All That Remains

All that remains of my drawer-full of worsted oddballs and leftovers is these 6 partial balls of yarn. It's some Cascade 220, some Naturewool, a teeny ball of Bartlett's, and a ball of something soft and creamy white, its identity and ball band lost. The crocheted blanket is done.

The original plan for the blanket was to finish every last scrap of the worsted leftover/oddball yarn at least in this certain category of workhorse wool yarns. The idea wasn't about being stash-less, necessarily, but I know that if ever the urge hit to knit something in Cascade 220 or Naturewool, I could just go pick some up. I liked the idea of starting fresh and new, and just getting all of this old yarn used up and cleared out of the drawer.

But I've decided to return these bits to the stash. I value the inspiration that this kind of stash provides. I like having little oddballs to work into charity projects or craft projects for the kids. I know they'll get used eventually. I also like the idea that perhaps when the worsted stash gets to be unwieldy yet again, I'll use these yarns to make another blanket.

I also tried my best to evenly distribute the colors throughout the blanket. I rotated through at least 15 different yarns and about 25 different colors, and at the end of the blanket, I didn't want to repeat so many similar colors so closely. So yes, there was a design choice to be made.

And, yo, the blanket it big enough.

Now, all that remains to do on my blanket is to weave in all these ends.

Dramatic Stash Reduction

My stash lives in our guest room. I have a large dresser full: one drawer for wools, one drawer for cottons, and one mostly of odds and ends and leftovers. There's also an old china cabinet with all the books, sock yarns and other special yarns jammed in there. I keep sweater quantities in the closet, along with lots of other craft supplies. It's been a easy way to keep organized, but this summer we anticipate some longer visits from various family members. And this fall, we'd like to do some remodeling to the master bedroom and bath, so Mr S and I will have to move into the guest room during the duration of the construction.

So this Spring, I have been reorganizing the yarn room, making more room in the closet for our guests and their things, and getting rid of some other, unused things. But as I was working in there the weekend before MSDW, my husband got a full-on view of the stash. He saw all of it. At once. His eyes bugged out in shock, but just for a moment. He didn't say anything except something about my plans to buy more yarn at MDSW the following weekend.

Later, he acknowledged that I do knit a lot. And knitting a lot requires a lot of yarn. He really did understand. He was just surprised that it was that much. I've never hidden any of my purchases from my husband. I stay within the budget, and since he pays the bills every month, he knows how much I spend. And although he didn't get at all angry or even seem annoyed, I realized it was time to really reduce the stash. It has gotten a little unwieldy.

Dramatic stash reduction was called for. I not only had to make room for my guests, but I had to prove to my generous and understanding husband that I really did intend on using all of that yarn, that my abundance had a purpose. There was only one thing to do: crochet a huge scrapghan. Being a crochet project, it would use up a ton of yarn, clearing a lot of space in the yarn dresser, and it would create a useful item for the whole family.

I cleared out all of the worsted-ish woolen leftovers, singletons, or random yarns bought for unrealized projects from the wool drawer. I stuck them in the basket and began Bella Dia's Vintage Vertical Stripe Blanket.

Week One: 27 rows

I have been crocheting at a feverish pace for two weeks, and currently have 56 rows of double crochet, or a blanket about 70" long x 20 " wide. The rows are long but simple, as this pattern has you crochet into the space created by the row below, instead of having to insert your hook into the V's of another stitch. As a crochet beginner, it is a great project. I'm trying to crank out as much as I can while I am still enthusiastic about the blanket and before the weather gets too hot to have a huge wool blanket on my lap.

Week 2: 56 rows

I'm still working of different knitting projects as well, all from stash. But for now, it's all about cranking out those long double crochet rows and using up all this yarn.

XRK: Today, with Crochet!

We've needed some new throws and blankets around here for a while now, and I have been fully convinced that crocheting an afghan is for sure the way to go. I spend lots of time on Ravelry looking at different ones, and imagine the amazing crocheted afghans I could make. Sally tells me that crocheting is much faster than knitting, and considering the speed with which she cranks out B.A.G.S. afghans, I am apt to believe it. But Sally is primarily a crocheter who knits.

I am knitter who has extremely rudimentary crochet skills, ones useful for a knitter. I've never actually made a crocheted project. I've never followed a crochet pattern, and only know the single crochet. So while I am obsessed with ripples and Babettes, I'm just not convinced that it would be faster for me, given that I would have to learn how to crochet before I could actually begin.

My sister, the World's Most Deserving of the Handknits, recently requested something Spring-y, to go with her new Spring tote. A little flair, and little green, a little scarf-ish accessory to brighten up an otherwise mostly neutral wardrobe. Enter the perfect excuse to practice my crochet skills, and to test my afghan hypothesis: is crochet really faster than knitting, even when you don't really know how to crochet?

In a word? Yes.

Knitters know that scarves can be a slog, but I cranked out this scarf in less than a week, and that's with some serious ripping after a too-tight chain row caused the scarf to twist and ruffle. I used the Stripes and Stripes Forever (Rav link) pattern from the Happy Hooker, but if you know how to single crochet and have a few skeins of Tahki Cotton Classic lying around, you could make this scarf without a pattern.

My tension is still not great, I have no idea how to properly finish, I lose and gain stitches easily, but in all, a fine first effort. Only about a zillion more rows, and I would have made a great afghan!