is this a good luck sign?

I've done some more thrifting for reusable sweaters/yarn. During a day-trip out with the girls, I scored a mixed bag of winners: some sweaters to rip for the yarn and a felting project. Plus a bonus cardigan, originally bought to rip - I like it how it is and don't think that I could do the yarn any better justice.

First though, I must remark on the amount of fun we had that day. Oh, the tears of laughter that rolled. Over coffee, grand schemes were made involving a 'lifted' golf cart and crazy capers - hillarity insued. We dined at VietNam-the restaurant, outside of which is where I spied the pegasus, before heading out to the thrift. No knitting mice were found (which seems odd - did someone buy them all up? Is there someone else with a room full of skilled creatures knitting? Eep.), but good times were had by all. Or at least by me.

'Read More' for the rest of this article.

The Good:

snuggled by the fireplace

What wonders did I spy at the thrift store? Why this simple sweater. By looking at it, it doesn't look like much: plain, off-white, uninspired sweater, right? But taking a glance at the label after touching it confirmed that, yes - it is CASHMERE!

Mmmmm, cashmere

A quick glance at the sweater proved that it was in great condition (no stains, no rips, all good). Within a few minutes back at C's home, I had these loverly hanks of goodness. I couldn't have asked for a sweater to come apart so cleanly and nicely. There was barely any waste and the little there was was from me having zero patience. This was the Weezer sweater.

I still haven't washed it yet because I plan on dying it when I do. But what color should it be? All suggestions welcome.

The Bad:

looks good, but...

I finally got around to ripping the second sweater from my first trip; the dark navy silk. Oh, how I was looking forward to this treat. It was a bit tricky because of how dark the fabric was and that there were sergered seams involved. But I worked through it like a trooper. Only to discover that as the yarn came away from the sweater it would separate.

any hope?

Each strand of yarn exploded into 12 strings of thread as soon as it was released from its previous form! Oh, what a mess! I carried on; ripping, balling, and winding it into a hank as it came off the sleeves and back. But was this for naught? Tell me, my spinning friends, is there hope for this yarn or did I just learn an important lesson? (read: Did I just get served?)

The Funky

pre-felted purpleness

Although there were a very limited number of 100% wool sweaters in the woman's section, the men's section abounded with wool sweaters. Tens of amazing fair isles direct from Ireland were tucked into a wee, cramped space in a corner of the store. (That and plenty of "Cosby-esque" sweaters, of which I politely left there.)

I don't know why I didn't grab any of those fair isle beauts, but I did pick up one wool sweater. I liked the lavender color and thought that the stripes would make a nice, easy affect. So a bit of felting in the washer later and I had some solid, wool fabric.

I played around a bit with my sewing machine (oh, how I miss thee) this past weekend and did some nip-and-tucking with this former sweater. First, I made a pillow from the middle section. It's not perfectly straight and I had some issues with the corners (sleeve seams), but it works perfectly as a lumbar support pillow for my work/computer chair. But I wasn't done yet.

mrs. slocombe enjoys it

I wondered what else could I make from this fabric? Well, instead of the pillow it almost became a purse. (Just an idea... for next time.) But the sleeves. What could I do with the sleeves? My first idea was to make iPod cozies, but both Bonez and I are happy with ours. So I nixed that idea. My next stop? Catnip toys for those creatures we have that wander the house needing. (Needing what, you may ask? Needing everything: food, petted, water, attention, petted, naps on your person, petted, food, attention, etc.)

So with a bit of the sleeves, some catnip, stuffing, and a few scraps of felt and yarn, I had this... um, thing. I'm not certain why I put ears on it, except that I'm inspired a bit by all the great soft monsters around lately. But no face. Go figure. And it's big, because my cats are big.

a no-work, knit cardigan blocking

And although those three objects are all I planned to discuss, I will tell you that I picked up two other sweaters that day. A ginormous men's wool sweater in mint condition (waiting to be ripped) and the cardigan mentioned earlier. It's a black-and-white heathery cardigan in a simple design. If I ripped it, I would probably make another cardigan with it - it was that good. But by the tag's noted size, it was too small for me. Just before I took it to the table to start the rippage I tried it on. And it fit. Perfectly. Now it sits, clean, in my closet waiting for when a hoodie is too casual and a jacket/blazer is too much.

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