Recycling of Yarn

 Well, actually, this is an afghan that I started recycling last year...pulling out more than two/thirds of the wool and turned it into yarn cakes.  This one of the three yarns I used for the Love Knots Blanket project.  The last third of the blanket was on the couch.  

I have semi-volunteered to do another test knit, but this time I told the designer right up front that I would not be able to finish on time so she could choose to include me or not.  She emailed me back to say that the size I want to knit is possibly not going to be chosen but someone else to knit  so she might be able to use me anyway.  We shall see.  This is the yarn I will use.  REALLY trying to use it up!

This is Hilda Yates' yarn, spun and dyed by Bartlettyarns Mill in Harmony, Maine.  I have used the same yarn many times over past years but now my taste in yarn is gradually shifting to finer/lighter-weight yarn.  Of course, this means smaller needs and longer lives to the projects but the item in my lap will not be anywhere near as heavy.  I feel like a complainer/baby when I say that but it does begin to make a difference.

Reclaiming Baby Sock Yarn

 You will remember those baby socks I just knit and how they were different sizes because of differences in my knitting on those days.  Well...I just could not give them as gifts when they were so clearly not good.  SO...I did a sock yarn reclamation project.

1.  Find the end of the yarn where you wove it in.  This time it was at the toe where I Kitchenered them together.  It was fairly easy to find for three of the four socks but eventually I found the fourth one...possibly doing this in the middle of the night was the issue here!

2.  After unraveling each sock, wind each pile of crinkle-y yarn around a piece of sturdy cardboard. 

3.  Using some cotton yarn, tie the yarn together in at least two places.  Since this was such a small amount of yarn, I just did it in two places.  With heavier yarn and a greater quantity of yardage you will need to put in at least 4 ties.  The whole point of this is so the yarn will not become impossibly tangled during the next steps. It WILL do that if you don't tie it up very well.

4.  Drop the tied-up yarn into a bowl of warm water and let it sit at least 30 minutes so the water can really soak into the wool.

(You can see the white cotton wraps.)

5. Drain the water out of the bowl then gently squeeze out as much water as possible.

6.  Hang the yarn on a hanger.  Put a straight piece of something, in this case a knitting needle, through the bottom of the yarn bundles then add a weight...in this case a shirt on a coat hanger.  If you have worsted weight wool, you will probably need a heavier weight to pull out the "wrinkles" in the yarn.  For this fine yarn, what we have is sufficient.

7.  Let the yarn completely dry, then wind into a ball or cake as you choose.  (We are not at that step yet...!). You are then ready to use the yarn again.

The whole point of this is to get the crinkles out of the yarn so your knitting will be smooth.  If you do NOT do this and just reuse the yarn after frogging it, you will have a knit project with an unpleasing appearance and texture.  Ask me how I know...!

Recycling at its Best!

It turns out that Dear One was not actually enamored of the giant blue Bartlettyarns afghan I made to celebrate the addition on our home in Vermont and the wonderful new great room with queen-sized-hide-a-bed sofa so long ago.  This turned out to be in one of the boxes we brought to South Carolina.  It seemed like a perfect project for recycling.  There is so much yarn in the afghan I should be able to make a sweater even for myself...

Because this was made back in the days when my hands still agreed with me and crocheting, to recycle this yarn I just had to find the end.  There were only four corners to try and, as luck would have it, I found the end at the first try.

As I started unwinding, I also began winding onto the back of one of our dining room chairs.  I did this over a period of about a month, until I didn't think I could take another moment, plus we had company coming for lunch and I wanted the job done by then.

You can see why I wanted to complete this part of the project before company came to lunch...!

After stopping the unwinding process I place ties around the huge skein of yarn in four places then dropped the work into the sink which I had filled with lukewarm water. I let the yarn soak for fifteen minutes or so then let the water out and squeezed the yarn a bit.

Out in the garage I found a walking stick and a piece of 2 by 6 I had pilfered from a trash bin at one of the building sites here...same thing we have under the "planters" on the deck!

After hanging on the deck for a week the yarn was mostly dry so I brought it into the house to get ready for the next part of the process: winding the yarn into a cake.  Well, it will be several cakes because there is so much yarn.

One note, there was still enough of the yarn in afghan form to have a lovely lap blanket so it is folded up and placed on the love-seat in the living room.  Assuming some day it might be cool enough for a bit of covering...

Early Morning Yarn Project

Last night I came to the end of one of the skeins of yarn I was using to make a Garter Squish blanket.  I needed to add in another strand of yarn but wanted to do it from yarn cakes instead of skeined yarn.

Since all the remaining yarn I wanted to use for this blanket was in skeins, I got out the trusty Stanwood yarn winder. I LOVE that winder.  So sturdy.  So easy to use.  So trustworthy in winding up lovely yarn cakes.  Yarn cakes which do not roll all over the sapworks when you are using them which can be a problem with some skeins.

The two blue cakes and the two white cakes are the ones I wound this morning before breakfast.  The gray and purples I spruced up a bit by tucking in the ends to keep them tidy.  Now I can go to town again on the blanket.  I hope to have it done by the end of the month, but that may be wishful thinking.

One thing I have found is that you can quickly and easily wind a skein with 6 ounces of yarn in it.  A skein with 7 ounces of yarn in it stretches the capacity of the Stanwood but can be done by slowing down and helping it a little bit.  That is not really a problem since most of the yarn I wind is 4 ounces.

It was a good morning's work and started the day off very well.

Knitting Today: Baby Janes

Several years ago I came across a knitting pattern for some darling little booties for girl babies.  The pattern was called Baby Janes on Ravelry.  (The actual pattern download is here.) Since then I have knit up probably a dozen pairs in different colors, often in variegated yarn.  Most often I use Caron's Simply Soft yarn because is really is soft and has a bit of a sheen to it that makes for lovely little booties.

This past weekend the young women at our church were having a dance and fund-raiser to help them earn money for their summer camping experience. I made some booties for that.

Here are the Baby Janes:

By using a circular needle and using both ends of the ball of yarn, I knit two of them at once and can easily knit them, including the finishing with button sewn on, in an evening.  At least I can finish in an evening when there are not too many phone calls nor requests for snack options!