Category Archives: op shop

The Excitement

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It probably seems a bit at odds with my last post about decluttering but I could not contain my excitement when GMan spotted this in an op shop today. Sometimes you don’t know that you need something until you see it.

For the princely sum of $6 I am now the proud owner of a cast-iron tortilla press.

It needs a bit of cleaning but then I will definitely be attempting to make my own tortillas.

If you have any experience using one I would love to hear about it. I will post about the results in due course.

Opportunity Knocks

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Browsing in op shops can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t have some sort of strategy. When it comes to clothes I am always on the lookout for certain colours and types of fabrics as well as generally restricting myself to spots, stripes or plains. This way I can eliminate about 90% of the stock fairly quickly.

I have a bit of a mental wishlist but you also need to be alert to unexpected possibilities. This is particularly important to keep in mind as you can sometimes score some bargains by buying summer clothes in winter and vice versa.

When we were in Sale last week I spotted (pardon the pun) these trousers for $4. They are Fella Hamilton brand and made in Australia. I think they will be perfect for most of the year in our climate apart from the depths of winter or very hot summer days.

On our way home from Sale we stopped in Kyneton with the specific purpose of going to the Salvos op shop which I have previously found to be very good. We didn’t find anything on this occasion, however, we parked the car directly outside a secondhand shop which happened to have a rack of clothing on the footpath and I spied this jacket on the end of the rack. It has a fully detachable hood and lining as well as inside and outside pockets and a drawstring option at the waist. It will be a great addition to GMan’s selection of jackets and perfect for our overseas trip in December.

Meanwhile, 2 things that I have been actively searching for were a pair of tongs as GMan needed a pair for extracting lumps of charcoal from a jar jar of kerosene (his homemade firelighters) and a king-size sheet or doona cover in shades of pink. This is for the backing of the patchwork quilt I am currently making.

I was in Bendigo today and after my appointments I made a concerted effort and went to 6 op shops. At the final one I found both items that were on my list. One side of the doona cover will be perfect for the quilt backing. The tongs I found are brand new so I have earmarked them for the kitchen and the old ones can be used for the firelighters.

In another shop I picked up a dress for $5. It is a good quality knit fabric and will pair well with tights, boots and a coat and scarf. I did not bother trying it on but I suspect I may need to shorten the sleeves a bit.

The final buy was a set of 4 x double point knitting needles. All in all I have had a very successful week of op shopping.

It Takes Time

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I have been looking for a new pair of black ankle boots to replace a pair that I have had for 6 years. I love them and wear them almost constantly.

They look OK at a casual glance so I have continued to wear them.

However, a closer look reveals the true state of them so they are definitely not suitable for wet weather.

Every time I go into an op shop I scan all of the boots on offer but had not found what I was looking for. That all changed today when I found I picked this pair of Rilassare ankle boots for $15. It is not a brand I am familiar with but they are apparently a European brand, super soft leather and are a current style retailing for $230. They have some very slight wear on the soles but are otherwise perfect.

Patience does pay off.

I plan to take the old pair to a cobbler in Melbourne to see whether they are able to be repaired but if not, I can dispose of them knowing that they provided excellent service over a number of years.

The Perfect Shirt

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Sometimes you don’t know what you need until you see it.

I found a Country Road shirt in an op shop in Warrnambool last week. It is organic French linen in one of my favourite shades and I was very happy to pay the $15 asking price as it is in pristine condition.

Now, all I need is some spring-like weather to be able to wear it. That is not going to happen for at least a couple of months yet.

Finally

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We, along with a large swathe of southern Australia, have been holding our breath and hoping for rain. The farmers are really desperate.

Well, we have finally received some rain in the past couple of days. It has mostly been very light and barely more than drizzle at times but at least it is rain. We have had 23mm here in about 48 hours. Much more is needed but at least that is a start.

Along with the rain it has been bitterly cold today. Unfortunately, GMan and I were volunteering at the market which is held by the local Neighbourhood Centre. I did have an opportunity to test out my recent ski jacket purchase and it stood up to the job admirably. You can check it out here. The ‘feels like’ temperature hovered around 1.5C for the 2.5 hours that I was standing at the market entrance. I feel as though I am some way to being prepared for 5 weeks in Europe in December and January.

Although the ski jacket and coat I bought a couple of weeks ago were brand-new, the majority of my clothes are sourced second-hand. I was in Melbourne on Friday and managed to find a pair of black Sportscraft trousers for $6. There is no photo at the moment as I wore them yesterday and today (with a thermal layer underneath). In fact there has been nothing particularly photo-worthy so I thought I would share this one from the alcove near the change rooms when I bought my trousers. The sentiment is terrific – the spelling ………….not so much.

New Shoes

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Yesterday we headed off to Melbourne bright and early. Our assignment was very specific. We were helping our daughter move some packed boxes out of her unit in order for some renovations to commence.

On way way home we decided to stop at Kyneton for lunch. I know from previous experience that the Salvos op shop there often has some top quality items so we decided to take a quick look. I did not have anything specific in mind as I recently decided that I probably had more than enough clothes unless I happened to stumble upon something that was absolutely amazing.

I always cast my eyes over any shoes on offer but tend to be fairly discerning in this regard. I was in luck yesterday. I found this pair of dark burgundy Mary Jane style shoes. They have leather uppers and lining, fit perfectly and are brand new. The original price tags were still attached. $190 reduced to $130 were now in the op shop for $25. They will be a perfect winter shoe to wear with trousers or dresses.

Sewing Skills

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I am not a professional seamstress or dressmaker but I do have reasonable sewing skills and am always ready to turn my hand to a bit of upcycling. It was with these skills in mind that I picked up a couple of things at the op shop today.

I spotted (pardon the pun) a cute pair of pyjamas which look as though they have never been worn. I love the colour and pattern plus the fact that they are 100% cotton. I bought them without trying them on as I knew that there are multiple ways to use the fabric.

Well, the shirt is a great fit so that is a win.

The bottoms need a little bit of work to make them perfect but I am confident that with some simple alterations I will have a brand new set of pyjamas for the princely sum of $4 plus a bit of time and handiwork from me.

I have removed the waist elastic which was too soft and obviously perished. Perhaps, these have been sitting in someone’s cupboard and unworn for an extended period of time. I am going to turn them into boxer shorts rather than mid-calf length trousers. This will give me enough excess fabric to make them a bit wider at the sides as well as extending the length of the crotch. I will use my existing pattern as a guide for these adjustments.

I also scored this collarless men’s shirt for $3. It is 100% linen and there is plenty of fabric for me to unpick it and remake into another summer linen top for myself. I can’t have too many sleeveless linen tops while the temperature continues to hover around 35C and above.

Two More Tops

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A few days ago we went to Castlemaine to meet some friends for lunch. We had a couple of other things to do and still had a bit of time to kill so I popped into one of my favourite op shops.

I came away with 2 tops. The first one is a favourite shade of green so was difficult to resist. I have no idea of any details about it as there are no labels. No brand, size, composition or washing instructions but it fitted beautifully and I love it.

The second is a simple fitted grey tshirt from Country Road. I like the idea of a plain top as it will go with some of the patterned bottoms that I have. It will also be useful as an extra layer in cooler weather. Something that does double-duty is a perfect addition to the wardrobe.

Change It Up

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I had been contemplating the destiny of this shirt for a while. It is a black linen one that I made and has cute ladybird buttons. I really only wore it with my ‘ladybird’ pants – a pair of red cotton drill trousers with large black spots. They were good while they lasted but have since been moved on from my wardrobe.

I had decided to change the buttons to black ones to make the shirt more wearable with other outfits. However, yesterday I picked up a pair of lovely black and white patterned trousers at the op shop which solidified my plans for the shirt.

After a quick search of my buttons collection I found some that I knew would work perfectly.

Here is the complete outfit which I am really pleased with.

Feeling Accomplished

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Today I have completed 2 sewing tasks that I have been working on recently.

The first is a shirt for my daughter using a pattern and fabric which she provided. The linen fabric was a delight to work with as was the pattern which came together beautifully. I am really pleased with the result.

The other was a skirt which I spotted at the op shop a few days ago. The colours caught my eye initially and although it was supposedly my size the waistband was much too small. For $3.50 it was definitely worth buying and refashioning. I removed the side zip and recreated the waistband with it flat at the front and elasticated at the back. I am looking forward to wearing this as the weather warms up.