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Get Rid of Stash by Hosting a Magic Ball Party

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making magic ballsI don’t really know why this was news, but a few weeks ago I came across this fun article about a New Jersey knitting group that had a magic ball scarf making party.

I’ve told you before about making magic balls out of little bits of leftover stash, but this idea takes it to a whole new level because you’re also swapping yarn bits with other people.

The idea is that you get together with some friends or your yarn group and you each bring a few balls of yarn. Each person then cuts lengths of all the balls they like and makes a magic ball, then knits up a scarf.

This sounds like a really fun idea and a great way to use up some yarn you may not love on its own but would like better mixed in with other things (or just regular leftovers). I think it would be great fun for kids, too, because they’d enjoy gathering the yarn, making the ball and knitting it. Or what about doing this for a yarnbombing?

Have you ever done a group magic ball project before? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo via Shore News Today.]

Comments

  1. These parties sound like a great idea! I, for one, always tend to buy yarn in the same purple and blue colors. By mixing my yarn leftovers with other knitters’ stashes, I could create some new combinations that I’ve probably never thought of. Great way to widen my color horizons! Thanks!!

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.