Yesterday I headed up to Ankeny to enjoy some family craft time. One of my cousins from NW Iowa was in town visiting another cousin, so my sister and I joined them for an afternoon of fiber art. We drank tea, ate freezer bars (a treat so delicious I have had the recipe for years but have never trusted myself to make, as I would eat the entire pan), and watched Zac Efron musicals (totally appropriate for a group of women in their 40s, right?).

Before heading down to Ankeny, my cousin Annie asked if I would be interested in any of the fingering weight yarn her friend gave her. After confirming that it was wool, not acrylic, I said I would take any she would be willing to part with. I said this because yarn that is given to me doesn’t count in my yarn diet, I knit a lot of socks, I can always use yarn for my scrap blanket, and I’m so incredibly cheap I’ll never say no to free yarn (unless it’s acrylic, because that’s not my jam).

What awaited me when I arrived was not a few skeins of sock yarn. It was a giant box of yarn.

In the box there was 600g of Plymouth Select worsted weight yarn. There is enough to make Elliot the Gus Sweater in the 12 year size or a large shawl for me. I don’t love the color, so this might sit in my stash for years. I’m OK with that, as it will eventually leave.

The box also included 160 g of red fingering weight yarn. I really like the color and the yarn. I’m thinking this could be a shawl.

There was 375 g of tweed fingering weight yarn. This yarn is beautiful, and I’m looking forward to working with it. I’m thinking maybe a shawl or a cardigan for Audrey.

The final surprise was 1320 g of super bulky yarn. If my calculations are correct I have enough to make myself a cardigan. I’m thinking Shawl Collar Cardigan #6501. I plan on skipping the texture and going for stockinette on the body instead. This color might be awful on me, and if it is it will give me the chance to experiment with dying a completed garment.

Do you get excited about free yarn too? Do you have any suggestions for what to make with the red and tweed yarn?