Earlier this year, I set a goal to knit more from my stash. The awful global pandemic is helping me achieve this goal. There were no fibre festivals, I’ve limited my online yarn shopping, and even though yarn shops are slowly and carefully reopening in southern Ontario, I haven’t felt the urge to get out and buy. I’m looking at what I have on hand, skeins and part skeins, maybe reevaluating if yarn can be better used and frogging underloved items, and I’ve been making a dent in the stash.
Finished in about a week, I’ve made yet another crop top. This time, I used cotton that has been in the stash for several years – one was a left over ball from my braidsmaid shawl, and one was a full skein, which I over-purchased when making a gift for a friend’s baby. Jessie Maed’s crop patterns are frequent additions to Ravelry’s Hot Right Now page, and she’s offering her
Summer Secret Crop for free during the pandemic. Another knitter used striping on her crop to use two colours, and with her project as inspiration, I used the Fibonacci Fade technique to fade my grey to teal. Ideally, I would have loved a little more length, because, despite my current trend of knitting crop tops, I am not super comfortable wearing them, or better said, I’d be more comfortable once I can find pants, dresses, or skirts better suited for this style and my body type. Regardless, I found a skirt in my closet that suited this crop top, and I got a few pics.

All said, I was happy with this pattern. Jessie Maed’s patterns are very well known for being size inclusive. It gave two options for yarn weight (fingering or DK) and gave two styles for the crop top (fitted with waist shaping, which I made, or no shaping for a boxier fit). I was really happy to use up this yarn that’s been lingering in the stash, and being acrylic and cotton, it was quite pleasant to work with while the weather was hot and humid last week!
And, once again, I frogged an underloved project, this time my
Paige Cable Beanie Hat, and the yarn got recycled into a different cabled hat, using the pattern Jason’s Cashmere Hat. I never liked this finish of the Paige Cable hat, always feeling too small for my head. All I’m missing with the new cabled hat is a pompom to top it off, but seeing as we’re about the enter the hottest months of the year, I’m not in any rush to add the final flourish.

I’ve been working (SLOWLY) away at two pairs of socks and a shawl. And, I’m resisting the urge to frog another shawl that I’m just not loving. Actually, the shawl itself I adore. It’s my Rose Garden Shawl, which is just a pretty, pretty shawl. But, as I realized when I made the choice to frog my Pendant Purls Shawl, I don’t love this crescent/stole-esque shape. I don’t wear them nearly as much as others, and I bet this blue/black yarn could be better loved if it became something else. If I can settle on something to make with it, it’ll definitely get ripped out, however, I know I’m procrastinating until that day when something else calls to me, not-so-secretly dreading ripping back this lovely shawl. Because really, what good is a pretty piece if it never gets love outside my closet?