Absorba Rug in Red

"We have entirely too much stuff!", is a common refrain Paul hears from me once or twice per year.  I value a fairly minimal and uncluttered environment, so when I feel the scales tipping towards cluttered, I go on a streak of purging and organizing.  I have an easy time of purging with the exception of my crafting supplies.   I am sentimental about some stuff (vintage apron fabric scraps) and have entirely too many hobbies (knitting, sewing, beadworking, paper crafts) to be truly minimal in my "stuff".

I've tried to improve my purging skills throughout the years and rarely find that I have let go of something that I later regret.  But, that could be because most of my purging is done outside of my crafting stashes.  In lieu of getting rid of my stash by giving it away, I have recently started working through some projects that use up stash yarns.  I've been focusing on yarn that is stashed as a single or partial skein.  That is how this rug came to be.  I sorted my odd balls by color and realized I had enough of red/orange/pink yarns that I could make something sizeable.  And, with that, I made a variation on the Absorba rug!

I held together 5 or 6 strands that added up to a bulky weight yarn (approximately) and made one panel using the log cabin style.  Once it was the depth I needed, I picked up along one side and just kept knitting in garter stitch until the yarn ran out.  It isn't the most beautiful color design, but I didn't spend any money on it and I used up a chunk of my stash!

This area of our house needed a rug that would stay put and I wouldn't mind setting soggy boots on it.  It is a high traffic area, used by us and the pets.  The back door, the pantry and the pets' water bowl is all in that area.  The previous rug was too easy to fold over and scrunch up.  This one holds it own in terms of density and lack of preciousness.  I think the jumble of yarns will accept salty, snowy boot drippings without looking instantly stained and dirty.  Win from the stash!

Most of the pictures I took of the rug included at least 1 part of 1 pet.  I had to work hard to get those photo bombers out of the shots.  They like this area and they like it when I get low to the ground to take pictures.  The pantry area is where dinner and catnip come from, so that could have had something to do with it, too.  They need to stick close by in case something exciting happens.

Ravelry link to my project
Ravelry link to the pattern inspiration