The Value of Thrifted Yarn

Here's a small lot of thrifted yarn for which I paid $7.99, and had no competition at all for it, probably because it was such a small lot. So why did I bid on just thirteen skeins?

Unlike most thrifted yarn I've bid on or bought locally, most of the skeins had labels that I could clearly read. For me figuring out the value of yarn depends on three things: condition, amount, and labels. Sometimes only one of those things matter. Since the amount of yarn in this lot is small you'd think it's not worth much, right?

Think again. These five Premier Isaac Mizrahi Craft Yarn skeins retail for $7.00 each. You're looking at $35.00 worth of yarn right here (and it's stunning, too.)

The same goes for these Deborah Norville-endorsed Chunky Serenity skeins. Add another $21.00 to the lot's value.

This wool blend is particularly pricey at $16.47 a skein. In fact, expect to fight for any pure wool or wool blend yarn in a thrift auction, because they're expensive and highly prized by yarn lot bidders.

When you don't have a label you can still estimate value, depending on your knowledge of yarn. I have pretty decent basic knowledge, and I've been educating myself on the new types and manufacturers since I got into thrifting it. Of the unlabelled yarns, the large variegated skein is a cotton blend that retails for $8.00, the two balls of crochet thread retail for $3.00 each, and even that little ball of thick/thin acrylic is probably worth $2.00.

When you add up the value of these 13 skeins, you get a total of $84.96 -- and remember, I paid $7.99 for the lot (or about sixty-one cents per skein.) That's a savings of $76.97.

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Stuff

After finding this Caron one pound skein of lovely peach yarn in my thrifted lot I raided my stash for two cakes of Mandala in Pegasus, which matches it perfectly. For practice and hand therapy I'm going to make another Worth Street Afghan with this free pattern , but this time I'll use the yarn that was recommended for it plus the one pound skein. I'm not quite ready to do the vintage/recycled linen quilt I had planned (still a bit too nervous about the idea), so I'm going to use some color therapy and make a quilt from these thrifted green fat quarters. I considered doing another Yellow Brick road patchwork pattern, but I might go with a split rail fence like this one.

Journal Find

This is a page from my 2010 poetry journal. My handwriting isn't the best, so I'll transcribe it: If my heart survives to tell all the secrets kept inside it will be an abalone shell in which the beauty did reside. But I think I will always be lost to the tides that rage in me . . . humbling and polishing . . . I don't write many self-portrait poems, but this one isn't too embarrassing. A bit overly dramatic, but the girl I was eleven years ago went through some tough times. I'm in a much more peaceful place today.

The Numbers

Back in March my diabetes doctor changed my medication and encouraged me to alter my diet and exercise more in order to bring down my A1C, which at the time tested out at a dismal 8.3 (normal is 5.8.) So for the next two months I dealt with the increased meds, stuck to my decidedly grim diet and added a lot more walking to my exercise regime. P.S., it's never fun to be a diabetic, but over the last couple of months I've really tried to keep a good attitude about it. Attitude isn't everything, but it helps a lot when you have to make significant changes while battling a disease like this. Yesterday I performed a home A1C test, and I'm currently at 6.5. That's pretty amazing results, even for me. If I can get it down another half point before I see the doctor in July I'd be over the moon, but I feel like I've already done great. Image credit: Image by Daniele Liberatori from Pixabay

Rayen

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