Friday, January 11, 2013

Haiku Friday: Ode to a huge yarn stash

Pile of woolen knots,
Frustration yields to pure joy
My lovely yarn stash!

Thus begins, Readers, the year of Using Up the Stash. Or, project UUtS for short. We will begin this great journey by taking inventory of the infamous Almighty Yarn Stash:

Here it is, in all its yarn-y glory.

I've divided the Almighty Stash into subgroups, based on yarn weight and material:
All Red Heart brand acrylic. 
1. The Acrylics.  The lime green and black are leftover from my Space Invaders blanket, and the pine green and white are leftover from the Christmas stocking I posted last week. I'll be using up more of the pine green and white for the second stocking (the pine green will be the main color), so that's ONE project. As for the lime green and black, I'm thinking that that is defiantly a WUA project. The space invaders are making a comeback, in the way of an afghan fragment!


2. Bulky Weight. These yarns are mostly alpaca and wool blends. I received most of these as a gift from one of my friends at my bridal shower; I still don't really have a plan for them just yet, but I'm kicking around the idea of an ear-flap hat. I love how soft these ones are!


3. Dishcloth cotton and my right knee. Brace yourselves...I'll be making...*gasp* DISHCLOTHS!


4: Silks. Here we have my small collection of bamboo blends and silk blends. The red-ish ball of yarn on the left is actually made up of whats leftover from manufacturing silk scarves. I have no idea what exactly I'm going to use these for; the chances are good that these will make their way into a WUA blanket piece.



5: Lace-Weight materials. The largest (and, if you can believe it, most expensive) chunk of my stash: my collection of lace-weight thread. I've got a good mix of (organic) cotton, acrylic, silk, alpaca, wool, and bamboo. In addition to making snowflakes, I'm going to be making some doilies; the largest most complicated ones I can find! I really want to focus on my lace-making skills this year!


6: Mercerized Cotton. This is my collection of mercerized cotton (cotton that's been dipped in sodium hydroxide to make it stronger and shinier), leftover from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cushion. I've been making some granny squares with some of it...but I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with the granny squares once their finished. Perhaps I can make a bag, or a grocery tote? I tried doing a dishcloth with this once, but it turned out TERRIBLE...this kind of cotton doesn't absorb water very well! Not very useful as a dishcloth at all!

Yikes, I need to re-wind the red superwash wool! 

7: Wools. Here we have my wool/alpaca stash. Once I get that tangled mess of red yarn taken care of, I'll probably use most (if not all) of these for WUA projects. Perhaps I can whip out a pair of mittens with the grey wool, too.

Last but not least:



8: Sock yarn. Here we have my sock yarn, all of it Cascade Heritage Sock yarn in various colors. Believe it or not, I've had better luck knitting mittens from this than socks! I have a pair of mittens in the works with the black, and once those are finished, I'll be making various stripey things with the rest.




Whew!

A plan for the use of these yarns can be expected within the next week Readers! Stay tuned!









Friday, January 4, 2013

Haiku Friday: Resolutions

All I can say is
After hustle and bustle,
It's good to be back!

A new year has begun, Readers! 2013 brings us new places to go, people to meet, goals to fulfill, skills to be learned, and dreams to be dreamed!

I wanted to show off a project that I FINALLY finished (albeit several days late!)


I knit our first Christmas stocking! A matched one (with contrasting colors) will be in the works, but I have about a gazillion other projects (2 pairs of knit mittens, one for mah hubbeh and one for a co-worker. Plus, I've got a lace beret for myself in the works) that I really want to finish first. This pattern is a fairly quick/easy knit for anyone who has had experience in knitting socks, I HIGHLY recommend it!

It's official: I have a crush on Nordic fair isle.

Well, Readers, 'tis the season for New Years' Resolutions!

This year, my new year's resolution is less of a resolution and more of a project: since my yarn stash has officially reached ludicrous status (my yarn-storage-thing is COMPLETELY full along with another storage container), I have resolved to...drum roll please...

NOT BUY ANY MORE YARN UNTIL MY STASH IS EMPTY!

That's right, Readers! No more yarn-store clearance sale binges for the ol' Orb Weaver!

I will be taking inventory of the almighty Yarn Hoard during the coming week and will be making (somewhat) of a plan in regards to using it all up. As I said above, I have a few projects in the works: another knit stocking (same pattern, flipped colors), a pair of finger-less mitts for my husband and a co-worker, and a lace beret for myself.

There are several charities that are looking for knitters who are willing to whip out their needles at a moment's notice: I've knit some miniature stockings for Operation Holiday Stockings in the past, that has always been a good stash-buster:

http://operationholidaystockings.com/

In addition to Operation Holiday Stockings, I'm seriously thinking of knitting/crocheting some squares/infant hats for Warm Up America:

http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/aboutWUA.html

WUA is a program where knitters/crocheters make 7X9 rectangles, that are then sewn together to make warm blankets for those in need! Knitters/Crocheters, I would IMPLORE you to check these fabulous people out!

Day 1 begins tommorow! We'll see how long I can last before I find myself clawing at my local yarn's stores door, screaming for my cashmere fix.

Perhaps the large ball of barely-used organic wool in my stash can take the edge off.

Toodles!