A Tale of Recycled Yarn

So, I start this blog about my knitting projects that need to be done and the first project I sink my teeth in to is a crochet project. Go fig ...

This project is a gift for someone and has sort of an interesting back story. Way back at the beginning of the summer, I hit some yard sales with my friend. At one church sale, I come across a large bag of yarn and someone's half-finished crochet atrocity. (If I can find the pattern that came with it, I'll scan it in and post it.) It's only three bucks and hey -- I could always use more Random Acrylic Yarn. So I buy it and take it home to breed with the other yarn in my closet.

First thing I notice is it's not the Random Acrylic Yarn I thought it was. It's three or four nearly complete skeins of 100% wool. Neato. Second is the incomplete project itself. It's a crocheted sweater circa 1980-something made up of tons of tiny little squares like the one in the picture. I start to pick apart the project, hoping for enough yarn to salvage, and end up with lots of these little balls of yarn. So, that's a hopeless effort. I started to think that if it were my crochet atrocity that I had obviously put much time in to, I'd want someone to at least try to use it in parts -- preserve my handiwork and all. So, I pick the sweater down to just the squares, leaving some flat sections joined and, making up a border pattern that seemed to fit, I made two larger squares. Ta-da.

It's also about this time that I notice the person who made all these lovely little squares didn't tie some of them off very well and they begin to unravel. Well, it's wool, so in to the washing machine my large squares go to get the crap felted out of them. Can't unravel if it's felted. Once I'm reasonably sure felting was the answer to my problem, I sew the squares together, shove an old pillow inside and toss it on my couch. Now I have a Goofy Gramma Pillow.

Now here's where the project gets bigger. I have leftover squares. Lots of leftover squares. I also have a MIL who has seen the Goofy Gramma Pillow, and announced (in the way that leads one to believe she wants me to make her one) that it would go perfect in her living room. Well, I can't give her the prototype -- I like my Goofy Gramma Pillow. So, I count up my squares, and I have enough to make not one, but two more pillows. Plus I still have the original three skeins of wool that I have now realized I will probably never use for anything else (not fond of the color).

The past two weeks have been a maelstrom of crocheting these things together. But I came out with four squares -- enough for two pillows. They're in the washer right now, but once they're sufficiently felted and I have assembled the pilllows, I'll post them here.

Oh, and the other yarn? Granny squares. Behold, the magic of a matching blanket. I'll put up some photos when I have more time.