A Bit of a Mooch and a Small Charity Shop Haul

Today, was one of my days off and the day that I go to my usual volunteering session. I didn't feel like going on my bike for once, so I decided to take the bus.  The volunteering session was good, there were quite a few of us and we seemed to get a lot of work done.

On the way home, I decided to do a bit of a detour and have a mooch about our local town centre, so I hopped off the bus, intending to hop back on it again after I'd had a look in a couple of shops and got some cash out at the bank.

The first stop was a charity shop. I was a bit disappointed, as they didn't have hardly anything in my size and they seemed to have a lot more vintage clothing than I remembered, so I  didn't find anything to buy in here. 

I then stopped off at our local Primark. I haven't been in this store for a long while and just thought I'd take a look and see if there was anything I could take on holiday with me when we go to Lanzarote next month. I picked up a few pairs of trousers and headed to the changing room. They all fitted, but none of them blew me away. I liked a pair of khaki cargo pants the best, but didn't think they were worth the £20 price tag, so I left emptyhanded.

I then popped to the bank and then intended to get back on the bus.  When the bus didn't come, I decided to take a walk up to another charity shop, that has always been my favourite place to shop and which is on the way home. I didn't find any clothes here, but I did find some crafty bits. I spent about £6.50 in total and here's what I bought:

The first thing that caught my eye was this vintage tray with a bird print on it. I already have a similar one at home and I love it. I'm going to use this one on the kitchen table to house a candle, flowers, a crystal maybe. It only cost £1, which was a steal.

I noticed whilst I was in there that there was a heap of crafting materials that someone had donated. At first, I didn't even take a look as I have so much already, but as I worked my way around the shop, I decided to look and see what was there. There were some really lovely things, but I stuck to what I would definitely use and came away with these few items:

First was the cutest little English paper pieceing kit. It contains 150 1" paper squares, a 1" square board template and a little project book of how to make a little sleeping bag for a small teddy bear. I probably won't make this, but I can think of all sorts of lovely little projects to make using the smallest of fabric scraps.  This was right up my street and cost just £1.50.

The next item I bought was this nest of triangles quilting template. I've been meaning to attempt a triangle quilt for a while and this would be really useful if I ever did get around to it. The templates range from 1" all the way up to 12" triangles, so this could be very useful for multiple projects. Another bargain at £1.50 again.

This next item was a Mandala stencil set. It is actually for home decor, but I bought it with the idea of perhaps stencilling onto fabric using fabric paints and using them as quilt blocks. It's an idea, but I don't know if I'll ever do it.  It could be used for making pretty cards too or prints to hang on the wall. Very versatile and only £1.50 again for the two stencils.

When I opened them up, they are actually quite big and would be good to use for a cushion panel. Probably a bit large for a patchwork or cards, but they could form a centrepiece for something. There was also a lovely mandala print block that I thought about buying for £2, but I left it.  I'm tempted to go back for it now I know how big these are, as it would be the perfect size for quilt blocks.

The last thing I bought was a small 3m role of spotty ribbon for £1. This will be useful for gift wrapping or possibly other uses.

In all, I was very happy with this little haul, as I do think I might use all of the items and I enjoyed leafing through all of what must have once been someone's stash. How generous of them to donate it all for the pleasure of others and to raise funds for the charity.