Stitching Towards Success: Setting Achievable Knitting Goals
Today’s podcast episode was the 2nd “G” in the series 3 Gs of Knitting and is GOAL Knitting. And I share about the goal I had to knit down my stash. Spoiler alert: I have a long way to go.
BUT I AM MOVING FORWARD!
👉 Before you read any further, there is a reader who needs your knitting wisdom. YOU have the answer they need! Hop into the comments here and share 1 pattern idea that can be used to eat up leftover yarn. Bonus points if you share 2 🏅
(Welcome back! Thanks for helping out by sharing your wisdom.)
Having the goal to knit down the leftover bits of my stash has given me a variety of opportunities to get creative with my knitting as well as explore yarn storage ideas. I use a variety of tools to organize and store my yarn stash, but there is room to do that more effectively. I want to blend artistic display aesthetics, as well as maximize the space I have dedicated to stash. But that my friend is a separate goal. And one for another blog post…
Right now I want to share a bit about knitting using yarn leftover from completed projects. My goal of using these utilized a few different means. A really creative one I will leave to the podcast to explain, and in the future I will delve more into what that looked like creating it. I don’t want to spoil the episode by giving it away here! Want to listen now?
As a knitter with a heart for good stewardship, the importance of using leftover yarns cannot be overstated. Not only does it help eliminate waste, but it also provides a unique opportunity for creativity… as well as a ton of mental gymnastics to figure out what to do with the assortment! With a little imagination, those leftover bits and pieces of yarn can be transformed into beautiful and intricate works of art. Whether it's through piecing together a colorful blanket or adding colorful accents to an otherwise plain project ( I am looking at you stockinette stitch pullover!), using leftover yarns can be a fun and eco-friendly way to add character and depth to your knitting (or crochet) work. Not to mention, it can save money on purchasing new yarns and allow for a truly one-of-a-kind creation.
And “one-of-a kind” is the cue for MEGA BALL to enter the conversation!
An assortment of scrap yarns leftover from various knitting projects created these one-of-a kind Mega Ball yarns.
Mega Ball reminded me of the episode of The Office where Dwight crafts his perfect workspace, pulling in Jim’s desk, and other things, to effectively make a huge desk. He stands proudly with his arms overhead declaring his adoration for Mega-desk.
That was me with my series of HUMONGOUS yarn balls, created entirely of yarn leftover from other projects.
How to Make the Perfect Yarn Ball for Your Next Project!
Once you listen to the podcast this will make more sense. I started making these balls from yarn remnants, and then I created pattern ideas to knit for them. Since I was creating the balls of yarn first, my goals were:
Use A LOT of yarn
Make myself uncomfortable
I bet the first point is simple for you to wrap your head around.
The second one I most likely need to explain. I have an overarching long-term goal for myself. I want to take opportunities to intentionally make myself uncomfortable. Mind you this is not to be confused with unsafe. I want to provide myself with challenging opportunities to stop operating from my natural default. I most often love natural colors, browns, greens, greys. I shy away from red, pink, anything neon or bold, and especially purple. Not because they don’t flatter my skin tone. No, it isn’t anything as pragmatic as that.
I have always been reserved in my color choices because understanding color, and the way colors work together, is an area I have never been skilled.
And, Dear Knitter, do you want to know a secret?
I am not skilled because I haven’t practiced.
Nobody to blame here but me. And nobody more capable of rectifying this problem but me. I simply needed a strategy to allow myself to PRACTICE!
And what a better place to practice than with leftover yarn? I could be completely liberated from fear of messing up because the majority of the yardage of the yarns had already been intentionally used on other (hopefully successful) projects.
And the Mega Ball was skeined!
I gathered together a huge basket of fingering weight yarns tucked here and there, little bits remaining after the project was bound off. The basket was quickly filled. So much yarn! So much potential.
The challenge was to pull out 3 strands of yarn with colors “that looked like they wanted to play together.” That prompt was to inspire me to concentrate on play and playful, something that grabbing 3 shades of similar grey strands would not do. I must admit there were times grabbing high contrast yarns from socks I had knit as gifts— and therefore reflected that recipients color wheel— those yarns were often bright moments of smiles.
And honestly, the vivid colors I chose, were confusing and left me a bit unsure.
For instance, I am holding the remains of one Mega Ball, leftover from a sweater I knit last summer. It is comprised of 6 strands, and this one segment includes a soft grey strand with a light twist, a high twist yarn in a deep spruce, beside that one is a very powerful orange rust in BFL, a heavily variegated teal-purple-pink (totally from a Natalya project), there is also a sea foam green strand, and a single ply silk in a shimmering silver.
Independently, they are all interesting. Reaching for each in the basket, and drawing them together to create one strand slowed me down. I grabbed one and was all “I like you!” When reaching for the second I considered, “Will you be playful?” Joining the third and fourth gave me pause as it was a juncture: “Is the playground ready for a motley mix?” When searching out strands 5 and 6, I picked one to go bolder and one to soften. And then I started ballling.
It was fun then.
Until one of the strands ended and I needed to pull in another!
Later, I plan to share the entire tutorial on how to make your own Mega Ball. For me it was an exercise in self discovery, as well as yarn discoveries!, and I produced more than a dozen of these.
And what about the name? After all, these balls pictured here don’t look that large. Certainly not “Mega” in size.
My friend, before I used theses for a sweater and a cardigan the smaller one here weighed over 20 ounces. And there were a couple I used up completely weighing a considerable bit over that!
All in all, I can measure achieving my goal (of incorporating leftover bits of yarn into knitting actual pieces) in POUNDS of yarn used. And that heavy tally is proof of moving towards my goal!
Tucked beside beautiful tulips are two examples of easy to make, waste-reducing Mega Balls of yarn created from various knitting project leftovers.
Next time you find yourself with some leftover yarn, get creative and see what amazing things you can come up with!
Stuck on ways to use them:
First, listen to the podcast (some other great ideas are ticked into this episode!)
Take a few minutes to look into the comments (if you are the first one here, come back once others have commented! The community here ALWAYS has incredible ideas)
Make a few Mega Balls of various combinations and look for patterns to match that yarn weight.
Curious as to how you make these fun balls? I will be sharing an opportunity soon to learn, so be sure you are on the VIP mailing list to get notification of where and when.
Until next time Friend, remember your worth. You are a valuable part of the knitting world, and I am glad you are in this community!
- Aloha for now, M
