Pocket guide to Op Shops in Geelong

A new book has been published on Op Shops in Geelong

Keen to share the joy of Op shopping, Heidi Wane has compiled this comprehensive guide which will be the key to unlocking bargain priced vintage fashion, homewares, books, modern fashion, furniture, Manchester, linen, tableware, footwear, accessories, jewellery and fine china. This book describes Op Shops in and around Geelong, the Surfcoast, the Bellarine Peninsula and selected areas in the Western District of Victoria.

It is only $8 and can be purchased online (or in their City store) from the Information Victoria Bookshop

Opping and Stitching

Here are some bargains picked up from the local Op Shop, handily opposite the furniture warehouse where I was checking out beds for youngest son. This would have to be my favourite op shop for picking up great stitching supplies. For $14 I scored over a metre of good quality wool gaberdine, 2 metres of a silky polyester (feels very similar to the fabric in my favourite Basque dress and would look sensational printed with a gold motif), a fat quarter of a toning batik cotton (also good quality) - I can see a bag happening here, 4 new zips, 2 silk ties, a chiffon scarf, large piece of red synthetic felt, assorted buttons, a reel of a very nice variegated pink cotton, a spare bobbin case for my Janome (I can now use this for fiddling with the tension), a thin strip of velcro and over a metre of hand crocheted cotton edging.
What a haul!
GO CATS

Making it up...

Hi there,

It's Bev from Taccolina and Posted Stitches here - I haven't posted before, as I haven't been opping for a little while, BUT....

Last weekend I went to the Geelong Fibre Arts Forum - did anyone else go, too? And I got to talking to the ladies who went to this class for the week there:


They were making new outfits and embellished costumes from op-shop and back-of-the-closet finds. I talked to several of the students, who were there showing off what they had made, and they were happy for these photos to go out into blogland.

This is a new jacket made out of shirts that weren't being worn - dyed, embellished and printed. I love the new cuffs and the leaves down the front.


Here, one of the students is pointing out the many shirts that were cut and re-sewn to make the flouncy body of this colourful skirt. She had several shirt collars running lengthways down the skirt, like long vertical ruffles. It was gorgeous!

This is by the same student: an ensemble of cut, dyed and embellished items, including op-shop finds.


Feeling inspired? This certainly made me sit up and take notice, and to think more aggressively about what I could do with op shop alterations!

You can find the website of the tutor - India Flint - at www.indiaflint.com - and there are workshops listed on her site.

Happy hunting!

Todays Finds

I had to run some errands today so I thought I'd check out a couple of small op-shops that are in the main street. They are both within about 5 shops of each other so it was quite convenient.

The first was the Red Cross shop. They mainly had clothes but nothing really in my size and things were a little pricey for an op-shop.

The next was St Vinnies. It was a small shop but a much better selection of items. I was really looking for craft or fabric type items. I did find a velvet skirt and a nice baby blanket that I am going to cut up and use for other projects. I also found a couple of nice scarves. The sequinned scarf was $3 and the other was $1. I also found a cool Puma bag for $4, a table runner for $2 (I am probably going to make this into a cushion cover), and a really nice brown printed wrap skirt for $3. The wrap skirt is too small for me but I am going to make it into an apron instead.

They had lots of glassware and little crystal type dishes that would be useful for candles. They also had about ten Enid Blyton books for fifty cents each (in case anyone is collecting).

I'm planning an op-shopping spree in Geelong on Saturday so wish me luck!