Fruits of I Love Yarn Day

I celebrated I Love Yarn Day by working on some crocheted bunny slippers with the help of some fine coffee at a local shop. I officially started on July 30 of this year, but I bought the yarn while I was in college. It hasn't been an easy road. I frogged plenty of pieces multiples times. At one point, I was convinced the pattern was for banana, not bunny, slippers.

The pattern I'm using is Fluffy Bunny Slippers, from Debbie Stoller's "The Happy Hooker." It uses two balls each of Classic Elite LaGran Mohair and Lambs Pride Worsted. There was errata, and lucky for me someone on Ravelry caught another error, so they are starting to look like actual slippers!

As you can see, I haven't added the bunny parts, but those are next!

Eight months clean

My ball of Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dy Socks spent plenty of time in my office yarn/popcorn/soup bowl. Below is the actual project.

The other day, I was reminded how long it's been since I bought a skein of yarn.

I'm 232 days clean!

It's also been months since I've set foot in a craft store. I know, it sounds depressing. But I've been making so much progress with my stash-busting efforts.

I'm well ahead on Christmas presents. I actually crocheted and knitted presents for Father's and Mother's Day. I've spent time with yarn I bought years ago and fell in love with it all over again.

Case in point: the cabled scarf I just finished. I bought the yarn when I was still in college. It was soft and I intended to make my mom some socks out of it. I cast on knit for a bit, then ripped it all out and stuffed what I could inside of the ball. Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dy Socks is a pretty yarn --- smooth, silky and easy to knit with despite its sock yarn weight. The colorway I bought, Pansy, knit up in nice patches of shades of purple and green. You can find the pattern here. This project was well-traveled! I took it to L.A. with me and it made multiple trips to Milwaukee! The pattern is perfect for trips.

Next, I'm tackling a pair of bunny slippers. I was fascinated by this pattern from The Happy Hooker when the book first came out. I gathered the yarn, but never quite got to starting the foundation chain.

Late night 'aha'

I've been staring at this pattern for months. I finally figured it out. It's a wonderful feeling. California Spring Scarf, you've been hooked. Fluffy Bunny Slippers and Reversible Cables Scarf beware. And one of you might end up on planes to and from L.A. Let the stash busting and Christmas present flurry continue!

The Diet Continues

I think ... it's working! No yarn purchases in roughly two months since my yarn purge/reorganization. I can look at yarn, touch it and not be compelled to own it. I've fondled hanks of luscious handspuns and cones of beautiful alpaca, but not once did I cave in. Amazing. Simply amazing. In fact, I've made great progress on two projects: a crocheted beret and knitted hand warmers. They are ready to block and finish!

Stash Organization, Day 3

Eight years worth of yarn ...

I own a lot of yarn.

Day 1 was dedicated to just hauling it all out from the nooks and crannies of my apartment. I spent a good deal of Day 2 marveling over it --- I have a mini-yarn store taking over my living room -- and finally got around to finally figuring out what to make out of what. On Day 3, I paired skeins and balls with their patterns. While not all the yarn has been assigned a project, I have to say that I'm impressed. I've got at least 20 projects in there.

Let the yarn diet begin! Kind of. It's more like organizing my fridge.

But yarn really isn't like food -- it never goes bad if you take care of it! So, it looks like I'll be making less trips to the local yarn store or Jo-Ann Fabrics. No excuses. Except maybe for needles. And an occasional magazine. Maybe some markers.