Yarn Bargains

There's this little craft store a couple miles from home called Artco. They stock a couple of Cascade yarns, some Elsebeth Lavold, a lot of Lion Brand, and a heck of a lot of novelty yarn. I pop in on a regular basis to pick up bargains. A major portion of my stash has come from this place. I don't think there are many serious knitters anywhere near me, or how could this stuff not get snapped up?

Here's what I got today for only about $105--eight skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL (50/50 baby alpaca & merino) half price, 6 "buns" of Cascade 220 Superwash half price, 6 balls of Angora Extra (70% angora, 25% wool, 5% nylon) half price, and way in the back 2 skeins of TLC Cotton Plus. Only the TLC was not marked down (it's already low-priced), as you can see from the glowing red sale stickers. I know the Lavold is discontinued, but it makes no difference to me. I can use it for a design sample and suggest a sub yarn. (I already cleaned them out of the same yarn in ivory, purple, and butterscotch colors.)

All the little angora ones are to add to some I had already gotten. At first, I only got one ball of each color for swatches, but the price went down more, so I got enough for some gloves & socks--yummy! The Cascade is for a sample for an upcoming Guernsey design, and the cotton is for some chunky socks I want to make.

I've learned the value of waiting and watching with Artco. Do you believe the Cascade sat there for weeks marked down half-price and no one took advantage? With the angora, I should have waited before buying the first onesies.
Looky.
Yep, it was $10.99, then I bought onesies for $8.24, and then it went down to $5.49. Crazy.

I don't know who buys their yarn, but I don't think they pay attention. A few months ago, I bought nearly all the Cascade Eco Wool they had, and that was at full price (someone smart bought the rest). Do you think they ever bought more? Nope. Then one day I went in and they had about 14 skeins in the same dye lot of Noro Kureyon and I scooped it up--a splurge for myself. Did I ever see any more? Nada.

They keep a pretty good supply of Cascade 220 wool and never ever put it on sale. Ever. Stubborn people. But they used to have Cascade Sierra until I, again, practically single-handedly relieved them of that. I got 13 hanks of a gun-metal grey for half price. It will go marvelously with some sage green I got a few months ago for a slip-stitch color design.

You probably think I'm crazy for revealing my source. Hey, there's plenty of yarn love to go around. Besides, like I said, there are no real knitters in my neighborhood! I've looked. If you are out there, speak up. I'd like to meet ya. (Watch and see--there won't be a peep.)

Happy Yarn Bargains to you! I must get back to working on some designs for little cotton tops. I'll show you some peeks soon. Thanks for visiting!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I was wondering what happened to all the yarn at Artco I was going to buy. YOU bought it all just minutes before I got there. I'll get you my pretty and your little dog, too!

The Yarnless One
Anonymous said…
I picked up some Classic AL at Artco, too. I'm jealous you picked up so much Cascade Sierra...I never even saw it there at full price.

Another Tacoma Knitter

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