Adventures in reclaiming yarn

So, it's spring break which means I don't have to rush home after work to go get the boys from school. I decided to use that "leisure time" to go to a thrift store and look for sweaters to unravel for yarn.

I hit a great deal - 3 sweaters for $1. So I bought 6. I bought another one at the other thrift store for $2.50. Beautiful yarn, not so beautiful sweaters.

I came home and threw them in the washer. Now Mr. Gaia swore to me that there was no hot water hooked to the washer, so maybe I wasn't as careful as I should have been (okay, I wasn't at all). I threw all the sweaters in together along with some kitchen towels. I pushed the button to make it a cold cycle. Then I decided "you know what, these sweaters have been in thrift stores and who knows where else, why don't I use this stain cycle?" and then didn't notice that that changed the temp setting from cold to hot. Sigh. And one sweater was red. Yeah, the white cashmere and cotton sweaters? Are now pink. The kitchen towels? Also pink. No hot water hooked up my ass. Oh well, the kitchen towels actually look better pink (hides the stains) and now I have an excuse to dye the other sweaters and the pink is actually kind of a nice color (if I decide not to dye).

So then I decide to take a sweater apart and frog it. I bought it because it was only 33 cents (I wanted an even 6 to make the math easier and had found 4 I really liked) and it is 70% silk, 14% rayon, 11% alpaca and 5% cashmere. I didn't pay attention to the fact that it was something like 40 stitches to the inch (that may be an exaggeration, but it's tiny). Yeah, I start getting it apart and this isn't even thread weight yarn. And it breaks every few yards. But it is gorgeous. I guess this will be my excuse to learn to ply on a drop spindle.

The good thing I did, though, was I figured out that my barstools make a perfect swift when turned upside down. The legs are straight and I can just spin it around to wrap the yarn. Of course, at the rate I'm going, it will take about 3 weeks just to frog this sweater.

Otherwise, I'm plowing away at studying for my certified arborist exam. I applied for my test date on April 18. The application scared me a little, my experience is so old and they didn't give enough room to list both colleges I attended, so I could only show 2 years of school.

Refashioning

Hyperion wants to be a king for halloween. I asked Mr. Gaia to check Target for a costume because I'm lazy - but no go.

So, off to the thrift stores I went. Looking for something red and silky that could be fashioned into a cape.

I've written about Wardrobe Refashion before and now I find myself in thrift stores looking at items figuring out how they could be reused. I spent a lot of time fingering the cotton sweaters, looking for extra large sweaters in a thick weight yarn, before deciding I needed to use up my stash before considering buying a sweater to frog for yarn. Besides, they were all white. Which has lead to me spending a ton of time searching out how to dye cotton yarn (too bad kool-aid doesn't work on plant fibers).

Anyway, back to the costume. I ended up with a red graduation robe. I figure I can take it apart and get a kids' sized cape out of it. I looked for some kind of fake fur, but didn't find anything, so I'm going to have to work on that one. Maybe some white felt? I have a red sash that I'll pin to a dress shirt for him, pin on a few medals (I have a few and I think I have trappings to fake a few others), put him in dress trousers and he's done. My only issue now is I'm not sure how to wash the acetate graduation gown.

Oceanus is going to be Harry Potter again. This is the 3rd year in a row. I can go along with it. It's easy and cheap and it's what he wants to be.

Halloween costumes has always been the only time my creativity has emerged. I once made a triceratops costume out of styrofoam cones, fun foam, a head band and glue. A bat costume was made from cheap black remnant fabric and a black sweatsuit. An incredible hulk costume from green knit pants and shirt with a pair of girl's knit purple pants (cut to look like they were torn - with the cut off ends pushed into the sleeves to make muscles). And a Link (from Zelda) costume made from an adult's long sleeved green shirt, white tights, felt and brown paper bags. No one knew who he was (everyone guessed Robin Hood) but he was happy. I'm hoping I can pull off a similar success this year.

Sewing

So, I pulled out the sewing machine last night. I actually did manage to thread it and get the bobbin thread to work. I grabbed an ugly, oversized advertising t-shirt, a crayon and a shirt that fits the way I like.

I drew around the shirt I liked onto the shirt I didn't. Then I sewed zig-zag on the crayon drawing. I didn't necessarily mean to sew zig-zag, but I, um, well, I get impatient with instructions. Then I decided zig-zag isn't such a bad idea on knit. Then I figured out how to get it to stop sewing satin stitch.

The shape is fine below the armpits. From there though? The shoulders still droop on the arms and look really wrong. So I think the next step is to trace the neck line of a tank top I like and cut it out and then sew a hem there. I've been toying with the idea of using a piece of t-shirt of a contrasting color to add a little interest. I also need to shorten it by about a foot. But I'm a little shy about actually cutting the shirt, so far everything I've done is reversible.

I did find a couple of pairs of shorts at the thrift store. I realized just how much weight I've gained, though. I grabbed four pairs of shorts that should have fit and 2 pairs that should have been a little big. Yeah. The two pairs just fit and the others wouldn't close at all. My waist is still fairly trim, but my belly is getting quite large. So, I'm back to tracking my eating on fitday.

Thrift Store shopping

There are 2 thrift stores within walking distance of my office. One is the common Salvation Army thrift store and the other benefits a local charity.

Yesterday I walked to the closest one (the local charity). My mission is to find some new shorts. I bought my current ones in 2003 and they're really showing the wear (I have 3 pairs that I rotate, which was fine when summer was about 3 months long, not so great now that summer is 9+ months long). I know exactly what I want and I've seen them at the outlet mall, but I: 1) don't want to pay full price and 2) don't want to buy new for environmental reasons.

My rules of thrift store shopping are simple:

1) It doesn't matter how cheap it is, if it is missing a button, leave it behind;

2) It must match at least one other item in my closet;

3) Dry clean only items must be really cheap so that it won't be a great loss if they are ruined when I wash them in the regular washer (which I will do); and

4) Always check for stains, holes and other imperfections.

So yesterday I was sort of successful. No shorts (they were all from the 80s - high waisted, pleated fronts, tapered legs). I found 2 blouses I liked and would definitely have worked in my wardrobe. Unfortunately both were too small (thank goodness for dressing rooms). I did end up buying a tank top with a shelf bra. These I use when I bike instead of a sports bra.

Today, I prepared to go to the Salvation Army thrift. I knew they didn't have a dressing room, so I wore a form fitting, thin top under my tunic so I could try on blouses (yes, I'm looking for shorts, but blouses never hurt). I learned a trick from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy - take the waist band of the shorts/skirt/pants and wrap it around your neck, if it wraps fully around your neck, it should fit your waist.

I found a pair of shorts that aren't perfect, but are pretty good. I also found the cutest skirt, which I knew would be tight based on the neck test, but it is just a tad bit too small - I think if I lose this 5-10 pounds I'm working on, it will fit fine. Then I found 2 blouses - fitted, vertical stripes and mostly match something in my closet (if jeans count).

The only problem I have is that I need to figure out how to shorten the long sleeves of one blouse to be 3/4 sleeves. I have, apparently, freakishly long arms. It hits just above my wrist bone and just looks country bumpkin. So, if you know how to do this, let me know.

I gifted 2 dresses from my closet to a coworker. I never wear them and indeed am not even sure they would fit. She tried them on and they look 5000 times better on her than they did on me even when they did fit. I do have a hard time letting go of things. My mom bought me these dresses and I wore one of them once and never wore the other one. She got them on sale, so it wasn't something she was wanting to get me for sentimental reasons. Yet, I feel the slightest bit guilty giving away something that she bought for me.