I Just HAD to Share!

I didn't say anything about this in this morning's post because I wanted to take pictures first, but I just HAD to share my latest stash enhancement with you. Yesterday, a gentleman came into the store with a garbage bag. I'm always a little leery when a man comes in with something in hand because he's usually trying to sell something and I don't usually buy.

This time, though, was different. He asked me if I could use some yarn; he'd moved it here from the coast and he no longer wanted it in his posession. He didn't say where the yarn came from; I can only guess (I have a feeling he, at some time, had a knitter in his life, but didn't anymore). I accepted it when he said there was some (what he thought was) virgin wool. I got it home and discovered this...

I could't believe what I had! Here's an inventory:

16 balls of brown yarn (looks like worsted weight White Buffalo-type yarn)
7 balls of white in the same yarn
7 balls of dark brown in the same yarn
2 wheels of blue in the same yarn
2 large balls of double-stranded acrylic (I tested it) in navy. Also included was an unfinished pair of men's sized slippers
1 ball of black wool, dk weight, I think
1 ball of natural-coloured cotton

The hat at the front of the loot is one I made with one ball of the brown yarn. Here's a closer look at the hat:

Free... he just wanted it gone!

I've never knit with this kind of yarn before, so a little practice was in order. I sacrificed one ball of brown to do a couple of swatches, one on 4.5 mm (US 7) and one on 5.0 mm (US 8) needles. Both were fine, but the one on 5.0 mm was a little "loftier", softer, fluffier. I decided to cast on for a top down hat right there and then and finished it today. I like working with this yarn; I've never had the experience of being able to feel the lanolin in the yarn, but with this one, I really could! My finger tips are nice and soft right now. *grin*

Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket!