Wireless Purgatory

Have I mentioned that I have a love/hate relationship with computers? I love what they can do and how much information I can find whenever I want to….night or day. But I hate when they are acting up. I do not know enough to fix problems I encounter and no one living in this house does either. Oh now, I have a couple over confident young people here who hover over me and say….”let me try something”. I may be wacky but I’m not certifiable yet and I’m not letting these folks mess around on my computer! They never even had a computer at their disposal until three years ago so there is NO WAY. I have to resort to getting in outside help when I have problems….my ever patient brother-in-law shows up here regularly. So, I have just escaped from Wireless Purgatory this past week. A new modem is installed, a new broadband wireless and (she says with her fingers firmly crossed) things are working OK so far.


Needless to say, I am now one week behind on getting the new shops up and going. Hopefully soon, you’ll be able to connect to my shop from the blog (like everyone else out there in blogger world) and shop some of my vintage and antique finds as well as some of my handmade goodies.

I have to tell you about my awesome find at a thrift store and offer some encouragement about persistence! I have been REALLY, REALLY wanting a nice dress form. Let alone the fact that I make clothing, they are such fantastic decorating additions to a studio, bedroom or even living room. My dream was to find the type with a wire cage at the bottom. When my SIL and I were in Northern Virginia for the DC Flea, we saw one in an antique store. Pretty beat up and with the cage quite rusted and partially broken…..$395….WHAT!! Are you kidding me? The market is hot for these right now which is why everyone is overcharging for them. After seeing that (the only time I had seen one in person) I thought it would never happen. Look what is in my studio as I write this……

Here is the story….
I am in a thrift store I had not been in before…it’s a big local chain benefiting a children’s hospital. I had to go across town to get a gathering foot for my sewing machine (a WONDERFUL invention BTW). Right next door was the thrift shop. I finished shopping, having found a twin size spool headboard and footboard (soon to become a cute bench) when I turned around to leave and saw the dress form. I caught my breath and thought OMG…..I don’t believe I’m seeing this. It was in perfect condition, except for the lavender paint. I asked the manager if she would sell me the dress form. “No, it just came in and we need it to hang clothes on.” She was pretty dismissive so I thought …OK, I need to get around this problem. I left and drove directly to another branch of the shop and asked for the name and number of the person who managed ALL the shops for the charity. As soon as I came home, I called. She was also pretty dismissive and said “those things are wotrth quite a lot….like a couple hundred dollars”. Now, mind you, the form wasn’t even for sale until I mentioned it and it had been donated to them to raise money for the charity. I know they are not allowed to take things and try to sell it outside the shop, like on Ebay or Etsy, so they were, in a sense, missing an opportunity to make some money. I didn’t say any of that, of course, I was just thinking it. I replied, “yes, I know they can be pricey but I am very interested. I make clothing and I really want one and would like to not have to pay full price online for a new one.” She said “well, I’ll have to check it out and see how much it’s worth. ” I gave her my name and all the phone numbers she could possibly need and hung up. I didn’t hear from her for about 5 days….I had given up and thought she had just blown me off. A few days ago someone called, asked for me and wanted to know if I was the one interested in the dress form. She then said the price was $159…….I told her that was a fair price and that I would come pick it up. I was SO excited! I also received a 20% discount offered on Thursdays for really old people….I qualified. So the final price was $133. I am so excited with my new purchase. I’m already working on some sweater coats…….

Wishing you all some good thrifting days!!!