What's In the Stash and Off the Needles

Wow, we are already way past the the end of the first quarter of the year! I had been planning to post updates about the progress of my stash busting goals on a quarterly basis, and here I am, already three weeks late. Even though I'm late, the news is good: I was extremely moderate in my yarn purchases. I told you about my stash additions at Stitches West and Madrona in this post, and I kept within my budget at both. So, other than those two events, how much yarn did I buy in the first quarter of 2015? Take a look below and see:

The first yarn will be used for Click for Babies hats. I hope to knit at least nine by September 1, so I expect to use up most of the Baby Ull in those hats. And the Opal Hundertwasser? Well, you may know that I have a deep fondness for that yarn, and it was souvenir yarn from the Knitajourney Midwinter Retreat, so it doesn't count…at least that is what I'm telling myself. Actually, I am very proud that I did so well in Quarter 1. My plan is to continue making thoughtful purchases in the April through June quarter, too.

I haven't just been making moderate additions to my stash, I've also been getting yarn out of my stash by knitting it up. You have seen some of my finished projects in an earlier post, and I have finished several more projects since then. I hinted then that there was one that was almost finished, and now it is. Here's my Autumn Light and Shadows (all links are to my Ravelry project pages).

I am absolutely in love with this shawl! The pattern, Milja Uimonen's Light in Shadows, was clearly written and fun to knit. The yarn, my favorite Hazel Knits Entice MCN, was so soft and squishy. And the colors—Spooky Hue and Seattle KAL—were a perfect combination. This is a pattern that I know I will knit again in the future.

While we are on the subject of shawls (although this one could just as easily be called a scarf), here is my Hitchhiking on Public Transport. It's the third time I've knit a Hitchhiker, this time out of one of my favorite Opal Hundertwasser colorways, Use Public Transport–Save the City.

Of course, there was also sock knitting happening at my house, and I finished two pairs in Quarter 1.  Here they are:

Winter Wave socks

Socks on a (Mostly) Blue Planet

This isn't all I finished, but it is probably enough for one blog post, so I'll save the rest for another time. But, as you can see, there was some yardage used up in these projects: 1,500 yards, to be exact. Not bad, for just one month's worth of finishing. And there will be more to come, I promise.