Tag Archives: yo yo

I’m Slightly Obsessed… Oops.

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I don’t know about you,  but my knitting tends to go in cycles.  I always have something on my needles (or on my crochet hook), but one month I might spend all my time on socks, and the next I’ll be all about big gauge sweaters, and the next I won’t want to work on anything but squares for an afghan.

This week, I’m 100% obsessed with my Yo-Yo Afghan.  I’ve kept it in the closet of my knitting studio for about six months, and I pick it up from time to time.  Whenever I feel uninspired by my current project, I break out my worsted-weight scrap yarn and make a handful of yo-yos.

It’s a totally zen project, and you get a very satisfying pile of yo-yo’s when you’re done.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA(Assuming my counting is correct) I’ve got 841 yo-yo’s, which should be enough to make a 29×29 square blanket.  Each yo-yo is about 2.5 inches across, so the blanket should end up about 6 feet across.

I plan on attaching each yo-yo at random, just avoiding putting two of the same color next to each other.  I have at least a couple dozen different colors, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

I know I’m neglecting my other knitting, and the weeds in my yard are starting to loom menacingly again, but I can’t stop myself.

As soon as this post goes up, I’m going to run over to Jo-Ann’s and get some yarn to start joining up all my hundreds of yo-yos.

What projects have taken over your life?

Leftovers

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I am convinced that every knitter is a bit of a pack-rat.  Or at least has some pack-rat-ish tenancies.  I catch myself doing it all the time, and have to consciously make myself stop it when I go to far.

I’m not talking about buying more yarn than you could ever knit (which would be a problem, but I’m not convinced that it is possible.  At least, I haven’t reached a critical mass of unknit skeins yet).  I’m talking about those little bits of leftover yarn that you end up with at the end of every project that you are sure you can use for something else.  You can’t just throw away 50 feet of merino hand-spun.  That would be heresy!

So, when those little bits of yarn get ready to overflow your craft bin/closet/room, what to do?

I organize my scraps by weight (worsted together, sock yarn together, etc), then i pick a project.

I am a big fan of scrappy afghans to use up my little leftover bits.  My Call the Midwife-inspired blanket sits on my couch, and used up approximately a metric ton of sock yarn scraps.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’m in the midst of making a great big Yo Yo Lapghan with all my worsted weight scraps.  I can make a handful of yo-yos during a rerun of Law and Order.  And, once I have about 2000 (no joke… they’re pretty small), I’ll crochet them together.  I like this pattern especially because, even though I’m making thousands of little circles, if you do it right, you have no ends to weave in.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnother afghan that people are going head over heels for is the Beekeeper’s quilt.  I’ve never made one; I think knitting that much at such a tiny gauge without ending up with a pair of socks (or ten) would give me an aneurism, but if that’s your jam, I say: Go for it!  It looks like a super cozy blanket when it’s done.DSC_0518_medium2[1]Don’t want to make a blanket?  Think about stripes.  Match up your scraps of a similar weight, and make a cool abstract striped sweater, or a pair of fraternal twin socks.

Whatever you do, just don’t let the yarn just languish on your shelf.  Yarn is for knitting (and crocheting) and keeping you cozy and warm, so let it do what it wants to do!