I love to thrift shop. It appeals to me on so many different levels. The thrill of the hunt for the perfect one of a kind item. Keeping cast-offs from ending up in the landfills. Figuring out ways to re-purpose things that were deemed unusable.
And when I find discarded cashmere and 100% wool sweaters on the thrift store racks? Bliss!
I love, love, love, to work with old wool sweaters. There is just something wonderfully tactile about the different textures of wool. Rough and scratchy, soft and smooth. It seems no two are the same, and yet the fingers can immediately tell the difference between the synthetic acrylic knits and the dense fibers of wool knits.
This week I've been prepping my stash of wool sweaters for another craft project. I throw my sweaters in the wash on (scalding) hot and dry them on high. The sweater that emerges from dryer is a shrunken shadow of it's former self, but ideal for my craft scissors to slice through without unraveling. It's become wool felt - the perfect fabric for one of my favorite projects. Up-cycled wool sweater wreaths.
On our door currently we have an up-cycled Halloween wreath in black and orange seen here. I've found myself thinking about when Halloween is over and I decided I wanted a wreath that had more harvest colors in it than the one currently hanging on the door, so, out came the wool.
Here is a picture of my current work in progress. It's actually about 95% done. All that's left is for me to go the craft store and pick out the perfect grosgrain bow to attach to the bottom.
And now on to a different story.
The Little has been lagging a bit in the language development arena. Nothing terribly worrisome, just slower to pick up on stringing multiple words together than some of his friends in the same age range.
This morning, as we were all waking up from the nights slumber, The Little rolled over and curled up into the crook of my arm. He was tucked quietly between Super Hubby and myself when he looked up at both of us and, for the first time ever, said - TWICE - "I. Wuv. You."
Oh my.
I love you too, Peanut. I love you too.
Your in thrifting, crafting, and "Wuv,"
Simple Mama
Your wreath is wuverly! The colours are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI really like the look of your blog too, I don't seem to have a lot of time to spend perusing blogs as I used to but hope to pop in and have a better read at some stage soon.
What a great idea, I've made felted bags that I've crocheted, but I feel a trip to and Op shop coming on! (op shop, NZ speak for thrift shop, charity shop)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that wreath! What a fantastic idea!
ReplyDeleteI loved your descriptions of "the hunt" for second hand! I enjoy it too! Your wreath is wonderful, great idea : )Such sweetness hearing words of love from your little one!
ReplyDeleteYou've just inspired me to look for wool sweaters next time I'm at Goodwill, so that I can stop lamenting about not being able to afford natural fibers for crafting with my daughters, and start making my own felt. Thanks! Oh, and I totally can't wait for my littlest to say that she loves us, but for now, her kisses will do. She is 18 months.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! How do you keep the wreath a circle? Does it stay a circle with just the wool and thread?
ReplyDeleteHi Jen,
ReplyDeleteI actually use recycled metal clothes hangers for my wreath to help them hold their form. I just push wool felt over then end - sometimes, if it's really thick wool it can be difficult, but usually it goes on pretty easily.
I sometimes worry about Sparrow's language development as well. He's not even close to stringing words together, although he is starting to go through a little vocab explosion (I hope, anyway!) Anyway, for some reason it's reassuring to find that other mama's worry about the same things I do. Especially when that other mama, like you, is totally awesome and involves her little in lots of awesome activities, whereas I am not so great at that.
ReplyDeleteI too love these wreaths, I've made two. I have one for sale on Etsy. I used an embrodiery hoop, that worked well. I just discovered your blog, I will be coming back. I see a couple of your projects I need to check out!
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