All of Them

In an attempt to get control of, and use up, my yarn stash, I took all those odd bits of leftover cotton yarn and wound them into new assorted balls. Some people in the knitting community call it a magic cake, I think it's more of a magic onion because each layer brings a new surprise color. Some of the balls were completely random - I just reached over and blindly grabbed the next color. Others, like some above, were selected with a bit more thought, combining like colors or themes - ie, all muted colors, or all bright colors together. 

I knitted and crocheted a few dishcloths from these surprise balls and I love the fun, scrappy feel they bring to my kitchen. Some are hideous and some are pretty, but they all wash dishes just the same and they all used up a small part of my overflowing stash. I can knit a whole dishcloth out of a little less than one of these balls, so I just tie those leftovers on to the next ball and start all over again. I plan to keep going until I completely run out of cotton yarn and then comes the real fun - restocking! 

As I knit each new color section, I remember the original recipient of many of the original dishcloths - specific colors for specific people - moms, aunts, grandmas, cousins, friends... It's nice to think a little part of their kitchen is also in my home. These scrappy versions are very much like a scrappy quilt made with all the cherished leftovers and memories, which also happen to be some of my favorite quilts. 

I plan to spend my weekend knitting some more scrappy dishcloths while watching the Olympics. We caught a bit of the snowboarding qualifiers last night and it was so exciting to see the patriotism and competitive spirit in the athletes! I hope you have a great weekend and Go Team USA!