Nuthin' But the Knittin'

Since I've strayed so widely from the whole point of this blog, I decided that today's installment will be about The Projects.

First, the biggie:

What you see here are the sleeves, back, and one front half. I still haven't decided how long to make this, but since my hands are killing me, the short (hip-length) version is getting more likely all the time. I really wanted this to be almost knee-length, but I don't think I can do it.

Here's a close-up of the cables and how terrific this yarn (wool/mohair blend from Brown Sheep) makes them look:

For those mindless TV-watching moments, I give you the Sock Yarn Blankie:

This was originally done by Shelly Kang, and the info is on her blog. After doing Summer of Socks '08, I had lots of little bits of sock yarn left over, so what else could I do but start my very own blankie?? There's a great group on Ravelry that does yarn swaps, so we trade all over the country for everyone else's leftovers. We even have swaps with new yarn, which has been great because I've gotten to fondle yarns from lots of indie dyers. Another nice thing about this project is that I'm in no rush to finish it. It will take a lot of little bits of yarn to make a good-sized blanket, and as time passes I'll get to add new, fresh yarns and colors. It's nice to be working on a project and feel no pressure to get it finished.

Of course, would I ever not be knitting socks?Click on the picture to make it bigger so you can get a better idea of the colors and textures:

The yarn on the left is from Creatively Dyed Yarns. It's Calypso yarn in the color Barbuda. She has an overabundance of fabulous colors, and this photo does not do it justice. I've also read that her yarn base is the same as the elusive Wollmeise yarn, so I wanted to try it. It's very different from "normal" sock yarn. It feels almost like cotton, and is made up of about eight verrrry fine plies. That makes it a little splitty to work with, but the knitted fabric feels wonderful.

On the right is Numma Numma Toasty in Blackberry Jam. My skein is much darker than the website shows, and again, the picture doesn't do it justice. It's the most mouthwatering color I've ever used, and the yarn is soft, squishy, and a total delight to work with. It's my new favorite yarn. Unfortunately, it's hard to get hold of, but I happened to snag some at The Loopy Ewe a couple of months back.

Speaking of socks, I won a contest! I get to pick out a skein of Mathieu's manly hand-dyed yarn. How cool is that? I mean, I'd hate to run out of sock yarn!

So that's what's going on here, besides the Great Sewing/Stash/Weaving/Knitting/Quilting Room(s) Clean-Up. I hope to have pictures that show clean and organized rooms soon.

It was a beautiful day today, so I planted some yellow violas around Emmy-cat's little gravesite. I still can't quite believe she's gone, but I'm getting used to it. That makes me sad too.

Vacation!

My stay-at-home vacation started today, though I've been considering myself on vacation since I got home from work on Friday. No, I haven't tackled the basement yet, but I intend to work on that later this week. In the meantime, I have a tiny problem.

I can't lift my arms.

One of the plans for the week was to start doing regular exercise, whether by going to ballet class, joining a club, or working out at home. I've gone too long without any exercise at all to jump back in to ballet class, so I thought I'd better get a few workouts in first. I checked in at Curves, and they're having a special this month, and the lady said I could come and try it this week. So I thought I would do that tomorrow. Today, however, I finally grabbed my exercise ball, stuck the DVD in the player, and did my own at-home workout.

That was two hours ago, and I can hardly raise my arms above my waist. The exercises didn't feel that hard while I was doing them (though I did feel hideously clumsy--trying to drape myself over the ball without falling off was a hoot. Probably I really hurt my arms from flailing them in vain attempts to keep from sprawling on the floor. The cats were clearly baffled by the whole ugly scene.) Anyway, the pain didn't set in until about  half an hour ago. Which is a more holistic treatment--a pain pill or a shot of Old Crow? Pain pills have fewer calories, which is a consideration.

The really bad part of this is that I had a violin lesson scheduled for this afternoon. I was so embarrassed to call and cancel only an hour beforehand, but I have a wonderful teacher. She started laughing and said, "Oh, I did that once. I had to call in to the XXX Symphony (a fairly large orchestra) and tell them I couldn't play because I'd done a workout and couldn't move my arms. I was tempted to lie and tell them I had the measles or something--anything but the truth." So we had a good laugh, and she was totally cool with it. THEN she told me she'll be in China next week, playing with the orchestra for the Olympics! How cool is that? Bet she doesn't do any workouts between now and then...

So I obviously can't clean the basement today, which leaves me doing more of what I've been doing since Friday afternoon: cleaning the sewing/weaving/stash room, knitting, loading my iPod, knitting, adding to my Ravelry queue, knitting, winding yarn balls, and knitting. Obviously, I have a short attention span.

Since I have to set up the swift and ball winder on the dining room table, I'm trying to get all my skeins wound and stored neatly. I pulled out the bags and boxes of random yarn items--leftover bits, odd skeins, acrylic, novelty yarn from the scarf craze a few years back--and have decided what to keep, what to give to the Knitting Guild for community projects, and what to throw away. I've kept some yarns for small projects, but a lot of it is going to the guild. They do hats and mittens and lap ropes and such, so they'll make good use of it, I'm sure. And I didn't give them crap yarn, so I feel virtuous.

I didn't realize how much laceweight yarn I have, and that's what remains to be wound. I'm not looking forward to it, especially after the 2500-yard skein I wound the other day. I thought it would NEVER end. (But now I'm looking for the perfect shawl pattern for it. That's where Ravelry comes in. I've seen pictures of some breathtaking shawls, so I'll have to go through all my "favorited" items and see what calls to me.) And once I get all this yarn wound, I'm going to "repurpose" the clear storage bins hubby bought for the basement last week. Heck, we can use cardboard boxes down there. I need to see my yarn! I just need to get them up here before he comes home and sees me doing it. I hope I can carry them. Heck--I hope I can walk down the stairs and back up again!

I'm still plugging along (sort of ) with SOS. After I started digging through all the yarn, and figuring out how many projects I have planned, I decided that the priority list needed revamped. It's not an official List yet, because I'm still sorting, but by the end of my vacation week, I hope to have a better idea of what I really want to do.

Moving my arms will be high on the list, I'm sure.

The List: #2

Since I've completely abandoned the idea of no more yarn purchases (that didn't last long, did it?) I'm updating The List to reflect what I really want to get done sometime soon. At least this year would be nice. And I've been thinking about whether I want to be more concerned with The Stash, or focus on The Finishing.

The funny thing is that on one of my Yahoo groups (Spindilitis) there's been quite the discussion this week about stashing, and both sides of the situation have been presented. Most people who contributed confessed that they had tons of fiber to spin, but felt no guilt at all. The reasons varied: some feel like they might as well buy now because they might not be able to afford what they love in the future. Some just feel like it's no big deal--this is what they do, so why shouldn't they stash to their hearts' content? And some don't think too deeply about it, they just do it!

A couple of people ventured different views. I can relate to the opinion that having too much stash can weigh you down. You know it's there, and you feel pressured to use it. Someone mentioned that it's similar to any other type of clutter one would have stored in the house. It can clutter your mind as well (like the unused clothes and books that I keep meaning to drop off to Goodwill.) I think the trend toward simplicity is beginning to touch more and more people, and having a huge unused stash of yarn, fabric, fiber, or whatever can make us feel burdened.

So I'm trying to tread the middle ground. I can tell that I'll always be tempted by new yarns and patterns, so I'm not really going to stop buying as I promised in my first post. But I also am going to be aware that I may not always love knitting and spinning the way I do now. I have two giant shelf units full of quilt fabric and dozens of cross-stitch patterns that are sitting here untouched, but I was as passionate about quilting and cross-stitching at one point as I am about knitting now. I'm not quite ready to part with that section of stash yet, so I want to keep working on some of those UFOs as well as knitting.

Anyway, without further ado, here's The Second List:

1. Dale of Norway sweater
2. Pink lace scarf
3. Crayon Box Jacket
4. Laurel Leaves Quilt
5. Waterlilies needlepoint
6. Pink Tofutsies socks
7. Merino yarn to be plied
8. Weeping Tree Sampler cross-stitch
9. Baby sweater in Linen Isle
10. Spin Walnut-dyed fleece
11. Spin angora blend from Fuzzarelly Fibers

Most of these were on the First List, but I've dropped a couple and added a couple. I want to have a spinning project going, and the cross-stitch piece is so near to being done that I really want to wrap it up. Several of these projects are close to finished, but there are some biggies as well, so it's kind of balanced.

Now, here's the thing: I also signed up for the Summer of Socks contest, as I wrote a few posts back. So starting June 21, that's what I'll be working on pretty much all of the time. A couple more balls of sock yarn have found their way into the pile. I think I'm up to 26 now. I don't know if my hands can take only knitting, so I may keep the Arbitrary Baseball Rule in force. (I haven't gotten to use it much recently, as the Reds have been playing on the West Coast all week, so the games come on at 10PM here. That's a bit too late for me!) But, seeing as it's a Friday, I might just go flip on the radio and settle in for some stitching. Let's see--they're away, so I think the Rule says I work on the Laurel Leaves quilt. That's a switch from all the knitting!

The List: #2

Since I've completely abandoned the idea of no more yarn purchases (that didn't last long, did it?) I'm updating The List to reflect what I really want to get done sometime soon. At least this year would be nice. And I've been thinking about whether I want to be more concerned with The Stash, or focus on The Finishing.

The funny thing is that on one of my Yahoo groups (Spindilitis) there's been quite the discussion this week about stashing, and both sides of the situation have been presented. Most people who contributed confessed that they had tons of fiber to spin, but felt no guilt at all. The reasons varied: some feel like they might as well buy now because they might not be able to afford what they love in the future. Some just feel like it's no big deal--this is what they do, so why shouldn't they stash to their hearts' content? And some don't think too deeply about it, they just do it!

A couple of people ventured different views. I can relate to the opinion that having too much stash can weigh you down. You know it's there, and you feel pressured to use it. Someone mentioned that it's similar to any other type of clutter one would have stored in the house. It can clutter your mind as well (like the unused clothes and books that I keep meaning to drop off to Goodwill.) I think the trend toward simplicity is beginning to touch more and more people, and having a huge unused stash of yarn, fabric, fiber, or whatever can make us feel burdened.

So I'm trying to tread the middle ground. I can tell that I'll always be tempted by new yarns and patterns, so I'm not really going to stop buying as I promised in my first post. But I also am going to be aware that I may not always love knitting and spinning the way I do now. I have two giant shelf units full of quilt fabric and dozens of cross-stitch patterns that are sitting here untouched, but I was as passionate about quilting and cross-stitching at one point as I am about knitting now. I'm not quite ready to part with that section of stash yet, so I want to keep working on some of those UFOs as well as knitting.

Anyway, without further ado, here's The Second List:

1. Dale of Norway sweater
2. Pink lace scarf
3. Crayon Box Jacket
4. Laurel Leaves Quilt
5. Waterlilies needlepoint
6. Pink Tofutsies socks Done!
7. Merino yarn to be plied
8. Weeping Tree Sampler cross-stitch
9. Baby sweater in Linen Isle Done!
10. Spin Walnut-dyed fleece
11. Spin angora blend from Fuzzarelly Fibers Done!

Most of these were on the First List, but I've dropped a couple and added a couple. I want to have a spinning project going, and the cross-stitch piece is so near to being done that I really want to wrap it up. Several of these projects are close to finished, but there are some biggies as well, so it's kind of balanced.

Now, here's the thing: I also signed up for the Summer of Socks contest, as I wrote a few posts back. So starting June 21, that's what I'll be working on pretty much all of the time. A couple more balls of sock yarn have found their way into the pile. I think I'm up to 26 now. I don't know if my hands can take only knitting, so I may keep the Arbitrary Baseball Rule in force. (I haven't gotten to use it much recently, as the Reds have been playing on the West Coast all week, so the games come on at 10PM here. That's a bit too late for me!) But, seeing as it's a Friday, I might just go flip on the radio and settle in for some stitching. Let's see--they're away, so I think the Rule says I work on the Laurel Leaves quilt. That's a switch from all the knitting!

Beside the chair...

Ok, no photos yet, but I'll start with a list of the projects piled around my chair in the living room. This will be kind of like an archaeological dig, because the newest stuff is on top. I don't know what's on the bottom. Ooooh, this could be exciting!

1. The Last Purchase yellow variegated Panda Silk sock yarn. Not started.

2. Two skeins of Katia Mississippi 3 for socks. Lovely lavender shade. Not started. Done!

3. Two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted for socks. Even more lovely pinkish-purple color, with the hand-dyed shading in the skein. Yummm. Not started.

4. Chris Bylsma Crayon Box Jacket. This was started with Poems and Sonnet, from Wisdom Yarns. They're both variegated, with shades running from deep rose through pinkish-purple, to dark lavender (do we see a common theme forming?) The original pattern calls for all sorts of novelty and accent yarns, but I wanted mine to be more sedate. And pinkish-purple. Part of the front done.

5. Plymouth Yarn Lacey Shrug pattern, started with Encore Colors. Variegated shades of gray and, um, pinkish-purple. (This is a little embarrassing.) About halfway done. Done!

6. Novelty yarn for a scarf. One skein of Crystal Palace Fling, and one skein of Trendsetter Antico. The main colors are pale yellow, pink, and...never mind. Not started.

7. Yarn and pattern by Debby Ware: Baby Beret in pink, cream, yellow, and green. Not started.

8. Pale blue variegated Panda Wool socks. First sock is done, and second is well along. Done!

9. A gorgeous lace scarf in Rowan Kidsilk Haze in a deep, glowing rose. This is intended as a gift. (Though the last time I knitted a scarf for someone, she died two weeks later. Maybe that's why I haven't finished this one, because it really is lovely and the yarn is a joy to work with, but I also really love the friend for whom it's intended. I don't want to be the Scarf-Giving Harbinger of Death.) It's about 1/3 done.

10. One skein of Phildar Phil Luxe that I think I was going to use for baby socks. Soft, buttery yellows. Not started.

11. A box of applique quilt pieces that I'm basting to freezer paper so I can sew them to the background. The pattern is "Laurel Leaves" and there are about a billion leaves to do. Started, and a looooooonnnnnng way from being done.

12-14.Three of the set of four "Petite Exemplary" cross-stitch designs by Ewe & Eye & Friends. Luckily, these are less than two inches square. One is almost done, two aren't started. Done!

15. "Forever Hearts" cross-stitch design by Ewe & Eye & Friends. About 1/3 done.

16. A knitted baby skirt made with Cascade 220 and Fling novelty yarn. Deep pink. (Did I mention that we have a grandbaby living with us?) About 1/2 done.

17-19. Three skeins of Trekking XXL sock yarn: one in deep pumpkin, one in a brighter orange, and one in a sort of burgundy/raspberry. All are variegated. None started.

20.Yarn for another novelty scarf: Fling in deep teal, and Safari in variegated teals. Not started. Done!

21 & 22. Two skeins of Tofutsies yarn for socks: one rose/pink/beige variegated and one purple variegated. (You knew there had to be more purple in the pile, didn't you?) Not started.

23. Pink Sheep in the Shop wool scarf. Halfway done. Done!

24. Elizabeth Bradley Needlepoint kit. This is the "Waterlilies" pattern from the "Forget-Me-Nots" series. There are four squares in the series, and you can put them together with the border kits to make a rug. About 2 1/2 inches done on a 16-inch square.

25. Almost-finished (yay!) baby coat from a Debbie Bliss pattern. It's RED, hahaha!! And it's all knitted. I WILL finish it two weeks from today because I'm taking it as my project for a class on finishing knitted clothing. So it's really done. Sort of. Done!

26. Last but not least, another novelty yarn scarf out of Fling and Flutter in light teal. About 1/3 done. Done!

27. No, wait! I forgot! (How could I? It's sitting right in front of me!) I'm plying two mill-spun singles of merino to make a uber-fine shawl yarn. Plans are to play around with dying some of the skeins and selling them. I have plenty: four cones at around 10,000 yards each of the mill-spun. I'm not even thinking about how far from done this project is.

Whew. And that's just downstairs within reach. It's interesting to see the stopping point on these--most are 1/2 to 1/3 done. So I think I'll try to finish some things, starting with the half-finished, then moving on to the 1/3 done projects. It helps to list all of this because I can see exactly what needs done, instead of just a huge pile. But what about the long-term projects, like the needlepoint and the quilt? And those aren't the only ones I've got going. More on how to deal with them later.

If you've read the first comment on the first post, you'll see that there is a viper in the nest. The aforementioned returning chick is a knitter. And an enabler. Maybe if I toss her some alpaca now and then it will shut her up.

Beside the chair...

Ok, no photos yet, but I'll start with a list of the projects piled around my chair in the living room. This will be kind of like an archaeological dig, because the newest stuff is on top. I don't know what's on the bottom. Ooooh, this could be exciting!
1. The Last Purchase yellow variegated Panda Silk sock yarn. Not started.
2. Two skeins of Katia Mississippi 3 for socks. Lovely lavender shade. Not started. Done!
3. Two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted for socks. Even more lovely pinkish-purple color, with the hand-dyed shading in the skein. Yummm. Not started. Done!
4. Chris Bylsma Crayon Box Jacket. This was started with Poems and Sonnet, from Wisdom Yarns. They're both variegated, with shades running from deep rose through pinkish-purple, to dark lavender (do we see a common theme forming?) The original pattern calls for all sorts of novelty and accent yarns, but I wanted mine to be more sedate. And pinkish-purple. Part of the front done.
5. Plymouth Yarn Lacey Shrug pattern, started with Encore Colors. Variegated shades of gray and, um, pinkish-purple. (This is a little embarrassing.) About halfway done. Done!
6. Novelty yarn for a scarf. One skein of Crystal Palace Fling, and one skein of Trendsetter Antico. The main colors are pale yellow, pink, and...never mind. Not started.
7. Yarn and pattern by Debby Ware: Baby Beret in pink, cream, yellow, and green. Not started.
8. Pale blue variegated Panda Wool socks. First sock is done, and second is well along. Done!
9. A gorgeous lace scarf in Rowan Kidsilk Haze in a deep, glowing rose. This is intended as a gift. (Though the last time I knitted a scarf for someone, she died two weeks later. Maybe that's why I haven't finished this one, because it really is lovely and the yarn is a joy to work with, but I also really love the friend for whom it's intended. I don't want to be the Scarf-Giving Harbinger of Death.) It's about 1/3 done Done!
10. One skein of Phildar Phil Luxe that I think I was going to use for baby socks. Soft, buttery yellows. Not started.
11. A box of applique quilt pieces that I'm basting to freezer paper so I can sew them to the background. The pattern is "Laurel Leaves" and there are about a billion leaves to do. Started, and a looooooonnnnnng way from being done.
12-14.Three of the set of four "Petite Exemplary" cross-stitch designs by Ewe & Eye & Friends. Luckily, these are less than two inches square. One is almost done, two aren't started. Done!
15. "Forever Hearts" cross-stitch design by Ewe & Eye & Friends. About 1/3 done. Done!
 16. A knitted baby skirt made with Cascade 220 and Fling novelty yarn. Deep pink. (Did I mention that we have a grandbaby living with us?) About 1/2 done.
17-19. Three skeins of Trekking XXL sock yarn: one in deep pumpkin, one in a brighter orange, and one in a sort of burgundy/raspberry. All are variegated. None started.
20.Yarn for another novelty scarf: Fling in deep teal, and Safari in variegated teals. Not started. Done!
21 & 22. Two skeins of Tofutsies yarn for socks: one rose/pink/beige variegated and one purple variegated. (You knew there had to be more purple in the pile, didn't you?) Not started. Done!
23. Pink Sheep in the Shop wool scarf. Halfway done. Done!
24. Elizabeth Bradley Needlepoint kit. This is the "Waterlilies" pattern from the "Forget-Me-Nots" series. There are four squares in the series, and you can put them together with the border kits to make a rug. About 2 1/2 inches done on a 16-inch square.
25. Almost-finished (yay!) baby coat from a Debbie Bliss pattern. It's RED, hahaha!! And it's all knitted. I WILL finish it two weeks from today because I'm taking it as my project for a class on finishing knitted clothing. So it's really done. Sort of. Done!
26. Last but not least, another novelty yarn scarf out of Fling and Flutter in light teal. About 1/3 done. Done!
 27. No, wait! I forgot! (How could I? It's sitting right in front of me!) I'm plying two mill-spun singles of merino to make a uber-fine shawl yarn. Plans are to play around with dying some of the skeins and selling them. I have plenty: four cones at around 10,000 yards each of the mill-spun. I'm not even thinking about how far from done this project is.
Whew. And that's just downstairs within reach. It's interesting to see the stopping point on these--most are 1/2 to 1/3 done. So I think I'll try to finish some things, starting with the half-finished, then moving on to the 1/3 done projects. It helps to list all of this because I can see exactly what needs done, instead of just a huge pile. But what about the long-term projects, like the needlepoint and the quilt? And those aren't the only ones I've got going. More on how to deal with them later.
If you've read the first comment on the first post, you'll see that there is a viper in the nest. The aforementioned returning chick is a knitter. And an enabler. Maybe if I toss her some alpaca now and then it will shut her up.