. 

I was looking for something that could serve as a small tray and found this shadow box picture frame.  It will be repainted and decorated with scrapbook paper.  I was also able to find a few Shiny Brites and similar ornaments. 

 

These must be from the sixties.  They're wearing fishnet stockings.

 

Silverware - some to keep and some to turn into herb markers.

There was a whole bundle of wrapping paper pieces.  I searched through it all and finally chose these to bring home.

These three are my favorites.  Sweet little babies and a vintage-looking wedding shower pattern.  I'm hoping they will be strong enough to use for crafting.

In addition to the pictured items Rachael picked up a Tolkien boxed set in paperback.  We each got a few articles of clothing and I admit I bought some discontinued nail polishes.  I actually found a few colors I've been keeping an eye out for.

The two most fun things to find were a pristine women's motorcycle jacket from Wilson's Leathers for Rachael and a hilariously ridiculous knitting and crochet pattern book entitled "Sexy Little Knits" and filled with bikinis, crop tops and lots of mesh.

I found a picture of the book on Amazon.  According to the reviews there, this book is horrible; the patterns are full of errors and unworkable.  Good thing we only bought it for the laughs.

Our trip to the bins yielded several things we were both searching for and at a great price point.  I paid about $7.00 for everything I showed you.  What great deals have you been finding at the thrift store lately?

I'm linking up with these parties:
Show and Share
Vintage Bliss Tuesdays
Roses of Inspiration
Vintage Inspiration Party
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Thrifter Share
Frugal Friday
 

Bar Keeper's Friend Should Be Your Friend, Too

Today's post is written by my Mom.

Isn't she lovely?  Ok, not so much.  

I found this Pyrex Spring Blossom patterned 1 1/2 qt oval casserole at the Goodwill Outlet a couple of years ago.  I often see glass baking pans at the Outlet covered in baked on grease, like this.  Most people think they're ruined, but I know better.  I have a secret weapon.

Bar Keeper's Friend (BKF)

Bar Keeper's Friend is a powdered cleansing product.  Unlike Comet or Ajax, BKF uses oxalic acid as it's main ingredient, making it especially effective at removing rust stains and polishing up copper bottom pans.  It is less abrasive, as well.  We use it around the house on the glass cooktop, stainless steel and aluminum pans, and of course, all our glass cookware.

Unfortunately,  I can't find a picture of that casserole after I cleaned it up, but let me assure you, a little bit of BKF and it cleaned up so well it looked brand new.  I found a lid for it and gave it to a friend as a housewarming gift.

I do have some other before and after pictures, though.

This is a glass cake plate I bought at an estate sale for 50c.  

It was covered in what appeared to be mineral deposits.

This is what it looked like partway through cleaning it.

I bought this sorry looking refrigerator dish for 25c because I wanted it's lid, but then decided to experiment with the BKF just to see how much it could be cleaned up.  It's still not a pretty Pyrex, but you can see the difference a little BKF can make.

Here are the two of them together, all cleaned up. 

Another Pyrex piece before

and after.

I bought this Blue Butterprint casserole even thought it was a bit faded from the dishwasher and had lots of little grey marks, because Blue Butterprint doesn't come along every day. 

I wasn't able to restore the shine, but I did get rid of the dark marks and the baked on food.

You do have to be a little bit careful with BKF.  Even though it is not as abrasive as some other cleansers, it is still an abrasive product.  I found out the hard way that it will scratch mirror-finish aluminum.  Duh.  I should have known.  It can also scratch plastic. And as with anything on Pyrex, tread lightly.

I have one other suggestion for cleaning Pyrex.  When it comes to getting crud out of the edges, try a toothpick.  Often you can rub crud off with the point of the toothpick.

So the next time you're at a garage sale and see a baking dish that looks like it's been cooked to death, don't be afraid to take it home and try some BKF resurrection of your own.

By the way, I have no affiliation with the people who make BKF.  I just like their product. 

Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Share The Wealth Sunday
Roses of Inspiration

Ravelry Swap Reveal: Part Two, The Project Bag

I live close enough to one of the two Pendleton Woolen Mills (where Pendleton blankets and shirts are born) that I have driven past it countless times over the years on my way to church, friends' houses or estate sales.  For years I've wondered whether there was a factory store open to the public and what the hours would be.  One day, on my way to church, God sent me a sign.  Well actually, it was the factory sign that had apparently been there all along, just obscured by a grove of cottonwood trees.  Somebody cut down the trees, and I discovered the Mill Store.

Soon I stopped in and discovered that a decent variety of wool remnants could be found at reasonable prices.  Additionally, every cut fabric was 30% off, including remnants.  I wanted to do a project bag for the Ravelry swap, and after a very enjoyable time looking through all the goodies, I found three pieces I was sure would work.

I chose a solid piece in orange, and two coordinating plaids, one with a grey base, and one with a yellow base.  Each remnant was about a half yard of fabric.

I knew I wanted to make a Japanese Knot style bag, because this was going to be my first project ever sewn on a machine, and it doesn't require a zipper, drawstring or any other fastenings.  I found a pattern online and modified it to the size I wanted.  Then I set to work.

Unfortunately, being a novice at sewing, I didn't realize that working with wool brings it's own challenges.  The edges needed to be finished so they wouldn't ravel, and the weight of the fabric made it more difficult to manipulate and gather.  I also did not know that a Japanese Knot bag is a tricky pattern, no matter how straight forward it may seem.  Mom was confined to bed, so unable to help beyond giving advice, so I was on my own.  It was quite an adventure.   But I managed to pull it together just in time for shipping.

Here's the finished object.  I used the solid orange with the grey plaid for contrast. 

The lining is done in the grey plaid with an orange bottom, and the bag is fully reversible.  Even though the wool was a challenge for a novice to work with, it makes for a very sturdy bag, and I'm very pleased with the choice.  My swappee sews and she was very impressed.  Because she sews, I sent along the leftover material, including the majority of the yellow and orange plaid.

When I was practicing with the sewing machine, I made this little needle book, which I also sent.  Wool makes an excellent needle book.  Now that the sewing machine is set up again, maybe I can sew a make-up bag in less than 24 hours (sewing by hand isn't difficult, but it is time-consuming, lol).

Part Three of the Ravelry Swap Reveal is coming soon.
If you haven't seen Part One, it was mostly yarn.

I'm linking up with these parties:
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Show and Share
Roses of Inspiration
Think Tank Thursday
Frugal Friday

Ravelry Swap Reveal: Part One

For my crochet projects, I use Ravelry, a networking site for fiber arts, where one can find patterns for free or purchase, pattern help and yarn or notions venders.  They have a wide network of social forums and groups.  I am a member of a group specifically for swapping, and I just completed a swap. 

The theme for this swap was "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."  This fit so well with things I like to do, such as thrifting, repurposing, and crafting, that I was able to fill a large Priority Mail flat rate box and stay well within my budget.  

 One of the requirements for the swaps that I do is to include at least one skein of yarn for my swappee to use.  I also like to send one item that I crocheted.  Mom likes to unravel or dismantle sweaters, and I help, so between the two of us, we were able to compile a good amount of yarn for this swap.

 

This 25c wool/angora/nylon J. Crew sweater

became a pair of fingerless mittens

and a lot of bulky weight yarn for my swappee to craft with.

The color in my picture is a little off; the yarn itself is a bit more mustard yellow.

I'm always on the lookout for a good white wool sweater that can be unraveled and dyed. 

So I pulled this one from my stash.  This was a 2XL woman's sweater, wool/nylon blend, that I picked up at Value Village for about $3.50.

First, Mom took out the seams, then she unraveled the sweater, resulting in about 2000 yards of sport weight yarn.

I used felted joins to make two skeins, 455 yards each, and then dyed them using Wilton Gel Color and vinegar to get a nice variegated orange colorway.  My swappee's favorite color is orange.  You can see I still have a little more than half the yarn left for another project. 

We learned how to unravel sweaters and reclaim the yarn from THIS website.

I've been cannibalizing jewelry for years, so I was able to put together a row counter bracelet and some stitch markers.  And there are the Tupperware measuring spoons I found back in February. 

These are just some of the things I was able to get into my swap box.  I'll show more soon.

I'm linking up with these parties:

Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Show and Share
Roses of Inspiration
Think Tank Thursday
Frugal Friday
Tips & Tricks
Bouquet of Talent

A Simpler Way To Make Fire Starters

Today's post is written by my mom.

We use our fireplace insert to heat our house almost every day, so we build a lot of fires.  I used to make fire starters by mixing melted wax with sawdust and pressing it into the cups of egg cartons.  Those fire starters work very well.  But I have since found an easier way.  Whenever I made sawdust fire starters, I was left with the tops of dozens of egg cartons.  One day I decided to see if I could make fire starters out of the leftovers, and this is what I came up with.  

 

Fire Starter Strips

 They don't burn as long as the little sawdust cups, but they fit between logs and two of them are just enough to start a small pile of dry pine cones.  There are two giant pine trees in front of our house and I collect the cones when they drop and save them in paper bags in the woodshed until winter.  The cones make great kindling. 

The best thing about fire starter strips is that they are very easy to make.  Plus they are practically free.

If you think this kind of fire starter might work for you, I will try to tell you how to make them.

First you need a pot for melting wax.  You don't want to use one of your good cooking pots; you need a designated melting pot.  I bought this one at Goodwill because it was A) cheap and B) heavy. 

You can see it's got mineral residue and a bit of wax in it from multiple uses.  I never wash it.

Next you need a large can, the kind that held 2 lbs of something.  If you don't have one, I recommend buying a can of hominy. Hominy's good stuff.  You can use a smaller one, but I like this size better.  You are going to make a double boiler by putting the wax you want to melt into the can, putting the can into the pot and then putting water in the pot.  DO NOT TRY TO MELT WAX OVER DIRECT HEAT!

This is my can of premelted wax, left over from the last time I made fire starters. I got the wax by melting down some candles I bought at a garage sale.  I can usually get half-used pillars for 25c-50c each.  Once I got a grocery sack full of them for $1.00. 

Here are my tools: scissors, newspaper, an old oven mitt, and a canning jar lifter. 

In addition to the wax, you'll need a supply of cardboard egg cartons.  Cut off the closure strip and remove the lid. 

Cut up the top until you have a pile of strips like this.

 

Then cut the strips in half.  You should end up with an assortment of strips of cardboard about 5 inches long.

Lay some sheets of newspaper on the counter closest to the pot and set the bottom of your egg carton on the newspaper.  Make sure the newspaper covers the counter up to the stove, NOT like it is in the picture.

Fill the can with the wax chunks.  One reason I like using a big can is that a pillar candle will fit in it.  If you have a smaller can or a really big candle, cut to fit.  Put the can of wax into the pot and add water up to about one third the height of the can.   If the can starts to tip, you have added too much water.  Heat the pot on high until the water boils.  As the water heats up, the can will rattle a bit.  This is perfectly normal.

When the water in the pot has come to a full boil, turn the heat down to just below boiling and heat until all the wax is melted.  Keep adding wax until the can is about three-fourths full.  Resist the urge to touch the can.  It will get REALLY hot.  If you absolutely must touch it, use the oven mitt.  There is no need to stir the wax, just let it melt until it looks all shiny.  I usually test it by sticking one of the cardboard strips into the wax and trying to stir it.  If I meet any resistance, then there are still some unmelted chunks of wax. 

Once the wax is melted you can start dipping the cardboard strips.  Push each one in almost to the end.  You may need to let the strip bend a little to get it all in.  Then lift it out.  This part should go rather quickly.

Hold the strip over the can until the wax stops dripping - this takes maybe 5 seconds. 

Set the waxy strip into the bottom of the egg carton to dry. 

Here is the finished fire starter.  You can see I now have two cartons.  I cut up another one while I was waiting for the wax to melt.

Here are all the fire starters in their drying racks.  One egg carton yields about a dozen fire starters.

When you have finished dipping all your cardboard strips, CAREFULLY remove your can of wax from the pot of hot water and set it on a pile of newspaper to dry.  This is where the jar lifter comes in very handy.  You can do it with oven mitts, but they will probably get wax on them.  I could leave the can of wax in the pan to cool off, but that takes several hours, and I usually need the stove before that.  

Don't just put the water down the sink.  After it cools I sometimes line a strainer with paper towels and pour the water through that to catch any wax.  Or I might just dump it outside.

I timed myself doing this.  It took 20 minutes to go from empty pot to fully melted wax, but then only ten minutes to make all the fire starters and clean up.  The wax will harden on the strips very quickly.  They can be removed from the rack in a couple of minutes, making space for new ones, so you can do several batches rather quickly. 

We keep our fire starters in a basket next to the fireplace.  The end without the wax is the one to light.  Once I got the idea to dip both ends.  Not a good idea.  You need the bare end for it to light easily.  I also tried other kinds of cardboard: toilet paper rolls, soda boxes, corrugated strips.  None of them worked very well.  I think it is because the egg cartons absorb the wax better.

Has anyone noticed the irony?  I started making these because I had a bunch of leftover egg carton tops.  Now I have a bunch of leftover egg carton bottoms, lol.  I suppose I could become the egg carton caterpillar queen.  

I think I'll just recycle them.

One last note:  I don't have any little kids in my home.  I wouldn't melt wax with little kids about.  But I learned how to make fire starters from the Boy Scouts, so use your own judgement about how old your kid needs to be in order to help with this. 

Mom

I'm linking up with the following parties:

Frugal Friday

Show and Share

Tips and Tricks
Think Tank Thursday
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Share the Wealth Sunday