Woo Hoo - what an Op Shop find

Wow so thrilled with this $4 spend. A fabulous breadmaker book, the NZ Gardener book on preserving and a huge pile of amazing leather pieces. Looking forward to using them on all sorts of projects.

Op shop success

Today I had various appointments to attend but managed to get a bit of op shopping in.  (Charity shopping for those overseas). The wedge heel boots were $5. The dress and tunic were $7 each.  Both are quite diaphanous but absolutely gorgeous.  Ages since I had such a good score.

Goodies on the washing line

I managed to get in a little stop at an Op Shop the other day (thrift shop for some of you). I found some 60's and 70's sheets for just $2 each. The pink flowery one was a double and brand new, from someone cleaning out a house I presume. It was all starched and stiff.

I have great dreams of using these for pretty tea dresses. Still haven't made the other sheets into anything so we will see.....

Lots on the go..

Well I am procrastinating by writing this blog post as I should be writing some Job Descriptions. In spite of that I have been very busy.

Strange photo to put on I know. But this is some beading board that I am undercoating. Yes I am painting again. I feel as though I have been painting for the last 14 months (which I have on and off). It has saved us money on our Earthquake claim (as their cost is definitely lower the actual cost) as intended but it does take time!

I have been making fondant decorations for something edible for Valentines Day. I figured that while I was not working much that I could put a bit of effort into that day. We have never observed Valentines here in our house so it will be a first. 

Over the last three nights I have put more blocks together and made two more borders for the orphan block quilt that I started here.

When I have been too tired to concentrate or have been watching the Winter Olympics then I have been knitting this. I started while camping on the Molesworth Station. This is a rabbit wool and incredibly soft and amazing, but sheds like crazy. I am going to follow the trend and make a cowl. This wool was a jersey that I bought at an Op Shop (Charity Shop) and unpicked, washed and rewound it.

Last night I knitted a bit of this. It has been on the needles for over a year. I am using my stash of homespun wool that has been spun and dyed by my mum. It is a Kaffe Fasset pattern and quite slow to knit. Major concentration is needed as each row is different, so I only knit it occasionally as I can't watch TV or anything else while doing it.

I link to these places.

My fabulous Op Shop finds

Today we had a bit of a merry go round. Had to get the car checked at two different places, pick up one boy and take him to the emergency dentist, go to aquacise, do afterschool swimming but in amongst all that I managed to dash into the local Save the Children charity shop. Oh I was pleased I did.

A brooch that I see potential in. A bracelet that is gorgeous as is but I might pull apart and use in an embroidery, but think I will wear it in the meantime. $6

A gorgeous English pottery jug. Could not resist the shape and colour $4 

Some tupperware containers for Jakob this year as he is doing cooking at school. A coffee plunger that I will use for loose tea in the caravan.

Thrilled. I link to these places and especially the Op Shop Show off

A finished refashion and a new tool

About a year ago I bought this nightie from and Op Shop. It is a really pretty cotton lawn but rather old fashioned in it's style. Gathered from the top with lace it just kind of hangs over you. So I never really wore it. Then one of my nighties got so old the fabric ripped in the wash. I cut it down the middle and used it as a pattern to refashion this.

Old style top the the nightie

I cut the skirt off at a reasonable height and then gathered the material onto some piping that I had made for the bean bag refashion. Then I cut a new top out and sewed with some piping and bias binding. I was halfway through making this and it was sitting on my sewing table when my purchase arrived in the mail.

What excellent timing. A 2.5cm bias binding maker. No more boring shop bought bias for me, funky stuff to come!! (well that is the intention - we will see how it pans out). I tried it out on some matching red fabric and it made lovely bias binding for the shoulder straps.

The whole outfit even looks a bit Christmassy.

Linking up to Finish it up friday as well as many other places - check out the links here.

My Op Shop find

I am super excited with this Op Shop find. Paid more than I usually do $10, but it works really well. Cleaned it up so it sparkles and I am going to wrap it and put it under the Christmas tree as an extra for the boys.

I link to The Op Shop Show off.

Out with the old and in with the new

Well, I have not been very active in craft and blog land over the last bit and I expect that not to change for a couple of weeks. Yesterday after work I had 30 minutes and so went to de-stress and had a coffee at the Addington Coffee Co-op. Afterwards I went to the Salvation Army shop in Addington and found these fabulous shoes for $5

What is going out? - EQR work has been nightmarish and my boss has made the choice to limit work with them. So out go half my hours.
What is coming in? Well it means more time to Op Shop (though less money to do so!! hmm the conundrum). But also time to finally try and get the mess that is the garden sorted.

What is going out? Our EQR work is finally being done on our house, so out goes the bathroom next week. But that also means I have to remove the carpet in the hall and bedroom and the vinyl in the bathroom, plus all the bathroom stuff. Try to do that this week while Aaron has been called away to Nelson for work. Juggle the boys for the school holidays and try to visit every EQR house our work is doing as they are auditing every site operated by their Kaiapoi hub - Far out!!!!
What is going in? A new vanity, a new shower, a fixed floor crack and then lots of painting for me (as you can see my less hours at work is going to be well and truly used at home.)

What is going out? - Winter
What is coming in? - Camping time, family time, gardening time, all the painting etc I have to do time!! and hopefully in amongst all this I am going to get a bit more me time (Well maybe in a month or so).


So onward and upward and enjoy the summer then look for some new work in the Autumn.

Thinking of you all - especially Deb as she has and is going through the same stuff. Anyone who does not read her blog should!!! (Well in my personal opinion)

Linking to Op Shop Show off and other places here.

Well Hmph

Just because I could not sleep in my bed last night, (Way too much coughing so vacated to the couch so that everyone else could sleep) does not mean that Morris gets my side of the bed. In the morning I looked in and this is what I saw... and head on my pillow even!!!

 Being rather tired from a very disturbed night, and the feeling tense because we lost a race in the America's Cup, the boys were late to school. Once they had gone I realised that Eli had left behind something he needed today. So off to school and a wee sidetrack visit to the Charity Barn in Rangiora - gave me this...

Oh I love retro, and in our family having breakfast in bed is seen as a real treat and special, so when I saw this butlers tray I could not resist.

Yes I did previously find on at the same place, so now Aaron and I can sit in bed like the King and Queen (hopefully the boys will cotton on to bringing us breakfast). But NOT tomorrow, no more nail biting stuff watching the America's Cup race. Go Team NZ.

I link to some of these place - especially here

Refashion an Op Shop find

This weekend I physically exhausted myself in the garden (did not take long!!! - a couple of hours each day), which left me with heaps of time to sit and sew for relaxation.

Inspired by my recent finish of a recycled quilt  I went through the stack of unfinished projects by my machine. There was a dress I had bought about a month ago from a Save the Children Op Shop in Christchurch.

I am not very good at sewing clothes for myself from scratch, but if something fits I know I can generally make it look better.

One of the things that really bug me about ladies clothes is NO POCKETS - why why why. Yes I carry a handbag but it is so handy to have pockets. And why was there no fastening at the waist? - so it gaped - no dome or button or anything.

So I made a new collar, new sleeve end, stitched a pocket into the waistband but floats externally, shortened the length and added some bias, added a $1 belt also from the Op Shop and presto - A new outfit that I am thrilled with.

I wore it to church today and heaps of people commented on it.
$10 dress
$1 belt
$5.50 fat quarter of green and black flower material from quilters quarters in Rangiora

The finished article.

The before (sorry not good photo)

The before on my dress model

Worn to church this morning

icky 80's collar

off with the collar and half the sleeve

On with a new collar

on with a new cuff

Add an external pocket

jazz up the bottom of the skirts. Shorten by 1 inch and add bias

DONE - I link up to these places






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Awesome finds from the Op Shop

A Breville food processor with all the bits

 I went into two Op Shops just before Xmas. At the "Save the Children" in Kaiapoi I found these quilt blocks and negotiated it down to $5. They will sew together quickly to be a quilt for the orphanage in Kenya that is the charity I support. As timing would have it, in the shop was Sarah, who is the Mother of Ian who set up and runs this Orphanage. So we had a good discussion about how many quilts we had etc. and how to get them off to Kenya.

Then I popped into the Salvation Army Op Shop in Rangiora looking for second hand school uniform for Jakob for his new school. No uniform but for $20 I got a full working Breville food processor and all the bits. Am thrilled!!

Quilt blocks

 I am linking up to 

A great Op Shop trip

I had a great 20 minute stop at the Salvation Army Opportunity Shop yesterday.
1. new gumboots for me - $2
2. new gumboots for Jakob - $2
3. new lunchbox for Aaron - $2
4. gorgeous hand embroidered tray cloth - $1
5. 100% wool green tunic for me - $2

One of the best trips I have had in a while. I have worn the tunic the last two days. I have stayed away from that fashion until now as have been worried that at a larger size tunics would either make me look pregnant or my rear view hideous!. But I love it. Yesterday I wore it with a white skivvy and today I had a cerise merino underneath.

I just could not get a good photo of me in the mirror! Ignore the hideously untidy room.

I have great plans for the traycloth - turning it into a zip bag.

Fabulous second hand shop finds

Today on my way home from meeting Aaron at work for a coffee, I stopped by one of the Op Shops I frequent. They had boxes of brand new toweling dressing gowns and pj's. I immediately thought of the girls and called Dawn to see if they needed them. Bought four. Got a gorgeous orange bag for me - Nearly considered buying it for my cousin Christine, who is orange mad - but it is so amazing I can't give it away. The last purchase was a waffle weave pink dressing gown for me.

So Dawn and the girls came for afternoon tea. I pinned the sleeves of the gowns to fit and will fix all that in the next two days. Eli was gutted that I did not get one for him!!!

Fantastic Op Shop finds

Yesterday I had the best find for the best price ever!!! An amazing retro butlers tray. It was $3 and looked really scummy when I got it. But I have been wanting a butlers tray for years and the new price of $75 (upwards!) has seriously put me off. It has cleaned up so well it is much better condition than I thought.
This is so much better than anything I could have bought new.
Aaron has promised me breakfast in bed tomorrow with it. Hot croissant and coffee - YUM.

I also got this awesome shaped carafe. Last year I tried to alter the Lemoncello recipe I have, to use the abundance of fejoas up, and the resulting Fejoacello worked so well everyone loved it. So this year it is going into mass production and what better than to put it into awesomely shaped carafes.

Great Secondhand Shop finds

The Duvet Cover

The down inner.

I was thrilled with what I found at an Op Shop in Rangiora today. A brand new duvet cover. I normally only do 100% cotton for bedding but this is a good brand and high thread count. I am a white freak when it comes to sheeting too!! Then a 95%down duvet. Wow - no marks, no stains and looks like it may not have been used. The inner which I have been using as a duvet for Eli since he moved to a big bed is an old feather sleeping back that I unpicked, turned a side around and made it oblong with straight sides. It has worn and I have been patching it as feather puff from nowhere. But now I wont have to!!