Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

Elisheba

Thanks for the yarn ideas, folks.  Those garden twine tins as basically what I am thinking of making, although I'm worried punching a hole in the metal will be too sharp and slice the yarn.  Maybe if I cover the edges with Sugru or something similar it will work though.  

I really like the cloth holder but worried my dog would destroy it trying to get to the wool, which he definitely will do once he realised there is wool in there.  And he would definitely tear up a ziplock bag.  The joys of pets 

ladyholly

I don't knit but would a plastic box work to keep your yarn in. Less likely to damage it if a hole is punched in it?

oceandreamer

Sometimes you get plastic boxes with lids and holes to pick them up at either end. I know I've had some from H and B, perhaps you could use one of those and tape the lid on or keep it on with thick elastic bands so it would be easier to change the wool.

foxgloves

Thanks for all your comments - interesting reading all the make-do no-spend yarn holder possibilities. One thing I am going to kick into the discussion is that while I do have a gorgeous hand-potted yarn bowl, I have to admit that it is rarely used & is currently sitting on my bookshelf along with a life-sized stuffed eel & my Mum's stephanotis. My experience of using a yarn bowl is that they work as intended for spherical balls of yarn, such as those I have wound myself from a skein via my swift. However, most balls of yarn aren't balls, & because they don't roll around as a ball does, I've found they don't relinquish a smooth passage of yarn from the bowl to my knitting needles. I find I have to keep pulling lots of yarn loose at once before knitting it, but then it doesn't sit in the bowl & is exceedingly attractive to cats, so kind of misses the point. So my yarn bowl is pretty much used if I have been gifted an expensive skein of yarn which needs transforming into a ball before I can knit it. Only then do I find the bowl really serves its intended purpose. 
Back when I was a little girl in the 1970s, I remember my Great Aunt having a yarn holder. It was made from plastic & was a bottle shape, which unscrewed in the middle for the yarn to be placed inside. The end was then poked through the hole at the top & stretched to the knitting needles from there. I am still not sure how well it would perform with a non-spherical ball of yarn, but it could at least be tested out by re-purposing an empty drinks bottle to experiment?
F

Blackcats

Fortunately my cat thinks that playing with wool is far too energetic these days, though he will pat a ping pong ball 2 times before walking away.  I bought some wool from the shop that encourages craft as a hobby and found that it is tangled all by itself.  I'm not sure if it's the brand or the batch but it is very annoying as the tangle is very tangly indeed.
Belated happy new year to everyone.  This is the first day for a while that feels like I am getting back to normal routines and food etc - whatever my version of normal is.

foxgloves

Hello m'dears from a watery old world,
Well, Mr F was fine getting to work this morning & flood warnings up in his area of work have been downgraded so things were much more normal there today. However, I have just texted him with an update that a main road between our village & local town is now completely submerged as both the major river & a tributary have come right over. Apparently drivers are still trying to get through it, despite road closure signs & this is causing washes of water going into the gardens & front doors of people attempting desperately to minimise water ingress as much as is humanly possible. Mr F has made the sensible decision to come home early. I am glad about this as the big river has not yet peaked & it is thought that it will come very close to its highest ever level in 2000, when we lived elsewhere but our neighbours told us that the council came round with sandbags which were not needed on our road but was scary nevertheless. Despite no further rain today, there are new flood warnings, evacuations & road closures as the river has continued to rise since yesterday. My worry was that the road that has just become submerged is close to an arterial roundabout which Mr F will have to cross to get home. If the flood water continues to creep, that will become dangerous, the other back way into the village involves crossing a tiny old bridge over the aforementioned badly flooded tributary & the only other way home would be a long way around, crossing the river lower down....but the bridge there has already been closed earlier today because it is inaccessible through the floodwater. I still haven't been out to see how near to the housing in our village the water has come, but I think I will do it when Mr F gets home. Anyway, enough of that, it's a worry though, & as @badmemory says, we are clearly all seeing more of it in the UK. 
Other activities (of a money saving nature)....
*Took down & packed away all the Christmas decorations, crockery, tree, etc. Made a note in my diary for next Dec that we don't need to buy festive napkins as have plenty left, or a cake board, but to look out for a new ribbon for my home made wreath & a cake frill. Added cards to my big stash of post-Christmas resources for sorting. That's a job for next week.
*Checked for surveys - virtually nothing doing today, just done one so far & will be signing out very soon.
*Researched new mattress as we are convinced this is part of the issue with us both having dodgy back muscles atm. ,,,,or more to the point, as have found what looks like the right one for us....worked out the optimum time to buy it so as to qualify for the 20% discount, but to ensure it won't appear on my credit card bill until February. date marked in my diary so as not to miss the offer.
*Did a minor financial transaction. As I said, I intend to be 'on it' big time this year.
*Write grocery shopping list. Haven't done this yet, but it is my next job.
Well, Mr F has just pinged to say he has reached the edge of town but the flooding is awful....says the river is basically flowing straight through the campsite & the nearby factory looks like an island. Traffic is crawling. So glad he was able to set off for home early. 
@Makingabobor2 - Yes, I do live quite a lot further north of you, I think. It made me smile that you were looking for 'clues'. If it helps, I am about 1.5 miles from a castle & about 10 or so miles from a cathedral, lol.
Stay safe everyone,
F x
Edited to say that Mr F got home safely. Traffic crawling as nearby A1 also flooded in places so traffic trying to come via town.....now also struggling with a flooded main road. We have just had a little walk to see how close the water is & found it has reached the same place as the last lot of flooding a month or two ago. We stood at the edge of a completely submerged farmers field & could hear gushing water as flows from the river into the marina then overtops, spilling into the field. Then we walked another little track to see if the field at the back of a neighbouring close was underwater. It has standing water, but hasn't been reached by the river which was a relief as that would mean just that little close of new houses between it & our back garden. I felt sorry for the people who keep their horses in the nearby stables though. Stables surrounded & they were trying to sweep what they could out - half the paddock also underwater. All routes through & around our town now apparently down to about 10mph. We have planned to go into town tomorrow but I will make sure we check for up-to-date news of roads in first, & also wait until after rush hour. I do so feel for all the people who are going to have their homes flooded today - some of them just get things straight & it happens again. It has even affected a village elsewhere in our county which has had quite a lot of well-publicised flood defence/alleviation work done recently. Ah well, we can only hope the big river peaks very soon & at lower levels than its worst offering.
F x

Cheery_Daff

Gosh, that all sounds very worrying Foxgloves. Hope everyone stays warm and dry

PennysIntoPounds

How horrible for everyone affected. Some drivers really are thoughtless idiots aren't they. Glad Mr F is back safe

CRANKY40

I'm glad that Mr F is home safe too. It sounds very scary. I'm so sorry for everyone that has had their homes flood - that must be absolutely terrifying.

Makingabobor2

Stay safe FG. Just been watching your area are the news. A village near us had some flooding yesterday, & quite a few places bit further north. Luckily we are more on the L/W boarder & away from river & canal.