Lookie Here -- A Poll That Isn't Language-Related

[gnomi]

At the Kendall T stop this evening, I found one skein (without its label) of purple worsted-weight (I'm guessing) yarn. After determining that it does not belong to gem225 (whom I met earlier today for coffee and knitting), I have a conundrum. And thus, a poll.

ETA: Thanks, all, for your votes and your comments. I called the T's Lost and Found for the Red Line, and the agent there told me that the best thing for me to do would be to keep and use the yarn. He said that if I were to turn it in to a T employee, it would be forwarded to the Lost and Found at JFK/UMass and would sit there until someone claimed it or 30 days had passed, at which point they'd discard it.

[Poll #674015]

Comments

[cellio]

I don't know how the T handles this, but down here I would call the port authority's lost-and-found number, report it, and leave a number. They'll tell you how long you have to wait before assuming it's been abandoned.

If it were something more valuable I might post a notice, but if it were valuable I would also expect the person to call about it. Unless the owner is a regular on that route and doesn't make many transfers, the odds of him seeing the notice at the stop where you found it seem low.

[smoagendash.livejournal.com]

Totally agree. Add farwing's suggestion (below) to this, and I think you have a plan!

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, this is the sort of thing that the Talmud deals with explicitly. I believe that, because it's purple, you have to post it. 'Cause the Talmud is all about the purple-dyed wool.

(No, I'm kidding about that part. I think.)

[farwing.livejournal.com]

If you keep the yarn you could always make a hat to give to a shelter or something...

[angwantibo.livejournal.com]

Excellent idea. When a gift is given to you from nowhere, it should be given to someone who needs it.

[abbasegal.livejournal.com]

How expensive is such a skein? Not being a knitter, I don't know these things -- is it of great value?

Anyway, assuming at some point you can legitimately keep it, I'd vote for web-footed booties (thanks again!). Or you could do a spleen, to complement this. ;-)

[kuroshii.livejournal.com]

being as in love with purple as i am, i know if i lost such a thing i would be upset. so i voted for posting a note at the station and waiting a bit. perhaps a week?

if no-one replies, then make it into a hat. i daresay you can't go wrong with a purple hat. tho i also like the idea of then giving the hat to a shelter or somesuch.

explanation of answers

[deerdancer22.livejournal.com]

I'm never good at these things as my thinking is so nuanced so:
1. I wouldn't post because you are in a city and with so many people how would you know if it was the owner? A small town would be different. So I go with the first commentater of calling the lost and found as if it is valuable to the person they will call and then you don't have to worry that you got the right person to the right wool!

2. If no one calls for the wool then I would do the pass it on thing and make something for a homeless shelter. Maybe a hat and mitten combo for children as there are so many more homeless families now.

[angwantibo.livejournal.com]

You've got great friends! Awesome suggestions.

[tygerseye.livejournal.com]

I just dropped by for the narf... ;-)

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Narf!

[llennhoff.livejournal.com]

Halachically, the issue rests on whether you can reasonably assume the person who lost the yarn has abandoned hope of find it. When announcing lost property it is customary to ask people to supply two simanim (signs) to show the object is theirs. You could withold the color from your announcement for example and make that one sign. Not sure what the other might be. You could announce you found something lost and make the two signs be the fact that it is yarn and the fact that it is purple. :>)

Overall, I suspect the person has despaired of finding it and you should claim it as yours.

[(Anonymous)]

i would suggest the color, and either the type or perhaps the brand (if the label was still on it, as the two signs. but then describe the dimensions/shape of the skein so the person would know it wasn't a different skein from some other poor soul.

[kuroshii.livejournal.com]

i would suggest the color, and either the type or perhaps the brand (if the label was still on it, as the two signs. but then describe the dimensions/shape of the skein so the person would know it wasn't a different skein from some other poor soul.

(feel free to delete the duplicate...i was going for default-pic anyway and so didn't notice i'd been logged out)

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

There was no label. But I was thinking the two signs are color and weight (it looks like worsted weight to me, but if they said DK or sport weight, I'd buy that, too).

[xochitl42.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I said keep the yarn, and this is why: It's only one skein. If you found several skeins from a single dye lot, that'd be a different story. But even then, there'd be a statuet of limitations (I'd say about 2 weeks) on how long a claimant has to contact you about the lost yarn. I like the rule on claimant giving two signs to prove ownership--that's cool. I would have gone with color and number of skeins.

As for what you should do with it, right now I'm amusing the heck out of myself with wide-open crochet stiches for shawls, so I'd suggest you play around with knitted variations on that theme. Shawls are great. They double as scarves, they keep you warm in the office or at home, you can go nuts with design and shape and color and they rarely look bad, no matter how much you experiment. Wheee!

[violetcheetah.livejournal.com]

the reason i would say to post it is that the person who lost it may be unable to get another skein in that dye lot, and if they are, say, half-done with a sweater, then that one skein of the same lot becomes quite valuable.