Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Fostering Sweaters....

There's this thrift store by my house. I love this thrift store because it borders several different neighborhoods with different population & cultural types, so you never quite know what's going to pop up there.

For instance, I once found a gorgeous Italian handmade Edwardian-esque coat. It was all wool with a silk lining. The handsewn tag & embossed lining proclaimed "Gucci". The fabric was oh-so-pettable, and it fit me like a glove. SCORE!

In addition to regular items I've found there, I've also discovered a plethora of many hand-knitted goods in this store. There are the usual suspects -- hats, scarves, shawls. But I've also found some amazingly hand-knit sweaters -- colorwork sweaters, fair isle, etc -- mostly men's sweaters. I'm impressed at the sheer number of hand-knitted goods that I find here...more so than other thrift stores I've frequented.

I fondle these hand knitted works, marveling at the weight of the sweater, the warmness, or the intricate colorwork. I want to take them ALL home with me to give them a good home, but sadly, most of them are not my color or don't fit me.

I wonder what the story was behind a sweater that was lovingly made, who was the intrepid knitter that knitted this very large man's sweater, and for whom was this item knited? I wonder how it now finds itself in a 2nd hand thrift store....and where it will end up going?

I hope one day to find a woman's hand-knit sweater in that thrift store, that is in a color I can wear AND that fits. I want to be able to foster a sweater and give it a new home and a new story.

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