Ugly Yarn Series, No. 2

Day 60: All too frequently, some new craft or method will capture my interest, leading me to purchase all the necessary equipment and extras only to find out that the art is not something I particularly like. Such was the case with "colour pooling," a crochet/knit technique which creates large patches of colour using space-dyed yarns with more distinct breaks between hues than is seen in standard ombres. That said, colour pooling also requires the needleworker to adjust the tension of the stitches in order to maintain a pattern. The inevitable result is that some stitches must be tighter or looser than others which, to me at least, looked like sloppy handiwork. I gave up colour pooling for a bad deal and was then stuck with some rather garish multicoloured Red Heart worsted ("Fiesta") specifically designed for the method. This particular yarn reminded me of something a hippie might have found underneath the seat of their van after a rock festival, and I had three skeins of it I needed to put to good use.

Witness Ugly Yarn series No. 2. Workers of sprang advise that you should never use "sticky" yarns for warp. Well, I did, and although it took a lot of wrangling and fussing, I managed to turn almost a full skein into a tightly woven sprang "project tote" (stuffed here with more of the same yarn). I knit the top border in 2 x 2 rib, and ran a spool-knit cord through the neck to make it into a drawstring bag. With plenty left over, I turned out a pair of nalbinding ankle warmers, again with 2 x 2 knit cuffs at either end. Just for giggles, I then set up my backstrap loom and wove an obviously sectional band to replace the old backstrap band which was about four inches too long. I still have a little over half a skein to use up, but I'm pleased with the way all three of these Ugly Yarn projects worked out.