Monday, May 28, 2007

My kind of shopping


I hate to shop, but I love to thrift. It's not so much the purchasing that thrills me as the process of picking through a collection of entirely unique items. Everything that you look at in a thrift shop is the only one of its kind in the store.

The local thrift shop in my hometown is the best thrift shop ever -- I'm not even going to tell you exactly where it is, for fear that you'll go there and get all the best stuff before I can. I went twice last week and did pretty well. Over two days I spent a grand total of $5.65, and I bought four books, a magazine, two knitting-pattern booklets, a brooch, a crocheted doily, some fabric, and a set of hankies. I also went to a thrift in the next town, where I bought another piece of fabric and some buttons (from the big bowl above).








I've also been shopping at my favourite bookstore in the whole world, which is a secondhand bookstore in a town called Penticton. I bought a pile of books, and I took some photos, which I've posted in a Flickr set.

Other than all this shopping, I've been knitting like a fiend -- I started a pair of Clessidra Stockings, in green Sisu yarn. I knit all afternoon yesterday (a dream come true!). So I'll show you that progress soon, as well as something very exciting that is located down the road from my parents' house.... Stay tuned, mystery lovers!

12 comments:

Maggie said...

How are you finding the Sisu? I can't stand it...it's so splitty. I wish I liked it better, because it comes in such great colours and it's pretty cheap. I made my sister a pair of Cascading Leaves socks with it, and I nearly went insane with sticking my needle in between plies. Never again for me.

Laiane said...

I had a nostalgia flashback when I saw those buttons. My grandmother used to entertain me when I was a little girl by letting me sort through a cigar box of assorted buttons (that looked surprisingly like those). :-)

Oh, and I LOVED the bookstore pictures. I am very, very jealous (and I mean that in the nicest possible way).

JustApril said...

Cool pics and neat stuff. I love getting vintage knitting patterns. =)Those stockings are wow, can't wait to see yours.

Chris said...

I'm the same way - hate to shop, love to thrift. I like the serendipitous nature of thrifting!

Nadia said...

I need a Choose-O-Matic! It will make all those hard knitting choices for me.

Anonymous said...

Love the Choose-o-Matic! My friend has that booklet too, with her grandmother's notes from the patterns she knit.

Anonymous said...

jealous.....

Anonymous said...

Everytime I go visit my folks I end up at that bookstore! Last time I got a box set of "The Forsyte Sage" for about $15! (Which is a score since I've seen the individual books for $4-5 each.) If you're in a driving mood, go further south to OK Falls and get ice cream at Tickleberry's. 44 flavours at last count.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness you picked up the pink button, or I would've had to drive up and search all the vintage stores and adopt it. I like your other selections as well... now I want ice cream from the place Alynda is talking about. mmmmmm ice cream.

Megan said...

Great finds! I love the fabric that is under the sewing book.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, me too with the Sisu - drove me crazy with splitting. That sock pattern is gorgeous. Great thrift finds!

Lolly said...

Wonderful finds! Thrifting is indeed a great experience! :)