Ashburton Op Shop MONTHLY GARAGE SALE this FRIDAY 2 Sept.

If you need a bit of furniture, [but not the chair above, that's mine]  or a few electrical items, some tools, golf clubs,  a  garden chair, some sporting equipment or a magazine rack, drop into the Ashy Op Shop this Friday morning ~ they are having their monthly Yard Sale out in the plaza in front of the shop on the corner of High Street and Welfare Parade, just near the Railway Station.  Starts around 10am and goes thru until all is sold, or 1pm ~~ whichever comes first!
you can of course also pop into the shop to find a heap of bargains, especially as all LADIES wear is 50% off all week.
The shop is open Five Days a Week from 10am to 4.30pm, AND.. all day Saturday, which is a real bonus, 9.30am to 4pm.


All profit goes back into the local community, thru Ashburton Support Services.

Fabrics for my stash, but no magazine article!

I found these at the Eltham Brotherhood shop yesterday and was very pleased with myself. The 2 yards of orange spotted cotton ($3.50) is absolutely perfect for a quilted wall hanging I've been planning, but couldn't find the right fabric until now. The floral piece was $2.50. The white stuff $2.50)that looks like curtain fabric but was labelled 'food cover' has more uses to me and other friends who dabble with paints...great effects can be created with materials with holey patterns;-)

I don't know what happened about the article that was supposed to appear in the City Weekly magazine. I've been keeping an eye out for both the City Weekly and our local version of it, but I haven't seen any mention of me and opshopping. Have I missed out on it?? The journalist isn't answering my calls, and I never had a contact name or number for the photographer, so I have no way of finding out what is going on. Are you there Fourth Daughter??

Lions Club Trash and Treasure

Blackburn North Lions Club's next trash and treasure sale will be held on:

Saturday, 3 September 2011.

Same time: 8am to 1pm

Same place: 1st Vermont Scout Hall, located near the corner of Canterbury Rd and Mitcham Rd, Vermont.

Weekend Haul

Tommy Hilfiger vest $10.49 - Savers Dandenong (with the 20% student discount available every Sunday)
French Connection cardigan $12.99 - Savers Dandenong (with 20% student discount available every Sunday)

Mirror $10 - Oakleigh Vinnies

more on diamond creek

I received an email about the closure of the Diamond Creek op shop. Here is an edited version:

"Austin Health is in the process of selling the landmark land and buildings, housing the Diamond Creek Austin Health Opportunity Shop, located at 42-44 Main Hurstbridge Road, Diamond Creek.

The Op-Shop has been operated by volunteers for over 40 years, and raises approximately $100k per annum for the purchase of medical equipment for the hospital. Volunteers have recently been fundraising to raise the funds required to upgrade the buildings to increase shopper comfort. The buildings are un-insulated, un-heated, and un-air-conditioned making them stifling hot in summer and freezing cold in winter.

While the volunteers have been fundraising, the hospital has been exploring options to sell the property. Fast food restaurants have previously expressed interest in the site. It is believed that Austin Health will receive over a $1 million for the site.

The Op-Shop provides a much need service to the local community, by providing cheap second hand clothing, books, furniture and household items to the people of the Diamond Valley and beyond. Victims of the Black Saturday bushfires are amongst the regular customers. Closure of the Op-Shop will add to the financial burden of those customers who are facing financial difficulty.

A sale is going to be held on September 10, to clear stock.

If you want the Op-Shop to stay open, please email or write to Austin Health and protest the closure and sale of a Diamond Creek icon."

Diamond Creek Op Shop to close

Diamond Creek icon shuts its doors

Vinnies, Briar Hill.

I can never pass Vinnies in Briar Hill without dropping in, they are such a great shop.
Patchwork and craft mags for 50c each, and a lovely bag to carry them in - free!!

Canvas boards, $3 each. They possibly weren't such a bargain, as I'm sure they only cost a few dollars at the Reject shops...

Art deco doiley $3.

Another beautiful doiley $2.50. These were both in a glass case, as part of a display of glassware. Sometimes the opshops don't like to sell them as the doilies enhance the other items, but the Vinnies lady was happy to sell me both.



This photo is of some of the unframed cross stitch and embroidered items I've collected at opshops. I am in the process of sewing a black border around each one, and then I'll incorporate them into a quilt. I can't make up my mind what kind of fabric to use as the background - plain or patterned? In this picture they are lying on the carpet. I don't want the background fabric to detract from the individual pieces, but a plain colour might be too simple. Any ideas?

Squiggly Thrifting beyond The Hills

Hi Guys, it's Rach again from Squiggly Rainbow..... I hit beyond my Hills yesterday.  Beaconsfield Op Shop was fabulous!  So many bargains.  It is situated on Old Emerald Road (I think) in the strip shops of Beaconsfield.  It is tucked behind the church entrance.

Here is a snap of some of the stuff I found there....

I LOVE this Sesame Street single bed sheet!  It is near new condition too!

I then ventured out of the Hills and landed at the Salvation Army in Beaconsfield - not much to find there - just this gorgeous crochet woolen blanket and the huge enamel tea pot/billy/coffee pot pictured above.

Then my favorite score was at the Narre Warren Salvo's... a whole tube of vintage red buttons and a cute vintage pattern.

Hope you have a great thrifting weekend!  

Rach 

Two local opshops in two days.

On Wednesday I had lunch with friends in Hurstbridge, and after we left the cafe, two of us decided to visit the only opshop in town. I'm sure there used to be more than one, but I can't find any others. This one is one of the fascinating 'mish mash' oppies where you can spend hours rummaging. I found three little items to bring home.
Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Ken said "not another coffee mug!" but as I explained, two of our favourites have cracks and chips in them, so this will be a good replacement (all of 50 cents).


I wondered if this tie had been worn by an accountant? For 50 cents it was worth buying - I can see it as part of an interesting quilt block.


Speaking of quilt blocks, I've heard of this book, and now I have it - $1.


Yesterday was my weekly shopping day with my friend Glenda, and as always, we ended up at The Brotherhood shop before sitting down to relax with a coffee.
I found five things to bring home.
A woven Oriental design wall hanging for $1. This side is day time.

The reverse appears to be night time.


A pair of tiny glass elephants on a mirror base and background - $2.



Good length of gingham cotton fabric - $4.

Tiny little petit point pincushion - 50 cents


Beautifully stitched doiley - $1.

Thrifting in the Hills

Hello All!  I am a new contributer to this site and come over from Squiggly Rainbow.  I have become a part-time thrifter and op-shop goer - most of my purchases furnish our home, clothe us sometimes and keep my stocks full at The Vintage Shed where I have a stall.

Enough about where I am from.... here is a sneak peak of my travels treasure hunting yesterday.  I will upload some pics of the finds when I photograph them!  This is the Emerald Uniting Church Op-Shop - it is located on Emerald-Monbulk Road and open 6 days a week!  They will even offer you a cuppa!  I found a gorgeous Vintage Evening dress, a Vintage gardening book and a gorgeous pinny.

Next was a quick dash to the Cockatoo op-shop; also known as the Nell Mitchell Op-Shop, which is located in the Main Street opposite the strip shops.  I picked up a new looking Graeme Base book for my kidlets - it was quite a disappointing venture... hardly anything in the store other than books and clothes.

Lovely to 'meet' you all!  Until next time - enjoy your thrifting adventures!  Glad to be a contributor here!

Rach x

Op shopping out of season

As I type this, it's a cool (as in temperature-wise) 14 degrees and grey and drizzly, ie normal for Melbourne at this time of year. So hopefully I'll still get some wear from these winter wonders that I felt strangely compelled to buy last week, when we all thought spring had started because it was over 20 degrees for a few days in a row and the sun was actually shining...

Woollen legging-y pant-things with a jacquard pattern at Vinnies Springvale (I know, they look like old lady pants. Probably because they are! But I will take them in and wear them with heels and hopefully redeem them that way).


Red sweater dress from the Salvos Brandon Park ($6.99 but half price because of it was 50% off orange tagged items). It had massive shoulder pads which I removed toot sweet.


Indigo woollen jumper also from the Salvos BP and also $3.50 after the 50% off. You can see what it looks like (and check out a much earlier op shop find from Japan) in a clearer photo here.


The usual... sewing patterns from the '60s and '70s...$1 each at Vinnies Springvale (getting a bit pricey!!)


The one in the middle is actually a pack of embroidery transfers. Who knows when I will ever get around to doing embroidery, but meanwhile I can enjoy the pattern envelope...

Thrifting @ Savers

Hope you're having an AbFab weekend! Here's a couple of  items I bought from Savers. Want to know what that yellow thing is? 10 Points for the first correct guess!!!

Otherwise find out here!

B.

forthcoming Church Fete / Market day PLAYFUL MARKET ASHBURTON

YOU all know I love to Op Shop around Ashburton area, well the Ashburton Baptist Church is holding a 'playful market day' on Sat. 13 August and I though you may like to know about it in advance.

sausage sizzle.. handmade craft stalls .. ABC cafe .. live music .. art exhibition .. second hand book stall .. cakes and goodies ..  toys .. lucky dips .. 2nd hand items  .. QUILT display .. baby gifts .. produce

AND an Animal Farm to keep dad and the kids entertained while you shop.

Sounds like fun, so I thought before I make a 'Look what I Found' post, I should give you all a chance to come along and find some treasures too .. and then you can check out the Ashburton Op Shops afterwards.

Nice length of fabric from the Seventies.

Three yards of 45" width cotton. I showed it to a friend just after I'd bought it at the Brotherhood in Eltham, and she squealed "Oh I love stuff from the seventies -where did you get that??" When I told her it cost me $8, she squealed again!

Patterns

Hey there! 

This is my first time posting! I wanted to share some of my vintage patterns. I have bought them from various op shops. I have not made any of them yet, as I can’t decide which one to start with!

 Cheers, Laura

Good old Brotherhood!

Our Brotherhood of St L. opshop had some nice things when I dropped in there yesterday. An interesting handmade book. The cover looks like it is made with leaves front and back with a laccquer coating, and a stick of cinnamon, although there is no aroma. The pages are handmade paper, and there is no writing or printing on them.




This shirt is a Mens size XL. The lady behind the counter said 'That's too big for you, dear' to which I replied 'yes I know, but I won't be wearing it. I'm cutting it up for patchwork - look at that terrific fabric!'



Speaking of fabric, I was over in Malvern today, so I visited three opshops within walking distance. A small independent shop in Wattletree Road, and in Glenferrie Road I went to Vinnies and the Salvos. Both of these shops are VERY upmarket - fabulous window displays and lovely stock inside. I bought three pieces of cotton fabric for $2 each at the Salvos (not worth putting a pic on here).

Metal Mesh, my one true love...

After uni today, I stopped by the small op shop in Mcleod, and picked up this metal mesh clutch for only $4! I'm a giant metal mesh fan, and I'd say I have over 20 pieces, however, aside from a few hard-to-find pieces I have, I refuse to pay a lot for it, so when I manage to find metal mesh at such an awesome price, it's really hard to say 'no'. It's in perfect condition, no missing links and only a few small make-up stains on the inside.