pieceful kwilter: creativity in the thrift store

my granny always would refer to me as "artsy fartsy" she said that i got ideas from the most random of situations.

i love thrift stores. correction- i love the possibly contained in junk! cheap junk!! so the other day when davis and i spotted, then stopped at new-to-us thrift store i was in heaven.

they have everything color coordinated!! i could not get the yumminess of that organized rainbow of tshirts outta my head...my creative juices went wild!! what could i do to utilize such a treat that was right in front of me, begging me to play...

unable to resist- i went and bought 11 shirts (a whopping $22) to make tshirt yarn!! i have plans on crocheting a small rug...but i want to find a fuchsia and lighter fuchsia tshirt first to go between the purple and the red...

i followed this blog tute for cutting the shirt into yarn, and used my rotary cutter for the slicing....one of my shirts had seams up the sides and that didn't work so well, so avoid shirts with side seams....and cutting and stretching it did create some airborne dust which triggered an allergy attack. next time, i'm gonna wash my shirts before slicing and dicing.

i even saved the sleeves....remember these?

10 comments:

Victoria Findlay WolfeFebruary 28, 2011
Fabulous! I love that too! hey, that sounds like something my mother would say... ;-) artsy fartsy!
Lisa EFebruary 28, 2011
Hey Shannon! I have a bunch of tie dye shirts from my dyeing business days...you want 'em?
CathyFebruary 28, 2011
WHat a great idea! I just book marked that site. Thanks for the link, it's great for a someday I just might want to.......
Kim SFebruary 28, 2011
OH.... Now I have to go to the thrift shop! I have made a few a these rugs before, but just out of Dan's worn out t-shirts. Mostly tans, whites, and black with a few yellows, that don't really go with my decor :-( Love the bright colors!
Vicki WFebruary 28, 2011
That is going to be a great rug! I loved my potholder weaving when I was a kid!
BarbFebruary 28, 2011
Just love the shirts, the colors are awesome!
KathleenFebruary 28, 2011
Love all your 'new' yarn. can't wait to see the rug. It's going to be gorgeous.
MickieraeMarch 01, 2011
Which new thrift store did you find, Shannon? My son is buying his first house and we have been furnishing it from thrift stores and Goodwill. We have found some amazing buys on really good furniture. Love the idea for the rug.
bertiequiltsMarch 01, 2011
you can find some really good stuff in thrift stores... cant wait to see your rug. It is definitely going to be too beautiful to walk on..
Connie Kresin CampbellMarch 01, 2011
Beautiful block again! Love the photos of all the T-shirts and can't wait to see your rug.

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