Michelle, ma belle... tres bien ensemble
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Michelle ma belle, sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble,

Tres bien ensemble

Waste Not.

4/5/2013

16 Comments

 
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
16 Comments
Renee Anne link
4/5/2013 02:11:36 am

One of the other blogs I read had something about jogless stripes in the round...I'll have to see if I can dig it up. Or you can always ask her (Kepanie on Ravelry)...

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steph link
4/5/2013 03:14:56 am

How very resourceful!!!! They look totally planned from the get-go.....you would never ever know that they use leftovers!!! (I've done some totally random ones that you most definitely KNOW are odd-ball socks. Fun, but not nearly as stylish as yours!)

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Michele A. link
4/5/2013 03:36:24 am

I love me some striped socks! Cute! Cute! Cute!

The Turn a Square Hat pattern on Raverly explains how to do jogless stripes in the round. =)

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/turn-a-square

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joelle link
4/5/2013 04:00:16 am

lovely socks! so cool to see how a tiny amout of yarn can turn into something useful! socks are next on my list, after i finish my miette cardi.

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kirsti(k)nits link
4/5/2013 05:34:58 am

I'm so the opposite of this that I have actually bought a sweater quantity too much of yarn because I was scared that I was going to run out. An entire leftover sweater!

However, all of my random ends pretty much do become hexipuffs. I now wish I had turned some of them into lovely socks like these, though!

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Chris
4/5/2013 09:24:17 am

Love them! They are simplicity and yet stunning. What is it about stripes? Or maybe the pairing of the colors. Whatever, they look great.

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Sezza link
4/5/2013 01:46:31 pm

I love your socks! I typically use mine for swatches of new/possible future projects, but I do have some kid socks planned with some as well. Those colours go together perfectly!

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Regula link
4/5/2013 02:26:24 pm

Strips are always fun! I love your socks.

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stephanie link
4/5/2013 11:43:02 pm

I usually buy extra yarn just to be sure but I'm tall and usually have to lengthen sleeves and torso pieces. This does mean though that I have lots of left over yarn. I do have plans to do something with them but it's easy to just want to move on to the next project :) I think the turn a square pattern that was already mentioned is where I first learned about how to get jogless stripes. I found it's still not absolutely perfect though I have to say.

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katie metzroth link
4/6/2013 12:05:15 am

like the yarn combo. I store my sock leftovers in a big clear acrylic jar. I think I'll make a hitchhiker from all my scraps at some point.

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Alicia link
4/6/2013 02:37:02 am

Wow, I can't believe that's only half the height you like your socks! They look tall and wonderful to me. TechKnitter blog has some great info on jogless stripes.

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Cloudberry link
4/6/2013 04:40:55 am

Love those stripes!
Makes me want to cast on a pair of stripy socks right away ;)

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Narayani
4/6/2013 07:50:25 am

Wow, finished those already did ya ;) You're fast. They look great.

I was very bad, or good, depending on point-of-view. Went to Windy Knitty and to Knitpicks and purchased yarn for 5, yes 5, new projects for the clothing staples project. Hope I have some left over for socks too.

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Andria link
4/6/2013 03:47:02 pm

You are such a tidy knitter, those socks are fabulous. I'm a sucker for stripes anyway, but using up stash at the same time is too wonderful!

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Kaiya link
4/6/2013 05:41:47 pm

What beautiful socks! I've also tried to use up sock yarn scraps on contrasting toes and cuffs, but never thought of stripes. Looking forward to seeing what else you might produce with your scraps!

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Jenn link
4/6/2013 11:09:39 pm

What a great use of leftover yarn! I'm the type to over buy, so now I have lots of nearly whole or whole skeins laying around that don't match anything else. I'm working through them by making hats or mitts, or other small objects, so now I have a bunch of non-matching cold-weather accessories.

The TechKnitter has my favorite jogless stripe explanation: http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2007/01/jogless-stripes.html I used it when I knit Gathering Stripes for my daughter and you can't even see the beginning of the round. It's awesome!

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