Tag Archive | estate sales

Stash-mania

That’s it, I don’t need to buy any new yarn for…at least a couple of months! I thought yesterday’s spree at the LYS closeout was good, but today was even better: I went to the estate sale of a hardcore crafter. Based on her house, I don’t think there was a craft she didn’t do. It was awesome. Get this: Her entire finished basement was given over to yarn. There were 6′ tall shelving units lining one side, and tables on the other, covered with plastic tubs full of yarn.

The best part was that it was GOOD yarn. This wasn’t cheap acrylic, or even nice acrylic. This was merino, cotton, alpaca, silk. There was hand-dyed and hand-painted wool. There was Noro and Blue Sky Alpaca and Louisa Harding and Nashua and Tahki and Koigu and Rowan and Classic Elite. There was a ton of Lamb’s Pride which isn’t soft but is fabulous for felting. There was a whole section of novelty yarns that were unusual fabrics and textures. It was sorted by fiber so if you were picky about your yarn, you could just visit “your” section. Of course I had to trawl through the whole darn place. I tell you, it was the closest thing to heaven I’ve experienced…and it was all $2 per ball/skein. I can’t possibly list all the delightful yarns I got, but I’ll show you my favorites.

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This is Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk, a sport weight that’s as light as a feather in my hand. It’s only 140 yards but it should make a graceful lacy scarf for the spring.

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This is the only skein of Malabrigo (For $2!!!) that I found. It’s an old one called Violetas. It’s kettle dyed and 215 yards, and it will make something gorgeous for me. A hat? A cowl? What do you think?

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This was really what made the whole trip worthwhile, and I’m sorry I don’t have a better picture to show it off: this is Classic Elite Inca Alpaca…and there were TEN SKEINS of it! It’s a periwinkle blue, and since alpaca is my favorite yarn in the whole world, I was over the moon and made sure to snatch it all up before anyone else could get any. I now have over 1000 yards of it, and it’s going to be my first knitted cardigan, I believe.

That’s not all, oh no, that’s not all. Did I mention she had a room lined with shelving? Well, now I have some of it, which means I was able to liberate my beautiful stash from the plastic tubs and get it out where I can see it and touch it every day.

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Isn’t it wonderful? I’m so very happy with my craft room right now, and if I weren’t so tired from that last two days, I’d start knitting up a storm. As it is, though, I think I must unwind with a glass of wine…and dream of all the knitting I can start tomorrow.