I found a medium sized bag of blue yarn from previous projects that I had been saving, which made my mystery ball grow exponentially. When I first started this I was thinking of dramatically switching up the color when I got to a certain point but the size that the ball is now has made me just decide to keep going with whatever I have remaining and use that as the beginning of a fanciful granny square with a blue center. I must’ve had this idea for a while, because there were dribs and drabs of blue yarn in resealable plastic bags and even divided by color and material. Scraps of wool are separated into their own bags. Anytime I have enough that would make several rows of a blanket or over half of a scarf, that is kept separately, because sometimes I like to do stripes or long rows of color.
This ball has grown large enough that I am fully committed to just blues, which still require a bit of planning, because not all light blues are the same and navy is a great neutral, but I don’t want to end on navy, because this is going to be finished in navy and it may not be the same navy, it may be dark blue, midnight, bright navy depending on what I use.
While I was searching for blues in my yarn bowl, which is no longer overflowing (whoo hoo!), I started putting some grays together and will likely start an afghan with different shades of gray and I have a small skein of a black and white blend which will be fun.
The granny square or when done horizontally instead of rounds, the fan or shell stitch in groups of 3 is my favorite. The pattern works up quickly and is a great way to use up yarn. Also, when I am in situations where there is low light or watching a concert or movie in the park, I am familiar enough with the pattern to be able to work on it without having to fiddle with a pattern.
Before I start an afghan, I need to see how much yarn I have to I decide on rounds or rows. If know I have a lot of yarn from previous project and enough to complete a few rows which looks nice when tied together with a neutral color, I will work the fans or shells of 3 starting from a chain of my desired length in the neutral and join the colors as I go. For smaller bits of yarn I will use up small balls in the center and grow outward and coordinate as I go along. Sometimes when I buy yarn for afghans, unless I have used that brand of yarn before, I might not purchase enough for an entire afghan. There may just be enough to add a splash of color to a solid, for a fun border or central theme.
I like the challenge of planning on the fly or planning not so far in advance. Or at least it seems like I haven’t planned that much, but I was since I had saved all of these small balls of blue yarn. I already know that when I have exhausted the scraps of blue that I will start an afghan with a fun blue center and a navy border. It’s really an underlying and understated plan, that’s not at the forefront of my mind, a plan nevertheless.
