What a Yarn Mess!
By Veronica Smith – 20 CommentsI was at out local Lincraft store (sells fabric, curtains, notions, yarns, etc.) to purchase some piping cord. Simple, one would think. I walked swiftly past the plethora of yarns that were on sale, I really wanted to stop but I was such a good girl. I picked up my box of piping cord and headed to the counter for my 3m (10 feet) to be cut off. Behind the counter there was one staff member with a HUGE tangle of yarn. Seems that when people rummage through the tables of clearance yarns they unwind some and the balls, get into a tangled mess, and the problem escalates from there.
Part of the mess
Anyway, I had to ask what they were going to do with the glorious bundle (didn’t say the word glorious to them). The girl said they had to throw it away. Aarrrggghhhhhh! She then said something wonderful…
“Do you have any children or schools you could give this to? Do you think they can use it?â€
Well I couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough. I wasn’t brave enough to say that I would be using it myself. She happily put this very large mass of mess into a plastic carry bag. The bag laying flat is 55 cm x 70 cm (21.7 x 27.6 inches) and it was stuffed solid and bulging out of the top. All for FREE! I like free…
Some of the mess
Well I quickly made my way home with my bag of treasure and tipped it on the floor on in front of the TV that hubby was watching. He was lost for words. He could not understand my excitement about something that he would have immediately put in the garbage.
I started the long and tedious process of extracting whatever I could from the mess. Dear husband was indicating, politely, that I could probably use my time more efficiently. I then pointed out he was watching TV, end of conversation. I do have to cut some of the yarn as it is embedded in “the blob†beyond resurrection so I have smaller balls, however I have managed to get a heap of yarn out of it and some of it in substantial size pieces.
What i have so far - about 75% done
I am still going and I will have many small bits, however I will then employ the good old “magic ballâ€.
…proof that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
WOW! What a great find! And for F-R-E-E !
Congratuations!
~Ilona
what a wonderful gift
Wow… FREE!!! I could use some of that!!!
That is too cool! I guess I’ll have to check out my local craft store’s yarn messes!
Love the pictures–you have done a great job sorting it out! I would enjoy doing that, too, and my husband would also say that I was a little bit crazy!
It’s like Christmas! 🙂
I actually have a mess of tangled yarn that I created myself. My father-in-law came to visit and my craft room is also the spare room. He stayed for a week and smoked a lot in that room even though we asked him not to. I had to get the smell of smoke out of my yarn so I put it in pillow cases to wash it. Unfortunately the knots in my pillow cases came loose and I ended up with a gigantic tangled mess. Everyone I have shown a picture to has told me to throw it away. I told them there is over $50 worth of yarn in that “mess” and there is no way I will throw it away. So, when I have time I slowly work on untangling it. I actually find it very therapeutic to sit there and untangle it because when I concentrate on it, I don’t think about all my other worries.
I did the same thing at Big Lots here in town about 4 years ago. I got a huge mess of yarn free. It never hurts to ask! A lot was eyelash, in fact I had enough to make hats and some thin scarves.
What a great find, congrats!
That sounds like something I would do!! Impressed you were able to get something out of that mess. Good job.
What a wonderful “mess” to acquire. It just shows how much patience you also have. Good for you!!!
Woo hoo…don’t ya just love free! I once got about $50 worth of specialty eyelash yarns for $5 because it was all tangled and I thought I was doing good!
YOU GO !!. I’ve Done That Many Times Myself, Work Thru What I Call A Rats Nest Till I Got Several Balls Of Yarn
Congrats On The Find
Dottie In Va
Seems most of us have an ‘eye’ for yarn bargains and a willingness to go to great lengths to find one!
wow! just wow! I would happily sort through the mess myself if it meant loads of free yarn. What a fantastic bundle ♥
NOt exactly for free.. you have to WORK to get the knots out! but as you said, it’s therapeutic to unravel and rescue… besides, you feel less guilty about “just watching TV”… you are doing something productive! LOL and you get all that nice yarn to do things with! good for you… we all know you will share with us the projects you achieve with the “tangled web”.. God bless.
Sometimes you just have to be on the right place on the right time. I can imagine how “happy” you can be when they say you can have something like this. And your way home with your head filled with just one thing “LOOK WHAT I HAVE”.
Looking forward to what you are gone crochet.
Wow, what a great find for you. A little time is well worth getting the yarn for free.
I am looking forward to hearing all about what your make with the yarn.
jcg 1224
Cool! Only a crocheter would understand…Little effort and look what you have..To me I see yarn perfect for flowers and other embellishments. For free…You also have some colors with a good bit of yarn…Keep up the good work…
Veronica, I was in exactly your same situation when some friends of mine donated a HUGE amount of a remarkable variety of yarns to me for my charity crocheting, yarn which I think was headed for the trash otherwise. Like you, I was faced with the task of separating, untangling, and winding all these beautiful yarns, some of which have nubby textures and hung up on themselves. It took me about two weeks, whenever I had some time, to work on this project. I battled with some of the most incredible tangles I have ever seen. But the end result is maybe about 10-12 cubic feet of beautiful yarns, great colors, different materials, all wound up into neat and tidy balls that now unwind very neatly. I have no idea how many miles of yarn I now have, but it’s enough to keep me crocheting for quite some time! Have fun with all of your yarn!