Hi Ho, Hi Ho, a Thrifting I Will Go!

Because reenacting can be (ummm, IS) a very expensive hobby, I spend a great deal of time trying to be thrifty and creative to improvise and recreate as much as I can.  I am an omnivorous thrifter - I look for soft items such as clothing that I can use as is, primarily gloves, or cut up for the fabric and for hard items such as boxes and kitchen items.  Thrifting is a game of patience and skill.  Sometimes I leave stores empty handed and sometimes, like this last trip, I leave overflowing!  You need a trained eye to know what to look for so you can recognize appropriate materials and shapes.

My shopping trip yesterday resulted in an impressive haul.  First was this 2-qt salt-glazed crock.  Antique crocks are available at times, but the glazes you have to be careful with the glazes to be sure there is no lead.   The glaze can be tested with a lead-testing kit from the hardware store, but that's a different story.  In many cases, it's easier and safer to use a modern crock.

The crock has a Thanksgiving theme painted on it by the manufacturer.  A quick discreet check showed that the decorations were not under the glaze and so were removable.  I spent last night scraping and cleaning and wound up with a plain crock, totally usable for my Civil War kitchen foodstuffs.


Next was a large roll of heavy weight blue and white ticking.  Utility fabrics have gone up in price substantially in recent years, so I was happy to find it.  The width on this roll was the full 58", making is useful for a number of applications.  High on the list of possibilities is a new mattress ticking for my bed.

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