Left Overs (Work in Progress)

'Use it up
Wear it out
Make it do
Or do without.'

I like to think of myself as a bit of a minimalist. Or at least, I aspire to minimalism and truly believe the old cliches: "less is more" and "waste not, want not". Jaded by our consumer driven society, my charming husband and I decided long ago that we'd make what we could, fix what we could, buy thrift when we could, and buy new only things that were really made to last.

This mentality carries over into my crochet stash, where I'm keen to use up my random yarn and not let it go to waste. It's been a year and a half since I finished my Not-That-Ugly Scrappy Granny Blanket and I recently noticed the yarn bits were multiplying again. Time for some stash busting with the left overs!

This go 'round I stuck with just two rounds of granny. It makes the squares fast and fun, makes weaving in ends feel faster, and when the whole thing is finished it'll have a great retro granny feel (especially if I circle it in black). It's awesome how different granny squares can look.

L O V E

Mini stack of mini grannies.

My project within the project came into being from the surprise bits of yarn that don't have enough length to form even one round of a granny square. I'm taking those and knotting them together and winding them into a ball of their own. When I have 3 or 4, I'll make a little multi-colored floor mat for entrance to my house from the porch. 

Minimalist living is surprisingly colorful.

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

***

purplechaircrochet.etsy.com

facebook.com/PurpleChairCrochet

pinterest.com/purplechair

Avocado Yarn (Yarn!)

A couple days ago

I received a skein of

New Yarn!!

Yeeeees!!

And of course I celebrated the

yarn arrival with a 

HaPpY DaNcE

....but only after I was sure the postman was out of sight. 

=D

 I don't know about you, 

but I tend to get into a yarn rut. 

I buy the same ol' yarns,

in the same ol' colors,

from the same ol' store.

So, I was perusing Etsy and happened upon 

this 

beautiful

skein

of

yarn.

At first I was going to put it in a treasury.

But then I realized....

someone might buy it.

Someone else.

And I wanted it.

It (obviously) didn't make it in the treasury.

It's mine. 

=D

I can't wait to get to working with it!

I have to finish that floor mat (so close!).

I should probably finish the mystery project.

I need to keep working on my Bed of Roses blanket.

But in the midst of all this I will

surely

most definitely

make something 

beautiful 

with my Avocado Yarn. 

Sigh.

This yarn is 

so very gorgeous.

I like to keep it in view, 

despite being at least a couple weeks away

from working with it.

See more from this seller by following this link:
needleclicksEtc

It just doesn't seem right to 

hide it away in my stash bag.

Yarny yarny goodness.

=)

Ok.

Enough of that...

And now:

a little about the shop I got it from...

needleclicksEtc

She has another skein like this but with *more* yardage (450 yards, oh yeah!).

She offers yarn, 

kits, 

project bags, 

patterns (how cute are these sheep?!

 Love them so much! Makes me wish I could knit),

and more!

***

Hope you all have a delightful weekend!!

This Yarn Post Sponsored by: Knit Picks & Cooperative Press

"Hey, Jess, did you know there's a package on the front step?"

Oh baby! Check *this* out!

A package from Knit Picks address to yours truly. 

Knit Picks is the company that is graciously providing the yarn for that project of mine (read about it here, then do a happy dance for me). Thanks, Knit Picks! It's an honor!

Here... it... is! I've never opened a box of yarn before. It's such an exciting experience: worthy of documentation, some happy-dance breaks and much "Yahoo!"-ing as I kissed my sweet one-year-old's cheeks in celebration. He loved it too.

Yarn Love.

Here they are in their snug little basket.

I love this part of the skein the best. The swirly parts. Surely there's a name for it, but you probably have to work in the yarn manufacturing industry to be privy to something so obscure.

Here are my colors, side to side...

...and now vertical.

Dramatic Closing Photograph

And ending the photo essay with another epic shot. 

I'm not at liberty to discuss The Pattern with you all. Tough cookies: you'll just have to buy the book. ;) But I can tell you all about the yarn and have decided to document my creative process by showing how much yarn I have left. 

Here's some quick info on what exactly I have in my basket (for those who fell in love, as I have)

~10 Skeins of Knit Picks' "Dishie" 

8 in Azure... If you check out their website you'll discover that... "Azure is a heraldic blue color that will remind you of a cloudless sky. Its blue color and light purple undertones shine when combined with other neutrals and other luscious blues."  Cloudless sky, much like the gorgeous sky right now. And if you ask *me*, you'll discover that Azure is one of my favorite colors. 

and 2 in Tranquil... "Tranquil is a calming blue green color. If you find the calming turquoise colors of the ocean soothing and enjoyable, then you will love having a sweater knitted out of Tranquil. It’s a beautiful color on its own or for color work."  Gorgeous, gorgeous color! I am in love with turquoise lately (just take a peek at my kitchen... or living room... or most of my shirts and a few of my dresses. Oh, and my glasses too... and very nearly my front door, but I resisted the urge because, really, I have to draw the line somewhere). 

"Dishie" is made of 100% cotton (= eco-friendly!) and is 190 yards/100 grams per skein. Machine Washable and Tumble Low Dry-able. 

So what did I miss. I'll recap...

It's gorgeous

It's affordable

It's eco-friendly

It's durable 

...and I can't wait to get to work!

Suddenly He's 3....

I just had a baby! Oh, um, 3 years ago (I've even had one since). How do they grow so quickly? Why do the grow so quickly?



So I made him a treasury with all of the *him* things... the brown sling I carried him in, the non-rainboots in his toddler year (now worn by little bro), the yellow kittens he loves, the tire swing you can't get him out of, the king crown he insists on wearing, the apple picking we do for his birthdays, the plastic cups he played with as a baby, A BUS-- he loved buses for a few months, his pooh-bear, his brown and white cozy blanket, the pumpkin onesie I always put him in as a baby, the crochet hat he wore his first winter, a reminder of his first room, and his little black converse (now also worn by little bro). It's A Boy. He's my boy. =)

Here he is, proud to be The King "(Long Live the King!" is a familiar chant in this house)

And here is his new blanket! When he unwrapped it Daddy asked him "Oooh, what is that" and he wisely replied, "Yarn." But when we unfolded it and held it up his face shone, he smiled wide and, jumping up and down with flailing arms exclaimed, "IT'S A STAR!!"

So, you could say he likes it. ;)

Cozied on the couch watching Kipper.

Notes about the blanket: He picked the colors himself ("My green" was what he wanted). He chose Red Heart's Eco-Ways acrylic (made from recycled plastic, my green loving boy is so green) and the colors were Asparagus, Lichen and..... the white was.... uhm. Uhm. Uuuuuuhm. (looks it up on the internet) Oyster!! Oh, let me add their link now I have it pulled up... done.

The *pattern* is gorgeous, isn't it? It's from The Hook Hound on that fabulous website known as Etsy. Here's the pattern link itself (well, where you can purchase it. Copyright's important): Granny Star. My thoughts on the pattern were this: It was fun! It was easy! It wasn't boring! And it ended up BeAuTiFuL! I was starting to mentally crochet it in a variety of colors (pale yellow star bursting out through the color spectrum to end in a dark red?? Anyone?! Yes! I'm so into this idea!) but then I remembered that I have a project on-the-hook (several, actually, but we're talking blankets for me). Sooo, maybe next autumn. Or, ya know, when I finish that Bed of Roses I'm working on. :)

Hope everyone has a lovely, autumn day, and I hope you have your own crochet blankie to snuggle up with.
*

Organic Cotton Yarn (Fantastic Find)

No pictures now. First, a story. Then pictures. Good ones, too.

Before my son was born in 2008, I never really cared about organics. Even after he was born, I didn't give it much thought... until he started solid foods. And, suddenly, the idea of my little boy ingesting a chemical coated anything was reprehensible! I could not, in good conscience, continue to turn a blind eye to this issue.

So our family moved towards organic foods (thank you, Food Inc!), and gradually cleaning products, personal hygiene products, and so on. We (try) to ditch the plastic bags and bring our own. We prefer to eat local (read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle). We can't wait to start out garden. We have chickens -- no eggs yet. (Any day now, right?)

You see then, we've set off on a path. And naturally there would be talk - especially after watching the documentary Tapped - of us going plastic-free.

I suspect some are having an "ah-ha" moment and know where I'm going with this. The other half thought they were in a crochet blog, but must have been mistaken...?

Perhaps you're familiar with "acrylic" yarn? Know that that is? Of course! It's cheap, it's consistent, it lasts forever! Oh. It lasts forever. It's plastic. It's *not* biodegradable.

Initially I fought this reality. No, not my cheap yarn! But I loves it. *sigh*. This can't continue.

I've moved on. Well, am moving on. This responsible living is a process- it surely doesn't happen over night. I still have a bit of acrylic blend left in the stash upstairs. And that's okay, what can you do? But I wanted to move towards pure wools, bamboos, silks and organic cottons. Especially cotton, because: Cotton is the most heavily sprayed crop on the the planet. Yuck.

Fortunately, I'm not the first to realize this. Below are some Fantastic Finds: Organic Cotton Yarn! Who knew responsible living could be so much fun? =)

Image courtesy of quovadishandspun

Image courtesy of ScarecrowOrganics

Image courtesy of ThoughtfulGemsCrafts

Image courtesy of Blue Sky Alpacas

Image courtesy of Knit Picks

Image courtesy of Lion Brand

Hope you've been inspired!

(Find me on Facebook - Purple Chair Crochet!)