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Using Up the Yarn Box
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Yarns:
- Aran Fleck - RRSS
- Purple Tones - RHSS
- Dove - RHSS
- Pale Yellow - RHSS
- Charcoal - RHSS
- Heather Grey - RHSS
- (Light Grey?) - RHSS (Very Unsure)
- (Coffee?) - RHSS
- Beige Fleck - RHSS
- Forest Green - RHSS
- Blue Ombre - RHSS
- Black - Caron Simply Soft
- Red - Caron Simply Soft
- White - Caron Simply Soft
- Forest Print - Lily SnC
- Blackberry - Knit Picks WoA
- Cobblestone Heather - Knit Picks WoA
- Dove Heather - Knit Picks WoA
- Dove Heather2 - Knit Picks WoA
- Blossom Heather - Knit Picks WoA
- Midnight Heather - Knit Picks WoA
- Icicle Heather - Knit Picks WoA
- Lilac Mist - Knit Picks Dishie
- Ash - Knit Picks Dishie
- Hawk - Knit Picks Comfy Worsted
- Barley - Lion Brand Wool-Ease
- Oatmeal - Lion Brand Wool-Ease
- Pastel Orange Baby - ???
- Vile Fiberglass - ??? New additions from a frogged cardigan :'-)
- Shaded Browns - RHSS
- Shaded Browns - RHSS
- Shaded Browns - RHSS
- Coffee - RHSS
- Coffee - RHSS
Step 1: Where We are and how We got Here
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Like many people who crochet and/or knit, I've accumlated a fair amount of yarn over the years. You can find countless photos online (some ashamed, some happy) of peoples' yarn stashes. Floor-to-ceiling stacks of cakes, multiple giant storage tubs full, countless shopping bags throughout the entire house. I'm going to say right now my stash (even before my first purge about 1.5 years ago) is no where near that. I'm thankful that I never ended up with that much, but I still have more than I would like. All of the yarn I currently own falls into one of these categories:
A: Currently or soon going to be used for an active, specific project.
B: Obtained with a vague idea at most in mind; which has not been started -- or roadblocks have been encountered.
C: Sizeable leftovers that are too big for the scrap blanket, but too small individually for many projects
D: Small(er) leftovers intended for the scrap blanket.
E: "Other" - Swatches, random test granny squares, abandoned projects, etc.
The contents of my yarn box:
Some things of note:
- 5+ Skeins of RHSS in "Aran Fleck": I'm making a blanket out of it currently. I have leftovers from previous projects with it, too.
- The brown yarn previously mentioned in my diary, that my friend gave me. That I may or may not continue making a cardigan out of
- I'd say 85%-90% of my yarn was gifted to me. Gifted includes people just unloading unwanted parts of their collection onto me (it's a cycle, I've done it too lol)
- All of my yarn is cheap, most is acrylic. I typically keep some cotton on hand (the Sugar 'n Cream cone) on hand for small, heavy-use projects like washcloths.
- The box full of Knit Picks skeins: I gave up on a tapestry after 3 years off and on, and this is leftover. It's a variety of wool, poly, cotton, etc. since I just cared about color then.
Step 2: Working out a Plan
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First, I grouped all the yarn based off of the 5 categories I made above. Group A: ALL of the RHSS fleck yarn, including the leftovers and beige fleck, went into a bag to be used for the blanket. When I'm done with it, I'll work with those scraps. Group B: The brown yarns + the 1.5 Lion brand mandalas that my friend gave me went into a different bag, because those can theoretically become a complete item in the future.
What remains. Group C: Things that are too small for most projects, but much too large to be considered scraps. Group D: Scraps to go into the scrap blanket (photo is kind of out of order, sorry.) Group E: "Other" -- IE can all be easily frogged and added to the scrap blanket. All but the orange C2C thing, that'll end up in Group C.
I'm writing this on September 22nd, 2023. My goal is to have as little yarn as possible at the end of the year. Which means:
- Do not buy anymore yarn. The only possible exception I can imagine is if I get a very specific request for Christmas/a birthday.
- Catch up on the scrap blanket. Especially since I'm working on another blanket right now, it's been hard to convince myself to work on it. I'll try reminding myself to just alternate it with other projects.
- Start the frankenball of yarn ASAP to avoid further yarn tangles.
- Spend time scrolling for project ideas. I need to think of ways to use Group B and C yarn.
- By extention, try to not get into the constant start-frog cycle with the Group B yarn.
- I have starting numbers for each category (7, 7, 26, 16, ∞) but since yarn can transfer categories and not just be totally used up, tracking it in depth would be kind of silly IMO.
Step 3: Plan Execution Time
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September 24th, 2023:
I made a bad choice
My scrap blanket.
My scrap blanket, deconstructed. You can just barely see two toes of the halloween spider bowl that acts as my yarn bowl. He was crushed by the franken-yarn ball and as of a couple weeks later still can't really hold it. I should have measured or weighed the yarn ball at it's biggest.
My scrap blanket, begun anew.
So, something I've been throwing back and forth in my head for a couple of years to was frog and redo my scrap blanket it. I think this is an improvement because: 1.) Working from the center, out, means that it will grow proportionally forever, I can stop at any time and it'll be fine. 2.) I've switched from a K hook to a J, which made a much larger difference than I expected. 3.) Moss stitch is much more dense, and more forgiving of the variety of yarn weights, I feel, since you work "around" stitches rather than in them.
On the other hand, this is a kind of big undertaking (the new franken-yarn ball does not fit in my yarn bowl even) and kind of may be a waste of time for what is ultimately, a very ugly scrap blanket. Also still struggling do find uses for the rest of my yarn, lol.
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October 6th, 2023:
I won't say this was a mistake...it's just a huge time sink. I like the scrap blanket SO much more like this. Also a note, since this thing is going to end up huge, I don't care about the spiraling effect. It was really easy to get confused while turning with all the different yarns, so I gave up after a while. Confession: the blue bernat blanket was actually the original foundation chain of the original blanket. After 2 attempts I gave up and added the orange piece to get the new blanket started.
I've made 4 small projects since the last update (two bandanas, a trivet, and a bag to hold crochet WIPs.) So in two weeks, I've used 1 of my Category C yarns up, even though it feels like I've been crocheting non-stop. I'm not really discouraged since I didn't have any numerical goals anyway, but man. What do people near/at SABLE do?
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November 5th, 2023:
I've made a shawl and an amigurimi, as well as barely working on this blanket. So I have scraps from using up those 2 cakes from Group B...otherwise no changes in anything. The new frankenyarnball is much more manageable now, so maybe I'll just put the scrap blanket aside for the rest of the year. I'd like to get back to that other blanket that I've forgotten about for a very long time -- luckily it's not going to be that big, so I should be able to finish it up pretty fast. I also now technically know how to knit, so maybe I'll have more ideas of how to use up yarn. Kind of a lame update after a whole month, sorry!
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November 14th, 2023:
Hey, that other blanket I was working on.
Endless squares.
I now have a blanket that measures about 44x62 inches (112x158cm.) That's not exactly the dimensions I was going for, but whatever. This whole thing has become very whatever! There's a strip of yarn that's a different color than the rest, it took way longer and way more yarn than I expected at first, I couldn't give it the border I wanted to, and after putting it on my bed I realized that this yarn is kind of a strange color. It has a slightly off-putting (to me,) almost greenish tint. It makes me think of old glass; intended as colorless, but not actually so.
On the flip side though, I now have a very dense (H hook + worsted weight ♥) and larger than expected blanket which will serve it's purpose totally adequately. This project took about 9 skeins of yarn total, and in terms of using up my stash I have one skein leftover (using 5/6 in the OG photo.) Almost 1 full skein, I had to dip into for the final three squares. I'm pretty content with the project itself, and really happy to be finished with it, so it's its own update lol.
Today, I've added a progress tracker to the top of the page. I hate the Group system I created but don't feel like retyping this whole mess. The tracker tracks all the group C yarn, because other than 5 very specific skeins set aside for a caridgan, this is all the "usable" yarn I have left. I just thought it was more fun than "I used some white yarn but not that much today," and to save someone with passing interest my ramblings.
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November 30th, 2023:
The more time goes on, the more I question my intention with this page. Not anytime soon, but I'm definitely going to buy more yarn eventually, yeah? Also the question of "how much yarn is too much to be considered scrap?" still holds.
Anyway, I'm working on a bear amigurimi. I'm getting nervous because I'm running really low on the beige yarn, but otherwise I think it's coming out really cute! I'm debating giving the sweater 3D sleeve cuffs and a frill to help with the transitions a bit.
I'm continuing to work on that shawl, btw. Here's an awful picture of what I have so far. I'm not very thrilled with it, but can't say exactly what I'd change. I like the colors of this yarn A LOT but the high-contrasted just isn't vibing with me here. I have the same reaction looking at others' projects with it on ravelry -- it feels completely random if I'm into it or not and can't say what I like/dislike about anything. I asked my friends for input and one loved it and said it looked like a Dingy Skipper Moth which is endearing lol. Granted, the whole point of this shawl is just to test if I even like wearing them, so there's a solid chance I'll end up frogging it anyway.
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December 4th, 2023:
Hey, finished that bear a day ago. I followed this pattern. My only changes are no tail, switching yarn colors to make the sweater, and at the top of the sweater I did BLO to give it a cleaner neckline. My first attempt I sewed the head on 45 degrees off, it's not right this time but it's better and I'm fed up lol. I've realized too late that the muzzle was probably intended to be stuffed.
I'm hoping to finish that shawl by the 8th, where I plan to wear it to a friends house and see what I think.
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December 10th, 2023:
I have knitted my second project ever:
I'm going to try to be a bit more intentional with how I approach knitting vs crochet. IE trying to very actively learn or practice something with each project. (I don't want to make and then have to figure out what to do with 800000 hats again, basically.) So, this project I learned how to do decreases (k2tog). I worked it flat and the seam I made is pretty ugly, I'll have to work on that.
This beanie's yarn is from another hat that I frogged. I actually have over 1 hat's worth of yarn left because I used doubled up yarn to crochet the original. So by making this, I added more yarn to my stash. At least this hat is functional (the doubled up bulky yarn, crocheted, offered no stretch.) The colors remind me of sock monkeys; which is cute, but otherwise it doesn't do much for me. My friend was also kind enough to lend me needles to try out and use on this project! I learned I like wooden needles and hate acrylic (to be fair, acrylic yarn on acrylic needles is probably the worst combination possible.) I was surprised at how much I enjoyed using the wooden needles, and now I'm tempted to get a wooden crochet hook or two.
This page continues to lose meaning, but at the end of the year I'm planning on rounding up some usage stats and make a plan/process/something for how I want to approach yarn projects going forward.
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December 13th, 2023:
I made a jellyfish, my only christmas request. (Big Pattern + Baby Pattern)It's a lot more mis-matched than I wanted, but the recipient is 4 so I think it'll go over fine. On the flip side, the yellow is actually the only non-scrap yarn I used; so despite being way larger than I intended, I used less than 1 skein from my stash. Overall I think it turned out cute.
I may crochet something for another baby, but otherwise I have no other planned projects. I think at the end of the year this page will be condensed, and then I'll just make a new one dedicated to my projects...I COULD just use ravelry technically, but this feels more fun to me :-) !
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December 19, 2023
I made a caterpillar!
I didn't follow the pattern correctly - I stopped doing BLO on the body on autopilot and noticed about 5 rows in. I decided to keep it though, because this means less loops to get caught on things (this one is going to a child.) I have a huge desire to get a skein of rainbow yarn someday and make an extremely long one. I guess it'd be more of a millipede at that point, but I think millipedes are cute too. I wasn't a fan of the face I gave this guy at first but it's grown on me.
In other news, you may recall me mentioning once or twice that I started and gave up on a tapestry years ago. I finally got around to frogging what I had done. Here's all the arguably salvaged yarn:
And here's the rest of it:
I think I've heard tiny yarn scraps like this called worms? Mine go in a jar and periodically either get brushed out for fluff, or used as-is as stuffing. The usability of some of the lengths of the aran yarn is debatable, but I still have a fair amount of that now either way. Yay more (now usable) yarn.
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January 4, 2024: Conclusion
Forgive the bad picture, the place is a wreck right now. But! here is my yarn collection as of December 31st, 2023. (The picture is from today, but the amount of yarn has not changed.) Let's go over some things!
This Photo:
- One new member to the family, almost front and center: A skein of Red Heart Super Saver in "Light Blue!" It was intended for an amigurumi gift that ended up completely failing before the blue was even needed. :-( It's a nice color, I'm not worried about finding a use for it at least. But I'm bummed I bought new yarn during the one period I was trying to not.
- 1 and 3/4s knitted hats: I dont like how either look (talked about it more in-depth earlier on this page.) These are "potential frog" category.
- You can see a couple balls of doubled up Caron Simply Soft in the lower left; I started and frogged so much stuff with this yarn. The white was part of the aformentioned failed amigurumi, surprise surprise.
- Like half a skein of Red Heart Super Saver in "Purple Tones" I found this yarn around the house a couple months into this page. I think it was my grandmothers, actually, but I just put it with the rest of my yarn.
- On the right you can see a really ugly yarn cake with a ball of yarn on top. That's the secondary franken-yarn-ball!
- The scrap blanket is not in the picture. It hasn't changed since it was last mentioned.
- With probably 5-7 rows left, I started frogging the brown shawl. I was right, I didn't like it. I like this yarn so much at a glance but not when I'm using it....
Numbers:
- The beginning categories don't really apply anymore, honestly. Forcing myself to do go by that mentric: 0, 19, 12?, ∞, 11.
- However, I'd just say I have about 20 full or close-enough-to full skeins of yarn.
- Everything else is scraps. Just some scraps are large enough to be used for small projects...
- Off the top of my head, since starting this page, I finished about 15 projects of varying sizes, frogged around 10 potential and finished projects; and whatever you want to consider the scrap blanket's rebirth.
Plans Going Forward:
- This page will either get archived and then removed, or just cleaned up a bit. I don't know for certain.
- I want to have pages to actually log my projects and maybe track yarn (possibly by weight instead of vibes this time.) Preferably, much more intuitive and aesthetically pleasing than this page. Yeah, I can just use ravelry...but I just like the idea of pages here!
In Conclusion: I probably have less yarn than I started with. If you've followed along with this thank you/I'm sorry LOL
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