Using up the Stash

If you're a watcher of knitting podcasts, or a follower of knitters on Instagram, or anything similar to that, you may be familiar with the idea of the Cozy Memories Blanket (and the title of such, from what I understand, is attributed to Molly of A Homespun House though I'm not sure if that's 100% correct or not).
The idea of said blanket belongs to nobody, however. It's a scrappy blanket that you use leftovers from, and for most people, this is sock leftovers: a lot of knitters = a lot of socks, which leads to a lot of sock scraps.
There are even people who swap leftovers, all wrapped into mini-skeins, of varying weights and yardage (though there is a standard, it escapes me at the moment - however, I believe it is either 5 or 10 grams of yarn). Some of the yarn dyers that sell on Etsy and the like sell mini-skein kits that you can buy for your blankets. There are giant swaps that some of the podcasters have put together that revolve around these mini-skeins.

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It really is a beautiful thing.
You get to see yarns that you never knew existed, or try out new bases of yarn. You get to see things from new companies or new friends. You get to see what they've made with their scraps (sometimes) and get to share what you've made with other people.
It's a booming industry, these minis.

But also the blankets that they are made into.
Oh, the blankets. Just a browse through #CozyMemoriesBlanket on Instagram makes me want it to be the dead of winter and be wrapped up in all that colorful goodness.
I mean, how could you resist?

For the longest time, I thought I could.
I mean, I'm only working on my 3rd pair of socks. And while it's fun and I do have leftovers from my first 2 pairs, I'm not going to be making a blanket out of those leftovers.
For one, a blanket out of sock yarn? Oh, it would take years!
For two, it would take years just to get enough yarn to make such a thing.
And for three, I had previously sworn off knitting a blanket.

Oh, I've crocheted plenty of afghans. In the summer, in the winter, any time of year, any type of reason (but mostly because I wanted to).
And it's a labor of love.

But to knit a blanket?
That would take years upon years. So many years. So much time. So many stitches on the needles. Such long rows.

I'm sure by now you've figured out that I have indeed started such a blanket.
Because I have.

Not out of sock scraps, but in worsted weight.
To be more specific, out of Caron Simply Soft yarn, because that's what I use the most, it's cost efficient, and has lovely colors. It lasts decently well, wash after wash, And I've got plenty of it in my stash to use up, and can add to the collection as time goes on.
So far, I'm 9 squares in, all in different colors, and I've still more to get through before I've used each color that I have currently.

It's great fun, I promise. A square takes me just under an hour (I'm doing the 40 stitch variety, as the instructions I found on Ravelry dictated.

Except, it's making me use up my scraps.
I've been taking my scraps, making a square, and setting the rest of what's left in a special box (one of the boxes an Arcade Block comes in, because it was handy but also because it's printed like it's an NES!).
This means that, really, my stash is dwindling!
Okay, it's not dwindling, I'm just corraling it better.
But it will eventually dwindle - the disadvantage of using up the yarn that you have the most of!

And what, oh what, will I do when my stash is gone?

That's a silly question.
One, because there's no way my stash will be gone entirely.
Two, because I'm only using one kind of yarn, and I have plenty other kinds (my star afghan made of cotton was to use up my solid colored cotton yarn and I've still got plenty of that left over, why would this project be any different?).
Three, because I don't even believe the Mister would let me not have a stash (I was deciding that I'd need a "base" color, for all the scraps that aren't big enough to do a whole square with, and he almost immediately asked if I needed some money to go to the store with to get some - he is definitely not against the purchase of yarn).

However.
What would happen if I didn't have any more yarn?

At this point, I've got a decent enough amount of colors to choose from of my liking that I'm able to at least go and look for a color to start a project with (hence my last shawl, which is on Instagram but I have not blogged about yet).
But to have to pick a yarn from the store, or gasp, order something online and wait for it to show up after choosing a pattern?

Maybe it will lead to better choosing of patterns to make, versus trying to choose something based on what I already have (which is why I have only 2 shawls versus the 4 that I've actually started (because 2 got frogged because I didn't really love them)).
Maybe it will lead to learning to match colors better versus hoping for colors to go simply because I have them.
Maybe it will let me actually work on a sweater. Because you can't have a sweater out of scraps (at least not with my body type!).

It's not the end of the world to work through stash.
But it is going to be sad when it's much less than it is now.

That just means I can start fresh and add things I really love, versus what was on sale.
Right?

~ Havok

If you liked this post, check out these other posts!

Crocheted Bath Mat [or, how not to have a matching bathroom]

Yarn Hoarding [or, the stash]

Crochet Cleaning Cloths