What to do with problem yarn...

For every genuine, brilliant thrifty buy I find, I am equally likely to fall victim to a bad bargainous buy. You know, the kind of thing that seemed like a perfect, cheap buy at the time, but actually turned out to be a complete waste of money? Yep, it happens to all of us, you get blinded by what seems like good value for money, without remembering that sometimes there is a reason why things are cheap, or have ended up in second hand shops. This was one of those buys...

I came across oodles of these balls of yarn in a second hand shop (seriously, tons of the stuff). I can't remember how much it cost me for the whole lot (although it was probably very, very cheap). Why? Because I have had this wool for YEARS. And I've never used it once. It's not to do with the colour, which is a lovely cobalt come navy blue, and I don't think anyone incapable of liking such a colour. It's more to do with the strange texture - one minute it's an extra thin cotton, probably best suited to lace making, then WHAM - it's super chunky, but only for all of a couple of stitches. A very specific type of yarn, I think you'll agree. It's a vintage wool, which is called "Bubbles", and would probably be fine if you had a pattern to use with it, or even some vague idea of what you wanted to do with it. However, I don't have either of these, and so this yarn is sat sadly within my wool stash. 

I have tried and failed for many years now to find a use for this wool. Maybe it would be suitable for a scarf? But then again, I don't think I want a scarf with such a strange and uneven texture. And also, if I was to knit with such an unpleasing yarn to knit with, I think I'd want something more than a scarf for my efforts, no? 

So, I guess the moral of the story is to never buy a load of wool if you can't immediately think of exactly how to use it. Especially if it is a very specific type of wool, either in texture or colour. Have I learnt from this lesson? Maybe, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to me again. When I see copious amounts of cheap wool, there's no stopping me. Once a bargain hunter, always a bargain hunter. 

Have you ever bought a lot of wool, only to find you have no use for it? Do you have any ideas on what I could use this wool for, or is it finally time to say goodbye to Bubbles for good?