The Beginning: $20 and a small stash of yarn

I once was a yarn snob. I once had some disposible income. Those days are gone, probably never to return. Now, medical expenses and a loss of income make it impossible to pay for even the basic necessities. But, I can't imagine life without knitting or crochet, or a life without making beautiful gifts for my friends and family. So, I set out to see how I could find enough yarn to make gifts, on a budget of $20 a year. It's turning out to be easier than I expected. It may not be the yarn I would have chosen to buy, but the challenge is a lot more fun than I expected.

This journey began at an estate sale. I was looking for a few glass pie pans. In the corner of the living room I spied a large black trash bag with a label reading simply "yarn $2.00". "Please don't open the bag," a woman in an apron snapped, as I pushed it with my foot to move it closer. "It's stuffed full." I paid her, dragged the bag to the door. and struggled to pull it down the street and load it into my car.

The anticipation was incredible. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. Then I opened it up and slowly piled the contents on my rug. Did I already say it wasn't what I would have bought? Well, if I did, it bears repeating. But it was full of possibilities. The dear departed craftswoman was clearly a maker of doilies and tablecloths, as the bag held more than 20 full or partial balls of crochet cotton, and four cones of white cotton bedspread thread, and also some tatting supplies. Under that layer, though, were some more interesting treasures. Seven skeins of a thin white 100% cotton boucle, half a large cone of yellow kitchen cotton, three skeins of Luster Sheen (the only non-cotton yarn), a book of patterns for clothespin Christmas ornaments and---the very best part--a green felt roll tied with a very tattered, wide grosgrain ribbon which opened to reveal a large collection of knitting needles and crochet hooks., including sock needles in all sizes and a set of vintage needles made out of some sort of yellow plastic topped with little red hearts stamped with the sizes. (Pictures on the way.)

I'm no stranger to thread crochet, having made filet curtains in the past. But that was about 30 years ago, when I had more patience, better eyesight, and before knitting took over as my main craft outlet. So that first night I experimented for hours wth knitting the thread single, doubled, and mixing the weights and colors. By the time I realized it was almost dawn, I had discovered that huge pile of thread had a lot of promise.

I was hooked on mystery bags of yarn, and decided to see if any more bags were sitting around waiting for someone like me.

It didn't take long for me to find another estate sale, and another stuffed bag. This bag was a dollar and the top was open. It was full of baby yarns, including two unfinished baby sweaters and a freezer bag full of little pastel squares knit in garter stitch. Most of the balls were unused, but the bottom of the bag was filled with odds and ends of various yarns. Besides the baby yarns there were several balls of novelty yarns, a ball of Woolease, and some blue and white variegated acrylic. Have I already mentioned this was not yarn I would have chosen? But I bought it.

That weekend we went to the Blind Association thrift shop, where, with my senior discount, I bought a plastic bag full of yarn ends for $2.60. Finally, something I might have bought myself. There were some rather nice wool bits, and quite a few ends of mystery yarn, all in solids and whites, a skein of Patons Evita, two of Patons Pooch, and a pair of pink wooden purse handles. The bag was about a quarter of the size of the first two, but I was satisfied.

And so the journey began with an expenditure of $5.60, yielded a lot of weird yarns, but filled me with excitement. This blog will record my progress on my projects, and detail how I spend the other $14.40.