op shop treasure

after doing a regular walk with a friend yesterday in studley park i went to a local firewood retailer i knew about by the name of dunning's to get some wood so that i could have a fire last night for my children's and my dinner together only to find that they had closed down..i was really disappointed to find they were no longer operating because it was such an iconic business that had been there for 100 years..funnily enough my son and i had been talking recently about how much we loved dunning's wood yard and that we would be sad if it closed down..

anyway i decided i needed some cheering up after that disappointment so i visited an op shop that i used to frequent when i lived in the area before my move 4 years ago..i wasn't expecting to find anything much because other trips hadn't been particularly fruitful but i was pleasantly surprised to actually find the french ceramic hen, the 6 green jars, the vintage sheet, the sifter and the filing cabinet..i also found another rubber duck to join my ducks on parade!

and a little detour to another op shop on the way home after food shopping resulted in the purchase of the enamel bowl..on tuesday i found the enamel jug when my daughter alex and i did a bit of a detour on the way home via the op shop after having a coffee break at my local cafe..i spotted the lemons down a lane this morning but this is all i picked because i didn't have a bag with me..another better prepared trip is planned!

this made in australia propert sifter is in really good condition

relatively new jug made in romania

two piece french ceramic hen

i have a vision that involves another two of these

made in belgium

have you found any op shop treasures recently?

a new continental quilt cover

i've done a lot of sewing in my life with some of it being challenging but one of the easiest things i make are covers for feather continental quilts..if you have a sewing machine and you can sew a straight line you can make one..

i used to make them from actil white cotton sheeting but in recent years i've used recycled tablecloths and fabric from cut apart second hand quilt covers for the tops of the quilts..i've collected several new vintage all cotton white sheets that i use for the reverse side..i'm always on the lookout for good quality covers but i don't find many that suit my purposes because i need them to be queen or king size so that i can remake them into double bed covers..i also need them to be an all cotton fabric that i like..

last week i was lucky enough to find a relatively new king size double sided waffle weave quilt cover for $10..i wondered if the person had got rid of it because it was so heavy..i gave it a really hot wash with an oxygen bleach as well as detergent and left it outside for two sunny days to freshen it up..

the  weight of the waffle weave fabric appealed to me because its heaviness would make a good winter weight quilt cover..and rather than putting something plain on the back of it i chose one of my $4 floral double new vintage sheets ..

to make the cover i just measured up the last one i made and cut the fabric to size allowing for seam allowances and for the hem at the closure end..for my double bed quilt i cut the fabric to 202 cms x 170 cms..then it was just a matter of joining the seams on the two long sides and on one short side (the top of the quilt)..then i turned up the closure end.. so far though i haven't dealt with the issue of closure..in the past i've tried buttons and large press studs and neither have been that successful..with repeated washing they come off and i'm not very good at replacing them..i'm thinking of sewing ribbon or tape on the inside hem so that i can tie concealed bows as the closure.. 

my new $9 quilt cover

goodnight everyone..sweet dreams..x

today i made a bag..

out of an old blanket and a vintage sheet that i purchased from an op shop.. it was a practice run to see if my idea of repurposing these fabrics to make a bag was a success or not..i am quite happy with how it turned out and i'm looking forward to making more of them using other lining fabrics..i'll be keeping my eye out too for more suitable blankets in other colours..there are many great blankets available but they are too thick for my purposes..i need them to be well worn but undamaged or stained.. 

happy monday everyone..x

op shop finds

from the last two weeks..

$2 for a pretty hand painted vase
i found the mirror in an op shop too a couple of years ago

$8 for this finely cross stitched piece in a
lovely old wooden and plaster frame

$3 for an early australian fowler ware bowl
$2 for the brand new hand appliqued table cloth

$2.50 for this coloured enamel bowl
the table cloth is also an op shop find but from a few years ago

brand new still in their packet vintage single bed
sheets for $7

used but in good condition double bed sheet for $2

$5 for this new t2 teacup

hop on over to
the shady baker
for more op shop treasure

cupboard love

mentally i've rearranged my workspace dozens of times..and i have physically moved things around a lot too while trying to make the space functional and aesthetically pleasing..but no matter what configuration i tried it just didn't work so a while back i swapped the spare room and workroom around..that of course was after much deliberation and i even wondered at one or several angst ridden moments whether my spacious bedroom might make a better workroom..and in reality it would..but in the end i decided not to relinquish my large airy bedroom which has a garden view and where outside i have strategically planted deciduous and non deciduous plants to cool my room in summer and warm it in winter..

over the last year or so i'd been looking in op shops for a glass fronted cupboard for my workroom to store my vintage sheets and pillow cases..several months ago i found the very style of cupboard i'd had in mind..even though it was an op shop purchase it wasn't cheap and i had to pay extra for delivery..when i bought it i wasn't sure whether i would strip the dark brown lacquer off or paint it..my decision was made when i did a test strip patch and found that the timber had been stained black prior to being lacquered and it was resistant to removal no matter what i tried..

the cupboard sat outside under cover waiting to be painted for ages when one very windy day it was blown over onto it's front..it lay in its prostrate state for a few weeks because it was too heavy for me to lift into the upright position..there was an unhinged door looking like a cumbersome broken limb lying awkwardly under the heavy cupboard and shards of glass everywhere..i gave up hope that my cupboard was salvageable and so i decided that the easiest and cheapest method of disposal was to break it up and take it to the tip..i felt sad because not only had i lost several hundred dollars but i'd also lost a lovely cupboard that had taken me ages to find..

on one of my son's visits i asked him to lift the cupboard into the upright position so that i could assess the damage before breaking it up..to my great surprise the broken limb door had sustained no damage at all apart from having come off its hinges and while the glass was broken in the other door it was still in situ..remarkably that was the only damage the cupboard had incurred..

i've mentioned previously that recently my daughter has been helping me finish some renovation work and furniture painting..i can't take any credit for the cupboard painting because she did the two undercoats and two top coats that it needed..all i did was take the door with the broken glass off, remove the remnants of old glass and beading and get some new glass cut to size and together we replaced the glass and beading before we reinstated the doors..after such a long saga it felt pretty amazing yesterday to be able to finally put my fabric in the cupboard and to stand back and admire the pretty colour coordination..ah..it's cupboard love..

unfortunately i don't have a before photo but it was lacquered a very dark brown

now i'm planning my next vintage sheet quilt..