When I got the idea to make five scrap yarn granny squares, I didn’t give much thought to the time that using what I have would take. Having completed a journey of a thousand rehabbed crochet squares in July of this year, I thought that I had the whole “using what you have” ethos down to an art, but it turns out that using what you have can have twists and turns that you might not anticipate.

One of the challenges I am facing is that between the yarn divestment I made in what I know thing of the “big move,” and the many bits of yarn I used in the thousand square rehab, I actually have less stuff that I did.

I still have a lot of stuff, but going into my garage is a lot less like going into a fully stocked yarn store than it used to be, so when I want a particular color, it’s no longer at my fingertips, it’s “somewhere” in a stack of plastic bins–or, even more challenging, in a cardboard box.

But despite this glitch, I am finding that “using what I have” challenges me in ways that “buying what I want” does not, and I am enjoying meeting that challenge, which is good, because as can be seen from this photo, I still have quite a way to go:

And even though I will not be using them stacked up like this, it does create an interesting visual effect:

One of the things I most enjoy about scrap yarn crochet is that the interplay of colors creates a sense of movement that is not easily achieved when using predetermined and more regular color changes, and it is that “movement” that I think sets scrap yarn crochet apart from more usual crochet, and until all five scrap yarn crochet cozies are done, I will move forward, one stitch at a time.