For the first time in...
Uh-oh! You know it's been WAAAAY too long, if you can't remember back that far. Then again, we have already established the fact that the old gray matter; she ain't what she used to be.
I'm telling you, folks, there were artifacts from the golden age back there (No, not the reign of Elizabeth I, before we had children. Now THAT'S what I call a golden age!)
As I hauled out the treasures, one by one, I checked the expiration dates. Would you believe I had one choice specimen that said, "best before December?"
Okay. That's not so bad...
2003.
I kid you not.
I am a miserable failure as a housekeeper.
However, I am a genius of a knitter. Or at least, marginally competent.
I had 1000 yds. of Briar Rose Grandma's Blessing in the first color Chris sent me for Cherry - the one that was both too short in yardage and not quite what I had in mind. It is a slightly lighter shade of red with hunter green and gold shot through it. I also have about 600 yards of Black Cherry left from the shawl sample. (This happens when you are dealing with 1200 yard skeins.)
I had in mind a little something for Christmas: perhaps a lace tee to go under my moss/hunter green jacket? With a little interesting rib pattern thrown in for good measure?
You know what comes next.
Swatching.
Found a lace pattern I liked (after several missteps) but not a rib pattern that was compatible. The lace pattern was a 6 stitch repeat, but it was a 4/2 division. All the 6 stitch ribbings were 3/3. (sigh)
So I rewrote a 4 stitch one that I liked and added an extra knit and purl stitch to bring the repeat to 6. Then I decided to twist the stitches for better definition. Then, happy with the ribbing, I went to work on the lace.
It looked better with the ribbing if I twisted the stitches in the lace pattern too. So I did.Then I decided to change a knit 3 into a knit 1, purl 1, knit 1. That looked even better.
Next thing you knew I had a pattern with an original stitch design. I didn't know I could do that.
Then I turned it upside down.All of a sudden, instead of a lace tee, knit from the bottom up, I was looking at a lace cardigan, knit from the top down. The ribbing would perfectly hug the chest area, making the most of my natural assets, while the lace would drift away from the body, de-emphasizing my thickening waist.
DING! DING! DING!
We have a winner.
I think I'll name her Holly berry, in honor of the season.
So...
What do you do with your leftovers?
6 comments:
Oh that cardigan looks very promising! So far I haven't done much with my leftovers. Maybe something will inspire me soon. :)
He-he! Of course your refrigerator has oldie but goodies. My mom gives me grief for the same thing, twin.
As for yarn leftovers, I have yet to find a suitable use for them. They await their fate in burgeoning plastic bags...
Just a small tip: food does not keep as long as yarn. Trust me on this one.
This can actually be a problem. I have tiny yarn leftovers that will still be there in 10 years because they have no sell by date and I have no reason to through them away. Bless food for going bad.
Just a small tip: food does not keep as long as yarn. Trust me on this one.
This can actually be a problem. I have tiny yarn leftovers that will still be there in 10 years because they have no sell by date and I have no reason to through them away. Bless food for going bad.
I have the opposite fridge problem. I've got a bit of OCD when it comes to germs/mold, so I'm always throwing away things. Sometimes perfectly good things when I get the notion it's been contaminated in some way. I'm a bad food waster, I know. As a result, our fridge is always empty.
Not a problem when it comes to yarn though!
I also have a tendency to throw thing in the fridge out. "when in doubt, throw it out" was my father's motto, although he was talking about cleaning out my pre-teen mess of a bedroom. I get nervous about food being too old so out it goes.
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