2022 Leftovers Challenge, Part 2.

Dear users and authors,
here is Part 2 of our entertaining series on using up leftovers.
Enjoy!

You can read Part 1 by clicking the link:
Leftovers Challenge January through March 2022: Weigh, Use Up, and Win

Here are the first snail ribbons. It’s quick, and it helps use up some more scraps.

What do you do with snail bands?

A friend of mine is giving these to her grandchildren. They use them to practice rolling things up and developing fine motor skills, and otherwise, they can play with them—they work great as reins, leashes, belts, or whatever else their imagination calls for...

OK :-)

This is a concept from Waldorf schools.

Developing motor skills with wool snakes?

Obviously. I don’t know much about that—I don’t even have kids.

But you know how to crochet snakes. :-)

Exactly! :-))

Today I’m in the mood for a spring cleaning spree. And I’m also up for some bigger projects. So I gathered up almost all my scraps, took pictures of them, and listed them in the swap section.
The small pieces are fun for quick projects here and there, but using up 1,600 g this way… oh no, I’d rather not.
But now there’s plenty of room for new things… which, of course, will leave me with more scraps again. :-))

Take photos of your leftover yarn and post them in the swap forum—that counts as using up your leftover yarn, and that’s great.

I’m actually working on small things at the moment too. In my case, they’re not really scraps, but rather yarn I don’t like at all. So this stash is getting smaller and smaller, making room for new things. Because I don’t really have any scraps—I’ve already crocheted so many nests with them. 

So I made a hat for the doll at the preschool (actually from a scrap = 17 grams) and, from my bad buy, a blanket and a jacket (102 grams total). 

Do impulse buys really exist?

Oh yeah, I definitely do. And then there’s this yarn. Sometimes it’s been sitting around for years. Like this yarn from the jacket. It’s super soft, but 100% polyester. I really don’t like knitting with it.

Or this yarn. I just can’t find a pattern that suits me and the yarn





We just don’t go together 

Is this called mottled yarn? Or both?

The top one is a Catania “flamme”—a cotton yarn

The bottom one is a ribbon yarn. 

OK
I meant the type of color gradient

Josefa, I’m stumped. Unfortunately, even with Google, I can’t really answer your question. The Catania yarn might be mottled, since different colors/strands run side by side.

The lower yarn is more like the individual strands are plied together. There, it’s just a single strand.

OK, thanks anyway

I’d say both are mottled, but I’m not sure if that’s entirely accurate. And I usually think these kinds of yarns look best knitted in stockinette stitch—for socks, for example. Of course, that doesn’t work for ribbon yarn. Maybe it would be good for espadrilles? There are quite a few patterns for those here, after all.

Is it going well?

I’ve now knitted up a few leftover yarn scraps for the cuffs of the shoes.

Whenever I have these scraps on my needles, memories always come flooding back of all the things I’ve already made with this yarn. I find that really lovely, and it makes me happy.

Except for 64 g of black and white (which I always save on purpose—you always need it for eyes and noses), I’ve gotten rid of all my scraps and now have to produce some new ones.

@Petra,
that turned out great.

@Veronika, wow. You’ve been busy.

Well, I didn’t just work hard—I packed these leftovers into a box and swapped them:

Once swapped out, it counts as gone/done.
I always love it when multicolored skeins are sorted by color in photos—figuratively speaking, of course. 

How’s it going?

Oh yes. I crocheted 120 grams worth of all kinds of tiny scraps from my Catania yarn. It worked great with the Frankfurt knot. I was even able to incorporate the tiniest scraps. 



It turned into a shopping bag 

The shopping bag looks colorful and cheerful.

Yes, Josefa, I liked it so much right away that I always carry it in my purse now. 

Good idea 

All of my baby clothes for Luna and Rieke are crocheted or knitted from leftover yarn.
Sweaters, pants, a suit, hats, a onesie, and a little dress.

How are things going with your leftovers?

Great! I’m constantly making new ones! It’s such a bummer when a ball of yarn isn’t quite enough for two washcloths!

Right now, I’m not even sure if I’m creating new scraps or if I might not have enough yarn after all. *sweating*
But one planned project fell through, so I don’t just have scraps—I have all the yarn left over.... for the swap package!

I’ve cut down on my cotton stash a bit. Nothing but yarn I’ve already started



I’ve already crocheted a lot of letters. Next up for my little daughter is “POOL”—in white and pink. I need about 12 grams per letter 

The letters are also a great way to use up remnants—I’ll have to remember that.
I also think the shopping net is really lovely.

Veronika, I would have liked your yarn colors too. Maybe something suitable will make its way into the swap package. I’m curious to see.

That may well be; some things are already ready and waiting again.

Great. My yarn for the package is already ready, too.
I’m still busy crocheting up my leftovers to make room for new ones.

Here’s how I used up my scraps: leaves for a crochet picture, a small armchair for the dollhouse, the little squares for a small bag, and the long blue piece will become a cover for a TaTüBox.

Oh, that armchair is really great. For a doll? A really tiny one?

Exactly, Petra—or for a little amigurumi. We’ll see, or just as a decoration