Cheap habedashery

Found all these items for 50 cents each!

Cover your own buttons... pity one was missing but still very usable of course:

Loving the cute engraved design on this crochet hook:

And by the way.... that Cleckheaton bamboo yarn you see at the back was only 20 cents!!

Woman's Weekly knitting magazine from the 1980's and believe me, I wouldn't have grabbed it if it didn't have at least a couple of cute designs in there.  The sweaters on the front cover are NOT one of the cute favourites:

Finally, I don't know how large this beautiful piece of fabric is (possibly 2 x 2 metres-ish and is thick enough for what I need it for), but I know it's way more than enough for a project I'm trying to finish:  

Free Book

I scored a free 1980 Guinness Book of Records in fantastic condition.  Hardly worth getting excited about, I know... but hey it was free!

Lots O' Cheap Glass

Unexciting glass findings from yesteryear...

20 cents each for these;

Love that green stem;

  20 cent bottle stopper;

Cute and round - only $2;

Very hard to see, but it's etched (click on the photo for a better view!);

And lastly for today, I found these cute little eggs in a pet shop over 10 years ago for about 50 cents each.  I've not been able to find more since;

When I was a little girl...

My mother gifted me this cute little metal sewing machine when I was little... I'd say nearly 40 years ago.   I remember absolutely loving it!   It did have a sticker with the name on it once upon a time and that would have been ideal to help with finding out more, but unfortunately I can't find anything online.

It stands about about 15 cms high and it's battery operated but I don't know if it would still work.  I guess I could throw in a battery to check.  I'll put that on my VERY LOOONNGGGG list of things to do.  

Believe it or not, I used to sew little pieces of fabric together and remember trying very hard to make a dress for a doll... it seems very funny to me now.  And no, I did not succeed with sewing the doll's dress.

Light Shade

Another light shade found for $6, and it matches the previous ones that I bought from the same dingy second hand store for $5.  This one is bigger in size and  I've placed it in the master bedroom. Pretty, yes?

 

And here are the others which I placed in the front dining room:

Yes, I agree that the air-con vent and smoke alarm spoil the romantic effect.  Blah.

Clock maniac

I may have mentioned before that I'm a small clock collector.  Anything to do with clocks fascinates me.  I quietly "SQUEE'D!" when I found one being trashed.  The actual clock didn't thrill me, but the guts of it did.  Yes, I also take guts out of old clocks to make new original ones. The clock hands are rather long, so it looks like I'll have to make a larger clock, rather than a smaller one.  But hey, what do you want for free??

Let's hang a plate

I found this plate hanger for 99 cents about a year ago.  

I've not been able to find any more since, and I desperately need them to hang my plate collection.  I'll keep waiting and in the meantime, I could try making my own with some thick wire. 

My latest find... a gorgeous plate for only $2.  LOVE IT!

Dreary day...

The sun won't show it's delightful face and it's cold today.  I'm still in my pyjamas and I keep thinking about making a cup of coffee.  But I'm just too chilly to move out of my warm chair.  So instead I'll warm myself up by ranting about curtains....

I think it was a couple of months ago when I mentioned that I found 3 calico curtains.  Very plain and boring indeed, and I was going to jazz them up a little somehow.  Still haven't and I don't think I ever will. 

But onto nicer things....


This glass candle holder was being trashed, so I snapped it up;

Cute, huh?  The sun is now shining.  :)

Classy Book

I found a 1965 Family treasury of great painters & great paintings book for $4 and I took the outer  cover off to expose the loveliness.  It came with an envelope containing 5 small posters (see last photo) and all in excellent condition - almost like nobody has ever taken them out.

It's been out of print for years and I'm so glad I found one.  I love analyzing and looking closely at antique paintings and art - it always give me a thrill.  Especially if they are of a religious nature... it stirs up something inside me like nothing else can.

 

Free hat and coat stand

Last year I was driving home from who knows where, and not too far from my house I spotted a bunch of wooden things that somebody was trashing.  They looked kind of nice in a shabby way.  So I parked the car and went knocking on their door.  After a couple of tries, I just threw it all in the car boot.

When I got home I looked at all the pieces and it quickly occurred to me what it was.  So I started putting the puzzle together....  and I was right - it was a beaten up hat and coat stand.  I was very thrilled with my free find!  

So I went to work on it for several weeks....  

I used jarrah wood coloured varnish, but I didn't sand it down, shock... horror.  Any woodworker would probably tell me that I'm nuts for not doing so, but I honestly couldn't be bothered. 

 

 

... then this beautiful creature was in our lives.

 

As you can see in the background, there is a big old mess.  I'm always up to something!

Bendigo Colonial Wool

I scored 600g of Bendigo Woollen Mills wool.  I forked out $15 for the lot and it's the most I've ever paid for wool at the op shop.  I'm still unsure as to why I bought it.  

Free Cushions

I scored not 2, not 4, but 3 sofa cushion.  I don't like uneven numbers for some odd reason ( excuse the pun! ), yet here they are.... all THREE and all FREE.

 

The smashed cup

 One day we decided to get ceramic tiles laid throughout the house, so that meant packing everything up.  The whole process was such a chore and I never want to go through that again, but it the end it was worth it.  

Then the day came when I could unpack everything.  This included a lovely dinner set my mother gifted me many years ago.  Each individual piece was lovely wrapped in newspaper.

I started to unwrap them, one by one.... and the last piece was a cup.  It slipped out of my hands and crashed onto the new tiles.  Didn't hurt the tiles, but that cup had smashed into a million bits.

I was utterly shocked and heart broken to say the least.  Oh well, I said to myself and a tear or two.  These things happen and there is nothing I can do about it now.   

Years later I was in an op shop, but I was South of the river ( I live North ).  Imagine my elation, delight and thankfulness when I found some of the dinner set pieces!

Yes, I did buy them all for one cup, but I only spent $30 for well over 30 pieces AND I ended up with ones I didn't have - a gravy boat, sugar bowl, milk holder, soup bowls with handles (so cute!) a pepper shaker (no salt unfortunately, but I'm on the hunt!), and a tea pot.  The set is called 'Renaissance Fine China, Made in Australia'.

I love when these kind of things happen.  It makes me so very appreciative that we have op shops!

This is what I found, minus what I already had;