Hi,

Today is the first day of Spring 2010 awesome! The sun was shining and I took a walk 1 1/2 miles total. Was nice to get outside and walk the dog.

I was just wondering who likes to go to rummage sales, flea markets, antique stores or thrift stores?

What particular things are you looking for? This should be fun to see what we all like to shop for.

A few weeks ago I stopped at a Goodwill store and found a quilt book for 69 cents! Was a bargain! I was so happy! I love looking for old craft books, quilt books and cookbooks. You never know what you will find and just cool to search search search and find a cool bargain.

I love flea markets, garage sales, auctions and thrift stores. I always look for fabric , quilts and blocks of course, but i also collect tea pots, angels, and glass paper weights, i am getting pretty picky now tho, i have so many lol. they sure are fun. Dh loves going to so it is something we can do together.

The first thing I look for is glass that would be good for 'make your own' candles...a fun booth at the faire where you layer colored wax flakes like you would do sand art...but it has a wick and can be burned if you want to.

One yard sale I even found some of the flake wax and a bunch of votive molds that somebody had bought and then decided making candles was too much trouble. My daughter works for a candlemaker so the votive cups came in handy for her.

Then I look for fabric, yarn, notions, sci-fi books, things that would work for costuming for faire (Renaissance Festival), kids clothes, and anything else that catches my eye...lol!

Hi,

I see you go to renaissance festivals. Do you spin or weave?

Karen

I am very much a fan of thrift stores, yard sales and flea markets. My latest best buy was a large zip bag of fabric for $8.99 at Goodwill. I am talking large as in a comforter set size, 98% of bag was cotton.

Wow, what a great find for you!

Karen

Quilters link... we have a couple things in common. We both collect paperweights, and my birthday is the day after yours.

I am anxiously awaiting garage sale season, auctions, and flea markets. I just love the hunt! And I seem to have so many things that I collect. I have bought and sold antiques since 1993, so I have alot of neat things. I am really downsizing now though. Just keeping the things I like the very best.
During the winter, I hit the Goodwill as much as possible.
Find some great fabric there.
Looking forward to warm spring weather!!!!!!!

We love garage sales!!!!!! :thumbup:

I love them all and then you throw in a few estate sales and I am in heaven!! Some of my best machines came from estate sales! :-D :-D

Billy

My best buy from a garage sale was a sterling silver flatware set for 12 for $20.00. The lady no longer wanted it because it was her mother's "old silver." I looked on Ebay and others went for close to a $1,000.00.
I generally buy books and stuff for the gradsons, fabric, clothes, old linens. My favorite buy was old hand made underwear, a petticoat, bloomers, bed jacket and a bra like top. Handmade lace with tulle and silk. It must have been from the late 1800s to early 1900s. The work in these pieces was just stunning.

I adore this kind of shopping. I look for Boston Terrier and Fox Terrier items and vintage kitchen stuff (any era, but especially 50s). I used to collect figural salt and pepper shakers - had over 600 sets. One day I realized that I hardly ever looked at them or added to the collection. I sold them all on ebay.

I also love to cruise yard sales and goodwill. My favorite cabinet sewing machine (Mid 60's singer) was $17. at goodwill, I've probable made 20-30 quilts on it, and its still going strong.

I love going to flea markets and have just begun going to the thrift stores. I very seldom go to garage sales, don't really know why. I used to collect depression glass but now I only look for specific things as I have way more than I need now. I have given some of them away to friends. My depression glass hunt started with my mom giving me a bowl that was my grandmothers.
I also love going to antique places, I am looking for certain pieces that I want to get to replace my end tables, I have already replaced my coffee table with an antique piece. I want to get an antique bedroom set to use in my spare room. I love the hunt.

i had a huge collection of paperweights, sold them all, then regretted it, so i am starting again,lol. yes love the thrift sales too, tho not much fabric at our stores. Can't wait for spring either.

Me, me, me...I love, flea markets, garage sales, yard sale, any antique shop, or thrift shop. You just never know what kind of treasure you might find. We have two different highway yard sale events that go on around here for miles and miles. When these are held my DH and I load up the cooler and start out early and stay late. I can't wait for summer 8-)

MissM are you in the area of "The Longest Yardsale? My daughter and I want to go to that one year.

Oh I want to go to that myself. Remember the show "Junkin" I think it was on DIY channel or something like that. They went and I could not believe all of the cool thins they found and then they would list the items on eBay and you had a chance at buying them.

Billy

Now they have Pickers on A&E

I am seldom found in shopping malls or city streets...give me a stool or a patch of floor in a thrift store or an auction room and I will spend hours rummaging through boxes finding treasure! I am an avid collector of fabric, interesting items, vintage clothes and odd bits of furniture....fortunately so is my husband! Our home (rambling, unique reno in progress) attests to this. We are supposed to be thinking of downsizing, but I really can't see how on earth we will do it. I am so glad I have found kindred spirits here. Wonder if any of us are minimalists????

ALL of the above!!
My best quilting deal so far, at a yard sale, was a huge box of fabrics for $10.00. Got it home and checked out my goodies, and there was a total of 130 yards of cottons, some fit for quilting, some for other projects.
Last year, at a yard sale, I got a beautiful full sized hand pieced and appliqued vintage quilt top, done from flour sack type Depression Era cotton prints for $5.00.
So many people don't appreciate the work their grandmothers or great-aunts put in on crocheted or hand made things. Since they were all made with love, when they go home with me, that is what they get.

Wow, lots of good finds you have found! This is awesome! When you find cool things at the sales, post a note here to let us know what you found on your treasure hunts!

We love pictures for show and tell!

I love all the above. I can't wait for the garage sales to start. I love looking for anything especially sewing items,books to read, storage containers (which I definitely have to sneak in the house) & scrapbooking items. I've been volunteering at our women's Y shelter & I have found many household items, for 25 cents or a little more, that I give to them for when the women are able to move out & be on their own. My friend & I have been volunteering there for over a year now so we know a lot of their needs so I'm always on the lookout for good finds. I told the staff that instead of donating money to them that I would rather do this instead.

I am a yard sale junkie. I have found whole bolts of cloth and many quilt books and craft books. I even got 2 rolls of fabric of over 50 yards each. One for $5 and the other for for $10.
So many people start hobbys and get tired of them and wind up putting them in yard sales or giving them to thrift shops abd you can get them for nearly nothing.Estate sales are another good place to find real bargains.

I LOVE Yard Sales, flea markets too but there aren't any very close to here. There are lots of yard sales and a couple of thrift stores.
OH the treasures I have found LOL.

I love them all and usually look for quilty/sewing things. Last find at flea market was pattern weights. 11 total for $2. Have found a lot of fabric and several quilt racks at Goodwill.

I love all the above. DH used to go to yard sales every weekend and we just about ran out of space. He's slowed down a little. I like antique and thrift stores the best. I bought a very large bolt of a brown plaid for $5 one time. I am still using that fabric. Comes in handy for the backing. DH bought a white FW at a yard sale for $75. they thought it was a childs machine.

Oh I keep my eye open for whatever the universe throws at me! fabric, quilt tops, even quilts that've been really 'loved' have some parts that are salvegable; furniture, clothing. I don't usually look for chatskis... I hate to dust, almost anything else is fair game!

Dust, yuk, I hate to dust and am ready to get rid of all my chatskis.

:-) I love them all and will buy anything that is reasonable. My lbiggest find was at a yard sale a featherwight for 10.00, took it to have it serviced and was offered 1,000 for it. I know I don't have to tell you what I did. Flea markets, Goodwills are great also. I have found when I go not to have anything special in mind and that is when I find good things. :thumbup:

My biggest find at a garage sale was my 1932 Ford Roadster. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I was asking if they had any tools and the lady saw my 1951 Ford and she told me she had an old car that she needed to get out of her garage. I looked and it was in pieces, but all there! I asked her how much she wanted for it and she asked if $500 was too much. I could not get my wallet out fast enough!!

Billy

I want a roadster!

LOVE THEM ALL. I look for clothing for my daughter, purses, computer games, DS games, books for the church library, anything that has to do with quilting, and things that are eclectic---I really like having things in my home that you don't normally see--unique lamps, plant stands, knick knacks, etc. I also like and collect Foo Dogs--the Chinese Dragon Dogs. I don't have many but I really like them. A lot of my friends know that I garage sale constantly so they give me lists of things they're looking for and what they're willing to pay. I take a notebook with sizes, measurements, etc. with me and ALWAYS at tape measure. I've been known to come home, unload a Jeep full and go back to some city wide garage sales, sometimes a couple of times. Some of my best purchases?
A $2 vacuum cleaner that worked great and lasted 3yrs.
A $15 Brothers sewing machine (new) that I used for years
134 yds of cotton fabric just a couple of weeks ago. 50 cents a piece (no matter the yardage) or 3 for a dollar
a tiny refridgerator for my sewing room for $10
Even though I don't wear jewelry I bought an antique Zuni silver, turquois, mother of pearl, and onyx ring for only $15 I walked around the corner down another aisle at the flea market and a man of American Indian heritage offered my $200 for it.

DH and I love going to flea markets, garage and yard sales. We don't usually set our minds on anything just something that says "take me home."

My problem is to many things cry out to me so I have to have my own garage sale about once a year.

I know that's true!!!LOL

I use to like going to them to search for MY brand of treasures - but now, I am older and am looking to sell all that I have accumulated!
Have you ever watched "American Pickers"? LOVE that! 2 guys from Iowa searching the midwest for "treasures" in old barns., etc

That would be my dream job! ;-)

I have a community thrift about five miles away that usually has good lengths of fabric. I also like to look for sewing/quilting books and I have a couple of favorite authors I collect.

I look for fabric of course, clothes for grandkids, hardback danielle steele books. My mom and I collect the books.