I Heart Tucson! (at least her thrift shops)

I am a Thriftshopaholic! One of the first things I did when we got to the desert, back in February, was grab a phone book to see where there were charity and second hand stores. I was in ecstasy when I counted thirty-nine listed in the yellow pages. "Sweet Mother in Heaven!" as Nana used to say. Savvy as I am, I guessed that was only the tip of the iceberg and I was right.

So each time we go for an appointment anywhere we stop at new thrift shops. Now, when you live in a 32 ft. Winnebago, stuff has to really jump out at you and take hold before you cave in and buy it even at bargain prices. I buy seasonal clothing for us but only if we really need it and costume items if I have brought a donation bag from the closet with me.

We both buy books but right now Jim gets more of those than I do since I'm kind of stuck with large print for the time being. To be totally honest, I have a carton and a shopping bag full of to- be- reads. I do come out ahead on books, however, since we have similar likes. Eventually, I'll read most of what he gets. I found an article today about some Brits who managed to get a pretty good deal on free books an entire warehouse full. While not technically a thrift shop, I still could have brought a lunch and spent the day there.



I do like to look for vintage greeting cards, not because I collect them but because I enjoy their sweet charming artwork and even their schmaltzy poems. I send them to my family and friends who probably don't understand why and just think I'm cheap. If they do too bad...at least that card came in the mail and didn't disappear in 21 days from your computer.


But right now, I go to thrift shops looking for yarn. As I've said before, I make scarves, hats, shrugs, neck warmers, afghans, bottle holders, credit card purses, gift bags, book markers, ornaments and even Genuine Victorian Style Cell Phone Holders for gifts, for shelters, and to sell.

I haven't as yet gotten into truly recycling yarns by unraveling sweaters and scarves etc. but I do feel I'm using a product that was meant to be used before it was donated. It won't go to wasted no matter what the color. Most of the yarn and crochet thread I buy at bargain prices is still brand new. Occasionally, I come across a project someone began and, for whatever reason, never finished. I've re-purposed granny squares and crocheted flowers into scarves and hats. I've even found ways to use vintage doilies to embellish other items. Best of all for a crocheter on a budget, I've uncovered bags of soft sweet yarns I couldn't have afforded otherwise.

This morning I scored a bag of 14 brand new skeins of bright colors the teens love for skinny scarves. I knew they would pair up well with eyelash yarn and other specialty yarns Buttercup got for me a couple of years ago. Each had price stickers that read $2.69. That comes to $37.66. I paid $12.50 for the entire bag which also happened to contain 2 crochet hooks and a pattern magazine marked 5.99! Pretty good ,huh?

Still, I've been out classed as far as saving money on yarn goes. Rochard has a wonderful blog called The Used Yarn Chronicles. I seriously doubt I'll ever do as well as she does. She managed to meet all of her yarn needs last year on a budget of only $20.00!

But please don't tell Geezer that, I've got him bamboozled and he thinks I'm the bargain queen!

See ya down the road,
Yarntangler