Brick & Mortar Thrifting

Back in October of last year my guy and I visited a new-to-us Goodwill near The Villages in central Florida. In the back they had bins with bagged skeins of nice-looking yarn that were very reasonably priced (less that $5.00 per bag) so I picked up several.

I ended up with fourteen mostly new and odor-free skeins for less than twenty bucks, or about a dollar forty-two per skein.

These three variegated skeins are super pretty, and will likely be combined with another color to become a throw, or make up a hat and matching scarf this year.

These skeins I've already used to make a hat and two scarves while trying out some new patterns, which I consider practice crocheting. I had a blast with it, too.

I think buying from brick and mortar thrift stores is possibly the best (although not the cheapest) way to thrift yarn. You can see it in person, they usually come in nice-size bundles, and if need be you can ask an employee to opbn a bag so you can check for soiling and/or odor. You can also get a sense of how old the yarn is from examining the skein and the condition of the labels. These skeins do tend to be a little pricier than yarn from online auctions, so be prepared to pay a bit more. Also, remember to compare the price to what you'd pay for new yarn. Red Heart Super Saver at its cheapest retail runs about $3.77 per skein. I got these for almost half that.

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On the Beach

Last week my guy and I went to walk Daytona Beach, which was mostly (and eerily) deserted. This is what our beaches used to look like when I was a kid. It was a beautiful day, cold and breezy but calm. It feels like 2026 is getting off to the right start.

Eight Plus Numbers

When I was looking up the retail on the small lot of yarn plus a tapestry kit I got a lot of surprises. This Red Heart Roll with It Sparkle skein in "Diamonds" was actually a cake that sells $10.99 on Yarnspirations. The lot included two Red Heart Super Saver Jumbo skeins, which retail for $8.99 each, and stuck in the center of the buff color I found a 5.5 mm crochet hook. This is a skein of 100% Icelandic wool, which can be really expensive. It's marked with a price tag of $7.00, and I found it selling for $8.00 online. The needlepoint kit is the biggest surprise of all. It makes a pillow, and hails from the UK, where it sells for £45.00 ($60.76 US). Since it's flamingos I definitely have to finish it if I can. Altogether my eight plus lot retails for $125.04; I paid $21.30 total for the lot with the buy-it-now option and one penny shipping. I indeed got a very nice bargain.

Halfway Month Blues

Last week I realized on the 14th that two weeks of 2026 flew right by me, and right now I'm writing during the third week. I wanted to be finished with more projects by now, but life and work have to come first. I think this might be when most crocheters start a new shiny project to boost their spirits. Not me. I kept working away at my first project for the year, and here's why: I don't like being surrounded by unfinished things. I also tend to get fatigued and abandon projects more easily if I've left them by the wayside to do something else. Finally, the payoff of the finished project gives me a much better spirit boost than messing around with several projects at the same time. I have a couple of strategies for sticking to working on one project at a time, which I can use to keep myself focused on reaching the finish line. Planning my next project is probably what I do most often by pulling the yarn from my stash, getting out the printed pattern for the...

Thrifty Crochet

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