Are you all hibernating??

Surely not!  Opshoppers do their thing all year round, don't they?   Maybe others have been like me lately - due to lack of time or other reasons,  guilty of not posting their finds on here :-(
Well, here are some of my latest finds.  Unfortunately my camera isn't doing too well with colours lately, so you will have to believe my written descriptions instead of your eyes, lol!

Child's patchwork quilt - $4.  Much nicer than in this photo, beautifully made and in excellent condition. For those of you who know that I don't have any kids, I bought this to give to my husband's cousin, who works in Papua New Guinea with native people who have been displaced by mining companies.  They are forced to move to colder areas and have no way of keeping their babies and children warm, so I'm donating cot quilts to cousin to take over over there for 'her babies'.

This jacket is nylon with brushed cotton lining - $3.50.  I wanted something that will be wind and shower proof to replace two of my jackets that are neither, and don't fit me any more.  This fits well, and is longer than the others too, which will be warmer.

 I get really cold in winter and usually wear spencers under my sweaters and blouses.   Underwear is mostly black or white, but this one (2.50) is light blue (not grey!).

Hard cover book $8.

 Fabulous piece of woven fabric with a Chinese design.  Very hard to photograph, the colour is more teal than this blue, and you can't see the design clearly.  It is the size of a single bedspread or a large tablecloth.  I don't know what I'll use it for yet, but I love it!  Even Tiger approves, sniffing around at the bottom of it!

Gold Coast

Last week I took a quick trip to the Gold Coast for a few days and managed to fit in quite a bit of op shopping.


These pics are of a Lifeline shop in Ashmore (I think) Qld
 
It is a huge warehouse with a huge range of goods at very reasonable prices.

Clean and good quality stock is well presented.

 I didn't buy much (weight restrictions) but it was good to see what they had.

Linen collection

People in Melbourne's northern suburbs might be interested in an upcoming event at Mill Park Library,
394 Plenty Road, Mill Park Thursday June 13.

My Amazing collection:  - vintage, hand-embroidered linens with Australian motives - including how to manage and maintain such a collection.

Details at
http://www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/facilities-and-recreation/things-to-see-and-do/events-calendar/my-amazing-collection

Book online at:   http://buff.ly/11glq9g

Weekend Haul!

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I have been busy studying and refashioning some of my op shop purchases!

Here are some goodies I picked up yesterday and today.

Friday, Vinnies Altona North: Blue Tag Sale!

 I saw this Witchery skirt a few weeks ago and liked its interesting detail, but not enough to put in the work required to make it fit me; but when I saw it on the $1 rack I didn't hesitate.

 

These wool and wool-blend men's trousers were also on the $1 rack, which was great as I am collecting woolen trouser fabric for a thrifty project. And these $1 jeans will look great cut off as shorts once summer comes around again!

 Then at lunchtime we whipped over to Missionpoint on Somerville Road, where I picked up a couple of tops for $4.50 total. With a couple of alterations these are going to become pyjama tops ;-)

Also at Somerville Rd I grabbed this cute little milk jug which will have a new life as a much-needed loose change jar.

Finally we swung over to the Bargain Centre in Yarraville where I found some more wool pants on the half-price rack. Yay! But I won't bore you with yet more pictures of my wool trouser collection :-)

Then, Saturday morning my housemate convinced me to accompany him to Vinnies in Newport. The half-price rack there yielded this lovely Peter Alexander brushed cotton maxi-dress (or possibly a nightie?) with a sweet little winter scene print - half price, it was $3.50.

The coathangers were $1 each (considering my ability to buy clothes, I'm always running out of coathangers!) I also found a beautiful multicolored silk scarf for $2, and two packets of knicker elastic were $2 each. (for my adventures in knicker-making!)

If you know anyone who does lingerie sewing, there were several lots of very lovely stretchy lingerie lace there also, the  kind that's about 15cm wide - looked like some unsold stock from a fabric shop. Sorry I forgot to take a pic of those, but I think they were about $4 per reel (there would have been a few metres on each reel).

Happy shopping everyone! Hope you have a good weekend!

I haven't contributed in many months as I have been working full time in the city, and unfortunately Op Shopping has had to take a back seat.

My visits have been quick 'once arounds' as shops are about to close for the day, and I have been collecting mostly vintage bone china teacups, saucers and side plates, as well as the usual tablecloths and hand embroidered doileys.

And I am proud to announce that I have passed my love of Op Shopping and collecting beautiful things from the past on to my daughters who are 27 and 18, and they are now coming with me on the rare occasions we all have a Saturday morning off at the same time, to hunt out their own treasures.

Here are a few of my recent finds, which are not just stuck in the china cabinet, but are used daily for a delicious hot chocolate or relaxing cup of tea.

Eastward distractions

Today was the perfect day for me to Op. I needed to get out of the house and have a good rummage!
I stopped in Boronia, Bayswater, Knox and Scorsby.

 I found 'Do Cats Need Shrinks' ($1.99) At Salvos Boronia, and thought it would be a good read! (I can't wait to find out what the author concludes, actually! Do cats need shrinks?)

 At Vinnies Bayswater I found the rest of my goodies- A nice weight knit cardigan for $6.00

 Some wide lace in a colour I suppose would be a 'nude' or 'blush' There are many metres, and I think I'll make a garter out of it, and possibly work out some kind of bouquet wraps, too

 (Above- all the lace. I think it is over 10 metres, and it was a dollar, which was lovely!)

I found this sweet Pyrex plate for my friend Miss A. We are both on the hunt for good Pyrex patterns!

I also found this little anomaly in google maps while plotting the route. This is the view near the Scorsby Community Op Shop.

Brotherhood of St Lawrence Eltham opshop

I was asked to fill in today for someone who was ill and I was happy to do so.  We were flat out all day!  Donations just poured in, and so did the customers.  Must be something about cold wet weather that makes people want to either stay home and have a clean up, or come into the shop to see what the cleaner-uppers have brought in!
I found a few bits and pieces to bring home...
Two shirts made out of Batik $1 each - these will be cut up into squares for patchwork

Three lengths of plain coloured cotton $3 each.  Always handy to have plain fabrics to go with all the patterned fabrics that quilters accumulate in their stash.

 Lovely cotton hand embroidered tablecloth, $5. 

 At first glance I thought it was machine embroiderery but believe it or not, it is stitched by hand.  Absolutely exquisite stitching.

 Two sketch books, 50c each.  A budding artist can never have enough of these.

 Crosby slippers $1.  They fit me perfectly, great for slopping around the house in.