Linsey-woolsey – that’s the word for today from the Wordsmith. The words this week are related to fabrics but are often used metaphorically. As fibre artists we are familiar with this word but we don’t get to use it very much, at least I don’t. Two definitions are given by the Wordsmith.
linsey-woolsey (LIN-zee WOOL-zee) noun
1. A strong, coarse fabric of wool and cotton.
2. An incongruous mix.
[From Middle English linsey (linen, or from Lindsey, a village in Suffolk,
UK) + woolsey (a rhyming compound of wool).]
There’s something rather nice about this word. There is a connection between this word and what I had planned to write about today, namely, my STASH. Or rather I should say STASHES – a stash of yarn, and a stash of odd knitted and crocheted pieces. Both stashes would fit the 2nd definition of Lindsey-woolsey – an incongruous mix. I have started taking photographs of my stashes in anticipation of receiving my invitation from Ravelry. After all, I am only number 3000 (approx.) on the waiting list.
My latest project, in a series of stash reduction projects, is labelled Eccentric Blanket. Here is my progress to date. So far this project has not involved any new knitting. The stash I am reducing is my stash of curious shapes. 
From this “lindsey-woolsey” (definition 2) I am constructing an Eccentric Piece 
Eccentric Piece, Sept. 17, 2007
Now, if you look closely you can identify: granny squares of varying sizes, knitting samples from Alison Ellen’s knitting course at the Association Summer School in Chester 2 years ago, the odd scarf or 2, spirals as given in Debbie New’s book Unexpected Knitting, a sample from a class given by Debbie New in Mull 3 years ago, lace knitting from an online knit along project, a swatch from Noro yarn, and more. It is growing like topsy – the aim is to finish with an approximately square blanket. So far I have just been hand stitching these samples together. We’ll see if later I have to knit specific sizes to fill the gaps.
Janet's thread 
I think it looks quite interesting. I’ve often thought about doing that with my various knitting swatches. Maybe I’ll add this to my ‘things to do someday’ list!
I think I found another fan of Debbie New here?:)) though I tend to unravel my samples – or work scarves etc. out of them immediately (and give them away just as quickly!) I am already in ravelry – but found no time yet to either browse or put something on my self…. I am not too sure that taking account of my stash gets me anywhere near to reducing it – rather the opposite as it takes time to list everything? and if I have to drag out all my UFO’s – how long will that take me? I do like your “words” though – not being english (or irish) means that this kind of expression is usually new to me! I’d have used something like roleypoley or hotchpotch for my stash:))
Yes I am a great fan of Debbie New. She was part of the group on Mull 3 summers ago, and her workshops were so interesting. I have her book Unexpected Knitting and I refer to it a lot.
Stopping in – by way of Leigh’s Fiber journal- and wanted to tell you that I like your incongrous construction/ Eccentric Piece! It will make a beautiful blanket!
I actually saw a true piece of Linsey-woolsey this past summer (during a workshop)..it was nothing what I thought it would look like, or feel like!
My grandmother told me that her grandmother,Julia Crockett Roberts, who lived on the Cumberland River outside of Nashville, Tennessee used to weave Lindsey-woolsey. She would weave this cloth on her loom and send bolts of this fabric to my great-grandmother, her daughter and her eight children, who lived on the Texas prairie.
I’m still not real sure what this fabric was except it was wool and probably cotton. Was this fabric in common use during the late 1890s? Was it a winter fabric? Was it used for over coats or what?