Thrift Score, Heath Ceramics Style

This morning I was late for work, but I figured I'd take a quick run through the thrift store and see if I found anything interesting. I spotted a huge casserole with no lid, and when I turned it over....Heath Ceramics! And a few feet away was a smaller Heath dish.


11 inch casserole!


See the cute fin-shaped handle? I think this piece is called a small or personal casserole, and it is probably missing a lid, but it's still cute and functional without one.



Over in the plate aisle I found three colors of plates in three sizes, and wait, that's the large casserole lid! But there must be some cups...and yes, two cups! I actually stopped back by the store a couple of hours later and found two more cups, but one was cracked so I just bought one more and called it a day, and at 24 pieces for $31!



A bunch of the plates are unmarked, but it's definitely all Heath. I think this glaze is called Sand, similar to the Sand & Sea glaze, but without the dark edge. This is my second big Heath score from the thrift store.

Thrift Score Heath Edition

The other day I was at the thrift store and I spotted a little cup and saucer and thought, wow, that's exciting, to find a Heath cup! I turned around and there was a small casserole with lid. I went to the next row and found a few more items. Pretty soon I had a nice little stack of dishes for $25, which is less than the cost of one new Heath plate. Very awesome! I already have a few Heath pieces and I am thrilled to expand my little collection.



And a few days earlier I went by an estate sale and saw a box of vintage sewing patterns with a $1 price tag. I wasn't sure if that was the price for each, but it turned out to be $1 for the full box of patterns, score!

How Many Machines Make a Collection?

I picked up another sewing machine at the thrift store. I saw it and didn't buy it. I pondered it for three days, and then I went back and bought it. It's a Singer 301. 301 A actually, though as far as I can tell the letter A just designates the factory that produced this machine, as there is no difference between this and regular 301 models.

This machine is circa 1951. It's a slant shank, meaning the presser foot is at an angle, which also means that the feet are not interchangeable with my other machines. It is referred to as the "big sister to the Featherweight" because it's lightweight (16 pounds) but full sized, it uses the same bobbins as the Featherweight, and it produces nice straight stitches and only straight stitches. Unlike the featherweight it has an enclosed motor and it's gear driven (no belt.) The folding extension comes in a short or a long length, and mine is a longbed model.

Considering I managed to take 3 machines out of action in the past month it was easy to justify a spare machine (or four!)







And actually, I got one machine working again the other night. I managed to disassemble the bobbin base on my Featherweight with a tiny screwdriver and dislodge a thread jam. For all the things that I have figured out on my own, I am surprisingly intimidated by taking things apart. In the end it was so easy that I kick myself for my reluctance.

And in other news, I was in California this past weekend so I took a little drive over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and went to the Heath Ceramics Factory Store to check out some of the discounted factory seconds. I picked up a few things that still set me back more than a few pennies. Aren't they pretty?