Granny Fricket's Thicket

I love doing what I’m doing, crochet wise… Hats… Amigurumi… loveys… and I love hunting for interesting yarn… but… you know… I’ve discovered that yarn can get pretty pricey even for the less expensive (read not $25 or $50 a skein… I love the wools and the alpacas but… yeah… ). I’ve also discovered that my local thrift stores have (often have, any way) a metric crap ton of donated afghans hanging and many of them are still hanging there on the 1/2 off day… or (depending on the thrift shop) on the 75% off days.

I have found AMAZING afghans that I fell in love with (one I got is so toasty warm, I will not part with it!!!). I’ve also found afghans that have started to pill… that are very… um… unique…. color combinations. I’ve found sweaters that are gorgeous colors (some wool… some lovely soft something) that are not machine made so can be unworked without ending up in 5 foot lengths.

I googled recycled yarn. Apparently THAT is kind of a thing, but it is more yarn made with recycled stuff than recycling yarn that already exists. I haven’t been able to find places that talk about undoing stuff that exists into balls that get used for other things. Am I a mavrick? I know I saw something years ago about ripping out old sweaters or I would never have thought of it but now… not so much. I have found a bit on reclaimed yarn… a little on the kind of recycled yarn I’m looking at… but… still not a lot…

Un-crocheting (or un-knitting) can be very therapeutic. I’m pretty sure it is the equivalent of stimming but with a productive output. And it isn’t like frogging a piece (rip it… rip it) to fix a place where you made a mistake in your work… this is to recycle yarn already manufactured and purchased from somewhere some time. I’m trying to be as ecologically minded as I can be while still bringing my imagination to life.

Several years ago I was un-knitting sweaters and making warm hats from them for my family. Now I’m working to un-do things to add to my yarn stash to make things out of to sell. For $5 or so (sometimes $2 or so) I can get what amounts to 5 or 6 (or more) skeins of yarn… so… even at not expensive prices $30 or more in yarn. It’s very cost effective.

I was sitting around the other evening undoing an afghan and I started to think… I’m making interesting things out of the cast offs that people donate to the thrift shops… but… what about those treasured things sitting in the back of linen closets… the ones that people won’t get rid of because loved ones from years gone by made them. The colors might not “work” or the yarn may not be as pretty as it once was, but Great Grandma Finklestien made you when you graduated high school and you love the memories.

Maybe you have a sweater that was hand knit for you (or your kids) that just don’t fit any more. The love that Aunt Molly knitted into it in years gone by is still there but now you have to dig through things to ever even see it.

I know how much the bears and pillows mean to me/my kids that were sewn from my late husband’s shirts. Looking at them brings memories of when he wore just that shirt and it can sit on the bed… on the dresser… or it can live in your bag where you can take it out whenever you need to and feel the love… the presence… that the items held.

I was thinking maybe I could commission things like that to take my knot magic and weave it into the memories that people have with yarn products and bring a little of that comfort to others. Maybe a hat that can keep someone warm from the object but also from the memories… or a scarf that could be wrapped around to bring comfort…

Do I figure I will ever get anyone to commission a piece? Not likely. I can seem to sell anything I do make…. even when I under price compared to everywhere else… but it’s worth making the offer.

So…

Taking orders…

I have dozens <and dozens and dozens and a metric crap ton of dozens> of patterns I can work with you to find the perfect thing… or you can give me some broad general ideas <a hat maybe> <would love a scarf>.

I would love to bring the kind of comfort my kids and I got from having TeddyBear’s shirts to hold close to others bringing my own creativity into the mix.

Love and Light
Granny