rainbow afghan
September 30th, 2011
I have been dreaming about crocheting the kids some afghans for a while now (like this one and this one or this one). I knew I should have started in the summertime, but the thought of a big pile of yarn on my lap when it was 100 degrees out just made me gag. It’s cold and of course they need a warm blanket and now I want to make one, but at this point it will be done for next fall. Dammit. Old lady thrift store to the rescue!
Seriously, those old ladies are the bomb. It’s the only thrift store in town that hasn’t been hipsterfied. Things are a little smelly and odd, but they all are priced like second hand goods, not like it’s oooo vintage. This super amazing rainbow afghan was three bucks! But (big but) none of the end were woven in. Do you see all those color changes?!
How could I pass it up? I had been looking at this exact pattern to use for an afghan, because of this beautiful specimen. So last night, I happily sat on the couch with the afghan warm from the dryer and wove those 200 ends in. It’s like the satisfaction of finishing a huge project without having to actually do the huge project. Thank you whoever made this gorgeous afghan and abandoned it almost done!
p.s. see that little bit of a map up there? the room is (still) slowly coming together–might even get done.
Great purchase! I have a afghan waiting to be finished because I couldn’t bring myself to be under it all Summer.
Which thrift store do you like? I live in the cities as well and always love to find new places to thrift (I am a fan of ARC!).
That’s really beautiful and thank goodness there are still old lady thrift stores around.
What a find! It’s gorgeous!
Pretty!
I’ve got my own old ladies (Mom and Mother-in-law) who keep me in afghans up to my eyeballs. I wouldn’t mind so much if they were all this nice looking.
It is lovely. I always see handmade throws but I have not picked one up yet. I’m sure one day the perfect one will just be calling my name.
You have great thrifting skills Meg.
oh my cuteness, it looks fabulous and doesn’t seem very pill-y either – hooray!
Yah!!!!! That is so beautiful. Congratulations on the super thrift score. Old ladies do rock.
Oh this is so beautiful! I think I need to make one of these. It would use up a lot of scraps… hmm
You are in Madison, yes? I’m dying to know which old lady thrift store you like. I
‘ve found really cool stuff for really, really cheap at Collector’s Corner resale in Middleton (a Hadassah run store, I think). Occasionally there’s cool stuff at the Hospice Care store, but it’s usually priced waaaaaaaay too high. Although, the two leather Coach bags I’ve gotten there for $6 and $12 kind of make up for the usual over-pricedness.
Have you been to the new Vinnie’s in Verona yet? I found a couple of great things there last weekend.
I never really thrift store shopped until I became a single mom and really HAD to. I am so very in love with it now. Luckily the ‘hipster vintage’ trend hasn’t really hit here too much. My local SallyAnn was just reno’ed and it is fab! The staff is super nice and helpful, and I love getting the ‘pricey’ clothes for my son (babyGap and the like) for a dollar or two, some of it still with tags on! That afghan is gorgeous! I’ve had some great luck with handmade sweaters and hats/mittens for my son (I can crochet, but even knitting a pair of mittens would take me forever!) My fave finds so far have been a huge bead maze (the $80 wood/metal kind) for $4, a collapsible Radio Flyer tricycle in pristine condition for $5 and a plethora of dancing/flipping/bouncing Tiggers for $2 each to feed his Tigger obsession. Also recently found an entire set (34 books) of paperbacks by my favorite author for $1 each. So I bought them all. Thrifting is the best.
What a great find!!
Wow! Amazing score! And you still had a hand in it. Weaving in is such a chore!
Gorgeously cool – what an awesome find.