Thrifting in Guelph

I thought I was finally finished all of the blocks for my Shirt Stripe Boxes.  I pressed and squared up the last of my blocks last night and discovered that I'm 24 3.5" blocks short.  Just one more shirt!

So Hubby and I headed out bright and early this morning and hit a couple of thrift stores.  There's five thrift stores that I enjoy visiting when I'm in the neighbourhood. 

Bibles for Missions is almosty hyper-compulsively organized - big, bright, and spacious.  They price their items intelligently.  However, I haven't found anything really spectacular there myself.  Hubby on the other hand, bought a beautiful London Fog leather coat for $18 there a few weeks back.  Nothing today -- it was closed!

St. Vincent de Paul's is also well organized, although space becomes a little crowded in the back room.  Prices are good too.  I have been able to find a couple of things -- a gorgeous pair of grey and black plaid slacks (name brand) perfect for the office, and today I found a pair of jeans, and a couple of vintage aprons that I am going to cut up for quilts.  No shirts, so off to our next stop.

Goodwill is a big store out near the junction of 6 and 7.  Aisles are nice and wide, but the racks are too crowded to have a good look.  My arms are aching after a few minutes of pushing hangers apart.  The prices are very high (in my humble opinion).  I did find two really good quality cutter shirts, and a couple of books.  Hubby found a shirt for himself.

Value Village - I could spend hours here.  A little pricey, but the variety of items is very good, and the stock always seems fresh. I didn't see anything I couldn't live without today, but then I didn't really spend enough time to have a good look -- and I wasn't looking for anything either, so there was no challenge of a hunt.

We didn't make it to Salvation Army this morning.  It's a very well stocked store compared to other Sally Ann's I've shopped.  I've had good experiences with the staff.  Once, I was buying a piece of glass, which was marked $2.99, which I thought was fair, but when the clerk saw the price, she wondered aloud what the person was thinking when he/she priced it, and only charged me $.99.  Another time I was buying some cutter shirts, and the clerk gave me a sale price -- even though I didn't see any signage about sales anywhere.

No big plans for New Year's Eve for me and Hubby.  Itty Bitty is playing a gig in Brantford tonight - so we're on our own.  The neighbours have invited us down for a party, to which we should make a brief appearance.  Maybe I'll ring in the New Year by finishing those last 24 blocks!