Friendship Find!

There are certain Pyrex patterns that I just never see "in the wild". I have been seriously collecting Pyrex now for over two years and have never seen a single piece of Friendship in thrift stores or even local antique stores. I don't know if it just wasn't popular when it came out around here or if people seem to hold on to it and not donate it (more likely!), but I have never seen any of it. Until yesterday, that is!

I usually stop in to a certain thrift store on my way to work Monday afternoons, and yesterday was in a bit of a rush. I had only enough time to a) stop and get a cup of coffee or b) pop into the thrift store really quickly, but not both. I chose option b, and made the right decision. 

I walked in to the housewares section of the store (it is really small, so you only have to stand in one place and look around to see everything) and my "Pyrex radar" started going off. Anyone else have that happen? You know there is Pyrex there, but don't immediately see it- kind of weird but cool... anyway, there was one other person in there, a twenty-something guy who was looking intently at the electronics. I looked at all the dishes and places where normally you would expect to find Pyrex, but saw nothing except clear pieces. 

Finally, the guy moved, and there on the shelf was a giant red bowl. And inside were two more- I knew what it was, and I had found my Friendship at last!

The Cinderella set, minus the 441, and in great condition!

The only bad thing was the price- it didn't come cheap. I paid $20.50 for the three (why do they always add that extra .50?) which I know is high for a thrift store, but it is three bowls and this pattern is never cheap online either. It was a fair price, I suppose, and I certainly don't regret bringing them home. The red is so vibrant, and I love the yellow too. I can see why these are hard to come by in the thrifts!

Pink Pyrex!

Another set completed!

Yes, it's true- I've been on a Pyrex spree lately. Not only did I just complete my Butterpripnt fridgie set after at least 2 years of looking, I finally completed my pink fridgie set.

I've only been working on this one since last fall though. I found the first one, the 502, in an auction box lot for $1 or 2. Then I found the 503 on eBay for a good price- think it was 9.99 plus shipping. Last week I got the 2 501s on eBay to finish the set. They were a bit more ($28 BIN with free shipping) but still a fair price and included the lids. They are absolutely mint, and I'm glad I scooped them up. I know it's almost like cheating to buy them online, but I don't think I'll ever find the whole set in the wild!

Completing the set for less than $50 is a good deal, I think. Now I need to focus on completing my turquoise set. I thrifted the 503 last fall for $5, and I am going to really try to find the rest in the wild or at least through trades.

Finally, an estate sale worth writing about!

So, it's blisteringly hot around here. I can't remember the last day it was under 100. Perfect estate and yard sale weather! NOT!

But I had a real hankering to find a bargain, and lately the thrifts have been an unqualified bust. And yard sales haven't been much better. But I decided to head out anyway and I'm glad I did!

I found one estate sale advertised about 15 miles from me in an area I haven't been to much. And the ad mentioned Pyrex, so I was definitely going to check it out. As the thermometer reached into the high 90s by 10, I packed the kids into the car and hoped our A/C was working! (It was.)

It was a pleasant and easy drive, and when we got to the sale I was shocked to find that we were the only ones there. With the kids, I don't usually have the ability to get to estate sales early, and I definitely don't want to fight the crowds with them in tow, so I always wait until after the early rush. I'm not sure there was any rush at all with this sale- it seemed like we were the only folks who even knew about it, even though it was well-advertised. I guess the heat was a factor, but it didn't bother us.

First thing I headed for was the Pyrex! I bought the Golden Pine Space Saver, with lid and cradle for $10. I have a rule to just buy any Space Saver I see, especially if it has the lid, and this is a nice one. I can't wait to get out all my Christmas Pyrex and put this one on display! The Pink Daisy 043 is my favorite size Pyrex and I love using them, but this one is so nice I might never use it. The Butterprint 472 casserole is my first of the 470 series. Didn't I just mention in my last post that I needed that, and lo and behold... 

She also had the 471 and 473, but had them marked as a set for $25. That's too steep for me- why this one was priced at only $6 I don't understand, but it's mine. (I would hazard a guess that the lady was looking up prices on the internet and found turquoise Pyrex goes for more; apparently she didn't get to the part where the turq. on white Butterprint goes with the others...) I also left behind a Golden Tulip promo with lid and cradle for $20 and a set of primary bowls (minus the green) for $20. I didn't love the tulip and have an unnumbered primary set, so at those prices they're not a bargain for me.

The rest of the stuff was awesome and great prices: 

These HoJo motel glasses were 25 cents each. If my kids were older I would put these out in my bathroom as everyday drinking glasses ;)

This chalkware planter is huge and also only 25 cents. I know it will sell fast in my booth, and at almost 100% profit. Whooo doesn't love owls! (sorry!)

This quirky Christmas centerpiece was also only 25 cents. Not my style, but again, someone will love it.

These vintage Halloween treat bags were in the FREE pile! There are 25 of them- totally headed to Etsy.

My son took some of his own money and bought this souvenir desk set for $4. He is going to resell it in my Etsy store, so watch for it! He's got a great eye and is very motivated to make some money reselling- I might have some competition in a couple of years if I train him right! I love the Marlin graphics on the flip calendar and the tiny seashells- he picked a great piece.

Vintage wrapping paper for 25 cents a roll. Every time I find some it sells fast.

This lamp was so cool and only $5. The base is handmade but the shade is killer.

And this last find was pure serendipity. For the last few days I had been thinking I should have a mug tree to display some of my vintage mugs near my coffee maker. I hadn't even had time to go out and hunt for it or search Etsy, and one literally fell into my lap. When I asked the guy in the garage of the sale how much he wanted for it, he just gave it to me- said he already rescued it from the trash pile and just wanted someone to have it. It has great patina and I love the orange color. Perfect, and perfect price!

Sets Completed! Time for a Family Photo

Hello, Friends! Summer is half over, can you believe it? I have been busy on facebook lately, trading and talking about Pyrex. (Remember when I said I didn't want to collect the stuff? Well, we are way past that point now... :) 

I have been culling my collection a bit, and trading away those pieces that don't fit in my scope. I have traded some good pieces for other good pieces- if both parties are happy, that is a good thing. I finally got my Butterprint 443 (turquoise on white mixing bowl) to complete that Cinderella set on the left. I also got the last small 501 fridgie (with lid!) to complete the refrigerator dish set. All the rest of those pieces were thrifted and I have been working on completing them for almost 2 years. Finally finishing them is a good feeling, and so it was time for a family photo! 

I still need 2 more regular mixing bowls to complete the set on the right, as well as all the lidded casseroles in the Butterprint pattern and I will have them all. So far the only ebay purchase was the butter dish, but I'm glad I bought that. The tea towel is an Etsy item, and worth buying if you collect Pyrex! 

I also bought these Delphite items recently. I can't get enough of the blue milk glass and have never seen it in the wild, so they were ebay purchases. But I think I got a good deal on them, so I'm happy. The casserole is called "Gourmet" and is actually white glaze/gold leaf over blue glass. It didn't come with the lid or cradle/warming stand, but I think I can find those easily enough. I love the look of these, especially with my most recent thrifted vintage tablecloth ($5 at SA!)

Stay tuned, I have more Pyrex on the way!

SusieQT collects: Pyrex!

Due to a special request from Shannon after my last post on Fire King, I am going to show you (almost!) my entire Pyrex collection. If you have been a blog reader for a while, you may recall similar posts, but my collection keeps growing and there are many new pieces here. And yes, I did not realize how many pieces I really have until I got out the camera and started taking pictures. Some I have on display all the time, but a lot is tucked away either for special occasions or daily use.

For the most part I try to stick to pink, turquoise, and black patterns, along with primary and assorted holiday patterns/rareties. I have thrifted almost all of them, because I am so cheap. ;) I rarely buy on ebay and have made just two trades on facebook.

So, let the eye candy begin:

My fridgies, space savers (middle shelf on the left) and assorted bowls and bakeware. Most of these are for display only, although I do on occasion use the flamingo 933 lasagna pan, the lime square baker and the small fridgies. (Two of them are on the job right now in my fridge.) I have also used my starburst space saver, but as the value of that has skyrocketed, I think it will stay safely in the cabinet from now on.

Interestingly, that piece (for many, the holy grail of Pyrex) was my first ever piece of patterned Pyrex. I bought it for a couple of dollars at a thrift store about 10 years ago before I ever thought of collecting the stuff. I just bought it because it was "atomic" looking and was cool. Good thing I scooped it up way back then!

All of these are thrifted except the pink 503 large fridgie and charcoal snowflake space saver, which were ebay purchases.

Stay tuned, I'll break the bowls up on the lower right for their own photo in a sec.

The middle shelf holds my divided dishes (a little wonky- I need to brace them a bit!) and a snowflake 045 casserole and my lone piece of orange Butterprint. There are also a couple of Pyrex mugs on the bottom right- 4 Holiday, and one Federal Eagle. (Not pictured are a couple of Butterfly Gold & Spring Blossom mugs in the cabinet which I use for my coffee.) All thrifted except the turquoise on white snowflake divided dish which was a facebook trade.

These are the mixing bowls from the first picture. I have partial sets of the Cinderella Butterprint bowls (need only the white 443) and mixing bowls (need 404 and 401). The delphite Bluebelle bowls (401 and 402 only) were ebay buys, while everything else (including yellow New Dots) was thrifted. I'm working on completing the sets, but prefer to thrift or trade and not succumb to the ebay monster!

These are part of my holiday display right now- the red and blue Pixies (mini casseroles) and cheese dome are Pyrex. The triangular casserole is not Pyrex, but awesome nonetheless!

My butter dishes- trying to accumulate all of them, but its slow going. (The Butterprint at top was an ebay buy.)

Holiday Pyrex- Christmas promo and Autumn Harvest for fall. It was not until I dragged these out to photograph that I realized how similar the patterns are, even though they are 20+ years apart in manufacture date.

Some of the bakeware I don't have room to display and use more often- the yellow 043 casserole I believe to be part of the solid yellow set, and is extremely rare. The Spring Blossom 045 and flamingo 024 I use quite a bit.

And finally my mixing bowls. The primary set is un-numbered on the bottom and is what started me on my way to "officially" collecting Pyrex. The opal set (with a Spring Blosson 402 thrown in to complete it) is a fairly recent purchase and still has remnants of the gold band around the rim. 

Whew! that was more work that I anticipated- I have a lot of Pyrex! How about you? If you have a collection, post a link in the comments so we can all see!