second-time cool is pretty cool ~

We headed down to Skagit County yesterday and ended up in Easton's Bookstore in downtown Mt. Vernon. Spent at least an hour looking around ~ love, love, love used bookstores. Found a small stack of books that wanted to come home with me (yep, I have to admit that this unemployment thing hasn't curbed my need to stimulate the economy).

Second-Time Cool: The Art of Chopping Up a Sweater ended up in the stack that made its way to the register with me. I think by now all thriftstore junkies have tried their hand at reclaiming old wool sweaters, but there's always room for inspiration. I've only browsed the pages so far, but I really like the avant-garde approach it has. "Do Redo" is the companion website (http://www.doredo.se/start.aspx?lang=2) and looks interesting too. One thing that is a bit curious is that they changed/altered the book's title for the release in the USA ~ the Swedish edition is called Do Redo: The Art of Slaughtering a Sweater.

Did the publishers think that "slaughtering" a sweater was too violent for the every-so-violent USA? I like slaughter way better than chopping ~ slaughter is way cooler and has an angry twist. I wonder what the authors thought since it is obvious by the look of the book and the website that they, too, are cool.

Now back to that angry twist ~ one is totally ANGRY when their favorite cashmere sweater get a bloody moth hole right over the left boob. Why I think slaughtering the sweater is the appropriate reaction. You can't slaughter the damn moth ~ that buzzard's been gone for months. Okay, okay, back to the book and website.

The book doesn't give you "specific" patterns to follow (a complaint I've read in some of the reviews), but the book isn't a paint-by-number set. This book is inspiration allowing for someone to have a bit of creativity and individuality. The website is the same ~ check out the pics from their gallery page. No one in the pics looks "out there" at all (I bet slaughter in the title didn't freak them out). As a matter of fact, the pics make me see this book for what it is, simply something to inspire recycling and creativity. Alas, DO REDO!