Love Your Thrift Shops!

Labor Day is always half price at the thrift shops so I made a point of making the rounds last Monday - and it was crazy.  Truly crazy.  Is it just Chicago or is this happening all over the country?  One store I waited in line for an hour to check out - I couldn't believe it either but people were in good spirits and well, I just did.  Mostly back to school shoppers so I was still able to buy quite a few sweaters but it's a little early for wool yet soooo....well...   One of the problems (?) with this hobby is that I really do need to frequent the thrift shops to build up stock  and most of the time I'm very focused on just sweaters.  BUT until we get some cooler weather they hold back the wool sweaters so I drift to other racks and, yes you guessed it, walk out with my share of goodies.

Pants are always a challenge for me so I wore a loose jersey dress and was able to slip pants on and off easily - 5 pairs came home with me - fall cords and wide legs as well as some silk palazzos.  Also tagging along were three short jackets to wear with my new pants - two with Hong Kong finished seams -  several colorful scarves and three pairs of shoes.  The shoes needed a little love so I polished them and slipped in shoe trees and they look a smash. Add the 13 sweaters and my total bill was $34.  Ha!

But I digress...

I'm sure I have 30 or 40 sweaters (in addition to my already prepped stock) that I've been washing, cutting and sorting in to color pools for days.  It might sound tedious but that's how I really get a sense of the textures and possible combinations.  Also I just love the feel of the sweaters after they have been felted - they are sooooo soft.  And the colors are fabulous - some gorgeous golds and rich browns, subtle taupes and oatmeal, brilliant turquoise, eggplant,  and lots of red.  This picture is all merino - a beautiful dark eggplant, ivory, brilliant red and rich black.  So tomorrow I will start laying out some ideas.  Maybe I will wear my new oxfords, just to put me in the mood for cooler weather.

Pumpkin Racer

This blanket is currently my favorite.  I made it a year ago and have been unable to part with it.  One doesn't often find 4 sweaters the exact same color already shrunk so I bought them - I wasn't even that keen on the color. They were all merino wool which has such a beautiful hand after felting and is so soft against your skin.

 I had done something earlier in the year using red, black, grey and ivory and used a similar design for this one.  It took forever though before I could start sewing as the sweaters had shrunk to be so small that I had to really think through how to cut them and not waste anything.  What you can't see in the pictures is that the pumpkin sections aren't one big piece but three or four pieces sewn together.  However, it's very symmetrical. Sometimes I cut pieces up then resewed them together just so it would have matching seams in the pattern. Click on the picture and you'll see how many seams are really in the pumpkin section. The blue accents came from a great sweater a friend of mine gave me - loved the color but I only had one sweater and it was very tiny so it could only be used for accents.  I've saved every bit of scrap because the color is so beautiful.  That's one of the challenges - you have to work with what is available.  If you like doing jigsaw puzzles this might appeal to you also.