Jaeger Natural Fleece

My mum is an expert in finding fab things in charity shops, me - i'm set in my ways, I look at the books, look at the teacups, see if they've got any knitting needles (usually stashed in a cracked vase/pasta jar on the floor, behind the till), and then i'm done! Mum always finds great clothes - she can spot a 'label' a mile off, and then yesterday she found 5 skeins of Jaeger Natural Fleece yarn, just enough to knit a garment of some kind ...

She bought it because she saw 'Holmfirth' on the label - I lived there as a student, but it is lovely yarn. I don't tend to buy chunky in great quantities because I can't afford it. I usually treat myself to a ball of Rowan Big Knit every winter to make a beret!

I never spot any good yarn in charity shops, perhaps i'm not looking hard enough. I think with the advent of Ebay people tend to destash rather than donate, you may be lucky however, these are some tips for charity yarn buying ...

• If the yarn still has a 'ball band' that's a good sign, at least you know the weight and the needles you'll need.
• Check animal fibres for moth damage, you don't want to introduce the critters to your precious yarn stash! Look for tiny tiny white eggs in amongst the fibres.
• Very often, charity finds are someone else's impulse buys, sets of skeins/balls which are together in a plastic wrapper are a good sign that the yarn will be from the same dye lot. If the skein/balls are loose in a basket or on a shelf, check that the dye lot is the same.
• Random amounts of wool yarn are great for knitting up and felting.
• Random amounts of bright acrylic yarn are just right for crochet granny squares, stripey crocheted ripple stitch blankets ... and yarn bombing projects.

Happy Hunting!!