Pyrex in the Wild

Hello PC3, SusieQT here from Practice in Time!

I don't know about you, but I have been a bit dumbfounded watching some recent ebay auctions for Pyrex. Even things that are not really rare (hello, Pink Stripe 403) have been going through the roof. So with that in mind, I have decided to keep my Pyrex hunt on the ground, so to speak, and only buy things in the wild. To me, that means thrift or yard sales- I suppose antique stores would count, but I am trying to get things cheap so that mostly leaves them out.

Like most of you, things are hit and miss. I do find good stuff in the thrift stores, but a lot of times I come up empty. I go a lot, though, so I'm bound to find something one in a while. Usually I hit up 5-10 stores a week, some multiple times, but I probably only average about one piece a week. Then there's church sales and yard sales, which are also usually feast or famine- mostly there is none, but occasionally you hit the mother lode and can buy multiple pieces.

Since it's been a while since my last post, here are some of my recent ITW finds:

I found this delphite 401 and 402 at a thrift store. I actually overlooked them the first time I walked  by the shelf- probably because I was looking for patterns on white, not blue! And they were really priced reasonably; my guess is the thrift didn't know they were Pyrex because of the color. These are actually duplicates for me- of course, I bought mine online a while back thinking I would never find them ITW! The woodland butter dish goes into my collection of butter dishes- I only need the Autumn Harvest, Snowflake Garland and the elusive Sandalwood to complete them.

I picked up this Butterfly Gold 922 just this past weekend at a yard sale. I love to haggle, but I didn't even bother with this one- 75 cents was cheap enough!

These are a (very good) week's worth of picks- the Spring Blossom casseroles (475, 474, 473) were all found as a set. The Square Flowers divided dish was found at another thrift- not my favorite pattern, but the price was right and it had a lid. I almost dropped this piece in the store- somehow I caught it with my left hand at the last minute. Gah- heart attack! The cinnamon mugs are my favorite color and match my Autumn Harvest, so they will get a lot of use.

Spring Blossom just seems to be following me home lately. I have a 'no fridgie left behind' policy, as long as they are in good shape and have lids- so these joined my collection. I guess I am now trying to get all the fridge sets... ;)

I have seen the Ponderosa mugs, but have never seen plates before. Now I have two- I got these at a yard sale; the lady said her sister had worked at Ponderosa and brought them home. The turquoise hostess ramekin was a big surprise one day at a thrift store- I looked in vain for the chip bowl and bracket but it wasn't there. I have this set already; once again it is not something I ever thought I'd find ITW.

I am most happy about these two! I have never seen a pie plate and I have been looking for years. I know they're not terribly hard to find, but for some reason they had been eluding me. This flamingo one is mint and I found it in the same thrift as the Heinz promo, and also found four Fire King Blue Heaven Cinderella bowls. That was a great day! I totally stalked a lady that had picked up the Heinz and carried it around all the while she was yapping on her phone. Finally she set it down again and walked away and it was mine. I have almost bought this piece online on several occasions. 

So that's about it for my recent in the wild Pyrex! It goes to show that there are good things out there, you just have to be persistent and frequent at the thrifts, I guess.

Six months of Pyrex

I got my first piece of Pyrex last Christmas (since my mom knew I was gushing over pictures of Butterprint online) and have since accumulated quite a bit of it. Most of it is currently in my bedroom (of my parent's house) where it will be living safe and sound for the next 2 years while I am doing my thing in the Peace Corps in Senegal. I think I'll have to cram the smallest Butterprint casserole in my luggage, since i have 2, so I don't miss my Pyrex too much.

As you can see by my wall color and the majority of my Pyrex I'm pretty obsessed with turquoise. This is the majority of my collection, though I also have a chemex and a few pieces of butterfly gold and spring blossom down in the kitchen for everyday use while I'm home. Sometimes I end up hauling things down to the kitchen when I need them anyway. As you can see on the bottom shelf a few blue heaven fire king pieces sneaked in. My grandma found them in her basement, along with a dandelion server, woodlands casserole with lid, and the large oval butterfly gold casserole.

I made a lucky new acquisition today after a horrible day of yard sale failure yesterday. This morning I hit the savers closest to my house and only found a spring blossom Pyrex tea cup and a dainty 5 oz custard cup. I then found nothing at a half dozen other thrifts and antique stores when finally, at the last one, I came across these:

Sorry that the lighting is terrible. The set of 2 was only $12, which is at the high range of what I like to pay and the top bowl looked like it might be faded at first glance, but it still looked very shiny despite a few scratches. Then I all of a sudden remembered that they were from the blue Americana set which was made in a gradient of blue! Once I realized what I was looking at I snatched it up and tried not to look too excited. It definitely made all the searching/failing worth it. Now I'm going to have to keep an eye out for the big bowl. I need to start completing mixing bowl sets instead of starting new ones!

-KJ

New Arrivals To The 'Rex Family

An update on the red Pyrex casserole I posted about a few weeks ago. The pattern is called Golden Poinsettia. My friend and fellow vintage lover, Becky, wants this Pyrex to find a new home. Her adorable little ones are very rambunctious and she is worried it may get broken. She is also getting ready to move. Becky understands my love for Pyrex and wants it to go to someone who will really appreciate it...and that is ME!

Here's a pic of the 'Rex's new home in my kitchen cabinet. My personal collection is growing!
 

You will see a few different pieces here including my estate acquired Pyrex Sage Scroll casserole, the gigantic Golden Poinsettia Pyrex casserole, Royal China Blue Heaven saucers that my Granny gave me along with a yard sale found matching Fire King Blue Heaven oven dish, and finally the Pyrex Spring Blossom oven dish that my mother gave me.

Not pictured are my primary red Pyrex fridgie and small yellow Pyrex mixing bowl.

Click through to my blog to see my past Pyrex finds: The Thrifty Picker

What is your favorite Pyrex pattern or dish that you have acquired from friends or family?