The other day I was out on a walk and I spotted a sweater alongside the busy road. Well, technically it was sitting on a rock alongside the busy road.
How the sweater got on the side of the road is anyone’s guess but as I walked by I gave it a quick glance and didn’t really give it too much thought other than, it looked like it was {once?} a nice sweater.
A few days passed and I found myself walking by the same area again and the sweater was still there. Unclaimed. Lonely. And begging for me to take it home.
And so I did.
The HH couldn’t believe I brought home a sweater I found on the street and was going to:
- Bring it in the house
- Wash it
- Possibly wear it
But look! It’s cashmere! I told him.
Yada yada yada…
I tossed it in the wash and while it may be a teeny bit too big for me… It’s a free cashmere sweater!
Standards. We all have them. Sometimes I think I have really high standards. And other times I think they’re pretty low.
The End.
~Mavis
P.S. What have YOU found alongside the road lately? Curious minds want to know.
Jeanine says
Sleeping bag, money, tools, bungee cords, keys, a wallet, too much to mention. The Sleeping bag, I washed, tools, I give to my husband, keys, I put on a fence hoping someone would find them, the wallet with all the credit cards was an adventure. No address in the wallet, but there was a check written to a person. I looked up that person in the phone book, called them and they gave me the phone number of the person the wallet belonged to. That gal had left her wallet on her car and drove off. It was about 3 miles from her home when it fell off. She bought me flowers and thanked me for calling her. Now that was cool.
Tracey says
Commendable!! and what a find! (a perfect fit, if you ask me),
I do this too – rescue, wash and donate mostly- because we all know that sweater is not going to break down to compost any time soon.
Tracey says
Let me also thank you for the suggested posts at the bottom of the page. No sooner had I posted a reply then I saw a mitten tutorial that is so timely! Thank you!!
Lesley says
I love these too … they take me back down Mavis Memory Lane.
Mavis Butterfield says
I like them too. A lot has happened in the last 16 years of blogging.
Mavis Butterfield says
Maybe in a year or two I’ll be making cashmere mittens!! 🙂
Dawn says
What a great find!
Mostly, I find furniture by the side of the road. Most of which I have used to furnish my home. I live in a very urban area so I don’t see much else out there.
Margo says
Well, if you are low standard then you’re on the higher end of it! Because it’s free cashmere and I think it looks fabulous on you. Keep up the good work!
maureen detmer says
just about a month ago, in this little park we sometimes stop at, i found no less a pumpkin colored 100 percent cashmere poncho. it had obviously been there awhile as it had some dirt on it and one little hole. i washed and stitched it up, good as new, i’ll take it
Lindsey says
For several winters now, usually after Christmas, I find a pair of women’s underpants on the sidewalk near our house. I am not sure how or why. I am not so frugal that i would wash and wear them (not my size anyway) but I do pick them up and throw them away. This is self-defense because if my Great Dane sees them, he will eat them.
debbie in alaska says
you saved that sweater from the landfill — it was your good deed for the day.
CP Mass says
Great find! I do the same. If I can’t use it, someone else can. I also like to look for woolen & other handmade sweaters & baby blankets in thrift stores. It bothers me that something made with time and love ends up discarded.
Kippy says
No clothing but I’ve found other items. Seiko wrist watch missing buckle-got it repaired and wore it for many years. Various bits of furniture that I’ve fixed up, a full bag of beeswax, Favorite is a orange glass bottle with stopper. I like it and similar examples are selling for a lot of money.
Jenny Young says
My husband & I were walking down our road the other day & I saw a sock. I kept walking. then we turned to come back & walking on the opposite side I saw the mate the first sock! I picked it up & we began searching for the first one, not sure where we’d passed it.
I guess we looked a bit goofy because a neighbor stopped to ask if we needed help. By that time, we’d found the mate & I admitted that I was taking a new pair of socks home. I washed them, they look brand new as if they’ve never been worn.
We live on a lake & we find things all the time that fall out of boats as people go in & out to the boat ramp. The socks were blue, with a fisherman on a boat reeling in a huge fish…pretty hilarious. I’m considering wrapping them up to give to my son for Christmas because we have a tradition of gifting goofy sock.
Stacey says
I don’t find a lot of things here where we live along the side of the road, but a few weeks ago I got very lucky. I was out for a walk and saw a very nice white wall shelf on the sidewalk. I carried it home several blocks, only regretting toward the end because it got so heavy. It’s in great shape and just needed some paint. I am making it pretty and giving it to a family member for Christmas.
Joyce Dvorak says
Good for you. It’s a shame to waste nice things, and it looks really good on you.
NeeNee says
Oh Mavis you are Bat House Crazy
But this made me laugh!!
Hey good find and it looks great on you!! If not you someone else would grab it but my husband would have said the same I have wanted to take things I have found and he shames me out of it
So good for you!!!!
JulieP says
This is so funny just caught up with my emails! I do this, we find all sorts on the country road we live on. Good to hear others ‘ rescue’ things to make me feel not quite so mad! Bhahahahaaaaa!