Opportunity for whom exactly?

I had cause to visit a Salvos in one of Melbourne's more well to do suburbs on Friday.

I was astounded to find things marked fairly heftily pricewise in this particular store. For example, $40 - $50 for dresses (not designer) $50 for a pair of jeans (admittedly Calvin Klein but not the most modern of styles) and a whopping $1500 for a cabinet containing glass and china (and it was just the cabinet not the glass and the china).

Which, in the words of Carrie Bradshaw, ala Sex in the City, "got me to thinking".

Who exactly is supposed to be benefiting more from the op shop - the potential shopper or the charity itself? Is it acceptable for the thrift store to hike its prices to meet its perceived market?

Perhaps controversially I see the situation as one which should benefit the shopper more than the charity. After all, the charity is given the stuff for nothing by those wanting to benefit the charity.

Yes there are treasure hunters out there looking to secure a bargain. I have been one from time to time (I have a penchant for tuppaware and sewing stuff at the moment).

In all reality many op shoppers frequent the stores as they absolutely have to.

And those are the people for whom the op shop should cater above all. It is through finding appropriate goods at a cheaper price that they benefit from the "opportunity" shop directly and easily without waiting for funds to trickle back down to them via other charitable means.

Don't get me wrong, I do understand that running any shop is a big business. There are some expenses which have to be paid irrespective of whether or not the business runs on the goodwill of volunteers.

In the case of many op shops in Melbourne however, I understand that the op shops actually own their premises.

I suppose too, if the market will pay the price, ultimately at least some of the money will end up in the hands of those requiring charity. Whether or not the people who need it the most I am not sure.

I suppose I just don't have the answers!

Pop goes the weevil!

Yesterday I checked the weather forecast for the weekend and in light of the forecast inclement weather decided to hold off from taking the sewing machine to Barry for a service so that I would have something to play with!

To warm the cockles of Mr B's heart (and his feet of ice!!) I decided to make the Rice Heat Pack featured here at Sew Mama Sew.

I needed to use up some rice we had in the cupboard which today showed signs of having weevils in it. I figured they will not survive a zap in the microwave!

I digress. I am relatively happy with the finished product.



I modified the pattern so that there are only 2 panels of fabric on the outer pouch to keep it simple. I didn't have different fabrics to make something which looks as good as Kirstin's original. Did anyone say trip to spotlight??? I cheated and used stick on velcro for the fastening as that was all I had.

My lines are getting straighter which is good. My pattern cutting is getting better too.

I am not too pleased with the finishing of the outer pouch, the final seams near the velcro end, not pictured, did not come together as well as I would have liked.

The fiddly stuff takes time it would seem and I suppose it would have been better to come back and finish it off tomorrow fresh rather than rush the finish whilst tired as I did tonight.

Lesson learned!

Hopefully I will get the chance to try something different tomorrow.

Enjoy your Sunday!!

I have almost lost control of my bodily functions..

....I am THAT excited!

The search is officially over.

Meet my new sewing partner in crime (you just know that you can those drums rolling...)



Ta Dahhhh!

I just simply cannot believe my luck. This little beauty of a machine found me. Yes it's true. "We" were meant to be.

Whilst I loved the tester Barry gave me it did not seem quite right. I can't really put my finger on why exactly. I just did not feel fully comfortable using her.

Which made me even less inclined to take the plunge and purchase a new machine not knowing whether or not I would stick with this new hobby and without really getting to know what I might like in a machine first.

I have been combing op shops local, and from afar, with no luck. Most of them don't sell electrical goods anymore.

Earlier in the week I had another idea. Some time ago I joined my local Freecycle group. So I posted a "Wanted" post to see if I could flush out a beginner's sewing machine.

Within 24 hours I received an email from a lady called Kerry who offered me her mother's old machine. She did not tell me anything about it but I hastily offered to collect it first thing this morning. After navigating a petrol spill and a number of accidents during a 90 minute trip in peak hour traffic this morning - I met Kerry and her lovely family at 10.00am.

Kerry's husband insisted on carrying it to my car. "It's too heavy for you to carry!" he cried. My heart sunk a little at that point. But I decided to wait and see what would reveal itself when I opened the case at home.

I was so happily surpised when I unlocked the blue leather (or leather look?) case. A Janome 610. Made in Japan. A late 1960's or early 1970's make. A little workhorse, I am guessing she weighs around 15kg! I am going to have to head back to the gym before I can take her out for lessons!

Kerry's mum had kept all of the bits and pieces I can see myself needing for a while.



I totally dig the case!

What I really love about this machine is its simplicity. I managed to work out how to thread this thing and load a bobbin without the manual. Which is a huge deal!

The most intriguing thing about it is the way the stitches work. More modern machines change stitches at the click of button or turn of a dial.

On this machine the sewer has to manually change the stitch by changing the cam on the machine itself. That's right people, you have to flip the lid open like so...





and change the little blue wheel. Altogether there are 27 wheels with different stitch combinations. Reading the instruction manual reveals that you can set the machine to run with 2 needles and then use 2 different cams to make a combination of 2 stitches work together.

Here is a sample of what it can do..(sorry for the bad pic I sewed on calico which flashed up terribly when I took pictures with the flash).



Whilst I suspect that in time this feature could become cumbersome, at the moment I find it charming. It totally fits where I am with sewing.

I am going to have to really stop and take the time to think about what I am doing.

So I am off to share my find with Barry tomorrow. Hopefully his trained eye will find that she merely needs a tune up. Hopefully he won't need to keep her for too long....

On my desk... otherwise named all about a man named Barry...

Well it's not really my desk, it is currently on my dining room table...


I received some cashola for my birthday and have so started the serious hunt for a sewing machine. My budget is now a little more than I expected which has opened up some different possibilities!

In my travels I stumbled across Barry from Barry's Sewing Machine Centre. He is quite frankly, a gem of a man.

As the appearance of his website might suggest, he is as you find him. His shop is attached to his work shop. He has been in the business of sewing machines for 48 or so years. He services and conditions them all himself on behalf of the various manufacturers.

Barry gave me almost 2 hours of his time late last week. He spent most of that time trying to ascertain what I would need and want out of a machine. He talked me through various options including new and second hand options.

I had done a little bit of research and so we spent some time talking about some of the better older machines out there.

What I liked about Barry was that he spoke with a real passion about all things sewing. He loved the history of machines and is enthusiastic about today's offerings. He is very no nonsense. He left me feeling that he was actually interested in finding a machine to fit me rather than simply selling yet another customer something for the sake of the sale. He actually made a couple of suggestions which are well under what the top end of my budget is.

All in all I think he just offered good old customer service and expertise. Which I think is rare these days.

The only downside is that Barry did not have new machines available to test even on site so I have had to see some of his competitors to try out a new machine or 2 even though ultimately if I buy new I will probably go back to him.

He did give me a second hand machine to try out for a week. He also shared a penchant for rock n roll music and dancing and leant me some of his cds (for my mother in law who also loves all things rock n roll!)

This baby is probably just about as old as me but in far better nick! Barry has tuned her to purr as she sews. I have not sewn since my high school years and was frightened about handling her but by and large the experience was actually a joyful one!

In my op shopping travels last week I picked up a library bag and art smock pattern for 50cents from the Colac Salvos. I made the library bag without too much bother once I worked out how to read the pattern - don't laugh it took me forever to work out what "cut to fold" meant!! I am not ready to post photos yet - the straightness of my lines leave a lot to be desired for one thing - I have a lot to learn.

I am still not 100% sure if this is the machine for me but I am definitely sure I would like to pursue learning the art of sewing.

And I think that is in part due to blogland and in part due to Barry!

Check out Kirsty's blog to see who else is playing along today!

Frustration

I have been fiddling with my header and can't get rid of the pink block which appears on the right hand side of the header irrespective of what I upload.
Grr. I am a total novice. Any ideas?

Mother's Day weekend delights!

To all of the mothers out there, I hope you had a truly satisfying and delicious day!

The weekend just past was all about me as it was my birthday fell on Saturday and then Mother's Day fell on Sunday!

I was spoilt rotten! Not a dirty nappy nor a dirty dish passed through my hands!

I was showered with lovely gifts including tickets to the MSO and a DVD gift set of my favourite tv series - Boston Legal (Denny Crane anyone??)

Mr B and Little B also joined me and my parents for some good ol' yum cha! It was Little B's first yum cha experience and whilst he only managed to get his hands on some steamed rice he had an absolute ball!



Life is good. Really really good.

Back from the brink of madness

So it's been a while!

I have been too busy to think straight!

A quick run down.

The wedding was last weekend - it's been a while since we have been to a wedding and overall it was a fantastic day 0 the bride and groom gorgeous, their service very intimate and personal, the cocktail reception lovely, the band and dancing great. The hangover post wedding not so good!

A lovely feature of the day was the bride's veil, a 65 year old heirloom piece. Just stunning.

Not that the day was all about me but you may be pleased to know that I did not go to the wedding naked.

My dressmaker friend pulled off a miracle and put together a dress in a half a day prior to the wedding. Inspirational to watch. Really. She did so whilst still serving customers in the shop and taking phone calls, dealing with her bookmaker and whilst Little B was under her feet. Bloody fantastic job Tais!

The whole debacle required me to act under pressure and select fabric for said dress which I pulled myself together and managed. I really am coming to love Spotlight. But have learned to get in there early for quick service and quiet browsing time.

The dress came up a treat. Upon reflection perhaps not quite dressy enough for the wedding but that was my pattern selection and/or fabric choice rather than any doing of the dressmaker!

The pics Mr B took of me in the dress on the day are awful. We were rushing to get out the door to the wedding in the midst of Little B having a tanty about our departure when he took them and I don't think they do the dress justice. So we are going to retake in the next few days which I suspect will be rather amusing as I will have to drag meself out of me trackkies and dolly meself up just for the photos! To come shortly...

Last week I went and visited my nanna and pa who live in Terang a small town in the Western District of Victoria. In between Geelong and Warnambool on the Prices Highway. I did not get back until yesterday (Friday).

I had a great time. It was lovely to spend time with my grandparents. It was their 60th wedding anniversary whilst Little B and I were there which was a treat for all of us. They are still so cute together. They reminisced about their time together including their travels, their child rearing and their working lives. I learnt alot about them both. They absolutely loved spending time with Little B who behaved just beautifully.

I enjoyed some different cuisine, stewed rhubarb and steamed pudding courtesy of my nan. I enjoyed the latter so much that I picked up a pudding bowl from an Op Shop on the way home!

It was sad to leave them. Both of them have declined in health considerably since Christmas which was the last time we saw them. It's hard to say but the possibility of one of them not being around for the next visit is becoming more and more likely as time progresses.

I came home both rejuvenated and exhausted after the last few weeks.

It's good to be home.