A nice lot of linen, thank to my eBay friends!

I posted a message on eBay's Collectables Chat board a few weeks ago, saying I was going to Tassie, and asking if anyone could supply information on where I might find old linen. There were half a dozen replies, providing useful information and addresses for me to visit. A couple of people mentioned a place called The Tip Shop, which is where saleable stuff has been rescued from the city rubbish tip (sounds disgusting, but not as bad as you might think!), and is put out for sale...I think the proceeds go to charity, not sure about that. Well, it was easy to find - right in one of the main city streets, so I dragged unwilling hubby in to fossick. We went up and down the aisles among all kinds of amazing junk, and just before we reached the exit, I discovered two baskets on the floor, full of old linen - damask, crocheted, embroidered, etc. Ken rolled his eyes and prepared to wait...I pulled everything out very carefully and found a gorgeous APRON! No, not chicken scratch - sorry girls! This was my kind of apron - embroidered with a tacky but cute design. I also found some small cloths and centrepieces which were all beautifully stitched, so I added them to my pile. I noticed the prices were between $2 and $10, but didn't stop to add them up. At the checkout, the girl added everything up and it came to $40 - and I had $25 in my purse...and they didn't accept credit cards - bleah! So I had a quick look through my selection, found a cloth that was priced at $15, and decided I could live without that one. When we got to my friend's home where we were staying, I was bursting with excitement and dying to show it off, but my friend doesn't have any interest in this kind of thing, so she was politely pleased for me and that was it! So I called S from A Blank Page, but she was in bed asleep, and E promised to pass on my message. It is just as well E has met me often enough to know that I do go quite spare about old linen, and she was tolerant of my squeals of delight over the phone! Aforementioned linen is presently soaking in Napisan, so as soon as it is clean and pressed, I will scan it and put it on here for those who are interested.