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Posted on July 17, 2018January 9, 2020 by Karen Stewart

Using Your Scrap Yarns Part 2

Using your scrap yarns part 2! This can be so much fun. Cleaning out yarn and creating new things all at the same time. Here are a few ideas to get you started. Use a little imagination and revise a project to fit a new use.

There are a number of scarves that are great scrap yarn users. Here are is one of my time honored favorites. The Granny Square Scarf

Using Your Scrap Yarns Part 2

It doesn’t take much yarn and the squares themselves can be all different colors and yarn skeins as they are here. There are also granny square scarves that use a variety of different yarns in each square. The photo below is from an afghan, but you get the general idea. Simply tie all the colors together with one color and skein of yarn. Add a fringe or tassels as a finishing touch. Keep in mind that the longer the scarf, the more yarn you may need. The denser the stitching takes more yarn, too. Striped scarves work great to use scraps as well. Side to side stripes work for smaller amounts and long stripes for bigger amounts. Using Your Scrap Yarns Part 2

The Newest Pattern

Here is the newest pattern. This pattern wrote itself after I challenged myself not to create another pattern this summer. I am pleased to introduce The Brown Ombre Stripe Scarf. The truth was that it was going to be an afghan but when it took 21 colors I decided that enough was enough! It requires 21 skeins of different colors but it is so lovely I couldn’t resist making a pattern for you.

Studio News

The month has been busy. I’ve been busy taking not quite finished objects and giving them new life. About 6 scarves will hit the Etsy shop in the next couple of weeks. IF you follow Chocolate Dog Studio on Instagram then you have seen the progress happening on several scarves. It has been fun to finally move some of these WIPs out of storage and into the shop. Wool is fun to crochet but not usually my fiber of choice and these granny squares have been sitting for a couple of years looking for the right project to finish them out. Scarves work well, finish quickly and fit most everyone’s budget. I have started a Finish Your Projects and Use Your Yarn challenge but there are no rules and no timeline. It is really similar to the USE YOUR STASH challenge from previous years. I will keep going until I run out of steam, projects, time or inspiration.

Using Your Scrap Yarns Part 2

Here are three of them being blocked and almost ready for their shop photos.

Two acrylic scarves have also made it to the shop. I’m thrilled. The colors are bright and cheerful. The Brown Ombre Scarf and then this one. The white scarf makes great use of scrap yarn. There will never be a pattern for this but I am pleased that it is finished. Feel free to imitate this scarf all you want. There are no plans to write a pattern for it. If my memory is right, there are 20-30 stitches between each dash of color. Each dash of color has 15 stitches in it. Thankfully, it has moved out of the WIPs stack to the FP or finished projects stack and is ready to go home with someone soon.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on February 9, 2017January 10, 2020 by Karen Stewart

Recap of Projects Completed During the Challenge So Far

I may actually reach all of my goals for completing unfinished projects and I am super happy! Hubs is happy about all the projects completed, too!

The “WIPs-to-do” stack is definitely smaller and the yarn is being used in a very visible way.

I’d like to show you the two newest completions, and also a recap of my list of to-do’s which I posted at the beginning of the Challenge last month.

Continue reading Recap of Projects Completed During the Challenge So Far

Posted on February 7, 2017January 10, 2020 by Karen Stewart

10 Ways to Spark New Crochet Ideas for Using Your Stash

The last few days have been a struggle. Completing more than I imagined has actually thrown me off track. That, and life. I have to admit, life has really been unusual lately, even for us. So, I took a day off. (Wow! That is amazing for me!) One of my New Year’s resolutions was to put clearer boundaries on family time and work time–mainly work time. The tendency to check email right before bed is not conducive to thoughtful emails and clear answers, nor restful sleep. It also hinders my creativity. I decided I needed a day just to sit and do nothing; a day to work on generating new crochet ideas.

Continue reading 10 Ways to Spark New Crochet Ideas for Using Your Stash

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Karen Stewart

Use Your Stash 2017 Work Line-Up

You and I are eyewitnesses to the huge backlog of WIP’s and stash yarns. The enormous challenge sits right there, in front of us, taunting. The last remaining step as we get started is to create a “2017 Work Line-Up,” a step-by-step list of our work in the order of completion. As I said in an earlier post, I am working on the project which can be finished the quickest–this will give me some encouragement right from the start. It is also the biggest project, the one that I utterly dislike the most.

Continue reading Use Your Stash 2017 Work Line-Up

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Karen Stewart

Stashed Yarns and Setting Goals

This is a scary post for me to write: It is full of UnFinished Objects and Works-In-Progress and plain old skeins of yarn. It seems as if all the stashed yarn around my home is multiplying! Have you ever read the children’s book, Millions of Cats, by Wanda Gag? If you substitute the wordÂ yarns for cats, that’s about what I’m feeling these days! (Please tell me I’m not alone!) But, I’m going to do it. I need to wrap my head around all the UFO’s and WIP’s and skeins of yarn that are stashed around my home. The Use Your Stash Challenge starts in a few days, and I need to get a final count of stashed yarns.

Continue reading Stashed Yarns and Setting Goals

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Karen Stewart

Creating Hanging Organizers for Your Craft Area

Remember my Pegboard and how bare it looked? Well, I created these cool hanging organizers that will help in the Use Your Stash Challenge. I thought you might like to see what I’ve done, in case you need a little inspiration for your own organizational needs.

I’m a visual person. Having things stored in hanging organizers (out in the open instead of in cabinets or drawers) keeps things in front of my eyes. Seeing what’s available to use gives me inspiration, and helps me stay on track for using up my stash.

The following is just a quick tutorial keeping with the theme of using your stash.

Continue reading Creating Hanging Organizers for Your Craft Area

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Karen Stewart

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Is it time to get out of your comfort zone? Are you setting goals for the New Year? I am. Stepping out of my personal box has been on my mind almost constantly these days.

Last month, Hubs and I spent time (together) out of our comfort zones. It was a business conference (which was out of my comfort zone) for women. Yes, Hubs was definitely out of his comfort zone, but he wasn’t alone. When we pulled into the parking lot, another couple was getting out of their car. The man looked at Hubs and said, “I’m so glad to see you! I’m glad I’m not the only one.” There was instant brotherhood bonding going on. I thought they were going to high-five and fist bump right there in the parking lot.

Despite the obvious gender differences, the teaching was great. Hubs and I came away motivated and encouraged.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

I’m sharing this story because many times being out of your comfort zone is the only way to grow your business, grow personally or emotionally, or even grow as a crocheter. It feels muchÂ like hang-gliding naked. I know that is a horrible visualization, but it’s exactly how it feels.

So, let’s step out of our boxes, get out of our comfort zones, and write some goals.Â There are many different ways to do this. Some examples:

Word for the year
Write them down in categories: personal, spiritual, health, business
AÂ bucket list

Set Audacious Goals

Don’t procrastinate, just pick a way to record your goals and do it! But, make sure your goals are big and audacious enough to be dreams.

Last night, while I was at the gym, one of the machines in front of me had a tv, and there was one of those shows on. You know the kind, where the multi-millionaire businessman helps some dinky home business hit the big time. Yeah, that one. The takeaway I got from that show was DREAM BIG. Dave Ramsey said it, too, in his talk at the business conference Hubs and I attended in November: Dream Audaciously. Set your goals high! If you only make it 1/4 of the way to your goal, at least you are 1/4 farther along than you were last year.

OrganizeÂ a Path to Your Goals

Take your audacious goals and divide them out into monthly steps and then start walking — one step at a time — in the direction of your goals. Even if you don’t meet any of your goals, you will at least be further along the path. The key to this, when you don’t reach your goals the first month, is don’t be discouraged. Keep going.

Develop a plan and make it happen! Something amazing happens in our lives when we take the time to write down our specific goals, not just keeping them intangible thoughts in our brains.

~Dave Ramsey

Why am I Talking About This?

You may be wondering why I am even talking about this. I hear you saying, “But, this isn’t crochet. Why is she talking about goal setting and business conferences? What is the deal?”Â Actually, this does apply to crochet and your yarn stash. I have been setting goals as I figure out what I have on hand for the Use Your Stash Challenge.

Think of Your Goals as a Gatekeeper

If everything you do is pushing you toward your goals, then everything you decide to do will go through those gatekeeper goals. This sounds a little wacky until you really think about it.

If using up a good portion of your stash is your goal, then set some audacious goals about what you will make. Challenge yourself to work as hard as you can to finish up those projects! Get ’em done, move ’em out! Commit to doing it, even if you don’t love the project anymore.

What are Your Audacious Goals?

I’ve been hard at work on my goals. I set all the partially finished stuff on my ironing board (because my 6′ x 3′ table was already full), and took snapshots of each of them.Â The good.Â The bad.Â The downright ugly.Â The stuff I’ve fallen out of love with. All of it.

It’s all stretched out there, teasing me to get started. Quite frankly, I am intimidated — and a little embarrassed that I let my WIPs get so far ahead of me. They’re almost out of control.

There’s these …

AndÂ then there are these granny square centers…

Then I found these granny squares that I tested and neglected to do anything with…

And let’s not forget the scarves, hexagons, and potholders that are unfinished…

While this may all seem like a lot, I haven’t even shown you all the yarn I have squirreled away. I am pretty sure I could go a year without buying yarn. (Ha! Like that would ever happen.) But, I do need to get the stash smaller.

So, one of my audacious goals is to not buy any yarn in January and the first half of February.

My second audacious goal is to finish as many of these WIPs as I can in that same time frame. Why don’t you join me? The official start date is January 15, 2017. It will be fun to hold each other accountable, and also to encourage each other.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Karen Stewart

Dog Toys…the challenge #14 and #15

I made dog toys for numbers 14 and 15 for the challenge. I had so much fun making the first dog toy that I decided that another one out of denim was a great idea.

I remember making these rexlace key chains when the kids were little. Then I found this cool site that shows how someone made dog toys with the same braiding pattern.

Both websites have instructions on them and there are a ton of youtube videos that will show you different braids and even the simple braid above. I had a bunch of fleece that was given to me by a friend. I have had it for years and I thought that it would work perfectly to make the same kind of toy for our dogs. We have 6 month old puppy Â and she is shredding every dog toy with in days. It feels like a terrible waste of money to keep buying toys for her to destroy. This project saves me money and uses stash that would just sit around or be thrown out.

Then I remembered the jeans I needed to deconstruct. I always throw away the seams. I just haven’t found any other projects that I want to use them for.

It looks tedious and time consuming. These dog toys really work up very fast. They both took about 20 minutes to make them. Here is the finished product. It looks really durable and works great. The dogs are thrilled.

If you are interested in the Use Your Stash Challenge-2015 you can find my rules here.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Karen Stewart

10 Stash Busting Links to Read

I feel like I have a super slow start to the Use Your Stash Challenge – 2015. I needed some inspiration and I found these lovely links to challenge and encourage me to keep going. My stash just seems to keep growing and growing. I have completed some bit fabric and yarn busting projects but I need something for the little bits of yarn and little bits of fabric. This list is a great place to start when it comes to stash busting those little pieces of fabric and yarn.

1.A great stash busting article from Quilting daily!

2. This lovely blanket from Spincushions

10 Stash busting links — http://spincushions.com/ive-been-stash-busting/

3. Yarn Stash busting idea round up by Making it Home!

3. The cutest toddler sweater by Tricksy Knitter that I have ever seen!

4. A paper embellishments stash busting e-course from A Beautiful Mess Shop

5. Crazy Mom Quilts has some great fabric scrap busting ideas.

She has some great ideas so check out the rest of her blog. Here is another post full of wonderful scrap ideas. I really fell down the rabbit hole in her blog there are so many great ideas and I love her use of color!

6. This Groovy Gahn by JustbecauseIcan on Ravelry would be a great scrap blanket.

7. Â Then there is this beautiful woven fabric basket from MarshmallowsandPickles.

8. For the Knitters…I love this blanket. It is superb. The colors, the pattern, I just like everything about it! It is fromÂ https://cauchycomplete.wordpress.com.

9. Â For the Crocheters, there is this option! It is from Dream a little bigger.

10. A great stash busting quilt is the ticker tape quilt. There are so many options out there. I simply went to Pinterest and searched for ticker tape sewing and came up with so many different options. Here is a great ticker tape style doll quilt. This one is from Teaginnydesigns. She got the pattern from Amanda Jean Nyborg at crazymomquilts.

There 10 great stash busting projects to give you some inspiration for the Using Your Stash Challenge – 2015!

I am not sure what I am going to do right now. I have some blah projects to work on but they aren’t as beautiful as these stash projects. So, I am torn, should I start a new stash busting project or simply use the larger pieces of fabric for the more routine sewing.

Do you have any advice? I sure would love to hear it!

Do you have any stash busting projects or links to share with me? I would also love to see those!

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Karen Stewart

Pink is finished!! #3 in the Use Your Stash – 2015

I finished Pink (the crochet afghan) this weekend. I am so pleased with it. It looks so cuddly and warm. I found some lovely yarn at the shop. It was soft and washable. It is variegated with a long color change in the yarn. It was really similar to a Lion Brand wool yarn that I love to use. It is primarily pink and red and the colors called to me.

I started it in the Linen stitch but it turned out horribly stiff and thick. It looked lovely.Â I was also having some problems seeing where to put the stitches. I may need new glasses. I have named this blanket Pink but you can see the other beautiful colors in the yarn. I love working with variegated yarn. You never have to change or sew in many ends. It makes a nice change from Granny Squares that change color every row.

I love the bobbleÂ border. It adds a little whimsy to the whole blanket. I added a nice gray border on either edge of the bobbles. It adds some definition to the edges. Pink is a bit larger afghan than I normally crochet. It is 51 x 62 inches long. The stripes run lengthwise. I think it will make a great Valentine’s Day gift to someone special. It is available in the ChocolateDogStudio shop!

I am also adding this to the Use Your Stash Challenge – 2015! This is #3 for me to have finished this week. It is a huge project and I spent a bunch of time on it. I am really pleased with the finished product. I just knew that yarn would make a beautiful blanket.

Talk to you later,

Karen