A wooly week

I have to say, there are definite perks to my otherwise mind-numbingly boring job - like not having to work from December 21st to January 2nd. Most of that time was spent in Tulsa with my mom's side of the family. But I did take a day to go thrift shopping (my favorite kind, aside from yarn shopping!).

A huge Shetland tweed sweater - I'd call this DK to light worsted. And there is a TON of it. According to the label, it's a size small. Yeah, for a small Hagrid. Notice the iPod* for size reference.

This is my favorite! It's the softest, springiest 100% wool I've ever unraveled. And the manufacturers were kind enough to tell me that this is "worsted wool." Thank you, manufacturers!


This was maybe not so bright of a purchase. I bought it based solely on the colors. When I got home, I did find the fiber content on a tag inside the shoulder seam (how uncomfortable would that be!). It's 50% wool, 50% acrylic, and unfortunately, it has serged seams. I think, though, that the seams aren't actually cut. (At least, I hope so.) The yarn is so pretty in that variegated stripe! I know I can unravel the body from the underarms down.

These, believe it or not, are two different sweaters! They're the same brand and same color, but one's a medium and the other's a small. Both are super-soft one-ply 100% lambswool. I don't care for the color, but can we say overdyeing?



Here's a 100% silk sweater with a twist - it's knitted from ribbon-like strands of torn silk fabric. I started unraveling this one...then I found deodorant on the underarm. GROSS! So this needs a serious wash before I mess with it any more.


This sweater is rust-colored 100% silk. It unraveled beautifully, and it's about a sportweight/DK.


Here's another 100% wool sweater - this is a sportweight/DK lambswool. It's a pretty tan with white, brown, and almost black nubbins. Again, notice how huge it is!


No, this isn't a sweater. This is a velveteen coverlet I found for my bed! I'm determined not to let it become like my other blanket...


...completely covered in dog hair. Nearly everything I own is completely covered in dog hair - that's the price you pay for having a dog that sheds year-round. But Tucker's so cute that it's hard to kick him off the bed.


Last Saturday was the Gourmet Yarn Company's end-of-the-year sale, and I picked up some Cashwool and Jojoland Harmony - both lace yarns I've been wanting for a while. That's almost 2 miles of wool, by the way. Now that I've done a lace shawl, I want to make something bigger! I've been looking through my copy of Victorian Lace Today, and it's both exciting and overwhelming. The knitted-on borders look a bit daunting, but I think I'll just have to plow through one.

*I love my iPod and librivox.org! So far, I've put the entire New Testament, seven or eight good-sized audio books, thirty or so hours of podcasts, and my entire music collection on it, and it's only about 10% full.