When we cleaned out my Grandma’s house after her death, I immediately called dibs on her yarn stash. (Then again, nobody else in my family is a knitter, so it was quite obvious that it’d go to me.) We packed it in boxes that we moved in my room at my Dad’s house, and that was that for a while: I didn’t look at them because it’d just make me sad. Lately I’ve been trying to take stock of the yarn because stuff keeps piling up in my room and I need to clean up a bit. I’ve taken pictures of the first two boxes so far. Mostly it’s leftover yarn (mainly sock yarn), but sometimes there are several skeins of the same yarn.
I’m not sure how old exactly this yarn is, but judging from the label that one has to be from the 70s or 80s. The yardage’s 225m, so I might be able to squeeze out a pair of socks from this one … I’m not sure how it knits up, though, I’ve never used this kind of bicolour yarn. Do you think it’ll knit up nicely with a simple lace pattern like this one?
There’s a bunch of Lana Grossa Meilenweit yarn. I love the first one – the charcoal grey is stunning! Unfortunately the yardage is only 190m, there’s not much you can do with that. 🙁 I’m definitely going to be using the second and third yarn for my Sock Yarn Blanket. It needs some neutrals next to the colour explosion that it is so far!
No idea what to do with the white yarn, though. There’s enough there for a bigger project, but I just don’t wear white that much. Socks, perhaps, but … eeeehh. Of course it’s the colourway I’m least likely to use that has the most yardage left! Maybe Susan Crawford’s With the New Cowl Neckline?
I love the autumn palette here so much! They were all in a bag together, so there were definitely meant for each other. I see a colourwork project in the future! Maybe one of Kate Davies’ beautiful hats?
These might also be used for some kind of colourwork.
As you might have noticed by now, my Grandma didn’t do bulky yarn. It was fingering weight yarn or nothing! It’s gonna drive me insane, but I do like that pink and blue yarn above.
This is a really beautiful mix with wool, linen and silk. It obviously has to be something special! The yardage is 144m, so a hat is a definite possibility.
This is it so far. I still feel sad at the sight of all this yarn, but by now I’m also kind of excited. It’s like a treasure hunt! Also, it would be really awesome to have a project using my Grandma’s yarn. I’d literally continue her legacy, isn’t that great? She’d live on in these projects in a way!
10 responses to “A Woolen Treasure Hunt”
You’ll definitely be “knitting with love” when you use up these yarns, what a lovely story. 🙂
I have knitting needles from my grandma and my mom and they are treasures to me. 😉 I feel them close, when I use these needles.
Have a great week, G
Yes, definitely! I feel them close as well. It’s such a comforting, happy feeling, isn’t it?
Ah, have fun planning 🙂 The two-colour sock yarn at the top is really nice, it’d be great for a snuggly pair of ribbed socks. When I acquired a big, random stash like that, I learned to crochet and put everything into loads of crochet blankets and cushions. It was very time consuming but I’ve made loads! Just dealing with the final lot, which are the wrong colours/weights/leftovers that I couldn’t incorporate.
Thank you! I think I remember those crochet blankets, they were great! I think I want to take my time with the stash anyway, so everything goes into something nice and worthwhile. 🙂
You could dye some of it to match or in complementary colors.
This is why I love the Internet! I honestly would never have thought of that, and it’s a great idea. Thank you so much! 🙂
What a treasure!
It is, isn’t it! 🙂
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