"I have a suprise for you,"

my friend Polly announced yesterday - in an early morning e-mail. She said she would be calling in later in the day - and please could we leave the gates open so she could bring the car in. Right.
I did remember to open the gates and the rest of the day was one of those hectic, I-almost-do-not-have-time-to-breathe days.
Polly arrived in the late afternoon and came staggering to the front door under a load of knitting pamphlets.
"Friend can't knit any more and she thought you might be able to use them," she panted and dumped them on the chair I hastily indicated, "Um... there's more."
The Senior Cat took his walker out and they loaded that with more pamphlets and some boxes of knitting needles. I took a bag from her and she took two more bags. We dumped it all in the living area. Then she dashed out and brought in yet another bag.
"I think that's it," she told me and proceeded to explain that her very elderly friend has serious shoulder problems and can no longer knit. "It's all that gardening that did her shoulder in I think ..she's Father X....'s housekeeper."
It is not the first time I have been given a quantity of knitting supplies. Often the supplies have been quietly passed on to the local charity shop so that knitters can use up scraps of cheap acrylic for animal blankets.
Yarn can be like a screaming child, something only a mother can love. I do not care for fluorescent acid yellow, neon orange or violent green acrylic yarn. Animals don't seem to mind - although I note that real cats know good quality yarn from bad.
I did not have a chance to look while Polly was there but she assured me, "It's good stuff."
Knowing Polly I knew it would be at least something useable. She also knows that I do not need more yarn. I decided to leave the problem until the morning. 
This morning I had a quick prowl through the bags because I have to drop some other things in to a woman who knits hats for charity.
Yes, there is some "good stuff" there. I have taken out the stray ends of balls to give to Margie and added them to what I am leaving for her. She uses the smallest scraps in her wonderful creations.
And the rest? It will be used to calm the screaming children - or at least to raise some money for the friend who runs the refuge. This time there is no fluorescent acid yellow. People will want to knit it.