The Single Skein Knit Up Project

Or the SSKUP for short (pronounced es-kup, obvs.) The SSKUP was born on the day that I first bought my yarn cupboard and gleefully started organising it. Previously I'd had two rather large boxes, a small box and a pile of Loop bags that held the skeins that no longer fitted into the large or small boxes. The cupboard was going to hold everything, the stash would be contained and organised, my needles, project bags, notions, fiber, books etc would all go in there too so I'd have one central store of crafty goodness. I was very excited in the way that librarians so often are at the prospect of organising things.
And then it didn't fit.
I was slightly appalled when I realised. I covered it well; took some of the books out, gave up on the idea of keeping my fiber and buttons in there (why yes, I have rather a lot of buttons, what else did you expect?) squashed some skeins together and wedged the door shut, then resolved to do something about it. Now, I love my stash and I don't feel at all guilty for having it - it's my money and I'll spend it on whenever I like! But I would prefer it if it fitted in the damn cupboard and didn't start to take over the entire flat.
When I first started knitting I - like all the knitters that came before me and all those that will come after me - went a little bit mad and bought a lot of single skeins because they were pretty or because they were there and then never really decided what to do with them. They went into the stash and slipped to the bottom and were slowly forgotten as they became buried by newer, shinier yarn. So I decided that a good way to reduce the stash as well as make myself feel better about it would be to start unearthing those single skeins, picking a pattern and knitting them up, quickly and without thinking too much about it. Here are some of the projects that have already resulted from the SSKUP:

Photo taking skills; I does not haz them

(Clockwise from top left; Quinalt in Posh Yarn Daisy Sock, Lotus Hat in Malabrigo Twist, Fiona's Top in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Select, Darla in Malabrigo Silky Merino)
I'm pretty pleased with how they all turned out and have got some nice gifts out of them (except for the mittens, they are mine and essential at #tinylibrary!) So, after finishing my big red shawl and running out of yarn for the Malabrigo hat I was knitting, I decided it was SSKUP time. I went stash diving and here are the next two candidates:

Yaaaaaaaaaaaarn

Top: Colinette Art in Mango Lassi
Bottom: Knitting Goddess hand dyed aran in semi solid plum
These were stashed in 2010 and I've been a bit stuck with both; the purple is 20% silk and 80% wool but feels quite stiff and the Colinette was bought before I realised that variegated yarns can be really hard to find patterns for! They're both aran weight and around 200 yards, therefore the options are hats, cowls or possibly mittens. I'm gong to start with the purple which will either become a Marigold Slouch or a Sitka Spruce. I'm still considering options for the Colinette; maybe mittens like X Mitts or a cowl like Bertrand Louis or Pedestrian Crossing? I do like the idea of having a rummage through the button stash...
I'll let you know what I decide, but if you're looking for a good method of stash reduction, a small manageable project or a way of using up those old, unloved skeins then I highly recommend adopting the SSKUP approach - it's definitely better than a yarn diet!

Posted with Blogsy