Yesterday when our order of Malabrigo Rasta arrived, I was doing ok. I didn’t even open the bags. Our staff put out the boxes at 10% off, and people started coming through the door and rummaging through the boxes. Then Marsha came in. She started making a pile. She said that she likes to keep the Rasta in her stash for emergency knitting projects. She had recently been told that she was attending someone’s birthday party and needed a fast gift. Rasta could be worked up into a scarf in just a couple of hours. She said it was “stockpiling” (since that word sounds so much better than “hoarding.”) Those of you who know me well, know that I am the polar opposite of a hoarder. The same anxiety that causes someone to hoard is what causes me to purge. I can’t keep things. If something has been around for too long and I have forgotten that it exists, it gets pitched. Then later I will regret having tossed or donated the item, but the need to purge is strong. So for me, “stockpiling” Rasta has never occurred to me. But Marsha has a point…I am often in a situation where I wish I had something pretty and superbulky to work up fast for a gift. Since the Rasta never sticks around for more than a few days, Marsha got me to “stockpile.” I have made myself quite a pile in my red cube…so much so that my purse doesn’t fit in there this morning. I know that much of this will end up back out. Or someone will come in desperate for a hank and I will give up one of my squirreled away hanks…but it is a nice start to my “stockpile.” This is why we keep that Marsha around. She is a smart lady.

So this pile of Rasta got me to thinking…what else can I do with one hank of Rasta on the fly for a gifty? Certainly, no one needs to knit more Marion Cowls. Here were some ideas:

For Baby – Shrug Bug

Paid Ravelry download

Photo by Gina Bonomo

For adult hands – Super Funky Bulky Mitts

Available as a free Ravelry download

Photo courtesy of Amy Swenson

For adult neck – Cozy Cabled Cowl

Available as a free download on Ravelry

Photo courtesy of Amber Adrington

For Baby’s Head – Lele Baby Hat

Available for free on Ravelry

Photo courtesy of Vania Jenny

For adult head – Speedy Cabled Beret

Available as a free download on Ravelry

Photo courtesy of Paulina Chin

So then part of me wants to grab a bunch of the black and knit this from Teva Durham’s new book…but I don’t think that will fit in my cube.

Photo from Loop-d-Loop Lace