Wednesday, March 09, 2016

Knitting from deep stash

On Ravelry recently a group was started aiming to knit only from "Deep Stash" for a while.  Non-knitters might not recognise this term.  "Stash" in this sense is your store of knitting yarn, and "deep stash" has been in there for a longish while - up to fifty years in my case.


Hard to believe, but there are some addicts who spend hundreds of pounds augmenting their stash, but never actually knit any of it.  Or else, they have lots of yarn in store, but always feel the need to buy more for new projects.  Now, that seems quite reasonable to me.  As does picking up bargains in the yarn line from charity shops as the opportunity arises, without a clear idea of what it might be used for.


Around our house I would say I have reached Peak Yarnage - ie almost all the storage spaces are full already.  Several carrier bags are floating free in our lounge, where they ought not to be.  So I am setting myself a challenge.

It is this: How many garments can I make from yarn already in the house? 

In fact, I made a start with those Sanquhar hats.  Many years ago, when my nephew was a small boy, I knitted a dark green jumper with a bright red tractor worked in intarsia on the front.  That dark green yarn must be almost forty years old.  Good to see it used up.


Just posted off already, to the same organisation, is this oatmeal pullover in Jaeger Shetland, made to The Una Vest pattern by Marie Wallin in "The Knitter."  It's a straightforward pattern and should be warm, but the finished effect on me was a little more rustic than one would wish.  It looked great on the young girl modelling it in the magazine, as is always the way.


Next up, these Newfoundland Mittens, a satisfying and quick knit.  The pink here is the remainder of two skeins of art Yarns sent to me as a prize for having knitted fifty of the Innocent hats for someone.  Lovely yarn, but with sufficient variation in the two skeins to make it more suitable for small projects.




 

2 comments:

LizM said...

In my head, I'm still the same shape as when I was the age of the aforementioned young models. The mirror, however, often tells a different story. Good luck with the challenge of knitting down your deep stash.

Susan Smith said...

I understand the challenge of using your stash, though mine is probably more fabric, but I don't buy any where near as much I once did. I've always knitted too and found some hanks deep down in the chest and have wound one and now knitting myself a jumper for winter. Look forward to seeing what comes next. Lovely photos of Spring at top. Take care.