Tuesday 24 March 2009

Stuff other than clothes and toys.

Most of the posts here seem to be about clothes and toys, and occasionally furniture, which aren't in my line of interest with op-shopping. That sounds rude - sorry, I didn't mean it like that! I still love to see what everyone has been buying! Just that I don't look for those things myself. I look for knick knacks with a chook flavour, embroidery, and craft stuff, and occasionally books. So at the risk of boring most of you, here is what I found at Vinnies in Greensborough today:

If you know anything about needlepoint or tapestry, you will appreciate the hours of work that went into this sample of stitching. The cashier said "That's a nice cushion cover" and I said "Well, it's a bit more than that to me!" I hadn't washed it when I took this pic, and it looks even better since I did wash it. A snap for $5.


I try to avoid buying other people's embroidery that I could do myself (excluding vintage embroidery, that is), but when I saw this picture for $3, I had to have it. The stitching is absolutely exquisite, and the fish design is uncommon in embroidery designs.


This little handkie won't mean much to most people, who would wonder why I paid even $1 for it. But the embroidered corner is a style of stitching not seen very often, so again, I was happy to discover it.


I bought this print for the frame alone, to use to frame a large embroidered item I have had for years, but couldn't afford to frame. It is 21" x 17" and cost me $10. Now THAT is affordable framing!


More down your alley, girls! A pair of Diane F. red shoes for $3.50 and a pair of fluffy scuffs for $1.50. I like something soft to slip my feet into when I get out of bed in the mornings!


OK, I know you are thinking "WEIRD!" Well, I just love tartan anything, so for $1 I got six different tartans!


Knick knack time. We have bantam hens, so I tend to pick up just about anything that has a chook on it. I don't know what this is used for...can anyone help me?

9 comments:

Pauline Laing said...

I just found this blog yesterday. Think I may join in. I also look for knick knacks (but more of that later)! But guess what - I think my brother made those tartan coasters! Yup, my family runs a coaster-and-placemat making business, in Scotland, and tartan coasters are part of their range (and have been for a while).
Of course they could have been made by one of their competitos (I'm sure it's a cutthroat business in those parts).
So there ya go. Love your other goodies.

AMCSviatko said...

I'd say it's a cheese and olive platter. The olives (and other snacky bits) go on the left. The olive pips (when you've finished the olive) go in the channel in the middle and the cheese and crackers on the right.

Jayne said...

Love your finds, they're great!
Yep, I agree it's a cheese and snack platter.

Anonymous said...

Yes it's a cheese platter, but the central channel is actually to accommodate the cheese knife's handle.

Joanne said...

Nice finds! I head straight for the (usually tiny) craft section at my local op-shops. That and the linen, particularly doilies. A good chicken scratch tablecloth will have me in raptures! So you are not alone...

Gina E. said...

What a lovely response - thank you all very much for your comments and suggestions! Pauline, what a coincidence! Seeing your brother's coasters from Scotland, turn up on a blog in Australia!
The chooks dish makes a lot more sense now that I know what it was used for at one time. I will use it for that purpose next time any of our chooky friends pop over.

Erin said...

oooh. I like the cheese and olive platter idea. I've never seen that before.

hey - if you like tartan, we like tartan

Anonymous said...

love love the tartan! it never gets old.

Running Thread said...

Very cool hunting! Well done.
When I'm opp shop hopping I'm on the hunt for craft bibs and bobs - wool, patterns, napkins that I can embroider, pillowslips that I can do something with, aprons and any fowlers vacola jars that I can get my hands on.