Seven Things week 17

It's all about the yarn again this week.  Craft supplies, particularly yarn, cause most of clutter here.  If it's not sitting around on chairs like a sulky teenager, it's taking up all the room in cupboards that could be used for other things which also perch on chairs and in corners waiting to pounce on unsuspecting visitors.

I just want to put it all away.

The assessment process for yarn is evolving.

I rarely knit for garments for myself and I prefer lighter weight wool to anything else when I do.  Mostly this is thinner wool (5 and 4 ply).  It is  may also be light as in not heavy - so my beloved Patons Jet with its alpaca content is safe for the moment.  Similarly, TOF doesn't feel the cold much, so should I ever knit him a jumper (and I am not saying I will, why tempt fate with the sweater curse?), I'd use a 5 or 4ply.

I went through the 8ply first and took out anything in colours I wouldn't knit for myself or the ones I love, dividing into jumper amounts and smaller amounts. A jumper amount is 20 balls or so.  If there was less than 20 balls, most of that went.  Some smaller amounts in good colours for accessories for TOF, Mum or I stayed, but most went. All they hand-dyed stayed. Some jumper amounts stayed just because I couldn't bear to part with them yet.  That's ok.  I'm allowed to keep stuff, I just need to make sure that I love it and/or can actually use it (sometime).

Then I went through the 5 plys and did much the same thing.  I was less rigorous with this category because TOF prefers a 5 or 6ply sock, so in this case I got rid of colours I wouldn't use.  I know I can overdye, but given the quantity of yarn, I don't really need to.  The charity knitters were very happy.

Novelty yarns were next.  Some of it was the muppet variety, others were lovely blends and textures.  There was an amazing amount of this still hanging around, although I'd obviously kept only certain colours and shades.  I think I intended a textured blanket in black, white and greys with this, but as I'd forgotten the exact plan, it was bagged up and taken to the op shop from where it disappeared within days of arrival.

This week the 12 ply and bulky yarns set aside for hats for the homeless etc.was the focus.  I've not knitted many of these in recent times but I'm not ready to get rid of all of this particular stash. Other assessments were mostly about colour.  This one was about feel.  I fondled it all and decided that if I couldn't stand the hand, the yarn went. It's not about softness, so much as whether I could stand to knit with it, some harsher outerwear yarns still feel good.  I haven't finished assessing this yarn, but so far it's about 50/50 keep and go.  All of this went to the op shop.

I've exhausted my usual, and a couple of new, yarn heirs recently.  As most of the yarn came from an op shop, it seems reasonable to send some of it back.  Any yarn given to me for charity knitting has been given to other charity knitters.

The cottons and sock yarns are quivering in anticipation.  It's their turn next.

IN

• 1 framed painting.  Landscape in oil. $3.30 TIP SHOP
• 1 metal rack to be repurposed as a mini greenhouse $3.30 TIP SHOP
• 1 clothes airer, large, new and solid (not small and flimsy like the ones in the clearance shops. $3.30 TIP SHOP
• pr gym shorts for TOF

 OUT

• 125 balls wool.  OP SHOP
• 1 leather purse - mouldy BIN

SIAA

• 1 more pair of green cotton sports socks HAND KNITTED
• 1 pair of pink and green socks from the scraps of the last 6 pairs HAND KNITTED

IN 4

OUT 126

NETT OUT 122

SIAA   2