Season Opening: Estate Sale Shopping

After a long, rough winter, estate sales are back in season, to be followed by garage sales in six weeks or so.  I got off to a great start:

This is my favorite find, a chunky silver and bead multi-strand necklace.  It was in pretty rough condition when I found it - crusty with tarnish.  I purchased some tarnish remover, which cost more than the necklace ($5.00 vs. $4.50).  After 15 minutes of polishing to little effect, I went to the expert, my friend Melissa.  She suggested mild dish soap, possibly followed by toothpaste on an old soft toothbrush if that didn't work.  I went right for the toothpaste.

In this photo, the left beads and top of the medallion are untouched, while the right beads and lower medallion have one pass of toothbrush scrubbing.  After two passes with the toothbrush and two with the silver polish, I am thrilled with the results.  I don't mind a little tarnish, as I think it lends character, so I may love this even better as it ages again.

The second successful sale yielded some great crochet hooks and a J Crew merino sweater in my favorite blue-green - and all for $3.  (You gotta love the half-price bargains on the last day of the estate sale.)  The sweater has a hole in the back (just visible between hooks in pic), so the yarn will be recycled.  I am always on the lookout for nice yarn in a hand knitting gauge.  The crochet hooks are a happy addition to my collection as I much prefer the wider handles.  And, the never-used vintage long wooden hook is a size I didn't own - P - and should work for Tunisian crochet, too.  All in all, a great shopping day.