a thrifty dilemma

Every summer, vitually every neighbourhood in my city has a community wide garage sale. Some of them are enormous, and thousands of people attend, and some are just kind of starting to get off the ground. A couple weeks ago I attended the New Ed garage sale...it's one I've been attending on and off for about a decade now, so as community garage sales go I'd kind of put it into a the "mid" range size-wise. There were definitely a few good scores to be had (pictures for flickr eventually...) but I also had a couple of knitting-related scores, so I thought I'd mention them here.

Naturally there was the "little old lady" church-type sales (who always seem to sell lots of knitwear) and while nothing ever really appeals to me per se, I always manage to make off with a pile of dishcloths. Mostly I think I just feel obliged as that could essentially be my mother selling up there, and being a knitter I have an appreciation for the work itself etc. etc.

But here is my dilemma...

for two bucks, a definite must buy. Someone else obviously put a lot of work into this:

(image deleted)

I assume this is crochet, right? (okay, I know a lot of you right now are like "duhhhh" but I don't know how to crochet so it's a fair question).

For two bucks I thought "those handles alone are worth two bucks and IMPOSSIBLE to find around these parts".

But then....when I brought it home and went to tear it apart, I faltered. Would *you* tear it apart? I mean as a knitter I am endlessly tearing apart my own work, so why do I feel bad about destroying someone elses? I'll never use it otherwise. Odds are good that I might even knit something in that very same colourway (ok maybe not but still). It wasn't a GIFT made specifically for me or anything. And further still "ugh, is the person who knit this dead now?"

OK, maybe I should stop even asking these kinds of questions...I'm coming across as a real weirdo.

In OTHER news (massive subject change), the always generous Wendy of Musings from a knucklehead nominated me for an award and totally made my day!

Here are the instructions:
1. Please put the award on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you
3. You must nominate at least 4 fellow bloggers for this award.
4. Add links to the recipients.
5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

So to spread the love, I've decided to expand my blogosphere horizons here a little bit and link to 4 NON knitting blogs. Is that crazy? Should I only be spreading knitterly love around here? There are just so many amazing blogs that I regularly check out and I *am* a bit of a design and fashion junkie, so maybe I will share some of those...

Oh Joy SO many style and design inspirations here. She has an amazing eye and I never grow tired of her posts. Her eye for colour is unmatched --and I believe she's a textile designer in her own right.

Desire to Inspire. A Canadian and an Australian come together to share their interior design inspirations. I frequent this blog a lot and only just recently realized that the Canadian half of this duo actually lives here in Ottawa. I think I can now pinpoint my main rival for thrifted mid-century pieces round these parts! I am totally absorbed in her Kitchen reno updates, and find we share a similar design aesthetic...particularly when it comes to "curbside re-appropriation" if you know what I mean. (Dirty picking as we call it in my family...) Sidebar here--I managed to score a vintage Knoll tulip chair out of someone's garbage last week and plan to spend my weekend rustoleum-ing the eff out of it!

Victoire Okay, thought I would give another local shout-out here. Victoire is a great local boutique with a passion for Canadian designers, always ahead-of-the-rest and on-point style savvy with two very down-to-earth co-owners Katie & Regine who have long been a part of our local ladyfest scene. Even if you're not shopping there (my monthly massage happens kitty corner to them downtown so I find it hard to NOT go in...), their blog is still a source of fashion inspiration regardless of whether you can get in there and physically drool over everything first hand or not.

Design is mine Another fun design-related blog, though this one is a lot less stuffy than most and not quite so Eames-era funiture-centric like a lot of other design blogs I subscribe to. In short...it is super fun. She takes the time to compile lots of etsy finds as well, so there is a real indie/d.i.y slant to what she likes to profile. Visiting her site is the internet version of strolling through the Bust craftsale.

So there you have it. I'm tempted to do a knitting only version, but I think for a lot of you who already do come here that might not give you any new reading. Next time though! I would actually love to hear about everyone's blog obsessions, kniting-related or otherwise.