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dschmidt
Permanent Resident
3920 Posts |
 Posted - 04/24/2010 : 11:20:46 AM
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I have many of those single & partial skeins in my stash. Y'all know the ones I mean - too big to toss but too small also. Instead of knitting a sweater for the Knitting Olympics, I decided I'd use those "only child/orphan" skeins to knit hats for charity. As of today, I've knit 32 hats. They can be seen here
http://tinyurl.com/27wc6w5
I still have more of those only child/orphan skeins and am curious how many hats I'll end up with. It's good to have that yarn out of the stash and fun to figure out how many different ways I can design the hats. And the local shelters and social services organizations will receive warm hats. Everyone wins IMHO
Want to join me?
Donna in VA
The Honor Roll? It's easier here than in school. Scroll up to "Want to Make Betty Happy?" and be an Honor Roll member.
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anderknit
Permanent Resident
USA
2549 Posts |
Posted - 04/24/2010 : 1:19:18 PM
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That is a fabulous idea. I'm going to look around and see what I've got.
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.' " |
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minh
Permanent Resident and Destasher Extraordinnaire
USA
3416 Posts |
Posted - 04/24/2010 : 7:14:09 PM
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Single skeins in my stash?! What are you talking about Donna?
Seriously, it's a great idea! It will give me a jump start on the charity hats for the KR retreat. I might also combine yarns of similar weights for the Red Scarf project. |
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Coolj
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2010 : 05:22:52 AM
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Kudos to you, Donna! You've inspired me to look through my stash and earmark orphans and leftovers for charity.
Juanita |
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dschmidt
Permanent Resident
3920 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2010 : 05:59:28 AM
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I hope everyone posts pictures of what you knit, too. It blew me away when I realized how much yarn there is in those odd balls and it was just sitting in my stash because I couldn't get rid of perfectly good yarn, could I? I wonder how many hats & scarves (that's a good idea Minh) we collectively knit.
Donna in VA
The Honor Roll? It's easier here than in school. Scroll up to "Want to Make Betty Happy?" and be an Honor Roll member.
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GFTC
Permanent Resident
USA
6331 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2010 : 7:24:46 PM
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I did the same thing last Fall with one and two skeins of stash yarn that were each enough for hats. I knit a dozen hats and sent them up to the KR Retreat (I didn't go) for Clara's charity project. Hats are fun to knit but I rarely wear them so it was a good opportunity for knitting, stashbusting, and do-gooding. Picture here
GFTC of NYCmy knitting photos on Flickr or Ravelry
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jtamsn
Permanent Resident
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2010 : 3:53:54 PM
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I have done this to some extent for several years. I also make mittens with mine. Sometimes (I must confess) I go buy skeins of varigated yarn to mix with my solid colors. I'm not always sure how well it wittles down the orphan stash, but it satisfies my need to go the yarn shop, and for a good cause.
judy |
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hillstreetmama
Permanent Resident
USA
3448 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 04:19:17 AM
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I didn't do it for charity - I did it for family! A couple years ago, I knit up all those orphan skeins into hats and other one-skein projects and put out a basket on Christmas day for people to help themselves. Made me feel good, and made a small dent in the stash.....which I promptly and effortlessly filled.
Jan
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cpknits
Chatty Knitter
USA
297 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 6:36:13 PM
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Thanks for the reminder. I had set aside a very large bag of odd skeins for chemo caps. I think these and socks will make up my summer knitting.
Carol, Wisconsin |
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scarfitup
Chatty Knitter
187 Posts |
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granny purple
New Pal
22 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2010 : 05:18:11 AM
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| Last fall I started my "3 sock yarn" hats. Those small amounts left at the end of a pair of socks work well if you use 3 at a time on a 5mm circular needle. When one yarn runs out, add in another. When you have at least one patterned sock yarn in the mix, it makes an interesting tweedy effect. And being sock yarn, they're mostly wool, and very washable. And as an easy way to design on the fly, they're a lot of fun. I think I ended up with a couple of dozen for a couple of local charities, and now when I finish a pair of socks, if there's more than a yard or two of yarn left, it goes into a bag of similar colours for the next foray, probably during the summer. 88 sts seems to be just right! |
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GFTC
Permanent Resident
USA
6331 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2010 : 06:01:37 AM
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Thank you, Louise!
In answer to your request for patterns, if you click on my Ravelry link at the bottom of this post it will take you to my project page. On the top of the page is a tab for hat/scarf which will pull up the hats. On the individual project page for each hat you'll find the link to the pattern, the amount of yarn I used, needle size, #of stitches cast on, etc. Where I made several hats in the same pattern they are all on one page. Several of the patterns are free online.
Hope that helps.
GFTC of NYCmy knitting photos on Flickr or Ravelry
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Mirl56
Chatty Knitter
USA
123 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2010 : 06:06:18 AM
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GrannyPurple - I love that idea!
I, too, am using odd ball stash (a lot of it I inherited from my Mom who recently moved to an Assisted Living facililty and no longer knits/crochets) to make baby hats for charity. They'll be donated on behalf of my SIL who likes her Christmas gift to be charity related. |
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savvy_C
New Pal
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2010 : 07:16:25 AM
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Count me IN! I've got 'sit' time on airplanes, and more than enough oddballs in my stash! Local groups always grateful when finished ART-wear arrives! |
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kcknitnut
New Pal
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2010 : 07:27:27 AM
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| Most of our charities here have definite types and color of yarns for donated items. Our Guild "KNOTTY GIRLS" does a lot for Corpus Christi. What I did this winter was gather patterns for afghans. The first was a diamond 'square' which is facinating when done. The second was done in strips of 7 blocks of different patterns ineach square. The third one was done in hexigons. No color was repeated,no pattern repeated. All are college graduations gifts for DGD. |
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scarfitup
Chatty Knitter
187 Posts |
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crafty1mjw@comcast.net
Seriously Hooked
USA
855 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2010 : 07:04:23 AM
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I've knit hats for charity in the past, but haven't done so in awhile. They were chemo caps, as a tribute to my mother, who passed away from small cell lung cancer several years ago.
Donna, you've re-inspired me! Count me in as well!
craftymjw
Keep on knittin'!
A balanced diet is a peanutbutter cookie in each hand! |
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dschmidt
Permanent Resident
3920 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2010 : 4:08:23 PM
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I'd love it if everyone keeps a count of how many hats you knit using up the orphans and post them here. I'm now up to 38 hats. Also, thanks GrannyPurple - that will help with the sock leftovers considerably.
Donna in VA
The Honor Roll? It's easier here than in school. Scroll up to "Want to Make Betty Happy?" and be an Honor Roll member.
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Martheme
Sustaining Member
USA
1565 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2010 : 06:47:07 AM
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I too have a stash of leftovers, mostly partial skeins . . . I've been using them to make hats & mittens for my kids, my nieces and nephews and several other kids we know that just "need" a winter hat each year . . . I find the kids really like the creative mix of colors that go into the hat & mittens sets and the Moms appreciate having a ready supply of hats & mittens so they can play outside as much as possible. Esp. since I follow EZ's suggestion and knit the mittens in 3s . . .
good luck with the oddball projects.
Margaret
Blog: http://www.afewsheepshyofafarm.com/ |
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minh
Permanent Resident and Destasher Extraordinnaire
USA
3416 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2010 : 08:43:40 AM
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| In the latest issue of IK, there's an article by Clara about knitting toys. That too would be a good way to use leftover yarns and toys could be donated to charities along with the hats. |
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anderknit
Permanent Resident
USA
2549 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2010 : 1:29:50 PM
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Donna and other NoVa's - There are of course many charities, local and global, that can use hats, but if you want a local recipient, Uniquities in Vienna VA has on their website a notice that they are collecting hats, mittens and scarves for an elementary school in Alexandria. They would like to get 100 items by Labor Day. So if any of the "locals" who are joining Donna in hat-making want to drop off some of their hats at Uniquities, Brenda will find them a very appreciative home.
Here's a link to the notice:
http://uniquitiesyarnshop.com/?page_id=11
GFTC: Thanks for the links to some great hat patterns. And your project page always inspires me!
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.' " |
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want to join me in this?
