Wednesday, 4 June 2008

Contest!

So as I've been getting ready to go to my summer job at camp, I've been going through my stashes, trying to decide which projects I'm going to bring to camp, and what yarns. Since a large part of the first two weeks of camp has evenings free, and there is a bunch of staff training, this is one of the times that I make the most progress on my projects all year. So careful selections are in order.

Which brings me to the point of the post. I'm putting together a bag of yarns that i don't think I'll ever use. These are yarns I bought for some reason or another because I loved them- the color or the texture simply pulled me. Some are novelty yarns, some are leftovers from other porjects, and some are yarns that I've simply moved on from- they just don't appeal to me any more.

I will be frank. Some of these yarns are leftovers. Some of these yarns are in strange colors. But they are also (in my opinion) jewels.

So, after a bit of debate in my mind, I've decided to run my first contest to give away these yarns. During this month any of the comments on any of my posts will count. Then, at the end of the month I will use a random number generator to find which person will win the yarns. You are unlimited in the number of entries you can submit, as long as you leave thoughtful comments. This means that you'll get more chances the more you post on my blog!

I plan to put a photo up, once I get new batteries for my camera.

So tell me, are there any yarns you hold on to for one reason or another?

39 comments:

ikkinlala said...

I have a few really awful yarns that I'm keeping because my grandma gave them to me. I don't know if I'll ever knit some of them. Others I use for practicing new techniques - I don't know anyone who'd dress their baby in that particular hot pink baby acrylic, but it's smooth enough yarn that I can practice new stitch patterns with it.

wildthing1058 said...

I hope you have fun working at the camp it brings back memories to me of many years ago

sunt_lacrimae_rerum said...

I do hold on to some yarns that are definitely good yarns--even great yarns. I have plans for them but the "someday" plans seem to keep on getting postponed.

Sometimes I will take a bunch of yarn--when I get too much---to a boutique of used items that benefit a charity that is dear to my heart.

I once purchased a huge box of acrylic to benefit a charity that was giving it away as a prize. I didn't really want this yarn but I wanted to benefit them. What to do with so much acrylic?

Anonymous said...

I generally have a hard time parting with yarns. Every time I go over my stash, I start envisioning every single skein as something it can become and I must make... I've already managed to give away the stuff that didn't do it for me. So long story short, I love my stash. It would take a lot to get me to give it away.

Kenyetta said...

I hold on to the very expensive-like cashmere, until I can find just the right project for it.

Estella said...

I have trouble parting with yarns too. My sister reclaimed a sweater and sent me two skeins of yarn. I don't know what to do with them but I can't get rid of them because she gave them to me. Every now and then I'll take some remnant skeins and sell them as a lot on Ebay but it's hard to part with them.

Becky G said...

There is only one or two yarns that I hold on to. Both sets of yarns are partially knit/crocheted in to some little baby something. These belonged to my grandma who passed when I was 14. I don't think I will ever use them.

KJo said...

I have six balls of Lion Brand Incredible I have no idea what to do with it 'cause they're in three different colors (two balls for color) and I had to have them they were only a dollar a piece! But I don't know what to do with them.

Mari said...

What a great idea. Someone will love your unwanted yarns. :)

jill said...

Thanks for a chance to win your saved yarn. Have fun at camp. Jill

jill said...

I am just starting to hoard yarn. I would gladly add yours to my stash. Jill

J said...

I love finding some yarn I bought ages ago and having it be the PERFECT thing for a new project I'm starting. Makes me giddy (:

Samsara said...

I have a whole bag of stashed acrylic yarn which I got from a freecycler, there's probably only a ball of each colour, but it's great for making random gifts with; hats, bags, scarves, etc. Other than that, good yarn I've buy for specific projects.

Aunt Kathy said...

I worked at a summer camp when I was a teenager, those were good times.

I tend to hold onto stash even bits and pieces. Lately I have been giving some away in contests as well.

Recently been looking for left over black cashmere... just enough for a miniature sweater (like those mini socks)

Oh and I linked your contest over on my blog as well. Hope you get a good turn out

Turtle said...

linking you as well....summer camp sounds so fun right now!

Me, Myself, and I said...

The yarn that I just can't give away is this lovely tonal dyed pink cotton yarn that is about sport weight. It's too thin for a dishcloth and too thick for socks to be comfortable to me.

I got it at a thrift store a couple of years. It was very, very bagged, so I was guessing it was about worsted weight. I was very, very wrong. But how can I get rid of it? It's so pretty! I might find a use for it one day!

Erin said...

I have some yarn I spun myself from rescued merino wool. I like it so much, but don't know exactly what the yardage is because I spun it myself. I guess I have a nightmare that I'll get halfway into a project and not be able to finish it! Good luck with the destashing. erinknitnotquit on Ravelry

Anonymous said...

I happen to have quite a bit of acrylic. Acrylic has its uses. I am no yarn snob, but I do prefer natural fibers. Sadly, I know few who are willing to handwash.

knitmomma said...

Hmmmm...well, right now I hold on to a lot of my yarns, although I have passed a fair number to my 10 year old daughter.

I am definitely holding onto my handspun, though. My newest love is spinning! Wonderful fun.

Unknown said...

I hold on to yarn because I'm a CHEAPSKATE! :-)

Anonymous said...

I hold onto almost all of my yarns! The exception are a few that were so synthetic-y and so scratchy that they felt like plastic shopping bags! I bought that for a craft project many a year before knitting. That went in the garbage when I started knitting and realized that it was still around and taking up space! But really, I keep my yarn and find something to make with it because I can't bare to throw it out and be wasteful. I find that my kids are good with acrylic knit toys and sometimes a hat or two. And the little bits of leftovers? I can card those and spin them! yeah... It's a sickness...

Anonymous said...

I have a hard time letting go of natural fiber yarns, but I give away acrylic all the time. People at church know I knit/crochet and I'm frequently given yarn at church. So I move it along to a group here in town that knits/crochets rectangles that are made into afghans for wounded veterans.

Anonymous said...

I dont have a stash per-say. I buy yarn for projects and always keep the remaining. Always.

cthulhulovesme said...

I have trouble throwing away any yarn, no matter how unlikely it is I'll wind up using it. I'm an art student, so sometimes I really can find a use for all that bubblegum pink mohair that was sitting in a box in the back of my closet. Really.

5elementknitr said...

I hold some of the first LYS yarns I ever bought. Don't know why, they just make me nostalgic!

Deb Upcycles said...

I hold on to just about everything because I do a lot of crafting for charity and sooner or later I'm hoping to find uses for all of it.

Unknown said...

What camp are you working at this summer? My husband is Waterfront Director at Camp Chingachgook on Lake George in New York State! I'll be spending lots of time at camp this summer myself!

Anonymous said...

I'm too new of a knitter to have had yarn to have held on to for a long time. I have stashed a couple of yarns I wanted to make sure I could get in the colorways I need for projects I have planned that above my skill level. I have looked at the FO's on Ravelry at least 100 times. I will hold onto these yarns until I make those 2 projects. The colors are vibrant and mesmerizing. Really something. One isn't even in a color I generally wear. But I have already thought of what clothes I'll wear it with!

Have fun at camp! I have many fond memories of a camper and the staff was a big part of that.

Jackie
JackieCastsOn Ravelry

Anonymous said...

I hold onto this itchy hank of wool that my sister gave me. It's a pretty colour combo (green & purple), but it's such a lightweight yarn... it's just not my style! I prefer DK weights - but the reason I can't destash this yarn is because she got it in Europe! She lived in Germany for a year and got this when she went travelling to Sweden!!

Anonymous said...

the dreaded "oh what will I take with me"..........wishing you good luck on the fiber choices and will anxiously be awaiting pictures of your FOs :o)

Anonymous said...

Pick me for the contest!

Anonymous said...

I have a bunch of yarn I bought when I first started knitting, and some skeins are as soft as butter and some are acrylic, but they all mean the same to me. Since I have bought them, I have taught my son to knit on one of my precious skeins only because he asked why do you keep this yarn away from the rest? Through his eyes I saw that the yarn was meant for him and he loves the yarn to pieces. The other yarn still is in its place and I don't know if I will ever use it, unless my son asks for it, or if the project is special enough.....or if my daughter wants to learn to knit.

Theresa
neverenough on ravelry

twins2005 said...

I have lots of yarn I bought because the color was fabulous, I won't let go of it. I feel one day I'll find the right pattern for it.

OhAmyKP said...

Well, we all have those fugly yarns in our stash...but I even have a hard time letting those go. There's this really pretty white tweedy wool/alpaca/synthetic 8oz that I got fore a really good deal. But once I recieved (bought on ebay) the texture was to stuck together, a little slobby and I can't stand the smell (its not smell...I have a sensitive nose). I've thought surely there's someone one out there that would want it but I cant part with it. is it Lazyness? I dont know.

Thanks for the contest! I'm OhAmy on Ravely.

Anonymous said...

I haven't enough yarn yet to really have something called a stash, I do have some acrylics, and dishcloth cottons, of course, and for chemo hats, (they want washable hats for the most part!)those are just fine. I hope one day I'll have enough of a stash to be able to GIVE some of it away, but then maybe I SHOULDN'T have so much that I never use it all.
Good luck to your very lucky winner--and good luck to you---for being so giving! I think it's a very gracious thing you're doing--and I hope you have fun at camp!

Jenny Girl said...

Summer camp sounds like fun. Never went as a kid. Not sure about all those bugs though.

I have some novelty yarn I'm still hanging on to, like fun fur, and something else, I forget the name, but they are bright colors that I absolutely adore, like red, orange, and pink. I think these yarns are a pain to knit with, but I have seen some funky big needle scarves made with them. I just haven't had the time myself to do it. Plus I never think to buy those big needles when I'm out.

hopalong682003 said...

I have held on to a giant bag of acrylic yarn for about 20 years. Nothing is better than aged acrylic. ;-) But, I just can't throw it. I keep thinking that I'll need it for something. So it stays.

Cool idea for a contest!

Anonymous said...

I live in France so finding yarns that would be common for americans is pretty hard for me.. The ones I have I definitively wouldn't part with easily..!!;-)

Wendy aka Misswendiki said...

I admit...I have trouble getting rid of anything! I've got some pretty terrible yarns hanging around from when I first began knitting. You never know when you'll need them!

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