A "yarn stash" project looks to be my Make Nine stash-buster project this year. Last week, I started knitting the Inclinations Shawl.
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| Starting the Inclinations Shawl for Make Nine 2023. |
Why I like the Inclinations Shawl for a stash buster knit
I was researching a portable project that was mindful and relaxing. It needed to be something interesting, but not involving a lot of complex brain power—like having to follow a pattern line by line and row by row. The Inclinations Shawl by Andrea Mowry, Drea Renee Knits, was the solution.
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| The Inclinations Shawl from the Drea Renee Knits web page. |
This knit is "perfect in every way" for a portable project that uses leftovers—a stash buster. It's a project that's easy to pick up or put down and work when you have a few minutes here or there. (I actually knit a few rows while waiting in the parking lot for my carry-out this week.)
This shawl's attributes include:
- colorwork,
- I-cord edges,
- a half Fisherman's rib stitch that elevates the knitting beyond garter stitch,
- an asymmetrical triangular shape,
- a non-critical gauge,
- colorwork that can be customized,
- flexible sizing—make it smaller or larger, as desired (or bind off when you're out of yarn),
- an easy-to-remember pattern in which you can "read the knitting."
With luck, I had several single and partial balls of variegated yarn in my stash that were the same weight and compatible fiber content that could be used—and used up!
This project ticks all the boxes for a Make Nine stash-buster!
Using leftover yarns from the stash
I'm using leftover and partial skeins of worsted weight Poems [100% wool] and Classic Shades [70% / 30% dralon/wool] from Universal Yarn. I've made projects with these variegated yarns in the past and the yarns are easy to work with and feel good in your hands.
With several lonesome skeins of different colorways, it will be interesting to watch the interchange between the colors as the knitting progresses. I'm anxious to finish off the first skein and join another colorway.
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| Day 8 progress on the Inclinations Shawl stash buster project. |
A plan for a quick finish
As January and February still have colder temps in store for us, I'm planning a fast finish for this shawl—so I can wrap up in this soft, wooly, squishy accessory.
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| You know it's cold when there is a 2 or 3 kitty pile-up in the kitty beds. Stan Leigh and Sox are snuggling together. |
An added perk to using these yarns is there will be no tails to weave in. Because of the wool fiber content, the yarn tails can be felted together (or "spit spliced," as knitters affectionately call it) when joining a new skein. Splice... spit... felt... keep on knitting.
What could be faster... and easier??
