Old Sweaters and Other Knitting News

Since using an old wool sweater seemed to be the only solution to the felting project, I set out yesterday afternoon to see if I could find one. BTW, if anyone is curious, here's the link to the project. According to my instructor, the upside of felting is that it makes a virtually indestructible final product.

I find that every thrift store has a personality and specialty. The Salvation Army very close by is good for clothes and furniture. The one on the outskirts of town is good for kitchen items and craft supplies. The one across the river has an amazing selection of furniture at rock bottom prices. My favorite Salvation Army of all is in the Adirondacks. It combines all of the best elements of the others with an exceptionally friendly staff. You visit while you shop there.

The smaller thrift stores in our town are less than impressive with two notable exceptions. One Jim despises because it has a crappy record selection, the clothing selection never seems to change and they insist on playing religious rock and roll (anyone remember Stryper?). However, from my perspective, they have an amazing selection of housewares (this is where I found my pressure cooker), crafts, books and the occasional electronic coup (a clock radio for the boys and a telephone for the girls).

The other Jim hates for similar reasons and, as a bonus, it's totally overpriced. However, their bag sales they can't be beat and, while their mens clothing is ho-hum, their ladies clothing is high end, in style and in pristine condition.

I headed to the first of the smaller thrift stores because they had all clothing on sale for 25 cents and it was on my way to another errand. I hit the jackpot right away, finding two gigantic wool sweaters in the mens section. Fifty cents seemed like a fair price for something I was reluctant to do. So I spent last evening beginning to unravel the first of the sweaters. I discovered that I really hate the way wool feels. I'll definitely be sticking with cotton or acrylic yarn in the future.

Since knitting seems to be the topic of the day, check out this link to more cotton dishcloth patterns than I ever thought possible! The link came in this mornings Ideal Bite email. How oddly appropriate. Is everyone knitting crazy this time of year??

Since several of us seemed to be stumped on how to pick up stitches, check out this link that explains the process. Its got pictures for all the visual learners out there, like me!