Recycled Ralph Lauren Knitwear

It was the pink mohair that drew my attention in the op shop the other day. It was the colour I was looking for, not the fact it was a Ralph Lauren polo neck. I can't bear clothing that touches my neck.

I had other intentions for this piece of designer wear. It was destined to be upcycled into fingerless gloves.

The piece was $6, and while that wouldn't normally sound expensive, I'm on an abnormally tight budget which means I'm mindful of every mouthful of food I get and every time I use electricity.

Nevertheless the jumper came home with me. I unpicked the seams that night - that's the first time I've unravelled something that someone else had knit - and I now have a small basket of 53% mohair/47% acrylic yarn. It's currently being converted into fingerless gloves, destined to be gifts for my nieces.

The FGs look sort of bumpy and un-neat, but that's mohair for you. I've washed them in hot water so they're not going to change their look or shrink, but it's the light fluffiness that makes them almost weightless and comfortably warm.

I'm happy with my op shop find!

New apron - old sheet

When I saw the sheet in the op shop I liked the blue and white stripes could see an apron in it straight away.

The edging of the sheet had smaller sized stripes which would be perfect as edging.

The last time I made an apron I was about nine years old and it was in the school sewing class. I don't think I was very interested at the time.

It's funny, though, how lessons from childhood get baked into memory banks and it wasn't difficult to recall it all.

Op Shop Find - Lord of the Rings Poster

Found this the other day at the Salvos. It's on a bevelled board and has good hanging string. It's very big. It's very perfect. And it's a trip back to 30 years ago when I had this as a poster Blu-tacked onto my wall.

The illustrator is Jimmy Cauty and I think he created this in 1973.

I love it because of the memories of different times, it's Tolkein related, and it's pre the commercial movie posters that have flooded the place in recent years.

It's going to my eldest son who would have seen it as a babe - the same eldest son who, at the age of 8, read Lord of the Rings for the first time. (Yep, he did things like that, uh-huh!)