Harvesting Yarn from a Thrift Store Sweater

Good yarn can be expensive, especially if one is working on a large project like an afghan or a sweater.  An alternative source for yarn can be found by repurposing sweaters from your local thrift store.

I do this from time to time, whenever I'm out junking and find a suitable sweater ... rarely with a specific project in mind.  If the sweater is in decent shape, made of quality yarn (wool, cashmere, silk, etc.), and isn't abused or felted, I buy it.

The subject of this example is a 100% wool sweater from Goodwill, brand new with the original store tag, in a fantastic greenish-brownish-gray.  It's enormous ... which means that it will yield a LOT of yarn.

First thing is to disassemble the sweater by unraveling the seams.  I only buy sweaters with chain-stitched seams, which are fairly simple to identify and take apart.  

With the sweater taken apart, all that's left now is find the yarn end on each piece, work it free, unravel the pieces, and roll up the yarn,

Alice was helping.

When I'm unraveling, I roll each piece of the sweater into its own ball.  For this sweater, there is a yarn ball for each sleeve, the collar, and the front piece.  The back piece was rolled into two balls because it had a hole in it, which broke the yarn at that spot.  

How much yarn did I get from this enormous sweater, you ask?  Exactly 856 grams ... which equals seventeen 50-gram skeins, if I bought this at a yarn shop.

Before I use this yarn to make something, I will roll it into skeins and wash it ... to relax the kinks and make it easier to work with.  For now, though, it's stored away in balls, just like you see it, with the rest of my yarn stash in the sewing room, along with the label from the sweater so I remember the fiber content.  

If you're inclined to do this yourself, and you need more detailed instructions, you can find a really great tutorial HERE.

A Pretty Miraculous Thrift Store Find

I have a thing for lamps.  If I find a cool or funky lamp for a good price, it's almost as if I have an innate need to bring it home with me.   Two or more years ago while I was at Goodwill, I came across this awesome baluster lamp.

I initially thought that I would paint it to get rid of the turquoise parts.  After it sat around for a while, the turquoise began to grow on me and I decided to leave it as is ... and then I put it in the basement with the rest of my treasures, since I didn't really have a place to use one lamp.

A few weeks ago, at a different Goodwill in another town, I found this lamp.

It's the same lamp!  Looks like you're seeing double doesn't it?

Now that I have a pair of these beauties, I knew exactly what to do with them.  I figured that they would be perfect on the dresser in our master bedroom.

The shades on these lamps are ones that I already had on hand.  They are totally the wrong size and color, and they're borderline worn out, but they do the job for now.

One day I will think about what to put on that big blank wall ... eventually.

Add Another One to the Collection

I love old trunks.  My very first antique purchase in 1979 was an embossed tin camel-back trunk.  I still have it.  My most recent is this doll trunk ... found at Goodwill a few weeks ago.

It looks like someone tried to use it as a stepstool, by the way the top is cracked.

The bargain-basement price of $6.99 won me over, and I tucked it under my arm and headed for the check-out station.

It was only once I had paid for it and was in the car that I realized what a treasure this little trunk turned out to be.  It still has its original fitted tray, though the bottom of the tray needs to be reattached.

 

 

Underneath the tray was a collection of someone's doll clothes.

These are about the right size for an 18" doll, and they were obviously made at different times.  First, we have an eyelet slip.  The waistband and seams appear to have been done at one time, and the slip was hemmed by someone else at a different time ... perhaps someone who doesn't sew well (a child?), judging by the all-over-the-place stitches.

 

This pink dress is probably the oldest and most-well-loved piece in the trunk.  It is made with very tight pin-tucks, and it shows a lot of mending and repair.

 

 

This little cotton shift and slip are smaller than the previous pieces.  They are cotton, well made, and well loved.

 

 

 

The last piece in the trunk was this dress.  It looks to be a lot newer than any of the other pieces, still handmade, though.  The fabric is different, the snaps look newer ... it is well made but it doesn't have the same detail that the other pieces do.

 

The last thing in the trunk was this key, but not the key to the lock on the trunk, though.  Just some random key ... perhaps used as a toy.

I'm kind of torn as to whether I should repair this trunk or leave it as it is.  I think I'm going to do both, if that makes sense.  One of the pieces of cracked fiberboard on the top of the trunk is loose, and I should glue that down so I don't lose it.  I should also replace the missing nails to reattach the hinges, and tack the loose piece of molding on the lid back into place.  I think that's where I'm going to stop, though.  This little trunk will certainly be displayed up high on a shelf, perhaps in my sewing room, so having a cracked top won't matter.

The doll clothes could use washing, but I am not going to do that.  They are what they are, and they will stay stored in this little trunk ... just like I imagine they were for little girls who played with them long ago.

Moving Things Around

Late last week, against my better judgement, I ran through the Goodwill store when I was planning on only driving through the donation area to drop off a couple of things.  While I was there, I found the most wonderful set of dishes.  Did I need dishes?  No, but when did that ever enter into the decision. 

 

 

As soon as I saw these, I fell in love.  The fact that I got 46 pieces for $48 was icing on the cake.  (Each piece was 99 cents ... except the high-priced platter and serving bowl, which were $1.99 each.)

 

The cherry hutch in our dining room contains some of the best pieces of our Lu-Ray Pastels dinnerware ... which I have been collecting pretty much since we got married in 1980.  I love the colors, but the mixture of colors and shapes has seemed a bit chaotic to me lately.

 

 

 

 

 

Tucked in among the dishes, you can see some of my favorite little things.

 

A metal cricket given to me by my grandmother, and a small vintage chalk mouse figure.

 

 

An American Girl Bitty Bear sits in an egg cup.

 

 

This ceramic moose is my favorite souvenir from our trip to Alaska last summer.

 

 

Crystal crab placecard holders support a small porcelain doll, and a tiny ceramic cat.

 

 

The new dishes will be perfect in the hutch, and I can move the Lu-Ray to the glass-fronted cabinets in the kitchen ... some of which were holding my Moss Rose tea and luncheon set.  I love this set because it is so representative of the time in which it was made.  In addition to cups and saucers, creamer and sugar bowl, and small plates, the set includes a cigarette lighter and individual small ashtrays for each place setting.

 

 

 

Yesterday morning was spent moving things around between the hutch, the kitchen cabinets, and storage in a cupboard in the basement.  First step, remove the Lu-Ray from the hutch.  As I emptied the hutch, I found things that I had stashed in there.

 

The demitasse sugar bowl had a handful of assorted change

 

 

The Colonial-era cannonball I found earlier this year was in the yellow teapot. 

(Click HERE to see how I found it.)

 

 

With the Lu-Ray out of there, it was a simple matter to arrange the new dishes in the hutch.

 

 

 

... and I put back most of my 'treasures', and a few smaller pieces of blue Lu-Ray.

 

I swear, the cannonball looks like a giant cocoa-dusted truffle.

 

 

Arranging the Lu-Ray in the kitchen was a bit more involved.  I stacked, and rearranged, and fiddled, and I finally came up with an arrangement that I like.

 

 

 

The pitchers in the top cabinets are sitting on saucers and berry bowls to raise them up enough so they display nicely when the doors are closed.

 

Four colors, four doors, four pitchers ... perfect!

 

 

I have lots more Lu-Ray stored away ... I think I could almost supply the dinnerware for an entire State Dinner at the White House.  As I go through things later, I will probably bring in a few more pieces to add some height and interest to the blue casserole in the center cabinet.

 

What started at Goodwill as an impulse purchase of dishes I really didn't need has turned into a morning's worth of work that really did make things look a LOT better. 

 

 

 

Eventually, inspiration will strike and I will think of a good place to display the tea set.  Until then, it's safely tucked away.

 

 

Sharing this at Sherry's Open House Party.

Back in the Saddle

It's been a while since I scored a thrift store bargain ... haven't had the time or inclination (or the space) to do much shopping recently.  While I was out and about earlier today, I decided to make a quick cruise past my favorite thrift store ... and struck gold.

Two chairs, perfect size, AND with matching ottomans on casters!

I flipped these babies upside down and inspected each of them thoroughly.  There's no brand label that I could find, but they're sturdy and comfortable and in really good condition.  I also sniffed them all over to see if there was any tell-tale stinkiness.  Finding none, I practically skipped all the way to the cashier to pay for them.

I have been looking for a matched pair of club chairs for a while now.  I figured I'd come up with ottomans later, as I thought that any chairs I found at a decent price CERTAINLY wouldn't come with ottomans.  Patience pays off, and this set is perfect!!! 

Next ... I have to clear my sewing room out enough so I have room to work on the slipcovers.

Weekend Highlights

This weekend was packed with places we HAD to go and things we HAD to do!  I had planned to go to an auction on Saturday morning, but I blew it off.  I worked at home instead.  Saturday afternoon, The Husband and Ruby and I worked the afternoon shift at the Greyhounds Rock booth at the Lake of the Woods Dog Festival.  Immediately as the festival ended, we packed up our things, hit the road to deliver Ruby home, and we set off again ... to the NPC Max Muscle Virginia Classic where our Daughter #3 was competing.

She works SO hard, following a strict diet and exercise program, to get into shape to compete.  It paid off, because she placed FIRST in her class!!  Way to go, Sweetie ... your dad and I are very, VERY proud of you!

Sunday was one of those days where I had to hit my marks all day long.  First up ... breakfast at IHOP with Daughter #3 (a no-holds-barred breakfast off her diet to celebrate her win the previous night) and Daughter #1 and her family.  Caleb is almost 8 months old now, and everything he touches goes straight into his mouth.

While we were at breakfast, a customer stopped by the house to pick up a replacement rose that I left for her ... the one she bought last year was accidently mis-tagged.  (No questions asked, she got the correct replacement ... that's how we do things around here.)  When I got home, I saw that she had brought me two BEAUTIFUL peony flowers.  I love peonies as much as I love roses.  This one is Kopper Kettle Itoh ... the copper/apricot color with subtle stripes is gorgeous, and it smells HEAVENLY.  Note to self:  must see about adding some Itoh peonies to the garden next year.

At 1:00, Ruby and I went to spend an hour at HealthSouth, our hospital's rehabilitation facility, for the second part of her therapy dog test.  The objective is for us to interract with patients and their families in the presence of a therapy dog evaluator.  As we expected, Ruby loved all the people, sitting politely to be petted and loving all the attention.

Here is our group, after we finished our visit.  This is a great group of dogs and humans!  Notice TJ, our Greyhounds Rock spokes-dog, in the center ... his human Kim is our evaluator.

I finished the day with a few hours of shopping with Daughter #3.  Her new body-building body doesn't fit into her jeans, and she is on the hunt for ones that DO fit.  Our first stop was Goodwill, at her suggestion, and she scored a pair of jeans that we can alter to fit her perfectly!  I bought a dress for myself and some Waverly curtains that will most likely end up as chair seats.

This week will be a blur.  I have the plant sale at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday ... the photo they use on their plant sale page is one of me ... I was surprised to see it because I don't know when it was taken.  Hartwood Roses is opening for the season on Sunday, May 6.  (More on this in a day or two.  Follow Hartwood Roses on Facebook for the latest info first.)  I have LOTS to do to prepare for both of these events ... so I should turn off the computer and get to it.