Afghans in thrift stores

[calliope1779]

Does this make anyone else sad? Our local thrift store has a ton of crocheted afghans that were abandoned there. I wonder how many of those were made by someone's grandma or great-grandma, and then donated when she passed away? I would love to give them a home but I have so many in the first place that it's not practical. I wish crochet lent itself to having a signature & a date, like a painting. Family heirlooms only last as long as someone cares about them, and unfortunately some people just don't appreciate the art.

 

When my grandma passed away last year, my grandpa and my mom didn't hesitate to give me all her leftover yarn, WIPs, and pattern books - but what would have happened to them if I hadn't learned to crochet? This always bothered me. Sorry this is kind of a rant!

[Solwyn]

It is sad. It breaks my heart to go onto ebay and see 80 year old blankets made by someone's great grandmother for auction, starting at 99cents. Or open up the classifieds and see them there....or yard sales. It is too bad that not everyone sees these items the same way. They really do tell a story, don't they?

 

I've seen sweaters made in Scandinavian countries where the knitter worked the year the sweater was made and the name of the person it was made for, into the pattern. Some knitters even have a system where they will put certain stitches or colours in a non-obvious spot to identify their work, kind of like branding cattle with a ranch symbol. I see no reason why a crocheter couldn't do the same thing. Our family loves bumblebees so I embroider tiny little bees inside things close to the side seam of some of my sweaters and blanket edges to identify them. Its my little secret -

 

Well, okay, not so secret anymore.

[chichiwawa]

I have a problem with this too. I was a my local thrift store not too long ago and they were selling afghans for $2.00! My heart dropped to my feet. It makes me wonder what happens to the things that I make. I can only hope that they are more appreciated then that.

[Craw]

You think that's bad, this one will make you

My mom's neighbor is in her 80s and she took a spill. She needed assisted living after that and her memory went sour. She had been a knitter, sewer, and crocheter most of her life but she didn't remember she'd ever done any of it. I remember her telling me about hooks and things she had from her mother and her grandmother. Many, many years old. She'd been collecting patterns since paper was invented (heh heh, almost), and there's no way she didn't have a sizable stash of yarn. When she moved from her house her children were clearing out the house to sell it. Her kids threw it all away!!! None of them were crafters and they just thought it was junk they didn't wanna deal with. Oh hurt me! When my mom found out what they did she tried to rescue what she could but all she came away with (from the trash cans mind you) was one pattern book, 8 skeins of RHSS, and an afghan kit. No antique hooks or needles, no 20 or 30 years worth of pattern magazines, no afghans (she was a master afghan maker), no memories. The neighborhood hobos had gotten to the cans well before my mom did. It's all gone but I can assure you that's not the way this woman would have liked to destash!

[moomooo]

Wow I too understand this and it bothers me too... I go to our local salvation army and they have loads of afghas too...

 

I go to a local church rummage sale twice a year and ladies when them doors open i go straight to the table where they got the crocheted afghans and blankies etc and well they are usually worned from many washings etc so i get them to keep our furbabies warm in the winter...

Last year i got my hands all done in tunisian crochet with roses in the design that one i keep as it was intact and so lovely made...

 

I worry about when i pass on too as no one here in my family crochet nor appreciate my crochet so I do try and tell my niece to just try and sell it... I tell her its her inheritance that I will leave her by books and yarn and hooks etc so if she wants money sell it so others can take advantage of my stuff...

 

I hope she listens...

hugs

Lillibet

[Lov2Crochet]

I know, this bothers me as well. In this day and age you can't take to much for granted but people still continue to do it. I am glad at least the blankets are ending up someplace where someone else will adopt them instead of in the trash but I too often wonder what happens to things that I make. I think its sad...

[Autumn]

True, it is very sad. Thankfully in our family, we cherish things made by other family members. It is so special to go through the trunk with the items in it and look back through our families history.

 

Here is an idea though... depending on the pattern they used, the yarn from these afghans can be recycled and made into something else. Wash the afghan and dry it, and then gently take it apart.

[crochet-addict]

I was just thinking the same thing when I was in a thrift store on sunday. I saw 3 very nice afghans, I wanted to take them home so bad!

[kittyloverdeb]

Let me give you ladies a little different perspective ~ when I have made an afghan and used it for years (or months if I'm not crazy about it) I donate them to different thrift stores. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's an antique or an heirloom. I just figure someone else may enjoy it as much as I did!

[DesertCrocheter]

I agree with Deb. Think of the down on her luck mom who might be able to get her daughter a comfy afghan to snuggle with for that two dollars. It might hurt you as a crafter, but the purchaser might be very happy at her win. Things getting tossed in the trash might hurt more, but maybe some homeless people got some blankets to keep them warm, too.

 

How the love that made the blanket gets to the love that appreciates it may be circuitous, but it still warms.

 

But I'd like to waggle my hook at those people who threw the hooks and everything away. Sheesh, it wouldn't have been too difficult to find a nursing home to give that stuff to.

 

Patty

[Debbi-a1]

I feel sad too when I see them. I hope they end up in loving homes and hope I never see any of mine there;). Actually my aunt and best friend LOVE my afghans, so I'm pretty safe with them.

 

Let me give you ladies a little different perspective ~ when I have made an afghan and used it for years (or months if I'm not crazy about it) I donate them to different thrift stores. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's an antique or an heirloom. I just figure someone else may enjoy it as much as I did!

I read about this in an afghan magazine I got once, a lady knitted tons of afghans and would donate them, when she couldn't think of a new place, she donated them to second hand stores.

 

I know we had one for our female dog when she had puppies (someone else bought from a second hand store--I just got old blankets) and so it went to a good cause. Kept them warm and snuggly.

Debbi

[happy stitcher]

I have a friend who loves crochet, but she's never learned how. She wants to learn and says she'll let me teach her when she has time, but she never thinks she has time.

 

She picks up afghans at estate sales and thrift stores. She gives them good homes and loves them as much as if she knew who created them. She even bought a bag of squares from a garage sale awhile back and asked me to join them for her. She said she couldn't stand the thought that somebody had gone to all that trouble and the squares would never be used. So I made her a small afghan out of them. She absolutely loved it and brought it to her office to put over her lap when she gets cold.

 

Just thought you'd like to know that sometimes the afghans find loving homes by people who will truly cherish them.

[chichiwawa]

I must say, I feel a little bit better after reading everyone's take on this topic. Sometimes it's hard to think of another perspective in the moment.

[Beverooni]

Once in a while I run across a nice one in a second-hand store and pick it up to donate at the nursing home near me. They love having them to put across their feet at night or over their laps on their wheelchairs. Even baby-sized afghans find a use there.

 

I made my 86-year-old mother write my name on all her crochet hooks, etc., and mark them for me to have upon her death. She even has hooks from HER great-grandmother. They aren't going to the dump if I can help it. I have made my daughter PROMISE not to throw away any of my crochet stuff. If no one in the immediate family wants it, I want her to offer it to my friends and other family members that knit or crochet. I'm hoping she will keep her promise. I can't bear the idea of the things I have made or own going to the dump. When I stopped doing counted cross-stitch my daughter took what she wanted and the rest I offered up on a local classifieds website. I put very specifically that I would love for this to go to someone who wanted to learn how to do it rather than someone buying it to "part it out on ebay" or something. There were over 100 pattern books, many many pieces of fabric and an entire tote of embroidery floss. A lovely young mother called and said she was a single mother and her grandmother did counted cross-stitch and had offered to teach her but they just couldn't afford the stuff. I was happy to just GIVE it to her. When she came she was SO excited to have it. It made me feel good.

[leaette]

i went to a garage sale 2 years ago and the woman was selling all her kids toys, clothing, etc that they had outgrown. i was pregnant at the time so i was definately interested at what this woman was selling.

 

she had 2 knitted baby afghans that her grandmother made for her daughters. i was in shock that she was selling them. they were beautifully made. so i bought one (for $3!!!)and my son used it every day while he was an infant in his bassinet.

 

i wish she would have kept them for her daughters, but i at least gave one a good home.

[TexasSugar]

Because this is a craft that people that do it feel passionately about it is hard for them to understand why an afghan may get 'abandoned' in a thrift store, but we don't really know it is for negative reasons.

 

Over the years I have held on to things just because my mom gave it to me or my grandmother gave it to me. But there is a point where you are over run with things you never use, and get put up out of the way. My mother taught my by her actions to hold on to everything and because of these, I am a 30 year old single female that lives alone in two bedroom house that is full of boxes of things that once belonged to other people and there is that fear that if I do get rid of something someone that gave it to me for what ever reason, will get mad.

 

You get to the point here you have to say enough is enough.

 

I don't think these items are always in thrift stores because they were not appreciated or wanted. Maybe the original owners only had room for one or two afghans and had to pass the others on. Maybe they moved to a smaller place that didn't have the storage. Maybe they thought it was better for the afghan to find a new loving home where it would get used instead of sitting in a closet where it never sees the light of day.

[crochetluvknot]

I see this alot out here and if they are in decent shape I will buy them and give them a good washing and donate them to the hospitals or vet centers or homeless shelters to me its there second chance to be loved as much as the first who donated them to the thrift store I don't think its a bad idea that people donate them but I just think of it as they are passing along something great to some one else who needs it more than they did

[Katchkan]

The other day I was at the goodwill and counted 24 crocheted afghans. Now most of them had seen better days. I think they were the lucky ones as they had already been used and loved by someone. But there were a few nice ones amoung them all. Those I have to wonder about their history. I couldn't bring myself to even look at how much they were selling them for. Probably would have broken my heart.

It saddens me to see them there and makes me hope the ones I have made over the year don't end up there. I hope mine are so worn out by the time it's time to part with them that they won't be worth keeping.

[Empress Busy Bee]

I don't think these items are always in thrift stores because they were not appreciated or wanted. Maybe the original owners only had room for one or two afghans and had to pass the others on. Maybe they moved to a smaller place that didn't have the storage. Maybe they thought it was better for the afghan to find a new loving home where it would get used instead of sitting in a closet where it never sees the light of day.

Exactly. So much better than in the trash. So no, it doesn't make me sad.

 

 

i wish she would have kept them for her daughters,

Maybe she had a boxfull to save already.

[moomooo]

Yes ladies I agree that being in the thrift stores or rummage sales etc give others the chance to enjoy them too...

I see them in great shape and i grab them one because I'm not to keen on making afghans so i get to enjoy the ones i buy and well I also think that those really worned out of many uses can still be used to snuggle a furbaby either for a trip to the vet in the winter or to keep them warm at home...

 

My foxie has One i got at a rummage sale and its multiple colors and made with dazzleair yarn that i dont even know if they make dazzle air fuzzy yarns no more but she loves it to snuggle up with....So I know its loved by me and by Foxie....

 

I have some squares of a bed spread my moms made for me one of the last things she crocheted for my bed before she passed aways and well I had to take it apart and make it smaller as she did it too big but the remaining strips of squares i got them and made smaller lapghans that i will donate to nursing home .....

I also kept my moms first time ever she crocheted a mile a minute afghan for her bed and she was so proud of it I kept it cause no one in my family appreciate the crocheting...

I will take photo of the Mile a minute soon and show it..

I too hope my stuff dont end up in the dumps....

I will try and give it aways if i can help it when i cant no longer crochet ....Before they throw it aways...

hugs

Lillibet

[Trinket]

I agree with what Deb had said. I really SHOULD donate some of my afghans, whether it be to a nursing home, a shelter, or to the thrift shop, just because I have too many of them. That's why I had to quit making afghans. I have a ton of patterns for them that I wish I could work on, but I don't have the room for it. I can't seem to sell them, so this is a logical place for my finished products to show up, unfortunately.

 

In cases like mine, I've given away as many to friends and relatives as I can. I'm unable to have children, so I really have no one to pass anything on to, either.

[DCMerkle]

Hi,

I've seen afghans at so many thrift stores that I go to and as sad as it may be, I'll buy the afghans and if the yarn seems to still be in good shape, I'll take it apart, wrap the yarn into a ball and try to put in my color matching totes. I figure it's better to recycle the yarn into somethng else like another afghan than to see it sit in a thrift shop collecting dust. Not many people buy them anyway and the stores will only keep the stock for so many months even after the price has been lowerd. At that point they are shifted to another store and sit there until they are shifted again. I love knowing that what ever I use the yarn for it's being put to the good.

 

 

DCMerkle

[Elle]

I have made myself a promise that I am going to make some things for DH and myself this year - afghans that we can cuddle under with the kitties and other things that we can both enjoy in our apartment.

 

Everything else I make, however, is given to friends who have admired the piece as I was making it, or who have had a birthday, or as a Christmas gift. DH and I don't have any children. I was not able to have them, so it's just the two of us. I have been fortunate in that the people I givei my pieces to will, as they see me working on other pieces, unfailingly tell me how much they love the one I made for them. That's why the people who have one of my afghans always end up having three or four, because I KNOW they appreciate them. But when my time comes to shuffle off this mortal coil, I want whatever pieces I have in my home to be either given to the friends who have already given homes to several pieces of my work, or in the event nobody wants or needs them, I want them given to thrift stores or to the battered women's shelter where I know they will end up with people who need a hug, even if it's one made of yarn. I don't have my own kids except for my furkids, but hopefully SOMEONE will give my stuff a home when I'm gone.

[ratdog]

One of my husband's clients made a beautiful little baby blanket for our son when he was born. We used it and took care of it and then put it safely in a drawer.

 

I intended to keep it, really i did!

 

My friend's daughter had a baby - dad was not in the picture - and I wanted to support my friend. She was not keen on having a big shower etc for the daughter. She did not want her friends feeling obligated to spend $. So, into the drawer i went! I wrapped up the blanket and some very gently loved infant toys and gave them to her.

 

I took it to the extreme and put everything in a christmas gift bag i had saved and told her that had not spent any money!

 

She was thrilled with the blanket and other gifts.

 

Any handmade blanket that is not in the trash and still available to give warmth and comfort is in a good place. Even if that place is a yard sale table or thrift shop.

 

Remember, many thrift stores are supporting charity, ie Hospice, Salvation Army, Hospital Auxillary. It is not all bad to have nice items to sell in them.

[Ladykats]

In cases like mine, I've given away as many to friends and relatives as I can. I'm unable to have children, so I really have no one to pass anything on to, either.

 

You have us. Well, your friends here at crochetville that would love and take care of items related to crochet, and be a reminder of what you brought to us.

 

Wouldn't it be great to have a place to send hooks, yarn, patterns and even crocheted items, to be redistributed to women that already love the craft but yet have fallen on hard times or want an item from someone they have become friends with through the "ville. How many women here in the 'ville don't have the extra money buy a hook or yarn.