Waste Not.

It's rare to have exactly the right amount of yarn for a project. I'd go as far as saying it's a near impossibility. If you're like me, you have a tendency to buy too little yarn. I typically estimate yardage at the yarn store by rounding to the nearest skein. I NEVER, EVER buy extra. Most of the time, it works out. There are occasional  moments of panic in which I begin bargaining with my yarn ball..."PLEASE, just make it to the end of the sleeve", but, mostly, I finish a project with a tiny bit to spare. 

Those tiny bits aren't enough to be used on their own projects. But, they're too much yarn to toss.

If you're the opposite of me, and you always make sure to have an extra skein on hand in case of emergency, maybe you don't have this problem. Maybe you use that extra skein in combination with your leftovers to knit hats, cowls, baby sweaters, etc...your foresight and preparedness probably spares you from accumulating odd bits of random lengths of yarn. At least, that's what I tell myself.

As I continue to sort through and organize my stash(es) (yes, still... It's taking longer than I expected) I'm finding that the majority of my storage and organizational issue arise from the partial skeins of yarn I've... hoarded... since I started knitting.

I have a moderately impressive collection of sock yarn stowaways. I've been telling myself they're destined to become a Beekeeper's Quilt, but progress on that has been dismal, by which I mean non-existent.

After the completion of my Oolong and Grace cardigans, I had two more tiny balls of scrap sock yarn ready to take their place among the masses. Yet, adding two more recruits to the army did seen counterproductive to my overall effort.

On their own, neither could amount to much. But, their forces combined, they form an FO. I'm pretty sure I can manage some more of those rogue balls in a similar manner. It's really a shame to have them sitting around taking up space where new yarn could live.

These are a plain old vanilla sock pattern. I improvised the along the way, starting with a Turkish cast-on. I used a short row heel, and threw in a couple increases over the leg length to accommodate my calf width, then I finished with a stretchy cast-off. I knit until I could knit no more. The cuffs are about half as long as I typically prefer, but they get the job done. I had approximately 1/3 more grey yarn than black, so I went with a solid toe/heel/cuff to balance. Also, I set my begining of the round at the center of the foot to remove focus from the jogs. I haven't found a really good way to eliminate stripe jogs in the round. Have you?

Thank you guys for your kind comments and encouragement to wear my Not So Practical dress out and about. You really know how to boost a girl's confidence. I'll wear it and make sure to take a 'rearview' when I do- completely missed that. Have a wonderful weekend!