Scrappy Memories

Hi Friends,

Most of the knitting I do these days is for work: figuring out new designs, knitting samples for magazine photo shoots, casting on for knitalongs… Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining; I absolutely LOVE my job, and LOVE that a big part of my job is knitting. Somewhere along the way though, I found myself procrastinating in the strangest manner – I washed my windows to put off knitting a sweater that just didn’t excite me anymore. Whoa, this was serious. About a half dozen windows in, it hit me that I hadn’t knit a single thing just for my own joy in over a year. That thought rolled around in my head for a few days and kept nagging at me. I was getting burned out. I had lost my knitting mojo to a deadline and two long visits to sleeve island.

Later that week, I was once again procrastinating; this time organizing my stash room. Yep, you read that right, I said “room;” any other hoarders extreme stashers in this group? Looking through a cabinet of dormant project bags, I ran across the scrappy blanket I had cast on a few years ago, before the deadlines and work knitting gradually consumed most of my evenings. It’s beautiful, and I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about all the different yarns in it; I could remember each and every project leftover, and so many of the indie yarn dyers I had met, both online and in real life. It was only about a foot long and six feet wide, in linen stitch, on size threes (US 3/ 3.25mm). I rolled my eyes at 2016 me – I had only used single ply yarn, which was no longer convenient because 2019 me was accumulating tons of plied leftovers, having recently awakened a love for sock knitting. The 2020 me might have been tempted to cast on with toilet paper or something equally ridiculous, so single ply seems pretty good from that perspective.

Here’s something you may not know about me: occasionally I get this drive to finish something epic. It’s purely selective and rarely rational: awkwardly-written books whose characters I can’t stand, a poorly-thought-out mixed drink, high school melodrama TV series (damn you, Secret Life of an American Teenager!), long rambling blogs that go on for hundreds of words without getting to the point, a linen stitch scrappy blanket. I can’t get out of my mind just how much I want this finished blanket. I hate mixing bases, so my plied leftovers will continue to feel deserted. Don’t worry about those poor little yarn babies though; I’ve been working on an adorable leftover project – more work knitting – that you’re going to completely freak out over during this year’s Knitmas. So, while I have at least half a dozen nearly-finished WIPs in time-out and another handful in hibernation, I have no desire to finish any of them.

Back to my linen stitch scrappy blanket. If you’re wondering why I keep emphasizing linen stitch, I’d be willing to bet that you’ve never done it before. It’s beautiful, but not altogether easy on the hands, especially on smaller needles. Despite this, a strange thing happens to me when I work on the blanket: I relax. My shoulders drop down from their usual place up around my ears (my default physical state is far from relaxed), I think about all of the finished projects that these leftovers represent, and the most stressful thought in my mind is which color to use next. And on the days when even that thought is too stressful, I can pour another drink and let my husband choose. I already know I like all the colors or they’d still be in my stash and not in my leftovers.

Did I mention that I plan on making this blanket eight feet long? No? Yep, that’s my plan. Eight feet. At that length, it should really have a name, if not it’s own mailing address, so I’ll now be calling her “Scrappy.” I don’t want a small blanket that can’t cover my feet and shoulders at the same time; I want it big enough to snuggle with my husband on the couch for movie night. I picture it as an heirloom that gets passed down to younger knitters for generations, and I will haunt whoever breaks the chain and donates it to a thrift store or a neighborhood garage sale. So far, no one in my family seems promising, and I’m on the lookout for a knitting heir.

I did the math – I love knitting math – and it will take me seven years if I knit twelve inches per year. Here’s the thing, though: the gauge is about ten rows per inch, and each row takes me about 20 minutes. Not to mention that I still have my work knitting, so Scrappy rarely gets consistent attention. I can finish about half an inch a month, on a good month, picking it up when I’m between work projects, or if all of my other WIPs require my concentration and I just need a break. I spend time with Scrappy while I’m reading on my Kindle, or when cocktail hour went too long, or when I’m really depressed and just need soothing stitches. It turns out that linen stitch isn’t really so bad, and after just a few minutes I settle into the rhythm and rarely need to look. Adjusting for all these factors, Scrappy probably won’t be finished for at least fifteen years. I’ll be 53. A lot can happen in fifteen years, and it’s a little comforting to know that I’ll have something unchanging through all that time.

I’ve thought about casting on a second blanket on larger needles in garter stitch with my plied scraps, but then Original Scrappy will probably never get finished, and I’m not ready to go down that road just yet. Check in with me when I’m 45, God willing, to see where I stand on casting on Scrappy Junior.

 

Since I know you’re all clamoring to cast on a decades-long project, here’s the pattern recipe:*

Using your favorite leftover, a needle 1 size larger than you plan to use for the blanket, and the i-cord cast-on, CO stitches until the blanket is the width you want it to be, ending with an odd number. Mine has 419 stitches.

Change to main needle.
Color 2:
RS: [k1, sl 1 wyif] to last 4 stitches, k1, sl 3 wyib.
WS: knit 3, [sl 1 wyib, p1] to last 4 stitches, sl 1 wyib, sl 3 wyif.
Work previous 2 rows with Color 1.

Continue working previous four rows, changing colors as you’d like until blanket is desired length. Eight feet!

I plan to BO with an i-cord bind-off using the larger needle. I’ll let you know for sure in fifteen to twenty.

PS: The directions have been updated from the original post; it is correct as written.

xo

Melissa

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24 Comments. Leave new

  • Bobbye Jopling
    June 22, 2020 9:07 am

    She is beautiful! Remember that sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.

    (I would volunteer to be the recipient, but I’ll be *really* old in 15-20 years, so not a great candidate. lol)

    Reply
  • Patricia Stanczyc
    June 22, 2020 9:38 am

    I love linen stitch. So neat and tailored. I’m never able to understand how to do the edges, especially on the ws. Do you really slip one wyif and then slip 3 wyif? Isn’t that the same as slipping 4 wyif? I need to find a tutorial…Your Scrappy is gorgeous and deserves to be your go to oasis!

    Reply
  • Denise Edmister
    June 22, 2020 11:04 am

    Very pretty, but I hate linen stitch. It takes forever to knit something in it. I have a bin full of time out WIP’s. I just keep finding new projects I like better. Good luck and Happy Knitting!

    Reply
  • I get the same feelings on the loss of excitement for knitting. I got a job at an LYS two years ago, just selling yarn. Now I run the marketing/social media. I’m 22 and have tendinitis in the arms. I really shouldn’t be typing this–to save my fingers. But I’m on my computer all the time anyway for work and school.

    Back to knitting, I don’t get as much joy from the process anymore, because I know it will take me forever to finish a project. I’ve finally accepted this, since knitting through the pain will only make my future fingers worse.

    I recently got a loom. It’s keeping me interested for now. Glad that you felt honest to make this into a blog post. I love knitting but hate it sometimes! Breaks are healthy.

    Reply
  • Soooo… I know just enough about knitting to be dangerous… Lol! My question is, does all of the yarn need to be the same weight, or relatively close? Can you use fingering and DK together? Or DK and worsted? The whole weight thing still is perplexing to me. One day I will figure it out! I would LOVE to knit this! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
  • I’m having issues with the end of the RS row. If you do the pattern to the last 4 stitches you end up with a knit as the final stitch in the pattern, then you knit again and slip three. If you slip three with the yarn in front, how are you supposed to get it In back for the first knit stitch on the WS? If you fudge it somehow, you then end up slipping the same stitches on the WS as you did on the RS. I’ve never done linen stitch before, but I checked out a tutorial, and that didn’t seem right. I’m a pretty experienced knitter, but I’m really confused! HELP!

    Reply
    • It’s been a few months so you may have worked this out by now, but replying for the sake of any others who, like me, came to the comments looking for the answer to this exact problem. 🙂

      Here’s what has worked out for me – just needed to tweak the very beginning of each row:

      RS: knit 3, [k1, sl 1 wyif] to last 4 stitches, k1, sl 3 wyib.
      WS: purl 3, [sl 1 wyib, p1] to last 4 stitches, sl 1 wyib, sl 3 wyif.

      Hope this helps someone!

      Reply
  • That is a cozy looking blanket, with snuggly warm colors. What colors did you use?

    Reply
  • Your blog is hilarious! I haven’t laughed out loud from reading (silently) since Covid burst upon the scene, so your writing about Scrappy and your knitting ventures was super welcomous!

    Reply
  • Great idea .. I’ve been making seed stitch Afghans with two strands of yarn on a number 17 needle. I just started my seventh Afghan of the covid season. I used to do the Russian join but I’ve switched over to the magic knot and never have to weave in ends

    Reply
  • Margaret Tobin
    February 16, 2021 4:53 am

    I too have ROOMS of scrappy projects. One ugly acrylic child’s sweater that will never be sewn together because it is too awful to be worn even as punishment. 😂 yarn 🧶 so ugly not worth unraveling. Pillow stuffing?
    On page 27 of my to do’s.
    But relieved 😅 and conflicted 😐 that I have got my first Moderna vaccine 💉 12 hours ago. I am 71 and have underlying conditions but socially isolate and feel great sympathy for low wage workers who are at great risk and unable to socially isolate.
    Praying for greater equity in our health system.
    But knitting mostly hats and many of them scrappy because I can twine several yarns together and make tweeds. Started doing this the year my mother died and I made 6 hats a day for orphans in Afghanistan. There should be a book Knitting Your Way Through Grief. Especially in this year of Corona and cancer. So many losses. My yarn has been moist with tears.
    All the best🌻👩‍🌾🌻

    Reply
  • .Love this idea! Even yarn bought for a different reason where Ive moved on can contribute to something beautiful

    Reply
  • Dorothy Bush
    April 3, 2021 7:39 am

    Love this so much I cast on a blanket yesterday. Took me most of the day in fits and starts. 401 stitches in sock yarn on size 4 needles and did 2 rows on 3.5’s. Absolutely love the linen stitch; it has the same affect on me…soothing. I don’t expect to have 10 years ahead of me (I am 69 now) so this is going to be my summer-at-camp project. Not sure what to name him..already given a gender. Lockdown 3? Camp ’21? I might have one picked by end of summer. Someone shared this link on an FB page and that’s how I got here. Love your blog – refreshing.

    Reply
  • You have inspired me!
    I started my linen stitch blanket (420 stitches on Feb 14 th 2021, and have now done 600 rows (252, 000 stitches!!!)
    The end is in sight and I LOVE my cosy blanket

    Thank you x

    Reply
  • I love knitting math and your idea of passing Scrappy as an heirloom after the laborious effort is swell! Hope you find someone worthy. I am itching to cast on for a blanket but a part of me knows I will never find the will to be consistent and finish it ever!! Even right now I am juggling between 3 WIPs and yet have come up with designs for 3 more projects and can’t wait to cast and start creating a pattern 😂 I had started thinking that I would eventually want to move to knitting full-time but your blog made me realize that I should think carefully. What if the flame of my passion for knitting dies if it becomes work!!!

    Loved reading your blog

    Reply
    • Thank you so much for your kind words! I haven’t worked on mine for a few months, but I’m feeling the itch to have it back in my hands. I find that knitting-as-work is still enjoyable if I have another fibery hobby that is just for me. I’m inspired to try needle felting for the first time this summer, and occasionally I dabble in cross-stitch.
      Happy knitting!
      Melissa

      Reply

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