Every February I look forward to the annual VNSA Book Sale. Thousands of books fill table after table and they are all up for grabs! Better yet, on Sunday the already low prices are slashed in half. The bargain hunter and book lover in me can’t resist such a perfect combination.
This year I headed to the craft section first to see if I could nab some knitting books. While I found a few books, I found a treasure trove of 10 Interweave Knits magazines hiding in a box. This is my absolute favorite knitting magazine so I grabbed all of them! At 50 cents a piece, they were a steal!
Interweave Knits galore!
I was hoping to find sock books and I did. Both were also only 50 cents, along with a stray Knit Simple magazine and chunky sweater pattern book. All in all, I’d say I got a nice haul out of the knitting section!
Sock and Sweater books.
Next to the knitting books, there was the sewing section. I glanced over and found an incredible little book – a guide for left-handed stitching. As a lefty, I am constantly frustrated by right-hand only directions in embroidery books and patterns. Thank you Sally Cowen for this fantastic reference!
Fifty cents well spent!
Then, I ran over to the cookbook and gardening sections to see if I could find some books on vegetable canning. I didn’t find a single one, but I did manage to find some handy recipe pamphlets including a way cool booklet on Amish Cooking. It turns out this little gem had a few pages on some basic canning recipes, so I didn’t totally fail on the canning front. Again, at 50 cents a piece, these were all a great deal!
Mmmm! I foresee some yummy dinners and desserts in the future.
While rummaging through the home and garden section, I found a book on a subject I’ve been researching for a while – natural cleaning recipes. It’s pretty tough to buy any cleaning product that is totally free of chemicals and harmful toxins, so I’m trying to learn how make my own cleansers using all natural ingredients. This book is pure gold in that it has recipes for an all-purpose cleaner, laundry soap, glass cleaner, and floor cleaner. And it was only $1.
I will never buy cleaning products, again!
Always a teacher, (even on the weekends), I went to the art section hoping to find some Art History textbooks and/or color plate compilations. To my great surprise, I actually found the missing volume to an Art History textbook I bought a few months ago, (I had Volume 2 and I needed Volume 1 of Marilyn Stokstad’s Art History). Seriously, what are the odds of that happening!? For $2, I now have another resource to teach my Art History course.
Teaching on a budget!
In addition, I found a quote canvas to hang in my classroom. It’s a quote I use a lot with my students, so I’m thrilled to have a larger version of it, (and for only $1.50!). Finally, I picked up a couple free maps! You read that right, they were free.
There was a huge box of street and history maps with a sign that said, “Free Maps – Limit 10 per person.” The dorky teacher and crafter in me decided to comb through the box of maps. I saw a neat idea on Pinterest that involved making ornaments out of maps. The maps I got should do pretty well for that project!
These are about to become super cute ornaments.
Last, but not least, I perused the fiction section. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much. Most of the available books just didn’t fit my tastes. However, I did manage to pick up a couple titles I’ve had on my list for a while. Neither cost more than $2.
Can’t wait to dig into those novels!
My last stop was to the travel section, where I found a great little book on walks through the English countryside. Now, I have yet another reason to return to the U.K.
Aside from an awesome haul of books, I look forward to this day because it’s a family event. Without a holiday in sight, we come together and simply enjoy the day. After the sale we went out for a nice breakfast filled with good food and laughter.
Only 365 days until the next book sale!
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c.b.w. 2014
C.B. Wentworth 