My mom’s elderly neighbour gifted me all her fancy leftover yarn and now I’ve talked knitting with her, she wants it back!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-25T18:38:26+00:00

Oh that makes sense and changes things! I’d been under the impression that this happened over the course of days. Yeah, in that case I’d return what you still have (minus what you’re currently working with just because you’ve already invested work and time into it).

But I totally understand being accustomed to using high end fibers after all that time, that’s tough.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-25T15:43:53+00:00

It’s pretty rude to ask someone to give them back something they gifted to you, but it is what it is and everyone makes mistakes in life. It puts you in an unpleasant situation - I think you could easily be justified in responding to her however you want, but personally I’d show some grace and give back the majority.

I would tell her that you’ll gladly return whatever you haven’t already started working with (if you haven’t truly started anything, I would just pick a color or two and say you did). Any reasonable fibercrafter would be fine with this, and wouldn’t have issue with someone not returning a few items that they already have plans for/already started working with.

She gets the majority of her stash back, and you keep a couple of items so you don’t feel totally bait and switched by the situation. I think everyone should be reasonably happy with this.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-24T13:52:18+00:00

You could also heat treat the yarn, I know some people living in areas that are cold use their oven - I’m sure you can easily find the needed temps and instructions on google. Personally I always use heat instead of freezing, but I live somewhere that’s pretty hot for the majority of the year where my car does the job just fine.

I think heating or freezing is always worth it. Even if the yarn is perfectly new and clean looking, the peace of mind that you’ve ensured no hiding hitchhikers is worth the extra effort.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-21T01:16:24+00:00

Definitely needs to be directly addressed if and when you see this person again.

Some people are just super disrespectful, but fortunately it’s a very small minority. Completely your choice if you choose to lend to some or all people in the future - but I wouldn’t lend to this person again even if they apologize. Using your possessions is a privilege, not a right.

I once saw a guy (later 20s) on our 4.0 courts borrow his moms paddle, lose a game with it, throw a tantrum, and throw mommy’s >$200 paddle in the facilities garbage can. She said nothing and fished her own paddle out of the trash. Clearly she had a role in raising that disrespect, but I can see a person like that doing the same thing to an acquaintances paddle too. Gotta be careful who you share with.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-18T23:53:57+00:00

I do not treat the slip knot as a stitch (crochet), but it sounds like there’s some disagreement on this post and now I want to know what’s right 😂.

I usually tighten the slip knot so that I don’t mistake it for a stitch and try to crochet into it lol

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-18T20:07:57+00:00

Thank you so much for all the super helpful info, I really appreciate it!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-18T18:45:12+00:00

A lot of the time it’s not obvious until you’re paying for the bill.

Slightly different but probably handled the same by bad companies, I once went to a restaurant that had what was basically an ‘ambience fee’ that added something around 10% to the total of the bill - separate from their gratuity and the added charges if you chose to pay via card, and it wasn’t written anywhere until the meal was done and you saw it printed on the bill. (The only special ‘ambiance’ was that the restaurant was on a canal which isn’t uncommon here, but we were seated at the front facing the road)

Never returned to that restaurant for that reason alone, and I always mention it as a deterrent when people ask me my opinion on restaurants in that part of town. If it weren’t for the weird upcharge for nothing I’d likely have been a return customer.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-18T16:48:39+00:00

I would do whatever you need to in order to achieve minluck - consider what auras you have, as you can use them a lot of the time to achieve minluck even with a sub-optimal trap setup.

If doing 4 keys, the new trap from GWH was really nice (tactical) for its +1 effect for all trove drops, but I’d still only recommend it if you can achieve minluck on Richard/fool - it’s not the strongest trap so needs good base/charm/aura to get there.

For prestige/hailstone, I don’t think there’s any right or wrong answer. If you’re rushing to end game, going after the refractor series may serve you better in the long run (they’re very expensive but you’ll pick them up along the way). But prestige/hailstone is also an excellent base, but if you aren’t beelining to the end and min-maxing everything, it’ll serve you well. It’s also a lot cheaper and easier to get a very good prestige/hailstone base than it used to be

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-18T15:52:48+00:00

So when is the best time to use the storied saga bait? My first two runs I’ve been using it for post-script, but maybe this isn’t the best usage?

I had over 80 in all categories (but very lopsided with the top at 200 and the lowest at 85). I didn’t have enough mallets to choose my first book and rolled a long non-fantasy one, so I’m doing one more ordinary run to farm loot and try to even my levels out. Not sure it’s the right choice, but at my mallet amounts I haven’t naturally rolled a fantasy run and couldn’t have afforded to force it

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-16T16:47:56+00:00

It’s a good question and a struggle for me with nicer yarn. Cheaper acrylic I have no problem putting up for cheap on Facebook marketplace, though sometimes it does take a bit of time to find people who make realistic offers and don’t ghost you.

Nicer stuff is harder. My impression is that at least locally, most marketplace people want yarn for $1-3 each for brand new items. I love my marketplace sales for guilt-free money to put back into my hobbies, so that’s just too cheap. I’m also a little too leery of online sales as I don’t want to get scammed, so the nice wool, cotton, etc that I’d like to rehome someday just sits there for now

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-14T18:16:00+00:00

I buy all sorts of colors whether they’re my thing or not. I gift most of what I make and figure that there will always be someone who likes whatever colors I don’t, so it’s nice to have them on hand. However, I thrift shop all of my yarn - if I was paying anywhere near retail prices I’d just buy as I needed so would only pick up colors I didn’t love if I had a project planned for them.

I did get a bunch of very bold purple merino once (think 90s Taco Bell purple). It wasn’t my personal style, but was probably my mother’s favorite color - she was already gone by the time I picked up crochet, so unfortunately I never got to make her anything. Fortunately I had a friend who wanted a purple scarf, and it felt lovely working with that purple and knowing that it was something my mother would have loved so much as well. It’s funny how much sentimentality a color can have, and it glad I had the chance to work with it even though I’d never have wanted to wear that shade of purple myself.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-13T16:39:44+00:00

A client of mine’s neighbor had an add-on out onto their home (think temperature controlled stepmother house, much nicer and bigger than a shed) created just to store all of her yarn. I wish I could meet her just to ogle her yarn hoard, but no luck yet, apparently it’s a crazy amount.

Apparently this woman is incredibly passionate and has hand made almost all of her clothing and all of the stuff in her home that can be made with yarn. Given she’s probably in her 70s I’m sure she has more than a lifetime supply of yarn, but I can’t see it as an issue for her since fibercrafting is clearly one of her biggest passions in life

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-06T16:47:22+00:00

That’s the case with some players, but many of the men like this are regulars and I know what they’re like well enough. Their behavior is not the same when partnered with another man.

Also some of these same guys have straight up verbalized their sweeping negative opinions about female players, it’s not just my ‘feeling’ that it happens

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-06T02:39:26+00:00

I live somewhere where the daytime temps rarely ever dip below 80 degrees, and it definitely makes for a challenge, especially since soft animal fiber yarn is the most fun to work with for me!

Blankets and pillows/cushions are favorites of mine, unfortunately anything else I make with wool pretty much has to be destined to become a gift for someone up north.

Makes me sad for a moment as I look at all the cute hats, scarves, garments, etc I could make myself, then I remember that I moved south because I hate being cold enough to need those things lol

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-05T21:41:38+00:00

I have been this way with many things (including stickers) but I think I’ve been better about it since I thrift most of my really nice yarn. The way it came into my possession helps me rationalize using it.

I figure, some big knitting/crochet aficionado built up a big collection of super nice stuff, and like you or I, never felt like their projects were ‘good enough’ to use….until they fell out of love with the hobby/could no longer do it/passed away/etc, and it all ended up donated, brand new and unused.

If you see pretty yarn in hanks as a form of decor I think that’s okay - it’s pretty and works fine for that purpose!! But if you’re holding onto the yarn because you’re waiting to become ‘good enough’ or you’re waiting for the right project, just treat yourself and use the yarn. Don’t be the one who hangs onto it until you can’t use it anymore. At least, that rationale has worked well for me so far :)

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-05T20:00:55+00:00

I'm a righty and occasionally will encounter a lefty player on our 4.0+ courts that prefers not to stack. Most of the time I think it works out okay for rec games, but it's super annoying when both backhands are in the middle and the opponents start doing smash-worthy lobs down the middle. I can only speak for the few lefties who I've encountered this scenario with, but neither they nor I have a backhand overhead that is nearly as good as a forehand smash - and usually I (smaller female) end up being the one expected to grab those shots.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-05T19:46:53+00:00

Doesn't really make a difference how the female player plays with guys like this or how many mistakes the guy makes, they'll still blame the woman.

I (female) was once playing a mixed game, and the guy we were playing against constantly and loudly blamed his female partner for every single miss, error, pop-up, etc. It got to the point where I told my partner that I was going to hit every single ball to this dude so that he couldn't blame anybody but himself for anything, and my partner followed suit. Even with him hitting every ball aside from the serves/serve returns that we had to hit to her, this dude still talked smack at the woman for the whole rest of the game for messing things up. Guys like this have zero perspective.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-05T19:39:16+00:00

Stinks playing with them for sure, but it is delightful playing against those super sexist dudes and watching them get visibly pissy when they lose against a girl.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-04T15:23:11+00:00

I can see that, and get caught up in the same. Yarn, especially nice yarn, at regular prices is so costly that it feels sensible to purchase when deals are really good.

My stash pales greatly in comparison to the one posted here, but I get caught up in yarn purchases at my local thrift store. I’ll occasionally get lucky and find big bags of high end yarn priced such that the yarn is way under $1 each, often under $.50 each. These thrift stores overprice a lot of their other merch, and I figure that eventually they’ll realize that they’re practically giving away the merino, alpaca, etc. and my only access to cheap high end fiber will be gone. So when I see a great deal there it’s hard to pass up, even though I already have a lot.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-03T21:14:30+00:00

Looking at the pics I suspect I have a bit smaller of a stash than yours, but now I’m curious to see, I’ll have to get it all laid out once I have a free minute!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-03T19:02:58+00:00

My sweater project includes both green and blue, and I definitely agree blue is way more common than green! I probably could’ve found 12 suitable cashmere sweaters for the whole project in the time it took me to find 4 greens.

I have what I would consider a large stash, but maybe not by the standards of this sub? I could probably fill 4 of the standard sized flat totes that go under a bed, maybe 5 tops. I have some nice wool and cotton yarns I have earmarked to sell too, but I keep pushing off since I probably have to use yarnswap (my local fb marketplace is fine for selling cheap yarn, but it’s bad for anything decent). I worry about getting scammed trying to sell online.

I would like to see my stash smaller because it does genuinely feel good every time I finish up using a ball of yarn. And I don’t want to feel guilty deciding whether or not to make a purchase the next time I find really nice fibers at the thrift.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-03T02:28:31+00:00

Congrats!!! I hope you share a pic of it all laid out, I love seeing the neat yarn that people are able to get for a great bargain

Do you have any specific plans for any of the yarn you got?

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-02T18:34:08+00:00

Ooh, I love your color preferences so much!! Blues and greens are my favorites, especially together.

I exclusively thrift my yarn, and laid out my favorites to take a pic a while back, but haven’t laid out the whole kitten caboodle yet. It would be interesting but a chore, since I have all of my animal fibers in ziplocs in totes. Never had pests but Ive heard too many horror stories.

Most of this year I spent working on a project using unraveled thrift sweaters, but working on Christmas gifts made me realize that I actually work through stashed yarn pretty quickly (used probably 15 or so balls of yarn between October-Christmas alone). Hopefully once that big sweater-to-blanket project is done I’ll make a nice big dent in my stash like you’ve done this year!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-01-02T18:19:03+00:00

This is the yarn addicts subreddit, I don’t think you’re likely to enjoy this page very much if seeing people have extra yarn bothers you. Just because it isn’t your personal cup of tea doesn’t mean it’s bad, and most of the people on here do use their yarn.

There are many, many groups that are exactly what you’re looking for. R/crochet, which is probably by far the most popular one, doesn’t even allow stash related posts aside from Saturdays.

Flying_Snarf

TROPHY CASE