The blanket may have been done, but that was far too much yarn to throw away

"Mazel tov! It’s a boy!” My mother was breathless on the phone, no doubt racing between calls from one family member to another. Baruch Hashem, my sister had welcomed another baby.

And I, the proud tante, had a night activity planned.

I Googled Michael’s to see how late they were open, then grabbed my sketch book from the desk. About 30 inches wide, 36 inches tall… If I started with a chain of 95 and made a shell pattern, it should come along nicely.

With the dimensions in hand, I headed to the craft shop and straight to the yarn aisle. Sandra, the floor manager, greeted me by name.

“What are you working on now?” she asked.

“A blanket. My sister had a baby boy, thank G-d.” I showed her the pattern in mind.

“How about this yarn?” She pulled a velvet green skein off the shelf. “It’s a five gauge, so it will build up quickly but not be too thick. And just feel how soft it is!”

“It’s perfect,” I agreed, and grabbed a few bundles from the shelf. Eight skeins should do it. And they did. A few days later, I tied off the last stitch on the blanket and reached for the small pair of sewing scissors.

With a quiet snip, the length of soft green yarn split into two. I held up the blanket by the corners to admire the hours of careful crocheting. Then I folded it in a neat pile and made a mental note to ship it off.

My sister would be thrilled when she saw the blanket. I, however, wasn’t thrilled when I looked down on the floor and saw the remaining bundle of yarn, now half-a-skein skinnier, but still present in a lump on the floor.

The blanket may have been done, but that was far too much yarn to throw away. And it was so pretty! So soft! I couldn’t let it go to waste.

So after I shipped the blanket to my sister, I commenced a new project: Operation Finish the Skein. I sketched a new pattern, for a small throw pillow this time, and returned to my spot on the couch with a cup of tea steaming on the coffee table and a mess of yarn pooling at my feet.

In and out, I stitched the floral pattern. Until, at last, Operation Finish the Skein was complete. The green yarn was all finished.

But the pillow wasn’t.

With a sigh, I headed back to Michael’s.