On my way to the grocery store today, I hit my two local thrift stores. Conveniently located right across the street from each other, just like two little Starbuckses. Although out of season, I was hunting for some 100% wool sweaters. I’m knitting some felted (fulled to be fully correct) slippers, and I’m just about to get to the felting part. I can’t bear to run the hot cycle in the washer just for the slippers, so I decided I’d round up a few sweaters to throw in as well.

I did find a couple of them, along with some really sweet, whisper-soft cotton sheets and pillowcases with a pink rose pattern and pink trim. The sweater on the left may actually be spared the wash cycle this time; its huge and bulky and I’m going to try recycling the wool for knitting projects. Maybe it will become the sweater I’ve been meaning to start, or a whole array of slippers, mittens, and hats.

I know that thrifting is nothing new to most of the crafty community, but I’ve just embraced it this year. Maybe it was the horrifying carloads of stuff that we purged when we moved, but I’ve been very cautious with my purchasing since then. I still love browsing through new fabrics, yarn, paper, and art supplies, but more and more I am turning to recycling and renewal to fuel my projects. Some lovely detail like this trim, or the faded shade of green that colors the leaves, provides the spark of an idea. Sometimes its easier to create when the process feels more like discovery.