Avalanche

Have you ever had a project that grew and grew?  Perhaps it was a job that had to be dealt with eventually, but you just did not have the right amount of time to get to it?  Does that sound familiar?  I had such a job awaiting my attention.  Fortunately, I had set it aside in a remote room in my house.  The saying, “Out of sight, out of mind” fits the situation.  My job of using leftover yarn was calling my name. 

I like to knit and crochet.  Over the years, I have made several items with yarn.  Once I completed them, I deposited the leftover yarn in a large straw basket.  When that basket got full, I started filling up a new one.  So, about a year ago, I decided to tackle the endeavor of cleaning up the excess yarn.  Balls and skeins of leftover yarn took up too much room.   So working at my hobby was in order.

Knitting is a skill my mother taught me when I was a child.  For me, it is a relaxing activity.  I figured that my leftovers would make some nice winter scarves.  So, I dug out my knitting needles and my favorite pattern.  I began in earnest to use up my yarn by creating a piece of cozy needlework in which others might delight.  When finished, the scarf measured six feet long.  I truly enjoyed the work and the results.  It gave me a calm feeling of accomplishment.  As I created an inventory of scarves, my straw basket began to get emptier.  Reducing the bulk of my unused yarn brought with it a sense of satisfaction.  Things were looking good.

One day this fall, a friend of mine came from out of town for a visit.  As we chatted, I showed her some of my finished scarves. 

The next day, my phone rang.  My friend had been shopping at several garage sales.  She happened upon one sale with a large amount of unused yarn.  Knowing I had interest in knitting, she asked me if I could use it.  Since I had lacked a variety of colors, I welcomed her offer to get it for me. 

Later, I drove to town to pick up the yarn she found for me.  You can imagine my surprise when she unloaded two huge cardboard boxes from her car and loaded into mine.  WOW!! I had not expected to inherit such a large supply.  It looked like an avalanche of yarn!

I took it home and my husband had a chuckle over my progress at using up leftover yarn.  Now I had more materials than I had when I began my use-up-my-extra-yarn task. 

At Christmas time, I found that two of our daughters had interest in getting yarns from my selection.  I taught one granddaughter to knit last summer.  She picked some colorful yarns with which to practice her skill.  I still have more yarn than I started with, but I have gladly shared the bounty with my offspring.

And, yes, I am still knitting scarves.  Some are single colored, others are of many colors.  It is a real joy to create.