I'm a yarn snob... :(

#1

While visiting my parents at Christmas, I bought a couple of wool sweaters at a thrift store, to recycle. Later, a dear aunt was visiting, and saw me happily frogging the sweaters, and thought it was about the most pathetic thing she’d ever seen! :oops: She then offered me two garbage bags full of yarn that she’d inherited from her MIL! How exciting is that? I’m still a fairly new knitter, and there’s not much in my budget for supplies, so I was delighted. I got it from her yesterday. It’s all worsted-weight acrylic… oh well, she’s not a knitter, and I appreciate the generosity!

At least it matches my [ugly] couch! :pout: And I have plenty of yarn to practice on.

#2

You could make an afghan out of it. Acrylic usually works better for afghans cause they’re sooooo big and it’s cheaper and machine washable, usually.

#3

awww i can see some delightful colors in there at least (i LOVE green and orange…lol) but yeah not so much for the acrylic.

don’t worry…you are amongst friends. :hug:

#4

Looks like there could be some very pretty combinations there of yarn though. I would go with an afghan, pillows things like that. Make them for Christmas presents, give them to charity, homeless shelters stuff like that!

#5

I :heart: recycling sweaters for my yarn stash. I have found 100% cashmere sweaters, alpaca and angora sweaters that I apsolutly love. I still kick myself in the beginning of my frogging days I would find these sweaters frog them and sell the wool on ebay. I always made money, but if I think of all the gorgeous wool I could have had I get mad.

#6

:blush: This is terrible, but the first thing I thought was, “Yeah, maybe there’s a reason they were stored in garbage bags.” Shame on me, I know. The thing is, we have so many more options today than a knitter of your DA’s MIL’s era, who was probably limited to what was available at Woolworth’s (which, ironically was probably not wool). If it were all we had, I’m sure we’d be perfectly happy with it, but we can’t help but be spoiled by the splendor of fiber choices we enjoy today – not just luxury yarns, but much nicer acrylics as well.

P.S. I wouldn’t be surprised if your DA’s act of generosity wasn’t grounded so much in pity as it was an opportunity to reclaim her storage space! :wink:

#7

I would probably use the acrylic yarn for charity knitting which is also a great way to learn new techniques and patterns. :wink:

Also…I don’t think frogging a Goodwill sweater is pathetic. I think it’s creative, thifty and environmentally sound. :hug:

#8

Woolworth was just the name of the dude who owned them. They’re all gone, with most of the other 5 & 10’s. :pout:

#9

Yeah, I know. The older I get, the more nostalgic I become for stuff I never thought I’d be nostalgic about. I’m sure that’s where my DG bought her crochet yarn.

#10

Mine, too, I bet. :pout: I bet it was all Red Heart Supersaver.

I have three of the afghans she made on my bed right now. Plus we have loads more all over the house. [size=2]I miss my grandma.[/size] :pout: :heart:

#11

FW Woolworth, actually. Today’s $1 stores are what the five and dime’s used to be.

sue

#12

I miss mine too. Mine was a seamstress more than a crocheter, but I remember a certain green afghan with yellow flowers very fondly. :heart:

#13

I miss mine too. Mine was a seamstress more than a crocheter, but I remember a certain green afghan with yellow flowers very fondly. :heart:[/quote]

OMG mine too! Mine was actually a professional seamstress. She crocheted at home–we have all her doilies, too. She knit, too, but not very often.

#14

What a great idea! I love to scour the thrift shops for treasures. It never occured to me to look for recycable sweaters!

::Sigh:: One more thing on my list of things to do this year :teehee:

#15

From personal experience :oops: , make sure you purchase the correct type of sweaters. Otherwise, you’ll waste money :doh: !

Here are a few tutorials to help:

The Recycled Yarn Tutorial
Recycled Yarn

#16

Just think of all the blankets and snuggles you can make for charity with that yarn! Many places prefer items made with acrylic yarn cause they are so easily washable.

I gave away tons of acrylic yarn in a fit of cleaning rage and am sorry I did :pout:

Best,
Susan

#17

Hey, I’m a knitter, and I’m not a yarn snob…if you don’t want it send it to me!!! :teehee:

#18

My neighbor from my old house also gave me a ton of really old acrylic yarns. I have been using 2 different colors at the same time to make cat beds for the local humane society. The cats and people are not picky and the acrylic is easily washable. Maybe you can make some calls and get ready to knit big squares, they are easy to do as they are knit only.

#19

I have a suggestion for all that acrylic. Go on eBay and pick up some vintage knitting magazines from the 70s, maybe one that specializes in afghans. You will find some super-fly designs and the colors you have are perfect.

My grandma gave me a Granny Squares magazine from 1976 and I found two projects that I HAD to have, despite the fact that they were crochet and I didn’t know how to crochet. Turns out I don’t really like to crochet, but I’ve gotta finish all 169 squares (25 more to go!) 'cause I gotta have that disco floor looking blanket (not sure if I’ll be able to put knitting down long enough to do the second blanket I had planned). The picture in the magazine is so cool, I hope it turns out right. I’m using Caron Simply Soft, which isn’t awful to work with. I have only used it for two bags and now this blanket - I wouldn’t use it for apparel because I am a yarn snob too!

Over the holidays, found myself working on the disco floor blanket in the airport near three other women who were knitting. They were all using nice yarn and I wanted to say, “I don’t usually use such cheap yarn!”

Yes, we have a few grandma and aunt-made acrylic afghans around the house that we love, but I admit I would be embarrassed to make one myself in public. How stupid is that? I obviously need to get over myself!

(some cheap yarn does hurt my hands because it lacks give - I hope your bounty isn’t like that)

#20

You are all so funny! :slight_smile: I admire the idea of knitting afghans, etc. for charity…but I can’t help thinking of the “muffin tops” episods of Seinfeld, when I think of using scratchy 1970’s yarn! :pout: I like the idea of cat beds, though. Does anyone have a pattern for a cat bed that doesn’t have to be felted? I’m not going to get very far trying to felt acrylic!

I did start a scarf for my mom using two shades of purple together. The colors are nice, and it’s not too scratchy, so hopefuly she’ll like it. I’ll post pictures later.