There has been some knitting going on

Despite the near-endless family drama, televised debates to scream at, and many blogs to read, I actually have been doing what this blog is supposed to be about: knitting.

I know. I'm shocked too.

Those 14 balls of yarn from a few weeks ago? I made a bowl and a box from nine of them.

The last five got turned into this delightful little thing:

It's a bag, big enough to hold my netbook, my lunch, my knitting and maybe a book. Just the thing that a girl on the go needs for a long day away from home.

Pattern: Felted Bag with Mitered Squares (creative, no?). Modifications can be found, as usual, on my Ravelry project page.

The best part is, I now have a tiny bit of room in the china cabinet. I may (ya think?) fill it with some new yarn.

Spring cleaning

This yarn has been sitting in the stash for four years. I bought it my first winter here in Chez Peepee, when I was broke, lonely, miserable at work and completely overwhelmed: It's time to get it out of here. I cast on for a basket, and now this is what is left, and the rest is disappearing in a hurry: I fancy a new spring handbag. That dark pink will do nicely.

Tossing the stash

Last week, when it was time to start another pair of bar and bus socks, I had a good look at the china cabinet.

It was time for a decent sort. I had been stuffing things in willynilly for months.

My instincts were wrong, when I thought that I didn't have any sock yarn:

I also have a little bit of lace yarn. I should get cracking on some of those shawls in my favourites:

Now that things are organized, or as much as it will be until I find some new baskets, I am inspired. I can't wait to get going on some things. Some things that I've been thinking about making for years. Isn't it amazing what you don't notice because you see it every day?

My aim is to knit up a lot of the stuff on the left. Some of it was purchased when I was married (10 years ago, ouch!). Gotta make room for those new baskets I'm dreaming about.

I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque

On Monday night, after posting about wanting to knit a vest, I sat down to knit a swatch.

I grabbed some yarn that had been sitting in the stash for a while (I can't believe I just ganked my own photo; it was just easier) and some needles.

I got 22 stitches and 28 rows to 4 inches. Perfect... for something.

During the next commercial break, I grabbed the binder where I keep all the patterns I've printed/photocopied (legally, of course) and found...

A sweater.


source

Yes, I know. I was all about the vests. But, I have a sweater's worth of yarn, I need a new cardigan, and the gauge was perfect. Really, I cannot stress that enough. THE GAUGE WAS PERFECT.

So, I'm making a Basic Black (pdf link), but mine will be Basic Pink (Ravelry link).

It's a deliciously easy knit. I cast on last night at Knit Night, and blasted on through an inch of ribbing while visiting. Got the other three inches done on the bus and at work today (I felt like slacking. So what?).

It's good that it's an easy knit. I found out an hour ago that I qualified for my exam. It's in 10 days. I have not started studying. I will knit while I am reading. I promise. About the reading. Harry Potter is on hold.

Here's the carrot

Once I figured out that I was in the mood to tidy, organize and finish some stuff around here, I promised myself there would be no new yarn purchases.

New yarn would be my reward for having an empty WIP basket and a cleaner, tidier home. And, I was feeling very, very strongly about that resolution.

Until last Saturday. I was working at my lys, and some new product caught my eye.

I was mature, I was responsible, and I did not bring it home with me. I did pet it for a while, though.

But I continued thinking about those delicious colours, the lovely sproinginess. I have a pattern in my queue that is just waiting for the perfect heavy lace weight or light sock yarn in a semi-solid. It will be my next project when my WIP basket is empty.

Last night, when I was at the shop again, and with a few glasses of wine under my belt, my resolve faltered.

Not one, not two, not three, but four new skeins fell into my shopping bag and came home with me:

I am a weak, weak person. I wonder where that stick is, now.

Catnip

I don't know what was so attractive about the yarn I purchased this week, but someone sure was interested in it.

I had to put it away before Parker suffocated. Or shed on the cashmere and llama. Really, I'm not sure which would have been worse.

Yarn therapy

What a sucktastic day.

It started out OK, but in the afternoon, it all went downhill. I started working on my assignment, only to discover that apparently, I know nothing about IT strategic decision-making (no big surprise there, but I thought I would at least be able to bull-shit about something).

Then I discovered that the online discussion that I thought began next week actually begins tomorrow. There are all ready 25 posts, and I haven't even read the material.

But wait! It gets better. I left the office at 5:40, intending to catch the 5:50 bus downtown. Plenty of time. I was standing at the light, waiting to cross, at 5:46, when the bus went flying down the street. Didn't even have a chance to wave (not that the driver would have seen me).

The next bus came at 6:36. That's right, a 50 minute wait. I phoned transit, and spoke to a real live person, and she said there was a general 19 minute delay (Umn, 5:46 to 6:36 is a wee bit more than 19 minutes. Math. Ur doin it rong!).

The thing that chaps my ass is that the website, which I shut down at about 5:38, said nothing about a delay. Also, if I had been walking, I would have been where I wanted to be on time, instead of just getting downtown.

From downtown, I walked, because there were no buses in sight, and my feet hadn't even barely begun to thaw. A bus stopped, just as I was crossing the street where I would have gotten off (I resisted the urge to flip the driver the bird. 'Cuz I'm nice that way.)

That's right, in Winnipeg, where wind chills regularly hit below 40 degrees C, one is better off walking.

You can bet your bottom dollar that I will be blasting the transit supervisor when my complaint call is returned.

So, when I finally got to knit night, I indulged in some yarn therapy. Two sweaters worth of Malabrigo worsted (in Strawberry Fields) and Manos. Clearly, I need the warm clothing, if I am going to continue being environmentally conscious and, well, cheap.

Screw you, Winnipeg Transit! I'm going to be at home, knitting, until spring, and then I will ride my bike!

A little help with the stash tossing

Saturday night...

Parker (aka Fat Boy)

Sunday morning...

Scout (aka Old Man)

Rock 'n' Roll Party Queen

That song was the B-side on my 45 of Summer Nights from Grease. It was the dance scene, just before Danny walks in with his skanky date. Love it (yes, I'm old enough to have caught the tail-end of records. I also have a 45 of Flashdance (What a Feeling) by Irene Cara and Down Under from Men at Work. Still love both those songs as well).

Anyway, I’m taking a break from de-cluttering and organizing the Basement of Doom, ™ and instead, having a stab at another project that’s been bothering me (Yet another exciting Saturday night, that’s for sure).

Yup, I’m tidying up the stash, attempting to corral it into one room, and sort through the scraps. I don’t think I have ever thrown out a scrap of yarn or a ball band. I found an envelope of ball bands and scraps from 15 years ago (now, if I could only find the photos, because I know I have those, too).

Sheesh. I know I do not need the three meters of alpaca left over from my nieces’ first Christmas sweaters (especially since I have a whole extra skein), but somehow, I cannot bring myself to throw it in the garbage.

Then there’s the half-completed fingerless glove from some leftover Freedom Spirit. I’m not sure I even see the point of fingerless gloves, but it seemed to be all the rage, and I had enough yarn.

Also in the pile is a nearly completed sock (only about the fourth or so pair I ever started). I broke a needle (2 mm Ebay needles from Hong Kong) when I was flying back from Toronto a couple years ago, and it’s been sitting there, in a baggie, ever since.

I could go on, but instead, I’ll just post some photos.

The tidy part of the stash. Granny's china is still in the basement, and is likely to remain there until I knit some of this stuff up. No real order, except 50 g balls / skeins are on the top shelf and 100 g balls / skeins are on the bottom. The wicker basket is laceweight. The metal basket is odds and ends, mostly sock yarn. Note the handspun (mine!) on the tray. It's sucktastic, but I love it.

Bits and bobs, mostly sock yarn, destined for Noricum. She's making a sock yarn blanket and is gratefully accepting donations. Though, now that I see all that, I kind of want a sock yarn blanket of my own. I'm going to struggle with this, I can tell.Works in progress, loosely. Some of this stuff has been in progress since 2003.Needles, ball bands, more scraps. Really. How much china could I get into this thing if I got rid of all the crap? I've got some really nice china. And pottery.

It took me three hours today to buy some groceries and other miscellaneous things (including camera batteries to take the above photos) and pick up two prescriptions. I'd really like to make Christmas just another long weekend. That way the stores would only be insane for the week prior, not two freaking months.

I couldn't resist, any longer

Most of you know that I work the occasional Saturday in a yarn shop. I do this in exchange for yarn. It's a deal that works well.

I had let my credit build up for a bit, 'cuz I was trying to be mature and not get everything I liked. Plus, I wasn't knitting very much, and there's plenty of yarn to be had around here.

Well, I found out that my credit was getting up there, so I decided to spend a little.

I got the following:

Noro Silk Garden sock yarn. Yum.

Cascade 220. Suddenly I understand why people love it. The colours are brilliant. I want six skeins in every shade the shop carries.

Arquippa sock yarn. Again, I want every colourway. I'm a terribly greedy person.

Sirdar Baby Bamboo, Cherry Lips colourway. I've had a fantasy of making a cute little tank out of this stuff all summer. Well, perhaps for next year.

Now, having caved, I suppose I should put on my big girl panties and finish up some of the stuff I'm working on before I start new projects with all this lucious stuff, right?

My bank card fell down and can't get up

To comfort myself, during the last few mad, mad weeks of studying, I did a little shopping. And then I did a little shopping to celebrate finishing the exam.


I keep telling myself that buying stuff doesn't make me happy. But it does. Sigh.


So, I try to make thoughtful purchases instead of buying crap.


Plus, most of my yarn purchases get turned into gifts for other people. I shouldn't feel bad about that. Right?


So, here goes:

I happened to be online when the Ravelry store went live (I suppose there are some advantages to being in front of a computer, all the time). I wasn't able to get my disagree (1) t-shirt and tote bag, but I'm pleased with the beer glasses and vegetable bag (which is used for knitting, not vegetables).

In my on-going effort to convert the masses, I took my colleague to Ram Wools to look for her next purchase (she was blown away, at the size, the variety and the prices). I told her that knitting wasn't a cheap hobby, and that she should get over it. While there, I saw for skeins of discontinued (maybe?) Inca Silk at 50% off (whoops, I guess I fell off the no-buying-yarn-unless-it-is-sock-yarn wagon). I had wildly optimistic hopes of making myself a tank for an upcoming wedding. Um, the wedding is a week from now, and I have only swatched. Whoops again.

Following is the Yay! Exam is over! yarn:

Why do people go nuts for Noro? This is why:

Amazing colours. Having achieved success with it in a wrap, I will now make socks.

When purchasing this yarn, about four hours after completing my exam, I was like a kid in a candy store. I hadn't allowed myself to look at yarn for a while. And indeed, I hadn't even been to the world's greatest yarn shop. My friends were rather amused. And perhaps a little bit scared.

A little lesson on Noro

I've been hearing/reading about the new Noro sock yarn.

There's some gushing love, some ambivalence, and some downright negativity. That's OK. I think the world would be a pretty boring place if we all had the same opinion.

You can put me firmly in the "gushing love" camp. Love the stuff. I am a huge fan of bright, bold colours in unexpected combinations, and Noro does that really well.

This should not be a surprise. I am known for wearing five different shades of pink at once, and I am very well aware that doing so is usually a bad fashion decision for anyone over twelve.

However, for those of you out there who are not a fan of outrageous colour combinations, I can understand why Noro could piss you off.

I present Exhibit One: Want a closer look?

Yes, that is a break, and it totally messes up the colour continuity. I have broken the yarn and will therefore maintain the colour continuity in the shawl.

This is why I wind Noro, even when it comes in a ball. I want to know in advance, and plan things accordingly. By winding it, I avoided motoring along and finding the break right in the middle of a row.

I have also heard criticism that the sock yarn is scratchy. Well, scratchy is a subjective thing, and my skin must be rawhide. Literally and figuratively. I can wear the scratchiest thing, and I can ignore the itch. I can also ignore people who don't like me. Hee.

However, I have dry and cracked skin on my hands, because of my love of the outdoors, regardless of the weather. Permanently chapped, are my hands. To the point where my hands frequently bleed. Because Noro is so loosely spun, it catches on my dry skin (isn't that a pretty image!). If nothing else, I've gotten a little better at moisturizing while I've been working on this shawl.

Holy sh*t! I see grass!

I present to you my latest yarn acquisition:

Noro sock yarn, photo taken on my newly discovered cement-pad.

And when I stood up, this is what I saw:

I think I'm going to look at seed catalogues for a bit. And dream.

While I am using my new yarn to start this.

So close, but yet so far

This was lunch today:

The second sock doesn't look different, but it is.

Rip it, rip it.

I managed to make up all the ground I lost, and finish casting off the second sock about fifteen minutes after I got home from knit night. I should have tried harder to finish, because I could have just handed them off to my bus buddy. Now she will have to wait another week.


Now, y'all may recall that I promised myself a wee treat after my exam:

Whee! Retail therapy.

This is the first yarn I've purchased in two months. For me, that is a very, very long time. I am loving all these bright, fun colours. Makes me believe that spring really is here.

Here's the carrot

After I finish up some life and knitting shit, this is what I want to play with:

I'm the donkey.

Flashing my stash

Look who reminded me that I had some picking-up-and-putting-away to do today:

Awww! My Parker is so sweet.

So, I got it all photographed, uploaded in Ravelry, and stuffed in the china cabinet. The fact that the cabinet is stuffed to the gills reaffirms my resolve to not buy yarn for a while:

Note the spindle in the bottom left, above. It hasn't been used in quite some time.

There are so many yummy things there that I desperately want to start about 12 new projects. But, I'm determined to finish a couple things first. Plus, my class is going really, really well (I am amazed that I am able to say that) and I really don't want to wreck this groove.

And on that note, I'm going to tackle another assignment question right now...

Yarn Crawl

Purlerbear (old-ish acquaintance, new knitting friend) and I went on a yarn crawl today. We hit two yarn shops, both having January sales.

What a lovely afternoon, surrounded by yarn-y yumminess, good company and wonderful conversation with someone who "gets it."

I do most of my shopping alone, so it was a real treat to have someone to talk to, someone to help me pick out a colour. And for someone who even goes out alone, it was marvelous to sit and knit in the coffee shop and have a conversation instead of listening to music or reading a book.

Purlerbear, thanks so much for driving me around and not telling me I bought too much. I very much appreciated the opportunity to get to know you better. We shall have to do it again (perhaps without me spending so much money, next time).

What did I get? Well, lots of stuff. I made a list, and stuck to it, mostly. It's already been posted in Ravelry, but most of the pile is sitting on my desk, waiting to be put away in the china cabinet (which is getting pretty full).

This is how the desk looks right now:

I'll have to move it promptly, to get at the textbook and notes underneath. I have some reading to do tonight.

Looking at the china cabinet, I'm thinking I had better lay off the buying for a while, and do some knitting. I figure I've got about five years worth of yarn in there. Hell, some of it's all ready been around five years (and that's not counting the stuff in the basement. Far more down there).

Oh my!

There was a package waiting for me tonight. One I have been very much looking forward to receiving.

The delightful package was from the ever-yummy Black Bunny Fibers (remember Icarus?).

This is an estimated 1,000 yards of lace-weight, 90% alpaca, 10% Shetland (and it weighs in at 247 grams. I'm thinking there's more than 1,000 yards. Wow!). I am completely, helplessly in love with this yarn. It sings to my soul, with the blue and light pink peeking out in such a playful, teasing manner. It's called Naughty Knotty. How clever is that? I have two projects in mind: Muir or Juno Regina.

I have promised to knit Juno with a knitting buddy who wants to tackle a lace project, and we were considering starting in the new year. I am committed to doing this with her, because I believe in stretching boundaries (mine and everyone else's), and well, the tinier the sticks and the string, the happier I am, when it comes to knitting. Purlerbear, what do you think?

This sock yarn is 50% merino, 50% tencel. This is a new blend for me. I have a pair of socks to make for another knitting buddy, and I have cast on several times (there's some knitting that doesn't appear on this blog). Each time, I have been unhappy. These socks must be special. Now, J, you prefer your socks to match your trousers. You don't happen to have any "Real Deal Teal" trousers, do you? I'm thinking Pomatomus would be suitable for you. Oh yes, I want to knit those socks for you.

And, speaking of tiny sticks and tiny string, I happened upon this.

Now, I prefer to be a giver than a receiver. Frankly, I have expensive taste, so I should work hard and buy the things I want for myself (and I do). But, I just paid a honking big tuition bill, and there's been lots of shopping going on lately. I try to be mature, responsible and not whine about non-necessary things I don't have and can't really afford, but I waaant it. I want this yarn subscription in a jumping-up-and-down-please-please-please-mum kind of way. Doesn't a year of lace sound exciting? (Don't answer that, N.) Not that I would have time, because that honking big tuition bill? It means sacrificing much of my knitting time to studying.

But, I still wish that I had been a good girl, and that Santa would come down my chimney this year. Sadly, I am Misstea, and therefore I'm automatically on Santa's naughty list (but I've had a hellova lot of fun, and I'm not sorry. I'll be OK).

Breaking up is hard to do

I tried doing something today. Something which I have only done once before.

I tried to return yarn.

The yarn and I spent a few moments together, before I placed it in my backpack.

I lovingly said goodbye after carefully and logically explaining that I had bought it on impulse, and I really didn't have a use for it. I said that it wasn't because I didn't love it. I said that it needed to go back to the store, where it could be purchased by someone who loved it even more than me, someone who would use it immediately. I told it that it was worth more than to just go into the china cabinet and sit for an unknown period of time. I even offered to let it talk to the other yarn, so that it would know that I wasn't making this up.

After a bit, I got a little impatient, telling it that someone had to be mature and responsible, and that someone was me. I explained that I had seriously overspent my fun budget recently, and that I had just made a large tuition payment, and therefore this wasn't personal.

I caught the bus, and then missed my connecting bus, so I walked for half an hour in the snow, thinking about how sad this was, how I wished I had planned more carefully. How much I regretted having to sever this promising relationship so quickly.

I got to the store, and found the yarn that I should have purchased instead (I didn't tell the yarn in my backpack that it wasn't my first choice). Serendipitously, the new yarn matched the same dye lot that I already had. I should have been more careful, a week ago.

I gather my basket, and head to the desk. I find my receipt, giddy with joy (but trying to hold it in, and be sensitive to the yarn in my backpack) that things will work out and Mini B will get what her mother really wants for Christmas, and my wallet will not take another hit as a result.

It turns out, the yarn in my backpack was just going on a field trip. It was purchased on sale, and can't be returned.

Sigh. There's room in the house for all the yarn.

P.S. I was allowed to exchange four balls, so that I have enough of one dye-lot to do something for me. As if I need another unfinished pink sweater...

P.P.S. Please don't tell the yarn that I am secretly relieved it came home with me. And we certainly won't tell it that I'm also having an affair with the new Kaffe Fassett sock yarn.

I love being at home when the mail comes

Home again sick today. Jeez, I'm getting tired of this.

I'm sure my employer is too, as this is the sixth sick day in three months. That's more than a bit embarrassing.

Anyway, since I was home, and not sleeping, I answered the door. There was a package for me! From The Sweet Sheep. And this was in it:

Mama E project bag, you know, for those dressier occasions where a Ziploc baggie just won't do.

Rabbitworks Fibre Studio (also found here) Toe Jam sock yarn, Fiesta colourway.

Handmaiden Sea Silk in Amethyst. (Hmm, do I see a Montego Bay scarf for me in my future?)

None of this was bought for any reason in particular, except that one day at work, I got a little click-happy. The package arrived rilly fast, so I guess buying from a Canadian supplier does make a difference.

Sitting here, browsing through Ravelry, allowed me to finish the front of Mini J's Christmas sweater:

Let me show you a closer picture of the flower:

Isn't it cute? I am still amazed, after all these years, that knits and purls can be combined to come up with an infinite number of things.

Now comes the tough part: picking up the stitches for the neck and then finishing the damn thing.

This is where I usually lose interest and wander off to do something else. I'm trying hard not to, though, because if I keep going, I could have this thing done tomorrow, including blocking. That would be a sweater in a week (granted, a kid's sweater) and that's an achievement.