Fun
Contest: The Great Stash Giveaway
If you haven’t heard about Clara Parkes’s new anthology, A Stash of One’s Own: Knitters on Loving, Living with, and Letting Go of Yarn, where have you been?
We are proud to be a part of this volume, a lovingly curated collection of 22 essays that cover the subject of yarn ownership. The range of essays is pretty astonishing, given the very specific topic. Stash is personal. Stash is often a reflection of a knitter’s inner state. Stash is fun.
It got us to thinking.
What about knitters who don’t have stashes? Shouldn’t everybody have a stash? What about knitters who are just starting out? Or unaware that having a pile of yarn within arm’s reach is a source of comfort, inspiration, and (in a pinch) insulation? What about those knitters who are tired of all that time-consuming selecting, deciding, choosing, and paying for yarn?
This is it. We’re here to help.
We humbly present our effort to share the luv. Think of it as a stash starter, like a sourdough starter. This will get you on your way. With this as your base stash, you’ll be well positioned to expand on your stash skills with confidence and courage.
The Great Stash Giveaway
There will be two prizes.
1. Ann’s Stash
My goal here is to give a knitter a tasting menu of all sorts of yarns. Laceweight, fingering, sock yarn, DK, worsted. Fibers including wool, linen, tencel, silk, mohair, hemp. Lots of color—from hand dyers, small makers, and larger companies. Makers that any knitter ought to know. And fiber festival yarns you’ve never heard of. Quantities range from a single skein to a couple of sweater quantities of MadTosh and Berroco Ultra Alpaca. There’s more in this prize than could fit on my table, so there will be surprises beyond these.
2. Kay’s Stash
My pile o’ yarn is daintier than Ann’s, but full of really good things that I’m only giving up because I’ve held onto them for a long time without the Perfect Project coming into view, and also because I love humankind and want someone to experience these hanks of joy. Like Ann’s pile, mine contains both big brands and small-batch skeins from fiber festivals and trunk shows. Now that I’m giving it away, I see so many possibilities here. My stash has one oddball add-on, pictured below: this is my dearly beloved cache of Tahki Cotton Classic. I made two cherished Mitered Square Blankets from this yarn, and yet there is at least another blanket’s worth of yarn left over. The colors are the juicies and blahs that I love to combine. (Careful observers will note that some of this stash has seen a vision and transformed itself into a granny square.)
We are not going to say what percentage of our stash we are giving away. (That’s like asking somebody’s bra size!) (More accurately, we don’t really know. There are a lot of containers at Ann’s house.) But the photos here show you the two prizes. It’s a lot of yarn, frankly, some of which we have nurtured and marinated to a point of exquisite vintage.
Each prize will come, of course, with a copy of A Stash of One’s Own. It’s a book with a lot of wisdom about the care and feeding of a stash of one’s own.
Details
The contest is easy. Two parts:
- Leave a comment below naming the first yarn you ever bought.
- Sign up for our weekly newsletter, Snippets, at the bottom of this page. (It is a favorite habit for knitters in the know.) If you have already signed up for Snippets, a) thank you! and b) do leave a comment below, because your entry is not complete without your leaving a comment, and also: it’s fun to hear knitting origin stories.
Entries accepted from now until Monday, September 25, 2017, 11:59 pm Pacific time. Two names will be drawn randomly from all complete entries, one to win Kay’s Stash and one to win Ann’s Stash. Winners will be notified by email.
Small Print (Important!)
Winners must be able to provide a U.S. shipping address. Maybe you live in Iceland and have a friend in Seattle? Plan a trip to the States to haul home your prize. Seriously, we can’t ship the prizes internationally, as much as we’d like to.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Red Heart acrylic at age 10 for my first scarf with my grandmother
This would have been winter 1981. I bought a red fuzzy blend for a pullover I worked on all during my first college winter break. I think my sister still has it!
Red Heart acrylic at age 10 for my first scarf with my big sister, Christine Simms. Thanks for teaching me and being so patient with me.
Caron simply soft in a beautiful lavender shade to make a basket weave baby blanket for a friend of mine at work when I was in my early 20s. Little did I know that one project would lead to an obsession. I knit everyday as much as I can. And I can’t wait to teach my daughter!
Aww–you’re quite welcome! And now I keep learning about new (to me) knitting techniques from you.
Aunt Lydia’s Rug Yarn. Cotton. Pretty sure from K-Mart! I made so many garter stitch dishcloths! Seriously – Cast on, knit, bind off. It was my go-to gift for my mom when I was a kid, and bless her heart, she always used them. I have some stash that would love to act as seedlings to spark joy for a new knitter! Can I join in? Don’t want to complicate things though. And no worries – I don’t have any of that rug yarn!
I don’t remember, it was in the early 70’s. It was red and was not a natural fiber. Thanks!
What a wonderful contest! Thank you.
I don’t remember the brand but it was an olive green yarn. I wanted to make an Afghan for my Mom and that was her favorite color ( or so I thought! Turns out her favorite color was purple). My Dad helped me buy yarn when my allowance ( $1 a week!!!) didn’t give me enough funds to buy the next skein. Took me forever and there were many dye lots. A simple double crochet pattern. My brother still has it.
Ribbon yarn to make shrug for my daughter. Very slippery to knit
My first yarn was sock yarn that I bought so my college roommate could teach me how to knit. My first project was a pair of socks for my dad. The first one was finished that year of college… the second one was finished years later:-)
Some acrylic stuff, I had big plans to knit an afgan. We know how that went as a first project!
Lion brand wool ease was my first yarn to knit with given to me by my Grandmom who taught me to knit.
What a fun and generous contest! I have such mixed emotions about a stash. Random yarns remind me that I’m not as skilled a knitter as I’d like to be…how to assign a yarn to a pattern that the designer didn’t suggest. Sheesh. Yarns for a specific project remind me that I don’t knit nearly as much as I think about knitting! My first yarn…who knows. Probably crunchy Red Heart from a local five and dime purchased for a scarf made in Home Ec (do they still have Home Ec?!) I do still have that scarf!
Orange, Red and Blue acrylic/wool mix from Woolworths/Kresge to make granny squares with my grandmother.
I wish I could name the 100% wool yarn in ivory, turquoise, and olive I convinced my mom to buy for me to knit an afghan when I was in Jr. High. It was quite an investment and I lugged that WIP literally around the world for decades before finally acknowledging its awfulness on so many levels. I threw it away and now I am sorry. The first yarn I bought as a white-haired grown-up returning to knitting with passion was Karabella’s Aurora 8 to make Julita; learning another lesson (the hard way) about making appropriate yarn substitutions and the quality of advice in yarn shops…
I have no idea what labels might have been on the inexpensive, probably acrylic, yarn from the local “five & dime” store when i first learned to crochet in my early teens, but what a nostalgia trip it is to think that far back and remember the odd projects I managed to make!
Caron Simply Soft yarn so I could crochet a scarf. I finished it, and then a few years later, I learned how to knit, which is my preferred technique now. I still have that crocheted scarf, though.
It was a gorgeous, soft, springy gray merino wool. I made a lace cardigan of it. Still one of my favorites!
A spruce green wool that became a sweater for our oldest son then 2 years old. I’d learned to knit on borrowed yarn from Holly Welch in 3rd grade, and then didn’t pick back up again until in my 20’s. I still have the sweater – just in case a grand child comes along!
Yikes! So many moons/decades ago. Not sure of the brand, but i’m sure it was an acrylic from Woolworth for a scarf that mysteriously gained and lost stitches at random! What a fun and generous give away!
Our Warm Up America group in the local Woman’s Club recently received a donated skein -or two- of that yarn in bright red. The original price tag was on the label (79 cents) and there was a guarantee stating that the yarn was guaranteed for life and could be returned at any time for refund of purchase price! That stuff was made to last!!!
Btw, being the frugal group we are, we used the yarn!:)
I had just started knitting. I bought a skein of Berroco Boboli because I loved the colors.
I still have it, never wound haha!
My First was wonderful Shetland yarn from an enormous selection in the store run by 2 comfy elderly ladies (maybe in their 50s? they seemed old to a 17-year-old) in the village down the hill from our college dorms. Were there brands of yarn in 1960? I don’t think there was any sort of label. Produced a long-lost preppy-classic cardigan, with expert finishing (for a price) by those same lovely ladies, worn proudly with pleated skirts and knee socks through 4 long Vermont winters.
Manos in 1994. Still have quite a bit of it in stash!
My first yarn was green Red Heart to knit a garter stitch square for a Girl Scout Afghan. It was to be given to our local nursing home. (You’re stretching my memory: that was 1955!)
Rico Design Creative Micro DK to make a phone case from. It took several attempts before realising that I needed to pass the yarn under the needle between a knit and a purl stitch; once I had it cracked though that was it, I was hooked!
Travelling to visit a friend in the states at the start of October and wondering what my husbands face would look like I told him we needed to leave luggage space for all that beautiful yarn!
It was Bernat acrylic, in coral (!) and I was nine. I wanted to make a vest, and my aunt guided my little garter stitch hands. I loved knitting so much that I knit all through my growing-up years, culminating in a knitted prom dress. (Yes, there are photos and Yes, it STRETCHED!) No more Acrylic!
I bought some varigated Lily cotton from my local craft store — a lovely white, pink, and turquoise number. Possibly the worst starter yarn for a new knitter attempting a hat in the round!
Possibly my favorite yarn score was a big bin of someone else’s stash of all new Lambs Pride in beautiful colors that I found at the Salvation Army thrift store for probably $6. I think I still have a skein or two — 15+ years later.
Your stash giveaways would be an ideal “resupply” for stashes lost by knitter victims of Harvey and Irma – for starters.
Carol, what a beautiful idea! I think I might raid my own stash for just such a noble purpose. Now, to wait for the inevitable knitting master to step forward to organize such a disbursement.
Check the “Knit Two Together” group on Ravelry. It’s all organized right there. Knitters can sign up to donate/receive as needed.
Wow! Parting with some of your stash – that is bold, and generous!
I have been knitting/crocheting since the early ’70’s. So…..either Red Heart or Aunt Lydia’s. You have to pay your dues, right?
Red Heart Super Saver in Baby Pink. I knitted my first scarf with it. I then attempted my first hat…you can only imagine how badly it turned out!
Lorna’s Laces from a small shop called Yarn on the Farm. Made a prayer shawl which I still have.
Caron Super Soft, 15yrs ago. I wanted to make my fiancé a pair of socks, and did! (I was taught to knit/purl as a child by my father.)
My first yarn was a thick and thin white bulky yarn of unknown brand (possibly bernat or reynolds) purchased in 1963 to make a long, over-sized v-neck pullover. I was in 7th grade, and I finished it!
Thick and thin yarn was big that year. My mother made me one of those pullovers. I was eight. I used my mother’s leftovers until junior high, when I bought Red Heart wool at Woolworth’s. it was wool then, not acrylic. I crocheted a beret.
Dark green Lopi yarn at LYS
My first yarn was Patons classic wool in red!
Yellow Bernat worsted weight to make a baby sweater for my firstborn. Knowing nothing of gauge and that this should have been in sport weight it was like the snowsuit scene in The Christmas Story!
Think it was a blue Bernat yarn but it was so long ago! But I have been bitten by the minimalist bug, and would love to follow your lead and give, rather than receive. KonMarists can you hear me? Any ideas besides my local thrift shop?
Senior centers, nursing homes, houses of worship where some members knit for charity, local chapters of Project Linus, Warm Up America (currently accepting donations for victims of Harvey), are some ideas which come to mind.
Rowen Yarn
When I was in elementary school the nuns asked us to knit squares to be made into blankets and sent to the missions. I remember going to Woolworths and trying to decide which color to pick. I decided on the most beautiful….a Red Heart variegated, which to my young self was just perfect.
I learned to knit during my junior year abroad in Israel..i can’t remember the name of the yarn I bought there but it cast the equivalent of $25, which for me at the time was like the price of cashmere.
It must have been Red Heart acrylic sometime in the 80’s. Surely purchased it at WalMart and I probably made an afghan.
Red Heart for a poncho. Never did finish that poncho.
Definitely an acrylic for a vest — a vest?! – I never finished when I was a teen. But my real knitting life began when I was a mother and i made blue cotton sweater for my then 7 year-old daughter. I can see it in my imagination, just not the yarn label, and the sweater is long gone.
Red Heart Worsted. I don’t really remember what I was going to make with it, but I remember buying it…..
These are all good stories! Mine was a Lion brand chenille for a too-wide, too-stiff garter stitch scarf.
Bright red Red Heart acrylic that I bought with a $5 bill I found in a rainy parking lot one rainy afternoon. I knit a long, very ugly scarf from it that thankfiully disappeared a few years later!
Oh my goodness, it was 40 years ago! I am clueless. But I bought it with my grandmother for a knitting class at Sears.
In my teen years, I too took a knitting class at Sears in the late 60’s! Small world.
Peaches & Creme cotton. The whole of my early stash was made of this stuff, but it took me a while to get to dish cloths. I crocheted a lot of baby toys and even a baby blanket of this stuff. When I learned to knit, my mother thought I was nuts to use this to swatch. Now I mostly use it to make almost lost wash cloths by Julie Tarsha.
Since it was in the 1970’s and I was in middle school at the time, I haven’t a clue what yarn it was, but it was a brown wool which I knit into leg warmers for my mother. She still has them and wears them occasionally while walking outside on cold winter days. Thank you both for willing to part with some of your stash!
I am ashamed to admit that years and years ago my first yarn purchase was an acrylic ropeyness at a craft store. I have learned much since then and the acrylic yarns are getting better too.
Brown Sheep – bulky, to make sweaters for my first child, a son who is now 40!
Lion brand homespun in a black and gray for a very long garter knit scarf for my husband. Before that I was working with acrylic cast offs my grandma had laying around.
My first yarn was a blue and white acrylic from Michael’s. I made a scarf that ended up looking more like a cape with accidental increases. Lots of dropped stitches too!
Candide Heavy Weight. 1982. Denim Blue. I bought it at The Wool House in Canton, New York, where I went to college at St. Lawrence University. I still had a skein left in my stash all these years, but finally knitted into by Stash Buster Kiki Mariko in 2009.
I plunged in with pure wool to make a cable cardigan for a friend 30 years ago. It turned out great, but I didn’t know about blocking and it was ruined when my friend washed it in the machine!
My first yarn was purchased at Collins Hardware. I had learned to knit in Home Ec and the yarn was white wool and brown wool for a scarf. I think it was Bernat.
First yarn purchase – Bernat Germantown in a nice dark green for a cabled vest. A poor choice for a first knitting project. Brought from a LYS (in DeWitt, NY? In 1956? Who would’ve believed it?) The owner had no patience with an 8th grade beginner. Project got to the armholes and then inaugurated the UFO pile. And I didn’t knit again until college.
Rowan Ribbon Twist in mid grey, with which I made a jumper so unflattering that I couldn’t bring myself to frog so threw it away!
I learned to knit because my 6 yr old daughter wanted fun fur scarves like her kindergarten teacher wore. So my first yarn, and the one I can’t believe I taught myself to knit on, was fun fur from Walmart. (insert eye roll here)
My first yarn was bought back in 1980. I was privileged enough to know the owners of the yarn store (my first husbands mother) and the only “good” yarn was Bernat and it was either wool or acrylic. I bought 4 colors of heavy worsted to knit a seven panel afghan. I think I got 3 done before I was onto something else. I still have the very first sweater I crocheted with yarn from there in early ’81. An extremely heavy pullover that I still wear occasionally .
The first yarn I ever bought? Had to be the deep red acrylic I bought to make a garter stitch cape to wear to concerts back in the 60’s. It was almost floor length with the 8 inch fringe and still graces the back of a rocking chair in my bedroom.
Red Heart acrylic in pink. I was a very little girl and my mom, who did not knit, asked one of her friends to teach me.
First yarn, I remember it well. In 2007, a dear friend taught me the “C” word. The yarn was Vanna’s Lion Brand. I think that over 300 skeins were procured. My older sister had breast cancer and did eventually pass under Hospice care. There were many lap blankets made (therapy) which went to Hospice. Your stash, should it land in my lap, would be shared among many. Already subscribed here, Facebook, and Instagram. Love my daily dose of Modern Daily!
The first yarnI knit with was a mystery pink ball from my mom’s stash, but the first yarn I purchased was Lion Brand Wool-Ease.
I went right down and bought some Paton’s acrylic baby yarn for my very first baby blanket for my very first grandchild.
I remember knitting a red scarf at night, not sure how old I was but in junior high (so that dates me, not called that anymore!) and my mother telling me it was late and I should go to bed. But I couldn’t stop, and ended up still knitting after she and my Dad had gone to bed. I remember the yarn was red and probably Red Heart acrylic, but not sure, it could have been wool. She was the one who had taught me to knit and I remember her telling me it was worth it to use the best yarn you could get.
Some brown acrylic for a vest with cables, I think. It might have been wool, but I doubt it–this was back in the late 60s and I was in high school
My first yarn was an Ella Rae alpaca blend; I no longer have the tag but still have the yarn. It was love at first sight! Colors of purples and greens, and I loved the name, Ella Rae too. I went home and learned to knit with some Bernat acrylic my MIL had on hand. Have been knitting ever since, but still haven’t been able to let go of the first skein.
A big hank of acrylic baby weight so I could learn to knit baby hats for my friend’s church fair. She was desperate, but I persevered and all kinds of “new doors” opened.
The first yarn I used would have been my grandmother’s as she taught me to knit as a wee girl. I am guessing that the first yarn I bought would have been Paton’s Canadiana or the like, to make granny squares, for an afghan that I still have, 50 years on. Thanks for the contest. Not that I need more yarn, I am admittedly greedy.
My first yarn purchase was a Christmas stocking kit. It was santa climbing out of the chimney. And believe it or not, I did not knit at the time. I taught myself, probably using some bad techniques, but my young boys each got a Christmas stocking. I put knitting away for many years and took it up again when the mason dixon book came out. I joined ROWAN international and envied Ann and Kay and their magazine collection. Over the years I have collected a sizable stash, but as any knitter will tell you, we always yearn for more. And I already get snippets and love it along with all the wonderful suggestions of dvds and podcasts to knit by. You gals are great!
Lion brand wool-ease along with size 7 and size 13 needles. And yes, I did knit it on the 7s and the recipient still wears it! It’s so dense that it will last forever.
I think the first yarn I bought with the intention to knit was lion brand homespun. But I learned to knit with Cestari worsted in red.
What a treat for whoever wins!!! Wow! My first yarn was either Rowan handknit cotton or a novelty ladder ribbon yarn! I started knitting in the late 90’s when that stuff was HOT 🙂 I’ve come full circle and now my favorite yarn is 100% wool yum yum. Thanks for the chance to win your stashes. I love your blog!
Amazing! I had no idea stashes could be so sophisticated and diverse. My first yarn was definitely Red Heart acrylic for crocheting doll blankets as a kid. I didn’t know anything else existed until the World Wide Web opened my eyes.
Red Heart acrylic in variegated for slippers made at age 10 with my grandmother. Why not have all the colors in one yarn???
Some sort of super bulky acrylic to make a cowl for a friend. It’s full of knots, but she won’t let me fix it or replace it!
Now, THAT’S a friend!
Oh! And I forgot to say that I’m already a snipper? a snippeter? a subscriber.
I have no clue what my first yarn purchase consisted of!!! I do remember it was red-I’m sure it was an acrylic- for my 7th grade home etc class… the yarn morphed in to slippers…I still remember the pattern and occasionally knit a pair now, 55 years later!
An acrylic yarn from Michael’s to learn how to knit.
I totally swung for the bleachers. I went from practicing on my sister in law’s acrylic to buying a sweater’s worth of a dark purple wool (that may of had some mohair or angora in it and was totally inappropriate gauge wise) and knit my brother a sweater. I had to have help decifering and regauging the pattern and the neck came out too small but it was intoxicating buying my own yarn and choosing my own patterns. I was hooked!
Red Heart Super Saver. I was teaching myself to crochet from a book! Many years later, loving the look of knitting (particularly stockinette stitch), I checked a book out of the library and taught myself to knit. 🙂
A skein of yarn, orange or red, purchased at the local Woolworth’s where we lived in San Francisco. I was around seven years old. It was the early 60’s, so it was probably Red Heart worsted wt., and probably “100% virgin wool”. I had begged the wife of an older cousin to teach me to knit (they were close to retirement and had no children). She declined, siting my young age. Persistent in my begging, my mama (not a knitter, but somehow learned the basics) took up the cause and taught me knit, purl, cast on, bind off, as well as K2P2 rib. I was off and running.
Red Heart, it was electric blue and I made a turtle neck dress and I wore it. Of course I was 18.
I bought a blue ombre Red Heart acrylic when I was 11 years old to crochet a snood. I was teaching myself with a book from my mother’s book stash. The first yarn I bought for knitting was Berrocco Ultra Alpaca light. Man, I loved that stuff. I bought it again and again
the first yarn I ever bought was red hart in a royal blue.. it was for slippers that my 4th grade teacher taught me to knit in a knitting class she taught after school for 50 cents a lesson… somewhere in the early 1060’s. I have been a follower of mason Dixon for ever!! love your books and love the website..
Also 4th grade, also early 60s, also bright blue, also slippers. First project where I chose my own yarn and own pattern was a sweater and hat for myself, was maybe 9th grade? It was an Aran style, with plenty of awesome cables and bobbles. I used Red Heart yarn, in the variegated circus colors. Underneath all of that cabling and bobbling, the colors occasionally aligned to form a wobbly Argyle pattern. Alas, no pictures!
I am sure that it was acrylic and a hideous color. I was a child in the 60’s when my mother’s left handed friend, Sunny Wofchuck, taught me to knit (my mother was an awesome right handed knitter). Knitting in the 60’s was almost defined by hideous acrylic and Helene’s Yarn Yard, our LYS that was walking distance from the apartment, had oodles of it. I know they had wool as well – I still remember the super cool burnt orange wool poncho with tassels that my mother knitted me, but there is no way that I would have picked wool with all those decidedly unnatural colors of acrylic to choose from. While I would adore stash, the prospect of winning the book has me quite excited as well!
WOW – the first yarn I bought was Canadiana. I made an Irish sweater for my then boyfriend – no longer in the picture but I have that sweater!
Thank you for the opportunity to win some stash!!!
Patons Ballybrae in a navy tweed. I still love it, which is good because I’m still knitting that first sweater with it, many FOs later.
The first yarn I ever bought was a lion’s yarn about 8 years ago from Joanne’s in Nashville. I still consider myself to be a beginning/intermediate knitter. I’ve never bought or tried fancier or hand-dyed yarn as we’ve been educating children (the last one just started college) and I couldn’t justify the expense. This would be a dream come true. How kind of both of you to do this. It will be a real treat for whoever wins.
It was in 1963! Probably Red Heart or Paton….i made a sweater that I can still remember.
My first yarn was Red Heart acrylic in a multi primary colored rainbow color. With my Mom’s help I made a garter stitch rectangle that served as a rug in my doll house. I think that little piece of history still exists somewhere in the attic “memory box”!
Lion brand, can’t remember the name. I made a scarf with it and thought I was so smart! Lol
The first yarn I ever bought was Penguin Mousse in white & taupe. I knit a throw as a Christmas gift for my mother. Although it’s wasn’t perfect she loved & used it often. My mother passed in 2007 & the throw came home to me. It’s my favorite item ever.
My first yarn was red heart acrylic that I bought either a woolworths or maybe federals in Detroit Michigan. Remember wandering up a down the aisle at Woolworth clutching the hard earned money from babysitting trying to decide what to spend it on? When I was a bit older and had my first child I remember how hard it was to find wool yarn instead of acrylic yarn. Now I feel pretty lucky to have so any choices. Not only is wool readily available but I can even purchase breed specific fiber.
Germantown in two shades of blah to knit my father a scarf. I was mid-teens.
Lion Brand Thick and Quick from the local Wal-Mart. How tastes change…
Segue, by Trendsetter in 2003, when I first learned. Awesome contest!
It was acrylic for a white and brown seed stitch scarf that I still have. Fringe is coming back, right? I knit it at age 10, so that was 50 years ago.
The first yarn I ever purchased was undyed black sheeps wool for a sweater when I was in college about 50 years ago. There didn’t seem to be nearly as many knitters back then. Or maybe we are just better organized now!
The first stuff was a worsted weight from Woolworth’s. That’s where I bought all my yarn in the 70s. I have no idea the brand. It’s whatever Woolworth’s stocked back then. I think there was only one brand, and it was always worsted weight.
Having just read all the comments, I’m amazed at the role Woolworth’s has played in our early knitting lives! There’s an essay here.
And Red Heart too! Look how many knitters started with it, wow!
Red Heart probably acrylic for a scarf – a nice 1970’s olive green about 18″ wide and 6feet long using a basket weave pattern. No pattern just knitting with dorm friends while watching TV.
Red Heart! i was a teenager…it was the 70’s…
Red Heart for my first yarn. It was the only yarn where I grew up. My first job (in a dime store) included restocking the yarn shelves with all those bright colors.
Cotton yarn, way too much of it to make MDK dish cloths. That’s how I learned to knit.
I learned to knit in the 60’s when in elementary school, making scarves for family members out of Red Heart. It was all wool, and “permanently mothproofed.”
Thanks for the awesome giveaway! The first yarn I bought was some horrible eyelash yarn. I knitted a plain garter stitch scarf that had all sorts of dropped stitches and tension problems, but the up-side was you certainly couldn’t even tell 😉
I do not remember the very first yarn I bought, but I do remember the first nice yarn I bought. Mission 1824 Merino wool in burgundy that I knit into a horrendous sweater! I few years later I ripped out the sweater and knit the yarn into a much better sweater and still have it.
Oh, I was so young. I’m certain the first yarn I actually bought, for a fisherman’s cardigan when I was just out of college, was acrylic. If only I’d bought nice yarn, I’m sure I’d still be wearing that sweater. Live. Learn. Stash. Good yarn.
Well that depends on which part of my knitting life you’re asking about. If you’re asking about the first first yarn I ever bought, I really don’t remember. (I also don’t remember what the first knitting finish I ever had was.) If you’re asking about the most recent knitting life I’ve had (which is the one I’m currently in), it would e a huge hank of rust to burgundy (really?) colored yarn I found at my first Rhinebeck. i was with a friend who was helping me look for the perfect yarn for a hexie blanket I wanted to make. Did I ever make the blanket? Did I ever use the yarn? No.
It was red heart because I didn’t know any better! Good thing though-that first scarf was a mess!!! Thanks for your generosity!
I have been contemplating a “destash” for years. Now I am further inspired by your giveaway. Any thoughts from the group on which organizations might be interested in receiving my stash or is it best done locally?
See if there are any free learn to knit programs in your area, check the library and the knitting guild. I teach Crochet to homeschool children and I love being able to tell the parents that they don’t have to buy Yarn because others have donated it.
In my first knitting life, when I learned how to knit in school, I think it was some acrylic yarn. My current knitting life started many years ago now when my daughter went off to a colder climate for college and I bought a sunflower yellow wool and glittery eyelash to make her a scarf.
In my early teens, I’m sure it was acrylic. Woolworth’s? I do remember splurging a whopping $18 at Wieboldt’s on State Street on Irish wool to make an Irish knit cardigan that took me a year to make! Quite a project for a newbie. Fearless knitting!
Probably Cascade or a quality worsted when I was 10-12. My mother would not teach me to knit because she knit Bohemian style and thought it was too hard to teach me. (She probably knit Continental?) So she took me to a yarn store where we bought yarn for a yellow sweater and I learned to knit from the shop owner. So I have always used quality materials…
Didn’t knit until the current century, but I was a weaver in the 1970’s. Aunt Lydia’s Rug Yarn was a fav back then.
Lots and lots of Lionbrand Wool-ease in various bright colors. It was the mid-nineties and oversized scarves were all the rage on the runways & magazines. Mine had stripes and was long enough to wind around the neck twice and still touch the floor.
My first yarn purchase was in 1963 at a small yarn shop in the Arcade on State Street in Ann Arbor, MI. A teaching colleague helped me learn to knit. The yarn was mohair (possibly a blend but I don’t remember..I do remember that it was quite hairy. It ended up a sweater. I can’t believe I knitted a sweater as a beginner project. The needles were 10’s and the color moved from greens to blues. It was baggy and I have no idea if that was because I didn’t do a gauge swatch or because that was the style. In any case, I wore it a lot during that first cold Michigan winter and the next winter when I lived in Munich. Whoa….what memories!
It was the style — “bulky” mohair sweaters. I was an 8th grader, learning at the local shop, too. It doesn’t make sense to me that new knitters start with scarves. How boring! You and l had more fun jumping right into sweaters.
Another Red Heart hee-yah. Hey, I was in grade school, self-taught from books, knew no other knitters, couldn’t drive and had no allowance – I took what I could get! 😉
Everyday you provide me with inspiration and smiles.
My first yarn was a variegated acrylic blend for a baby bunting for my first child soon to be 36 in December
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I have been knitting for 50+ years, but I THINK my first yarn was Wintuk…I am already a snippets subscriber…
The very first thing I knit was a bright pink fringed scarf for my daughter. I didn’t do my knit stitches correctly and knit them all through the back loop. I have learned a lot since then!
Such a generous give away! Thinking back (to the 1970’s!) I’d have to say Red Heart for a scarf. Then I got brave and knit a sweater for my husband (then boyfriend) in a gold and brown variegated acrylic, probably the Red Heart. Misread the pattern and it would have fit a monkey!! He wore it anyway and rolled up the sleeves. I knew he was a keeper!!
Red Heart when I crocheted as a graduate student.
The first yarn I ever bought was Red Heart wool at the 5 and 10 in the next town. The whole trip there with my grandmother is one of my best memories. We would always stop at the drug store for an ice cream treat before heading home to sit in front of the one fan my family owned and knit the afternoon away to Password and other game show.
It was a bright squash yellow acrylic worsted, along with a pair of baby blue short plastic straight needles. This was on the advice of a knowledgeable yarn shop owner who wanted to help me learn to see my knitting. Lovely to think of this yarn that launched a thousand ships.
Probably some sort of Unger or Bernat acrylic to crochet baby gifts. Once I learned to knit, the first yarn was Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride and I became a wool convert. All credit to my local yarn shop!
It was probably a kit for knitting an orange/brown/yellow afghan. What a lovely giveaway!
Some fuzzy creamy yellow for a cabled sweater I never finished. I frogged the pieces a few years ago, and still have some in my stash!
My early knitting years were supplied by Grandma, so it was probably Red Heart. I remember buying some yarn in college, but I don’t remember what it was–which is too bad, since that scarf is still going strong, over 25 years later!
The first few skeins of yarn I bought were “I Love this Yarn!” acrylic yarn at Hobby Lobby. I made a garter stitch square blanket with a dark blue and bubble gum pink which now I realize is really ugly!
The first yarn I bought was a variegated acrylic baby yarn that I used to make a sweater for our new baby. My mother in law helped me so much but it was a struggle! I have signed up for Snippets already.
I don’t remember what it was, but I knit a one piece leggings with sweater for my godchild. It was the first real garment that I ever made.
Rowanspun Chunky for a blanket. I had just gotten engaged and planned to knit it for our marital bed. Ha – first project hopes and dreams did not match my skill set!! I did finally make that blanket, though, and it’s big enough for our family of 4 to snuggle together. Love it, and guard my leftover hoard of it jealously!
My very first yarn was Red Heart Super Saver in a lovely (ahem) variegated blue.
I don’t remember the exact yarn, but it was purchased at Reuter Kaufhaus in Osterholz-Scharmbeck NDL Germany, in 1986, to make a sweater. The yarn was linen and silk. And maybe something else. After that, it was Opal sockenwolle.a few years later. Memories, memories…
Cascade 220! That’s the first yarn I bought myself, shortly after college. Everything up to then came from my older women relatives.
First yarn that I bought was a grey tweed dk in a wool blend, Filati Bertagna Royal Tweed. Not that I knew at the time what dk or tweed yarn was about. And I remember it as an overwhelming experience in an intimidating (as I experienced it then!) yarn shop with an astonishing array of choices. Purchased with no specific project in mind, just a desire to start working on the skills required for knitting an actual project. I guess this was the first installment in my “stash” ( another thing I knew nothing about) as I still had a couple skeins years later and was able to use it for a successfully completed hat. The other amazing thing is that “grey”, “tweed”, “wool” and “dk” are still favourite aspects for my yarn choices.
Yikes, I can’t remember! But would love a chance to win more yarn to add to my current stash. Thanks!
Red heart was the only yarn available where I grew up in the middle of nowhere
lion brand wool ease for a scarf pattern I found in Martha Stewart Living about 19 years ago
Yikes! The first yarn I bought was about 50 years ago, but it was probably some Red Heart. I made a sweater for my mom that was close to 3 sizes too big!
Oh, my, it was so long ago! I do believe it was a Sirdar DK weight acrylic in an ocean blue sort of color. I crocheted a little hooded cape for my three year old daughter. She actually liked it. She was very young. Since then, crochet has given way to knitting. Lots of knitting.
My first yarn was likely Red Heart and most certainly bright and variegated. I was 8. It was the 70s.
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No idea what brand, but acrylic for sure, provided by my Aunt Susie, who taught me to knit, and who made knitted clothes for my Barbie doll.
Like many here – Red Heart Acrylic, when I was 8 or so, and my grandmother was teaching me how to crochet.
Wow, what a great memory. Bulky red wool, from which I knitted a sweater during organic chemistry that had the shoulders of a football player and would keep you warm during the apocalypse. Didn’t wear it much but it kicked off a lifetime of knitting during lectures!
Red Heart for Girl Scout mittens. Many thanks to our troop leaders for teaching a life long skill.
Red Heart Acrylic, a variegated skein of greens to match my ski coat. I was about 12 years old. It took forever to finish that scarf!! I wish I still had it today so I could check out my craftwomanship!!
It was a cotton thread to learn to crochet (my grandmother was going to teach me – 60’s). However, my tension was so tight, dollies were not in my future. It took learning to knit (early 80’s) and using wonderful, but hard to find, yarn my crocheting tension loosen upped.
No longer have the ball band Must have been Red Heart. It was some store yarn to make an Afghan square. I was 8.
The extraordinary place was the shop near my high school bus stop in Chgo, early 70s. The yarn was all behind a counter in boxes. I don’t think the clerk really thought this high schooler was going to knit.
Interesting question! Since it was many decades ago, it would probably have been Red Heart wool, since that was all that was available/obtainable at the time.
The first yarn I remember buying was blue, black and green acrylic for a crochet granny square afghan in the sixties. Probably bought it from Kmart. It wore well, still have the afghan in the closet!
In 2001 I decided to knit a blanket. I chose an acrylic boucle in greens and blues. Completely wrong for the cable pattern but that was what the yarn company SAID I HAD to use. I still have the blanket but now I make my own choices!
My first yarn was probably red heart bought at KMart. I was in the 5th grade and my teacher sent a note home with a supply list. Back then, things were still very gender specific so only the girls learned to knit. I picked it back up about 12 years ago and have never looked back.
Oh dear, this takes me back. I first learned to crochet as a 16 year old girl while visiting my great grandmother in Arkansas. Bound in on the top of the mountain by a surprise early snowstorm I listened to my great grandfather tell the stories of his ancestors mountain while my grandmother patiently leaned over me and corrected a mistake here or there. By the end of the series of four trips we took out there, I had inherited a collection of hooks and needles which I still have to this day. In the pursuit of early college, I’d put these skills away but years later at age 24, I was still in college but in my Junior year and bored out of my mind. So I went back to crocheting and bought dollar skeins of super savor acrylic. I’ll be forever thankful to the small yarn shop owner who in my first year of knitting introduced me to the wonders of various fibers and to Clara parks books that taught me how to use fiber wisely and to think beyond price to think intuitively about how fiber, yarn construction, and yarn processing can effect the final garment. I fell in love with fiber, and the story of yarn and haven’t looked back since.
It would have been some cheap acrylic for a crochet project in the 1970s.
Acrylic, I imagine Red Heart, to make an afghan after learning how to crochet in junior high.
Patons Shetland Chunky, in the days before I knew the wonders of natural fibres 😉
My first yarn was Lion Brand wool ease. I reminded myself on how to knit. My Grandmother taught me years before. And thus began my love affair. Thanks!
Lion Brand Wool-Ease. My mother quickly found a “real” LYS for me and my budget was thereafter doomed for eternity!
Dark red Eco Cascade 220 for a strange sweater-cowl hybrid.
Sugar n cream cotton was my first yarn, for dishcloths. My grandmother taught me how to knit with dishcloth patterns and scolded me when I kept moving forward after many dropped stitches (there were some Words about this… it’s a dishcloth, not a wedding dress!). I graduated to Malibrigo worsted within a year and together we made a sampler throw blanket (where she threw down some Tough Love and insisted I fix mistakes or she would leave out my blocks). I am subscribed to the newsletter.
Lion brand homespun and some coordinating fun fur in lime green and teal – it was for my first scarf, and the end result was knit so tight that the scarf stood on edge, and had the overall appearance of a muppet fleece. My knitting has improved greatly since then!
Hi my first yarn I purchased was Candice yarn to make myself a sweater with the help of my then local yarn store. That was many years ago. I love knitting and look forward to MDK post every day. I hope I can be a recipient of one of your stash giveaways.
It was some chunky acrylic blend in dark gray. I made slippers out of it, and they fell apart in a week!
I think probably the first yarn I bought was Red Heart acrylic to make crocheted granny squares with my granny who taught me to knit and crochet at a young age!!! Already signed up for newsletter!!!
Oh how I hope I win!!!
Red Heart
The first yarn I ever bought was Lion’s Brand when I was 16 years old. I am 62 years old, now.
The first yarn I bought for myself was a sweater’s worth of Candide. I still have (and occasionally wear) the cardigan I made from it. (So much vegetable material in that yarn, so sheepy, so so lovely…!)
Well, was over 50 years ago….sigh….Red Heart from the local Woolworth, yellow & violet for a baby sweater. So glad for so many more options these days! Already a subscriber to Snippets
Brown Sheep Nature-spun in peacock. I remember it well. In fact I still have the yarn. I never made the sweater it was intended for.
Red Heart from the grocery store.
Lion brand thick and quick were my first yarns because I wanted to make a ripple blanket with the many beautiful, chinky colors. I learned to crochet first and taught myself to knit later on. We don’t have many family heirlooms, but I realized we do have an heirloom skill of crochet that was handed down from my great-grandmother, to my mother, to myself, and then to my twin boys this past summer. Thank you for this awesome opportunity!!
A friend taught me how to knit, and told me to go buy a ball of Peaches ‘n Cream cotton for my first project. So I went out and bought a ball of blue peaches ‘n cream and a set of size 8 needles. Been knitting ever since.
I have to leave a comment to say that I can’t win this prize. A) I can’t remember my first yarn purchase! That was perhaps 1983 or so, but likely much earlier. Wait! I bought yarn in 1976 for sure (in the grocery store!) but whatever, because B) I don’t have that US address, unless one of you holds on to it till I get there… No. Also C) I am whittling my own stash down bit by bit and really don’t need more yarn. This is very generous of you!
My first yarn? I think it was mail order Lopi (pre-internet days). I remember receiving a couple of color cards tucked into that package that I still use!
The first yarn I bought myself was an unnamed white yarn from my local yarn store. I literally walked in, asked what was on sale, and bought it! I used it for three or four headbands, and still have a little bit left. 🙂
Angora “earwarmers” were the rage when I was 8. My grandmother took my cousin and I to the yarn store (in a converted train station). The pattern was free and I bought white angora yarn. Not the best choice of yarn for a beginning knitter but we make sacrifices for style, even at 8.
Peaches and Creme cotton! I was exclusively a dishcloth knitter for at least my first year.
I’m not really sure what the first yarn that I ever bought for myself was, I was so young. It was probably something Lion Brand from AC Moore or Michaels, though! I do remember my first project that I did after my mom taught me the obligatory scarf knitting project, and that was a red and gold striped squeaky acrylic hat! Totally a Gryffindor hat, and still a favorite of mine when I go out to shovel the snow. It brightens the gloomy winter days!
My first yarn was a bulky weight Bernat cotton, more suitable for dishcloths than the garter stitch scarf I knit with it. It was bright blue with colorful speckles.
Red heart acrylic for a crocheted Afghan!
The first yarn I every bought was Red Heart, in a pewter blue, to make a bag from a pattern I heavily tweaked. Loved that bag literally to death!
Lion brand homespun. That book is really good #page89
We were living in Northern BC and I was lonely and bored. I bought some tan yarn to knit a vest for my 2-year-old son. It was never completed. I could not figure out the pattern and had no one to ask. Have no idea what happened to it and I certainly do not remember the brand (My son is 45 now).
Excited! Bernat yarn to make those slipper/booties everyone learned to knit back in the day!
The first yarn I ever bought was lions brand. I made a scarf (that I still have, and it is truly awful) full of dropped and extra stitches but that I love anyway because my mother taught me to knit it.
first yarn ever: as a child, cheap unknown acrylic to make a variety of garter stitch headbands(who needs a purl stitch anyway?). as an adult: Debbie bliss casmerino dk to make a sweater for my first granddaughter, and 20+ baby sweaters and 1 adult sweater and many hats later, it is still one of my favorites. especially the tonals. love your blog!!!!
Red Heart worsted from Woolworth’s….a LONG time ago when I was learning to knit as a child. Lots of yards later, I would LOVE to win one of your stash’s! I have a small stash, but am one of those knitters who tend to try to buy exactly the right amount of yarn for a specific project — probably because of my limited budget. Already receive your Snippets!
Oh my. Lion Brand Wool Ease. November 2001 after reading an article in Real Simple about knitting.
It must have been Red Heart from the local ‘dime store’ and it was so long ago that I don’t remember what I made with it! I do remember making a bikini with cotton crochet thread, and I learned a lesson ( the hard way) about the correct kind of elastic to use in a bathing suit.
I’m sure it was red heart – it was in 7th grade Home Ec. for a pair of booties. And it was one of their variegated super savers.
I think Maine is closer to Iceland than Seattle, js.
Worth a try for such a fabulous prize! The first yarn I bought was Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride in purple and orange.
Red Heart, in red, black, and white, when I was a senior in high school. My friend taught me to crochet broomstick lace, so I made an afghan in my soon-to-be college’s colors.
Dark green worsted , to make my first sweater, from bell yarn. It was winter 1963.
I’m already signed up for snippets.
My story is a bit long so I’ll give you the short version:
I was in my first year at F I T, studying textile design. Hated school. Too regimented for me.
Anyway, a friend decided I had to learn to knit snice she discovered I didn’t know how. I had no idea it was hard or complicated, so I learned to cast on, knit and purl in two early morning sessions. At first I couldn’t tell the knit side from the purl side, so the scarf did not curl in when done.
It’s been non stop knitting ( with over 35 years of quilting ) since then.
The first yarn I ever bought was Caron Simply Soft when I was learning to knit in college. The first wool I bought (life-changing!) was Cascade 220.
I was taught to knit at the age of 5 by my grandmothers. They hoped that it would make me sit still and be quiet. I still, 62 years later, knit to calm down and be quiet. I am sure that my first yarn purchase was a house brand that I bought at Woolworths as it was the only store that carried yarn that was close to my house. How I would love to be sitting and knitting with my grandmothers today!
First yarn I bought 4 years a go when I was learning to knit came from Walmart and it was purple acrylic Red Heart worsted weight. I made a scarf for my first project using that yarn.
My first yarn purchase was likely Red Heart Super Saver or Lion Brand Fun Fur, to make a scarf with my grandmother.
the first skein of yarn I bought myself was Red Heart variegated multi colored for a scarf!! typical I know but my grandmother ended up teaching me 4 needle mittens instead!
I was 8 when my Mom taught me to knit and it was with a purple variegated acrylic. (I’m 55 now for context). I made a scarf for my Barbie doll, then made a matching rug for Barbie’s Country Camper. The purple was a nice compliment to the 70’s palette of yellow, orange and green. I’ve become much better with yarn choices now…
You are right. This first skein of oatmeal colored acrylic, softer than RedHeart, came from Ben Franklin next to our movie theater when our mother was late to pick us up after a Saturday matinee. It became garter stitch scarves for Christmas. Mrs Ben Franklin later gave me my first paying (not babysitting) job, Frim eight years I had leaned over Nana’s chair and knitting. I knew how,even casting on. This began a wonderful story. I realize that I must write it. Here continues yarn. .
First yarn bought, well, one could argue it was the teal cotton big box yarn I bought to make my Highschool boyfriend a giant garter stitch scarf (it was love, after all). I did, and I even saw him wear it a few times. Romeo and Juliet, for sure.
Or you could argue it was the tiny cream crochet cotton of the same origin that I bought slightly earlier for my grandma to crochet me a blanket. I did, many balls with my babysitting money, and she did, a twin size bed blanket with that tiny cotton thread. It is one of my most treasured possessions, her love in every stitch and lodged in my heart.
Or, perhaps most accurately we could say it was the pair of rainbow Regia mini ringel balls I bought in 2001 on my honeymoon in northern MN along with a set of Brittany size 2 DPNs and a pattern, determined to really learn to knit and to knit socks! It was in that fateful purchase that I tripped, and fell quite deep down the rabbit hole where I now reside.
Oh dear, like so many here I am sure it was Red Heart or something similar from a big box store because, hey, I was 10-ish and parents are only willing to pay out so much for what may be a passing fancy. I busily crocheted my way through any number of 70s era ripple and granny square afghans. I got better <3
My first yarn was some variegated dishcloth cotton – my mom still uses the dishcloth I made with it!
Yet another Red Heart! Learned to knit, ripped out MANY times. Have evolved to appreciate natural fibers now. Thanks!
You want me to remember over 65 years ago. I t was something that Aunt Gertrude picked out for me.
araucania ruca multi, up until that point I used donated baby yarn. This was my first purchase. If I won I would likely share with my mom. She taught me to knit.
Red Heart Yarn – A white scratchy skein to make pompoms with. And then I bought a brown & white scratchy skein to perfect my knitting skills.
My first project was a scarf with a blue Hobby Lobby yarn. My best friend was learning to knit while in town to care for her mother who was ill. I wanted to sit with her for support so joined in. Now a few years later we are totally absorbed with knitting and search for “wooly” shops in our travels!
I believe it was Lion Brand Wool-ease in an camel color when I taught myself to knit again in college. Then when a yarn store opened up in my college town, my first purchase there was a multicolored sock yarn! There are many beautiful yarns in your stash prize!
It was so long ago, I don’t even remember the brand. But my grandmother offered to teach me to knit one high-school summer and off to Woolworth’s I went (living way out in the country back then) in the neighboring town. Imagine a first knitting project being a sweater. And I was hooked. Would love to win and thanks for the generosity! Melanie1 on Rav
Trying to remember the first yarn I bought has triggered a long trip down memory lane. My mother taught me knit when I was about 8 years old, so my first yarn came from her stash. Sometime later, when I had moved away from home and decided I wanted to get back to knitting, I took a class at a yarn shop inside Rosedale Mall in the suburbs of St. Paul, MN. Isn’t it remarkable to think that there was a yarn shop in a mall? This was early 80s. The yarn was a sport weight wool in a heathered burgundy color and I have no memory at all of the brand. I made a hat, which I wore for years.
Red Heart! Navy blue and white acrylic to make a scarf for my boyfriend at the time. Soon after I discovered my LYS and never looked back.
Lamb’s Pride Worsted in purple. It was for the class I was taking to learn to knit. It was awesome!!!! I mean the yarn was fine and the class and teacher basically forgettable at this point but the group of gals. We had so much fun meeting at the coffee shop/bar after the class was over to knit together. Fabulous women!!!
It was over 55 years ago! The first skein was a Brunswick bulky that I used to make a pair of slippers. It was a kids’ class where we learned to cast on, knit, purl, decrease and sew up a seam. I went to the class with my cousin. The rest is history. We are still knitting, only now for grandchildren.
I think this is a wonderful idea, Ann and Kaye! I’d be in favor of sending some of my undesignated-project yarn stash away! I have a HUGE collection of fingering-weight yarn!
My first skein of yarn was acrylic yarn from Woolworth’s for 23 cents (I think. I’m pretty sure I got change from a quarter.). I think it was red and I tried to knit a scarf for my father.
Red Heart acrylic yarn when my 7th grade friend came over for a sleepover in the 60s (yikes, time flies) that my mom bought from Woolworths. My mother made many, many blankets using a Weavette (remember those?). I cherish those blankets and marvel at the designs that my mom made.
I learned to knit as a child in school, but as an adult I thought I had forgotten, so I bought some cotton yarn to make the Modern Daily brick pattern washcloths – which, I’m pretty sure, was the first knitting pattern I ever followed.
It was probably Brunswick Germantown worsted from Great Eastern Mills unless, of course, you count the rainbow Red Heart (when it was wool) that we spool knit in grade school.
Brown Sheep in multiple colors for my first set of mittens. They were felted so very forgiving in terms of errors/gauge issues.
Inexpensive yarn at JoAnn Fabrics for making cowls my mom had signed herself up to donate. She hooked me! I made 9 out of the 10 🙂 I have nice gotten hooked on StevenBe and the glory of merino wool.
First yarn was some cotton yarn to knit a dishie! It’s still in use.
My first project was a navy blue wool scarf knit as a teenager. It was an unknown brand of probably DK wool yarn supplied by my grandmother. The finished project was so scratchy that I sewed in some slick lining fabric. This was to wear in Southern California where the need for a wool scarf is limited.. But I was very proud of the scarf. It even had some shaping decreases to make the neck portion a bit less bulky.
Hudson’s Bay name brand acrylic. late 70s. The Bayshore Mall. I don’t have a US shipping address, but I also think someone who is new to knitting and can’t afford to have a stash should win. Fun stuff though
In 1975, a friend’s12-year-old daughter taught me to K. Got P and everything else from a book. My friend and I found about 60 one or two ounce skeins of wool (various colors, brand unknown) at a discount store in northwest Illinois. Cheap giveaway because it was wool, not acrylic. She bought half, I bought half; she later gave me her half. First stash. Instinctive.
What a lovely giveaway! My first knitting yarn was Rowan Biggy for a simple scarf.
It was Cascade 220. Recommended by my LYS as a good, reasonably priced Yarn for a first project. Still have the scarf!
I walked into a cross stitch shop in Washington DC. There was a small shelf of Noro Kureyon. I had to have some!! The young clerk sold me two skeins and some needles. She sat down with me and taught me how to knit. I finished the garter stitch scarf in two days and went back for more! I gave that scarf to our daughter who was in college. She promptly lost it so I never saw it again! Still have a great love of Noro!
The first yarn I ever knit with was probably Plymouth Encore — loved the colors, hated the fuzz; and soon switched.
Red Heart acrylic from WT Grants for a garter stitch scarf in the 1960’s.
It was a dark teal super wash I purchased from my LYS to make a scarf for my husband. It was 18 years ago and that first simple project opened many, many doors and possibilities for me.
Lion brand wool ease. It came with a Klutz Learn to Knit book for preteens. I was almost 30.
The first yarn I remember buying (1972ish) was of French origin, a fingering weight, which was pink and had a tiny slub of the yellow. It was a blend of viscose, acrylic and maybe a little cotton. I made a sweater for myself (I still have it) and a dress for my little sister (still in the family). That yarn was yellow with a slub of pink. They are two of the most beautiful things I have ever made.
Very 1st yarn for my very 1st knit project: Shibui Silk Cloud and Staccato, to make a Mix No.3 shawl. Loved it so much I knit the same thing in four different colors.
As I vaguely remember the yarn was included in a how to knit kit. All I can remember is the round red plastic lidded basket (must be where my obsession for baskets comes from). This was in the 60’s so my memory is vague. The included yarn must have been an acrylic yarn. I’m thinking that this was soon after my cousin’s grandma taught me how to knit, Thus the gift of the kit.
I bought some Rowan Big Wool in 2004 to remind myself how to knit so I could teach my kids.
The first ball I remember choosing for purchase was a lovely lavender color nylon, and I still have some of it in my stash. It dates from about 1963. I was an Air Force kid living overseas and had a longish bus ride to the American dependents’ school. A seventh-grade girl taught me how to knit, and my first complete project was a white wool garter stitch object that became a clutch.
My first yarn was Red Heart wool something over sixty years ago, and I’m sure it was probably a gift from my grandmother, who taught me to knit and crochet.
Red Heart, of course! My Grandmother and I went to a department store called Gibsons after I broke ribs in a nasty fall of a diving board! She taught me to crochet in hopes it would keep me still.
The first yarn I ever bought was a purple acrylic eyelash yarn when I was 14 or 15. I remember my friend and I who also just learned to knit, sat under her bunk bed knitting these tiny little purses out of that yarn, while watching blues brother’s and eating candy.
The first yarn I ever bought myself ( not given to me by my mom or grandmother) was a locally spun and dyed wool from a small farm in Vermont when I was at Middlebury College. It smelled like the sheep it came from and was still filled with lanolin (some was undyed). I designed a hat for my then-boyfriend-now-husband which he still wears. I knit his name upside down into the inside of the brim. It was my first design. The year was 1982.
P.S. I already receive and love my newsletter.
I’m not sure of the name of the yarn but I bought from some yarn company in NYC. I had a sample card of all sort of weights of yarn. This was about 60 years ago and I had to order it via snail mail. I’m sure I may still have some of that yarn. I know I still have items made from the yarn.
My first yarn purchase were a number of hanks of Burnham Trading Post Churro tapestry wool. I was a brand new tapestry weaver learning Navajo weaving.
My first yarn was one ball of a handspun thick and thin yarn to make a scarf. This hooked me and I bought a sweaters worth of Lana Grossa Royal Tweed in a wonderful orange, to make my first sweater. I still wear the sweater. It’s the only orange sweater I have ever owned.
Lionbrand to make a small blanket. I was just learning to knit and couldn’t tell a purl from a knit! I still have the blanket. It’s kinda crazy looking!
Wow, that’s a ton of yarn! I don’t remember the first yarn I ever bought–probably something from the shelves of Michaels. The first yarn I remember buying was some Araucania Itata, and I made some socks.
I can’t remember what brand it was (does it count anyway??), although I know where I bought it and that it was pale yellow and cotton and used for a baby blanket for a close friend (whose baby is now a junior in college). Then I quit knitting for about a decade until I bought some Lion Wool Ease to make a scarf for my son.
It was a pale blue acrylic yarn, purchased in Tripoli, Libya in the late 1950s, which became my first — totally unwearable — sweater. I didn’t understand gauge, and I only had one size of needles, and my short sleeved seed-stitch pullover could easily have fit a linebacker. I’ve come a long way . . .
Thanks so much for this great contest!
The first yarn I actually bought for myself was some pale green cotton yarn, that I think was Sirdar, in the late 60’s/early 70’s.
I had plans to make a summer top. Ask me if I ever finished it.
Along with my first set of knitting needles, I bought a ball of ecru Peaches and Creme cotton to practice with. My mom had a lot of acrylic Red Heart in her stash (she crocheted) but I hated how it felt and thought the cotton would be easier to work with.
That’s easy – the first yarn I ever bought was Lion Brand’s Wool-Ease. I had purchased their learn-to-knit book & that’s what it came with. I knit a long stockinette stitch scarf. It’s probably back in a closet somewhere. That was back in 2000.
Can’t remember the brand but it was very fine. I bought 3 colors and knitted them together. My first project was a sweater! I was too inexperienced to be afraid.
I took a knitting class at the Sears where I grew up. I do believe my first yarn purchase was Sears brand yarn. The yarn was a sky blue acrylic.
I think it was Red Heart worsted in black or navy blue to knit the garter stitch slippers with pom poms.
I was fortunate to unknowingly wander into my LYS, where the owner helped me choose a skein of Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride. I still love that yarn.
Me too. My first yarn was Red Heart rainbow acrylic around 60 years ago. My beloved grandmother showed me how to knit on one of those spool things. I don’t think I ever did anything with the long tube if yarn I created. My grandmother also taught how to knit using straight needles. I still own a lot of her collection of 14″ straight needles.
An Adirondack’s fuzzy yarn for a scarf. What a ride since then!!!
Oh my good goodness. I love yarn and you ladies are amazing. I love your song and have to listen to “I didn’t knit this for you” quite often when the feeling hits. This yarn stash would mean a lot to me. I moved to take care of my Mom and in the move I lost a lot. I love all kinds of different and unusual yarns for many things.
Thanks for the contest! Best regards to Kay and Ann!!
Wow, the first yarn I bought was Lion Brand Homespun. I think the color was called Maui. Not the easiest yarn for a raw beginner to use!
My first yarn purchased by me was certainly some RedHeart from Wal-Mart. My tastes have certainly changed since then, but it was definitely my gateway yarn.
Noro Silk Garden. I took a how to knit class at my LYS. I was overwhelmed by the choices and grabbed a skein from the closest display. I wasn’t mad. Lovely yarn.
I cant recall the first yarn, something in my mother’s stash I assume. I can say my taste the finer yarns has grown.
I bought my first yarn 70 years ago,. Do you really think I remember the brand? I did buy a lot of Red Heart early on. Now I buy only natural fibers or a high quality mix.
Manos del Uruguay was my first yarn purchase. I could not knit, or thought I couldn’t knit, but I walked by the window of an LYS and fell in love.
Red Heart white acrylic that I purchased at Ben Franklin along with Susan Bates needles and a Leisure Arts book “Learn to Knit”. I was expecting my first baby (who turned (cough) 30 (cough) this year) and I wanted to knit something for him/her to wear coming home from the hospital. I knit so much trying to learn that I had dreams about knitting. I finished the jacket, bonnet and booties before she was born but of course they were too big and she wore something else. But I remember quite vividly how proud I was of my accomplishment and I’ve been knitting ever since.
After lots of Sayelle, Red Heart, Bernat Handicrafter and Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool, the first yarn shop yarn that I ever bought was a beautiful autumn colors mohair ombré from which I made a garter stitch scarf on big needles for my daughter. I can’t remember the name of the yarn, I didn’t save the ball band and I didn’t store information on Ravelry back then and I regret all of that. But it came in a ball. The first yarn shop yarn that I bought and can remember the name of is Cascade 220 Heathers in 9407 Celery and I am in the process of making Lion Brand’s My First Raglan Cardigan from it.
I think it was a lions brand wool-ease. It felt so expensive and luxurious at the time. 20 year old me had no idea how big the world of yarn was. 😉
Sears and Robuck brand, ordered coordinating fabric and yarn in heather green about 1962 (age 13). I made the a-line skirt, started the sweater but never finished it, sadly. At some point the half-finished sweater and yarn went to some great stash-down in the sky.
The first yarn I bought was peaches and cream cotton from Walmart. It turned into dishcloths, reusable swiffer head cloth, and a hat.
The first yarn I ever bought was Coats and Clark/Red Heart crochet thread from Woolworth’s. I was in sixth grade, and used it on Friday afternoon “hobby time” in class. I made Rainbow colored doilies (early sign of liberal leanings). High school memories don’t include knitting – something wrong there! – but in my freshman year of college, I bought several colors of wool-blend yarn and made my own color-changing yarn by joining random lengths together, then knit a scarf.
Super of you to have such a giveaway.
We should all raise a skein of hand-dyed, or luxury fiber yarn and sing the praises of those local Woolworths, stocked with inexpensive yarns, that enabled our knitting passion to grow!
Red Heart from the 70’s. I learned to crochet very young and spent an awful lot of time making meltable pot holders.
My first purchase was Lion Brand acrylic in a dark green and size 9 needles. Ladies at work taught me how to knit. My husband still wears that scarf!
Lion Brand Homespun in a light country blue color. I used metal needles and the thought of that combination now makes the hairs stand up on my arm and the back of my neck a little. Ha!
The first yarn of my own was given to me by my great aunt Evelyn who taught me to knit- it was Red Heart brand, cream color and it’s what I practiced on while we talked for hours. The first I bought was a beautiful SK weight in gorgeous blue that I still have!
I’m pretty sure my first purchased yarn was Bernat Soft Boucle. I went to JoAnn’s and touched every single ball of yarn and, in my teenage enthusiasm, picked a “soft” one. I had no idea the boucle would make it so hard to see the stitches, hence the wandering wide/narrow nature of the subsequent scarf.
I made a crocheted blanket using afghan stitch of gold, avocado, orange and cream colors out of something synthetic. It was the 70’s after all !! It was a gift but I now have it again and made my DIL promise not to give it to the dogs when I’m gone. It is indestructible unfortunately. My taste has improved considerably$$$.
Ahhh I forgot to talk about my first yarn! Kelly green and navy blue for a scarf for my Dad. I beleive it was wool not acrylic. It was really my first project. I had been gifted wool from my grandmother for practice. I was about 7 or 8. I knit and knit. It was like a blanket and he wore it and wore it. It amazed me mistakes and all.
My first yarn was Rowan, took a knitting class with my mom
My first yarn came from a five-and-dime called TG&Y and it was within walking distance from my house. It was around 1965,so must have been Aunt Lydia’s rug yarn. It only came in solids and I can’t remember if it was wool or acrylic, the only real choices back then except for cotton and it wasn’t cotton.
My mother and cousin taught me how to knit Continental style. And the real reason I was and remain a knitter is b/c when I was too young to knit I used to spent lots of time perusing my mother’s drawers of fabric, patterns and knitting supplies in her little sewing nook. The best thing were her pattern leaflets from World War II, when she was stationed as U.S. Army RN nurse (Lt.) near Yeovil, England (near Stonehenge). My 96-year-old mother is still living today and loves to watch me knit so fast. She has all of her marbles and all of the ones I seem to lose every day that I don’t knit.
I don’t lose my marbles on the days I knit.
Thank you for the generosity of this contest and for the generosity of sharing your artist lives the artist lives of others for so many years. Y’all are the best.
Something acrylic from a shopping trip with Grandma to the Lee Wards outlet store.
My first yarn purchase was some oiled wool to make a grampa sweater for my not yet husband back in the 70’s. Never did put buttons on it.
First purchase that I can recall: Lots and lots of gray heather worsted to make an enormous blanket-like poncho cape thing. Miles and miles of stockinette. I never finished it.
Lamb’s Pride Bulky. My coworker taught me how to knit. One day during lunch, we walked to a nearby yarn shop and she said, “Buy this year and those needles.” Two weeks later, I had completed my first scarf!
It was Red Heart yarn in three colors – red, white, and blue – for a crochet chevron afghan. I finished 99.9% of it watching the 1974 Winter Olympics. Finished that .1% 15 years later.
Probably red heart super saver. I may even have some of it leftover from that first project. Lol.
I had learned to knit very early, but who knows what with. However, I really got the bug in the mid-90’s when I knitted some “picture” sweaters for my kids that were so popular at the time—Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tom and Jerry, etc — designed by Gary Kennedy. I used Paton’s Asta (acrylic) yarn; it was soft and machine washable (!) and came in beautiful bright colors. Still have some of it— I use it for knitting Alan Dar’ts toys for the grandkids!
The first yarn I remember buying was a skein of Red Heart in camouflage, bought while I was dating a Marine in college, to make him a scarf (I was trying to learn to knit at the time). The scarf stalled at a length of about 4″ and became a running joke. It was started in August, intended for that winter. Then maybe it’d make a funny wedding present? Maybe an anniversary present? It followed us to 4 apartments and homes, including a cross-country move, and ten years later it was still tucked away in a box in our crawl space when I took up knitting again. Unfortunately a minor flooding incident and the time spent in the crawl wasn’t kind, and I had to part with the yarn. But the knitting definitely stuck the second time around (thanks Youtube!), and I have made him (and our two daughters) many, many scarves, hats, and sweaters since.
Jakobsdals cotton yarn. I was taking my first class at a shop in Dallas called Spindletop and my first project was a sweater. That was almost 30 years ago and I still have that sweater!
My very first yarn purchse had to be Red Heart 100% Virgin wool in the varigated colorway…was there any choice back in the day?
Something lion’s brand. 100% wool that was thick, warm and a little itchy. Then it was malabrigo in colors that matched my wedding colors. So many memories!
It was acrylic yarn when I was in middle school and learned to crochet! I already receive you newsletter and love it
I don’t remember the maker but I remember the texture. I zoom in on color and texture of a yarn and think of the pattern later. So…the yarn reminded me of granola. It was a rich aran weight yarn that had a wonderful brownish, carmelish tweedy look. I loved that yarn. It was my first.
A red and white Eco yarn partly made from recycled plastic, the first time I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival about 10 years ago. Still lives in my stash!
My first yarn was Red Heart Yarn. I made a pair of red high top Baby booties. They were so sweet.
Bernat acrylic – red!
It was over 30 years ago so no idea of the brand, but the first yarn I can remember buying was a forest green worsted weight, probably at Franks Nursery and Craft in Ann Arbor MI, to make a pair of mittens – and I still have those mittens, since they don’t get worn much in Southern California!
Not sure of the name, but it was the least expensive at the yarn store where I learned to knit….and it was red!!!
It was some type of green varigated yarn, Red Heart… my Mom was trying to teach me how to crochet a blanket. She just passed last week – I love that this memory has come up right now – thank you! xo
It was some acrylic which I used to crochet a gazillion hats…this was in the 1970’s!
Red Heart Super Saver for a Christmas gift
Red Heart – something acrylic so long ago I don’t remember the details.
The first yarn I ever bought was a chunky Lion Brand thick-and-thin in a raspberry color, to make my sister a scarf. She still has that scarf somewhere (I’ve forbidden her to give it away, since it’s the first thing I ever knit!)
Some bamboo cotton in a lovely yellow–not an ideal yarn for a beginner! But I liked the shine and how smooth it was.
I’m pretty sure I used someone else’s yarn as a child, so as an adult, the first yarn I bought was some Plymouth angora/wool blend to make myself a(n itchy) sweater.
Ooof, I cringe thinking about it, but some of the first skiens of yarn I can remember buying were burgundy and yellow acrylic to make a Harry Potter scarf for my boyfriend in high school. I’ll be signing up for the newsletter after postings this!
I learned to knit when I was 20 by a knitting group I stumbled into at a bookstore. They very generously gave me a starter stash, culled from their own stashes, and even included some needles, notions, and books. It was like Christmas! I still have some of the yarn, much was used, and some (novelty yarn, I’m looking at you) I gave away. But the first yarn I purchased was Misti Alpaca, in a bulky weight I believe, to knit myself a scarf. It was green, and I hated how it stretched and stretched. I’ve been a little afraid of alpaca ever since!
The first yarn that I ever bought was pre-cut wool for rug hooking. I don’t remember the brand – I was in junior high school.
Sometime in the late 1940’s I bought an argyle kit to knit a pair of socks for my boyfriend. I still have them unfinished tucked away somewhere! My knitting was so tight there was no way they could have gone around his legs!
I really had to think hard. It was three skeins of Red Heart in heathered mauve, blue and cream shades. I crocheted a small afghan in 9th grade Home Ec class instead of learning to sew. Nothing against sewing, I love yarn more. I still have it…
I learned to knit in fourth grade at an after-school knitting class offered right in my public elementary school. I don’t remember what type of yarn I used for my first scarf, but I do remember it was not made of natural fibers (probably acrylic) and it was red. The class consisted of both girls and boys and after we learned the basics, we all became obsessed with knitting and would whip out our projects to knit a few rows any chance we got! The other projects we knit in that beginning class were pin cushions and slippers.
My very first yarn (1969) was a Bernat worsted, rosy pink, with which I knitted a turtle neck sweater. It was my very first knitting project. I learned from a “Learn To Knit” book I bought at the dime store. It never occurred to me to start with something simple like a wash cloth. Some days I feel like I’ve gone backwards in time 😉
P.S. I have already signed up for Snippets and enjoy them tremendously.
Patons Worsted – color red. 1962 – for a knitting class with my sister. We went to afarm for classes and made v-neck pullovers.
My first yarn purchase was Red Heart acrylic in four different shades of blue to make a chevron afghan.
Something soft and acrylic for a baby blanket! Did not take me long to discover my love for WOOL and all natural fibers…and the love affair goes on and on…
Yarn for my first major project, an afgan. It’s wool, brand unknown, and was in the works for several years. I believe I started it in when I was in high school and it was completed after I graduated from college. It’s 3 shades of blue and white and has withstood the test of time. I’ve been using it on and off for the past 40 or so years. It’s been washed many times and still looks as good today as it did when it was new.
It was a long time ago, but I’m pretty sure the first yarn I bought was Lion Brand Wool-Ease yarn. It was for a pillow cover that I never finished!
My first yarn purchase was Red Heart, light blue. My 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Weigand, offered to teach anyone who wanted to learn to knit during our wintertime recess period. We had to bring yarn, needles and an empty oatmeal box to store them. I will always be grateful for her patience and enthusiasm for knitting.
It was a cream colored wool yarn purchased at the shop in Portland, Maine, where I learned to knit. I made a cardigan with it (no starting with a scarf for me! ) using a Penny Straker pattern.
Red heart acrylic at WalMart.
A white acrylic blend from lions heart that squeaked as a was tensely trying to learn!
Hello. Rowan was the first yarn I bought that wasn’t from Kuhn’s Variety Store in Belle Meade Plaza and it was a multi colored alpaca merino. I made a pullover that got bigger and bigger and it made me look like I played football. I unraveled the whole thing and made two smaller sweaters for some friend’s children. I’m in Bhutan but I have an address in the U.S.
OMG Kuhn’s Variety Store! Linda! We probably ordered Icees standing right next to each other. You just gave me a massive memory.
Red Heart acrylic. Pretty much all that was available back in the day in my area. I love trying out new yarn these days. Thank you internet shopping!
The first ever yarn I bought was a humble cream acrylic yarn (from a South African company). I wanted to make myself a glorious knit poncho.
I was about 14 years old!
Cheap acrylic yarn from a dime store. We lived in Honolulu and I had a boating accident which crushed my left hand and amputated two fingers. I was 12 years old. My wise Dr. said I could send you to therapy to regain use of your hand and but you’d hate it so I recommend you learn to knit or crochet. I followed Drs. orders and learned both. That was 55 years ago and I’m still knitting and crocheting. But haven’t used dime store yarn in many years.
A crocheted scarf project made of Red Heart acrylic for a badge during my Girl Scout years – probably 4th grade. It was the reddest of reds!
I was 15. The yarn was a pale blue mohair. It became a sweater. The sleeves hung longer than my finger tips. The body hung shorter than my navel. It itched like crazy. Nevertheless I wore it to death. So proud of that sweater!
It was some Red Heart acrylic from the local big box store, I’m sure! My dear Nana has produced dozens of afghans from the hard-wearing stuff, and they are treasured possessions in the homes of all her family 🙂
oh my goodness, I have to admit, the first yarn I bought was 2 skeins of Wool-ease from Walmart, along with a pair of size 7 14″ straight needles and a copy of Barbara Abbey’s knitting book from a used bookstore ($5). I still have all of the above, although most of the yarn became stitch swatches from the book.
Also, thank you for the (obvious, in retrospect) ideas of what to do with my own stash of Tahki cotton classic!
Aunt Lydia’s rug yarn, with carefully saved allowance, because my grandma taught me to crochet by having me make a small rug for my bedroom floor.
The first yarn I bought was Red Heart worsted. I worked at T, G & Y, a precursor to Walmart, in the craft department, so as I tidied and sorted I planned and replanned my next project, but THIS time with my own purchase, not my mother’s meager leftovers. I was a stasher in training! I have learned well.
A Bernat Acrylic when I first learned
To knit and I made a baby sweater with
It.
I lusted after some beautiful thick and thin merino/silk yarn on etsy. Little did I know that it would knit into a remarkable uneven scarf full of holes! I gave it away during a church winter clothing drive.
My first yarn purchase was 35 years ago as a 7th grader-it was a sturdy, grey wool that I knit into mittens for my friends. My mother then taught me how to embroider flowers on the mittens. Knitting has helped me meet the most wonderful people.
It’ been 50 years, but it must have been from Grants, probably Red Heart of some kind. I made a turtle neck in burgundy, it even fit!
Some random soft yarn from Michael’s when a friend was going to teach me how to knit a scarf. I had (and have) no idea what it was, just that it felt awesome 🙂
The first memorable yarn I purchased was sometime in the late 70’s. There might have been acrylics before that but this one was very special, it introduced me to the rewards of knitting with natural fibers. It was a bulky weight yarn but I think the pattern is what I originally fell deeply in love with. Two skeins, $30 each, but boy was it a joy. I still have it. And as bulky sweaters are coming back in vogue I might even wear it again, that is if it still fits.
It was the 70’s and it was some awful brown or rust acrylic yarn that a friend had donated so I could learn how to knit. It was so horrible and my tension was so right that I almost took an eye out trying to learn. Thankfully, I have improved in my tension and have found lots of alternative colour and fiber choices!!
My first yarn was cotton. I made dish cloths! Pick me! Pick me!
Some DK weight grey alpaca to knit a scarf during sophomore year in college. An exchange student from Sweden taught the entire floor to knit. The scarf was never worn, but the tutorial in continental knitting stuck despite the blah color.
The first yarn I knit with was probably an acrylic yarn I used when my grandmother was teaching me to knit so many (MANY) years ago. One of my favorite yarns to purchase these days is Decasquint from Flat Rocks. I love the feel and the colors of this hand-dyed yarn and it knits up beautifully.
All of my early projects were given/stolen from my mom’s own stash. The first purchase was probably some burgandy tweedy Irish wool for a (yet unfinished!) skirt.
Craft cotton for dishcloths. When I learned to knit, my mother bought 5-6 balls of cotton and told me to knit her some garter stitch dishcloths. (I got So. Bored.) Then she would not buy me any more yarn till I used those all up… I don’t remember the brand, just the frustration.
At age 10 I saved up my allowance to buy a skein of pink wool from the five and dime store, brand and usage long forgotton since it was over 50 years ago. I made my first sweater from Germantown wool. I already receive Snippets and frankly my own personal stash is SABLE (Stash Beyond LIfe Expectancy) but I love a contest!!!!!
Rug yarn to crochet potholders for my grandmothers, and mom back in the ’70’s. I now have inherited them.
My first purchased yarn was a chunky tangerine mohair which I knit into a pullover sweater at the age of twelve back in the 60’s. My older sister taught me to knit when I was eight.
I can’t remember the brand, but it was a machine washable yarn from our LYS. I learned to knit with my daughter who was in the 4th grade at the time. Her school was offering an after school knitting program. I fell in love!
“I Love This Yarn” from Hobby Lobby, bought with a pair of bright red aluminum US 10s. I made the skinniest this-is-not-a-mistake-this-is-a-design-feature scarf ever.
Patons, red and white to make a sweater out of a fabulous knitting pattern pamphlet of my mom’s. Fleur de lis and very retro!
Red heart in green, gold and white to make an afghan for a packer fan!
Would you believe cashmere? I wanted a cashmere scarf. So I went to a nearby LYS and made the leap in a big way. Still wear the scarf.
Galway in a bizarre teal color. You should have seen that sweater… I wonder where it is now!
Pentex acrylic yarn for slippers way, way back in my teenage years…
Red Heart Acrylic in purple to crotchet a “granny bag”!
A wool yarn to make a sweater for my husband, then college boyfriend. Too long ago to remember the brand.
My first yarn was a purple, variegated, acrylic yarn from a large craft store. My mom taught me the basics of casting on and how to knit. I would cast-on, knit a few rows and frog back to start all over again. Finally, I challenged myself to purl, and struggled with that for a while. : ) Ultimately, I made a 4″ square of random knit & purl rows & bound off. 15+ years later I still have my first swatch and keep it in my project bag! It holds my darning needles!!
The first yarn I ever bought was Lion Brand Wool Ease in a lovely varigated blue. I was 11 and my grandma took me to Hobby Lobby to buy supplies so she could teach me how to knit. I had delusions of grandeur for that first project, but what actually came of it was what my family affectionately called my “rat blanket.” Not big enough to be a real blanket, too big to be a wash cloth, just oddly sized enough that it couldn’t be called a scarf, and with enough dropped and picked up stitches that it was full of holes. in essence, it was just poorly knitted enough that it would serve no purpose other than to warm a rat. I kept that piece of knitting for the next 16 years, through moves between five apartments, four cities, and three states. I finally got rid of it last year when my husband asked me what on earth I was doing with this horribly knitted, bedraggled, hole-y rag. Since he kindly puts up with my yarn stash, I agreed to put my first ever knitting project to rest. So I buried in my parents backyard the next time we went home; I just couldn’t bring myself to throw my rat blanket away.
I think some of the first yarn I bought was peaches and creme. I was on a serious ballband whirlwind for a while..
My knitting has three very different eras: childhood, young adulthood, and my current more intentional preoccupation with yarn and knitting. One of my oldest and dearest stash yarns is at least another sweater’s worth of teal Aran weight Alice Starmore yarn. Bought to knit a huge barn jacket that would have fit several of me, it was frogged a few years ago and half is knit into a sweater that although it taught me so much is really never worn. The other half sits patiently waiting for inspiration…..
Red Heart acrylic for a sweater for a boyfriend. Didn’t know to buy all the same lot number. Never finished sweater. Broke up with boyfriend. Kept knitting.
I’m pretty sure it was a Red Heart acrylic variegated. I had bought a winter cape (instead of coat) and wanted some elbow length mittens to match. I must have been in about 6th or 7th grade, bought it at the small dry goods store on Main Street. I don’t think I knit or crochet with real wool until about 20 years ago, long, long after the Red Heart.
My first was probably a RH acrylic; easily obtainable and inexpensive.
A novelty yarn with puffs in it, which hid all the mistakes in the scarf I made.
My Mom gave me some leftover yarn when I was four yrs old. The first I actually bought was Red Heart when I was about seven years old and I made the most beautiful (to me) yellow mittens.
The first one that I remember buying is some cream colored Brown Sheep Lambs Pride worsted. I’m not sure if this counts because my mom paid for it. The first one the remember buying myself was red, Red Heart yarn for a sweater that I saw in Vogue Knitting. Still have the sweater and the magazine!
70 years – were they even making acrylics then? It was probably very inexpensive yarn from the dime store – you didn’t turn an 8 y/o loose on “good stuff”. The neighbor lady managed to get a lefty on the right path after my poor mother struggled unsuccessfully.
The first yarn I ever bought was orange Pop’n Yarn from the grocery store. I made a massive blanket in Grade 7.
I’m sure it was some acrylic when I was a kid to make a scarf or something. The first real knitting I did was with Tahki yarn. It was a plum heather yarn for a pattern from Elle magazine when they did those end page knit patterns. Oversized with lots of cables. I somehow managed to invert the whole centerpiece cable on the front and had to frog back to the start to redo it. Learned a lot about cables, and fixing mistakes : )
Red Heart ‘Sparkle Pink’. With it, l knitted my first sweater. It was so tight tension-wise, it stood up on its own.
I just can’t remember that long ago. But, I’ll guess that it might have been a Patton’s wool.
OMG, having just read Clara Parkes’s book, and “culling” the stash, I have unearthed the very first yarn I ever bought! There were 2… I never was a monogamous knitter apparently… Reynolds Sonata II in a tweedy orange and off white, and Brunswick Panache in a mix of blue, purple, khaki and white. Both of them a cotton/acrylic tweedy blend. Sometime in the mid eighties! I actually knit the front and back of a vest in the Sonata. Something in me says I should hang onto those still!
I’m sure it was something acrylic in the 1970s. My mom was (and still is) very crafty and taught me and my sisters to knit. Mom has always been more process than project–so I can’t remember whether any of us finished a project. We all still knit and earlier this summer we spent a week together knitting a Welcome Blanket in honor of Mom’s 84th birthday (because I am all about the project). The lovely ladies at Madison Wool, in Madison, CT taught us a crochet stitch to put it all together.
The first yarn I ever bought was A Lion Brand learn to knit kit. I couldn’t figure it out from the pamphlet and got frustrated. My husband glanced at the instructions and got it right away. So he taught me! Lol
Red Heart. My grandmother taught me to knit and crochet, but my friend Amy taught me to follow patterns and the finer things of knitting.
Probably Red Heart, I was working on a Girl Scout badge and asked my aunt to teach me how to crochet.
I can’t remember what my 1st yarn was but it would have been from Woolworths or a Five-and ten-cent store, It was probably Red Heart.
I recently unearthed this monstrosity in my mom’s basement, withered and abandoned. God it was ugly, I would call the color rust but that would even offend rust. It was an acrylic yarn, probably red heart or some such thing from Michael’s. I started making a single giant granny square blanket. I blame the fluorescent big box store lighting for even buying it in the first place. Anyway, that was close to 15 years ago with a few fits and starts, a switch to knitting from crochet, but the yarn was still from Michael’s until an ex-boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend happened to work at a yarn shop and I discovered the LYS scene (because I was little bit of a stalker, I suppose). That’s when I added cylinders to what had previously been an exclusively rectangular aesthetic. That flare up again died down, there was another brief flirtation when those roving blankets showed up on Pinterest (I settled for a super bulky and discovered WEBS, both thanks to the inimitable enabler Gale Zucker) but it still hadn’t stuck yet. Just about two years ago, I went to see Leonard Cohen at Barclays center and left my favorite hat (perhaps an offering in tribute to that incredible artist)(the first foray in cylinders from the stalking/LYS discovery era), a simple garter stitch number in the perfect color green, rife with mistakes but beloved. I set off to replace it and found a close color match in Quince & Co Osprey, colorway parsley. I eschewed measuring it and ended up with an extra large yarmulke. I remember being asked if I made it, and responded proudly that I had. “But what good is a hat if it doesn’t cover your ears?” Harrumph. Haters aside, I was hooked after that. While there had been many yarns before, I think of Quince as the first yarn from when I became a knitter, as opposed to simply someone who has knit.
I’ve only been knitting for five years, so it’s easy to remember – the first yarn I bought was James C. Brett Marble Chunky. A knitting friend dragged me to a yarn store about an hour’s drive away, and I was a bit overwhelmed by the selection. That gigantic skein eventually became my first short-sleeved sweater…pretty proud of that. I’d love to win this prize and knit with yarn that Ann or Kay touched – it would have special powers, I’m sure of that. 🙂
I wanted to make a blanket when my 1st niece was born. It was white and yellow acrylic probably red heart but I’m not certain. The blanket was never finished, it was crochet and I couldn’t keep gauge. It wasn’t until I got serious about Knitting that I learned about the wonders of wool. Thank you for this opportunity!
The first cardigan I made for myself as a young girl of 12 was knit in a light blue DK yarn, probably Patons since it was in Wales. I have no idea if it was even wool. I was so proud of this project completed in the perfect ambience of Aunts and cousins sitting around a cozy rustic kitchen. I’m sure that is why the project was completed. This yarn must have been bought by my mother however as I had no money myself. A few years later I bought some Red Heart acrylic in a Woolworths in the USA in some awful combination of yellow and black. That one was never finished, thankfully.
The first yarn I remember buying and knitting with was Lion Brand Homespun.
My first yarn was by Lion Brand. I don’t remember the exact type but it was surely a polyester yarn I used to make a scarf. By the way, I no longer own the scarf.
The first yarn I remember purchasing was the ubiquitous Red Heart acrylic. I had gone away to college, didn’t bring a lap blanket/throw, and no longer had access to both my grandmothers stashes (Mom didn’t do yarn).
Remember the days when department stores had yarn departments? I went to college in Philadelphia and promptly discovered the yarn department at John Wanamaker…I think it was on the 5th floor…I bought some Reynolds Lopi for an Icelandic cardigan…I still wear it, almost 40 years later…my (youthful) co-workers comment on my great vintage sweater…is it vintage if we’ve been wearing it all this time? I still have several sweaters that I made in that era…as does my now husband…then boyfriend (how can I let him go, he got the cabled fisherman’s knit)
SO GENEROUS!
I don’t know the brand, but it was a very luxurious thick-and-thin variegated (mostly wine-colored) 100% merino yarn, on sale at my LYS at the time, and so nice that veteran knitters seemed a little judgey that it was the yarn I was learning to knit on. The LYS owner taught me to make a stockinette tube that she called a cowl (I didn’t know what a cowl was at the time), but it was also big and versatile enough to be a snood or even a very short skirt! I loved it, but it got felted at some point, and I used the leftover yarn to make a hat and a headband that are still kicking around somewhere.
Lion Brand thick and Quick, as part of a kit, to learn how to knit (look, it is a rhyme!).
Dang girls, I’m 60. I don’t even remember what I ate last week! As a child I knit with whatever my mom had around the house, usually Red Heart. As an adult, the first yarn I bought was a pink acrylic I used for a beginners knitting class I took to jump start me back into knitting. First REAL yarn was a lovely multicolor mohair I used to knit my first shawl.
While I had been gifted yarn as I was learning to knit, my first purchase was Lattuga by Filpucci…a decadent 1980s explosion of color (that took a bite out of my paycheck). I still have the cardigan and wear it on occasion just for the comments it evokes (although I am still in love with the vibrant color!). Stephen West would be jealous.
The first yarn I purchased is the prettiest Noro ever. And sadly, soon went away. I knit my first sweater with the yarn and it’s still my favorite. Dress up or wear over my pj’s for warmth and comfort.
1971 – Bought a Granny Square Kit with acrylic yarn from Herschner’s in Elgin, IL. The colors were 2 different shades of turquoise & olive green. Hey! It was the ’70’s!!
I have no idea what the brand was, but the first yarn I purchased was 30(!) years ago in Denmark when I was an exchange student. it was to knit a steel blue mohair pullover that I made for my sister. It was basically four huge rectangles of mohair knit on #13 needles. All the girls (and some of the boys) were wearing them in 1987-88 in Randers, Denmark. My first host mother taught me to knit and my second one sewed it together for me. I still have it–it is far too hot to wear, not too mention incredibly baggy. Someday I will try to felt it to make a jacket and see what happens, but I haven’t worked up the nerve.
I really shouldn’t get more stash…but this gives me an excuse to share this article from yesterday’s
Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-vietnam-veterans-who-became-the-crafting-kings-of-the-county-fair/2017/09/18/db79f5ba-94b8-11e7-8754-d478688d23b4_story.html?utm_term=.1874c3a0a453
It will make you cry.
Looking over the comments, Red Heart yarn has been a part of most of our lives!
My first yarn was acrylic, probably Red Heart and I don’t remember when or where I bought it. After that it was Deborah Norville Serenity Sock yarn bought at Jo-Ann’s. My first LYS yarn was Malabrigo Lace.
Brown Sheep brand worsted for felted slippers.
As with a lot of knitters who began in the early 80’s, the first yarn I ever bought was some 100% acrylic worsted weight. You know, that kind that is supposed to survive the apocalypse….Red Heart. I am so glad that I quickly saw the error of my ways!!!
I learned to knit around age 11 but the first real purchase I remember was in high school, maybe 3 years later. I wanted to make a Lopi-style pullover but couldn’t afford that much actual Lopi. So I bought some unknown brand of yarn (real wool!) in yellow, with black and brown for the yoke pattern. Forty years later it doesn’t come close to fitting but it still lives in my cedar chest!
The first yarn I bought was Knit Picks Dishie in a variety of colors, i made myself knit 10 dishcloths before I could start any other project.
I have been receiving Snippets for awhile.
Thank you for the opportunity!
I don’t remember the brand, but it was some sort of bulky, acrylic-blend, orange, fluffy monstrosity I got from a big box craft store. I sat on the porch over Easter weekend when I was 12 or 13 and learned how to knit with my mom’s cousin.
In 1980 I was 15 and bought a sweater’s worth of a cheap Swedish wool/acrylic yarn called Fuga that our food store used to sell. I knit a raglan sweater, in a nougat brown shade with thin white stripes. I wore it with immense pride.
Funny, today the deep fall Knitty is out and they have a sweater that is very similar to mine from 1980, albeit a little bit wider. http://knitty.com/ISSUEdf17/PATTpistachio/PATTpistachio.php
It was a white acrylic which I used to teach myself to knit. I ended up with an asymmetrical shawl and a peculiar knitting technique that I still use today.
I imagine the first yarn I ever bought was something acrylic from the craft store, but the first yarn I bought as a grown-up knitter was Cascade Pastaza for my first sweater.
Oh the first yarn I bought was some terrible scratchy acrylic yarn from the craft store. Haha. I had no idea about “good” yarn back then and just thought “oooh it’s so cheap!”. Live and learn!!! 🙂
A fisherman sweater looking wool yarn from Michael’s back in the dark ages of the 80s was my first bought yarn. I made a ! Fisherman Sweater, complete with cables and bobbles. Still have the sweater, a testament to a twenty-something’s ambition and confidence. Woo hoo, stash is delightful!
Bernat red – Girl Scout troop made slippers
I’m sure the first yarn I ever bought was 100% acrylic, probably Red Heart, at age 8 or so. Red Heart was imprinted on me at a young age when I watched my mother freeknit a spur-of-the-moment garter vest, in bright red, for my favorite baby doll. But the first yarn I bought when I re-entered the craft seriously, at age 19, was Lion Brand Wool-Ease, and I still use Wool-Ease for specific purposes. My stash has matured into a solid collection of mainstream cotton, wools, alpaca, and mohair in varying weights. I’ve recently dabbled in linen, and just got a mini skein of 100% stainless steel yarn, bespoke spun for me from low-micron steel fiber, to be used for glove fingertips. The yarn is highly conductive and allows smart phone swiping with the accuracy of bare skin, apparently! Thank you Ann and Kay for culling your stashes, making the yarn all the more precious!
First yarn: With mom’s money, an intoxicating sweater quantity of electric blue 100% bonafide acrylic made by DuPont for a hideous sweater for her in the 1980s. See it in Rav’s Hall of Shame “Ugliest FOs” discussion thread. First with my own money: Probably a single, unending skein of variegated – not tonal, color-changing, self-striping, or gradient oh no – acrylic worsted in a Christmas red-green-white color scheme which I proudly used to make a notepad holder for my poor father’s office. I never saw him hang it up. There were some more atrocities before I bought the first yarn that made me feel like a legitimate knitter decades later: Rowan’s Felted Tweed. I still remember the moment on the couch.
Oh, the yarns we’ve all known!
I bought my first yarn as a Rotary Exchange student to New Zealand my junior year of high school. All of the host mums and grand-mums new how to knit and I learned and immediately loved it! I bought some beautiful dark brown Wadsworth Aorangi natural bulky wool and knit a sweater (that I desperately wish I had not given away).
I love yarn!!!!
Red Heart acrylic for a high school Decorative Arts class project in knitting….an afghan that sits on our bed still and warms us in the winter months. And that’s been a goodly long while ago. I have since broadened my horizons considerably yarn cravings.
Some spectacular forest green chenille back in 2003. I made a cardigan for my first niece out of it, which I hope she never wore – I was such a newbie!
My first yarn purchase was lion brand from Michaels.
I don’t know the brand, but it was purple bobbly acrylic yarn from Michaels to make a scarf. This is a great prize! Right now, I have a teeny, tiny stash.
It was peaches and cream cotton for making a dishcloth 11 years ago when I decided to learn to knit (I was 50, midlife decision)
I thrifted all the yarn I could. Now in reflection I realize this gave me the opportunity to learn and make mistakes and give way the 100 hats that were made without much of a burden on my cash flow. Now… though, I still love a good thrift find I am a whole lot pickier I have the confidence to tackle larger projects requiring more yarn in one dyelot so off to those natural dyers I go. 🙂
I was gifted a bin of leftovers that became the basis for my stash, but the first yarn I actually bought was some bulky acrylic for a shawl-neck sweater… That I still haven’t knit! The yarn bug bit hard!!
I’m old and can’t remember! I’m sure it was something cheap and acrylic at the “five and dime” as I remember learning to knit at my grandmothers house in Fayetteville Arkansas and that’s where the womenfolk went while the the men went fishing.
Oh, so long ago! I made an afghan out of acrylic yarn in 70s earth tone colors–oranges and yellow and brown. It was probably Red Heart yarn. Some twenty years later I sent the afghan off to Goodwill and now have nostalgia for it!
Oooooh. Within memory, first yarn I bought was a sparkly purple super-bulky Lion Brand Thick n Quick blend that called to me when I was depressed the day after the election and got me hooked back on knitting! 40 FOs later, here we are…
Red Heart Super saver- Christmas green, my youngest son picked the color out and I knit him a garter stitch scarf, Jan. 2010. ❤️
Thank you, what a wonderful offer! I decided to learn to crochet a few years ago and thanks to You Tube that is going well so I thought “why not add knitting to my list of skills”? So I decided to tackle knitting socks which turned out to be a little too ambitious. Therefore my first knitting yarn was a “sock yarn” which I fell in love with when I saw it in the basket that said “sock yarn” in a small and charming yarn store I walked into while traveling in Maine. My guess , based on comparing yarns is it is sport yarn but who knows since I removed the label and don’t have a clue where it is hiding. I have to admit I bit off more than Icould chew and have put that aside and taken up knitting dishclothes with sugar n cream cotton yarn. That is going well but I will need to move on as all friends and family are up to their necks in original dishclothes from me. I believe I’ll try my hand at a scarf…….
First yarn I remember buying was the only yarn I was aware existed at the time, super saver awful acrylic, and I bought a lot of it. Dark green with several skeins of cranberry, and bought a pattern booklet and straight purple size 10s and knitted a huge ugly sweater over the course of several years. It was proportional, but huge and unlovely, and I don’t remember how I finally got rid of it.
Lopi – my very good friend in college and hallmate was an avid knitter and while my grandmother had taught me the basics of knitting around age 10 and I knitted a few scarves with her leftover yarn, it wasn’t until college that my friend taught me how to work with colors and I made a bunch of hats for my brothers for Christmas. She was making amazing Icelandic sweaters for herself and her family. I was so inspired!
I’m not sure I actually remember the first yarn I bought; however, Lamb’s Pride comes to mind so, final answer – Lamb’s Pride. I am already a Snippet’s subscriber.
I can’t really remember the first yarn I bought as it was so long ago, but it was probably Patons DK
I must have been about 8 and I was mesmerized by all the yarn at Randall’s grocery store. Yarn was right between the hardware section and cassette tapes. I distinctly remember picking out a ball of Red Heart that was a neon multi with some white and I made it into a very uneven scarf. I’m sure my mom still has it stashed away somewhere.
My first yarn was probably red heart bought at a department store over fifty years ago.
Vanna’s Choice by Lion Brand. And I love Snippets!
Brunswick Germantown was the first I bought (or bought for me) for a project for 4H – a knitted pillow with cables coming in toward the center from each corner. Wish I still had it! And I’ve followed you for years – and subscribed so early!
The first yarn I remember ever buying (actually had my boyfriend buy it and he was quite skeptical that I could do anything crafty) was a skein of Red Heart, thinking I was going to take up crocheting again since I fondly remembered it from my childhood. I didn’t make anything with it other than an initial chain and first row. I think he took it with him when he moved away.
Lorna’s Laces Shepherd worsted in a rainbow colorway called Child’s Play. I was a new mom and hadn’t knitted in 15 years and wondered if I still knew how. Turns out, it’s just like riding a bike! That first rolled brim baby hat was just the beginning. Fast forward 14 years and I’m now teaching a knitting class a the local shop!
I don’t remember my first yarn. I was pretty young, but I do remember being thankful my Mom always encouraged buying fun yarn!
In the 70’s – some sort of acrylic… didn’t find out about the world of real yarns until one year ago…OMG I’m a complete convert…and even going to Rhinebeck for the first time this year!!!
Red Heart acrylic when I was about 11 and my grandmother taught me how to knit. Just knit; not cast-on, not purl! I bought acrylic one more time, when I knit my first sweater for my toddler son. I thought I should buy the cheapest yarn I could find because of course it wouldn’t come out right. Instead, the sweater was darling and wore like iron. Felt like it too, so ever since the feel of a yarn and its contents have been paramount in what I choose. Well, and color!
Red Heart Acrylic – my sister taught me to crochet in the early 80’s and then another sister taught me to knit. Now I knit more than I crochet and am addicted to great fibers!
It was either Lion Brand Homespun or Chenille Thick-n-Quick.
It was either Aunt Lydia’s rug yarn, used to cover wire coat hangers (it was the 60’s, I was in elementary school) or Red Heart in the rainbow variegated colorway. I used the Red Heart to knit a triangular kerchief in Girl Scouts. Thankfully my tastes have matured as have I, but if I ever found any of that Red Heart Rainbow, I’d snap it up for old times’ sake!
Not sure I remember the first yarn…very likely an acrylic Red Heart. My first project with non acrylic yarn was a FrogTree Pediboo sock yarn. I’m pretty sure i was attracted to the name…I love frogs. :0) Thanks!
My college roommates taught me to knit garter stitch slippers using straight aluminum needles and red heart worsted.
Oh, my, that was a bit ago…….either Red Heart acrylic or Aunt Lydia’s rug yarn from when I first learned to crochet!
Wow … so long ago … I believe it was the grey acrylic worsted (most likely Paton’s, probably Canadiana?) that I bought at Lewiscraft (a store that no longer exists) back in the ’80s. Knowing nothing about dye lots, I got two huge balls in slightly different colours and knit a cardigan that I still have (it works, keeps the chill off) though don’t really wear in public. I did put it on display in Ravelry’s “Ugliest FO” hall of shame thread (look for posts by ‘singingsheep’ and it should come up). 🙂 Looking at my boxes (shhhh…) of BFL, merino, silk … have I ever come a long way!!
I bought some 100% bamboo yarn from Hobby Lobby to make a scarf for my boyfriend. It was super soft, but it she’d allll over everything! Not very practical for a guys scarf…
Bias tape yarn for knitting a sleeveless top. A big first project 39 years ago. Broke my wrist in a bicycle wreck at college. Doctor recommended knitting as physical therapy! That was my start! I LOVE knitting!!
My first yarn love was the rustic BartlettYarns, purchased on several summer trips to Maine. I bought it from a lovely young woman with a table set up in a drafty marine shop right on the dock. Over the years we visited her first proper yarn shop, the slightly larger one she moved to, and finally the doubled-in-size shop she filled with wonderful yarns and supplies. She met and married a man she taught to knit, so they ran the shop together and it was always a highlight of the trip to visit and catch up with them, and replenish my stash! It was a sad day when we arrived and found the Shop Closing signs, offset by their happiness about retiring to the Midwest and by my happiness about the amazing discounts. I still love BartlettYarns and the similar Peace Fleece – they both come in some beautiful, rich colors.
I was 12 or 13 and bought an off-white 100% wool yarn while on vacation in Bavaria. (I grew up in Germany.) I had never knitted before and decided to knit a vest with bobbles following instructions from a knitting book. Thinking back the yarn might have been even homespun, but then I had no idea about the different fibers, weight or that you might want to start your knitting career with something more simple.
Cascade 220, one skein of lime green and one of black, for my Beginners’ Knitting class at Depth of Field here in Minneapolis. I still have the resulting hat, though it is not really wearable (I messed up the mattress stitch so you can see wrong-color yarn up and down the seam).
First yarn I knitted (which I still have) was a baby-blue wool-acrylic blend, which became an awkwardly short scarf. Grandma did the cast on, I did the stitches; I was 23.
First yarn I purchased, later that winter was this beautiful orange merino wool from Filatura di Crosa, to make a Wavy scarf for my best friend for Christmas… I believe it was finally finished in February. 🙂
First yarn was Caron Simply Soft to make a baby blanket for a friend … then I was hooked (or needled as it was knitted). Thank you, Kay and Ann for all your generosity!
I don’t remember the name of the first yarn, only that it came from JoAnn’s. I was determined to teach myself to knit! I did, but also went on to take classes and learn that there was a whole world of wonderful yarn that I had never heard of before!
first bra bought???? oh that’s a story….but you wanna know about first yarn – wool, thick, to go with size 10 knitting needles – about 33 years old, give or take and many bra purchases later.
The first yarn I bought was probably a wool blend- brown. what possessed me to believe my first ever project should be a stranded cardigan, i will never know
I started crocheting at 9 with Red Heart yarn my grandmother gave me and taught myself to knit when I was 21 and living in China. Pretty sure I had some Lion Brand with me and bought some Chinese yarn.
From before I have clear memories. I remember a pink & black scarf. Probably acrylic but don’t know if I bought the yarn. I was about 10.
Red Heart acrylic yarn from my local Sears store when I was 9 yrs old!
My first yarn purchase was one of those multicolored yarns from Woolworths to use with a knitting spool. My spool was blue and the yarn had purples, reds, yellows, greens…you may remember those yarns. I must have been 8-9. The second yarn I picked out was wool to knit a baby sweater when I was 10. I always hated the crunchy, squeaky feeling of the acrylics in the 50s. These days some of the acrylics coming from Turkey have an acceptable feel. Some things do seem to improve over time.
The first yarn I bought was expensive purple wool for a cabled turtleneck sweater. My girlfriend’s mother was teaching us to knit and that was the project I choose . Unfortunately, I never finished it and eventually tossed the yarn and the needles (I was a young teenager at the time). I moved on to crochet and didn’t return to knitting until years later.
A cotton yarn to do a baby blanket. Lots of stash.
Red Heart, way back in the last century.
Don’t remember the brand, it was back in the 70’s. It was very soft acrylic and I bought it in blue and in purple and made a sweater from each. Before that I had only used hand me down yarn.
OMG as the young would say …. My first serious knitting yarn? I think it was a Tahki, for a vest, which in true 80s fashion had 4 buttons at the CF, in a cross over style. I know it was bought at (the long defunct) Knitters Workshop in Cranford, 1984. (yikes, ages ago ….) I was in graduate school. My mother had a heart attack and began knitting again in ernest (though she never really ever stopped). She made this vest for my sister, and since I knew how to knit, (she had taught me when I was 8) I made one too. I continued to knit throughout graduate school and only took a hiatus when my kids were babies. I do have the aran sweater she knit my father. Looking forward to reading Clara’s book.
Generic white acrylic baby yarn to make a hairpin lace shawl from Woman’s Day magazine. I bought 1 ball a week from my $30/week paycheck (camp counselor) until I finished the shawl. A few years later gave the shawl to my mother who recently passed it on to my niece. Long live acrylic yarn! It will probably be unearthed by a Post Global Warming archeologist in the next century.
I am sure my first yarn was of the Red Heart variety although it was from my mother’s stash. Knitting squares and trapezoids. She knit many Argyle socks so there was some of that skinny stuff as well.
Lamb’s Pride single ply worsted in a bright red to make a felted tote – which, 7 sweaters, two ponchos, and 3 cowls later, sits forlornly in its original bag, unformed and neglected.
Really, really first? Red Heart, 8th grade, when my algebra teacher taught me to knit. First adult yarn, Noro Kureyon for a felted bag.
I actually can’t remember the first yarn I bought. I learned to knit when I was about 9. I can’t remember exactly what age either, but I do know it was the acrylic era. I loved going to the LYS with my mother and buying a yarn produced by a local company called Nomis. Now, I’m an older very experienced knitter and would love to use the stash to teach the younger generation about different fibers and quality.
The first yarn I ever bought (almost 15 years ago) was Fisherman’s wool! Prior to that I had been gifted what I used for knitting. I learned to dye yarn with that wool and still have a ball of it which I’m saving for an unknown special project. I’ll know it when it see it. 🙂
I bought purple yarn from a local yarn shop at age 11 and knitted a vest from the yarn. I don’t recall the brand name, since this was 45 years ago!
Patton’s Kitten for a fuzzy vest I knit in High School. It was too small so I ripped it up and knit it again in College.
So awfully long ago I don’t remember. I really don’t remember learning how to knit though I did take crochet classes, knitting must have been from my grandmother. Was probably in the mid ’60s so must have been one of the lovely acrylic yarns available then.
I took a learn to knit class in 1982 that was held in the basement of a church in North Vancouver, BC. I think I was 21 or 22 years old It was advertised on a poster, probably on a bulletin board somewhere. Needles and a skein of yarn were provided. Since I paid for the class, I’ll consider that my first yarn purchase, too. I dont remember what my actual first non-class yarn purchase was…probably a skein of Red Heart or Bernadine from the grocery store. I didn’t discover actual yarn shops until a couple of decades later. Mary Maxim was a big go-to in the early days.
Lionbrand Homespun when I was 11. My mom and I bought different colors to make a set of matching sweaters. I wasn’t quite concerned enough with gauge but did eventually finish a sweater several times my size.
My very first skein was something red and thick and purchased at the local Newberry Store. I saved babysitting money and probably paid less than $1 for the yarn and twice that for the wrong sized needles. I remember that the label said sayelle or something similar. The “project” was a doll blanket of an indescribable shape but my mom kept for years.
My first yarn purchase was Red Heart acrylic because that was what I could afford at the time. I bought it to crochet an afghan that is still in use (that stuff can take a beating from kids and dogs!)
I think my first yarn was some sort of acrylic boucle. I used it to crochet some squares. Not a thing. Just squares. (I was 8 or so.)
Lion Brand Wool-ease , lots ! I ( and family members) still use the throws I made with it .
In college, I decided to knit my boyfriend (now husband) a Cowichan style sweater. I purchased “authentic” Cowichan yarn from a local yarn shop – lovely huge cakes with tons of lanolin and many twigs. Not knowing much about sizing or swatching I knit a lovely sweater much too big and with enormously long arms that still resides in a bin on our porch for really cold evenings.
My first yarn was probably Red Heart – it was from the Ben Franklin store and mixed pastel colors. I made my daughter a scarf – that was over 35 years ago!
First thing I knit was a pair of argyle socks in high school (or accurately, started but never finished). So it was sock yarn of some kind. I already receive Snippets and look forward to them. I love all the articles! Thank you Ann and Kay.
I believe the first yarn I purchased was cotton, Lily Sugar and Cream. My learn to knit class used a wash cloth to teach the knit and purl stitches and pattern reading. I never finished this project or class, and am forever known as “The Knitting School Dropout”.
My first project that I finish was out of Lopi, was worked in the round, then felted, and had needlefelting as decorative accents! I still get complements on this purse. That was my first FO!
A cone (!) of peaches n creme for dishcloths from your first book!
The first yarn I remember buying was dishcloth cotton to make a ballband dishcloth. Black for the “mortar” and rainbow colored for the “bricks.”
My first Yarn was when I decided I wanted to knit and my mother paid for lessons for me at the LYS when I was in high school 30+ years ago. My first project was a tank top made from a thin and thin cotton that was mostly white with beautiful random jewel tone bits running through it. I have long out grown the top and donated it, but I still have the leftovers waiting for the perfect project.
I think the first yarn I bought for knitting (not pom poms or other kid crafting) was Morehouse Merino 3-ply. I still have the mittens I made (eventually, because the yarn was too precious to use as a beginner)!
It was a very bright rainbow acrylic yarn from the early 80s. I was 10 and determined to knit my father a tie. It ended up being a very short skirt for one of my Barbie dolls.
So fun! Paton’s Kroy in rust and gray. Still have the socks, quite a mismatched and holey first pair.
Red Heart in that variegated .Long lazy, sometimes frustrating Sunday afternoons with my right-handed mother trying to teach 8 year old left-handed me to knit. Good time that have lead to a lifelong passion.
My first yarn was a bamboo yarn, possibly by Caron? I bought it at the local Michael’s. The first yarn I bought at a LYS was Cascade 220
I have multiple knitting lives….in my first I knit a lime green bobble pillow cover from some cotton yarn..maybe rug yarn…and in my second return to knitting adventure some 30 years later it was Noro Kureyon for a felted purse.
I started with hand-me-down yarn from a grandmother. I think the first I bought was the “One Pound” yarn by Caron. A discount store near me had it relatively inexpensively so I bought some to try it out. So much of my college crochet was from that stuff.
So funny that I bought some Tahki Cotton Classic to make a sweater. It’s still in the rotation! Thanks for the opportunity.
Probably a worsted dishcloth cotton from Walmart.
Paton’s DK Cottone in Pink … I made a baby sweater, seamed and the arms were to narrow for any baby to wear. I still have one ball left and that was over 30 years ago.
I bought my first yarn in 1968! It was to knit my husband a sweater. I taught myself to knit. However, we both could fit into the finished sweater. No one told me about the gauge
Red Heart Classic from the Motts 5&10 store so my aunt could help me learn to knit for a college class requirement. She was able to help me learn, I passed the class and continue the knitting.
What a sweet idea! My first yarn purchase was when I was 13, (58 years ago!), and I made a yellow “fake mohair” pullover sweater. My first sweater! I got the yarn at a local dime store – probably Ben Franklin or Woolworth – and I’m not sure of the brand name. My memory fails me on that, but oh, I wore that sweater proudly!
It was Red Heart camo when I was 15, my high school sweetheart was joining the Army
Phentex to make slippers when I was in Brownies. OMG sooooo long ago.
The first yarn I ever bought was Red Heart Super Saver yarn to make a needlepoint Christmas stocking when I was in 8th grade. When I learned to knit at age 42, it was a ball of Peaches & Cream cotton yarn from the local Ben Franklin store to make a dishcloth. I’m happy to say that I have moved on to wonderful wool and silk yarns for my projects!
The first yarn I purchased with my own money was probably Spinnerin natural wool (undyed, barely washed, very oily) for a fisherman knit sweater. I was in high school and loved knitting them, all the bobbles and cables
Acrylic from K-Mart, 1975 for a granny square baby blanket. Summer before sixth grade. Ugliest baby blanket ever. Thanks for all you do!
I think it was Lion Brand Homespun, but could have been something else novelty-ish.
Pretty sure it was Red Heart Fiesta. These days, its more likely to be either something hand-dyed, or Simply Soft. Or a kitchen cotton; I make time of wash clothes and string bags.
I recall the yarn was called Pop’n Yarn and I got it at the grocery store. Dayglo pink. 197holycrow or thereabouts.
Red and white Patons Astra for a learn to knit class. The project was a colourwork baby sweater. I was expecting my first child, 1984! Said baby, with a PhD in Biochemistry under her belt, is now in her 2nd year of Residency in Internal Medicine!
Red Heart acrylic followed by Caron acrylic. Not much imagination in early yarn purchases. First yarn shop yarn was Lopi at Mrs Bayes yarn sop in Oak Ridge in the lovely 70’s color range of olive green , burnt orange and bright yellow.
Oh goodness. Well, with my own money, some non descript acrylic in a deep red! It was from a yarn store in Philly that no longer exists, as the convention center now fills that space.
I bought a skein of Red Heart…Fiesta? Mexicali? It’s their yarn that goes wildly through every color in the rainbow. I was something like 7 or 8 years old; I got my tonsils out, and braided that stuff like mad. I think I also knitted it. Mad love even now for that stupid yarn, and I’m 56!
Like many others my first yarn was black (rookie color choice) Red Heart worsted. How generous of you to share your stash. I am just getting my stash started as a Knitter with a capital K. Thank you!
The first yarn I remember buying myself was Brown Sheep from Skein Domain in Burlington, VT. I made a pair of mittens because my hands were cold! Thanks for the memory prompt!
Purple wool from old Sturbridge village to make a scarf while I was working there.
Can’t remember the first yarn, but do remember the oldest I ever knit with. It was a beautiful dark purple wool purchased at Lee Wards in Omaha for 99 cents/skein. When I knit a sweater for my son’s violin teacher’s soon to be grandchild, the yarn had been in my stash for 19 years! Kudos to you both for Marie Kondo-ing. And shana tova.
My very first yarn was Peaches and Cream 100% cotton yarn from my beloved great aunt’s stash. She taught me to make wash cloths. Cotton wash cloths are still my very favorite “go to” project. I have knit 1000’s of them!
I am sure it was some sort of acrylic- most likely red heart. My grandma was teaching me to knit a doll blanket.
I crocheted from a small child and that yarn would have been a horrible scratchy acrylic from Woolworth’s. But I started knitting when I was 28 and took lessons from my LYS. The first yarn I bought was Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride which I used to make swatches to learn stitches and work on my gauge. I sewed them together and made a small “decorative” pillow.
I already subscribe and love Snippets.
I don’t recall the first yarn I ever bought but I do recall the first hand dyed yarn. It was Baah! La Jolla and Grape Jelly was the color, a gorgeous purple with hints of gray. The purchase stands out to me because I was on vacation in California and searched out a local yarn shop. I had only recently discovered the joy of small yarn shops and wanted to find something special to remind me of the trip. I bought 3 hanks not knowing what I would make but just wanting to have it so that someday when the perfect pattern came along I would be ready. It was a couple of years later when I fell in love with the Vitamin D sweater and BAM I had the precise yarn for it. This is the best part of having any stash whether small or large, when the exceptional pattern comes along and you already have the most gorgeous, ideal yarn for it.
Wow! That was soooooo long ago. I’m sure it was some acrylic like Red Heart from Woolworths. I so miss variety stores like Woolworths. I don’t really miss that iteration of acrylic. Great idea. I think lots of us would love to pass on stash to worthy recipients.
Even with my stash, I can’t help entering. I solemnly swear to pass among more of my current stash though if I win.
Oops, I forgot to mention my yarn, it was Red Heart wool worsted, back in the 50’s or early 60’s.
Remember a yarn purchased from 60 years ago … Most likely an acrylic Red Heart but I can’t be certain. My choice now are all wool, naturals.
I’m pretty sure my first yarn purchase was Lion Brand Homespun in “Pueblo”. Not the best yarn for a beginner but it didn’t stop me!
(love the snippets…its bitesize portions are perfect in a content overload world)
The first yarn I ever bought was Red Heart variegated in red, white, and blue for a prayer shawl for my Czech language teacher. The Czech flag is red, white, and blue.
Red Heart worsted-weight wool, (not Red Heart acrylic!) from Woolworth’s, when I was in my teens. I made an intarsia scarf for a friend.
Actually, I just couldn’t resist giving you my origin story. Don’t award me either prize – I have enough stash of my own! “If nominated, I will refuse . . .”, etc. 😉
I can barely remember lunch yesterday, let alone the first yarn I bought when I was a teenager, fifty or so years ago. But I remember the sweater, a black Norwegian ski sweater with red and white pattern around the neck. Wish I still had that sweater. It amazes me to this day that I had the skill then to do that. Love your stashes.
I’m sure my first yarn was bought at a craft store when I saw a “teach yourself to knit” kit. When I began to Knit my first expensive yarn was at a fiber festival…beautiful Alpaca. Oddly it is still in my stash waiting for the perfect project!
Sugar’n Cream–the great cotton dishcloth yarn. I taught myself to crochet in the Spring of 2003 and moved right into knitting a couple of months after that. I did lots of dishcloths and then moved on to socks.
Wow, first yarn I ever bought? Whatever they sold in J.J. Newberry’s five and dime back in the 1960s! And I’m not sure if it was that ugly green I used to crochet a granny blanket or the much prettier white and Kelly green I used to knit a two-color slipstich baby sweater. No one told me to start with a scarf or washcloth.
A light purple cotton, to make myself a washcloth. I still have it and use it, 15ish years later (the washcloth, that is)!
Rainbow acrylic from Jo Ann’s Fabrics. Still have most of it in my stash!
Don’t know the brand, but a whole bunch of acrylic worsted-weight acrylic to make a sweater that was featured in Seventeen magazine (I think). Garter stitch, four large squares, in stripes — yellow, red, white, pink, green, black, and blue. Can’t believe I still remember the sequence from 1958.
Oh, wow…first yarn…well, let’s start with the skein with which I officially taught myself to knit. It was fuchsia Lion Brand Wool-Ease, from the A.C. Moore down the street from my law school apartment, November 2004. Also bought a pair of Clover bamboo 10.5 needles, which I still have (I feel like I should bronze them).
About six months later was my first yarn from a LYS (which has since closed, sadly). Two skeins of Lamb’s Pride Bulky, orchid and charcoal.
White, navy and red cotton with a shimmer – for a midriff baring sailor sweater from Elle magazine! Can’t remember the brand. And I am a person without a stash – I buy for each project and try to think up projects to use up all my little bits of leftovers. A stash would be FUN.
My first yarn was red heart which was all that was available for a child to begin with. I started crocheting when I was 10 and taught myself how to knit at 22. I made my first child a rose colored sweater out of a nicer acrylic yarn and moved up to beautiful wools about 10 years ago. Since then there has been no looking back. I love all things wool. I learned how to spin about 3 years ago and live the process of feeling the wool in my hands.
Can’t remember the exact first yarn but it was likely whatever acrylic they sold at Woolworth’s since it was within walking distance. My first big project was garter stitch sweater for my boyfriend….didn’t know about the curse then. We recently celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary and I knit him stuff out of much better yarn now:)
I’m pretty sure my very first yarn purchase was a Mary Maxim bulky acrylic for a sweater I tried to knit in college. Anything before that would have been bought by my Mom. That sweater never got finished and, believe it or not, got turned into hats and mittens a few years back.
Good morning! I remember buying yam and burlap to do a wall piece with no idea how to do the stitching. I was embarrassed at my feeble attempt and ended up throwing it all away. Don’t remember yarn brands — that was at least 45 years ago!
I already subscribe to Snippets!
First yarn was some kind of acrylic, probably Lion or Caron, can’t remember! We’re talking 45 years ago. Made several crocheted blankets. Much prefer non superwash wool these days, so worth it.
Thank you!
The first yarn I can really remember buying was a lovely wool worsted – Brunswick Germantown. I started a hexagon afghan when I got engaged, and we still have the family blankie — 40.5 years later!
The first yarn I ever bought was a ball of peaches and cream when I was 6. I think I used it for braiding friendship bracelets. When I was 16 I learned to crochet and bought Lion Brand homespun. When I was 22 I started knitting and the first yarn I bought to knit with was handmaiden seasilk.
Some rose colored acrylic that I bought at the grocery store when I was 8 or 9 years old. I remember saving my quarter a week allowance to be able to buy it. Then crocheted it into a hideous hat and unraveled it later to incorporate into a granny square blanket that took me about two years to make (the awkward 11-13 years).
I do not remember the name of first yarn I bought…it was over 20 years ago, in Budapest, Hungary. It was most likely DK weight yarn, and I made a sweater for my then boyfriend, who later became my husband.
Redheart
I learned how to knit from my ex mother in-law back in 1994. We were on a quite limited budget then, so I could only afford acrylic yarn. I’m pretty sure my first skein was a multicolored skein of Red Heart Super Saver to make a hat for my son who was 1 at the time. I’m also fairly certain the hat was too big and very scratchy! Thanks for a chance at winning some of your lovely stash yarn! ☺
Oh, dear! Way back in the olden days of the mid 1960s when I was in high school, I participated in a service project in which we knitted squares to be pieced together for blankets for those in need. I feel fairly certain that my first yarn purchase was a big skein of scratchy wool which I used to crank out squares for the service project. It obviously didn’t turn me off knitting! But thank goodness yarns have improved over the years and there are so many stash-worthy ones!
My first yarn was Red Heart and I was still in grade school. I saved up my allowance and walked up to the Ben Franklin dime store near my parents’ house.
Cascade Fixation! I loved the colors and the stretch!
It was a LONG time ago, but I’m sure it was Red Heart acrylic. I don’t think I knew there was anything else for the first 10 years I knit! And I am already a Snippets subscriber. I love that they are sent on Saturday, when I am at home and can enjoy reading through them.
My first yarn was a bunch of balls of cheap yellow cotton. I had found out my brother was expecting his first baby, and decided to re-learn how to crochet. Eventually, I did work all that yarn into a soft blanket, but it ended up being for my second child, about five years later. 🙂
I’m pretty sure my first yarn was something from Red Heart or an equivalent yarn. I started knitting when I was eleven which was so so many years ago. I already get Snippets which I love.
I travelled 83 miles/134km to the nearest craft shop and bought two balls of purple eyelash yarn, straight needles and a pamphlet with various scarf patterns in Australian Rules Football teams colors. It took me over three hours to cast on. As I was learning how to do it, I made some great macrame! Almost a week later, instead of a garter stitch scarf, I had something that if I squinted at in the dark, looked like the beginning of a mutated shawl! The eyelash yarn is long gone, but I still have the needles.
8 skeins of natural color wool yarn from full belly farm, where i always got locally grown vegetables. I had no idea what to make with it, and am still pondering it.
Oh my gosh, those are the best starter stashed I have ever seen. My first yarn, like many, was a skein of the very splitty, plastic red heart. It’s a wonder I’m still knitting. So glad we have choices now!
So, I believe my first purchase was an afghan’s amount of tan, orange, and brown acrylic from TG &Y in 1979. Made a crocheted ripple blanket and, although I now can’t stand the sight of it, it lives on like a cockroach after the apocalypse as the beach blanket in the trunk of the car. I suggested recently that perhaps we could send it to Goodwill and my family vehemently objected. Go figure.
My very first yarn I bought was Caron’s Simply Soft. I crocheted a lot of afghans with that yarn. I still think it makes nice afghans, but I’ve upgraded my yarn selections considerably since then. I still have some of that yarn lingering in my stash, waiting to be crocheted into one last afghan. 🙂
A 100% wool blue/green yarn (from my LYS) for a scarf my grandmother helped me make. Wow – thanks for the memory!
Whoa, loving this idea. Even sorting through stash to decide what stash to give away must have been a huge project! Clara is here in Portland (OR) tonight; hoping to make it to Powell’s to see her. That’s where I met y’all!
First yarn I remember: Brunswick Germantown Worsted (mothproof!), in baby blue. I was 14, and my aunt taught me to knit. My first project? A pullover sweater knit in the round, with two cables up the front. A tour de force, but gauge was a foreign concept!
I think it was acrylic, for an afghan for my mom. It was soft and comfy, but thinking back (decades ago!) it was such a horrible mix of muddy colors that I can’t understand now why I thought it was lovely then. Bless her heart, Mom said it was beautiful and kept it on her sofa.
The first yarn I remember buying was a Debbie Bliss malabrigo in a bright apple green, which became a beautiful swing sweater for my oldest son when he was 2. I knit it after my mother died and it was like meditating. It was subsequently worn by my second son and then my niece.
An acrylic yarn for a boyfriend sweater. This thing was as big as a tent! What–swatch? However, the curse didn’t descend upon me, as he asked me to marry him about 2 weeks later, and we’ve been married for 30 years.
I don’t remember my first yarn purchase but suspect that it was a leftover ball of Red Heart or Kitchen Cotton from my Mom’s stash, paid for by doing an extra chore (probably riding herd on my youngest brother so that Mom could do a little crafting in peace or get some of her own chores done!), and used to knit one of my stuffed animals (or the cat or the Guinea pig or the “pet” toad who lived in the garden) a scarf or small blanket. I was probably 6 or 7 at the time but had already started building my stash of yarn, fabric scraps, embroidery flosses, beads, buttons, ribbons and 1/2 full Artex fabric paint tubes that were carefully squirreled away in a shoebox in my closet. The stash has since outgrown the capacity of any shoebox or closet in my house and is raided on a regular basis by my daughters, occasionally by my sons, tactfully ignored by my husband, shared/ traded with friends, and gleefully explored by my tiny granddaughter. Ahh… Stash!
Cascade 220 was my very first purchase for my very first project! I still think of it as a great classic yarn choice.
1969, Jordan Marsh Department Store in Boston Mass– natural wool with lanolin for an Irish fisherman knit sweater for my then boyfriend now husband. (This was so long ago the boyfriend curse had not been invented yet.). I was a junior at Wheelock College.
It was the first sweater I knit. I had no idea that this was much more complicated than the average sweater. It got lots of use by various family members over the years because it was so warm.
I just recently gave away some of my stash so I have room for more yarn.
Grace
Durham, NC
Red heart acrylic in a lovely autumnal colorway!
When the last child left for college, I finally had the time (and quiet) to teach myself to knit. If memory serves, my first yarn purchase was some Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool. Looking back, it wasn’t a bad choice for a newbie. Once I had the basics down, I’m pretty sure I branched out into some seriously heinous eyelash yarn. Hey, it was 2004 and eyelash was “YUGE!” Live and learn.
First yarn I bought to knit with was random acrylic I found in a thrift shop in Highland County Virginia.
The first yarn I ever bought was a Lion brand acrylic – I used grandma’s acrylic stash before that; lot’s of Red Heart, I think.
Super thick fuchsia wool from a shop in Oxford, England during my sophomore year abroad. I made a sweater with a great big mistake in the middle of the back–but I believed that mistakes on the back don’t count, so I wore it for years and then felted it. It’s still around here, 30+ years later, in the form of felted flowers.
I’m sure it was something cheap, bulky, and scratchy. Red Heart, probably.
Well, I was probably about 7, so arguably it wasn’t me doing the purchasing, but it would have been a comic-bright nylon with which to knit a stuffed animal. When I restarted knitting a few years ago, a Rowan DK in light blue to knit a hot water bottle cover. The gauge was a bit out so it’s somewhat larger than it was supposed to be… you live and learn.
Lion Brand acrylic something from Michaels. I still have the scarf I knit with it, though I never wear it. But it’s sentimental
It was definitely yarn from Michaels.
The first yarn that I can remember buying is some Lion fun fur yarn for scarves. While I never recommend scarves as a first project, I made several of those, early on, and then some hats from an acrylic yarn that I cannot remember.
My first yarn was purchased in the 50’s – couldn’t begin to tell you the brand – but I know it was 100% wool, kind-of scratchy, and a wonderful burgundy color. I made my first sweater out of it (long gone, sadly).
It has been long time ?! I would think a lions brand product of some kind. This is a very fun prospect…winning as segment of someone’s stash.
It was an acrylic from AC Moore. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Red Heart, but it was beautiful – deep red and gold and green and navy. Probably more difficult to look at and pick out individual stitches than it needed to be, but to newbie knitter me it was SO pretty!
My first yarn was RedHeart soft with which I made a scrarf. Shocking , right? I love this site for the great articles and suggestions . And of course the selection of yarns!
My first yarn was Red Heart acrylic, of course. In a mind-boggling shade of red; I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it was called Atomic Cherry.
My first non-Red-Heart yarn was a nice squishy self-striping ball of Sirdar Snowflake.
Red Heart acrylic when I was 10. Bought a book and taught myself with a little help from my Grandmother
These are fantastic yarns! Thank you 🙂 The first yarn I ever bought was a very ugly Red Heart and a couple of balls of lion brand quick and easy. The Red hart was ugly but great to learn because I wasn’t afraid of messing up, tearing it apart, cutting it and starting over, or frogging for the n-th time. I still have a pair of ill-fitting mits that I made with it (they weren’t my first project but it lasted long enough that I learned to knit in the round…). The first ball of ‘real’ yarn that I got, I ordered by accident. I had a project in mind and found the yarn on amazon and added to my cart, thinking that one day the price wouldn’t be too much. I was buying something else, and forgot to remove the yarn. It was a great surprise when it arrived and when I blocked that project it was like magic… I have never bought ugly yarn again and knitting became my obsession. Thank you again for this very generous gift 🙂
I bought lots of Red Heart acrylic to play with in my early 20s before I knew how good yarn could be. My earliest meaningful yarn purchase was of a few skeins of Cestari cotton/linen blend. I’m still squishing it and waiting for the perfect project to knit up with it.
Madelinetosh, and have loved it ever since!
I don’t remember what yarn it was – but it sure isn’t something I’d use now 🙂
Red heart from K-Mart back in the late 70’s. My sister taught me to crochet when I was expecting my first child.
Hot pink Red Heart acrylic at age 10 for a 4H project – headscarf. Thank you Mrs. Alexander.
Red Heart baby blue mohair!!! It turned into a big cowl neck sweater!!! Ahh the memories!!
Oh my goodness… The first yarn I ever purchased for myself was an inordinate amount of fun fur eyelash yarn for an endless number of garter stitch scarves. I cringe when I think of how many friends and family members I sent these very scary scarves to as “gifts”. Sigh…
I’m a little ashamed to admit that the first yarn I bought was red heart super saver. Now that I know there’s a whole world of yarn out there, I haven’t bought any more.
Red Heart acrylic green variegated to make an octopus with a styrofoam head. Truly ugly and I thought so at the time, but it was the assigned 4-H project where I learned to knit at the age of 12. I’m already signed up for snippets because you ladies have the most enthusiastic and smart commentary on knitting!
It had to be Red Heart acrylic. Both of my grandmothers crocheted and that was their yarn of choice. I’m not sure I knew of yarn besides Red Heart and crochet cotton.
The first yarn I remember purchasing was Red Heart acrylic in the late 50’s (age 12) to knit headbands, slippers, and mittens.
I remember my first project all to well. I was 12 years old and staying with my grandmother for a week in Des Moines, Iowa. We went to the five and dime and she purchased red heart yarn for me. The pattern was a two piece vest thing that was knit an inch and purl an inch in a contrasting color. Beige and white. The most boring thing in the world.
Has to be Lion Brand’s Vanna’s Choice. I still use it occasionally for certain projects. Thanks for the giveaway!
My first was Lopi. I still like knitting with it – a friend brought some back for me from Iceland.
I bought a Lion Brand wool-ease yarn in green to make a seed stitch cowl!
Some type of chenille yarn, don’t remember the brand, to make a belt!
A pure wool beige yarn that I immediately made into balls so I lost the labels. Enough for a sweater, purchased my freshman year of college and still not used. It has been over 30 years. Sigh. Maybe for my daughter when she goes to college?
It was Red Heart Acrylic red, white, and blue variegated yarn for a scarf. There were holes.
I am halfway through Clara’s book, and have been inspired to cull my own overgrown stash. I have yarn all over my living room now, but have come up with four huge bags to donate. Somewhere. So I’m graciously opting out of the prize, but I loved both of your essays.
Coats & Clark acrylic – I crocheted conical nose warmers with long strings to tie behind your head. I made them for my sisters, who giggled!
Since I’ve been crocheting for around 55 years! (Who knew you can crochet as a baby?), my first yarn was Red Heart acrylic. It was about the only thing available at that time.
Red Heart. I admit I’ve become a yarn snob lately and use mostly natural fibers. Although the acrylics are getting softer.
Yellow variegated either Bernat or Berocco in the mid ’60s. My mother washed it and it shrunk
A rainbow stripey Red Heart at T.G. & Y.
My first yarn was bought with my Mom. I don’t know what brand but it was a brilliant blue!
My first yarn purchase was cream acrylic from a craft store who’s name is so far gone from my mind. I was about 14 and I crocheted a really lovely afghan with star designs in the squares. Some squares had bobbles and those were tricky! I still have the blanket and it is definitely a prized possession. I’ve knit with fancy things and plain things, I’ve spun, dyed and done a lot but that first blanket was a teenage masterpiece.
My first yarn was a gray wool spun for/by, a local sheep farm so it had no name. I enjoyed it very much!
The first yarn I bought was Lion Brand Thick and Quick in a deep tonal red.
It must have been Lily Sugar ‘n Cream cotton. I learned to knit when I was 5 and for about a year only new how to chain stitch. We could have wrapped around our whole block with the length of “tree decoration” I made with the variegated Christmas yarn. I believe there was also a slipper made out of the same yarn. Only one.
Red Heart super saver, to crochet an afghan to match my bedspread. I didn’t have much of a yarn budget at the age of 11. 🙂
Rowan cocoon- I made a dodgy scarf that curled at the edges but was oh so soft and a bit hairy!
Blue Sky bulky for a baby hat that turned out sooooo badly….fortunately it did not put me off knitting…. the hat is still waiting for the worlds largest baby to appear
Red Heart variegated purple worsted, at the Ben Franklin Dime Store. I was in first grade. It was for a garter stitch headband. Took forever in first-grader time scale. It still makes me happy just thinking about it.
My first remembered purchase is some sort of white yarn (perhaps Bernat) in a kit to knit a beginners raglan sleeve cardigan that I bought in 1963. I love the idea of stash give aways – having just spawned from my own the beginnings of a stash for a knitting niece.
So long ago I don’t remember the name – darkish dusty rose, slightly fuzzy, probably even had some wool in it. I never finished the sweater, begun in the early 80s, but did eventually make a nice pair of fingerless gloves for a friend out of one of the unused balls. It hung around so long I guess it must have been my first stash yarn.
The first yarn I remember buying (well my mom bought it for me because I was 10) was a sweater’s worth of nice green yarn from the Weaving Works in Seattle, WA.
I’m just guessing, but I think I bought yarn on or about 1960. Now ladies, it would be cruel to expect me to remember the brand, wouldn’t it? I do remember making dresses for my Mom, sister, and myself, as well as cardigans, baby clothes. Lovely memories.
Malabrigo in Orchid for a little hat. What a fun contest!
Some unknown VERY BRIGHT sportweight to knit a tank top, I was maybe 13? All previous yarn had been gifted/found at some auntie’s house.
I got half way through and realized that VERY BRIGHT CHEVRONS on size 2’s were maybe not the look I was going for.
Red Heart at Grants Store at age 9, for an Afghan which turned into a scarf!
Red Heart acrylic, of course. This was many years ago. I made a white baby blanket and ran out of yarn. Unknowingly bought white with some sparkle to it for the remainder. One quarter of this blanket is sparkly but I still love it and I still have it.
My yarn buying goes so far back, I can’t really remember the first yarn purchase. But the first remembrance I have of buying yarn when I got really serious about knitting is in the mid-90’s, Green Mountain Spinnery’s Mountain Mohair worsted in a pine green color. I made a sweater for my daughter, Amy. It was a success.
Aunt Lydia’s rug yarn in a melon color. Knit my first project with it: a hair band. I actually used said hair band to keep my hair out of my face!
Wool Ease Thick & Quick. I quickly learned it could get SO much better than that! 😉
My first would be some cheap yarn my mother had back in the early 80’s when she was teaching me to crochet. I think it was red heart.
I bought a kit from Green Mountain Spinnery to make a heathery purple cabled cardigan with pewter buttons. I had no idea how to knit, but I loved that color, and those buttons. About 20 years later, after learning to knit, I knit that sweater. I wore it twice–it was a bit dated by then, with puffy shoulders. So I frogged it and turned it into a lap blanket that I enjoy using today, about 35 years after purchasing the kit. I’ve had that yarn a long time, and we’ve been through a lot together. Stash has no expiration date.
Wow. I don’t really need anymore stash, but I can’t resist a contest. I don’t remember the brand name, but the first yarn I bought was a variegated cotton, with a skein of solid french blue for contrast stripes, from which I made a vest. It actually looked better than it sounds!
Cascade 220 Quattro in a raspberry color way. The scarf has a much wider bottom that reflects my learning curve.
My first yarn was a 2 oz ball of orange 100 percent angora. I wanted to knit a little furry cat to remind me of my Orange Persian, who was my favorite pet.
My first yarn was Red Heart. So glad my friend introduced me to other yarns when I took up knitting again!
I think my first yarn purchase was Lion Brand Chenille Thick And Quick. Yarn snobs do from novelty yarn grow! I’d really like to apologize to my friends in middle school who got probably-awful ponchos as Bat Mitzvah presents…
Sayelle from Hudson’s Bay Company!
Sadly, when I first learned to knit, I had no idea about gauge or the different types of yarn. So I ordered some yarn on Ebay to make some scarves for family. I kept thinking, ‘they will love getting a cashmere scarf’ only to find when the yarn came in the mail that it was so incredibly fine, honestly I think thinner than lace weight if that’s possible. That was 15 years ago, I even hauled that stuff out of New Orleans after Katrina! I still have it in my stash and keep thinking I ought to take it to Goodwill or something but just can’t bring myself to do it yet.
Thanks for asking as that would be Columbia-Minerva Wool. Nice to know some thing stay consistent, that would be the wool part thank goodness.
Lion’s Brand Homespun and a pair of size 7 circulars at a JoAnn Fabrics when my roommate in college insisted on teaching me how to knit. I spent the next three and a half years knitting a disaster of a blanket and never looked back
How could I forget? The yarn was Coats and Clark, worsted weight, 100% wool, and of course it was RED! I bought it at the local Woolworth’s, where enough yarn for an Aran cardigan cost me the princely sum of $5. (It was a bit of a shock to part with that much money all at once…I was eleven years old at the time. That was a few years ago.) I “designed” the cardigan myself, after I puzzling out how to do various stitch patterns that I’d seen in pictures of Aran sweaters–the knit/purl combinations and the cables were easily deciphered, but that trinity/blackberry stitch sure took a long time to figure out. Believe it or not, I realized that the cables would pull the fabric in some, depending on how many stitches were crossed and how often crosses occurred, so I made swatches of each individual pattern element, to figure out how many stitches I’d need to use. The cardigan has set in sleeves, but I have no recollection of how I figured out how to shape them. It fit. Both my mother and I wore it for years, and not only do I still have this cardigan, but as a testament to the sturdy material it was made of, it is still wearable! The only repair it ever needed, was replacement of lost buttons. Thanks for calling up a great knitting memory!
My first yarn was Brown Sheep in a lovely blue gray!
The first yarn I remember receiving was labeled Sunbeam Double Aran and some of it was a deep green color with bright flecks of color–my first tweed? It was a gift under the tree and my mother probably bought it from Dayton’s at Southdale, if anyone remembers the first indoor shopping mall from the 1960’s. Dayton’s later became Marshall Field’s to be followed by Macy’s, but many Minnesotans still think of the store as Dayton’s. I made a pair of slippers as one of my first projects. I was intrigued by how much they shrank and felted in the wash. Little did I know how much I was learning about yarn as a youth!
If memory serves, my first yarn purchase was Lion brand.
Some kind of box store acrylic. I’m really not certain, but I can tell you that it was for my first daughters baby blanket that has now been re-purposed into pillow stuffing because it was loved to death!
My first yarn was a cotton from a big box store when I was in college. My aunt taught me to knit with acrylic yarn she had. I like much finer things now!
embarrassingly enough, the first skein i ever bought was fluorescent orange acrylic, when i was 12. my mom taught me how to knit a very basic and very visible scarf. i’ve moved onward and upward to nicer yarns and to socks and hats and blankets since then.
Super scratchy home spun and dyed navy wool in Liege Belgium (Jupille) at the shop in the front of the home two doors down from my host family. I used it for knitting class at the all-girls Catholic school, where I learned continental picking and knit a turtle neck to wear as part of my school uniform.
Columbia Minerva (I think) Germantown knitting worsted, in 1963. Knit a two color jacquard pattern cardigan as my first sweater. The pattern came from McCall’s Needlework and Craft, and I was able to pick up a copy of that same issue a couple of years ago.
Red Heart acrylic yarn in the early 1970s, for a granny square poncho. I was a styling middle schooler then.
Lion Brand Fisherman Knit yarn. I knit a giant “sweater” which took a couple of years and didn’t fit anyone because it was just barely sweater shaped.
My first yarn was acrylic drug store yarn, red heart or caron maybe. White with pink and blue variegated splotches. My grandmother was visiting us from California in our new house on Bainbridge Island (in the days before churchmouse even existed) when I was 7 or 8. I took to knitting like a duck to water and haven’t stopped since. I still have that first scarf too- well what was left of it after the pet rat dragged it in her cage. Mom had to serge a new edge and cut off the horribly chewed parts while her distraught child reexamined the benefits of pet ownership…. incidentally, I still have pet rats, but they are kept far away from the knitting and stash…. lesson learned!
Oh, its been a long time. But, I’m pretty sure it was Red Heart Acrylic bought at a Wal-Mart. I made a hat which I never wore.
I made my mom a magenta scarf – it was yarn from Hobby Lobby and I don’t think they make it anymore. I don’t remember the brand or weight – but it was fuzzy.
I think the first yarn I ever bought was probably a kit of lopi for an Islandic sweater. Anything before that was bought for me I’m guessing, but I definitely went through a phase in my late teens/early twenties where I just knit Islandic sweaters!
Navy blue Red Heart acrylic to make a scarf for my boyfriend in college. It was so ugly but he wore it for several years anyway. That was 1980, we got married the next year. The last scarf I made him was much better looking with better yarn!
Bright pink Dazzleaire acrylic. Tried to learn to knit with it on aluminum needles. I was 8. I didn’t knit again for 12 years.
Spring 1982, when I learned I was pregnant with my first child (a son), I bought skeins of Christopher Sheep Farm Yarn, from Bowdoinham, Maine. I made a long gone afghan to keep both of us warm through the 1982-83 winter. Their colors are great, and the names are even better!
Whoa! I don’t remember the first yarn I ever bought – I learned to knit in rural Montana in the 1970’s so a safe bet would be Red Heart something. Then in the early 80’s I remember hitting up yard sales with my great aunt and buying lots of mystery cone yarn. Good times.
During a crisis, I began knitting. It was a black boucle with colorful tweed dots. I did restart it 40 times, approximately, and I do not recommend boucle for one’s first project.
I knit with a lot of my grandmother’s acrylic leftovers as a child, but the first yarn I purchased was handspun, natural-dyed yarn from a lovely lady in Georgia at a folk festival. I was amazed at the intersection of history, tradition, handcraft, and farming. Working with that yarn changed everything for me as a knitter. Thank you for offering to share your stashes! What a lovely, personal gesture!
Craft acrylic (teddy’s classic wool, but the wool part is lies) at the store where I took a crochet class. Ten balls of yarn were include in the class price and I still have a few leftover bits from some of them.
My first yarn- other than the acrylic craft store variety- knit picks sock weight in a brown tweed.
I’m sure purchases in my youth were Red Heart. It’s all we had in my small town. When I started stashing in earnest as an adult, my first purchase was two hanks of gorgeous Noro Silk something. Fun question!
Oh, wow … A medium blue acrylic purchased at S.S. Kresge for about a dollar. I remember feeling so proud of my crocheted purse and Barbie dress. Still do. I may still have a small ball of it somewhere.
The first yarn I bought was probably when my family vacationing along the Maine – Candian border. The closest grocery store was in Canada and we soon found out that there was a woolen mill not too far down the road. The Briggs and Little mill (this was way before their fire) had a wonderful back room where they had their seconds and odd lots. Mom and I had a grand time shopping for real wool yarn in a real woolen mill. I knitted several sweaters, one that had a serious design flaw (my miss calculation with sleeve width), and lots of hats and mittens with yarn bought over several vacations.
Unknown fuzzy yarn for a lace sweater for my mother (still have – sweater not mother) and 2nd sweater was imported Irish wool for a cable cardigan for myself (the moths have that one) — have never stopped in 60 years! (Have a sweater at my desk now)
Red Heart acrylic, two skeins: maroon and gray. #nolie #noshame
Red Heart yarn in variegated wool with bright color crayon colors. It was basically like a rainbow. I used it to try and make a blanket for my soon to born little brother. I was 9 years old. I made yards and yards of what we now would call I Cord. I couldn’t figure out what to do with it. I ended up knitting hot pads.
CURENT SAD LOSS OF STASH. About two years ago I became very ill and was hospitalized for a few weeks. Soon after leaving the hospital, my family got together and did a major clean out of my apartment and my storage locker. I don’t remember any of the cleanout, but I have been told I OK’d two small boxes of yarn So going from a rather major stash to two small boxes added to my general depression. Anyway, I’m back to normal and looking forward to acquiring more stash! Namaste. Hester
My first yar I bought was Red Heart yarn. At age 13ish!
My first yarn purchase was Red Heart yarn to make a ripple afghan. This was 40 years ago, I’ve become more of a yarn snob and now prefer using natural fibers for my knitting.
I’m not sure where I bought my first bit of yarn…probably a Michael’s or Lee Wards…I’d be honored to receive either Ann’s or Kay’s stash! Thanks for the opportunity!
And probably a Lion Brand or Red Heart..:
My first yarn was a lovely chunky red-orange yarn that I used to knit my first scarf. Sadly, the scarf and the yarn tag were in a bag that was stolen. I still have my first swatch from that yarn that reminds me of start to knitting with that beautiful yarn.
I really do not remember the yarn brand but it was a scratchy acrylic to use in an afghan that I was learning to crochet. There were two colors and I was making lots of granny squares which I never really finished but I sure do remember that time even though I was about 12 or 13 at the time.
The first yarn I ever bought? Well, let’s call it some kind of craft store acrylic, because it was probably all I knew existed, but the memories are foggy. I learned to knit at age 8 in an “American Girl Dolls: Molly”-themed class that was part of my summer camp. We also ate mashed turnips, which did not stick quite the way knitting did. I made a very hole-y rectangle in red, white, and blue yarn, garter stitch because they taught us to knit, but not to purl, on probably size 9 Boye aluminum straight needles. I was very proud of it. I believe it was right around the end of high school that the fun fur/novelty yarn craze got hot, and suddenly my friends and their moms were also knitting, so I likely bought something else at Michael’s around then, but who knows what it was (or where it has gone).
Right now I am trying hard to knit from my (not so big, but psychologically burdensome IYKWIM) stash, but I have a baby due in December and it’s hard not to treat it, and myself, to some nicer stuff. I may have to have a serious sit-down with myself and donate some yarn I’ve been carting from place to place since college, and replace it with something more strategically chosen <3
OMG, I’m old and can’t remember that far back but I’m sure it was some horrible acrylic because I was always allergic to wool. I taught myself knitting about 10 years ago by making Barbara Walker’s sampler afghan using Patons Classic Wool Worsted. I still haven’t pieced that afghan together since I stopped knitting after completing all of the squares (it was probably Summertime and I couldn’t deal with wool and hot weather). I picked up knitting again almost two years ago and haven’t missed a day without picking up my needles. I love it.
My first yarn was robably Red Heart. It was a long time ago.
My 6th grade male teacher taught the whole class to knit slippers. It would have been an olive green acrylic yarn from the local fabric shop. When I came back to knitting three dozen years later, I bought some Woolease black tweed to make a garter stitch scarf for the favorite son.
The first yarn I purchased was a chunky Alpaca/Wool dreamboat and #11 needles! Perfect yarn to teach myself to knit!
I’m going to say the first yarn I ever bought not at joann’s/michaels because I don’t even remember what cheap-o yarns I bought there when I first started knitting. (and during my teenage years on my babysitting salary, LYS prices seemed insane!) Also, my grandma gave me tons of yarn from her stash when I first started. So, my first LYS purchase, as far as I can remember, was a purple Colinette worsted-weight yarn which I used to make a plain hat that I pinned a fake flower on and wore for years. I then bought more of the same yarn, 1 skein each in 2 variegated colors, purple and turquoise, and started a striped sweater. I would keep going back and buying one or two skeins at a time as needed because I didn’t know about purchasing SQs yet (See also: aforementioned babysitting salary) and of course eventually had to finish the sleeve and collar from a different dye lot. Didn’t bother me, I loved it. It was my first wearable sweater and I continue to wear it!
Bernat wool for my first afghan at 13 from a store called Kresge’s in Michigan
I first bought Caron simply soft in a deep teal to teach myself how to crochet. That didn’t work out, so I taught myself how to knit instead!
A double knit crepe pure wool of course was the first yarn I bought for myself but my Mum had been willing to buy for me once she realised I saw a project through. Our local retailers used to offer a lay buy scheme. You could get the amount of wool you thought you needed put aside then pay and collect it as you used. It.
Red Heart worsted acrylic, variegated, dark rainbow colors. I made a garter stitch rectangle that I turned sideways and gathered into a hat. I’m not sure where it went eventually….several decades ago.
Cindy (yarnstead on Ravelry)
I think it may have been some hideous orange acrylic yarn when I was a kid. I had a fascination with crochet chains but didn’t know how to take it from there and my leather pants wearing, motorcycle riding, red lipsticked mother sure didn’t know!
This was some thirty years ago….it was an acrylic yarn, probably Lion Brand, for a scarf. Which has since disappeared, presumably I to the same abyss missing socks head to.
Red Heart. I was about 10 or 11. It was cheap, easily available and came in an amazing number of colors
Lion Brand Homespun, which featured in a LOT of scarves before I was brave enough to learn how to make something other than long rectangles!
Red heart – back when you could get wool
The very first yarn I ever bought was certainly Red Heart. The very first indie dyed yarn was Lemonade Shop and I still love them 🙂
My first yarn that I spent my own money on was Malabrigo Worsted, and I still eye it time-to-time today. It’s this super soft buttery yellow color. I absolutely love it and still wear the pieces I made with it (because I got carried away with my first purchase and bought like three skeins).
Some dreadful chunky acrylic when I was 11 for a garter stitch afghan. Pink and green rectangles crocheted together with black.. Oh my, we’ve come a long way baby!!
My first yarn was Bernat Germantown bought at Howland Hughes in Waterbury ,Ct. I knit a crew neck sweater, but forgot to knit between the increases and decreases. So I ended up with almost 3/4 sleeves. I loved that sweater and would still wear it today if it still fit !
an acrylic yarn in dark red and beige, for a short-sleeved sweater for myself. – that was 44 ? years ago? that long ?
some purple wool for a garter stitch shawl.
OK…it was over 50 years ago and I don’t remember! But it was red and I made Barbie clothes!
There was a lovely yarn shop at the Crossroads Mall in Bellevue, WA, some time in the late 60s, I was around 10 years old. My mom brought me there to pick out yarn for a project, I think it was a sweater (!) and the yarn was a cream color, maybe Spinnerin brand. Not sure if it was acrylic or wool. Don’t think I ever finished the sweater and the yarn shop is long gone.
Wool think Bernat. Medium blu mid 1970’s, cape for my sister
Red Heart acrylic to make a granny square vest with my grandmother when I was 10.
Red Heart red acrylic also, for a pattern on the back page of Elle American (when they were still doing that). Actually it was red acrylic and black acrylic, I was doing the sweater in the colors of the Chicago Bulls.
I am already subscribed to your newsletter and look forward to my Saturday Snippets!
My first yarn purchase ever was some pale yellow acrylic from Lee Wards, when I was young, broke, and just getting into knitting more than garter squares.
I think the first yarn I ever bought was La Gran mohair. It made a beautiful sweater that shed like crazy and I realized I could never wear it while cooking dinner after many mohair complaints from my family.
A heathered-denim color acrylic for a scarf pattern that rolled despite its garter edging. (Age 11!)
The first yarn I ever bought was Knit picks sock yarn, and I hadn’t even learned to knit yet!
I wanted to make a baby blanket for my dear friend who was pregnant. I purchased some sort of boucle in a pastel rainbow from a yarn shop outside of Cincinnati (where I lived at the time). P.S., the “baby” is almost 14 and still has the blanket!
Growing up in England in the 1950s and 60s with a family of knitters who made garments for the whole family, wonderful to have all of that wisdom and knowledge from mom, nana and aunt! First knitting project scarf and hat, very good memories of shopping for blue Sirdar wool with my Nana in a very old shop that had all of the good wool scents…… and a cup of tea and scone at the end 🙂
My first yarn was Aunt Lydias Rug Yarn. I found out why it was so cheap. Ha! Not good for sweaters.
my first yarn must have been a worsted weight 5&dime store yarn! And I made a 4 color yoke style sweater because nobody told me it was too hard! best, Mary in Cincinnati
Lion Brand Homespun for a bear to knit for the Mother Bear Project.
I was taught to knit (at a craft store) with a horrible boucle acrylic. I believe that the thought was that the bumpy yarn would hide a beginning knitter’s mistakes. I persisted in knitting in spite of the that terrible yarn. At least it taught me to start beginners off with a smooth non-splitty yarn. I think that the first yarn I actually purchased–and which is still a sentimental favorite for me–was a Lamb’s Pride Worsted in one of the many luscious colors they make. It was my yarn-of-choice for several years. Then I branched out into other yarns, and moved away, and the LYS where I purchased it moved and then closed down. I’m sure none of these events had any relation to each other…or at least I hope not!
Oh, and I have already been Snippeted!
I have absolutely no idea! I think it was probably something cheap, synthetic and worsted. My yarn choices have seriously changed over the decades.
My grandmother taught me to knit as a young child. It was’nt until I had children of my own that I took it up again. I knit a pullover sweater with a sheep on the front for my 3 year old daughter out of cotton yarn that I probably bought at joann’s or michael’s. my daughter is 29 now and I still have that sweater put away for a keepsake.
I think my first non-big box yarn purchase was a skein of Lorna’s Laces at a fibber festival. What a lovely giveaway! Thanks for the chance
Red Heart acrylic. I was 7 and crocheting granny squares. The first grown up yarn I remember is over a pound of cotton/linen indy spun from Mind’s Eye Yarns in Cambridge, Ma. I started a top-downer sweater in grad school. Finished it in time for it to fit my high school age daughter. My longest enduring wip. I think I still have more of that yarn.
Brown sheep/ Lambs Pride, a yarn I still love!❤️
My first yarn was Vermont Organic Fiber Company O-wool Classic. I purchased it about 8 years ago and used it to make a Super Cupcake hat. About a year ago I frogged that first hat and knitted another Super Cupcake hat that I would actually wear:)
Definitely some kind of acrylic yarn from the LeeWards in our local mall. I was probably about 9 years old, and I was surely knitting something for my Barbies out of it. I learned to knit when I was 8, because my older sister (age 13) was learning and I didn’t want to be outdone! I remember that she used to cast on and bind off for me, because I hadn’t mastered those skills yet.
Peaches and Cream dishcloth cotton
Wow! Wow! Wow! What nice stashy gifts! I would definitely turn those Tahki scraps into a Mitered Square blanket!
I’m sure the first yarn that I bought (after knitting from my great aunt’s stash) would have been cheap acrylic yarn because I couldn’t afford the good stuff and didn’t know any better. My yarn taste and bank account have both improved since then.
Thanks for the chance to win!!!
First yarn I ever bought was Red Heart. I learned some basic knitting because my daughter wanted to learn. She decided she wasn’t so interested, after all but I was addicted!
I’m a Snippets subsciber already… it’s my favorite Saturday morning reading.
WoolEase. The best, right?
Red Heart to learn how to crochet in college 27 years ago.
What a fun giveaway! The first bit of yarn I bought was a single skein of Patons Classic Worsted Wool. I was determined to knit wool mittens, even tho I could barely manage knit vs purl.
Probably white acrylic yarn from Super Yarn Mart on Third Street near Fairfax in Los Angeles. An art teacher at my junior high commissioned me to crochet a shawl for her. 1970s.
Patons cream for an Irish knit! What an ambitious first project
Oh goodness, I think it was a Red Heart yarn!
Bright pink mohair from when department stores sold yarn circa 1960s. I made a long ribbed scarf which I kept for a long time.
Yellow Red Heart acrylic like many others.
The first yarn I bought was a blue Red Heart Super Saver skein and I knit a 12 foot long scarf. It was amazing.
I don’t know the name of the yarn. That was 50+ years ago. But it was a wool or wool blend to make a little headscarf triangle for my little sister. It shrunk upon cleaning.
I cant remember the first yarn I actually bought. But when I was around 10 years old, I wanted to learn to knit and I wanted to make a sweater. The yarn was acrylic and very purple; at that time purple was not an “in ” color. I dont remember if the sweater was ever finished (I didnt finish it) but I can still see that yarn clearly and the beginning of that sweater
My first purchase was Kid Silk Haze. I entered this pastime with impeccable taste.
I’m already subscribed 🙂 My first yarn would have come from my Nain’s stash as she taught me to knit (Nain is Welsh for grandma). I think the first yarn i choose myself was a lavender mohairy type which i made a cardy from as a teenager 🙂
From the back counter at the dime store: One red skein of Red Heart knitting worsted, when Red Heart was still wool. Do I get extra credit if I still have the scarf? 32 stitches wide on size 13 needles. I still have the pink aluminum needles, too (although the tassels from the gathered ends are long gone.) I remember how many stitches because, being my first project, I kept picking up mysterious not-really-dropped stitches. I had to start over.
Red heart wool from my grandmother’s stash used to teach me to knit. I made a Barbie blanket!
First yarn ever: honestly, Sugar’N’Cream cotton yarn from Wal-Mart when I was 9. My mom taught me to crochet that year, and as it was hard to find decent wool yarn in the 70s and 80s in Texas when my mom was making afghans, she used cotton (she has always hated acrylic). I made a few incredibly uneven little doll blankets for my toys from that cotton!
My first skein of yarn came from JoAnn’s – Lion brand Fancy Fur. As with good wine, good yarn taste comes with time. Glad I was a fast learner!!
I’m pretty sure it was some baby yarn Lion brand acylic or Bernat or one of those. You know, before I knew better and found the LYS. My first “real” yarn– I think was Muench String of Pearls, which still hasn’t made it to project form. My first project– baby booties for my oldest. First yarn I feel completely head over heels in love with– Rowan Kidsilk Haze. I’m still in love with it, and all things Rowan. And cashmere. And yarn in general… And I still remember when Etsy and indie dyers were brand new.
Red Heart acrylic for a blanket. The blanket still survives 15 years later! It’s not very nice though, rough.
I wish I could say I remember, but knowing how I bought yarn for a long time it was probably Vanna’s Choice Lion Brand. Before I knew there existed a wonderful world of fibers!!!!
Lion brand thick and quick in grey to make a scarf.
The first yarn I ever bought was some Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Worsted in cream, bright grass-green, and grapey-purple. It was on clearance, and I bought all they had, which was only a hat’s worth of each.
The first yarn I every bought was Berrocco. I think it was ultra soft baby something. it was for a blanket for my niece’s first baby and I got some pastel green and some pastel yellow (we didn’t know her gender at the time I started). She’s 7 years old today and still has the blanket in her room.
I’m sure my first yarn was an acrylic from our LDS, local dime store, in the late 1960’s. LOL. I can still see the first sweater I entered in the 4-H fair.
My very first yarn was Lion Brand variegated something or other. Purples and pinks. 1982. My yarn awakening (natural fibers!) resulted in a purchase of Jo Sharp Silk Road. For a scarf for my brother. He hated it.
Well, since it was 1980 when I first learned to knit, my first purchase was Red Heart. First purchase from a LYS was not yarn but a pattern for a Pure & Simple V-neck Top Down Pullover and I still have it!
That was a long time ago! It would have been a dodgy acrylic as I made lots of baby mittens to sell for charity when I was a youngster.
Great competition. Fingers crossed x
Bernat chunky… I was learning to just simply knit my mentor said “just knit- work the muscle memory” and then we will try something!
The think first yarn I bought was Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride, I forget if it was worsted or bulky. Unless we’re going all the way back to my childhood … when I was about 8, I got to pick out a single skein of yarn all by myself (I don’t recall if I was the one paying or not). It was lavender, and it had a lovely halo. This was the 80s, and my choices were limited to what was available at a big box store, so it was undoubtedly acrylic. But I’m pretty sure I still have some of it around, I bought it to include in my first big crochet project, a blanket that I eventually finished … in time for the birth of my son. Which is why I still have some of the yarn, in that blanket.
There might have been some Red Heart Super Saver in between there, and some Caron Simply Soft, too, actually. I crocheted, and I made blankets. And I hadn’t discovered LYSes.
I got some Lopi and made an Icelandic sweater when I was 16. I’d only made tubular scarves before that.
The first yarn that I bought all by myself was Red Heart at the Arnold Variety Store in the 1960’s. My mother was a talented crocheter, she taught me and I made a scarf. She didn’t knit, but later on I taught myself to knit.
My Mom taught me to knit in the 50’s and I made a bright blue drop stitch scarf using wool from an old sweater. I finished it but didn’t like the drop stitch pattern and hardly wore the scarf. The first yarn I bought was white Bernat baby yarn to knit a sweater for my oldest daughter. That sweater is still in the doll clothes bucket. My daughter will be 40 next week.
When I was in 7th grade in 1973, I already knew how to knit but I bought my first yarn. We were living in Ecuador and it was several skeins each of brown and fluorescent orange acrylic yarn to make a blanket with. I loved it!
My first yarn purchase was a small multicolor skein from the local Woolworth’s store. I learned to knit at age 4 while I was sick and kept in bed for 3 months. My 5th birthday happened in that sick time, so I presume I bought that yarn at age 5. My dolls were well dressed. Thank you for the memory.
My first yarn purchase was a bag of worsted weight yarn from the Caron Outlet store. My mother, who didn’t knit, wound it into a ball for me.
I don’t remember the name of the first yarn I bought (with allowance, or perhaps birthday, money) as I was a tiny 5 year old. I’m reasonably certain that my dad, teaching me how to knit, did most of the legwork in picking it out. I do remember it was a nice lavender; as a tomboy, I felt it was important that the color be not pink, yet something feminine. I never finished the sweater I was supposed to make with it, but the yarn got used in all sorts of other arts and crafts projects.
I have knitting on and off for over 50 years. When my mother died several years ago I was emptying her house in England, when I came across a bag with a hand knitted, cable patterned vest that I had knitted when I was just 11 years old. She had save it all these yeras. I had forgotten it! It was a lovely camel coloured soft wool, but I don’t actually know the name of yhe yarn. The brand was probably Wendy because growing up in England, this was the most popular brand back then.
Monster skeins of variegated green Red Heart to learn how to knit, for a large garter stitch afghan.
What a prize! I gave away most of my own stash three years ago, and miss it! I actually have NO CLUE what brand my first ball of yarn was. BUT, I do remember what my first skein of what I think of as “real yarn” was – Tahki Donegal Tweed.
1973, the least expensive yarn I could find. I was intrigued by projects others were creating, but I was a starving, self-sufficient college student! My project: a big granny square lapghan in shades of pink and maroon.
Oh my gosh. I think first I worked my way through a bunch of acrylic yarn from my Great Grand Aunt Jean’s stash. She had passed away at 91, and while my mom was sorting out the estate, my aunt’s friend Millie, who was around the same age, taught my sister and me (ages 13 and 10) how to knit (while simultaneously watching tv–important to establish this practice early). After we finished our samplers, I worked my way through my aunt’s booklet of baby patterns, with the acrylic yarn. ….But I think the first yarn I actually purchased was a sweater’s worth of blue and cream wool (no idea what brand), about 5 years later, to make my sister a sweater with snowflakes and reindeer on it. The finishing left something to be desired, and so there were some rather interesting sleeve effects, but she still has the thing, and occasionally we think of trying to salvage it.
Red heart – the intro to knitting class said to bring sample yarn to knit with. Oh how my tastes have changed since then!
My first yarn was Vanna’s Choice from Lion Brand. I learned to crochet at Lion Brand Yarn Studio and I loved that stuff! Not too expensive, lots of colors and it gave me a lot of opportunity to experiment. I have since discovered wool yarn and indie-dyers!!
I taught myself to knit in grade school from a Spinnerin kit I received as a gift. I think it came with some grey wool. I wanted something “nicer” to make my baby brother mittens. So I got a lovely skein of Wintuk in a bright red- I think by Red Heart. I still have one of the mittens. Of course, I never did the second one!
Brunswick Germantown, which was considered the workhorse of worsted wool back in the day – at least I’m my part of the world. I was broken-hearted for a brief period after it was discontinued. This is a very cool giveaway, ladies!
I need to add a comment-
I love all the posts! Most knitters have a story to share. That must be why we are drawn to Clara and Modern Daily Knitting.
My first yarn purchase was acrylics of some forgotten and no longer available yarn. It was scratchy and indestructible. I never saw wool yarn, or if I did it was an ugly color of drab. Im old…
Ah, I have enough stash, probably more than either one of you, but I can’t resist ….
My first yarn was from China, a bright, bright pink, bought in the border town of Luang Namtha in Laos. Back in the golden days of yore (i.e. about 1957). Knit with size 8 Aeros, straights of course. A scarf of course (and let me tell you, it gets VERY chilly up there in the mountains of Laos!). Taught by a Lao lady who had been taught by a French lady. So I cast on like no one else I have ever seen!
… and yes, I already get your snippets, thank you!
I bought one skein of Cascade 220, in a navy blue, to learn to knit. I made a scarf that was inexplicably dotted by “buttonholes,” but it was the start of a hobby that has entertained and soothed me for many years.
The first yarn I ever bought for myself was a Kelly green bulky weight acrylic in SQ. What was I thinking, you ask? 35 years later, I still don’t know. And I still have a small ball of the yarn.
Sugar and Cream cotton yarn to make a washrag.
i learned to knit in fifth grade. Seriously cannot remember what yarn I was using. In my late forties I took a knitting class with a friend, I knitted a baby blanket out of cotton yarns, pink and white. Still haven’t given that blanket away ❤️❤️
Hi, probably Lions Brand, not sure! My older sister who knew me best, bought a how-to-knit book for my birthday, and I learned to knit reading that book! It was a life saver to a sensitive kid growing up in a stress filled house!
Punta Yarns Merisoft hand painted Aran. My then 13 year old challenged me to knit him a troll hat (I hadn’t knit since I was about 9!), and I did and he wore it 🙂
My first project was probably knit using phyntex yarn. So hard on the hands making slippers.
It’s been so long but I think Red Heart.
White Red Heart Super Saver for my first project which was a crochet pillow when I was a youngin. My great-grandmother was so proud.
Bright orange wool from a local yarn company when i was in high school home ec class. Made a giant granny square blanket.
I bought a silk and mohair blend when I was about 13–no idea who made it, but I got it at a little LYS that has since closed. I also bought a lace shawl pattern to knit with it…I suppose that I should pull it out again!
First yarn I ever purchase: Manos del Uruguay. (not the first yarn I knit, which was some cheap dime-store acrylic that turned me off from knitting for years)
The first yarn I remember buying for a project was a skein of red Aunt Lydia’s Rug Yarn from my local five and dime. Red is still y favorite color
My mother bought my yarn when I was so little, it was Red Heart acrylic. I made headbands out of a coffee can. When I was in 4H I guess my first official yarn was still Red Heart.
The first yarn I bought was Reynolds Lopi for a sweater. My first knitter friend loaned me her Alafoss pattern book. I was off and running.
And whoa, Nelly! It’s fun to read how many of us started out with Red Heart. That acrylic wonder and Peaches & Creme cotton were the staple yarns of my childhood.
Thank you to Ann and Kay for building and inspiring the MDK community. You’re wonderful!
First yarn I ever bought, who the heck knows. Something from michaels in Wayne, NJ.
The first yarn I ever bought was red acrylic from Red Heart at Ben Franklin. My Girl Scout leader taught us how to knit a hat. If I win Ann’s stash maybe I can pick it up in person — I think we live up the street from each other and I would love to meet her!
I’m pretty sure the first yarn I knit with came from my mother’s stash when I was a kid. I forgot about knitting, being all busy being a jock and all, and didn’t pick it up again for about 30 years. Then I bought the Susan Bates My Knitting Teacher book/needles/notions kit from Jo-ann, along with some green Red Heart acrylic, and set about knitting a hat, mittens, scarf – with a cable, and slippers. The was in 1999. I haven’t stopped knitting since. Would love a chance for more stash to play with! Thanks for the chance!
It was probably Red Heart- when I was younger, the mom of some of my friends taught me how to knit and crochet. I have done both off and on throughout the years, I have only discovered the world of amazing yarns in the last couple of years…so many beautiful choices.
First yarn I purchased myself – Manos del Uruguay to make felted pot holders (and then a felted purse). Beautiful colours!
Red and blue Red Heart acrylic skeins to make my first crochet project – a ripple blanket for my dad.
Two skeins of Knitting Fever, Inc Indulgence Cashmere. At $25 per skein I should have put them down and picked a cheaper hobby. But I purchased them, they sparked a new love for fiber and knitting, and they were worth every penny.
Love all the pretty colors. Would love to have a stash like that one day!
My first yarn was 4 balls of red heart worsted weight in Heather, white, baby pink, and hot pink
I know I had purchased yarn previous to learning to knit, for crafts projects, so that doesn’t count lol. My first yarn as a knitter was from the first time I found my LYS, River Colors Studio in Rocky River Ohio. I walked in and was immediately drawn to the rich hues of Malabrigo. I must have pet all of the Malabrigo yarns for damn near an hour before taking home my very first skein of Malabrigo Worsted in the Nostalgia colorway. I was hooked and several years later it is still my favorite yarn brand.
Sweaters worth of berocco ultra alpaca bought at Webs when I was sixteen. Knit an awkwardly fitting pullover that I never wore, then 4 years later I ripped it and turned it into a hoodie cardigan – still my most worn sweater more than ten years after the initial yarn purchase
A variegated acrylic yarn, for a garter stitch scarf
Hmmmmm……so long ago……it was natural colored, purchased at the yarn store across the street from RIT in Rochester NY, and eventually made into a crocheted cardigan. The yarn store no longer exists..So sad because it was lovely. The company name of the yarn no longer lives in my brain. I wonder what happened to that cardigan…must have hit the donation pile about 30 years ago!
A bulky acrylic tweed that I used to knit a sweater coat while I was writing my senior theses in college.
I’m pretty sure my first yarn was Sugar’n Cream. I had to dig deep through my Ravelry stash to figure it out. 😉
The first yarn I bought as a knitter (not just as a crafter for corking and pompoms) was Bernat Jr. Jacquards. I learned to make mittens and neckwarmers and hats with it, that my little girls (at the time) could wear. I love MDK, please keep up the awesome work!!
The first yarn that I remember buying (rather than my mom buying for me) was some lovely soft red-orange acrylic (my favorite color at the time!) that I bought in France when I was a foreign exchange student before my senior year in high school. (Who knows what the brand was–something French I think!) I crocheted a large tote bag with a shoulder strap (making up my own pattern), lined it with some sturdy blue nylon fabric, and used a row of blue buttons to hold the front flap closed, buttoning it through a row of alternating single and treble crochets. I used it to carry home my souvenir from the summer and as book bag when I started college. I loved that bag and still have it (somewhere!)
The first yarn I bought was a blue-purple variegated Red Heart Super Saver. I was in junior high and used it to knit a hat and scarf for my little sister (I think the scarf took over a year to knit). Some time shortly after that, I acquired a bunch of random acrylic yarn from a church garage sale and my stash was born.
1963, l bought the Yarn that Will Not Die. Varigated mohair, pale green yellow and white for a “bulky sweater” — what we call oversized vee-neck pullovers. A decade or so later, l raveled it for a 1970s little vest. Fast forward to 2017, a hank of it surfaces from my stash occasionally. Colors faded but still wonderfully soft.
My first purchase as a new knitter in my teens? Blue, yellow and brown
skinny yarn from the Paul Parrot store for the ugliest poor boy sweater of all time. Epic fail!
I don’t really remember the first yarn I bought (or maybe that my mother bought for me) but it was probably acrylic (like so many others in my age bracket) and purchased a Woolworth’s.
I think the first wool I got was when I was about 14 and had broken my foot. To keep me occupied my mother took me to a real yarn store and let me pick the yarn and pattern. I chose a pattern for a black and white argyle vest with diagonal lines of maroon and forest green running through it. Intarsia for my first project! I don’t even remember how I knew how to knit at that point, but my mother was game to coach me through it.
Dale of Norway at my local (now closed) yarn shop. Mail order is all good and well, but sometimes my soul needs yarn right away for its healing properties…
Hmm… gosh, I have to try and remember. I taught myself to crochet back in 2002 so that I could crochet a baby blanket for my cousin’s new daughter. She had been hoping for a boy, and upon finding out that she was having a girl, decreed that her daughter would not be the stereotypical “girly-girl,” and outlawed pink for her daughter. No pink in the nursery, no pink at the shower, and any pink gifts received needed to be accompanied by receipts, because they were being returned. Needless to say, I picked the softest, most delicate pink Red Heart baby yarn I could find to crochet that blanket, because I knew that if I was flying cross-country to see her and deliver this handmade gift, she would feel obligated to keep and use it. My plan worked perfectly, and the icing on the cake was when I placed the blanket on her baby when I got off the plane, that little girl twined her fingers through the holes in the blanket and rubbed it on her cheek.
The first yarn I bought was a skein of blue variegated Red Heart to make a scarf in a refresher knitting class I took with my daughter. She was 7 and my Mom had just taught her to knit. I was 41 and relearning the skill 34 years later.
It was so long ago I cannot remember, some kind of acrylic probably in 1967. My mom taught me to knit and I made a hat.
My first yarn was a red acrylic from Murphy’s Mart. I was learning to weave and was going to make a red tablecloth. Because a red acrylic yarn tablecloth was so the way to go! haha!!! I ended up shelving the loom for 30 years.
Red Heart acrylic for a granny square afghan in high school. Seriously, was there any other yarn widely available back then? I just found my grandmothers Red Heart stash from the early 80s while cleaning out her closet. Some of it still had a Woolworth’s store tag on it -price had faded though.
I was in the 5 th grade. Mrs Copfer was going to teach me how to knit. It was a grey acrylic yarn, the brand I don’t remember and I made a garter stitch scarf. It was 1970. Wow!
Lopi in orange and purple to make mittens! Somehow the LYS owner started me out as a rank beginner on double points. I love her for that. Next I was gifted with Peace Fleece by a lovely neighbor who was very taken with the yarn and needed to share it!
I learned to knit about 10 years ago and the first yarn I bought was Sugar & Cream. The gal who taught me to knit handed me her half finished dish cloth and needles after she taught me the knit stitch. After I completed the cloth, which resembled an amoeba at the end, I headed to Michael’s and bought several balls of Sugar & Cream. That’s also where my stash began.
Red Heart acrylic to make the biggest granny square blanket for my twin bed when I was probably around 13 years old. I was so proud of myself to complete it. Used it year round, even in humid New Orleans heat.
Yellow and probably Pinguin because I learned to knit during a summer vacation in France. My 2 aunts taught me. 1st project was a washcloth, 2nd was a baby sweater and the third project was a sweater for myself–cables and no written pattern, just my aunts directing me. I finished it and wore it proudly. I was there for 2 months and once I learned I couldn’t stop. I still have the instruction booklet I purchased so I would not forget how to cast on, increase and decrease. It’s “je tricote” published in 1964. I was 14.
Red Heart worsted (ugh!)
Oh boy. I’m pretty sure the first yarn I bought was something crappy from the craft store. I didn’t know any better. My first yarn from an LYS was Noro Kureyon…the irresistible colors. It’s still one of my faves.
Thanks for sharing your stash, Ann and Kay!
OMG, I am old. It was Red Heart worsted at the Kress five and dime. Color: red. I was 8 years old.
I also got the yellow clear plastic knitting needles with red hearts on the tops.
The first yarn I bought was probably from KMart in about 1972 in avocado, rust, and gold.
Caron simply soft in a lovely purple for my first scarf. It was only four years ago, when I decided to teach myself how to knit. Thank you KnittingHelp.com!!
Debbie bliss merino cashmere. Haven’t used it yet.
First yarn I ever bought? Really? Who can possibly remember?! My stepmom was teaching me to knit when I was maybe 11? and took me to a yarn shop with pretty great yarn. I remember it being purple, and having a fuzzy halo. The next was a pink cotton yarn. Years later when I picked the needles back up, I think I worked with some cashmere baby yarn. I’m sure there must have been acrylic in there somewhere too.
It was 50 years ago… I can’t remember last week let alon 50 years ago! Sorry
Lion brand homespun for a baby hat that turned out. If enough to fit me!!!
Big enough
It was a wool that was hanked but had lost its label. Lavender-ish. Wasn’t soft.
White Red Heart acrylic, because Debbie Stoller said that a worsted light-colored yarn was a good choice for starters. Still have that swatch. Makes a great coaster
Wow, you are asking a lot of an old lady to remember the first yearn she ever bought. I think it was a crochet yarn when I was a teen and my dear grandma was teaching me to make a doily. My first knitting yarn was a red acrylic that I made into an awful scarf for a sort-of boyfriend. I gave it to him and let him know that he really wasn’t my boyfriend. What a rat I was!
I have no idea what the name of the actual first yarn I ever bought was but I can describe it: it was baby blue worsted-weight acrylic (but Fancee, from an actual yarn shop) bought in Plant City, Florida in 1966. I made a v-neck vest of it which I’m fairly certain I never put on my body. C’mon, it was Florida. I was 10! But I’ve been a knitter ever since.
Ugly fake red yarn from Wal-Mart to teach myself how to knit. It’s utterly miraculous that I actually continued to knit after that nasty fugly stuff.
Red Heart , when in Brownies. We knit squares, folded and stitched for slippers. When I re-taught myself how to knit as an adult, it would have been Wool-ease.
Green Mountain Spinnery worsted wool. Happy knitting!
I bought a Lion Brand Teach Yourself to Knit Kit which had varigated Chunky Thick and Quick and bamboo needles and mage a garter stitch scarf.
First yarn as an adult, I cannot remember what mom bought with us, was noro for my sursa shawl
Red heart acrylic in orange. Used it to learn to knit in 4-H!
I inherited my grandma’s stash along with 42 boxes of material for quilts. The first yarn I bought was redheart yarn for a scarf.
The first yarn I ever bought was in 1987, and was Brunswick Ballybrae -a great unscoured wool. I still have the sweater I made with it!
I think the first named yarn I bought was Tahki Cotton Classic, probably around 1990 or earlier. It has been all good since then!
The first yarn I bought was Red Heart Knitting Worsted which in 1973 was still made from wool. When I was 16, I could buy the yarn for a fisherman sweater for $15 as opposed to the $60 for the sweater at the store. It took two years to make. I finished the sweater in August just before my family took a trip to Mexico. I took the sweater and wore it even though it was a turtleneck. However, it was much more comfortable during the cooler winter months. I wore that sweater all through college and beyond. I am so glad I found your site. I have been inspired in particular by the rothco sweater and the shell sweater from the last week. Thanks, Lili
I was about 8 years old so I know longer remember what the brand was but I remember it was a gorgeous emerald green and it was an enormous barrel shaped skein. I knit doll clothes with it…for months and months and months everything I made was that emerald green.
I THINK the first yarn I ever bought for myself was Lopi at least 45 years ago and I made it into a sweater for my now ex husband. I should ask him if he still has it… wouldn’t it be a real trip if he really did still have it? I will check, we talk regularly and I will update if he does have it…
I’m sure it was something like Red Heart. Back in the day, that was pretty much all that was available around here! We still don’t have a LYS…..it would be a nice place for one, too!
A skein on Red Heart in bubble gum pink that I used to teach myself to knit while when I spent long hours at the comic book shop hanging out with my then boyfriend (the owner liked me so much he offered me a job I turned down because I already spent too much time there). I remember being so confused at how to switch from knit to purl on ribbing.
40 years ago we called it Icelandic wool – very similar to Lettlopi now. It was for a sweater with a patterned yoke that I still wear on especially cold days when I want to feel the warmth of the memory of my
Mother teaching me to knit.
42 years ago I wanted to knit my Dad a sweater. I bought a forest green, probably worsted weight, yarn.
I bought a soft cover pamphlet of patterns. I got a book out of the library and taught myself to knit.
It took me over three years to finish. My Dad wore it every night after dinner until he died. Many years
later after my children left home I picked up knitting again. I now knit every day. Thank you for the generous give away.
I love this yarn!
Orlon acrylic to make an Icelandic sweater with 4 colors. My first ever knitting project!
First yarn from a Woolworths or newberry or even a lee wards? A bernat or red heart. Maybe something for a doll or a craft. First yarn to knit with as an adult was lion brand homespun. I still have the scarf. Thanks for the memories.
K-Mart yellow acrylic for a sweater that my sisters’ friend borrowed and never returned.
The first yarn I bought with my own money was some Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride, in red, for a sweater vest. It was my re-entry into knitting as an adult. Before that, my grandmother helped me buy some kind of Red Heart or Sayelle yarn — it was white with a little bit of sparkle to it. I knit a cardigan from the Sears Knitting book. That was the first sweater I ever knit — it’s quite terrible really, but I still have it. I also remember shopping for some gray REAL wool that my grandmother used to knit my “graduation sweater” — a Starsky & Hutch’ish belted sweater with cables. That one is in the basement somewhere too, a true heirloom.
I’m sure I bought yarn as a teenager but don’t remember what it was. I was caught up in the eyelash yarn phase about 15!years ago though. Thankfully, I’ve learned from that and moved on.
Red Heart 100% wool from local five and dime in late 60’s/early 70’s to crochet long vests in gold and avacado green.
My first yarn was trom my grandmothers stash when I was 10 years old. That was 61 years ago. I remember it was wool and yellow. I made a scarf with it.
It’s so long ago that I don’t remember. I probably bought it at G.C.Murphy’s and I don’t think it was will. I made mittens with it.
I bought Cascade 220 Heathers in a beautiful dark purple at a little yarn shop around the corner from my apartment in Carrboro, NC. The shop moved and so did I, but I still have that purple garter stitch scarf!
My current foray into knitting began with Classic Elite’s Forbidden! It was on sale and I indulged. I needed a corrective emotional experience- my last project 30 years earlier was with acrylic yarn.
Btw, I love Snippets.
Regia sock yarn, with a sock pattern on the ball band.
The first yarn I ever bought (with my own money) was many, many years ago. It was Wintuk.
The first yarn I remember buying was Red Heart acrylic in assorted 1 oz skeins along with black to make a granny square afghan for my mother. I was 15. It was a surprise Christmas and baby gift. She was pregnant with my sister. She still has the afghan. I have repaired it a few times!
The first yarn I bought? Aren’t you precious?? I don’t remember the brand name exactly but I think I chose it because it had fibers from the blanket Moses was wrapped in. Yeah. That’s the one.
Best laugh I’ve had so far today — thank you!!
It was the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Knitting and Crochet which first advised me to grab a ball of Peaches & Creme and get cracking on a corner to corner washcloth.
My first really good yarn was purchased close to ten years ago–malabrigo Lace! I’m a regular follower of MDK and snippets.
I knit my then-boyfriend, now husband, a scarf from lion brand fisherman’s wool.
ooooh! exiting! I knitted a sweater for myself when I was ten, in a variegated yarn that I don’t know the name of. But then again, my mother had to pay for it, so that does not count. I bought Opal Lollipop sockyarn in a pink-darkblue-white selfstriping colorway when I embraced the craft again in 2003
Brunswick Germantown
Red Heart Super Savor, of course.
Omg not sure I can remember back that far! It was probably a Lee Wards acrylic or worsted. If it wasn’t banded Lee Wards thenmiy was probably a Red Heart acrylic
Red Heart yarn, Susan Bates needles and a “How to Knit” book from Kmart in Fargo 42 years ago. Thanks, Mom!
1. Malabrigo Yarn Arroyo-866 Arco Iris
2. teresakoong@gmail.com
Lion Brand Wool. I made a felted bag out of it. I made it pretty large then forgot about it in the washing machine – it can fit an iPhone now. Super duper felted.
Oh my gosh! My first purchase was Madeline Tosh in the Ink colorway. That was 4 years ago and I STILL have it. I bought it in Chicago, while visiting my daughter at school and for whatever reason, I just like to keep it as is. Great memories!!!
1st yarn I remember picking out was Aunt Lydia’s Rug Yarn. I was 10 and it was for a 4-H project.
Woolworths was THE store for our Knitting and sewing purchases so it would have been acrylic (Red Heart) and bright colors as I loved red and yellow. Mom taught me to crochet and knit and one of my first projects was a long striped scarf in our school colors, red and black. I was in the color guard, part of marching band, and remember looping that around my neck to keep warm as we cheered and high kicked on the sidelines when we scored a goal at football games. Made matching tassels for my white leather color guard boots. Those tassels would swoosh around as when marched about – what a great way back memory this has evoked.
The year was 1963 and the yarn was some acrylic from the five and dime store to make my Barbie some fancy duds!
Berroco sox – I made and iPad cover for my husband. The pattern said it would be easy, but then had buttonholes!!!
The first yarn I ever bought was from lee wards which is now Micheals it was their own brand in a worsted weight in brown my first indie dyer purchase (and many more since) is Fibernymph dye works Lisa is an amazing dyer
At age 20, Columbia Minerva to knit Afghan for my parents.
Homespun by Lion Brand, soon to be combined with Fun Fur. It was the 90’s!♀️
Already get the email, yay! Newbie knitter, and I scored four skeins of a lovely lilac mohair at the town dump swap shop!
Well done! I love that you have a town dump swap shop–I’ve long believed that a town dump can be a wonderland of possibility.
I cannot identify the first yarn I bought because I was, maybe, 16 years old and that was 53 years ago. But I have kept on buying and loving it all (well, most all). I’m pretty sure it was wool because back then acrylic was not great even to the inexperienced knitter’s eye. And I have standards. I bought a skein of orange and one of black to make a scarf in my high school colors (we were the Tigers, obviously). One end was wider than the other end. But I was in luv with knitting and the passion keeps growing.
Reynolds Lopi, for my first knitting project — a Lopi sweater to replace the one my husband felted. It had been knit by a former girlfriend. Ignorance is bliss, as I didn’t ever consider what I was undertaking at the time, either as a first project or as the beginning of a truly sizable yarn stash. He still wears the sweater.
Paton’s wool. My first projects were felted handbags (hid my mistakes! ). I even sold a couple of them.
My first yarn was Red Heart Acrylic at age 12. My Grandmother taught me to knit and quilt on a family vacation to Little Rock. I did not pick up the needles again until my daughter was 3 years old and I decided to make her an Alpaca wool sweater, felted, that she could wear in lieu of a coat to sled on cold winter days. We still have it, in storage, waiting for a grandchild. I’ve been knitting ever since
So many years ago…lol…I’m sure it was a redheart yarn I bought at the local 5 & 10!!
The first yarn I bought was a fabulous pink mohair. That was over 50 years ago. I made a v-neck pullover for myself.
Hoping I am not too late to enter. I started knitting to get a part in a high school play (madam defarge in a tale of two cities). First ball of yarn I bought was probably red heart or something cheap from the big box stores.
Shades of green Germantown Worsted for an afghan I crocheted for the living room.
After learning to knit a cotton dish cloth, the first yarn I bought was Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool to make a simple scarf.
It was gray red heart worsted that I believe I got at a Woolworth’s store. I was 12 years old and my mother signed me up for a knitting class at a friend’s house out in the country. It was January in North Dakota! We made slippers.
I know I bought some yarn to make a jumper (sweater) when I was a little kid, but I have no idea what it was or even what happened to it (alas, it did not become a jumper). My next yarn purchase was a startling amount of Cleckheaton Country 12ply – I was eighteen years old and determined to knit a sweater. I got as far as knitting the front and back, on tiny needles. It was a huge sweater – a men’s pattern – and I understand now why it chewed through so much yarn. I carried those sweater pieces and leftover balls of yarn around for years, then left them at my mum’s place for probably a decade, then reclaimed them and carted them around some more. This year I finally got up the courage and frogged it! The yarn is skeined and washed and ready for a new project, just as soon as I can work out what to do with it.
I bought green acrylic yarn at a Walmart to make a sweater.
Cascade something for a natural colored (and kinda scratchy) scarf. Followed by a cashmere fingering weight for ambitious sweater that never happened. Been repurposed, thankfully
My first yarn was some cheap acrylic (probably Red Heart, but it’s hard to say) when I was a child and my Mema was teaching me how to knit. I made a few very lopsided “potholders” before branching out into an all-acrylic afghan. My tastes have matured since then.
I’m already signed up for Snippets. 🙂
Red Heart acrylic about 6 years go when I learned how to knit.
mine was some kind of periwinkle fuzzy novelty yarn that i bought to make a simple scarf after I took up knitting as an adult (I did knit as a child, but there were about 30 years in between). after that it was a whole boat load of cascade 220 because it was simple and inexpensive so I could play with it without worrying too much about cost.
Scratchy worsted from Bell Yarn on the lower east side of manhattan.
Generous contest. Thank you both. I enjoy my snippets each week.
It was a Red Heart color changing acrylic that didn’t reflect my taste for natural fibers but I wanted something I could learn with and didn’t really understand yarn weights, needles sizes, and how to select yarn for a project. My red heart yarn just became a long irregular looking garter stitch scarfy thing with lots of accidental yarn overs and dropped stitches. Your stash-starter offerings are a lovely far cry from that first yarn.
First yarn was Classic Elite’s Portland Tweed in a red. Took my first knitting class with this yarn, and started a seed stitch scarf. The scarf eventually got frogged because the seed stitch was so confusing to me as a beginner. Eventually, many years, the yarn was turned into a couple pairs or fingerless mitts for myself and my mom.
Red Heart acrylic in a shade of blue.A friend taught about 5 of us to knit at a beach retreat 26 years ago. Two of us finished our scarves and moved on to other projects. I am so grateful that this friend taught us this magical skill. It has been life changing for me as I have knit through some difficult times as well as some joyful experiences. Like most knitters I knit almost every day.
Red Heart that came from Franks Nursery and Craft back in the late 60’s. I was in high school and knitting striped scarves.
I first learned to knit in my teen years using some of my grandmother’s scrap yarn as she was working at a knitting mill in NYC at the time. She would bring home lots of scraps which she would then roll into balls. The yarn was acrylic and I made myself a raglan sleeved cardigan which I still wear today.
The first yarn I bought was a not so horrible red acrylic from the “dime store” that I made into a v neck vest. I think I did a fair job of it but honestly can’t remember if I ever wore it or what happened to it. I was in nursing school and had limited funds and especially limited time to shop or knit back in 1968-70. Now I am spoiled and there are gorgeous yarns calling out my name and asking for a home in my dreams.
First yarn purchased was peaches and cream cotton. Self taught crochet and knitter. All around fiber obsessed.
My first yarn bought on my own was bernat cotton, I was 17 and had never heard of a yarn store, only knew Zellers, and Bernat was what I could afford. I tried knitting a cardigan but it had no stretch so wouldn’t even fit my smallest friend.
Don’t know the brand of the first yarn I bought, but I do remember the circumstances. When I arrived at Bryn Mawr College in 1962, it seemed that everyone was knitting. The girl across the hall sold yarn as her on-campus job. She offered to teach how to knit along with a purchase. So my friend and I bought gorgeous mohair yarn and learned to knit our first pullover sweater. Mine was a vivid blue and Carol’s a stunning pink. We finished them during the first semester final exams.
I find much inspiration and enjoyment in your newsletter.
Hmmm hope your stash size is at least a triple D.
No idea the first yarn I bought as it was in the 60″s — did we even have brands back then? In college I did go to the local yarn shop in Wellesley Ma and purchase burgandy mohair for a sweater. They gave you a mimeographed copy of the pattern with blanks where they filled in #’s for the size you were making.
Of course I had no idea of guage and ran on of yarn!
The first yarn I remember choosing myself was Plymouth Encore, for a cardigan. My dear, lovely mother loved that cardigan. She wore it proudly for many years.
I have been knitting since I was eight years old. It has carried me through many highs and lows. Knitting has also brought me many friends, both here and abroad.
I have followed your blog for many years. It is like having a conversation with good friends.
Here’s to many years of success!
Thank you, Rhonda, for the good wishes. We’re grateful that you’ve stuck with us all this time!
I am pretty sure it was Red Heart Super Saver.
Red Heart acrylic is all that was being sold in my area way back when. My first project was a candy cane scarf and hat gifted to my aunt.
Lily Sugar ‘N Cream yarn in 3 colors. Back in the early eighties when sherbet colors were all the rage. I’d just learned to crochet and made an afghan without a pattern that ended up too wide and too short. I hadn’t thought of that in years!
My first yarn is an extremely hard question. It had to be some sort of acrylic. It was 40+ years ago. (I have slept since then.)
My first yarn for knitting was Icelandic Lopi about 30 years ago.
Oh my, I can’t remember that far back! I’m sure it was high school, which was over 40 years ago. But I can remember the first “high end” yarn I bought, with fear and trembling: Alice Starmore’s Hebridean 3 ply in “Limpet” to make her pattern “St. Brigid” because, well…the name! I was tired of putting a lot of work into a project and then having it be a little off because of a poor yarn choice. I figured that such a beautiful project deserved the yarn that it was designed for.
The first yarn I bought for a project was Lion Brand- probably homespun. Not the best choice for a newbie but it led to a love of knitting and yarn that continues to today. 🙂
What a generous giveaway — thank you!
The first yarn i purchased was Caron dazzle aire, a blend of acrylic and nylon that promised to be “soft as bright happy dreams.” I know this because I still have two and a half skeins in my stash! It’s cream and pale cappuccino colored, and with it I crocheted an afghan for my best friend.
She loved it and actually still has it. — after years of sofa use by humans it became the favorite spot for her favorite cat, and now both cat and afghan have a place of honor in the sun on a kitchen chair.
Acrylic is like the twinkies of yarn —
As many others have noted, I don’t remember my first yarn, probably a skein of Red Heart from which I made shawls for my Barbies until I just couldn’t bear to knit another one. The first yarn that ensorcelled me entirely I do remember vividly: Dream in Color’s Blue Fish, from which I made my first pair of fingerless mitts using the magic loop method. Dream in Color yarn is my first love, but there have been so many flirtations and sweethearts since. Though it may not be a baseball field in a corn field, the principle still holds true for beautiful yarn: if you stash it, the project will come.
Your posts and snippets make every day exciting. I love the Euroflax mini skeins, used them for a version of S. West’s Unicorn Parallogram shawl,, made the colorwash scarf, and almost finished with the Eddy wrap. Versions of the Log Cabin up next!
Makes my day to hear this! So glad you’re having fun with these projects!
What a giveaway! and Clara’s book!…My first yarn purchase was a green acrylic 4-ply from Michaels that I re-learned the basics – ripping out til it was a worn out mess. I still have a little coin purse in it. But I never looked back and knitting and this community still sparks joy!
Plymouth Encore, for a sweater made during a “learn to knit class” when I was 19 years old. I’ve never seamed up the sweater…
Lamb’s Pride from Brown Sheep! I used it to felt my first project. It was a great way to hide all of my beginner mistakes. I still love it.
I bought some Plymouth Chunky in white because the nice local yarn store lady suggested it as good practice yarn. I made one little square (now I recognize was a swatch), got impatient, and went back to buy the pretty Punta Merisoft Handpainted green yarn to make myself a scarf.
Pink Red Heart – (I think) for a scarf for my boyfriend in the late 60’s – probably 1969.
Oy, I’m cranking the way-back machine a long way back to when I was around 10 or 11 when I went to our LYS, the Yarn Barn, and bought some cornflower blue Phentex yarn with my allowance money to crochet a pot-holder for my mom’s birthday. She had taught me to knit and crochet and I wanted to show her how my skills had progressed by making her something special. I was quite proud of the final product but the “yarn” was horrid to work with; so scritchy and vile to the touch. She loved it even though the first time she used it to remove a hot pot lid, it melted quite artfully back into it’s original form: a hard ball of blue petroleum product. 😉
A soft white acrylic yarn for a sweater for my baby. I also memorized a bootie pattern so that I could work on it in the hospital after giving birth. Didn’t want to burden myself with a pattern pamphlet. Oh, yes, but in my labor insanity at the last minute before leaving the house, I added Will and Ariel Durant’s History of the Western World to my suitcase. Had to have weighed #15. Of course, I didn’t knit or read while in the hospital. (48 years ago.)
Noro Kureyon! I taught myself to knit by making felted bags. This yarn is amazing!
I remember knitting a sweater when I was a teenager, sometime in the 70’s. The really amazing thing is that I remember the yarn, purple Tahki Donegal Tweed! so technically my mother bought it. More recently, when I started knitting again in 2011 the first yarn I bought was Lily Sugar and Cream.
Caron So Soft in a deep purple for a triangular poncho shortly after blowing through all the yarn given to me in a beginning knitting gift basket given to me by a friend of my father-in-law. Funny thing is I had never met the woman and was so taken aback by her generosity. Little did I know that kind of generosity runs deep in the knitting community.
Fist yarn Red Heart just to start. First project bought Rowan Chunky for the scarf pattern in Stitch n Bitch.
The first yarn I remember choosing by myself for my own project was a bright olive green wool/mohair boucle, don’t remember the brand, to make a cardigan. I was 14 or 15 and was at my grandparents for a long Thanksgiving weekend and was Bored Bored Bored so my Mom took me into town to find me something to do. We shopped at one of those good old department stores that had actual departments, including a yarn department with a yarn salesperson with the yarn encased under a glass counter, where we chose yarn, pattern and needles and paid the yarn salesperson who put our money in a little canister that went Poof! into a pneumatic tube to the Money Person upstairs and then appeared Poof! with our change. (This was the mid 1960’s, in a small town in Connecticut.) I had learned to knit when I was 7 or 8, had a little “How To Knit” booklet, and was really good at figuring out directions. I actually got all the pieces knit, but never (this is such a sad story!) got them sewn together – trying to do a backstitched seam with the boucle just wasn’t working. I’m not sure that mattress stitch was very well known back then. I wasn’t too sad at the time though; I had gotten loads of entertainment during the knitting. I don’t suppose there’s any doubt that I’m a Process Knitter, huh?
My first yarn purchase once I figured out there was more out there than Red Heart was alpaca from a local farm. I still have it – too sentimental to knit.
It was definitely a red heart acrylic variegated when I was first learning to knit in elementary school.
When I relearned how to knit in college it was peaches and cream cotton for dishcloths…it was all I could afford at the time.
The first yarn I bought was Caron Wintuk – I hate to admit how many years that was (just suffice it to say it was a very long time, lol) and my taste has definitely improved over time
Hm, it was a lot of thick acrylic. I made hats for my 6 sibs and my parents in a range of colors
My grandmother taught me to knit &crochet at a really young age!,(4or5),& she told me that Red Heart was a really good and inexpensive,(at that time!) yarn to use!;).
first purchased yarn in bags donated to church rummage sale. Yarn is not always labeled and often an unfinished project.
My mom took me to the LYS and I selected a couple of skeins of a gray and turquoise bouclé yarn for a scarf for me and my friend in high school. Wish I still had the scarf. I didn’t learn how to bind off until 15 years later.
My first yarn was Lion Brand Jiffy named for different cities. I love Tahki Classic Cotton yarn! Pick me!
My first yarn was Wool Ease Thick and Quick from Lion Brand. I made the most lopsided color block scarf.
How many others also had their very first yarn purchase be from Red Heart? I bought my first ever in 2007. It was in a wine color, and my very first project was a garter stitch scarf that got wider as it got longer. Accidentally, of course! Then I found I couldn’t even wear it because it was too itchy! Lol, it got donated to charity:-)
Thank you for this wonderful contest!
I started knitting when I was 12, so I really don’t remember what brand it was. But I do remember that it made a squeaky noise on my plastic lavender knitting needles so it must have been acrylic.
The very first yarn I bought was some green acrylic I bought at the grocery store to learn to knit with while I waited for my order from the yarn store. The real first yarn was that order, a sweater quantity of Plymouth Galway in natural to make a classic Irish Fisherman’s cable sweater as my first project.
Blue, I think something acrylic. In high school I made a scarf for my boyfriend. Too long, too wide, but made from the heart. I probably picked up the wool in a dime store. I don’t think there were any yarn shops in my town.
The very first yarn I ever purchased was Lion Brand Wool Ease in a heathered blue. I didn’t know you could buy yarn at stores besides Michael’s, or that yarn came in different thicknesses. My first “real” yarn was a random assortment purchased at a LYS sidewalk sale: Paternayarn rug yarn, nubby Classic Elite novelty cotton, and an ecru laceweight cotton that is still in my stash!
The first yarn I ever bought came from a yarn factory in Germany. I was living there as a brand new wife to a US soldier and his sergeant’s German wife offered to teach me how to knit. It was a bright red very itchy wool-acrylic blend and I made a sweater for my husband out of it. Lovely man that he was, he wore it for years.
Murphy’s Wintuk yarn. I made a popcorn bedspread that took me 3 years to make, and I used it regularly for about 35 years. What a durable yarn. Can’t say much about it’s softness though.
Something green and acrylic from Michael’s. I knit a ribbed scarf during my kids’ swimming lessons. The obsession began then.
Lion Brand Wool Ease with awful straight metal knitting needles attempting my first scarf. I abandoned that project and needles when I discovered wool yarn and bamboo circulars. This was about 15 years ago at this point!
It’s impressive how well edited your stashes both are in terms of size and yarns! I just moved and my husband was exposed to the yarn hiding under the bed, behind the bed, and under the sofa. Needless to say, I’m on a yarn diet now.
Tip . . . of . . . the iceberg . . .
We are trying desperately to look like we’re normal people . . .
Red Heart acrylic yarn is what I started with 30+ years ago. Now, after a 25 year pause while I raised my children and worked, I am retired & excited to resurrect a long lost love of knitting! How generous of you to share your personal stash!
Lion Brand! I made a hat for my daughter.
My first yarn purchase was a respectable Lily Sugar and Cream dishcloth cotton, which with I made my first scarf circa 2010.
After reading the book, I’m not [O.K., less) ashamed to say that it was orange acrylic worsted that was made into a lumpy scarf for one of my brothers.
I started crocheting when I was 17 because my mom did it and I just took one of her books. I bought cotton thread at first but I went on to buy Red Heart Super Saver. That was the only brand I could find in the stores! Then Caron wad introduced! Yarn was so limited (and still is) back in my country (Puerto Rico) that I need to go see and feel different yarns when I’ve been to different places, even if I don’t buy any! (Sad!!!) I love knowing there are so many exquisite yarns out there!
The first yarn I ever used was the nameless acrylic that came with the Klutz “Learn To Knit” kit when I was 12. But after that, handmaiden seasilk. It was quite the jump in quality.
Red Heart AcrylicK for a knitted octopus. About age 11. Fun project. Not so fun yarn, but it was all that was available.
Love some of the colors in your stash give aways. Thank you for the contest!
Hi Ann and Kay, Thanks for asking!
The first yarn I ever bought was when I was 15 and splurged on a skein of Red Heart yarn at our local Woolsworth store in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. My mom (who just recently passed away at the age of 90) was in the process of teaching me how to knit. My first project? I scarf in garter stitch. I remember vividly using her long, metal, mint-green knitting needles. She had a pliable plastic case that held them all. I could not wait to purchase yarn for my project. I bought a blue acrylic yarn that served me well as I learned the loops and swirls of my first project.
Thank you for offering this stash-buster contest, Ann and Kay! You and your blog is a bright spot in my life. My warm appreciation to you both. Chris Cormier Hayes
All these yarns are beautiful and perfect! My first purchase was at a Fields! I do believe it was a Red Heart big ball.
I don’t remember the brand but the yarn itself is indelibly etched into my memory – a giant ball of white fluffy mohair stuff (undoubtedly not the real thing as it was as cheap as chips), which was made into at least two and a half hats. And then my sister made the leftovers into a frankenscarf together with some other unspecified yarn and unsuitably sized needles. Great fun and my gateway into knitting.
Red Heart acrylic in red and black. I knit it into a wide striped scarf and as my tension eased up it went from about 4 inches wide on one end to 8 inches wide on the other end. Needless to say, I was hooked!
I learned to knit in the ’60s. The first yarn I bought for myself was a pale pink acrylic sportweight by Spinnerin. It grew increasingly gray as I ripped and reknit the same square. The yarn is long gone, but the instruction booklet was the first addition to my shelf (now shelves) of knitting publications.
Hmmm…it was almost 60 years ago! Most likely Red Heart acrylic bought at Woolworth’s in bright red (my grandma’s favorite color) for a garter-stitch scarf (I didn’t know how to purl). I still remember the uneven edge caused by unintentionally added stitches, but my grandma used it anyway. (Haven’t thought about that for years–thanks for triggering the memory.)
My first yarn purchase was for a sweater that I knit for myself when I was in high school. It came from Woolworth’s and was chocolate Brown. I am wearing it in my senior picture. I wore it throughout college and beyond until the elbows finally gave out.
Cool contest! Since I can’t recall the first yarn I ever bought – here’s one used in one of the first projects I posted on Ravelry: it’s FOXY by Plymouth Yarn. Too much fun.
I am not quite sure which was the first yarn was, but one early one was sugar and cream cotton yarn.
Love this contest! My first yarn that I knit with (and I guess technically bought) was a Crazy Sexy Wool kit from Wool and the Gang. My office had a knitting party a few years ago and I decided that was the day I would try it out! I have been knitting almost daily ever since. The first yarn I went into a store and picked out was Berroco Vintage, which I still use often to this day. Congrats to whomever wins!
The first thing I ever knit was a Lopi Icelandic sweater so I bought the yarn for that. It was quite an investment since I had no idea how to knit when I bought it!
I don’t remember if I purchased it or not – I get the feeling it was from my grandmother’s stash – but the first yarn I remember knitting with was a pale pink wool (or wool-blend) aran yarn and I was knitting a very thick and wide scarf with it in the early 2000’s. Goodness knows what happened to that project.
Red Heart Acrylic to make handwarmers for my family!
The first yarn I ever bought was red heart acrylic with which I crocheted a blanket in my college colors (Let’s Go Syracuse!). I still have and use the blanket.
Hi ladies, What a fun contest! The first yarn I ever bought for my first “attempt” at knitting was Lion Brand Chenille. I have since not purchased another chenille…
My first yarn purchase was Malabrigo worsted and Noro Silk Garden!
My first purchased yarn was a grocery store buy. I don’t know the brand. It was like a thread with pretty roving wrapped around it? It was impossible to learn to knit on, and I totally did not pick up the technique from that skein. Years later, my mom finished it into a scarf for me. 🙂
I am not sure of the identity of the first yarn that I bought myself. One possibility is the wool with which I made a fisherman knit sweater which might have been a Spinnerin Yarn or perhaps Brunswick Germantown (?) However, perhaps first I bought the yarn with which I thought I would knit a blanket but instead knit a number of baby sweaters when I realized I would never finish the blanket. I think the yarn was Bernat Berella. Luckily I only bought 1/2 of the yarn for the blanket which was to be strips of purple and strips of white. I had purchased the purple yarn which made lovely toddler/baby sweaters.
My first real yarn purchase was a skein of green-blue Noro for my first hat-rolled brim because I used to be afraid to purl! It was not long after my parent’s neighbor taught me to knit. I was a graduate student and thought knitting would be a good stress reliever. It was and is.
Rowan Big Wool. I knit a scarf on too-small needles and it turned out like stiff cardboard!!
My grandmother was from Sweden and refused to speak English and refused to teach me Swedish, but at the age of 10 she taught me to knit socks using 4 tiny double pointed needles and some red Red Heart yarn. It was a bonding experience! (I’m already signed up for Snippets)
The first yarn that I bought was Berroco chinchilla in a green color that resulted in the finished project being referred to as my Pot shawl.
Madelintosh light in raspberry
Probably a stash of acrylic ends at a garage sale! I feel like I’ve always owned yarn.
This is so much fun. As far as I can remember it was acrylic yarn to make a blanket for my stuffed bunny Peter. I bought it at Woolworth’s with my Grandmother who taught me to crochet. I was 7 and now am 53 so you can only imagine the quality of my dollar or two worth of yarn.
I think my first yarn purchase was probably also red heart from Wal-Mart. I learned to knit at age 6 and knitted with hand-me-down yarns until high school.
Cascade 220 to knit a sweater which was my first knitting project.
Two skeins of hand-dyed Andes, in the green-gold colorway #5, which I bought in 2010. It was discontinued, so I got the last two skeins in the store for under $10, which seemed about right for a rank beginner. I made a garter stitch scarf, of course, and I remember being so entranced by the color shifts that I kept going until the thing was seven feet long. I added fringe on both ends and still had enough yardage left to make matching hand-warmers, which were a big step up in my skill set. My first ribbing, circular knitting, and even a thumb gusset. Also, my first color pooling. Wild times!
Caron one pound. I’m still using bits and pieces to teach new knitters!
I really don’t remember the first icky acrylic yarn I bought. But I do remember buying cascade fingering and noro on my first trip to the local yarn shop. It’s been a rabbit hole since! Thanks for the chance to win your awesome stash!
I taught myself to knit…I started by buying my first yarn…Cascade 200.. I then made felted bags because the patterns taught me everything …in the round, picking up stitches, increase, decrease, binding off, I-cord, etc. Then I felted the heck out of it…I had a bag that looked great, I could use, and hid all my mistakes!
The first yarn I ever bought was Ann inexpensive acrylic at Kmart when I was 12. It may have been Red Heart, or maybe Kmart’s own store brand. I bought a crew in various fall colors . I also bought a book of instructions on how to knit. I used it to make my grandmother an Afghan. It was a bit of a stretch for a first project but I was very proud of it especially since I had to use bobbins to hold the colored yarn .
I believe it was acrylic ref heart yarn, bought with my grandmother when she taught me to crochet at age 11. I taught myself to knit at 13, and now rarely crochet, but when I do , I think of my grandma Betty.
Red heart acrylic.
Thank god I don’t remember what my first yarn was, because the last thing I need is more stash! 😉
I don’t remember the brand, but I do remember the color (lime-y olive) and the LYS owner taking the time to help me select something that wouldn’t split and that would stand up to a lot of frogging and re-knitting “so there will be less swearing.” Ha ha! There was still swearing. Shout out to Lucy, the first owner of Mind’s Eye Yarns in Cambridge, MA!
First yarn I remember buying: 4 skeins of Rowanspun in two colors. Purchased because they looked lovely and they were on sale.
The first yarn i ever gave myself was Shetland. I was so proud of making a scotish sweater for myself. When i wore it to a family party, my Aunt said I twisted the yarn. Still, it was warm and kept my pregnant belly very safe.
First yarn was some deep lavender cotton wool for a boat neck raglan I knit for myself. Using EZ’s method of course! I was in high school, 40-something years ago
Red Heart Super Saver in Oatmeal. I called it Aran Fleck to make it seem less synthetic.
Cascade 220 – a sweater’s worth of HOT pink, I was very ambitious 🙂
I think it was Caron Simply Soft.
1962 , when I was 9 years old, from the Ben Franklin store in Attica NY, purchased Red Heart yarn, #8 needles and a teach yourself to knit pamphlet . I knit 7 scarves for my family for Christmas.
Taught myself to crochet in 2000 and relearned to knit in 2005. Now , if I sits, I knits…LOL!
Encore
I hope this counts…I didn’t buy it but borrowed it from my mothers stash. It was baby wool yarn and I knit a layette for my doll.. I must have been around 8 and every night the knitting fairy came and fixed all my mistakes and knit a few rows. It was a my first experience with someone’s stash and the knitting fairy. At 80 I continue to be blessed with both.
I think it was Lion Brand Wool-Ease, thick n’ quick, maybe in an oatmeal colorway. I’m pretty sure it was used to make some weird oversized tube socks which I probably forced on my sisters as a Christmas present. 🙂
I remember going to The Bay or Woodward’s with my mom and buying bags and bags of Baycrest or Woodsonia acrylic yarn on sale. Years later, I bought skeins of wool from Hill’s to make a granny square blanket; browns, greens, oranges, colours I never even wore. Made maybe a dozen squares and I think it was my first UFO of many.
I think the first yarn I bought was fun fur, which makes many fiber snobs (myself included) cringe now. But what can I say? It was in 2005, and I had very little spending money, being ninth grade. It was trendy and the price was right.
First yarn I ever bought: Cascade 220, at Shuttles Spindles Skeins in Boulder CO, where Maggie then taught me to knit a hat. Then, same yarn, same shop, Roxanne taught me to knit my stranded first sweater. This was early 1990’s. I’ve knit lots of stranded hats for lots of snowboarders since then!
Crystal Palace Merino Frappe – bought on EBay binging late at night when I first started knitting in the late nineties
Redheart yarn red for scarf
Like so many commenters, I’m sure my first yarn was Red Heart Acrylic. I was a crocheter before I was a knitter, and I think I crocheted a Barbie blanket. I then moved pretty quickly to granny squares. My first knitting yarn was Caron Simply Soft.
It was Red Heart acrylic, purchased at some point in the 1970s at a KMart. I started trying to knit when I was in grade school. My dolls had a lot of wonky, chunky garments!
I’m sure it was Red Heart when I was a kiddo. As an adult for my first sweater: Malibrigo Rios.
Multiple balls of celadon baby alpaca (years ago) for a blanket that never happened. The yarn is still waiting for the perfect project.
My first yarn was in a learn to knit kit. Don’t remember what brand but it was different shades of blue. I was in my early 20’s and I taught myself. I only did that one project and didn’t knit again for 18 years. I just picked it back up again last year. And now I just found out I’m gonna have my first baby so I’ve got a lot of knitting to do in the next 9 months!
Red Heart Acryllic
Bernat bulky in blue for a scarf. Still have the scarf somewhere…
I think it was Red Heart. I taught myself from a book and made a hat.
My first yarn purchase was probably some acrylic stuff back in the 80’s. My first yarn purchase for the purpose of actual knitting was 100% cotton, the dishcloth variety. I still have quite a bit …
Some Manis, Clasica Wool, in Bramble. I had just learned in a class, it was my first yarn I bought for my first project. Still my favorite scarf!!
It was a Lions brand multi color yarn
My first yarn was a bulky weight blue wool (?) for the knitting class my mom signed me up for when I was 10! No idea what the name of it was, but since the class was at a yarn store, I just bought whatever they handed me. The Red Heart acrylic came later, in high school, when I made Doctor Who scarves for all my friends.
First yarn ever bought: Red Heart acrylic in a baby pastel variegated colorway when I was five. First yarn for a knitting project: a buttload of tahki cotton classic for a log cabin fest that continues to this day! I also bought a huge mess of cotton classic to make a big old mitered square blanket, and got so excited I emailed Kay to tell her about it. She promptly replied with loving words of affirmation and encouragement. This is over ten years ago, when I first started knitting. God bless Kay! I’d just die to have a mess of her leftover juicies and blahs. It would be strangely and beautifully meaningful to me.
I think it was black and white acrylic yarn…1972. My grandmother and her mother (my great grandmother) fought over who would teach me (age 10) how to knit. They were 62 and 82 at the time. They each claimed their own technique was superior. My mother just sat back and enjoyed the show!
The first yarn that I purchased was probably Candide Yarn before it was acquired by Reynolds in the heavy worsted weight to make the Portuguese fisherman sweater.
I have to leave a comment, because the first ever yarn I purchased was Tahki Cotton Classic, which is in the photo above. I bought a TON of it between 1995 and 1998, making a crocheted granny square blanket and two baby blankets. I used up almost all of it. The remaining bits were used to make some super cute wash cloths.
Then I discovered WOOL. I still love that Tahki, but I am hooked on wool and alpaca now.
I have a stash of yarn that fills a medium sized closet, not a walk-in, but close.
The last time my family moved, I was so self conscious of the size of my yarn stash, I labelled the yarn boxes under aliases. Like “Christmas Table Linens” and ” picnic blankets” so the moving men and my family would not confront me about my habit.
I once had a nightmare, during the time when we were looking for am home to purchase, that the bank said we were not qualified for a mortgage. So, in my dream, my husband said “That’s OK, she’s got enough yarn, we can just buy a vacant lot and she can knit us a house.”
Red heart acrylic in rainbow for my newly-acquired mushroom spool knitter. I was 5 or 6 and the mushroom made me feel like a smurf and creating those cords felt like magic.
Red Heart purchased at Zayre’s. Made a sweater for my father in law that ended up large enough for 3 average humans. Swatch, kids…the struggle is real. ☺
I’m not sure the yarn but the project was a pair of slippers that my grandmother helped me make while she lived with us for a bit when I was 9. She moved out before they got finished so only one ever got made!
The first yarn I bought was from a local yarn shop. I didn’t even know how to knit at the time. I just happened to investigate a local yarn shop. I loved the yarns so much that I bought a few skeins. I found a “how to knit” book in a box store and taught myself how to knit.
The first yarn I remember buying was some gnarly Sari Silk yarn back in college (remember that stuff?). I bought it in Asheville, NC and made a bag out of it that I carried for years. I loved the idea of yarn made from something so precious and recycled, but gosh that stuff was a mess to work with and shed everywhere!
Sugar and cream. Dish cloth taught by my momma.
Luckily it was actually 100% wool, but part of a Learn To Knit Kit that had a small book with directions/small project ideas, wooden, straight needles and a small skein of tonal blue wool–all pre-packed in a box. Then when I finally took a lesson at a LYS the instructor picked out a white wool. And when I bought my first yarn for a project it was a medium purple, probably Debbie Bliss, to make DD a scarf. 🙂 Thanks for the stash & book giveaway!
I went big and bold for my first ever knitting project. Lion brand big and chunky wool ease in a woody brown that knitted up on 15 needles into a cropped length sweater that had WAY too long sleeves!
My first yarn was a local one – from Briggs & Little in New Brunswick. In fact that’s one reason I started knitting, was to support local and use locally produced wool. We can’t produce cotton here in Atlantic Canada, but we certainly have wool. I’ve been knitting for only three years now, and have started to accumulate a stash of B&L. Would love to branch out and experiment with your yarns! And don’t worry, I have a friend in NH! Thanks for the contest.
The first yarn I ever bought was a red cotton to make a cabled vest for my new husband. I finished it and was pleased with the result. He never even tried it on. I’m no longer married to him but still happily knitting.
WOW! The first yarn I bought for myself was a Madeline Tosh in colorway golden hickory. I just thought it was so stinking lovely. And it’s so appropriate for this contest bc I bought one skein thinking it would make a pretty baby sweater for a little one growing in my belly. Or maybe a pair of little pants… or… or… Weeeellll, that was many years ago. When I picked my needles back up last Fall I looked through my extremely modest stash for inspiration. This was the only skein that was not a leftover (that’s how small it is!). And since I was still so in love with it, but didn’t have a baby little enough to knit that little sweater for, I finally knit it up as a pretty little hat for myself!
I would’ve bought my first yarn about 15 years ago. My hairdresser was on a street where I had to walk past this LYS. Month after month I passed this window, I swear the yarn was literally calling to me. I didn’t know how to knit, & didn’t know anyone who knit. So one day, I walked into this shop and asked the owner how I could learn to knit. She handed me a book, “Teach yourself to knit,” a ball of yarn, some acrylic blend, that was very easy to work with, and a pair of needles. The rest is history. I now spend part of everyday knitting. It’s where I find my happy place.
I love reading your Snippets newsletter every week, and would be overjoyed to be the recipient of part of your “culled” stashes.
I must guess that the first yarn I bought was an acrylic from a Ben Franklin store, about 40 years ago!
My first skein was a jo-ann crafts purchase, if I remember correctly it was Lion Brand yarn to make a scarf.
Red Heart…I know but I was young and naive.
Red Heart, a Christmas gift from my Mom. My Grandmother taught me to knit when I was 8 and my Mom taught me to crochet when I was 9 (she hated knitting).
I love getting the MDK snippets/newsletter. First actual purchase back in ’84 was Peer Gynt, ordered from Norway! 2 friends and I went together and ordered 6 bags of 10–in different colors, more than three Norwegian sweaters’ worth! We had to wait a month or six weeks for the order to arrive on our doorstep in WI.
My first yarn was probably Red Heart – for a afghan I helped make when I was a Brownie back in the 60’s. I bought some lovely yarn in my mid-20s to make a sweater for my sister in law (that husband is gone now, but the sweater lives on). When I got back into knitting about 10 years ago, I bought a lot of Lion Brand Homespun for prayer shawls – then moved on to a multitude of sock yarns, Peaches and Creme for washcloths, fabulous finds at Maryland Sheep & Wool and other festivals – so many hanks to fondle and dreams to knit and crochet!
Red Heart yarn. My mom taught my sisters and I how to crochet a pair of slippers.
Lion Heart tweed of some sort to make a pitiful black scarf.
Would so love to enter this competition but live in Australia so I guess that counts me out . Very disappointed but just want you to know I love Snippets & look forward to it each week. My first wool as we call it here in Oz was Patons.
Lion Brand Fisherman’s wool at a yarn store in Jackson, MS. It was walking distance from my MIL’s house, and I didn’t have car, and I was bored, and I’d always wanted to learn to knit, and there was nothing good on tv, and, well, there you go.
Lion Brand Homespun to try to learn to crochet years ago. It didn’t work so well.
The first yarn I ever bought was acrylic in the 60’s when we all had a fascination with “easy-care”, Tang was just so cool, and I made Betty Crocker cake mixes with my mom. The yarn was probably Red Heart because that’s what my grandmother used who taught me to knit and crochet.
Ah…my first yarn purchase was after I taught myself to knit at 9 years old, from a craft magazine (Stitch By Stitch, FTW!) I either asked my mother to order for me or stealth ordered myself when she was at work. (This was back when you saw commercials with an 800# to call, on television.) The yarn was probably a Red Heart acrylic from the five-and-dime. I still have my first pair or Susan Bates size 3 needles *long* straights (over 30 years old!) which were the wrong size for worsted weight yarn. As an adult, when I returned to knitting from a short-lived 2nd run in teenage-hood, I bought Cascade 220. I dipped into a small neighborhood shop of knickknacks and flotsam-and-jetsam, and got a couple of skeins–a lovely, sunny yellow the color of good egg yolks and a shade of orange the color of a child’s crayon drawing of “sunrays”,,,& I still own both of them, albeit, one as an actual FO–originally a hat, then frogged for a scarf. Since then, I’ve purchased “good” and “bad” yarn, for projects or because on sale or because I fell in love. I love the idea of having a stash to help inspire a project. Endless inspiration!
When I first was learning knitting and crochet I inherited the family yarn scrap collection – all acrylic. I was determined to make a blanket and needed more so I bought more acrylic yarn to finish the crazy stripey thing off!
Sugar and cream in lime green from Michaels, about four years ago. My 6 and a half year old daughter wanted to learn after watching our church’s group of charity knitting grandmothers, so I learned how to knit, too, to be able to help her. We are both still at it and so glad to be part of the knitting community!
Red Heart for mittens. I think I was 9?
A variegated teal/tan acrylic. My first skein of “real” yarn is a gorgeous hand dyed pink and green silk which is still part of my stash, waiting for the perfect project to need it!
Red Heart yarn. I was 8 when my Mom taught me to knit and I made slippers for everyone I knew!
It was Bernat worsted that became a very simple shrug. Before that I used yarn from my mother’s stash.
My first self-purchased yarn must have been Red Heart, and it was surely used for a plastic canvas project. My first yarn to knit was I Love This Yarn.
Natural colored Lopi. I was in college in Connecticut in the 1990s. I had a page out of a ladies magazine, with a “simple” child’s mitten pattern. (This is all deeply uncool, right?) It is not an obvious first yarn, or pattern choice, but it worked out mostly – I did the increases wrong on the first mitten (yarn overs leaving eyelets) and they don’t really fit. But I still have them.
The first yarn I ever bought was a lime green fluffy yarn from Michaels. I have no idea what the brand was or WHY I bought it. It was incredibly soft but a huge pain to knit with. It split constantly and the fluff kept getting caught in other stitches. It was probably one of the reasons I didn’t pick up knitting on the first go!
Like many others, my first yarn was Red Heart. I learned to crochet years before I learned to knit, and every year for summer vacation I’d ask my parents to get me a new skein to make something. I never actually made anything worthwhile and never figured out how to follow crochet instructions (might have had something to do with the fact that I’ve never heard of gauge back then) and I still can’t count well when I crochet. I’m pleased to say that I’m now a much better knitter than I ever was a crocheter.
I learned to knit from my mom at age 10 and, she took me to Kmart (lol ) yes I am a 70s kid. There I got my first fix of the yarn world. It was red heart. And it was purple and I made some gloves. Loved every moment of it still do and always will!
Peaches and cream in a big cone! I might still have some of it hiding in a rubber maid.
The name of the yarn is gone, must have been 1962 or so, but the color was teal and it had mohair mixed in. I made a raglan cardigan under the tutelage (I practically moved in) of a neighbor. That mohair was just the ticket, covered a lot of mistakes.
My first yarn purchase was in 1967 when I was pregnant with my first baby. I’m oretty sure it was an acrylic yarn from Shopper’s City to make my first baby layette. Just followed the instructions in a learn to knit book.
I just signed up for Snippets about a month ago and I love it.
I believe that the first yarn I bought was Lamb’s Pride and I bought it in Northampton MA in 1997. However, I learned to crochet from my Nan who let me use some of her acrylic from her stash which she kept in a cardboard box.
A yarn brand named “kid”, but I don’t remember details. I tried to knit a vest for my boyfriend (yes he’s now my husband), but didn’t finish it. After 10 years, I read about Waldford education and try to crochet again. Then Knitting and more knitting.
Encore Worsted in Hot Pink. I made mittens, my first project n knitting class.
I’m looking forward to reading the book.
My sister tried to teach me to crochet but it wasn’t until my daughters and I tried finger knitting with Lion Brand yarn that 2 of us were able to get into knitting.
First yarn I ever purchased to knit with (yes knit with), was Caron Simply Soft acrylic. 🙂
It was Lion Brand Homespun and it was the nightmare its reputation implies. It put me off knitting for three years.
Oh my, I can’t remember! I also have a few containers of lovingly selected yarns just waiting for time and inspiration!
Very first yarn was a royal blue for a first project: a felted purse– project led and class taught by my friend Jenny. I was then hooked as the saying goes. I love the process of picking out yarn, and for my first solo project, I purchased yarn and pattern from Carol Sunday Knits. The color way is called Petal and it’s fingering weight. It made a lovely scarf that I still have.
I’m sure I knit and crocheted from my mom’s stash for many years. The first yarn I remember buying was a bright white cotton called Gloucester, which I pronounced with too many syllables until corrected by a nice fellow knitter. I made an awesome sweater that I wish I still had the pattern for.
The first yarn I ever bought was for my first scarf, knitted for my husband. It was encore worsted in an ombré of deep green, black, and purple. Those are some lovely prizes you’re giving away!
Ps I’d rather tell my bra size, waist circumference and weight than talk to a non Knitter about the size of my stash.
Penguin yarn. Purchased at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, NC back when my grandfather was alive. Great memory — thanks for jogging it! Still have the blanket made with it.
Dale heilo for my first project, a steeked dale of Norway sweater! Thanks for the destash!
First yarn ever? As a “real knitter” it was Socks that Rock…a gorgeous skein!!!
The first time I had yarn of my own, instead of playing around with my Mom’s left overs, was during high school. I don’t remember the brand but it was a synthetic fuzzy brown. I knit a cardigan out of it, wore it once or twice until irvstretched and grew out of shape. I wish I had a picture of it, b cause I’m curious about what it actually looked like.
My memory does stretch back the 53 years to when I learned to crochet with Mom’s yarn, but as to the first purchase I made with my own money? Egads! Being a preteen/teen male crocheter in the 60/70s, I usually shopped for yarn only with Mom, which had the added benefit of her picking up the tab a lot. I do remember that I bought some red and black thick/thin for a sweater from Columbia Minerva book 781 “SWEATERS FOR MEN To Crochet and Knit” copyright 1972, but I don’t remember the brand, I think it was an indie (did we have indies in the 70s?). I wish I still had that sweater, but even more I wish I still had the body that sweater fit. I still have about 27 oz of a green/blue/white from the same shop, which is now long gone. Hope that’s good enough of a memory to get me into the drawing, and keep me out of the home!
The first yarn I can remember buying myself (my mom shared her stash with me when I was younger!) was from Peace Fleece – two skeins of their extra-woolly, worsted weight in hot pink (maybe called Perestroika pink?) and bright yellow, inspired by the colors in my favorite swatch watch, straight out of the 80s. Both colors had tweedy flecks of purple and green in them, too – I loved that yarn! Must’ve ordered it by mail, since online shopping was still a futuristic dream … how things have changed! If I’m remembering right, I made a pair of colorwork mittens, then used up most of the rest on some heavy-duty slipper socks. Actually, I believe I do have just a small ball of the pink left in my jar of odd yarn balls. Great contest – thanks for the chance to win!
I bought a huge skein of green/khaki boucle yarn in a shop in New Orleans French Quarter as a souvenir of a trip there. Still haven’t made anything with it — and i got it 30+ years ago…
I’m trying to remember what was my first yarn purchase-I don’t remember the first ones, they seem just to appear, just like my stash. My mother helped me to “acquire” my early skeins. She is now asking what is good sock yarn so she knows what to look for in her thrifting adventures-she wants some socks. Oh where is that yarn, is it in that bin or in the one in storage? You know you need to wrangle them and put them into their place, into my project bag when they are ready to be knitted.:)
Zitron Trekking Pro Natura in 2013. And funny enough, it is still in my stash!
My first yarn: Red Heart fingering weight yarn in a baby pink, sparkly variety. We lived on Guam. I had a toddler and was pregnant with our twin boys when the US Navy decided that my pregnancy was too much for Guam and were going to ship us back to the States – to Virginia Beach, in Winter. I needed to learn to knit and fast! My toddler needed a hat, scarf, and mittens. I learned to knit from The Yarn Girls’ Guide and, because there were extremely limited knitting supplies on that equatorial island, on my husband’s Philips-head screwdrivers. Many four-letter words were dropped before my shipment of needles came in! But the knitting got learnt, and she looked adorable. She’s 16 now, and I’m still knitting for her here in Idaho. What a nice trip down memory lane!
The first yarn that I purchased EVER was many. many years ago when I was taking a knitting class with my Mom when I was a kid,it was probably Red Heart. Upon my re-entry to knitting as an adult I purchased a funky ladder yarn from ICE.
Greetings! The first yarn that I purchased when I ‘returned’ to knitting several years ago was Noro Silk Garden. I dithered over a wonderful array of yarns at my local yarn shop and ultimately decided to go with the most colorful yarn there, i.e., Noro. My comment about knitting relates to my mother, who was, in fact, not a knitter. She did beautiful needlepoint. But she taught me never to take up any hand project without first washing my hands. This is now a ritual for me each day before I pick up my knitting project. I treat myself to little luxury soaps just for this purpose. I love having clean wonderfully scented hands when I begin; but most of all I enjoy a quiet moment with my mother (sadly, no longer living).
My first yarn was purchased from Zayres (discount store) in 1984 . It was called Dazzle-aire by Caron I believe. I had just found out I was expecting our first baby and was making a baby blanket. Debbie Jarmusik
A yellow cotton to make a dish cloth in 1988. Learned how to knit at Boscovs dept store in an adult ed class. At 22 I was tje youngest knitter taking a class with a bunch of moms whose children went back to school.
As a child the first yarn I bought was a big skein of Red Heart that I crocheted(Mom believed and still does that crochet is easier for her to teach to little ones) into doll everything-blankets, dresses, tents, etc.
If I am fortunate enough to win, my prize willbe gifted to my 14yo niece who is turning out to be a creative fiber artist!
The first yarn I ever bought was a HUGE skein of Red Heart Super Saver yarn in a light grey. The first skein of yarn I learned how to knit on was a remnant multi-color skein of Red Heart from my grandmother’s stash I inherited when she passed on (she knew how to knit but never got around to teaching me; I always wanted to learn how to knit and when she passed, it was an incentive for me to get myself motivated to do so in remembrance of her. I learned how to knit using her remnant stash).
Your snippets is chock full of everything I want to read and enjoy so thank you. My first yarn was a variegated in primary colors made by Red Heart. I was 11 and made headbands for my friends for Christmas.
Sayelle ombre acrylic in oranges and browns in 1969. I knit a vest for my first boyfriend.
I had been knitting for a long time, but the first yarn I bought with my own allowance as a little girl, was a skein of Columbia Minerva wool yarn so Mom could teach me to make my first pair of mittens. Her yarn just wasn’t bright enough for me! I am a huge fan of Snippets.
My first ball of yarn was 45 years ago when I taught myself to knit by knitting a vest. I am sure it was an acrylic. I don’t remember the brand but the color was gold and the vest had some cables. It came out perfect (I’ve had lots of disasters since then) and I wore that vest for many years. I wish I still had it. Life lesson learned- NEVER get rid of hand knitted items!
My first “real” yarn purchase was when I was interning in 1982, in St. Paul Minnesota. I believe the yarn shop was Nimble Fingers, and I don’t know the brand or content, but it was for an offwhite sweater, with a faire isle yoke!! That’s what I learned to knit with!! 😀 I am a subscriber!!
Red Heart pink yarn to knit a baby hat to earn a Girl Scout badge. I was about 10 years old and my mother taught me the garter stitch.
I believe that it was a Reynolds yarn for my first sweater! I had bought a Passap Knitting Machine and then decided that I needed to learn how to hand knit first.
I’m sure my first yarn was inexpensive acrylic when I was a child many years ago. But I was more into crochet at that time. My first “grown up” yarn was a dark brown wool, with no brand name, that was part of a kit I found at the National World War One museum in Kansas City. Knitting that scarf 2 years or so ago got me back to crafting, particularly knitting, and now every spare moment I can find I have a project in my hands.
Hmm, hit return too fast before I finished typing my name. Thanks for the contest, and thanks for “Snippets” which I love to read on Saturday morning while drinking my tea and planning my day.
It was either Auracania cotton for a blanket for my then six month old, or Cascade 220 to practice knitting continental. Thanks for everything you do! What a fun giveaway!
Cascade 220 for a class at our lys. It ended up really ugly, but I loved the process.
A purple acrylic and wool yarn to knit a cardigan with. I was so proud that it was ‘good quality’ because it contained 25 % wool. Oh how things have now changed. I do still wear the cardi, sometimes, if there’s nothing more gorgeous around!
As second oldest of 8, I was often left in charge of the little ones. My mother “paid” me with a skein of wool, and it was always Zellers worsted weight – not sure of the name of their brand. I’m thinking it was manufactured by what was known then as Patons and Baldwin. (Zellers was a chain of Canadian department stores, very much like Woolworths). Naturally when it was my turn to buy my first skein, it was good old Zellers worsted. I bought navy blue, knit a fairly respectable pullover which I wore for years. I was 13.
Candide in natural and red for the first sweater I knit…sadly it never fit….wrong gauge! Who knew!
Red Heart was the first, for a bookmark I made when I taught myself to knit.
The first yarn I ever bought was some rust colored , probably acrylic, to knit a sweater for my boyfriend. Despite the fact that he could not get it over his head because of my too tight bind off, we’ve been married 46 years.
Lion brand to make a keyhole scarf in my young adult years. Love getting up on Saturday morning to read the MDK snippets.
Red Heart acrylic in many colors plus lots of black for the edging to make a granny square afghan (my first crochet afghan which I still have!). I love reading Snippets each week. Thanks!
My first yarn was SO-O long ago I don’t remember fiber and brand. I do know my first sweater was made with some fuzzy yellow stuff.
I was 7 years old when my au,t taught me how to knit. She started me off with some Red Heart acrylic yarn in a dark red. She had me happily knitting and purling away in no time! That was in 1960.
Amazing giveaway! My first yarn that I ever bought was a bernat cotton in Easter egg colors from hobby lobby. I crocheted the tightest blanket ever but the yarn was nice. My daughter still uses the blanket….
My first yarn was craft yarn from Joanns. My first hand dyed yarn forever changed me and my knitting. It was from fibrestory and was called koi pond; a lovely combo of aquas with a hint or orange. I made a beautiful cowl I still wear today!
Love a good stash! Have already signed up to, and so look forward to your newsletter. Will keep my fingers crossed! Thank you!
Stylecraft Special!!! I forgot to mention my first purchase as I was too excited.
A pure mohair in a deep blue the color of Paradise coloring pencils #13. This was 35 years ago so the brand has vanished from my memory. For a scarf for my then-boyfriend. Turned out to be the itchyest yarn ever. Apparently also a delicacy for moths. No physical vestige of this scarf remains but my then-boyfriend and I just celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary. 🙂
It was a beautiful blue wool from the LYS in my college town. When I first started knitting, I pulled every stitch tight. After about a foot, I loosened up, and the scarf’s width doubled. I had to go back to the yarn shop twice for more yarn. (Now I know that that is a clue that something is Not Right.) When I finished, the scarf was this too-short, too-wide, oddly-shaped monstrosity. What does one do with such a thing? Obvious – give it to your mother.
A year later, Mom saw me frogging a scarf after I’d dropped stitches and ended up with a hole in it while knitting in the movie theatre. (The obsession took hold quickly.) The following conversation ensued:
Mom: Oh, you know how to rip back and fix things now? Why don’t you do that for the scarf you made me?
Me: Don’t you like the scarf?
Mom: I love it. And think how much more I’ll love it when you spend even more time working on it.
Good call, Mom. I frogged the whole thing, re-knit it at a reasonable width, and had enough yarn left for fringe and a matching hat. Fifteen years on, she still wears them.
Brown Sheep worsted. Didn’t start knitting ‘till I was in my 40’s. Envy those that have knitted since childhood.
Don’t remember the brand of the yarn (50 years ago) but I made a fabulous heavily cabled olive green sweater for my brother who wouldn’t wear it, so I wore it happily for years until it practically dissolved.
If I remember correctly, it was Red Heart. I bought the yarn and a learn to knit book at the same time.
My first yarn was Plymouth Galway to make the Fiber Trends pumpkin hat for my son. 16ish years ago!
Cant remember, acrylic i am sure, right out of college. I lived in a city with a good selection of yarn stores but was too cheap/poor to buy their yarn. Now i live in a rural community with the closest yarn store an hour away. I dream of those stores now because 20 years later knitting has become A lifestyle for me (sounds better than obsession). I dream of a lys not only for the yarn selection but the community which is more important to me.
Red Heart Acrylic, the Yarn of Learning to Crochet Champions!
First year I remember buying was a pound of natural colored undyed yarn from a small yarn shop in Teaneck. NJ. I made a cabled sweater with it!
Mary maxim acrylic for a long sweater coat with cables. Don’t judge It was the late 70’S
So I knit as a young girl and am not sure what I made mittens with. But when I picked up needles again in earnest, I was knitting a Noro pattern wth Cascade 220.
You’re asking me to remember yarn from over 50 years ago when I can’t even recall what I had for dinner last night? Seriously, it was probably an awful acrylic that Mom bought to patiently teach me the craft that has become a lifetime obsession. This is a wonderful contest!
Hello lovely ladies! My stash overfloweth but who can resist a stash give-away? My very first yarn was when I was a child. At 51 I don’t remember what it was but likely Red Heart. When I came back to knitting it was Ultra Alpaca to make a brioche hat for my son. That was over 20 years ago and I have been knitting anything and everything since!
I love “Snippets”. It’s my Saturday morning reading with that first cup of coffee.
malabrigo – I am a new knitter and just made my first scarf.
My first yarn? Red Heart, purchased decades ago for a craft project of yarn and popsicle sticks.
I can’t remember the brand but it was black and white acrylic, in 1989, to make a “cowhide” intarsia sweater for my 4 year old. Not sure why I thought I could jump right into intarsia, but that little sweater came out pretty good. It even had silver star rivets and fringe on the chest!
Red heart worsted for mittens. My pocketbook wishes that I had stayed with RH but my heart loves the natural fiber yarns.
One of the “n Cream”s, Peaches or Sugar, I can’t remember which. I was on a mission to learn sock knitting and I knew a garter scarf as first project would drain my will to knit, so dishcloths it was. I still enjoy knitting dishcloths and still love the feeling of switching back to wool after!
The first yarn I ever bought was cotton, possibly a Lily. I am of the generation that leaned to knit by cranking out endless very holey dish rags!
I believe it was Red Heart acrylic, in black, yellow/orange and white to crochet an afghan from a magazine pattern. It took a long time to make, I was just starting high school, so around 1976.
Hi Ann and Kay,
I think my first yarn was a Cascade 220! But it was a long time ago and memory may fail me.
Best stash wins,
Bonnie Pierce
It was a brown tweed wool & acrylic blend for a scarf I made for a college boyfriend. (I don’t think he liked it much… we broke up not long after I gave it to him!)
The first yarn I ever owned was given to me by my Grandma when I was 12. I am trying to relearn how to knit and crochet so my first yarn since starting again at the age of 51 is Sugar and Cream.
Takki cotton classic. To make 3 sizes of a fish jumper that was in vogue in the 80’a
Well… the FIRST yarn I ever bought was a wool/acrylic blend from Zayre (anybody remember that place?). It was like 10% wool and 90% acrylic and felt just awful, BUT it was cheap and that was important to a me as a newlywed with empty pockets!
First yarn I ever bought was probably in the late 60’s. I honestly don’t remember the brand but I’m sure it was some kind of acrylic. I was pretty poor at that time and I would knit a scarf with that yarn and then unravel it and knit it again. It was never about finishing it, more about the joy of creating it.
The first yarn I really, really remember is Scandia- not sure who made it but it evolved into my first sweater. It was chunky, thick and thin, with an unplyed white strand running alongside a thin strand of a color. Mine looked mostly like a candy cane. The nice ( but stern) lady at the knitting store talked me through the project and it’s still exists somewhere in the attic -waiting for me to frog the neckline and bind off more loosely. I had no idea that was a possibility.This explains why it shows so little signs of wear. Do old knitted projects count as part of one’s stash?
I knit this sweater in high school. I graduated in 1964. That gives you some idea of the age and breadth of my stash.
It was either Bernat or Berocco in probably 1967 to knit a crew neck raglan sleeve pullover. Alas, my mother washed the sweater and it shrunk !
The first yarn I remember buying was a blue yarn for a sweater while I was studying in Spain. I bought it at El Corte Inglés in Madrid, a large department downtown. I can’t tell you if the yarn was acrylic or wool, but it was washable.
What made me think I could knit a sweater from a Spanish pattern, with Spanish yarn and needles, when I was barely a beginning knitter who had no idea European sizes and measurements were different, I don’t know. But I needed a sweater! The sweater was a top-down raglan. I never got buttons but it was warm.
I remember having yarn from early childhood, but buying yarn? Probably in college.. No wait, there was a sweater in high school. Red Heart, worsted weight, white with red filaments so it looked pink from across the room. Never did finish that sweater. Probably because of wonky gauge.
Beautiful stash starters you’re offering. Congrats yo the lucky winners.
Love your “Snippets” and what an awesome giveaway! Thanks!
I learned to knit at 10 using my mom’s old yarn hanging about. I re-learned many years later at age 34 using yarn from a friend’s stash. That same year I bought my first skein of yarn, a worsted weight from Green Mt. Spinnery to knit a pair of mittens. Now I’m 53, still knitting and I have a small and humble stash of my own.
I don’t remember the name of the yarn but I bought it at Woolworths to make my grandmother slippers for Christmas … It was probably around 1958.
My first yarn was Aunt Lydia’s rug yarn. Learned to make a rug in an after school program in the 1960s. My grandmother bought me the yarn at a store named “The Home Store” which had everything for the home, including groceries. After that, my grandmother taught me to knit. For me, it is true, I always remember and love that my grandmother taught me to knit.
I purchased my first yarn in Noe Valley, San Francisco. Cascade 220 brown and coral to make a felted bag.
However, I was gifted my first yarn years before in Graz,Austria to learn to knit. No idea what it was and I admit knitting didn’t stick until I lived in California!
My first yarn was peaches n cream yarn as I was knitting only washcloths when I started knitting.
A sport weight 100% wool yarn from a department store 60 years ago! Don’t remeber the name, but I remember the sweater!
My first skein would have no doubt been Red Heart acrylic squeaking its way through a scarf without end, but the first purchase I remember was a skein of Tahki Donegal Tweed in black that I used to make a tiny jumpsuit for my then three month old son (now 30), a most unsuitable color and texture for a baby but the first thing I ever finished.
Takki cotton classic to make 3 sizes for my 3 God daughters. I made the summer fish jumper from vogue magazine in the early to 80’s. I think my parents bought anything before that.
I was in 5th grade and bought a skein of Caron Simply soft in leaf green to learn how to knit from our parish priest who wanted an Afghan to raffle off at the beef dinner. Only six of us showed up and I was hooked!!! We did that afghan in a few weeks and I made my own too.
First yarn was from a stash curated by Mrs. Kitter, the old lady across the street. My mom sent me to learn to knit from her because we were both left-handed. Forty some years later I still knit left-handed, I am the ‘old lady’ across the street and am hoping to teach the next generation of knitters at the local community center. Hopefully there will be a lefty or two in the bunch.
I can’t remember the very first, but the first sweater was a teal cotton/linen blend made into an adorable sweater for my daughter. It was a hard yarn to work with, but I didn’t realize it until I did my next project!
Yellow and white Peaches and Cream cotton. It was 2012 and I learned to knit making dishcloths. I was 65 years old.
The first yarn I had ever bought was a yarn from my local yarn shop. I believe it was Lopi. I wanted to incorporate everything at once so I decided on a fair isle cardigan.. I look forward to your newsletter every week
I’m pretty sure that my first yarn purchase (25+ years ago) was Plymouth Encore. I wanted to make fair isle Christmas stockings. I had no idea how very much I didn’t know at that point. But the stocking did get made eventually (after a skill building time) and they are among my greatest treasures. Would love to win. I can just imagine my knitting group pouring over the prize box and choosing what they’d like. We’ll give it all good homes!!!
Well, Red Heart Acrylic. But what really rocked my knitting world was a box of yarn from the daughter-in-law of Betty Lindsay of Yarns International of Bethesda, MD. Grandma Betty would give her granddaughters odd balls and leftovers of yarn to play with and they would string it around the house! I was amazed when I laid out the contents of the box to discover high-end yarn that retailed for over $400.
Lopi yarn in brown, pink and natural. I was about 20 and bought this yarn to knit a sweater in the colors of my favorite dress. The dress was given to me by my grandmother for my 8th birthday. She taught me to knit scarves for my Barbie dolls. That was about 40 years ago.
Probably an acrylic of some sort about 55 years ago shopped for with my mom who taught me to knit. That period of knitting didn’t last long. I started knitting again about 25 years ago and haven’t stopped since. My mom was gone by then but I’m hoping she’s looking down and smiling!
My first yarn I bought was Patton’s bulky wool if I remember right. I learned to knit the summer of 2003. I worked at Keepsake Quilting that summer and they had recently acquired Patternworks. I learned how to piece quilts but it was too much to bring back to my dorm, so one of my coworkers taught me to knit. I wish I could tell her how much knitting has impacted my life for the better! In true knitterly fashion I returned to college with more Patton’s…. and an Afghan kit LOL.
The first yarn I bought myself was a ribbon yarn to knit cowls for my sisters. Later the shop owner hired me to work in her yarn shop. Oh boy…did I go wild on stashing yarn….from Cascade 220 to Madeline Tosh to Malabrigio!!!
I started knitting as a child and i did not purchase the wool. My mother (and teacher) gave me a ball from her stash. My mum is in her 70’s and makes sweaters for everyone at Christmas, boys one year girls the next. I don’t know how she does it, she has 11 grand kids and multiple extras.
Love Snippets and love you guys! And oh yeah, winning more stash wouldn’t be awful!
Rug yarn at Woolworth.
I think the first yarn I purchased was Caron Simply Soft in a teal color. I made a baby blanket that is still sitting in the gift closet but to be fair, I’ve only been knitting for 2 years now! The first natural fiber yarn I purchased was Canopy Fingering from the Fibre Co. in Manatee. Just haven’t found the perfect project for it yet! And so the stash grows!
My first yarn purchases were when I was in my early 20’s…don’t remember the name (too many years ago!) but was most likely harsh-feeling wool from the “Five ‘n Dime.” Prior to that, all yarn was a gift from my Grandmother who taught me to knit and crochet.
First yarn’s gotta be Red Heart. I remember using a 1960s pamphlet on how to knit and making a (sort of) rectangluar blanket for a stuffed animal.
Green Irish tweed, no idea of the brand. It was my first visit to my college town lys and I asked them for hat yarn. They kindly gave me worsted and didn’t make me feel stupid.
My first yarn was Red Heart. I just learned to knit when I retired from teaching 3 years ago. Dishcloths, scarves, cowls. I am progressing to socks, in the middle of my first sock now.
My first was Red Heart years ago. I didn’t know there was any other brands of yarn! I was teaching myself to crochet an Afghan, which kept getting wider and wider because I didn’t know how to turn. I still have it unfinished. (:
That was a lifetime ago! But I know it was Red Heart acrylic. So glad I was introduced to real yarn!
The first yarn I bought was Red Heart around 2002. I taught myself to crochet Knitting was harder fumbled a lot.
I just can’t remember, but it was probably fuzzy
Brown sheep at the age of 45 for my first knitting class….22 years later I am still at it.
I truly cannot remember the first skein I bought. It was so very long ago. I do remember going into a Boston yarn store when I was in college to buy enough brown yarn to make my first cardigan. It was a pretty wooly, hard wearing worsted and the elderly ladies who worked in the store were quite frightening and unfriendly, but I made the sweater, it actually fit, and I wore it for many years.
My grandmother taught me how to knit and I remember going over to Montgomeryville, NY to a place that spun yarn and they had a small shop in the back – very humble place and this was in the 50’s. I remember that the yarn was wool and a deep brown and Mema helped me knit my first sweater. So glad that I am retired and can now knit again!
Mohair for the first sweater I made in the 70’s. Love mohair to this day and have fond memories of making and wearing the sweater. I do not know what happened to the sweater but I recall every moment of selecting the lilac colored yarn, winding it up into balls and knitting the sweater during hot summer days.
The first yarn I can remember was a Red Heart variegated baby yarn in 1969, when I was pregnant with my first child. My Mother taught me how to crochet, I was already a knitter, and I made the bonnet, blanket and hat set in shell stitch, every crocheters fall back pattern. Came out lovely and so did my son, except he weighed 9 lbs and the nurses could not stop laughing at the fit of my lovingly crocheted set!
First yarn I bought was a red acrylic yarn from Murphy’s 5 & 10. My mother’s friend taught me to knit slippers she called “papoochkies.”
The first yarn I bought for knitting was Stitch Nation, bamboo/wool, by Debbie Stoller. I made a seed stitch cowl that I gave away because it was too scratchy. 😉 Second yarn purchase was Malabrigo Silky Merino. Not scratchy.
My first yarn was lily sugar and cream to make dishcloths as I learned to knit.
Lily Sugar ‘n Cream, the year I made every one of my friends and coworkers at least three dishcloths. (As a kid, I didn’t buy yarn. I played around with what my mother bought, which was, of course, the immortal non-biodegradable Red Heart acrylic.)
I think my first yarn was called Sayelle and was pure acrylic yarn that was sold in our local hardware store! It was very inexpensive. The older women who taught me to knit were using this to make blankets and were just delirious about its easy care! I still have my first fisherman knit sweater I made all those years ago which was knit with that yarn!
I think the first yarn I ever bought was Berocco Uktra Alpaca.my friend took me to an amazing yarn shop in Lansing, MI and when we got their it was closed (legal notice in the front door!). But, we found another one. I onky would buy a skein at a time because I was still learning and only knitting washcloths but eventually I learned that one skein wasn’t an efficient option when buying yarn that I didn’t have a project in mind for. I still have an affection for Berocco ultra alpaca but now with all the superwash merino and such I don’t buy it much. I do have a few hanks still in my stash though. Before that I was pretty much a minimalist but I can’t claim that anymore.
Handspun wool roving type yarn in navy at a market in Mexico. I had no idea about gauge or that I was a loose knitter until I produced a gigantic car coat!
What an amazing contest! I have only been knitting for a year and the first yarn I ever purchased was Madelinetosh DK twist in the “Holi Grunge” colorway. I subscribed to your Snippets newsletter several months ago! 🙂
It’s been so long I can’t remember my first yarn. I started knitting almost 60 years ago. The first thing I remember making was a green and white cardigan.
I love reading your Snippets every week. And I too love wearing what I make, shawls, sweaters, socks and felted purses.
Thanks.
I learned to knit for a 4-H project so the yarn was purchased for that purpose in perhaps 1966. I suspect it came from a local dimestore. I ended up knitting a light blue triangular scarf for a baby and received a blue ribbon. I am signed up for the newsletter.
I remember when my mom took me took me to her yarn shop. I can still see that little house, sitting on a shaded, curved street. She only carried 100% wool yarns, we used Bernat patterns, I still have some of them, dated 1963, I was 10. I was probably making mittens. I still have the mitten pattern my mom always used, it is dated 1945!
Ultra Pima Cotton for wash clothes for thank you gifts for my first baby’s shower!! Ironically, I never got them made and still have the yarn – 10 years later! I plan to make Christmas gifts out of it this year!!
Some fabulous Red Heart acrylic in red that turned into a wash cloth that held about 50 pounds of water. I’ve been a snippets reader for some time now and look forward to it every weekend!
It was a long time ago but I am sure it was an acrylic more than likely Red Heart. I learned to knit as a teenager and was taught by my aunt.
My first purchase was a Malabrigo Rios skein in a lettuce green. I was just learning to knit and my instructor had done a mug cozy that I was attempting to emulate.
The first yarn I bought for my stash was Knitted Wit’s Rock Candy worsted. Speckles! Variegated colors! And the lure of the promise of Something Winderful! Oh my! And lo, the stash began.
Something acrylic at the five and dime store in Caldwell New Jersey !
My grandmother and Aunt Nora taught me to knit when I was about 6 or 7; I tried several times, but I just kept getting the yarn knotted up and couldn’t read or understand a pattern, so I put the (borrowed) needles and yarn aside for many years. When I resumed my knitting and purchased yarn for myself, it was Cynthia Helene Merino DK, shade 178 Prairie and a pattern for a very simple vest. I joined a local knitting circle, and I have been happily knitting ever since!
Jo Sharpe Tweed something. I thought I was all fancy buying a ball or 2 at a time for this gigantic couch blanket I had planned for my first project. The blanket never came to be but I did knit a sweater out of that yarn eventually and still have bits poking out of the stash every once in a while.
Manos del Uruguay Cotton – made a scarf for my sister.
As a clueless (and egotistical!) teenager I taught myself to knit, and thought my first project should be a sweater for my dad (6 feet tall, shall we say generously proportioned?) so of course it was a monster. Deadline Christmas, of course. I found a pattern book and some Lion Brand yarn at a local Joanne Fabrics and made the awful thing. I had no clue what gauge was, or how to account for a different yarn than the pattern called for, but it was done. Dad tried it on, the sleeves hung to the floor (not a figure of speech, those cuffs made contact with the floor) and everyone had a good laugh. Thankfully I got a tiny bit smarter and whole lot more humble as I got older.
I took my first knitting class at an A. C. Moore store in the fall of 1983. I had a supurb teacher who taught me to knit an intarsia snowflake sweater, using use red and white wool that I purchased at the store. And so, a new knitter was born!
Since I am 63 and I started at 12, my first yarn so long ago was a skein from Lion Brand Yarns on the lower east side of NYC to make a scarf in red
Knit an acrylic sky blue bottom up heavy sweater in the round with pink snowflakes during my freshman year of college in 1973. Wow,knitting that long! Still use those nylon needles!
Purplish red acrylic when I taught myself to knit at age 18 — 36 years ago. Still love that color…my yarn has gotten much more expensive since then!
The first yarn I remember buying was brown sheep worsted to make a fair isle sweater in high school. The pattern showed the sweater in cream with pastel accents and I purchased the green as the main color, with cream and peach (?) as my accents. I had it until it was felted beyond all recognition!
It has been a looooong time since I bought my first yarn and I am not sure I remember correctly. I am thinking it was a Red Heart wool in a varigated orange. I made a long scarf and mittens and the boys on the school bus tied it to the handles on the seats!!!
I think it was some brownish acrylic to make a scarf for my then-boy friend (now hubby of nearly 43 years). The first I can really identify was a few months later – a kit of Lopi to make an Icelandic ski sweater for him (seemed like a good 2nd project at the time!) purchased at the airport in Reykjavik.
It was a ball of terribly ugly off white cotton blend yarn – my Father had a heart attack and an over 9 hour open heart surgery – I had hip and foot surgery 3 days prior so I was stuck in a wheelchair. My friend said to me “how will you calm your nerves during the surgery, you won’t be able to concentrate on reading and you can’t walk around?” She stuck knitting needles and this ugly yarn in my hands and taught me to knit. I made a long narrow piece of “knitting” filled with holes and dropped stitches, but it kept my hands busy and from there my obsession with knitting began. That was in 2009, and although my Dad has passed away, I somehow think of him every time I pick up the needles.
The first yarn I ever purchased was patrons classic wool. My aunt taught me to knit when I was 13 and I made headbands.
Red Heart acrylic worsted. I learned to crochet by making blankets for teddy bears. I learned to knit with ribbon yarn for scarves.
Cascade 220, brown and beige. I started knitting in my fifties and a good friend steered me away from the box stores and took me to a cute little yarn shop. Thus, it began.
The first yarn I ever bought (rather than my mother buying it for me) was probably “Dazzle,” a 100% acrylic, that I purchased from the local “dime” store about 50 years ago. Hmm, was that Caron yarn? Not sure anymore.
Oh dear I think it was the now defunct Pingouin yarn from France and I bought a baby yarn because I was knitting from their Baby Layette patterns that they were famous for. Still miss them.
Some awful red acrylic to knit a sweater for my chihuahua who greatly appreciated it.
Red heart
My very first yarn would most likely have been Red Heart Worsted. Later I became enamored with Bernat Baby. Much later I learned about Local Yarn Stores, then about Fiber Festivals and Individual yarn dyers and sheep breed specific yarns. Now I spin most of the yarn I use for knitting and weaving.
I was 8 or 9 & my Nana was teaching me to knit & crochet. We walked up to F.W.Woolworths & I picked out a deep red (I believe it was sport weight in either Caron or Red Heart… an acrylic). She knitted a button up sweater, for me out of it, that I wore all the way thru college. She purchased one extra skein, which I used to make a scarf. It was a bit wobbly with lots of mistakes but I did it!
Oh my, my first skein? Well perhaps the first skein in this new knitting era! A Lion brand acrylic for a prayer shawl, rather fuzzy and awful to work with!
So glad we are snow birds from Canada to Florida and will have a US address, because I am feeling lucky. (Lucky to be healthy is the ultimate joy).
I loved loved the book; it was fabulous. It reminded me of the Knit Lit series which were so good also.
My first yarn purchases would have been acrylic yarn for slipper socks for my father and two brothers in my teens. That was many moons ago, and I have become a yarn snob and like to try out all kinds of yarns. My five grandchildren and many great nieces and nephews are the recipients of my many projects today. Recently worked on a series of messy bun hats for the girls. My youngest grandson receives a sweater every year for his birthday. He is seven; missed one year because the five-year sweater took so long to knit!
The first yarn I purchased was acrylic (from a fabric store) to make a scarf. Although I was very pleased with the completed product, I did not like how the yarn felt when I was knitting. Then….lo and behold….I chanced upon a Local Yarn Store and suddenly became the “yarn snob” that I am today. Proud to be both a yarn and coffee snob.
Red Heart acrylic in some kind of bizarre clown barf pastel rainbow. I was young and dumb. I forgive myself.
Soft and white….at the local fabric yarn shop…I was about 12…I knitted a scarf and haven’t stopped since!
a horrible acrylic yarn used to make a baby blanket which evenually was well loved by my dogs. it was horrible.
The first yarn I can remember buying was an Anny Blatt wool yarn I purchased to take my beginning knitting shop at my LYS — I won’t say how long ago that was. My youngest daughter has just started knitting and I hope I can win her this stash, since she and her sister won’t inherit mine for a long time (fingers crossed).
My first yarn I purchased was Red Heart acrylic. Really I hardly knew there was anything else at the time. I was learning to make a granny square.
The first yarn I knit with was a very fine cotton since my grandmother had me knitting ace bandages for missionaries. It is a wonder I ever knit again since I was about eight when I was knitting these endless wonders.
Wow – my first yarn? That was so very long ago…my mother taught me to knit and I’m sure we used yarn that she had around the house. The yarn I first purchased myself was yarn to make a red mohair cardigan with cables around the waistband – I would have been about 17/18 – I don’t recall the brand, but there was one knitting store in the area and not a lot of selection!
Cascade 220 for my first project; a pair of socks. Stupid eh? Best look I have ever gotten was when I asked the teacher how to purl. Poor dear, my heart goes out to her even now. FYI I fished the socks but never wore them as socks. Slippers yes. Then my grand dog ate one. I think it was fated to be.
I am 74. My first bought yarn was a mohair-like yellow-green at age 15 or so.
As a child I learned to knit from my aunt and we used her bits of leftover yarn. My first yarn purchased in my recent memory (which admittedly is not what it used to be) was Malabrigo Rios for a hat. It was red and lovely and it is still one of my favorite yarns today.
It was some kind of white acrylic. My mom taught me garter stitch when I was 11 and I used that yarn to make a scarf from it and gave it to her. Bless her heart, she even wore it, despite it being a very wonky effort.
Candide in blue, I can picture it but have no idea what I made with it. Long time ago!
The first yarn I bought that I remember the name of is ggh aspen – I know I bought other things before that but I have absolutely no idea what they were…
My very first yarn came from my great Aunt Hazel’s stash when she taught me to knit. My first purchased yarn was Red Heart. Since I am also now a spinner of my own yarn, my taste in yarn has changed, imagine that! Aunt Hazel use to knit sweaters for my two sisters and me, quite a task I’m sure since she also worked full time. The sweater I remember most is one she used, I am guessing Angora, to knit around the neck. Knitting makes me feel connected to her and grateful that she took the time to teach an eight or nine year old to knit!
It was many many years ago and was an acrylic yarn from Sears, back when Sears stores had craft sections and taught knitting. I learned from my Nana, but my mother decided that wasn’t good enough. I was about 8 years old. The good thing was that I was taught how to follow a pattern so I have never been been afraid to try things I did not know based upon written instructions. Remember
Brown Sheep Lambs pride bulky was the first yarn I bought & I bought all the colors! Love this yarn for felting!
My first yarn was a Red Heart worsted in a natural color. It was in the early 60’s and everyone was crocheting those vests that were long with a tie in the front. They looked like granny squares. My mom taught me to crochet and I was off!! I think we bought the yarn at Woolworth’s. As the years have passed, my yarn taste has improved greatly!
Some wool yarn, brand long forgotten, in 1970s Greenville, SC to knit a scarf, still unfinished, though it did have a role in my high school senior play when I played the housekeeper in Jane Eyre.
A Lion Brand (?) with my Granny Wood. It was blue! I was about 13 and Granny was teaching me how to knit and crochet.
Gosh! I can’t remember the first yarn I bought. I was taught to knit at age 5 by my great-grandmother. Everyone knit back then. I do have a memory of my dress I had to make in home-ec. Remember those? I decided to make a sweater to go with my dress for the fashion show. I bought some lovely British tweedy wool that matched the blue in the dress. Back in the early 60’s it seems that the go-to “best” yarn was British wool.
It was a sky blue Red Heart. It was the 80s and I was going to relearn how to knit. I got it from a big box store along with a learn to knit kit.
I don’t know the brand, but it was a vibrant purple to teal acrylic blend from Hobby Lobby that I purchased to crochet a granny square blanket in college. I carted those squares around for years never finishing the project.
The first yarn I ever purchased was a Patons acrylic yarn for a throw. There were three shades of purple. Unfortunately, this UFO disappeared…
Took a knitting class at my LYS, bought a blue acrylic eyelash to carry along with the worsted weight Brown Sheep. Project was finished at skein’s end. My first scarf.
Red Heart, so my best friend could teach me to knit.
My first yarn was a red heart acrylic, in an avacado green shade. My mom showed me how to knit a scarf with this yarn when I was eight years old. I think I chose the green to match some of our kitchen appliances in the 1960s!
The first yarn I bought was Shepherd’s Wool, a single skein in a light blue, and a pair of straight needles. Then I practiced knitting and purling for a couple of weeks, until I was so bored I couldn’t stand it. My first project was a shawl and I just dove right in!
On a train ride to NYC, I was fascinated by a young woman knitting a huge open work scarf. (rows of dropped stitches). She noticed, showed me how to knit and as soon as I returned to Montreal I went straight to the Pingouin shop and bought the same pattern book and purple yarn to make my own. My grandmother helped when I eventually took on sweaters.
I don’t remember exactly the first yarn I ever bought. A neighbor taught me to crochet the Afghan stitch and I made my mom an Afghan. She still has it. It had many colors and it took me forever to finish. I had the remains of that yarn for a long time, so that was my first stash.
The first yarn I chose to knit was sugar and cream cotton to make slippers. (Yes, yes, I know poor choice but I didn’t know any better.)
I knew nothing about yarns and different fibers when I began my journey. Now I can feel/see the difference fibers in batts I purchase to spin.
My first yarn purchase was a skein of I Love This Cotton yarn from Hobby Lobby! A friend told me it was good yarn to practice with. I remember making a burp cloth for a friend’s baby with it eventually! I got hooked on knitting and have been buying yarn ever since, about six years now!!
First yarn ever purchased was likely a Red Heart skein to make slippers when I was in elementary school.
Lion brand super bulky in a rainbow colorway that I used to knit a little purse with in a crafting class.
I think it was Germantown worsted. I still have a few skein remnants that I pull out and look at from time to time. They’re antiques!
Love Snippets. Better yet is receiving your newsletter daily. Thanks!
The first yarn I ever bought was for a sweater for my then boyfriend and I cannot remember whether it was Rowan, Bernat or Berroco. This was 51 years ago and any stash is long gone. My mother must have helped me because the sweater fit beautifully except for a too tight bind off at the neck (I must have ripped back and reknit this at least four times before it finally fit over his head).
The first yarn I ever bought was fourteen years ago–Lambs Pride Bulky. I was on bedrest while pregnant with my son, my first child, and I taught myself to knit from “Stitch and Bitch.” The first project listed was a scarf, and I got the exact brand of yarn and the exact needles from my local LYS . When I knit that up, I sent my husband back to the store with the ball band. I knit 7 scarves all in Lambs Pride Bulky…garter stitch, ribbed, striped. It was a while before I ventured out to try a different yarn with different needles.
Dale yarn
My first yarn purchase(s) pre-dated Ravelry, so I don’t have the name of it, but I can assure you, it was a very fine novelty yarn that I used to make many, many skinny accessory scarves. Scarves, plural, because I bought ball after ball of the stuff so I could make these scarves for everyone I knew, whether they wanted them or not. It was brightly colored, synthetic yarn, the kind that had little mini-flags attached to string, and I loved it because it covered a myriad of mistakes AND coordinated with almost every outfit!!
And I’ve been signed up for your daily and your snippets since you started! See you at the Pie Party!
Oh My Gosh! My mother taught me to knit 40 years ago! For some reason I can’t remember what the yarn was. I DO remember it was a pinkish red wool that she had in her stash. She may have brought it home from the U.K after visiting my grandparents. She started me off with a v-neck sweater, instead of the usual garter stitch scarf; clearly she thought I was brilliant! LOL….I am so grateful to her for teaching me. She told me if I could knit, I would never be bored. 🙂
I know I purchased some acrylic (in rust and tan shades) back in the 70s, but I don’t know the brand. In the 90s, my Mom got me back into knitting by giving me a dishcloth pattern (Grandmother’s Favorite), and I bought a boatload of Lily Sugar and Cream. There is only a little bit of that cotton yarn still in my stash now, as I moved on from dishcloths about 10 years ago.
What a fun and generous contest! The first yarn I ever bought was Lion Brand Wool Ease, which I used to make a scarf for a friend. I used a pretty basic ribbed pattern and striped it with several colors.
A crazy variegated skein from Artco for a pair of socks. Yes, socks for my first project. $7.00. Go big or go home. Still wear them ten years later.
My first real yarn purchase was a super intense fiery rust donegal tweed, that I made into a vest. I was in college in Providence RI and bought it from a little upstairs shop where the woman dictated the pattern to me off the top of her head!
I bought red yarn (don’t remember the brand) in college to make scarves for my nieces for Christmas.
My first yarn was from a bargain bin at Kresge’s. I knit a Mari Lynn Patrick sweater which I wore constantly. I would love to recreate that sweater with a quality yarn that will do it justice!
An English teal mohair to make a coat with attached scarf. It is mostly garter stitch with seed stitch edging, so not quite as ambitious as it sounds for a first project. I think I was 18. I remember I couldn’t afford to buy it all at once and kept going back to buy a few more of the lovely flat, round balls. I still have it carefully packed away!
Oh boy! Years ago, way before I learned that one should practice something, anything, before embarking on a sweater (with no body measurements taken of course) my mother in law helped me pick out a nubby white cotton for my first knitted item – a zip up hooded sweater. The brand is long forgotten but she was pretty much taken with lower priced yarns. I wore the not-too-bad-fitting thing for years.
It was a skein of acrylic blend, I can’t even remember the name ( this was more than forty-five years ago -yikes!), that I purchased to make garter stitch headbands for all my friends for Christmas. My tastes have gotten MUCH more expensive since then!
First yarn purchase was Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande Tweed in the color sage. I still have it! Took a “learn to knit” class and the instructor said “choose from these.” Israelites wandered in the desert/wilderness; I wandered in scarf land before frogging that thing and moving on to a manageable project. But I haven’t been able to get rid of that yarn.
I bought my first yarn about 40 years ago, so the details are, shall we say, “foggy”, but it was brown, tweedy, and had too much artificial fibre. With it, I knit my first project, a bottom up, seamed cabled sweater, with a large shawl collar. By some miracle of persistence and good teaching by my late mother, it fit and looked great. Life got in the way of knitting but I took it up again a couple of years ago, and with greater wisdom, I knew better than to start with sweaters, cables, etc. I also have the insight to appreciate the importance of better yarn!
Red Heart wool was my first yarn. It was left over from mittens my mom knit for all her children. It was scratchy and ugly but I loved it and have been loving yarn ever since. Your Snippets has opened new yarns to all of us. Thank you.
Red Heart acrylic to knit a sweater vest that I saw in a magazine.
The first yarn I purchased was Red Heart because that’s what was affordable for me as a child in the 60’s. Grammy and mom taught me to crochet using yarn from Lee Wards and Herschners which they ordered.
The first yarn I ever bought? I think I’m too old to remember more than it was an acrylic of some sort. Since then I have bought so much beautiful yarns, cashmere and silk and alpaca and merino and the list goes on. And I still want more!
The first time I bought my own yarn was Peaches and Creme at Walmart for the ball band dishcloth. I remember how hard it was to figure out reading the pattern! I had no idea then of the wonderful friends, knowledge, and joy that knitting would bring me.
First yarn from a store: Lion Brand Homespun. First yarn purchased at a Festival: Went right to the bargain bin (I’ve learned quite a bit since then). It was Little Barn Cotton & EcoSpun. It is so stiff I have yet to knit with that particular yarn and it may well be the first thing to leave MY stash if I were to win YOUR stash.
The first yarn I ever bought was Patons Canadiana, one ball of royal blue and one of purple because I’m decisive that way. My first project was a garter stitch scarf, which I quickly got bored with and began my first experiment with stripes. I did eventually finish it and wore it for a while before passing it on to a friend along with the first hat I ever knitted from the leftovers of those same balls of yarn.
Cascade 220 dark green for Warm Up America squares. I don’t need anymore stash but I bet there are knitters in mourning for lost stash in the Houston area and in Florida…. (NOTE: wanting and needing are 2 different things.)
Such stunning options, you’re both saints for starting folks off the right way.
Wow, you are testing the synapses! I purchased my first yarn in 1982…likely Encore. A slate blue tweed to fashion a vest in my learn to knit class. I still recall the infant sweater my elementary school librarian was knitting while I volunteered in the library. She was my knitting inspiration, but I waited until age 18 and the resulting product was that vest. Some 40 years later my librarian leads a knit group in my old hometown and ~30 years later I ran into my first knitting instructor at my LYS. My daughters are now knitting and shop in my stash. Alas, I need ( and who doesn’t) more stash so that I can also gift some of mine.
Signed one of MDK’s biggest fans!
I’ve been knitting for 50 years, so I don’t remember my first skein. In recent history I would have to say Cascade Alpaca.
I don’t remember the brand, probably Red Heart. It was blue. I made a scarf, but didn’t know how to bind off yet. it ended up being around 7′ long before someone taught me. Thanks Cindy!
The first yarn I ever bought was Lion Brand Jiffy, for a felted scarf free giveaway pattern at the big box store. A felted scarf! It made no sense!!
I bought an acrylic number from WalMart, going off of the vague instructions of my friend Kathleen, who was going to teach me to knit, to “get something not too thin or fuzzy”. It wasn’t until I joined her knitting group later on that the heavens opened up and it was revealed to me that there are yarn shops full of amazing and addictive yarns made from yummy natural fibers. I must say I admire your ability to even consider giving away some of your stash!
The first yarn I bought, so, so many years ago is Noro Silk Garden!
I am already signed up for snippets. My first yarn was lion brand homeland. Well, home something, I think. I made scarves until no one wanted them any more.
I don’t remember the brand, but it was dark blue medium weight.
I would have been 7 years old and it would have been Red Heart yarn. I made a never ending scarf because I did not know how to bind off.
I think the first yarn I bought was Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted. The plan was to make a bunch of squares so that I could practice different stitches, then sew them together to make a blanket. Except… I only finished a few squares, and they’re just sitting in my stash along with the remaining yarn. The beginnings of my stash 🙂
I am much too old to remember the first yarn I bought. But since you want me to name it, I’ll call it “Bob.”
My first yarn? That’s a tough question. I’m going to have to punt here and guess it was Red Heart Super saver because (1) I was young and didn’t have any money, and (2) I grew up in a small town with no LYS nearby (and didn’t know such places existed!) so it had to have been available at either Wal-Mart or the dime store. (Our five and dime actually had a pretty good craft selection.)
I don’t remember the brand of yarn I first bought, but it was 100% acrylic and I knitted a pullover with it that I wore for at least a few years.
These days I buy almost exclusively superwash wool (for socks and shawls/scarves) and some cotton.
While I would love to try knitting with silk, linen or even cashmere, they are a bit outside my budget, unfortunately!
1976- First projects – Knitted 2 sweaters for my 3 yr old son and 5 yr old daughter. I knew nothing about techniques and didn’t have YouTube. “Winged it” as they say.
Some Red Heart worsted. I didn’t know there were knitting stores but we had a Woolworths.
Now that I think of it, WOOLworths. Funny!
My first yarn? A skein of creamy white acrylic worsted for a kitty stuffed animal. Had that kitty for a long long time!
Red Heart. Don’t judge. It was over 40 years ago & I didn’t know any better! Those afghans are still in use, too!
Hard to think back that far, but I’m guessing it was a neon shade of pink in acrylic. Thinking about that very first sweater sort of makes my skin crawl these days. But as a high school student with limited funds …
Oh goodness, I don’t remember. I made a red doll blanket but I was so young I’m sure I didn’t buy the yarn myself. Probably the totally inappropriate cotton yarn that I made into an unfortunately shapeless sleeveless top. But I didn’t give up. I made a second one!
Blue Sky Alpacas light green cotton that I knit on my daily commute to downtown Seattle when newly married and pregnant with our firstborn. I intended to make a baby blanket for our baby, but ended up gifting it to my best friend’s firstborn. At almost 9, she still sleeps with it every night. It was my first knitting project that expanded beyond the knit stitch – it had a ruffle border and little slip stitch holes for baby fingers to poke in and out of.
Thank you. First yarn – Borocco alpaca Grande.
Nearly sixty years ago, so it’s hard to remember! My best guess is Red Heart wool from
F.W. Woolworth, where my grandmother worked at the ribbon counter. I think the colors were purple and white, to make an afghan for that same grandmother.
I’m already a Snippets subscriber. Thanks for such a generous giveaway!
Lovely denim blue acrylic yarn, along with some white from a Scandinavian yarn shop near my college in 1980. I taught myself to knit from a book (before the internet!) and dove in on a fair isle yoke sweater. I finished it and wore it. Still have the pattern book, but not the sweater.
My first yarn was La Gran mohair for a pair of mittens in 1987. I still have the mittens and recently gave away a trash bag full of La Gran to charity knitters.
Thanks for the opportunity to enter!. The first yarn I purchased was when I was in high school and it would have been a lovely pink mohair with which I started to make a sweater. I already with gratitude receive your newsletter. I have a US shipping address
I don’t remember the brand but I bought the yarn at a store called Bell Yarns on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It doesn’t exist anymore. It was for a boyfriend sweater. True to form we broke up before I finished the sweater so I frogged it and gave the yarn to my mother. I am already a subscriber. Hope to see you both at Rhinebeck
Madelinetosh Sock, color; Chartres
Red Heart orange wonderfulness. I was a college freshman and thought I was making my brother a scarf. He got a potholder. A nice flammable potholder.
Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted for my first scarf for my step-father.
I ended up in a very nice yarn shop in MD, for my first time. It was a blue and white yarn. Possibly cotton. It became known as the Penelope yarn because everything I made with it I frogged. It’s still deep in my stash somewhere. But my second yarn bought a the same store to make a 5 color hat & scarf from the magazine they sold me with rhe Penelope yarn, that was Filatura di Crosa Primo a gorgeous merino that made a beautiful and warm very long scarf to go with nice warm hat for a bff! (Actually I originally bought it for me but driving home I felt guilty about the cost so I decided to make it for a friend instead & presto! The cost didn’t bother me at all. That was a long time ago….. ).
Brunswick Germantown. I made a poncho when I was 15.
My Mom ran a small yarn shop and we sold Germantown and Lopi. I made a couple of things during that period.
Bernat black acrylic that I bought when I lived in Montreal and knit a very wonky garter stitch scarf with.
I think my first yarn was a Lamb’s Pride for a beginning knitting class. My daughter and I took the class together, and then I went on to take a Mitten class and that was the game changer for me. And now I have a pretty daunting stash but I’m trying to deal with it. I look forward to reading Clara’s book!
Some kind of squeaky turquoise acrylic — it was the early 80s after all.
It was some Red Heart yarn that my mother had in her stash, circa 1959. Really stiff for little fingers. She taught me to knit by having me mimic her actions while facing her, since she was right handed and I am a lefty!
A random pink acrylic yarn from the local Woolworth’s.
Oh my gosh I am trying to remember! My sister Susan gave me a “Teach yourself to knit” book and I think some Caron white yarn.
I remember buying some Lion Brand Homespun for sweaters , scarves etc. Wow! A long time ago and many , many different skeins of yarn!
My first yarn purchase was a variegated rainbow wool – it was mainly mid/dark with supe
Sorry it posted early, the wool had super short colour shifts often only a stitch or two in red and then yellow etc but 4-6 in blue. It actually was super useful to learn how to knit as I could easily see my stitches.
Phildar wool when I was in high school in the early 1970s.
I’m not sure which was first – could have been the Tahki Tweed in a glorious rust that i fell in love with at the yarn shop where my friend and i took lessons around 1980. I made a cardigan with a shawl collar with a lot of help from the teacher. Oh to be that size again! Or it could have been the pile of pink, gray and blue skeins of Lopi on sale at my Brooklyn LYS (gee, I wonder why!) that I knit into an afghan as a wedding present. It lasted longer than that marriage! I couldnt understand how my hands stayed so soft during that freezing winter until someone explained the magic powers of all the lanolin in Icelandic yarn!
Embarrassed to admit that it must have been a skein from Woolworth’s, some obnoxiously bright red acrylic to learn to knit the rib and garter slippers, early grade school, early 70s. Actually, Ma probably bought it for me, but I do also remember crocheting a sweater out of Dazzleaire, which likely I bought several years later. It fit great, but could only be worn for 10 minute stretches because of course, it didn’t breathe. Luckily my sister’s cat took a liking to it and clawed several holes in it through the laundry basket.
The first yarn I bought, at 9 years old, was Red Heart Acrylic. It was the only yarn offered for sale in 1962 in Stuttgart, Arkansas. At the same time, I bought a Learn to Knit booklet.
A Patons acrylic blend, which I used to crochet a granny square throw for my mom. My first knitting yarn was Cascade 220!
My first yarn was part of a learn-to-knit kit that I bought at chain bookstore as a college student. It was acrylic, shades of blue, and (I now know) very difficult to work with, let alone learn with! I didn’t actually learn to knit till 15 or so years later with the help of a dear friend, and also YouTube. 🙂
First yarn………Aunt Lydia’s rug yarn! My dad taught me to crochet and knit when I was about 10. We worked on a rug together. Special memories. 🙂
Red Heart acrylic in ORANGE – girls scout project t make slippers
I remember buying some Bartlett yarn when I started knitting again in my forties and made a Maine Islands
sweater for myself which I’m still wearing years and years later!
My first yarn was just plain acrylic Redheart (the only kind available in town) along with one pair of circular needles size eight, 50+ years ago: I had knitted a little 10 years previously, but with hand-me-down, unlabeled yarn. Your stashes are calling my name!!
I have to say I truly do not remember. My sister taught me to knit and she had quiet a stash and I went thur it a lot. She was/is a yarn snob and could afford nicer yarn than I at the time so it was fun to shop from her stash. I learned quick “if it is worth knitting it is worth using nice yarn”
I was eight years old and bought red heart multi color. I made mittens and hats as Christmas gifts. My yarn taste has improved over the years, but mittens and hats are still part of our Christmas
Watching the astonishing Eunny Jang on “Knitting Daily” made me feel (at the age of 52!) that it knitting was something I could actually do. Out to the local crafts store, I was mesmerized by the colors and textures of the highly inorganic yarns on display. I succumbed to Lion Brand’s Suede. Having no idea how much it would take to make something satisfying, I bought all four skeins they had. There was something irresistible about its deep color and soft texture. Then… I found rhapsody in natural fibers. Those suede skeins are still in my stash, awaiting their moment. But it will come!
Lion brand homespun. I made afghans for everyone in my family with that stuff, and have since learned that yarn does not need to feel like plastic.
My first yarn was some Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride that I got after teaching myself to knit with the Stitch N Bitch book many years ago.
I have absolutely no idea – so long ago (late 60’s or early 70’s) – totally sure it was worsted weight acrylic for crochet & acrylic baby yarn for knitting.
Greatgrandma taught me to crochet – we made granny squares for a lap robe. I also had to buy crochet cotton for those lessons as she had trouble seeing the stitches in “that fuzzy yarn” so actually taught me using the smooth cotton thread – once she saw I was crocheting correctly using the thread and fine steel hook I was allowed to switch to the yarn and fatter hook!
Grandma taught me to knit and I insisted on making a baby sweater – no idea why as no one I knew then had a baby! Simple shapes in garter then seamed together.
Crazily enough tosh chunky for a scarf my husband still wears twisted stitches and all.
I don’t remember the name, but it had to have been an acrylic yarn to make the crocheted purse that was all the rave back in the 1970’s!
The first yarn I ever bought was Cascade 220 for my first knitting class in Moneterey, CA. I made a pullover. I now have a huge stash which needs to be culled.
Probably Red Heart acrylic as a child is the first yarn I purchased.
The first yarn I ever had was aunt Lydia’s cotton , it is amazing I ever knit again! My tastes have certainly improved since then. WeJust downsized, I donated most of my stash before the move but now as I am unpacking I realize “What have I done!”
What a wonderful contest! Thank you.
I don’t remember the brand but it was an olive green yarn. I wanted to make an Afghan for my Mom and that was her favorite color ( or so I thought! Turns out her favorite color was purple). My Dad helped me buy yarn when my allowance ( $1 a week!!!) didn’t give me enough funds to buy the next skein. Took me forever and there were many dye lots. A simple double crochet pattern. My brother still has it.
It was some type of baby blue acrylic for a blanket for my soon to be nephew. He’s now 13 and I never finished it! (Still in the stash though!)
My first yarn was a cotton. Can’t remember brand but I made a lovely yellow tank top with it.
I first purchased yarn for a sweater pattern featured in the August 1962 issue of Glamour magazine! The pattern called for heavy rug yarn in oyster white, 4 half pound skeins, using size 13 needles. I didn’t want to send for the yarn, then wait for it to arrive, as described in the pattern. My local store stocked Red Heart worsted wool in a color called Aran, so I decided to just double it to create the bulkiness needed for the size 13 needles. It was a great sweater to wear in drafty classrooms at Ohio State until I washed it, then threw it in the dryer! Two lessons learned: I can substitute yarn, and one must follow directions on laundering knitted projects. ( I still have the pattern page from Glamour.)
Some thing acrylic wintuk?? Worked my way up to a yarn snob.
Red Heart – acrylic – when I was 14, bought for my grandmother who crocheted like a madwoman!
My first project (!) was a knit from the top cardigan sweater with cables at the increases. I bought fuzzy mohair-type synthetic yarn and got the pattern free–probably at Woolworths or Kresges. The pattern was written wrong–front, sleeve, sleeve, back, front–but I was an accomplished sew-er, so I rewrote it and completed the sweater which I wore for many years. I was a college freshman in 1962. I’ve been knitting compulsively ever since!
Lion Brand! Definitely 100% acrylic, and I still have the afghan I made; it’s now a much loved dog blanket 🙂
Impossible to say because I started knitting 60 years ago and stopped. So I will say that in my most recent knitting life, in 2000 I purchased Dale Garn to make the Salt Lake City commemorative Dale of Norway ski sweater…yes, with steeks. Still wear it of course!
I bought two balls of Lion Brand Wool ease the winter I was a sophomore and that my crazy knitting granny had a stroke. I learned to knit by asking random people in public places if they knew what I was doing. Half way through my scarf, I ran out of yarn and bought two totally different balls of yarn. The first half of the scarf was a subdued maroon and dusty blue stripes and the second half was neon rainbow and dark green stripes. It seemed to get a bit less wide around that point as well…..
At six feet or so of scarf, I started waving it madly at people on busses and Amtrak to ask “How DO I make it STOP?” Until someone said…..”do you mean –Bind Off—??!?” “YES!” “I think…..whatever you do to end knitting…..” This was really random people, by the by, not people who were actually knitting something. And it was 1998 and a good part of my hair was shaved off and the remaining bits may have sort of matched the scarf. I have no idea what happened to the scarf once it was finished.
Cascade 220 superwash to make a scarf
The first yarn I bought was Elsbeth’s silky wool and it is still a favorite. I’ve made several tees, a jacket, and I want to make a skirt, too
The first yarn I bought was a newly invented water repellent wool yarn in red. I was nine years old and it was in 1956. I knit my first project with that yarn, a pair of cabled mittens. They were long and skinny but the stretched to fit and worked very well repelling all that Wisconsin snow.
Red Heart acrylic many years ago. Long before I knew about wool and all the wonderful fibers that exist. Thanks for doing this. The yarns are lovely.
Red Heart variegated yarn to knit slipper socks with my Grandma Amelia! I’m wondering if I could locate that pattern and use some of this yarn to make another pair….
Ummmmmm… having to dust off the brain cells for this one! Maybe not the first yarn I ever bought but my very first knit project was a bucket bag made with Mountain Colors in plums and forrest greens held together with a thick bulky wool.
Red heart acrylic – didn’t everyone start out with this yarn? Besides, it was the 70’s and pre-squidgy yarny goodness that we have now.
The first yarn I ever bought was a sock blank from Plymouth Yarn, which I knit into socks…and I have been a subscriber to Snippets for quite a while and LOVE the “stories”
I have no idea of the brand but it was acrylic from Kmart or somewhere like that. I bought it to make a sweater for my daughter who is now 42. I finished the back, one side and half a sleeve. . . And then she was born and it never got finished.
Lorna’s laces honor. What was I thinking as a new knitter??? I enjoy Snippits and, by the way, I was just in Iceland!!!
Holy cow, that was a long time ago. I know I bought it at Stella’s Yarn Shop in Hackensack, NJ sometime in 1964. I’d guess some type of wool because Stella only sold natural fibers till her death. My grandmother taught me to knit and she used to bring me with her to Stella’s and all the ladies were so thrilled to have a little kid knitting with them. I saved my money to buy a skein of the most beautiful shade of purple in the whole, wide world. No idea if my grandmother secretly chipped in. Thanks for the memories.
It was cotton for a washcloth: Plymouth Fantasy Naturale Multi, or something similar. I found a store that had some a few years ago, and got one out of nostalgia!
It was a variegated acrylic, don’t remember the brand. I could only afford a few skeins, but Mom bought the rest and knitted me an afghan in the pattern I’d picked out. I still have and use it, more than 40 years later.
I can’t remember that long ago. It might have been Aunt Lydia’s rug yarn for slippers.
A camel colored acrylic, into a sweater I roasted in! At least it came from what turned out to be my favorite yarn store.
I started at age 29 with a “I Can’t Believe I’m Knitting” kit and Lion Brand Homespun to make a scarf. Can’t believe I actually made it through that thing and kept knitting. Homespun was probably one of the worst choices to start with, but when you don’t know any better…
Germantown worsted was my first yarn. From a local sewing store that stocked a little bit of everything! Loved that store. Still have the child’s sweater I made after it got handed around to the cousins.
Red Heart Acrylic for a scarf as my first project
Something brown and soft that I still have a bit of, bought in Spain in my early twenties while traveling.
My own stash cries out for diversity! Help me!
Since I learned how to knit, the first yarn I purchased (according to my spreadsheet) was Socrates from Alpaca With A Twist in colourway #5016 Solar Explosion that I purchased from Dinah’s Yarn in Port Hadlock (yarn store has since closed). Project was a simple Feather and Fan Scarf.
It was blue and it was the 70’s. Guaranteed it was acrylic and knit on aluminum needles so it had that special squeaky sound as my sweaty little fingers labored to get the needle through stitches that grew ever tighter. If I remember correctly, it was the world’s shortest scarf for an impossibly skinny neck.
Hi, it was in the late1970’s and was a Sirdar mohair and probably acrylic mix- to make an over-sized jumper fit for the punk era (and named Chewbacca)!!
Lion Brand Wool Ease – for a class I took and have been knitting ever since.
Oh my!!! My first yarn ever bought was mohair to wrap my high school boyfriend’s class ring so I could wear it! The second yarn was a brown acrylic for a hippie-ish shawl. Honestly, brown acrylic?!? I wore the shawl all through high school and college!
I’m pretty sure my first yarn was a colorful merino worsted from Cascade. It was so yummy I went back for more!
Redheart purchased the first year of marriage. Hubbie played in college band and I needed something to keep my uands busy while he was on road trips. I even bought a Redheart how-to-knit book.
My first yarn was red heart super saver
Red Heart Acrylic in cobalt blue from the local Ben Franklin in the early 60s. My grand mothers had arrived for a visit and were horrified to discover I didn’t know how to knit. They taught me, and the first project was a dress for my Barbie doll. I didn’t discover yarn shops until the 80s. Love your Saturday Snippets each week with my morning tea.
Brunswick wool for learning to knit. My husband taught me. He had knitted me a scarf and hat before we were married.
You found a man who knit for you? That’s awesome!
I first started knitting by teaching myself in college. I bought a rose colored chunky wool yarn and made a sweater with buttons–ambitious for a first project. I have no idea what happened to it. Maybe it fell apart from lots of use. Or it was a chunky wool dark purple pullover sweater because I was jealous of my Swiss friend’s beautiful off white chunky sweater. I took a hand spinning class in college too which I loved. We learned to spin on hand made potato spindles and then dyed our wool with natural dyes. That was in 1977. I am already on your email list and love that Snippets comes out on the weekend.
Lovely stashes, ladies! 🙂
As a teen I was given a lot of cheap wool and acrylic yarn because it was known that I aspired to knit. (The only project I ever finished was a raggedy scarf in my brother’s soccer team colors. He actually wore it a few times for cold outdoor games.)
As an adult, I picked up crocheting as something to do while I spent a lot of time nursing a baby with acid reflux. So the first yarn I actually bought for myself was three skeins of Red Heart worsted acrylic in yellow, blue, and black, and I made my son a Minion beanie that, because I had no idea of hook size or gauge, actually didn’t fit until he was 18 months old. My second child inherited it last winter. They’ve both loved it, so I’m glad it’s held up well. I’ve since moved on from crocheting to knitted and acrylic to wool. 😉
I’m not sure I even remember! The one that comes to mind was a couple skeins of cream colored Lion Brand Wool Ease that turned into a huge thick scarf.
My first purchased yarn was some kind of cheap cotton for a hat that never worked out. My second was a Noro sock-weight yarn, which three years later finally became socks. There’s still a little left around here somewhere.
I’m subscribed
Wow!!! Ann’s stash has some blues and grays that would look so nice with my salt ‘n pepper hair, and I almost never knit for myself. The rest would be used for my charitable project, Serenity Scarves, now celebrating its tenth anniversary. I can see rainbow possibilities in Kay’s stash, and we make rainbow items to benefit a nonprofit that supports LBGTQ youth.
Oops, very sorry: my first yarn was Lopi Icelandic bulky wool.
Not sure the brand but it was acrylic for a scarf-probably Lion Brand
The first yarn I ever bought was Simply Soft from JoAnn’s. But the first REAL yarn I ever bought was a fingering weight skein (2 really) of the cheapest sock yarn I could find at the local yarn store. I remember that it was $8.00 a skein and I thought it was a FORTUNE for a pair of socks. If I’d only known! #sockknitter #addict
Montgomery Wars acrylic which I thought was just the greatest thing I had ever had prior. I can’t remember the real name but I did make a granny square blanket. That same enthusiasm is now saved for only the finest of yarns such as Malabrigo lace.
I think the first yarn I bought was Red Heart for a pair of crocheted slippers. I would have been 10 or 11. I no longer have the slippers, but I made 2 or 3 pairs from that pattern in the next 4 years.
Very interested! I hope you guys aren’t prejudiced against crocheters
Ooops! I forgot to say that the first yarn that I ever bought was probably red heart
I think it was a cotton yarn to make a pot holder. I still am using that pot holder in my kitchen. It’s bright yellow and makes me happy to see it.
Probably Red Heart but it was the 60’s so I’m not sure.
Wow…such a long time ago! I think it was called Phentex? I lived near the Canadian border and there was an outlet shop in town. I got rug yarn, doubled it and knit slippers like “grandma used to do.”
Boy, I can’t hardly guess what my first yarn purchase was. I know I was a teenager, so that was a long time ago. Probably a Red Heart yarn or maybe even a brand that doesn’t still exist. I know it was something cheap and I didn’t know anything about yarn shops. I probably bought yarn to make an afghan, as I did several of those as a beginner. It looks to me like both of you ladies have beautiful yarn stashes. Aren’t you lucky?
A sweaters worth of soft yellow acrylic in the early 1980s. I made a nice sweater for a 4-H project and ended up taking it to the Ohio state fair when I was 15 or 16. I had knit before, but this was the first major project with yarn I bought myself. I do much better now recording the type of yarn that I use. Ravelry helps a lot!
I am a latecomer to knitting. My first yarn purchase was Cascade 2020 Superwash Worsted in a lovely Forest Green Heather. I knit Jared Flood’s Guernsey Wrap and still love it to pieces.
I started knitted 55 years ago, so I have no idea what brand of yarn I used, but I am sure it was some type of acrylic. I made slippers for everyone in the family.
My first knitting was with yarn from my grandmother’s stash when I was about 10 years old – 56 years ago. She taught me to knit during the family vacation at ‘camp’ on a small lake in northern Vermont. I then went on to knit for my Barbie dolls with what I am sure was inexpensive acrylic yarn.
I surely cannot remember as I was 17 and am now 75. I do remember it was a bulky white yarn that a daringly made into a cardigan with mock cables – must be the reason I’m am still daring and will try almost anything!
Plymouth Encore in 1993 for my first hat. It’s still in use, although it’s been adopted by my fiance, since his head gets cold. 🙂
I think it was banana fiber yarn, in pink, that I purchased for my sister, who knit a tie for her husband out of it. I wasn’t yet a knitter then. Now that we both knit, and 15+ years later, we often gift each other some nice yarns.
my first yarn was bought for me when i was in 6th grade – 1966 – to help knit a carriage robe ( i had no idea what it was) it was a baby blanket. the color was a soft pale green – the pattern was cast on 124, knit six rows – pattern -row one – knit six -knit six,purl one, knit six, knit one ( repeat across) – knit the last six stitches- row two – knit six – purl six, knit one, purl six – knit the last six stitches – (repeat these two rows three times then knit across two rows – then start back on the pattern – at the end you knit six rows. I think it was six balls of yarn. the blanket was for one of my mothers teacher friends who was expecting a baby. my mother was a teacher and at that time they all smoked in the teachers lounge and knitted during lunch except for the men, they were coaches. the only reason they quit smoking is because one day one of the teachers caught their knitting on fire, just smoke, no flame. They also came up with a great poncho pattern which we all made and wore.
I used yarn bought by my mother as a child. I don’t recall when I first bought my own yarn!
Pretty sure it was Red Heart acrylic when I was 9 years old and teaching myself to knit from a little “How to Knit” booklet. I wanted to make a pair of house shoes like my friend had. My mom could crochet but not knit. So I had to learn on my own. And I’m still learning, but that’s what makes it SO fun.
It was red heart for my first afghan. I didn’t know about premium yarns then and it took many years for me to find them! I bought a magazine from Michael’s and I could never find the yarn for the pattern I wanted to make and the internet was newer then.
I don’t remember it would have been around 1969 when my mom and grandmother taught me to knit and i was hooked on making slippers and doll clothes! It was probably a blue since old bits of knitting that I’ve turned up over the years are all in the same blue family! College friends from the 1970s still remember me knitting them slippers!
Red Heart Worcester weight for learning how in Girl Scouts…nearly 50 years ago!
My first yard was a red heart worsted when I knit a scarf for my 4-H project! Later, I bought a fine gray dk wool to make a wrap sweater for my first born – I finally finished that soft little sweater recently for a grandchild!!!
Maybe we should trade stashes? You could arrange it – draw people’s names out of a hat to match them (but then there is that cold weather vs. hot weather part of the country!).
Red Heart – I was young, inexperienced, and broke! It was years before I found a local yarn store.
Oh yes, a yellow acrylic for a ribbed sweater from Pamida when I was 9. I don’t remember the brand but I do remember wearing that sweater to school and being really proud of it. By the way, yellow makes me look like I have mange. Now I know that.
I was 8, it was 1952, and my mother gave me a skein of Red Heart blue yarn, some kind of synthetic yarn. I sat on the front porch steps, cast on 10 stitches with US 10 needles, and knit in garter stitch. Something went haywire, and after a couple of rows I had 8 stitches, and a growing hole in my “scarf.” After some more rows my scarf looked like a trapezoid. I gave up, and didn’t try knitting again for another 20 years. I read a lot of knitting books, finally got the hang of it, and I’ve been knitting ever since.
My very first yarn purchase was a yellow wool when I was 10 from the local department store. My fifth grade teacher was going to teach all the girls who wanted to learn how to knit. We knit a hat–one long rectangle with a triangle at each end. I think my teacher cast on our triangles. We tied the cast-on yarn and the bind off yarn under our chins. (This was the 1960s). It was years before I learned wool did not have to be scratchy!
Oh my goodness! I have no idea what the first yarn I bought was, but I do remember where it was. In a yarn store in Tehachapi CA, and unfortunately it is no longer open. I do have a yarn stash. For some projects I buy yarn specifically for them; others, I choose from my stash, which is always fun.
Oh my word! How fun!!!
The first yarn I ever bought was Online Linie in a beautiful blue variegated colorway. I was living in Chicago and was pregnant with my first child when I realized that, since my grandmother had died six months before, there wasn’t anyone in my family to create the beautiful handmade items like she had.
So, I signed up for an evening knitting class at an LYS. I took the train one night a week and walked the several blocks to the shop. It changed my life. That was eleven and a half years ago, and I never looked back. I am so happy to have knitting, knitters, and yarn in my life. I love knitting for myself and for others. It’s just great!
My happiest knitting moments are when people say to me, “Your grandmother would be so proud of you!!”
Too long ago to know what yarn but I feel pretty confident that it was inexpensive acrylic yarn in a shocking pink color!
I remember buying 3 skeins of Aunt Lydia’s Rug Yarn at a store called the Yarn Barn, this was in the 1970’s. I bought dark green, blue and red. I made three crocheted bags that I gave to my girlfriends. We thought we were pretty groovy! After a long hiatus I started knitting seriously about 10 years ago and haven’t looked back!
I can’t remember the first yarn I ever bought, but I can share what may be the first sweater’s worth of yarn I ever bought. My mom, my daughter, and I were in Ashland for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It was 2003 and I was pretty new to knitting this time around. A friend had gotten me restarted via felting knitted bags (oh, Fiber Trends). We visited The Websters and I was smitten with Obi, a kimono jacket in Simply Knit, and I bought enough Jamieson’s Shetland Double Knitting in two rich, subdued greens to make it. It’s been knitted for many years but never finished. The neckband needs to be sewn on and the side and sleeve seams sewn. Maybe I’ll do that this winter! Really! Knit happens (but sewing rarely does)!
It was bright orange with a little mohair. Thanks for the contest!
my first yarn purchsed was lion brand fisherman’s wool, i made a garter stitch scarf.
First yarn w/Red Heart in an amazing sunset-y range of yellow-orange. I knit a scarf for my older brother who was leaving for college. I was 13 or so. Not knowing any better, I knit a very wide scarf, using 3 skeins of yarn. Later that winter when the heating failed, he spiral wrapped himself in its plentitude, and crawled into his sleeping bag. Only warm person in his form.
Fast forward 20 some years – and the 2nd yarn I bought was Collinette Jitterbug.
Sure like it a lot more than that squeaky acrylic.
And am still wearing those socks.
Malabrigo rios for a hat!
I started knitting as an adult with yarn recycled from a beloved charcoal grey cashmere sweater that got a new hole in it every time I wore it. My daughter helped me frog the whole thing. I used the yarn doubled to knit my husband a scarf.
My first “real” yarn purchase (from a LYS,) was a Colinette sportweight yarn, variegated in berry & rich purple. Good enough to eat! I made a scarf for my mother–my first lace project.
My first independent purchase was a very soft pink sport weight wool to knit my mother a vest. I was a teen knitter funded by my babysitting earnings. Years later she and I sorted through her cedar chest and discovered she had carefully saved this gift garment, which she may have worn (perhaps) one time!
I now have the vest in my home and it brings me such joy to see the occasional misplaced lacey holes, button holes! and seaming NOT exactly as the designer intended.
A tweedy wool worsted weight at a big box store in Fort Collins. The year was 1989. No idea of the brand but am proud to say it was 100% wool and the moths enjoyed it very much when I abandoned the project to focus on grad school and a busy three year old who had stopped taking long naps during my knitting time.
I think my first skein of yarn I bought was Sayelle. It was on sale at the local dept store for 99 cents & I made a garter stitch scarf. (which I still own)
First yarn I ever bought . . . a long time ago. Red Heart 100% wool in a 4 ounce skein. It cost 99 cents and I got it at my local drug store. It was bright red. My grandmother was going to teach me to knit so I got the yarn and some size 8 straight needles which she had suggested.
I learned how to knit in elementary school. A classmate’s mother was teaching an after school class. I think it was literally only one single class. But I was so fired up that I went to our local yarn shop and purchased my first “stash” wool.
Even at age eight I was obsessed with good quality yarn and I remember the woman at the yarn shop presenting me with some very soft cranberry-colored worsted weight wool, along with needles and a “how to knit” booklet containing the classic garter stitch scarf pattern, which I eagerly purchased. It took me about ten years to finish the scarf, but it was quite long when I finally cast off. I wore that scarf everywhere, I was so proud of it. I got so many compliments on it, even with the dropped/wonky stitches and variable width!
Unfortunately, I accidentally left it at Williams Pub in Minneapolis one night during my freshman year of college and even though I went right back the next day, no one had turned it in. My cranberry wool garter stitch scarf made with my very first stash purchase–gone forever.
Red Heart acrylic, in white! To make a baby blanket!
Can’t exactly remember, but it was a novelty yarn with squiggly soft bits and an appearance of moss.
My first knitting yarn was a red Sayelle bought from Super Yarn Store in San Diego. I made a red scarf as a first project.
I imagine my story is similar to others in my age bracket. Living in a small town, the only place to buy yarn was the five and ten store which only sold Red Heart acrylic in a few colors and that was that. Plus single-point aluminum needles and Coat & Clarks pattern leaflets. We are sure spoiled for choice now!
My first yarn was a Sugar ‘n Cream cotton because I was frightened of wool and cheap. Didn’t know if I was going to like knitting and shied away from making too much of an investment.
My prior experience of yarn was variety store acrylic (horrid color!) in the early 1970’s and I had no idea of fiber’s progress. Before and after my “Learn To Knit” class, I became far more educated and began to lust after the colors and textures on my LYS shelves.
I know I crocheted slippers with some acrylic yarn when I was young… I think the first yarn I purchased once I had my own money was some peach coloured acrylic for an Afghan which I still have… the Afghan and some leftover yarn… more than 25 years later LOL 🙂 Thank you for this very generous giveaway! <3
First yarn purchased was Red Heart Hot Pink. I made a scarf – wonder where that is now?
Ah, yes. It was Lionbrand Homespun in various earthy shades. I crocheted a HUGE afghan that is pilled to the extreme and taunts me from the couch.
OH my… the first yarn I bought was 100% wool in 4 ounce skeins from Korvettes in Plainfield, NJ. It cost me 88 cents.. and I paid for it with money I made babysitting!!! I still have an afghan made with that yarn.. 50 years ago!!!! And yes, I’m already signed up for your wonderful newsletter. Thanks for this cool giveaway.
No wire hangers! It was Aunt Lydia’s rug yarn and my grandmother taught me to crochet thick covers for wood coat hangers. I think they’re done in something called popcorn stitch, and they’re the best. Nothing slides off and no pointy shoulders. I still make them for anyone I can force them onto (these are to me what dishcloths are to you two), but that’s the only thing I crochet except for the occasional blanket border.
First yarn I ever bought was Peaches and Cream cotton so I could knit dish cloths. It was a great beginner project.
So generous of you! Thank you!
It was a crunchy, wooly, deep purple yarn that made amazingly indestructible mittens.
I don’t really count the first yarn I ever bought since I didn’t continue with my attempt at knitting and never finished a project with it. I don’t remember the brand but it was 100% acrylic and I kept it for about 25 years, always thinking I would try knitting again someday. When I finally decided to try to learn how to knit again, I bought a skein of Brown Sheep lanaloft worsted and knitted a simple scarf that I still like and wear five years later.
I don’t really know. I was living in Germany and bought a learn to knit kit.
I believe my first yarn purchase after learning to knit in 2001 was Patron’s Canadiana in a pale green to make an afghan for my Grandmother. She had stitched many embroideries and crewels and knit many gorgeous afghans and sweaters for all of us, and a beautiful cabled Kelly green dress for me (which she added to as I grew taller) over the years. No one had ever knit for her. She cherished that afghan, keeping it on her bed and wheelchair every day for the last years of her life, at home, in hospital and in hospice. After she left us, she made sure I inherited that very same blanket from her.
Well 50 years ago is a long way for my memory to reach back. I was living in Calgary Alberta . There were a lot of European yarns up there then. I think it was a scheepjes cotton mix with a nice texture and a thread of navy blue through the lumpy white. It became my first sweater for my future husband. I have a US address. 2662 Serven Road Waterloo NY13165
Happy to…….Beginning with, I am typing my first real comment since Aug 20, 2017, when I tripped over something and broke 2 bones in my left arm which has been in a sling all this time. So forgive me if there are some funky letters/words, etc. (I have already changed a bunch) fingers aren’t working like they used to yet.
My first yarn was purchased at a variety store, I think it was Red Heart (this town still doesn’t have a yarn store to speak of except Wal Mart and Hobby Lobby). The colors were pink, white and blue – yep for first baby blanket (first anything) – butterfly pattern. My grandmother taught me to knit and purl, the pattern taught me the rest. It was lovely and kept her warm for years, until someone washed it with hot water – did I mention it was wool?
Thanks, Carole
Can’t wait to get these bones “knitted” so I can get busy knitting with my sticks!
In my long ago past, the first yarn I bought was an acrylic. maybe Bernat or what ever was a brand in the 1970’s (honestly can’t remember). In the more recent past, my first stashed yarn was Pisgah Yarn and Dyeing Co. Peaches and Cream Cotton. I bought several dozen colors, because the company was no longer going to be making this yarn and I believed I wouldn’t be able to find anything like it anywhere else! Fast forward a year and I found out about Indie Dyers, and beautiful fiber contents, when our small town, had a local yarn shop open, and then I joined a knitting group and I haven’t looked back! Funny I still have a whole bunch of that Cotton yarn and I honestly don’t know when I’ll ever be able to de-stash it!
I’m sure the first one I remember was a Red Heart variety because it was inexpensive but I think the first one I worked with was the fuzzy kind that makes it too difficult to actually learn on…
Red Heart was my first yarn to Knit/crochet with! Bright orange….my grandma thought I should have a bright yarn to learn on and boy was it bright! At 8 it was magical no matter what color and I think of her often and know she would love all of the amazing yarns I knit with now……50+ years later!
Let’s see. The first yarn I knitted with was left over from a project when my mother tried to knit.
The first I bought would have been about 45 years ago. It was almost certainly cheap acrylic and I think was purchased at a department store. I’m thinking red heart or such. I knitted a green sweater with set in sleeves.
My first yarn was Red Heart in black, when I was teaching myself to knit from a book. I was sick in bed for week on doctor’s orders and needed something to do. So I said, I’m going to teach myself to knit.
Berroco Comfort in a variegated purple, which I used to make my very first swatch and then my first scarf.
The first yarn I bought was a skein of… some sort of sock yarn… which I don’t remember well because it wasn’t for me. It was for my BFF, who loved to knit, and while I had no idea why – yet – I drove past a yarn shop every day on the way to work and just stopped in one day to see what this knitting thing was all about. Little did I know that place would soon become my Happiest Place, and be filled with some of my favorite people. Now I just can’t stop knitting, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
I think the first yarn I bought was some unknown/unlabeled stuff from the thrift store, when I was maybe 10 years old, not long after I’d had a knitting lesson at the local library (to this day, I don’t know how I cast on with that, since I couldn’t actually remember how and it didn’t occur to me to check out a book from the library). The first “labeled” yarn I bought (post real knitting lessons) was two balls of cotton (I can’t remember the brand name), one in dark green and the other in blue/white, from which I painstakingly made each of my grandmothers a dishcloth for Christmas. 🙂
I learned to crochet from my grandmother at age 8 and learned to knit from a kit at age 12, but counted cross-stitch was my craft of choice.
I went to England on a two-week college exchange trip in January 1994. While wandering the wonder that is Harrods, I discovered a wool shop within. On a complete whim, I sifted through the bargain baskets. I purchased three balls of tweedy murky purple wool and a bagged kit containing about 10 different seemingly random small balls of yarn. Some were wool, some cotton, some blends. They were in shades of autumn leaves, but otherwise unrelated, and any indication of what pattern or project went with them was long gone.
A few days later, we toured the town of Winchester and its cathedral. After the tour, we had time on our own on a frigid day with rain bucketing down. I found refuge in a bookshop. There, on a front (possibly bargain) table, I gound a learn to knit book and bought it to reteach myself.
Eventually, the random-ish yarn became a striped scarf for my mom, knitted using a pattern from one of her mother’s little 1950s pattern books.Three generations connected by yarn.
The purple became a not wholly successful hat from Nicki Epstein’s first hat book. Because I really worked at it (much ripping back), the stitches are perfect. Because I had no concept of gauge and hadn’t settled as a knitter yet, it’s floppy and shapeless and rather unwearable (and currently missing). It’s designed to be foldable into different configurations, but all it does is flop.
I still have one ball of the purple and should make something actually useful from it, like fingerless gloves, so I can wear the memory of acquiring it.
Oh myyyy!! I’m drooling over this one! The first yarn I remember buying was in the mid to late 1970’s. I was about 10 years old and loved to crochet for babies! Dazzleaire was the hot stuff in those days and I actually still have snippets lying in my craft room. Oh the memories of cheap colorful synthetic yarn! You didn’t dare stand too close to the fireplace at Christmas! I never thought of buying anything else due to my severe allergies to animal hair.
The first “real” yarn I remember buying was about 15 years ago on a family vacation with my parents. We stopped in a wonderful little artisan town in Southern Indiana and there in the museum gift shop was a beautiful bundle of hand dyed, hand spun DK Alpaca. I touched it expecting to feel a scratchy wad in my hand, but instead it was like stroking a newborn babies hair! I was elated and walked out with a whole new perspective on fiber. I still have that skein in my stash because nothing seems quite the right pattern to use it in.
Both of these sacrificial destahes make me weep with joy. Simple pleasures.
OMG, I had forgotten about Dazzleaire! Thank you for that memory!
My first yarn was Rowan Summerspun – it has taken me on the start of a very long journey exploring lovely yarn and colours. And I don’t think this journey will have an end – beauty for the soul x
My first item to wend its way into my stash was Berroco Ultra Alpaca. I attended one of Amy Herzog’s early Fit to Flatter workshops. I wanted to learn where on earth I should begin in the process of making a sweater. We discussed different styles, took measurements and tried on different sweaters. At the end of the day, I left with the Ayana pattern and enough yarn to make a sweater. Then life intervened, and my stash was born. I still haven’t graduated to that pattern, but my stash has led me in different directions. I just love my evening hour of knitting each day, both for the peace and learning something new.
Caron simply soft in variegated green and white to make an afghan that I finished and still use 20 years latter!
My first yarns were bought at Hobby Lobby and I don’t remember what they were. But my first “real” yarn was bought when I discovered a LYS in Omaha called Personal Threads. It was a cotton yarn by Schachenmayr that was exactly like a doll dress my grandmother crocheted. Same colors too. Due to a car accident I was trying to switch from crocheting to knitting.. The body was having troubles and I needed to craft and I thought before I gave it all up I would try to knit. Relying on memory from my mom teaching me as a kid, and the wonderful internet, I was able to pick it up again. Once I discovered all the wonderful yarns at the shop there was no going back.
I have been enjoying reading your site since before you became MDK, and really love how you have progressed. I even joined a Year of Techniques to boost my learning skills and got some really cool yarns and patterns. Keep up the great work!!!
A skein of farm merino yarn without brand while travelling in New Zealand.
Lion Brand Homespun–I used to make baby afghans/reading blankets when everyone was still at the having babies stage (Some of those babies are now in college!!)
Well.. I don’t remember my first yarn purchase as it was more than a few decades ago. I’m sure that is was some sort of acrylic yarn for a scarf.
I’m relieved to see that others also started crocheting acrylic from a dime store to make an afghan. I had 2 early projects — I’m not positive which came first:
There was pink (probably acrylic) baby yarn that I crocheted hairpin lace with and turned into a baby blanket? A small throw? I started it without knowing what it would become and lost steam, so it didn’t get very big. I think a bunch of kids were doing it at school and I wanted to do it too.
There was also a peach, mint green, and white (probably acrylic too, probably from Kmart or Kresge’s) granny square afghan project that became my 1st unfinished object, may it RIP.
Lion Brand Homespun in the color Gothic. I made a shawl that was just 2 rectangles sewn together. I still have some of the yarn, but I’m not sure what happened to the shawl…
Red heart at age 8. My babysitter taught me to knit. What a wonderful life skill she gave me
I have no idea what brand it was, but my first yarn purchase was an inexpensive acrylic yarn in a tweedy dark red. It was to make my first knitting project – an improvised cable knit scarf. I still have it, although by now I’ve moved far beyond washable acrylic yarns… it’s not a particularly soft and comfortable scarf, because its made out of what I would consider afghan quality yarn, but it’s nice to have it hanging out in the coat closet anyway. (:
I signed up at the Horicon Library for a knitting class, and it was a sock class! I had to ask the clerk, Lynda, for 2 different colors for socks. I ended up with self striping yarn because Lynda said it would bring interest to me while I knit. And she was right! A black, gray and white sock and a crazy blue, indigo pair of socks.
Waaaaaay too long ago. I started with my grandmother’s leftovers. I do remember buying yarn 35 years ago in Seattle to make a vest for myself out of a tweedy angora wool acrylic blend in burgundy/cream flecks from a discount place. Never completed the vest however. Got half done and stored it in the garage during a move and yup a critter got into it and ate some of it…yuk. Threw that away.
My first yarn purchase was Bernat Handicrafter Cotton
Brown Sheep because it was what the lady who taught me to knit had used!
Wintuck yarn over 45 years ago. It was what I could afford using the money I saved up… pennies, nickels and dimes.
An acrylic yarn from Woolworths. Have no idea what the brand was; this was back in the late 1960’s. A friend’s mother taught us how to knit, and we all made scarves for Christmas presents.
Pioneer by Vonnel in the late 60’s; I was about 10 and learning to do the afghan stitch in crochet. This stuff is nasty but I still have some.
Oh my gosh that is lost in the mists of time! It was the late 60’s and I was a poor college student so as so many have said it was probably Red Heart or some other inexpensive equivalent. My taste has improved greatly since then as has my budget!
Malabrigo Rios. I signed up to learn to knit at my LYS and I liked the colors. It turned out that learning with a variegated skein was actually helpful. I also learned to knit right before the local yarn store crawl in my area and the LYS’s stash sale. I added a bunch of things to my stash that I had no ideas how to use, but I did figure it out within the next 3 years.
Red heart acrylic back before I knew what the good stuff was!?
A stunning pale lavender angora on a trip to Paris, 1974. I was 16, and that started me on my knitting path! (Not a great yarn for a beginner, but why waste your time handling something that isn’t really delicious? We’re worth it!)
I honestly can’t remember the name of the yarn, but it was a soft wool blend I picked out after my first successful knitting lessons, to make a sweater for my tiny daughter. I must have been inspired by the magic of my lessons, from the incomparable and wonderful Elizabeth Zimmerman
My first yarn purchase was an olive green skein of Lion Brand Wool-Ease for felting a Booga Bag, a pattern that was all the rage when I first started knitting. How awesome to have a ready-made stash prize!!
I can’t even recall, I think some cheap acrylic in the supermarket for crocheting granny squares for a blanket.
I bought 6 skeins of pink acrylic yarn for a sweater. The store was on Speedway in Tucson, Arizona. I set the sweater down about half way through and didn’t pick it up for a good 10 years. But when I did, it brought me back to knitting and I haven’t looked back. Good times!!
My first skein was blue acrylic from my neighborhood Woolworth’s. I’d secretly saved the money from birthday gifts to make a scarf for my mother. I’d been crocheting since I was four, but always with yarn from my mother’s stash. I wanted to totally surprise her with materials that had not been hers to start with. This was over 60 years ago, and my memory is somewhat hazy, to say the least. What I remember vividly was sneaking off to the store. To get there from my house, I had to cross two streets. I must have been around six years old, because at that age I was forbidden to cross any traffic on my own — yet I knew I was capable of doing it and living to tell the tale! Well, I survived; I bought the yarn, I made the scarf, and I never told my mother about my bravery, and disobedience, in acquiring the yarn for her gift.
Berella 4 as a teenager using babysitting money to make an afghan for my dad.
A crimpy Red Heart yarn that I used with needles that were way too big!
Lily Sugar and Cream cotton. Made a dishcloth for Mom, about a month after she taught me how to knit! Thanks, Mom!
Sue Sunday
First yarn was red heart 4 ply
I would love to win since I am retired and not a lot of money
Yellow Red Heart. It’s what I practiced with as my grandmother was teaching me to knit.
I believe the first yarn I ever bought was Reynolds Lopi. Someone introduced felting to me early on and that one was the best.
Red Heart Acrylic in the Mexicana Colorway. I was in elementary school.
But before yarn, came thread. Bedspread Cotton Crochet Thread, but Brand is long gone from memory..
I bought Patons Moorland yarn for a knitting class at a Wild and Wooly Needlecraftscraft shop. (The shop was part of a chain in the Washington, D.C. area but doesn’t seem to be around anymore.)
Pink Red Heart yarn to make some house slippers. They turned out okay so I bought lots more & started on a sweater. It wasn’t perfect but I worn it & proudly told everyone I’d made it. Onward & upward from there!
You are not going to believe this (or maybe you will). Bernat Berella 4 color Geranium–I still have a skein!
I started knitting a long time ago so there wasn’t much available at the time. Some Caron Acrylic worsted yarn is probably the first yarn that I bought.
I first came back to knitting with a passion many many years after learning as a child. I was intrigued by a set of the brightly colored circular knitting looms. I purchased several skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky and whipped up hats for every child and relative. Shortly thereafter, I was back shopping for needles to see how much I remembered. Now it’s knitting, spinning, fiber festivals–the works!
The first yarn I remember buying when trying to learn how to knit 6+ years ago, was Cascade 220 in a Heathered green. I still have some of it.
The first yarn I got was some blue boucle stuff. I can’t remember the brand. I knitted a square with it, complete with a dropped stitch that the yarn actually hid fairly well. I ended up making it into a little nightcap which I still wear when the weather is really cold.
My first yarn was a bright pink acrylic from Woolworth in downtown Savannah GA….struggled with crochet, taught by my grandma until learning to knit a few years later…. knitting is my passion and I have become a terrible yarn snob
MAnos del Uruguay classic kettle dyed Already signed up for e newsletter
I bought red heart yarn to practice knitting along a book I bought. I used it make a very ugly scarf for my nephew!
A cheap acrylic in yellow and brown that I bought from Kmart or somewhere similar. My college roommates taught me to knit and I made a hat with stripes and a pompom.
Red Heart Acrylic – I was so very excited to start.
Oof, first yarn ever? It’s been (as the kids say) a minute. The first one I can remember offhand was a SQ of rust-colored angora from that lovely old (sadly now closed) yarn store in Woodstock.
Incidentally, I still have that yarn. I set the sweater aside and promptly gained about 30 pounds; my new SQ required a bit more yardage. 😉
My first yarn purchase was Lions Brand, for a very uneven scarf for my husband. He still wears it, lol. And thank you for the ‘color’ series–something I need to understand! Yes, I’ve already signed up for your newsletter, as you two are going to be a great light in my life.
The first yarn I ever purchased was a red skein of Cascade 220 to use in a how-to-knit class.
I am already enjoying the snippets newsletter. Thanks!
First yarn I got was 50+ years ago, so I can’t guarantee the accuracy of my memory,but I think the brand was First Lady purchased in the mid-1960’s at in the yarn dept. at White’s Department Store. I knit myself a cardigan but Mother had to help me with the ribbon for the buttonband.
My knitting “career” has had many fits and stops. In a fit of insanity, the first thing I attempted to knit wasn’t a dishcloth or a scarf but a tunic–down to my knees–in stockinette stitch. Despite that I kept knitting. The first yarn I remember buying was Phildar. The actual yarn is lost to the mists of time. Early on I attempted patterns way above my pay grade but nevertheless I persisted. Now I choose very nice yarn and patterns that I suspect I will love forever.
My first yarn was a bright green acrylic from the five and dime store.
Honestly I don’t remember the first yarn I ever bought. I was 9 years old when my Mom taught me to knit. Since I am now well over 60 this was a very long time ago !
I’m pretty sure that the first yarn I purchased was Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in a grey and black color. I knit a gigantic garter stitch scarf. I still wear it! It’s 7 this year.
First yarn I ever bought? You must be kidding. That event is lost somewhere around the dawn of history. I do know that the oldest yarn in my stash is a lovely French cashmere that I knit several dainty baby items with almost 30 years ago. I had a tragic moth event last year, and had to throw away many vintage items, but that bit of stash remains and is best beloved.
My first yarn was probably some sort of Red Heart acrylic.
It was probably Red Heart. I know I learned to knit with an inexpensive acrylic and dinged up needles I swiped from my mom. Things have gotten better since.
I started knitting in the 1960s so I bought Red Heart yarn at Woolworths. I still have quite a bit of this yarn that I inherited from my mother when Red heart had a huge sale on their 100% wool yarn in the early 1970s. Help! I really need some newer yarn than what I inherited 12 years ago.
My first yarn was a acrylic varigated that I knit into a scarf for my dolls.
It had to gave been red heart super saver. I used to ogle the color selection while my mom shopped. She would always leave me in the yarn section of the store and then pick me up when she was done. I would consider each color and what I would make out of it!
The first yarn I bought was Lion homespun to make a scarf for a class…that was when I was bitten by the knitting bug and haven’t looked back! My stash is more natural fibers now, thank goodness, and I enjoy knitting ever so much more with it!
the first yarn i ever bought was Red Heart hot pink and purple to make myself a sweater. I was 7. Had already made Barbie clothes but wanted something I could wear myself and my mom made me buy the yarn because she didn’t believe i would finish it. she was right. the color combo was something only a 7 year old could love…until i didn’t….
Hmm. It was some sort of orange acrylic. I was under 10, and made a change purse. The first brand I remember : Morehouse Merino. I made a scarf with a charcoal grey worsted.
Patons 3-ply feather soft machine washable nylon. Made in Australia. As a brand new knitter, I didn’t know what I was doing/buying. It was soft, the colors were very pretty, but it made my hands hurt. I learned with knit with real wool after that experience.
My first hank of yarn was a koigu of beautiful green and pinks. I live in nz and it was rare to actually be able to touch the real thing. I made gloves from the hank (which the dog chewed earlier this year but I am keeping for memories sake).
The first ever yarn I bought was Lilys Sugar and Cream. I was attempting to make a blanket for my newborn nephew and screwed it all up with an array of different stitches and not counting and looking back now I am embarassed they even have it!! But that’s really all that’s around me that I can buy. No yarn stores and I don’t want to buy online if I don’t know what it feels like or how it works up. About 97% of the yarn I’ve bought was Red Heart Super Saver 🙁
I don’t remember the brand, but it was a multicolor baby yarn which I used to crochet a baby blanket for my oldest child many years ago
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Lana grossa Cinque alto for knitting a binary hat in 2013
OMG what a fabulous prize either would be. i don’t remember what the actual 1st was but it would have been 100% NZ wool & likely scratchy as hell !! I made a cabled owl square wall hanging
One never discloses the size of her stash, Neve Ever!! I can ALWAYS use more
The first yarn I bought was Berroco Ultra Alpaca in a beautiful color — Pink Grapefruit. A friend who was a great knitter taught me to make a feather and fan lace scarf. I still love the color of that yarn.
I can’t remember the exact yarn, but it probably was some eyelash or other effect yarn from LANG.
I bought a Lang sock yarn to make a Hitchhiker, of course! Holes galore but I still wear it. The yarn has a kinda crispy hand.
Lion Brand Homespun – to make a crochet fur stitch scarf/ boa when I was in high school.
First yarn…probably Red Heart, definitely variegated bright colors. If I win, I will share with my knitting friends and my third grade lunch time knitting girls. Thanks so much.
It was a lightweight heathery wool for a sweater. Beautiful yarn! But because it was the Dark Ages, I can’t remember what brand it was!
It is hard for me to remember the first yarn I bought, it was soooo long ago….about 60 years ago ! It was to knit mittens for my kids. It was wool. The mittens stretched a lot once they were wet. ! Therefore, my name for it is “Amateur’s Choice”.
My first yarn was purchased in the late 1960’s from a store in Washington, DC not far from Dupont Circle. The shop is no longer in business. It was a worsted weight wool in an off-white color to make a sweater filled with cables for my boyfriend. Sweater was finished shortly before the relationship.
As a teenager from East Central Illinois in 1970, I purchased an Afghan quantity of yarn from Oregon Worsted Company, “pioneers of Western yarn” 8300 SE McLoughlin Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97202. My grandmother, Alvida Wegmet, got a catalog from this company and helped me calculate yardage and my quantity discount. I ordered worsted weight wool in navy and light and dark steel blue. With Grandma’s help I crocheted and assembled squares for this gift to my boyfriend as he departed for college. The boyfriend is now my husband of 41 years and the Afghan is still in use. For reasons that are a mystery, I found a label for this yarn as I was editing my stash a few years ago. My grandmother excelled in sharing her love of crafts and as a leftie, taught many of her right handed grandchildren to knit and crochet. She did her work in the spirit of Modern Daily Knitting.
Oh Gawd I can’t remember the very FIRST yarn I ever bought but I do recall a very lovely deep green worsted wool that I knit into a huge cabled cardigan that was WAY too large for me so I gave it away. Thanks for having this stash giveaway!!
I knit a red sweater out of Bernet yarn and sewed it together with a sewing machine. No it didn’t look too good.
My first stash was bright primary colors variegated Red Heart acrylic that I used for garter stitch hair bands when I was eight or nine. Used it for some crochet sombreros for hot sauce bottles 20 years later, and I think I still have some in the deep stash. I loved the pooling then and I love it now!
First yarn I bought with my own money was from Green Mountain Spinnery In Vermont in 1981. I was a college student in Massachusetts & hadn’t knit since I was a kid, but took the hour + drive north to check out a brand new woman’s collective focused on yarn, fiber arts, raising sheep, & fair labor practices. I was blown away by their operation, their values & product, as well as the beauty of Putney, Vermont. I still buy patterns & yarn from them to this day.
I think the yarn was Cascade super wash – I made a very ill-fitting pink cardigan with adorable buttons (that was the only adorable thing about that first sweater!!) but decades later I am still thoroughly addicted to knitting! Love your website and really look forward to all your posts – Happy Knitting –
I would love to win one of your beautiful stashes – what an excellent prize! The first yarn I ever bought as an adult knitter was a Filatura di Crosa mohair type yarn. It was in hot pink and I used it for sleeves and trim on a big hairy sweater that I never once wore, lol!
P.S. I love my snippets on a saturday morning. I live in Canada, but do have a family members’ address that can be used if I were so fortunate as to win.
The first yarn I consciously remember buying myself was a burgundy red mohair in a little independent yarn shop in my university city in the late 70’s. Later I used to knit for them to earn a bit of extra money…
Before that we (mum and granny!)used to order yarn from 3Suisses, all acrylic in our village. No yarn shops around in those times.
A Red Heart acrylic
Oh man, the memories! The first yarn I bought was Berger du Nord Belle (100% silk) in sky blue. Aren’t I fancy? Of course, I only bought ONE BALL, so I couldn’t really do anything with it with my strictly limited knit-stitch-on-straight-needles skill level, so the first project I made was a scarf out of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. Nice and sensible. My mom still wears it to football games (even when I’m not there to see).
Galway Heather Aran -age 11 – to make a sweater for my uncle – age unknown (then)
I see I’m not the only one who doesn’t recall that first yarn purchase. I know I kept for years a project of ambition and love– a granny square afghan in blue, green, and cream. It was wool, for sure; I’ve long had a passion for natural fibers. I think that came from a lucky thrift store find: a deep green wool pullover, clearly handknit. i wore that through my college years, and it was a talisman for all I hoped for— comfort, beauty, practicality, and the love inherent in the handmade.
Wow, first yarn? I was either 4 or 5, my dear aunt and my mom taught me how to crochet. I remember sitting in the backseat on a roadtrip making a chain…kept me busy and from fighting with my brother. Had to have been red heart or lion brand from a box store. Fast forward to 30 (?) took another knitting class, Bluebonnet Yarn Shoppe in Austin–was blown away to buy some wool for 8 dollars, bulky and pink. I still have that scarf……
Wow I’d love to add to my already significant stash, because heck who had too much yarn?
KnitCrosheen cotton in a heavy weight. I knit my first sweater with it using a pattern from the lovely and long-gone American Craft magazine.
Red Heart Cotton
I honestly can’t remember the first yarn I bought – I would guess some kind of Lion Brand, maybe Homespun (I think that’s what it was/is called). My tastes have changed a lot since then!
The first yarn I ever bought? Wow, that’s a tough one. I learned to crochet when I was eight years old and trapped in the house for two weeks with pneumonia. Being a creature of habit, my first purchase was probably more of the Red Heart that I started with. My first Dear-God-I-must-have-this yarn was purchased not long after I got out of the Army and needed something to do: a cobweb-weight mohair silk in jewel tones.
A very ugly acrylic yarn to make a shawl. What a mistake that was, and needless to say, I never finished it. Thankfully, I have moved on to better choices!
What a fun idea! I remember doing a bit of diving into my Mom and Sister’s stash when I first learned to knit. It wasn’t until I went away to college that I purchased my first batch of yarn, Red Heart classic. I say batch because I decided to make a full size sampler afghan as my first major project. It was beautiful in brown, cream, orange and coral and I had it with me 30 yrs.
Good old Coates and Clark Red Heart.
This goes back a long way! I don’t recall the name of the yarn, but I bought a handful of different yarns that were to be combined into a sweater–hold one of these or two of that weight or three if pulled from that weight. What a project for a new knitter! I guess if I can knit with three yarns held together for a first project, I can do anything! So I’m happy for that knowledge and confidence, if not for the hot-mess-of-a-sweater I never wore!
I am sure that my first yarn purchase was totally forgettable, scratchy and stringy !about 60 years ago), until I discovered the beauty and feel of real merino, cashmere, alpaca and linen inspired me to try again for the nth time to add knitting to crocheting to fuel my wonderful addiction to yarn. How the yarn feels when you are working with it adds so much to the enjoyment!
Aunt Lydia’s Rug Yarn. Purchased at K-Mart with babysitting money. I think it was brown.
p.s. i enjoy Saturday Snippets
The first yarn I ever bought was a blue wool – I made some slippers wth a pom pom. Took forever to make the slippers – I probably knit 4 or 5 pair with all the unraveling & re-knitting.
I’m pretty sure it was yellow acrylic. I made a verrrry long scarf for my big sister.
So long ago I can’t remember but probably Red Heart to use in one of those red plastic spool knitters. Rainbow colored.
Thanks!
My first projects were granny square afghans out of an acrylic of some kind. Still have them!
Candide was the first yarn I ever bought. Still have half of an aran sweater I started in the 70s…
Peaches & Cream cotton for my very first dishcloth while taking Knitting 101 at my LYS. Would love the Tahki cotton stash to add to my own Mitered Square Blanket bits & bobs, but I certainly do not need it!
Bulky charcoal grey yarn from the shop that gave first knitting lessons to my nine year old and me, five years ago!
Red Heart yarn, because it was inexpensive and bought for me by my grandmother who taught me how to knit. I was 6 years old, and the knitting went side wards since I couldn’t tell how the stitches were formed on the needle.
First yarn purchased was so long ago I’m not sure either of you were born yet. Therefore I’m not 100% sure but the first big project I remember would probably have been a dark green Brunswick Germantown 100% wool worsted bought when the “better” department stores downtown had fabric and yarn departments and nice women to help get you started.
The first yarn I ever bought was to make a coat for my Barbie doll. It was turquoise, and I don’t remember the fiber content. That was about 50 years ago, and I was 12. The coat came out great!
My first yarn was some handspun mohair from a yarn shop in Green Hills (Nashville) when I was in high school 30 years ago. I recently found it in my childhood closet. I never made the project it was intended for, so I still have it!
The first yarn I EVER bought? It had to be some oddball fuzzy Yarn Bee stuff made from liquified and spun dinosaurs from Hobby Lobby to make crocheted hats for my loved ones the Christmas I quit smoking. It’s difficult to crochet with a cigarette in your hand and it worked. Quit 10 years ago.
What a trip down memory lane here! It was an inexpensive acrylic and a few bits from my grandmother who taught me. I am remembering all the things I attempted to make without patterns…..I wonder where those projects are now?
Berroco cream and tan marl sport weight yarn for a bunting that I made while I was pregnant for the first time. I did finish the project on time and brought my son home from the hospital snuggled up in his little cabled sack!
More than likely it was Red Heart from the local 5 & dime.
My first yarn was probably some kind of scratchy acrylic, back in the 50s or 60s. We had a craft store in Michigan (similar to today’s Michael’s) where my mother bought knitting supplies. When I came back to knitting, about 10 years ago and before buying your first book, I bought a skein of Caron Simply Soft to play with.
Mulit-colored red, yellow and blue yarn from the Lansdowne 5 & 10. My best friend Janet and I rode our bikes there and then returned to her house to garter stitich (only stitch we knew) matching headbands. She wore a pony tail and I wore two braids.
Goodness, what a generous giveaway. I think the first yarn I ever bought would have been Patons DK wool. It was for a jumper which knit up reallly quickly as you held the yarn double. So you had wide stripes of deep pink doubled, then of deep pink and lighter pink, then lighter pink doubled, then light pink with white, then white doubled, etc. A technique still in vogue now, many, many years later.
A skein of gray Red Heart acrylic and a skein of Lion Brand Homespun when I was in the dorms in college. I made the ugliest, non-rectangular scarf you ever did see out of the homespun. Then, after practice with the acrylic, frogged the homespun and re-knit it to be a very long normal-width rectangle. Now I can’t wear it because it is simply too monstrous and hot!
My first yarn…mmmm, maybe some Caron acrylic for a sweater for my then toddler.
Taught myself to knit the first summer I dared to vacation alone without husband and children, nearly 20 years ago. Bought red worsted weight & #9 needles in LYS in Freeport, Maine. Big challenge, tackling knitting and being alone for the first time, but I conquered both. Now knitting happily and living in Maine.
Some horrible scratchy acrylic from a big box store that felt like a plastic bread bag. When I compared the scarf I knit with it to my next scarf knit from wool, I vowed to never knit with acrylic again.
Some Icelandic lopi for the sweater that was my first project
The first yarn I bought was a sublime.
A very raw wool to make a hat for my dad, so raw it moisturized my hands!
I have no idea. Sure it was an inexpensive acrylic from Woolworths (yes I am dating myself) and my grandmother taught me how to knit when I was 9 or 10. She and my mom made a lot of sweaters. Still have some of them.
Stash-riffic!
My first yarn was some hand dyed from the Renaissance Festival in Kansas City back in 1993. It was my first year of college and I still have the remnants of the 2 skeins that came home with me.
The first yarn I bought was a selection of Manos del Uruguay kettle dyed yarn in 1978. It was just after I graduated from college and I bought it from a yarn store in Montpelier Vermont and I crocheted a bunch of colorful paisley shapes and then chain stitched a web between them to make what I think of as a Piano Shawl. Triangular with lots of fringe on two sides, I still own it and wear it with a black dress for Special Occasions!
Mmm, I can’t remember the very first yarn that I bought, but it was probably and inexpensive acrylic of some sort. My grandmother and Aunts in VT were prolific knitters back in the 60’s and tried to teach me how to knit. But, with my being a tomboy I wasn’t really interested. As a young married adult I took an evening knitting class at my local High School. I do remember what yarn I bought for that class. It was a boring brown scratchy Icelandic wool to make a cardigan for myself. I bought enough to make a sweater for my husband too. Never made his, was sick of the color after finishing my sweater, but I still have the yarn some 40+ years later, which I guess is when my stash began.
First yarn was red heart.
I taught myself to knit 17 years ago. It was something I had wanted to learn since I was a teen. I think I first bought a skein of Red Heart acrylic. I remember it was red.
Peaches N’ Cream at around age 12 to knit wash cloths the reason I wanted to knit my first yarn I knit with was a scrap of something acrylic provided by my teacher……
My first yarn purchase was decades ago — a lovely leaf green with cream and soft gold slubs — I can’t remember the maker —- I still love that sweater!!!
Red Heart acrylic over 50 years ago…. I was around 12….when my oldest sister taught me to knit…English style on Boye aluminum needles in those great colors! I still have all the needles I bought over all these years. Pretty sure the yarn was red.
Thanks for the lovely contest! I am savoring every word in Clara’s book…reading one section every nite.
Plymouth Encore. 1980’s. One man’s stash is another man’s treasure!
Red Red-Heart. My great-grandma taught just the knit stitch. I was 8. About 5 years later, my aunt realized I was knitting back and forth from one needle to the other, and taught me the purl stitch. I’m pretty sure the yarn was from a 5&dime, though there were notions in the basement of the grocery store…long time ago.
(Snippets=great weekend coffee reading. Thank you for the info and the fun.)
My first yarn was 1968 Redheart so brown and gold that I never wore the ten-foot long scarf. It was the same color as mama’s living room carpet. They were both shape-shifting earthtoned seas. And scratchy in that acrylic way.
Lion Brand Wool –the basic one — a denim and white marl. I’d been thinking about knitting and RESISTING another craft… and then Carolina was knocked out of the tournament. In the second round. By George Mason. (FYI – basketball) when I was able, I got up and drove to Michaels and bought the book Kid’s Knitting and some yarn. it was going to be a cheap hobby. I came home and made my own first pair of needles out of dowels (they’re still lovely)
Hi. I have just gotten back to knitting after a break of more than 20 years. So I do not have any stash. I remember the first yarn I bought was Sirdar yarn. Recently, I just bought some Red Heart yarn. Good to be back knitting. LOL
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The first yarn I bought was a soft mauve color at an outlet. There was always yarn in our house, so I had made lots of small things. I made a simple cardigan, that my mother put together for me. I loved it! So did my cat; she ate a part of the left front side!
My first real wool project yarn was Noro Big Kureyon, discontinued long ago. I’ m sure my first yarn purchase was Red Heart acrylic, for all those granny squares.
I could use an upgrade in my stash.
The first yarn I bought was Red Heart back in 1967.
When my German host family was teaching me to knit, I bought some nice fingering weight wool. I still have the start of a pillow cover, but no label for the yarn. Several years later I tried a beginning knitting class (which wanted us to make a sweater!) The burgundy Galway worsted was too scratchy, and I was not much interested in making a garter stitch sweater. I really wanted to learn to knit so I could try different stitch patterns, so I bought blue Cascade 220 and made a scarf with the Crest of the Wave stitch pattern that I still wear. Not a long scarf, but just enough to tuck into the neck of a coat. I am already signed up for Snippets – always something interesting to read!
Red heart acrylic from Woolworth in the mid 60s to knit headbands under my mother’s tutelage to go with my school outfits. Thanks Mom.
Red Heart to make some slippers. Because that’s what my Gramma did.
Plymouth yarn Jelli Beanz in orange. I made my best friend a scarf using a stitch from the stitch a day calendar. I have no photo proof that this ever existed but my memory of it is strong.
Dark teal Red Heart acrylic. I was visiting a friend who had just learned to knit and I asked her to teach me.
It was a Bear Brand worsted yarn, but I can’t remember which one. I made slippers (with pom poms!!!) for my mom, godmother and aunts for Christmas that year. I was about 11 years old.
When my youngest son was 10, my aunt drove out to Colorado to visit us and she brought her mother’s hand-crocheted granny square blanket. My son never looked at the colors of clothes or showed any interest in decoration but he loved that big black blanket with the little bright-colored flowers all over it. He asked me if I could make one for him, still being young enough to think that I could do anything. So I went to Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins, the (locally) famous yarn store and asked for help in finding the materials to make a lap blanket. The sales woman recommended Plymouth Encore Worsted yarn because it was washable and not too expensive. My 13-year-old daughter was working on a quilt with her sewing teacher and those colors; dark blue, french blue, gold, yellow and cream were still stuck in my head from buying her fabric. I picked out Plymouth yarns in those colors and carefully bought 2 fairly large crochet hooks (in case I lost one), along with a simple book that described how to make Granny squares. We drove the kids out to California that summer and I worked on my blanket in the car. I discovered how much calmer I was in the car when my hands were busy and my husband was delighted not to have me anxiously watching the road and encouraged my interest. We drove to California twice that year and I made good progress on the granny squares. By then, I had gotten curious about knitting so I bought the Klutz knitting book and my daughter and I taught ourselves to knit. I put that crocheted blanket aside and started knitting wash cloths out of the first Modern Daily book. When my daughter left college and moved back home to finish at the local university, I put the blue and yellow blanket together and gave it to her because those were her favorite colors. She needed something soft and pretty to give her a hug that year. The next year, I finally started a lap blanket for my son in dark brown and the brilliant primary colors that he loves, using Cascade 220 super-wash yarn in case he dumps a cup of coffee on it. I have the 90 squares done and I am slowly joining them together. Now my son is a medical student who does not run the heat in the chilly Illinois winter and I hope that I will have the blanket done in time to give it to him at the winter holidays. He will smile when he sees it and remember how he admired my aunt’s blanket so many years ago!
I think the first yarn I chose was a Heather burnt orange worsted wool from the downtown department store. I’m thinking Brunswick? I was about12 so probably couldn’t afford to pay for all of it. I made a cable cardigan sweater that I wore all through college. Loved that sweater.
Bright green Red Heart yarn for a pillow top and bottom which I still have. I felt inspired after watching my grandmother knitting when I was close to seven years old after our families once a year trip to Nebraska. It must of worked love most forms of needlework to this day.
A pink Red Heart. I knitted a blanket for my favorite doll. My mother and I decoupaged a cardboard Quaker oats container to store my yarn and needles. My grandmother, aunt, and a teacher at an after-school program cemented my love of many crafty things especially knitting.
A Phildar mohair blend!
A wonderful dark grey all wool at a long closed shop in DC. I lived at DuPont circle in a tiny tiny tiny studio it was winter and I was in graduate school at night and working all day. My grandmother who taught me to knit in south Louisiana had died my first December there so that winter I picked out a cardigan sweater pattern and this gorgeous wool and made the sweater never having made one ever before. And it was all Aran patterns and had a a matching hat and I did it with no help as there was no internet in those days. The sweater is long gone but I have the hat.
One of the first yarnsI remember buying is Tofutsies yarn and Cascade 220.
I bought a yellow cotton from hobby lobby to practice making dishcloths.
Of course my first yarn was a big ol’ wad of Red Heart yarn, because I was 8 years old and didn’t know better. But my first “real” yarn, the first step on a great Alice-in-Wonderland tumble down a knitting rabbit hole was a few skeins of Cascade 220 in a lovely deep heathered green to make Knitty’s French Market Bag. Since then it’s been a blissful tumble ever further into a wooly wonderland.
If only my yarn budget could be so wondrous!
It was an acrylic, (all i could afford in those days) of a deep forest green, with which i knit a gansey for my hubby in the early days of our marriage. Its still there, in the winter clothes cupboard, after all these years.
My first yarn was red heart from a thrift store and aluminum needles. The yarn was very old acrylic and felt rough… oh my what a bad idea. I struggled so much I.bought a second pair of needles in a different color to try to remember which needle went in which hand. Lol….enter stage left….YouTube. changed to bamboo needles, looking stitches off the end of the needle was cut dramatically. 🙂 Bought a fisherman’s wool….Can you say scratchy? About that time I signed up for a knitting class at a local quilting shop. Whoa….I was dressed down in front of the class for knitting left handed…there’s no excuse for that…needless to say I never went back. The comedy of errors continued. I bought a skein of 100% alpaca yarn. That’s when I learned about lace weight. My son was deployed to Afghanistan and I wanted to make him a scarf. It gets really cold there. Alpaca yarn stretches and stretches, and stretches…..lol….he appreciated the thought. Lol…..fast forward a couple years to the present…yarn still flummoxed me but I found the perfect needles and completed a couple of rectangular shawls and one triangular shawl….I’m in love. Now to get a grip on yarn and gauge….wish me luck.
First yarn I bought was Schulana Sierra, a silk cotton blend. I was a beader and walked into a favorite shop for beads in Old Town, San Diego. It was love at first sight when I saw the yarn but my first attempt at knitting in 2012 was not successful. I came across the project when packing to move in 2016 and tried again. I finished the small scarf, which pattern had come with the yarn, and have been addicted to knitting ever since.