THRIFT STORE SCORE!!!

Thrift store shopping...

Why, oh why did it take me almost 50 years to discover the THRILL of thrift store shopping???

Anyone who sews, quilts, crochets, knits...or does any kind of crafting...knows that supplies can be exorbitantly expensive; at times even prohibitive!  I had begun shopping garage sales in order to find supplies at a better price.  But, since I can't walk well and need to drive from house to house, it becomes really annoying to have to park, shop for a few minutes, drive to the next house a few doors down and park again...over and over and over.  My dear sweet hubby began taking me to the garage sales and dropping me off at each house, but that tied up our Saturdays and to get the really good bargains and selection you had to go early.  I felt horrible asking him to wake up early on a day off.  He works too hard not to have a day to sleep late!  Sometimes, even though I really wanted to "treasure hunt", it just wasn't worth the hassle.

Then someone suggested I check out the local thrift stores and a nearby multi-storefront "church run" thrift shop in particular.  One trip and I was HOOKED!  I had been told the thrift shop was huge, but I never expected what I found...5 separate, HUGE storefronts.  The wares are divided into individual shops:  Furniture, Books, Clothing, Variety, and Thrift Outlet..the "thriftiest" of the thrift shops.  Every week a different color tag is on sale half off and the third Friday of every month EVERYTHING in the stores is 50% off (with some minor exceptions).  On that day the Outlet lowers prices to $.50 per item or the lower ticket price.  Amazing!

Today I had to go to my primary doctor's office, which happens to be fairly close to the thrift shop.  I started at the Thrift Outlet and then made my way to the Variety store.  In all honestly, I skipped 75 percent of each store as I honed in on the sewing and crafting areas.  As I walked past the "candle" aisle in the Variety store, I remembered that my mom has been looking all over for votive holders.  She had two navy blue "hobnail" style glass holders and was looking for something similar to add to her collection.  I made a quick detour down the aisle and was amazed to find a sealed set of two ocean blue "hobnail" glass votive holders and 4 blue candles... for just $3.50!  I snatched the box off of the shelf and held it tightly in my hot little hands!  My first treasure of the day!!  Finding something within the first 10 feet of the store should have been my cue to get a cart, but thankfully I could only spend money on what I could hold, lol.  I'm sure my husband and my bank account will be grateful.  I was in such a rush to deliver my find to mom and dad that I neglected to get a picture to show you.  But, believe me, they were LOVELY. 

Now for me, I got quite a lot of sewing notions:

• 7 Zippers for $.50 each
• 4 packages of Maxi Piping for $.25 each
• 2 packages of Extra Wide Double Fold Bias Tape one for $1.00 & one for $.50 (green labels were on sale)
• 2 Button Cards for $1.00 each
• 1 Travel Sewing Kit to keep in the car for emergencies for $.50

There were still so many notions I wanted to buy, especially novelty buttons, but I tried hard to be good.

In yarn I got:

• 5 Skeins of Acrylic Yarn.  These are all in my favorite colors.  There were so many others I wanted to buy, but I had to draw the line SOMEWHERE, lol. 

And my last item was a "just because I love it".  It is a valance...which is NOT how I will use it.  I fell absolutely head over heals in love with the lace and plan to use it on something really special someday.  It cost me $4.50...which I think is well worth such a beautiful find!

I have been staring at my treasures for close to an hour already and have yet to put any of them away.  So, do you think I have a problem? 

Yes?  I agree.  Hello, my name is "Lin" and I'm an addict...

So what thrifting scores have you had recently?  How often do you hit the shops for your "fix"?