Op-Shopping

I am sure I have mentioned before that I love op-shopping. I have not let myself spend much on myself lately because of the situation with my husband losing his job but last week I needed to fill in some time in town and I let myself do a bit of op-shopping.

I got myself a pair of near new shoes for about the price of a cappuccino from the Salvation Army shop.

At other op-shops I got the following, all for about NZ $12.

Lace Net Embroidery

Chocolat

Basic Steps for Weaving Cane Furniture

Woolen Baby Wrap

Tourist-type Russian Dolls

(I also got a folder of crochet know-how and patterns but I have not included these in the photo)

Over time I want to experiment with the lace net embroidery and the cane furniture in miniature. The woolen wrap I will cut up to make miniature blankets etc which I will edge and embroider. There is only two dolls as below and I may just use the bottoms as miniature planters once I have trimmed the top edge of them. As for the book Chocolat, that is my favourite film which I have watched many times but I have never read the book before. The felt toy book is from 1953 and has some lovely designs in it. Some of the simpler designs I will try to make in miniature but I will also probably make up some of the designs in their full size as well. I've always loved the old felt toys.

and yet more:

Little Brown Bird

Basketry the Easy Way

More Macrame

Basket Making Made Easy

Applique and embroidered table cloth

With this group I want to experiment with basketry and macrame in miniature. When I was quite young I remember doing both in full size. It will be fun trying to scale the techniques down into miniature. The Little Brown Bird book contains designs which combined make a large quilt using applique/embroidery/stitching and painting, with many of the designs containing birds. I love anything to do with birds. While I am not a quilter I thought I could take ideas from the book for miniature items. The table cloth I will cut up to use the applique and embroidery for miniature items and the cloth can be used to make miniature sheets.

So that was my op-shopping.

Finally, I couldn't resist a 960 page 1813/14 Girl's Realm Annual I saw on an on-line auction. I got it for NZ$3 plus postage. I couldn't believe my luck. The seller had described it as being in quite bad condition which may have put people off bidding, but I was happily surprised when I received it as it is not in that bad a condition at all, especially for a book that is 100 years old. I love flicking through these old annuals and they often have some lovely craft ideas in them as well as pictures of old fashions etc.

I definitely intend to make at least some little thing in miniature this weekend so check back with my blog in the next day or two.

Have a great weekend everybody.