Stash Busting – A Little at a Time

Do you ever get in a “stash busting” mood? I’m in one currently and I think it’s great to get into this mood every now and then (otherwise my stash would be uncontrollable, which some might say it already is!). I’m also in a “quick to make” project mode, especially after working on some blankets/afghans for several months! I have many single skeins of yarn in my stash with 100-150 yards in each skein. That’s not enough for a sweater or shawl, so I thought I’d design some skinny scarves with them. I’ve been wanting to have some skinny scarves that are more decorative than functional (they won’t keep me warm, but they’ll jazz up my outfits a little!). Here’s the first skinny scarf that I designed earlier this week:

First Skinny Scarf with FibraNatura Cobblestone yarn

It’s made with 1 skein of FibraNatura Cobblestone yarn in a pretty multi-color that will coordinate with many things in my wardrobe! I think this yarn is discontinued, but that’s okay with me. I still like the colors in it and I love how the colors change within one of the 2 plies. The other ply stays the same color (in this case it’s pink, which I love!), which tones down the color changing ply so it’s not too “in your face”! This yarn is 100% superwash merino wool and has 153 yards in the 50 gram skein. It’s a sport weight yarn, which is about the weight I wanted to use for this skinny scarf. I stumbled upon this skein of yarn at one of my local thrift stores last year for 99 cents! That’s a great price for a skinny scarf (or any scarf/project), as far as I’m concerned! Because there’s so much going on with the color changes in this yarn, I chose to use a simple stitch pattern to show off the colors of the yarn better. This scarf turned out exactly how I had imagined it and I think it’ll work out great in my wardrobe!

The 2nd skinny scarf that I started is going to be made with Plymouth Yarn Stained Glazz. I started this scarf last night, but when I looked at it this morning, I changed my mind to make it differently, so I frogged what I had started. According to our digital kitchen scale and a ruler, it was going to be about 27″ long, which isn’t anywhere near as long as I want it. So it’s back to the drawing board for this skinny scarf! This is a worsted/aran weight yarn with only 99 yards in the 50 gram skein. The yarn is a little heavy for a skinny scarf, so I have to be careful what stitches I use with it. I think it’ll make a pretty skinny scarf, too. It looks to be a one-ply, roving type of yarn, with solid black throughout and the rest of the ply changing colors with muted shades of red, orange, yellow, green and blue in it. It’s made with 51% wool and 49% acrylic fibers. I won this skein of yarn at the Halloween Party at the Annie’s Craft Festival last year (that was a ton of fun!). If you’d like to read about my adventures there, check out this blog post. Here’s what the Plymouth yarn looks like before this skinny scarf is made:

Plymouth Stained Glazz yarn for 2nd Skinny Scarf

What about you? What do you like to make with one skein of yarn? Do you like to make hats, scarves or something else? I’m not much of a hat person because of my curly hair. If I put a hat on, I’d better leave it on for the rest of the day, or else hide my flattened out “hat hair” at home (it’s really bad)!

I hope you’re enjoying the spring (or fall, if you live “down under”) and are taking time to enjoy the relaxing, creative benefits of crochet!

Happy crocheting,

Susan