R.I.P

Today I made a quick stop in the Goodwill to hunt for Pyrex, and I found a couple good Spring Blossom pieces (this seems to be the most common pattern around here, anyone else feel this way?) and just before I was about to leave, I spotted a Cinderella shaped bowl through the shelving, on the other side of the aisle I was in! Of course, I hightailed it over to the next aisle and picked up the piece... but what I saw shocked me!

It was a small, white bowl and at first I thought it was just a plain Pyrex piece - and then I saw the flecks of blue. And suddenly I realized, to my great horror, this bowl was a Butterprint! I could make out the Amish man's hat, the rooster's tail feathers...

It was such a sad, sad sight! The pattern was almost completely demolished by Pyrex-abuse, a crime most offensive to me. How could this happen to such a beautiful print? It's been so hard to find any Butterprint around here, all I have so far are a couple fridgies. It broke my heart to see the bowl this way. R.I.P, little Butterprint bowl.

But, wait, it gets worse. LOOK at the price that Goodwill had the GALL to put on this bowl:

$6.99?!?!

I was absolutely horrified (again).
It was truly a sad day for Pyrex collectors everywhere.

(Please observe a moment of silence.)

Spending a Birthday Searching for Pyrex

and not even my birthday.

All our thrift stores nearby have caught on and are pricing Pyrex way TOO HIGH! We don't have 50% off Goodwill days either. And the gas prices don't make it easy to randomly search for far away stores.

Over the weekend, my hubby graciously agreed to spend his birthday at an auction just for Pyrex. Yes, he's a keeper. I went home with almost everything. I spent a little too much on some pieces and got some great deals on others. I hate to let some Butterfly Gold pieces go to a higher bidder. I was sad to let it go but I know I will have another chance.

I got 3 sets of nested bowls and more. I even got my divided Barbed Wire dish! This one has been high on my list. I also won the Golden Grapes dip bowl to go with the chip bowl I got two weeks ago. I love when things come together. Don't worry, we celebrated my hubby's birthday the next day.

Check out my wins!

Butterfly Gold Gravy Boat

My good friends of the record blog Vinyl Whores have finally decided to take the plunge and start collecting Pyrex. While we were at Brimfield there were a couple of Pyrex vendors so they were able to have a good look at a lot of patterns in one place. They settled on Butterfly Gold, an excellent choice. Lo and behold the next day at a Goodwill in Hyannis they found a set of three casseroles with the lids. Done and done!

Now I get to live vicariously by helping them with their hunt. Just as they would hunt for Spring Blossom for me. This weekend I found the gravy boat at our local Teen Challenge:

At first it was just the boat and I looked high and low for the saucer. No luck, so I went and looked at other things. I find when you're really trying to find a piece in a thrift it's best to just leave, look at something else entirely, then come back with fresh eyes. (It is very easy to get googly eyed in a thrift store.)  Sure enough in the corner of the shelves, on the bottom, on top of some random platters was the saucer. Oh and did I mention there was no price on either? I took them up to the register and they sold them to me for $3. 

Be sure to swing by my blog Vintage Spinster today. I have a DIY Tutorial about getting the baked-on grime off of this Golden Acorn casserole.

Using Pyrex makes me feel like a Domestic Goddess!

There's something magical about vintage Pyrex...in all other aspects of home decor, I prefer sleek and stylish items - but when it comes to kitchenware, I can't resist accumulating and using coloured pyrex. They remind me of comfort food - so homey and satisfying. You feel cheerful as you prepare meals in them - and they can take rough use and keep on ticking!
Here's my closet full of pyrex (most of my collection is pictured here)
I have a weakness for the mixing bowls - especially the 401 and 402 sizes. The 401 is perfect for making ramen or porridge in the microwave (deep enough not to spill over), while the 402 works great for salad.
Ultimately, I'd like to focus on collecting only blue and pink pyrex, but I still find it hard to leave any pretty pyrex behind - I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way! I'm glad to have joined this group - I'm hoping it will help me focus my collection.

Green Casserole

I only found one piece of Pyrex this week but it was a casserole I have been looking for. I paid $8 for it at a flea market but I haven't seen one around here so I was still pleased with that price.

Check out my blog to read more about this and other great vintage finds.

Hello, Pyrex Collective

Hello, Pyrex Collective!

I'm new to posting here, but I've been collecting Pyrex for nearly 10 years now. However, I clearly collect at a MUCH slower rate than some of you, judging by the pictures and posts.

I love the colors and patterns of vintage Pyrex- it seems very optimistic to me. It brings a sense of care and importance to the food that is prepared in it. But I also love collecting vintage Pyrex for all of the adventures it's led me to (roadtrips!) and some of the interesting people I've met. Most of the pieces I have, have a good story behind them.

To start with, meet my Spring Blossom Green Cinderella Bowls:
The 442 is the bowl that started it all for me. I had just graduated from graduate school and moved to northern Virginia with a Toyota Tercel full of all my worldly possessions. If any of you have owned a Tercel, you know this means I didn't have much- it's a small car. So when I moved into my shared townhouse, I needed a lot of household items.

I did as I had done in graduate school and headed to the local Goodwill to pick out some plates, silverware, and assorted small furniture items. And right there, in the housewares section, sat the Spring Blossom Green 442. For $3 it came home with me and initially held fruit, but soon became my go-to kitchen bowl.

Shortly after that, I found some Butterprint fridgies, and it's been all downhill since then! It took several years to complete the set of Spring Blossom Green- the 443 and 444 were found together at a local thrift store a few years ago, and the 441 was found in a off-the-beaten-path antiques market over Valentine's Day weekend this year (Pyrex hunting roadtrip= the ultimate in romantic weekends!!).

The haul from our Valentine's Day weekend roadtrip. Unfortunately, I broke the carafe while washing when we got home.

More stories and pictures to come- I'm looking forward to sharing Pyrex adventures with ya'll!

Laura

Delphite Pyrex Platter

I haven't been able to go serious thrifting for a few months, but we stopped in to Value Village a few days ago. Oh course I had to see if there was any Pyrex to be found.

I just found this delphite blue Pyrex platter for $2. :D It'll be the second one for me, but I think a pair will be great for entertaining.

I used it as a prop for my jewelry photos, I love the blue colour so much. I've left it on the mantle, not in the basket anymore though.

Other Pyrex Goodies

I also picked up these Pyrex items this past week.

Two Federal Eagle mugs .50 cents each, one Summer Impressions mug .50 cents, a pristine Spring Blossoms I fridgie, complete with lid, for $1.00 and a Butterprint bowl, no lid, for $1.50.

All at the Goodwill, NO 50% sale.  I've had some really good luck at the Goodwill stores lately.

My 1st Pyrex Post

Hello fellow Pyrex hoarders collectors!  This is my very first post on the Pyrex Collective II.  I'm excited to share some Pyrex purchases I made yesterday and today.

I picked up this orange lidless fridgie and the woodland squat pitcher for .50 cents each, at our local Goodwill store.  But wait. . . it was 50% off glassware, so finale cost was .50 cents TOTAL!

Here's another 50% off Goodwill purchase.  A small Shenandoah bowl for $2.00 and a medium Shenandoah bowl for $3.00.  After the 50% discount, my total was $2.50 for the pair!

Another Goodwill purchase on 50% off glassware.  This lovely divided golden acorn dish w/ lid, was marked $1.50.  After the discount, my total was $.75 cents.  Can you believe that?!?!

It was in REALLY great shape, too!  For .75 cents!!!!!

I picked up this old orchard casserole dish, minus the lid, for $6.50 at The Salvation Army.  I saw one listed on eBay, with the lid, for $39.95.  I think I did good and will hunt down the lid for it.

It had NO damage and was in perfect condition.  I love it.

This is my favorite Pyrex score of the week, though.  A set of Homestead bowls with their lids, purchased at a garage sale for just $5.00!!!!

In my excitement, I didn't realize the medium bowl handle had a pretty nasty chip in it.  I'll have to find another, without a chip, to replace it.  But I was still REALLY excited about the price for this set.

Well, that does it for my very first Pyrex Collective II post.

I can't wait to hit some more garage sales and Goodwills in search of good deals on great Pyrex!

this past weekend's pyrex finds.

I had an awesome, thrifty weekend.

I got this set for THREE DOLLARS!

YES!

snowflake space saver 2 quart casserole for $8

butterprint fridgie for $5.

I hope the good luck lasts, I'm hitting up a new (to me) flea market this Saturday :)

To see the other things I found, check out my blog post, here.

Find anything good lately?

~tam

I needed the red mixing bowl to complete my set and finally came across one today at an antique shop.  It's not perfect, but I went ahead and paid twelve dollars for it.  I think it was a fair price.  The blue I found at my neighborhood Goodwill here in Portland, OR for four dollars, and the green I found at a Goodwill in Miami, FL also for four dollars.  The yellow belonged to my grandmother, and I had it for a few years before I started collecting Pyrex.  My dad let me keep it when we cleaned out her kitchen, along with her vintage kitchen utensils.  It's the one bowl that always makes me smile when I use it.

Cradle for Pennies

I was at my local Goodwill by the pound last week, where I saw this lurking under a pile of stuff:

A cradle! It's missing a handle cover, but considering I probably paid less than $1-who cares?  Check out the detail on the band:

It holds the 2.5 qt casserole, here it is with my Verde:

I couldn't find this particular shape in the Pyrex guides. I wonder which pattern it belongs to? Any ideas?

monogirl at Vintage Spinster

It's a Pyrex kind of Week

Last week was a Pyrex kind of week for me at the thrifts. I didn't find anything absolutely fabulously but I did find some good things at good prices.

I got this great Americana divided dish for $2.00 at the Rescue Mission.

Bottom Butterfly Gold small casserole for 1.99 at Salvation Army.

402 Bowl was .55 at GW (sometimes there bowls are as high as $10.01) so this was a steal. 

These mugs are my favorite find of the weekend. I only needed 1 for my purposes but the man selling them would only sell the 4 for 1 price. If anyone wants the others let me know. Seller said he had plates somewhere so I may check the flea market again next Saturday since he's always set up there.

I blogged about these finds and others here.

I've Caught Pyrex Fever!

 Yet another newbie signing in to report another case of Pyrex Fever. Above you see my collection, so far... and I've only been collecting for 1 month! If Pyrex Fever doesn't cool down a bit, I can't imagine how I'll manage all the Pyrex a year from now...

 I've found all the Pyrex I own so far at thrift stores, mostly Goodwill. I've been obsessed, checking the shops almost every other day!

 Some need some cleaning up, like the Snowflake dish above...

 but some pieces I find in great condition!

 I found the above green Spring Blossoms bowl I found at Goodwill, and I found the white Spring Blossom bowl about 30 minutes later at Savers!

My husband thinks I'm crazy, but I just can't resist the vintage charm any longer! More pictures at my blog, and you should check out some of the amazing Pyrex collections on Pinterest. (Or not, that's how I caught Pyrex Fever!)

Pyrex spotting at the movies

Just a very quick note that if you're planning to see the movie The Bridesmaids, keep an eye out for Pyrex and jadeite Fire King. I saw it last night (it's really funny, by the way) and was so happy to see a few vintage pieces make their cameo appearances. Enjoy!

Family Shopping Spree

My family was gracious enough to spend a whole weekend shopping for Pyrex. I am so happy with my finds but I forgot to post two of my favorite pieces. More photos at my blog.

First Daisy Pattern

First Friendship Pattern

Now, the real challenge is not buying up everything I see. I get so excited when I find a piece of Pyrex but my short window of collecting might lead into hoarding. : )

When does "collecting" become "hoarding"?

Recently I've been a bit lazy about posting here but I enjoy seeing everyone's finds so much I want to get back into the sharing action.  Here are my finds this month.

From the thrifts:

Estate sales:

Antique Malls:

Church rummage sales:

A fellow collector who was downsizing (something I may need to considering doing...):

And a Pyrex friend who I've been swapping with:

I gifted that same friend a golden acorn and a pink daisy spacesaver that she wanted.  Does that move me away from the hoarding end of the spectrum just slightly?  ;)

I know I've been acquiring quite a bit (which I am very thankful for) but I feel a strong urge to keep looking for more, especially for turquoise pieces (I don't have a single solid turqoise piece!). 

My hubby is starting to become less supportive of this habit...maybe I need to join a 12 step program for Pyrexia...lol

Lucky Thrifter