"We Care Stitchers"

Before I became obsessed with knitting and all things related to knitting, I crocheted.  I primarily made afghans which used gobs of yarn.   As a result, I purchased less expensive yarn… you know the stuff… Red Heart Super Saver 100 % acrylic.  As time has gone by, I purchase less and less acrylic yarn but I continue to have quite a lot in my stash and I just haven’t been able bring myself to get rid of it.  This weekend, my husband was teasing me about the area in our master bedroom closet where he insists my knitting stuff is “expanding”.   Now, I’ve been pretty good about not buying yarn this year, but I have to admit, my collection of bags, books, storage containers, and binders full of patterns printed off of the Internet continues to amass.  “I am knitting as FAST as I CAN!,” I insist! But alas, my stash does have me feeling quite overwhelmed.  Why the other  day, when I was cleaning out my knitting bag, I kid you not… I must have thrown out a dozen labels from used skeins of yarn.  Must have been all those chemo caps I made in March.  But despite knitting as fast as I can, my stash does not seem to shrink.

I SERIOUSLY looked at my stash again on Friday and decided I would donate my Red Heart Super Saver (and similar yarns) to charity. I had a huge bag full and there it sat… by the door to the garage to be taken to some charity, frowning at me each and every time I passed by.  I felt kind of like a failure… getting rid of yarn, but I reasoned that if I am going to spend a lot of time working on a project, I would like the yarn to be yarn I really loved.  I just had no project in mind for this yarn and it was taking up a lot of precious storage space. 

On Saturday, a gal named “Kae” on Ravelry sent me a “friend” request (we are now “friends” on Ravelry).  I had just been admiring a photo of one of her completed blankets at the Yarn Outlet in Colorado Springs when I visited that store last week.   I got to checking out her group called “We Care Stitchers”… turns out they make afghans for wounded soldiers from the United States Army Base at Fort Carson (Colorado Springs, Colorado).  And wouldn’t you know, they want knit and crochet squares and rectangles made out of 100% acrylic yarn.  See, I knew there was a reason I was holding on to that yarn!

In case you are interested in learning more about “We Care Stitchers”… click HERE for the LINK.  This is how the group is described:

Our current mission is to provide afghans for injured warriors returned to Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs for outpatient rehabilitation.   Everyone is welcome to participate in showing appreciation for our troops and all they do to keep us safe. The Afghans are knitted or crocheted of 100% acrylic - worsted weight. We accept entire afghans 45 x 65 inches or individual blocks in multiples of 5-inches.

Here is a gorgeous example of an afghan completed by this group (photo used with permission from Kae... Thank you, Kae!).  I think this is one of the most beautiful afghans I've ever seen.  Immediately it reminds me of a stained glass window in the "Prairie Style" like you'd find in a home designed by Architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  This photo is from Ravelry where you can see other great examples of afghans completed by this group by clicking HERE or HERE.

Okay, back to my squares and rectangles!  My new mantra is "Get off the computer and knit...!"