Scraps

 I've been settling in nicely at Instagram the last few weeks, having found my way to a wonderful community of booklovers (come visit!) and I can't help noticing there is a LOT of overlap with knitting. And not because many of us indulge in both passions, either. After all, what is a To Be Read pile if not a Yarn Stash? and read books on a shelf are not unlike yarn scraps.

Of which I have many. Some people never reread books but keep them to fill their shelves as a record of where they've been, and I suppose you can do the same with yarn scraps. I know I recognize many of these yarns and remember the beautiful things I made with them. Still, you *can* reread a book. And you can use up yarn scraps too.

I could almost certainly cobble together a pair of Frankenstein-esque socks with what's lying around in my scrap box. Or embroider something, or even make a rug. Tie up a gift parcel. Braid long strips for drawstrings or tiebacks. Leave some outside strategically for our animal neighbours to use in their nests. And let's not forget the ol' loom. Weaving is the audiobook of the knitting world, in that it allows you to get through stashed yarn very quickly and frees you attack the next thing on the list.

 

Or I could just leave all these scraps in their protective cases in a box in a cabinet to come visit every so often, remembering the diehard knitter I indulged for all those years when I didn't the time or tranquility I needed to tackle a short story, let alone a full-length manuscript. One of which I hope to wrap up in the next few days (or even this weekend, cue the nail-biting)!!! I've only been working on this thing for 14 or 15 months... I am overdue a completed if creaky first draft at this point, don't you think?

 

And on that note, I will take my leave of you for another week, a bit abruptly, but only because I really, really need to wrap up this story.  Hope you have a great weekend and, as always, thank you for spending some time with me today. 

Okay, okay - one more scrap tray! These are the bigger leftovers, generous enough for sock cuffs or handknit pockets. If you have ideas or favourites, I'd love to hear 'em.