I just returned from the summer Tent Sale at the Yarn Factory Outlet in Listowel, ON. Twice a year, they have a big sale, and I’ve been to the past two winter sales, but never to the summer sale before.

It’s about an hour’s drive from my house, through farmland and Mennonite country, and today I had an added surprise: the highway was closed for a stretch, and I got to take a scenic diversion through even more of the countryside. It turns out that the drive is so much nicer in August than in February: I saw 2 hawks perched on a signpost, skipping lambs following their mothers, countless cows with calves, and big horses with adorably fragile-looking foals. If the sun had only been shining, it would have been a perfect drive!

And then when I got there, I discovered that the yarn sale is also better than their winter sale! They put up a huge tent in the parking lot, filled with huge boxes of bagged yarn, 3, 4 or 6 balls per bag (same shade and dye lot in each bag) with crazy prices on the bags and then, on top of that, if you buy 3 bags of the same yarn, you get the 4th for free!

Despite the gloomy day, it was stuffy and humid outside, so you can just imagine what it was like inside the crowded tent. But it was worth it. Everyone was handed an extra-strong black garbage bag on the way in, to use as a shopping bag, which I thought was overkill until I started shopping. 24 balls of yarn is large and heavy, and the deals were too good to stop at only 24!

I managed to restrain myself and only bought 4 bags (24 balls) each of Patons Grace and Bernat Satin. And that took some serious willpower – seeing yarn that usually costs $4-5 per skein being sold at $4 for a bag of 3 skeins… Ah, the temptation!

My haul!

The only downside was that I didn’t have any cash with me – the cash-only till had no queue at it, but the two debit/credit tills moved very slowly. I ended up spending about half an hour shopping, and another hour standing in the stuffy tent waiting to pay. But when I finally got back outside, there was a little refreshments tent, selling hot and cold drinks and fresh baked goods, so I got myself a little energy boost before the drive home 🙂

Today was the first day of the sale, and it runs through to August 21st. If you live in driving distance of Listowel, Ontario, I highly recommend you take a trip to the Yarn Factory Outlet this week or next. You won’t regret it!