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Recycled

I was doing an online craft workshop and needed to have some felted wool sweaters.  I found a nice supply of wool sweaters at a local thrift shop for very little money, but then I ended up feeling a bit guilty about shrinking down the sweaters and cutting them up for craft purposes.  Cold winter is coming and someone could have worn those sweaters.
This was a large men's sweater made of 100% Alpaca wool in Peru.  I felted it, but then I could not force myself to cut it into pieces.  So, instead, I redecorated it and turned it into a girl's jacket. 
A local restaurant serves a free Thanksgiving Day dinner and distributes coats and jackets at the same time.  I had planned on donating a pie, and now I will donate this jacket as well.   I hope someone will like it enough to wear.
I have a pile of hats ready to donate to the Salvation Army for their gift baskets, along with some toys I have picked up, baby booties and bibs.  The pleas for donations really ramp up this time of year.  It's hard to know sometimes what is legitimate and what is not.  My mother got more generous with donation in her old age, but I find myself getting more and more suspicious.  I am especially suspect of the packages of "free" gifts from organizations I've never heard of promising to do wonderful things for poor or handicapped children.  Where would that money end up?  So I keep my donations local and try to support amazing acts of generosity (like a free Thanksgiving dinner at a local restaurant).
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Comments

  1. LindaNovember 16, 2010 at 2:45 PM

    How cute. Some little girl is going to be very happy.

    I can't imagine doing any crafts cuter than this little sweater.

    This gives me an idea. Perhaps I'll start checking around for sweaters. I've never done any felting but would consider it if I thought I could make something as cute as this little coat.

    I live near two very good Goodwill stores. I'm going to start looking.

    Oops, looks like I might need a sewing machine, and that I don't have.

    ReplyDelete
  2. TaborNovember 16, 2010 at 4:54 PM

    What a lovely thought. I have gone through my sweaters this year and donated a bunch...I no longer can wear them even though they are in good shape.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Arkansas PattiNovember 17, 2010 at 7:26 AM

    The free Thanksgiving dinner with coats and jackets sounds like a really safe bet and such a thoughtful one. Think I would be sure to patronize that place during the year. They sound like good people.

    ReplyDelete
  4. TracyNovember 17, 2010 at 1:21 PM

    Your comment about being suspicious brought to mind a conversation I had with my eleven year old who would give the shirt off his back if he could. Well, two days ago as we passed two individuals on the street corner holding a sign: Homeless and need $ for food!
    My son asked why I didn't give them any money and I explained my skepticism about not knowing who to trust, blah, blah, blah to which he responded, 'But you have to believe that God can tell the difference!'
    well, can't argue with that logic...

    ReplyDelete
  5. MargaretNovember 17, 2010 at 1:24 PM

    As I tell my students when teaching the lesson of writing concisely, gifts are--by definition--free. So if it says "free gift," be suspicious.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MargaretNovember 17, 2010 at 1:24 PM

    PS: Love what you did to the sweater. I love even more all the thought processes that went into it's creation.

    ReplyDelete

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