There is a very nice sense of accomplishment that comes when you can reach into the yarn stash, find a skein that has taken up residence for sometime, and a few days later, you have a fun finished knit…

The Ravelry Stanley Cup Stashbusting knitalong is just the right excuse for me to do this and to make some quick little knits that can be used right away.

A springy pastel headband that is just perfect for yoga asana practice – I am calling it my Baddha Band.  Baddha is Sanskrit for “bound”, so it seemed like an appropriate name for something to hold my hair back when I am doing  inverted yoga poses!   I used the Calorimetry pattern and a yarn that has been in the stash so long that it is now discontinued:  Noro Sakura.  It is a nylon blend with little thread/ribbon pieces at various spots.  If I remember properly, I picked this yarn up at a swap, but it may have been a clearance bin find too… I have another skein in a deep orange with some purple highlights… maybe for a different Project Spectrum month!  The yarn itself looks very much like the friendship bracelets that I used to make in elementary school to trade with my friends and sisters.  I added the pink synthetic flower for fun and in celebration of the beautiful spring weather.  Someone noted that the yarn colors reminded them of a blooming cherry blossom tree – and the good folks at Noro must have thought the same thing because “Sakura”, the name of the yarn, means cherry blossom in Japanese!

It’s quite girly with the bright colors, but I think it will be a nice little headband to make me smile during yoga practice!

When Larissa made this little shawl back in January (Rav link), it caught my eye.  I do not knit a lot of lace, and this was just my speed – yos and dropped stitches – and I could barely believe it when I saw the low yardage needed to make it…perfect for a lone skein of cashmere/silk blend that has lived in the stash for a few years waiting for a special project:

It is the Storm Cloud Shawlette pattern from Hanna at ever green knits.  Such a beautifully simple and meditative pattern to knit.  Especially with a special yarn.  I used a hank of Alchemy Monarch in “Teal Tide” colorway, it was a gift from Cathi awhile back… just one of those lovely skeins that sits and waits for a special project.  Only 156 yards and now I have this great little neck piece!  I used size 11 needles for it, but I could have gone even bigger for more drape and size.  I do lovely looking at the project pages on Ravelry and seeing how people have made this pattern in different yarns and gauges.  Love the creativity.

Both projects fit into the theme for the NORTH direction of Project Spectrum, specifically with the green focus.  With only a few days remaining in this phase (before we focus on the EAST direction!) my mind is already thinking about new projects, but I could easily have green all year… it is such an amazing color!

The Calorimetries for my nieces were a last minute addition to the Christmas gift pool. Perhaps it was a quickie stashbusting solution or perhaps it was Auntie Lolly’s subversive way of countering all of the rampant consumerism and making a simple hand knit piece… or a little of both. Either way, the little headbands were a success!

M and K’s Calorimetry Headbands

Pattern: Calorimetry, Knitty Winter 2006
Yarn: K’s is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky (ivory) held together with a leftover Opal self-striping sock yarn scrap /M’s is Dale of Norway Free Style (eggplant) held together with a mohair glitter novelty thread leftover
Needles: Size US 6 needles

I modified the headbands to fit their smaller heads by following the notes from NuttyIrishmanKnits. I cast on only 80 stitches instead of the 120 called for, and only completed half of the short row repeats – I think I only did 7. I sewed small mother-of-pearl buttons on the back, and they fit both girls very comfortably. M even wore hers all day! (K is sometimes a little too rambunctious… can you tell by that silly smile?) K’s front tooth was barely hanging on… we thought we may be able to get her to sing “All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth”, but it held on throughout the day.

It was a wonderful holiday with both of our families ~ with my family, it was the first time for all of us to celebrate together in many years – with the addition of my brother-in-law who is recently back from his year-long military deployment. It was the first Christmas to spend with him, and it was so special because of it.

~I do hope that your holiday was meaningful as well~

PS – Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband/life partner/best friend/photographer/”sounding board”, Kristopher~