Finding things in charity shops

Hello! Today I was really happy to be able to get back to the charity shops hunting for yarn related bargains! Here in Scotland, lockdown restrictions eased on Monday, allowing non-essential shops to re-open. and I have really missed having a rummage in my local charity shops. There are currently 4 in my town and whilst one focuses on baby & childrens items, the rest are an all round excellent source of second hand items. Charity shops, also known as op shops or thrift shops, are one of my favourite places to look for yarn, fabric, thread, needles, hooks and other haberdashery items. 

Today I was searching for some buttons and I knew exactly which shop had them all sorted into colours (see pic above). I was sucesful in finding just the ones I needed! In another shop I stumbled across 4 unopened bags of wool tops -  I bought the White Dorset Horn, Wensleydale and the White Perndale but left the purple one with sparkles but I may well go back for it! In another shop I found a 50g ball of Louisa Harding Grace - silk & wool and an unlabelled ball of yarn which I'm pretty sure is Rowan felted tweed. The top photo shows my purchases, all this for £4, score! 

A few years ago, I was on a bus and I overheard someone behind me saying to her friend "don't make it obvious you're looking, but see that woman sitting diagnally in front of us - she's a bit of a charity shopper, I often see her going in and out of them". They could only have been talking about me as the bus was practically empty - I decided to take it as a compliment and couldn't stop smirking!

I just love how you never know what you might find, one person's trash really is another's treasure! My local shops all donate to local causes too, which gives me the added satisfaction of knowing that my spare change is being used locally (and it means the shops are not half full of their own brand merchandise). What about you? Do you like charity shopping for craft items? What's the best thing you've found?