Project Notebook: Bamboo Stitch Table Runner

Sometimes you start a project and, before it’s done, you just get tired of it. Or maybe you need to be knitting something else so you put it aside for a while, with every intention of getting back to it soon.

So it was with my Bamboo Stitch Table Runner, which the archives at About tell my I first published in October of 2008. At the time I knit what I thought would be about half of the pattern, enough to know how much yarn it would take to make it as long as I wanted, and enough that I could take a picture where the knitting needle in the end wouldn’t show.

And then it sat. It was in a folding basket that got packed up when we moved to this house almost exactly four years ago.

I just unpacked that basket a few weeks ago and decided it was time to finish the project.

In the intervening years (more than six, egad) since I started the project I either lost some of the yarn or used it on another project, because while I have a bunch of the gray and a decent amount of the cream color, I couldn’t find any more of the gold yarn anywhere, other than the part of a ball that was with the project.

So when I was about to run out of that yarn, I bound off, with a much smaller project than I intended, but it does fit perfectly on the table in our entry way. So I guess it all worked out after all. Eventually.

Any good projects on or recently off your needles? I’d love to hear about them!

Next Pattern:

Using your yarn stash is important to me throughout the year, but as I start to feel the end of the year coming on I get more excited about using things I already have in the house. Maybe that’s because I don’t want to go to a store in the thick of holiday shopping times, or I like the idea of having a little space in my stash when the new year rolls around.

It’s super satisfying to use up all the little odd balls you’ve made over the year (or years), and I have several stash busting blankets I work on when it’s cold and will maybe finish someday.

If you’d like to start a stash busting project that’s perfect for using up odd balls, check out the Soukish pattern from Neisha Abdulla. This pattern is made for fingering weight/sock yarn, and it’s worked in a tube with allover color work.

This is great for a couple of reasons. You don’t really have to weave in your ends when you can hide them in a tube (this is one time you might even get by just tying a knot when you change colors!) and you can change colors whenever you run out of yarn and it will look good.

Of course the pattern is made with blocks where the designer changed colors, but you can change yours more or less often as you need to make it work for your stash. You can use blank charts to design your own color combinations, or even your own stitch patterns if you like. You can also adjust the length of the scarf as needed or turn it into a cowl based on the amount of yarn you have.

This project looks like a lot of fun and would be a great thing to have on hand to stitch up and then to wear during the cold, gloomy months.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Neisha Abdulla]

Another Way to Use Up All Your Sock Yarn Scraps

Gather Your Scraps for a Fun Wrap

A Scrappy Shawl Knitting Pattern to Use All Your Odd Balls

Use All Your Yarn Scraps on This Great Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

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