Thursday, December 3, 2015

Converting yarn to kits

When  you have a lot of yarn, it's tempting to feel you have more than you can ever possibly get through.  Because, you know, most of us have WAY more than we can ever possibly get through.  Like this stuff, which is worth about six months of knitting time.


But fear not.  The first step in making good use of your yarn - after deciding whether you really need to keep it all, and moving it on to a place where it will be made into useful objects if not - is to pin down what you want to make with it.  Then you can package it up with a note, or an actual pattern.  Instant kit!

 

I don't need to add a note to this yarn because it's all socks - of course.  Though I do dream of a pair of fingerless gloves in gorgeous hand-dyed mohair/wool blend.  And I might just have set aside some of the yarn for this purpose.

(yep, this isn't all of the Stoddart yarn I bought last May.  Most of it, but not all of it.)

(It's December now, isn't it.  I've had this yarn for more than six months and hadn't even gotten it ready to knit, even though it is one of my super favourite yarns.  what on earth is happening to me??)

(let's not think about that. let's just look at sock combos.)

When I was winding all these cakes, I panicked a little because I had no idea how I would put together all the different colours into sock kits.  But once I'd divided the cakes into two, it became pretty obvious.

For example:


Who doesn't want a pair of blindingly yellow sunshine socks to keep warm in over the winter?

Not to mention the allure of blue sky socks, with a field of wheat stretching across the heels and toes.


Okay I have to be honest here, I really want a pair of the blond socks with just a bit of accent, and I may swap things around to make it happen.  But I like this colour combo too. 

And then there's the festive cranberry kit:


This blue-and-neon combo makes me think of a summer circus, for some reason.


I think this one has to be my favourite.  I don't have anything else in this spectacular green, with its amazing colour shifts.  It will be so pretty with the superbright contrasting heels and toes!


Another chance for the blond yarn to shine:


This tawny colourway was so beautiful, I bought two skeins of it - so I have a little extra I am TOTALLY using to make fingerless gloves with, eventually.  But I'm also thrilled with this colour combo for socks, too.

Evidently I bought a lot of this blue yarn, too.  Hmmm, maybe sky blue and  dusty rose aren't really the way to go.  Or maybe the quirkiness is what will make them work?


So difficult to tell with these large cakes, isn't it.  You really have to stitch yarns together to see how they'll play with each other.

It was a long journey to get these yarns from skein form to workable cakes - there was a move in there, and some possible moth damage that led to a stint in the freezer - but it was very satisfying to tuck them into Ziploc bags and tuck them into the baskets that live in my coffee table cubbies.  Now, when I need a new hand/eye therapy project, I can simply pull out one of the baskets and chose a kit.  It's like a yarn shop in my living room!

You know, more than just owning an extensive supply of yarn is like having a yarn shop in your living room.

(do you have a yarn shop in your living room?)



2 comments:

Laurinda said...

Of course I don't have a yarn store in my living room- I have a whole fiber store in my bedroom! I love your combinations, especially the cranberry <3
I have a shawl started in a bulky weight in that same eye-searing yellow, because bright colors are my thing.
Because I picked an easy project, fingerless mitts, then started in June, & cheated by buying 3 pair of someone else's handknit mittens, I'm only 1 project away from being done with Christmas knitting! Whooo hooo- selfish knitting, here I come! I need a new hat, & a scarf, finish my shawl, & maybe even make myself a pair of fingerless mitts

Mary Keenan said...

Well done Laurinda!! I hope you get to use all the lovely holiday down time to knit yourself all those cosy warm things :^) I'm dying to knit fingerless gloves myself RIGHT NOW, because it's still not freezing cold here in Toronto and I could wear them without actual gloves underneath! but I am being sensible and carrying on with the random act of kindness socks.