Wednesday 14 October 2015

New Yarn from Old

I would like to share something new and exciting with you.  Well it is to me anyway!  Firstly, thank you all for the encouragement on tidying my craft room.  I have made good progress on it and hope to share some photos later in the week.  Right, back to the 'new and exciting' thing I have discovered. Do you see that multicoloured ball of wool above?  Well, it was made from the rather drab selection of wool below!

I was watching the telly recently when a woman was demonstrating knitting with gigantic knitting needles like broom handles!  They were beautifully crafted wooden tools but I think I would find them cumbersome and storage being a problem too.  Anyway, she said that if she used normal wool for knitting with the large needles then the work would be full of holes.  She got around this problem by using multiple skeins of yarn at once.  I think she used about 10 or even more.  Her intention was to knit a blanket in one piece on her giant needles.

This got me to thinking about the vast amount of wool I have amassed that is unused because it is so uninspiring.  I thought I would follow her lead but not on such a massive scale.   I randomly selected 5 balls of wool for my huge 15mm needles that I had bought for a project way back; found the ends of each and tied them together into one large knot.  I then wound the wool into a neat ball ready to use.

Ta-da!!!  This is what the wool looked like when blended together.  Much more uplifting then the colours used singularly.  I am now tempted to use up all my excess wool this way!  I am thinking of making some infinity scarves or traditional scarves or I could even cover a cushion.  I am not a big fan of knitting but I am now a big fan of blending wool!  Just think of all the yarn oddments you could use up.  All the wool I used was double knitting but you could use all different thicknesses blended together and maybe incorporate ribbon or metallic threads or thin strips of fabric?

This is a close up of a swatch I made up.  It is just normal knitting I think it is called knit stitch or garter stitch?  It took about 15 minutes to knit 12 rows and I am not a fast knitter!  A scarf could easily be made in an evening.  One thing to be aware of is to keep straightening out the threads as you are working to prevent them from tangling up.  I hope this post has inspired you to have a look at any boring yarns you might have and get making up new balls from old!

11 comments:

  1. Wow Simone, that is great
    Julie xxxxxxx

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  2. What a great idea and it looks so cool, Simone!

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  3. What a coincidence when I was in a yarn shop on Saturday, the owner was doing exactly the same thing. She said she wanted to reduce her yarn stash and this was a quick way of doing it. She was knitting a blanket on size 12 mm needles with a aran weight yarn and two different double knitting yarns,when one ran out she just tied in another one. It was beautiful and was the size of a double bed and it was evolving so naturally in an un-contrived way.Its funny that you're doing exactly the same thing.
    V x

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  4. This is definitely a super idea, Simone. Can't wait to see more. And can't wait to get a peek at your studio's transition.

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  5. That's a lovely colour combination - I have a friend who's knitted on broom stick needles, personally I prefer lace weight!

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  6. How fantastic this is Simone! It looks so good and sounds such fun to do. Your pictures are great! Might try this myself soon :)
    Helen xox

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  7. Fabulous idea Simone!! I love your color combination!! xx

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  8. A great way to use up all those odds and ends. The colours look wonderful together:)

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  9. What fun! Though I think the colors are nice on their own. Especially the blues.

    Have you seen arm knitting? No need for large needles. I just ran across someone who has a new book out, but I can't remember her name. Just google "arm knitting" and you'll find lots of examples of it.

    I'm still a knitting novice. Crochet is my fiber art of choice. Someday I'd like to do a big doily-like crocheted rug, though I think I'll stick to one color in order not to distract from the pattern of the crochet itself.

    Glad to know your organizing project is chugging along! What fun it is to discover hidden treasures along the way!

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  10. What a beautiful blend of colours you selected. This would make a stunning scarf, a real one off piece.
    Lisa x

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  11. Seeing your yarn takes me back to the days when my mother was still alive. She loved to crochet and always had a project on her lap whenever she sat down for a break, or in the evening after the day's work was done. When I married and moved across the country, she came to visit with an extra small suitcase in tow which held her crocheting. She was never without it. A lovely memory. Thank you, Simone. xo

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