....a student living with us threw a grey wool sweater into the washing machine. He was new to doing laundry and not that familiar with 'care' labels, so the wool did what wool will do when it's put in hot water - it shrank. Naturally, it didn't fit him any more, but I couldn't bring myself to throw it out; I loved the way the wool looked - I remember thinking that it would make a great stuffed animal. Sometime later that 'felted' sweater became an elephant. Now I'm turning dozens of other shrunken, or moth-damaged sweaters into soft cuddly toys and blankets.. Some old sweaters just look better this way....