Sunday 11 March 2012

Charity Shopping.

I am very fortunate that my nearest town has lots of charity shops.  I love nothing more than browsing the them (preferably on my own) at the weekend.  The thing about charity shops is that you never know what you are going to find - this is both great fun and, at times, frustrating if you are looking for something specific.  Generally I would advise against going to charity shops looking for specific items however, that is exactly what I did this weekend & amazingly I found everything I was looking for.

Knitting needles in various sizes.  I prefer bamboo needles but I am only just starting out so don't want to spend a lot of money building my collection. I found a complete set of 4 double pointed needles for circular knitting.  I paid £1 for each set.  I also found some lovely very classic buttons.
We have an American style waggon - the classic radio flyer.  I love it!  It gets two children and all their togs back from the allotment in style and comfort.  It's also perfect for carting tired children and all their end of term paintings/junk models/lost property back from school & when it snows I put a sheep skin in the bottom and wrap a quilt around the girls.  It's so handy!  I have been thinking about making/finding a crochet granny style blanket for the waggon as I find the quilt is a little too stiff to drape.  I thought I would have a look for one in a charity shop - on the off chance they had one.  And look...
I am so chuffed with this find & it has a cute story behind it.  Apparently the lady who makes these is 93 and says she crotchets them to "keep her out of mischief".  Her husband (also 93) cycles from the villages into town to deliver them to the charity shop.  The best part of this is the price - just £3!  That's slave labour, I couldn't even buy the wool for that.  I appreciate it's an acquired taste but I just love how mad it is, it makes me smile & my girls love the colours.

I also found some fabric remnanats, these are my favourite things to pick up in charity shops.  I found 4 meters of quilted fabric in pale pink.  I've been wanting to make a 50s style circle skirt in a quilted fabric for quite a while.  I plan to dye the fabric but it cost 99p so even if I just use it for my muslin it was a great find.

My tips for charity shopping.
  • Pop in frequently as the good stuff goes quickly & if the staff get to know you and know what you like to look for they might keep items aside for you.
  • Don't go looking for somthing specific.
  • Use your imagination, once you've got it home and given the item a wash it's likely to look a lot better.  Also think about making simpe alterations yourself, adding trims or accessories to your purchase can tranform it.
  • To find the good stuff you have to be prepared to get stuck in.
  • Take some hand sanitizer with you, some items can be a little grubby.    Other stuff is brand new and in the packaging - you just never know. 
What are your top tips for successful charity shopping?

3 comments:

  1. Hand sanitizer?! Really Simi... You have covered most good charity shop tips. Although I agree with generally not going to a charity shop to look for specific items, I have a rolling list of a whole bunch of things I keep my eye out for and generally have a cast around the shops for all of them. Also, its worth looking at the larger sized ladies clothes that have lovely material that could be cut up and made into something - or somethings - else. emma x

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    1. Yes I have a list of items i'm always looking for too. You have to be prepared to be spontaniouse too I got a Burberry cashmere jumper (in my size amazingly) this week for £5.99. It wasn't on my list although i am always looking for jumpers in natural fibres. Clothes in larger sizes can be used for fabric or sized down to fit you. In fact knitwear is suprisingly easy to reduce in size, hum I feel another post comeing on.

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