Episode 7 - Frugality
Happy New Year!!! (still...? Just?)..
This month I look at ways you can use your existing stash.. right down to the tiny bou ends.. to help with any resolutions you might have about resisting more yarn!
Click on the image below to watch the video podcast or scroll down to see the same-ish content as a blog!
It is certainly the time of year when I am full of good intentions.. 'I will only knit with existing stash', 'I will not buy any new yarn'. The intentions are there even if there is that nagging little part of my head that knows I will crack at the first Instagram post of a indy-dyers shop update.. But I will try. Honest I will try to try.
The problem is my stash hasn't been built up to handily match a project in my Ravelry queue. My stash has been built by an impetuous purchaser who 'just had to have' that one skein of sock yarn (doesnt count right?), or who thought if I bought the same yarn but in lots of different colours that would work as a sweater (because I couldnt commit to just one colourway... heavens no).
So what I am faced with is lots of single skeins of BEAUTIFUL sock yarn but very few obvious cohesive projects. Thankfully 2017 was the year of the 'Fade' epidemic and like it or not, Andrea Mowry gave us all an 'out' for those single skeins. Her first pattern 'Find your Fade' called for 7 skeins (not all of them full) to make an epic, squishy, bang-on wrap. I jumped right on that band-wagon.
My Find Your Fade - Andrea Mowry using Holst Garn Super Soft 100% Uld
The fading didn't stop there. Andrea kept on giving us different ways to use up those single sock yarns and this time with a garment. And so on I ploughed.. Using up five of my single sock yarns in various greys.
My Monochrome So Faded - apologies for the poor photography.. still waiting on some modelled pics!
All the 'Fade' patterns are a great way to churn through existing stash that you never thought would be anything other than socks..
But then there were always bits left over.. the left-over little cakes that aren't big enough for their own project but fall into the 'mini-skein' category... What to do with them?
Well thankfully there are plenty of patterns on Ravelry that help you use up those mini skeins:
Like the Mini Madness Shawl from Angie Kimel - A great way to use up those mini-skeins - however small. Because the colours merge into each other you have a much more cohesive look:
Then there's the recent ADVENTurous Wrap by Ambah O'Brien - a wonderful project to use up your leftovers and to showcase the work of the year.
I also like to try and make a feature of my left-overs and introduce a bit of colour at the same time as being able to see immediately what you have and what works together. All my 'substantial' leftovers go into Kilner Jars - safe from moths and visible! It also means they are constantly in my field of vision and therefore I'm encouraged to make use of them! I have toyed with the idea of making myself an advent calendar for next year but the surprise would be somewhat lacking...
But I don't stop there... no.. I have an inability to throw away even the teeniest tiniest little bits.. But thankfully - a browse through Ravelry came up with the wonderful 'Fiddly Bits' by Jana Pihota
She suggests taking the tiny lengths leftover from the end of a skein, the ones too small to do anything with, tying them together and making your own free, self-striping gobstopper! Because of the construction of the cowl the knots end up on the inside of the cylinder and you have a stunning scrappy cowl! Click below to see the pattern and my own small start to a scrappy gobstopper.
There are numerous ways to use your stash right down to the lastest bit and I hope this has given you some inspiration to dive into your stash and resist the temptation to add to it.. at least for the moment!
FUTURE PLANS - 2018
I'm almost finished on a glorious test-knit for Owl Cat Designs - a light-weight Cardigan with speckled stripes. It's due for release in early February and I will post pictures of my finished piece once I've got this darn sleeve finished and some buttons popped on. I've been using Down Sheepy Lane in the Arya and Kingslayer colourways. This is another good use for odd skeins - i think it takes approx 2 skeins of the main colour and one of the constrast colour. Well worth looking out for.
And after that.. I'm as free as a bird... I'm looking at the Piece of Silver Sweater by Veera Valimaki... and then.. who knows.
I hope next time to be back to showcasing the work of one independent yarn-dyer - I have several in my stash begging to be cast on (their yarns.. not the actual dyers trapped in there.. that would be weird).
