DENVER — The changing of the seasons can inspire people to change what's in their closets.
On top of the changing seasons, Madison Kremer said she was downsizing her wardrobe to accommodate her move with her partner.
"About two and a half weeks, three, at this point, I was moving my winter clothes out of my storage unit and just had a bunch of clothes there," Kremer said. "I just put them all in trash bags and put them in my car and drop them off at the Goodwill on my way to dinner."
Kremer said the next day, she realized the bag of clothes she gave away at the South Broadway Goodwill weren't pieces she was ready to part with. She had mixed up the bag of clothes for donation with a bag of her handmade knitwear.
"I was panicked," Kremer said. "I was like, 'Oh my God, we have to go now. How are we going to break into this Goodwill?' Couldn’t do that. Had to wait, but just my mind was racing. How am I going to get these back? I know people like to thrift so I’m going to tell everyone I know. Like immediate fix it mode."
Kremer said she went back to Goodwill every day after work, sometimes twice a day to look for her items.
"I had probably 10 sweaters, mittens, bralettes, things like that, so maybe 20-25 pieces I donated," Kremer said.
Kremer said she was able to find four of her sweaters. One of the sweaters she found she said she had worked on for months. Another sweater she said was made with yarn worth $200. She bought both back for less than $20.
"I put so much work into them," Kremer said. "It’s like my art."
Kremer said she posted the remaining missing items in Facebook groups and on Nextdoor to hopefully reunite with some of her pieces. She said she started some conversations, but no one has said they have one of her sweaters.
"Don’t put them in the wash," Kremer said. "Don’t put in the dryer or let me buy them back."
Kremer said she hopes to get her work back, but has also accepted she may never see her sweaters and other knitwear again.
"I really hope the people wearing them are enjoying them," Kremer said.
She said while she could remake her pieces, she doesn't plan to.
"Part of the fun of knitting is learning new techniques and making new designs so I could do that, but I’d rather learn some new techniques and get some new colors and a lot of it was really old yarn that they don’t make anymore," Kremer said. "I’m just going to look ahead, maybe incorporate some of the design elements, but keep moving forward."