Posted by Stitchy McYarnpants On September - 26 - 2004   ShareThis

Woo-hoo! What a weekend! I started shaping for the arms on the Manly sweater. It’s coming along really well. I made the Hub try it on once I took it off the circulars and put it on two different sections. It fits really well and already looks swell on him, even if it is a Cirque de Soleil-esqu torso tube kind of a thing that shows his nipples off. Sorry ladies, those pictures are for my eyes only. 😉

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I also got myself a little something at Elann. In my defense, it was cheap, fuzzy and has over 229 yds per skein, so there was really nothing I could do. I’m not made of stone, after all. I think these colors go really well together and I’m thinking of a stripey hooded sweater. I have a great old 60’s pattern book full of mohair patterns, and there’s one in there I might do. When I find the pattern and am sure this is the right guage, I’ll post it. This might even be enough for two sweaters! (the example that Elann is using only uses 4 skeins and I have 12!)

Geisha

BUT

The best part of the weekend was when we spent the day going to yard sales with my parents. It’s one of those family activities that we always enjoy together. My dad loves trying to strike bargains with people and my mom always gets annoyed with him when he offers someone way less, I mean waaayyyy less than they’re asking for something (although I’ve seen her talk someone down on a 50 cent item). Someone had a DVD player for $40 and he actually said to the lady “I don’t really need a DVD player, but I’ll give you 10 bucks.” as if he were doing her a favor. She thanked him but said she’d hold on to it for a while. At the end of our yard saling, he wanted to drive by their house to see if the player was still there. He was going to give her another chance to sell it to him because by then she’d just want to be rid of it and would be begging for his ten-spot. So we drove by and they were still there, but mostly packed up. I piped up that the DVD player was still there (of course it wasn’t, but that’s just how I am). My mom was yelling at my dad that he had better not get out of that damned car. We didn’t stop, but my husband (who is really getting the hang of being part of my family) pipes up with “Well, by the looks on their faces, I’d say they’re about 10 dollars short.” My dad loves it when he helps tease my mother.

So I got some good stuff. I got a cool set of 1950’s dishes with service for 12 for $5. It was all wrapped up in plastic zippered bags made for dishes and they were in perfect condition. They’re still in the car, but I’ll append this post when I get them inside.

We also hit a sale that was a group of people selling stuff to benefit a local organzation of some sort. These are the best because it’s not their stuff, so they have no sentimental attachement to it and just want to move it out. At first there wasn’t really anything good. Then I went to the indoor portion of the sale and found this:

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Pretty intriguing, eh? Wonder what they are?

Well hey, they’re Esther Martin’s Workbasket magazines from 1961-1975!! Wow! Esther sure LOVED this little magazine, she subscribed for 14 years!

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And who wouldn’t, it’s got knitting, crochet and sewing patterns, embroidery transfers, gardening tips, recipes, and all sorts of ads for sensible shoes, dentures, and real live pet monkeys.

What?

Yes, there are. Look. (click the picture so you can read it)

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So all of these magazines were $5! I carried the box around and came across another box of even more interest. Here is a sampling of the wonders within (again, click for a better view):

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25 cents each!!!! I’m going to type that again because it makes me giggle like a schoolgirl. 25 cents each!!!! I got 20 magazines and pattern books from the 50’s and 60’s. At 25 cent each (!!!!), that’s another $5. So I was getting all this goodness for $10. Too cool. Then I went to pay. Imagine my surprise when the nice lady told me everything was . . .

wait for it . . .

HALF PRICE!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOO

What a great weekend!

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10 Responses

  1. Michelle says:

    Oh, you lucky girl! I’m still waiting to hit the jackpot at a yard sale, or even a thrift store. Maybe one day…

  2. Lisa says:

    Wow! Great finds! Lucky you! I enjoyed your story about your parents and the yard sales; we love teasing my mom in my family, too, and I love being an instigator. :)

    The pet monkey ad is crazy! Especially the part about “almost human” and “live delivery guaranteed.” Wow.

  3. Elisa says:

    Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow…where are you to find all these fabulous yard sales? And to think, I was watching football when I could have been spending money!

    The monkey ad is hilarious. I’ve seen similar ones from that time period, and it’s always the “live delivery guaranteed” that kills me.

  4. Anonymous says:

    You rock! How lucky can you get. I love the old Vogue Knitting mags. Now you can knit yourself a ski outfit!

    -Niki

  5. mayflwr says:

    WOW! what finds!!!

    Is that yarn from elann soft? I checked it out and really want to get some! LionBrand’s Imagine has a similar fiber content (i think), but is reallly itchy against skin (well to me) please tell me it’s soft, cushy and fabulous! 😀

  6. Anonymous says:

    Oh my goodness, all those magazines! I am so jealous.

    Alexandra
    http://artisokka.com/log

  7. Anonymous says:

    I just saw the infamous “wearable beer cans” post. Do they have the patterns in it? I’m a college student–I must have at least that purse! (Can I bribe you into violoating copyright laws and copying those patterns for me?) :)

    Amanda
    thedishclothqueen.typepad.com
    alimoges@usd.edu

  8. Thanks for all the great feedback! I’m glad there’s someone else out there who can appreciate my treasure.

    mayflwr, the Geisha yarn is fairly soft. Not like “Wow! That’s really soft!” soft. You can tell it’s got acrylic in there. It’s not scratchy, but if you’re sensitive, you might not like it. I haven’t felt Imagine, so I can’t compare.

    Amanda, I don’t know if I can share the pattern. I’m looking into it. I found a pattern for a similar hat online, try Googling “”Beer can hat” crochet”. I’ll let you know what I find out about sharing an out-of-print pattern.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Oh, my! I’ve got a slight tinge of green to my complexion here over those vintage VK mags! What a haul! Congrats! ~meg

  10. Anonymous says:

    sorry, I don’t have a blog yet, but just wanted to say that sometime in the middle 1960’s my best friend and I were obsessed with getting one of those darn monkeys, we went door to door offering to do any chore, vaccuuming, weeding, etc. Never got more that about $1.50. Still want that monkey.

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