Organising My Stash

I have tried to make use of my snowy incarceration this week. I have finally sorted out my overflowing stash cupboard. I needed to empty this cupboard so I could put all my WIPS away, which would enable me to reach the sofa, in order to sit down and knit. Once I had emptied said cupboard I had to do something with my stash. Once I unpacked it from all the bags there seemed to be an awful lot. I also saw some of the lovely yarn I had bought and it inspired me (more of that later).

I decided that I needed somewhere to put my yarn and I purchased the ideal solution. I bought two boxes that fold flat, but when erected have a perspex window along one side and a lid. I have put all my yarn away in these two boxes, stacked one on top of the other and covered it with a throw - t'dah! As if by magic my stash is hidden away but can be accessed very easily. I still have about half a box left empty, but I'm sure I will resolve that problem very swiftly.

Of course after all this hard work, I was exhausted and in pain, so I needed to sit down and do some crafting. As I said above, I had been inspired by the lovely yarn I had unearthed and my favourite was some sock yarn. It is called Happy and it is made by Wendy and is 75% bamboo and 25% nylon. The yarn is gorgeous and soft with a very light sheen to it.



I love this yarn and desperately wanted to play with it. As it is a nice fine and smooth yarn I decided to use my teeniest needles, my 2.5mm Harmony circular needles. Knitting this yarn on these needles is such a dream, it is totally without effort and the socks have sprouted exceedingly quickly. But I am getting ahead of myself again. I decided that after the success of the top down socks, I made from a recipe, I would try a similar idea but from a different direction. I decided to try the Universal Toe Up Sock Formula by Amy Swenson, published on Knitty.com. This is a sock with a short row toe and heel. It uses your measurements and stitch pattern to calculate how the sock is constructed.

This pattern is the first time I have tried short rows using wrap and turn, and I like the way this method shapes the toe.



This method creates a much smoother shaping for the toe, which feels seamless. I decided to add interest to the sock by doing a simple rib on the top of the foot and up the leg, which means I won't have to work out where to start the cuff. It is a P2, K3 rib and it makes a nice elegant rib, which will hopefully mean the sock hugs the foot and the leg. I will probably have to increase the width of the ankle after turning the heel, but I'll work that out when I get there. In the meantime, here is what I have produced so far.



Isn't it pretty, and the name of this yarn is very apt, as these socks are already making me happy.

In other areas of craft, I have finally finished my friend's baby blanket. It is to be handed over on Tuesday, so there was a bit of a rush on this week. I ran out of the yarn already bought and decided to do an accent colour for the trim. I used two strands, one of white and one of yellow, which contrasted with the green and the white, with coloured specks, that the main body was crocheted in.



The trim has a very slight ruffle to it, which was more by luck than judgement but I liked it, so it stayed.



I think this contrast trim helps emphasise the mint green, but also picks up the yellow specks on the white wool in the body of the blanket.



The final size of the blanket was 40" x 50" which is a good size and covers an adult lap and could be doubled up to cover a baby. I am very pleased with this blanket, and am sorry to see it go, but I am sure that the recipient will love it as much as I do, especially as it is acrylic and can be chucked in the washing machine, (I try to be practical about such things). Speaking of which, I better go and do exactly that before handing it over, it has been hanging around for several months, waiting to be completed.