yarn mountain and ripple progress

This past weekend I went to visit my parents, and they had procured for me two large black trash bags full of yarn that someone had left at their church.  Naturally, I was ecstatic about that much free yarn:

by the way, my new favorite color is chartreuse, as you might can tell from my lovely hoodie

there’s even more yarn on the couch that I forgot to put on the floor for the picture

This vast amount of yarn was then sorted into four kitchen-size trash bags: two for Red Heart, one for Caron Simply Soft, and one for everything else.  I left the bags in my car after returning home, thinking I’d get my muscle-y boyfriend to help me lug them inside later.

Two days later, I was at my internship helping to lead a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy group for people with borderline personality disorder and/or PTSD, and I noticed one of the clients had a lovely crocheted baby blanket in her baby’s stroller.  When I asked about it, she confirmed that she had made it herself, and that it was the only crocheted item that had survived a recent house fire.  Another client, who has said nothing in our groups for 3 weeks, stated that she knits on a loom herself.  I offered to these ladies the yarn that was still bagged up and sitting in the back seat of my car, and they were incredibly happy with the sheer amount of yarn.  They rummaged through the bags, picking the colors and brands they wanted, leaving me with almost nothing left.

I had intended to use this yarn myself for charity projects, but I think that giving it to these lovely ladies, who have no money to buy even the cheapest yarn themselves, was a great thing, especially since it got the previously silent woman to come out of her shell a little bit.  Crocheting/knitting is actually an excellent mindfulness activity, which is something we focus on in our DBT groups because it works so well at helping people with BPD/PTSD.  Sharing with these women made me feel all warm inside, despite the cold temperature of the parking lot in which we stood, parceling out the yarn.  I love to share the joys of yarn crafts, and helping the less fortunate is a great feeling, don’t you think?

As far as my own crocheting, I have progress to share on ripple #2:

it may look bigger than it actually is — that Ikea couch is more like a loveseat

I’ve used each of the 17 colors three times, and so far I’ve managed to keep from letting the same colors touch more than once.  I’m thinking that, if I stopped here, I’d have enough yarn for a second, identical blanket.  I’ve ordered two more skeins of the lavender shade to make a nice thick border.  However, I think I want this blanket to be a little longer so that I can stretch out completely underneath it, so I’m not sure what I will do with all the leftovers I will have.  I’ll have to search through Ravelry to find some good patterns for DK yarn.

What would you use acrylic DK yarn for?