Value Village Yarn Haul

I am an avid thrifter. I absolutely love visiting thrift stores and antique malls. Not only do I get a bit of a 'thrill of the hunt' but I also just really like older things. There was a sense of style and imagination with a lot of older pieces that aren't really around anymore. It's also so much easier to hunt for things that reflect my style, as my love for early 20th century clothing (and even older clothing/style for that matter) really shows in my look.

I visited my local Value Village and discovered a little corner of knitting things. I've never seen a thrift store with crafty pieces, so I was very surprised. I feel a bit foolish now as I took the time to look online afterwards and discovered it's not exactly a rarity. Maybe it's just uncommon in my area! Who knows?

The yarn was priced fairly for what it was. I could tell a lot of the yarn was older, probably relics from an older relative that someone had donated, but it definitely still looked usable. No frayed yarn or tangled bundles, thankfully. I didn't feel like buying a bunch of 99¢ skeins so I just grabbed a random bag for $5.99.

I immediately could tell how old this yarn is because the Lady Fair brand is labeled with 'Eatons'. Eatons was a Canadian chain store that became defunct in 1999. I belive it even left western Canada a decade or more before. The company really struggled before the end. I believe there were only a few stores in Ontario at the end. It was very a sad affair, as the company had existed since 1894 and was a huge icon of Canadiana. If I had to guess, these probably weren't some of their more recent items. 

Lady Fair was a very popular brand of yarn, especially for their softer baby yarns. Doing a bit of research I found there were even books created under the brand from the 1920s! I definitely want to hunt those down if I'm able. I can definitely understand why it was a popular brand. The colours are a bit ugly to my eyes but the yarn is so, so soft. Unfortunately I can't find the exact year for these yarns, but judging by the quality and style of the labels, this was probably from the 1980s.

Another super soft baby yarn from the bundle.

Now this is a super 1980s label if I ever saw one. This yarn is also quite soft. I ended up using most of the yellow shaded gradient for some slippers I tried to make. If I had to guess, the donating granny was planning to make some baby clothes!

Lastly there was this really gross and awful feeling yellow yarn (not pictured). I will probably re-donate it or maybe make something with it to donate later. I have a tough time with coarse, itchy yarns. I've tried to make it work, but even fabric softener doesn't make them any easier for my sensitive skin. 

I thought this was a fun little adventure. I think I'll probably leave thrift/vintage yarn for others.  I'm just too spoiled by new soft and fancy yarn. I think I'm still going to have some fun with these yarns. I don't regret buying the bundle, but I know I'm just too addicted to the rush of a good thrift find.

What's the best thing you have found at a secondhand/thrift store? Do you have a favourite vintage yarn? Please feel free to leave a comment below!