Big Lots? Big Deal!

So a while back I heard a rumor.  This rumor indicated that Big Lots, the discount store sold....yarn.  What??!  For real?!?! Yes, yes they do.  But, when I went to check things out I was less than impressed.  Every single skein was labeled "mixed fibers." Boo. Hiss. Snort.  What was this crap?  And why was there so much of it and what was it anyways? Wool?  Acyrlic?  Mixed??  I left it all behind, no worse for the wear.

But then, I did some digging. I'm not sure what sparked it. Probably someone mentioned in somewhere (On Raverly) and so I started reading . And reading.  Well....what I learned was uhm, interesting.

You see...this yarn isn't crap.  It's actually the mill ends of luxury fibers from hoity toity brands of yarn and the "mixed fibers' label is just a generic label that's slapped on for resale.

And resell the do.  For $1.  ONE DOLLAR per skein.

And so I did what any responsible knitter does.  I checked it out.  Some may have come home with me.  A lot may have come home with me although my intentions were simply to check it out.

HOLY COW.  If you knit and you are adventurous, it's time you went to your local Big Lots and had a bit of a dig, because if you know fiber and you know what's what, you are gonna DIE.  I mean just DIE. Your brain isn't going to know how to act when your hands are touching alpaca and silk and the label reads $1.  You're going to feel dirty and shameful, not because you load up your basket, but because they are only going to ask you for ONE DOLLAR to take each of those home with you.  It's madness.  (By the way, the two Big Lots here in Augusta?  Give them a bit of time to restock.  Trust me.  If you're up in SC...have at it. I won't be making the trek.  Yet.  Bwhahahh!)\

Here's what you'll be looking for:

There will most likely be tons.  There will most likely be BIG balls of acrylic.  Pass that shiz up.  Go for these.  Touch, feel, see if you can guess what you're getting.  If in doubt and you love it, take it home and do a bleach or burn test, but for the love of Yarn, do not let the good stuff sit unappreciated.  Seriously dudes?  I KNOW I got alpaca and silk.  My hand is trained.  Also some cotton and other stuff.  I still can't believe my  haul (pictures you say?  No.  I would, still camera-less and I briefly thought about taking some on Jamie's phone, but then he'll have all these yarn pics in his gallery and he'll be reminded everyday his wife may be a little nuts.  Happy, but nuts!!)

And I was SUPPOSED to be on this thing called a "yarn diet."  I'm sure that's self-explanatory, but oh well. I have no impulse control apparently.  However, my yarn haul was cheaper than a hair do, still fits in my closet and will most likely be divided up and given away again at some point if I can't find anything the yarn wants to be.  So it's like I'm prebuying gifts.

And on that note, y'all want to hear about some recent toy scores?  Do ya?

(And as a side note, I was thinking about keeping up with my blog during my internet fast, as a way to record what I'm up to during it.  No Facebook, no email, but journaling on here.  Do you think that's cheating if I am not technically using the internet for other stuff?  I'm curious about thoughts on this!!