A kitty named Bedelia.....

So....as I have somewhat previously alluded to, I have a bit of a "stash" problem.  Well, it's not really a problem so much as a "storage" problem.  Acquisition is the first step in the project process, followed by "What might this want to be?"  Sometimes, the yarn is rather stubborn and won't talk for some time despite your best efforts to introduce it to an appropriate pattern.

Enter the "stash-buster."  These handy little patterns are designed to make something useful (usually a last minute gift ) and use up some of the recalcitrant fibers that you can't seem to part with and thus, free up space in the stash for further acquisition.  It's a vicious cycle.

Most of these patterns use around a skein of yarn, take a short period of time to knit, and produce a pretty nifty finished object -- which makes them ideal for gifts. That is where this little gem came in.

Bedelia is a little gift for a new baby girl.  I think she turned out pretty well.   Her ears are a little sideways, sort of "Skippyjon Jones" style.  And she made use of a few bits and pieces of some great yarn that wasn't enough for a full project.

Waltzing Matilda...

This is Matilda. 

She is an Ashford Travller.  Ashford is a New Zealand company, but I don't think she takes offense at the association of her name.  I first met Matilda at a fiber festival in western NC.  After a short conversation, she agreed to come home with me.

Matilda, or "Tillie" as I have come to call her is a castle style wheel.  It's more compact than a traditional Saxony wheel that one usually sees in fairy tale productions where some poor maiden is being coerced to spin straw into gold.  Tillie is built for travel at a svelte seven pounds.  She is curvaceous and sturdy.

Tillie and I have spent a bit of time over the past few months getting to know one another.  She's a little wary of the dogs, who both seem to be regularly suspicious and negligent by turns despite the fact that she has resided in either the living room or the library for almost a year now.

We're also learning to work together.  So far, we've made this:

And this:

And also these:

We're still learning.  I look forward to the says we work well together.  Tillie hums as she works.  I find it soothing to listen to her songs as we create together.

Poor little neglected blog......

It's not as if I don't think about it. It's right there on my "Favorites" bar after all. So I see it every day that I am on the computer. Fortunately, I am spending less time at my home computer. And more time actually doing other things....like spinning and knitting and cooking and playing with the dogs and sometimes (though not as often as I probably should) cleaning house. Not really a determined act to simplify things, just sort of a choice to do the things that are more important right this minute.

More to come....eventually.

Progress? (ahem)

In looking back to New Year's 2011, I am taking stock as to how it went with the resolutions for 2010.



I did learn to spin. The singles are getting more consistent and looking less like the middle from a golf ball. I hope to continue to improve and find the best method for me. In October, I added two new spindles of differing weights to see what that would be like. And although I am lusting after a particular wheel, I have not actually taken the plunge and made the investment in it yet. Spinning has also widened my circle of friends. It's easy to talk to someone for the first time with a common interest. Crafters aren't shy about asking questions about that pattern or this fiber or whatever project. I continue to be amazed by the talent in abundance around me.



Pictures are improving. They don't get posted any quicker, but at least they exist somewhere.



My stash is not currently growing....much. I don't tend to cruise the interwebs as much as I once did, probably because I am fed up in general with my computer. I work with one all day, so I tend not to spend time there when I could be doing something else. Like knitting or spinning.

I did feel better about my finishing this year. There are still a few UFOs floating about, but at least I am being honest with myself about them. It's not a race. To make sure that the FO is its best, I find I have to be in the right frame of mind to put on the final touches. Those just don't come around as much as they probably should.

The queue....well that's probably the weakest progress. I find that my queue is where I put the dream projects. Some of those patterns have no business being there because of the skill level required, the yarn I don't have, the impracticality of the garment, etc. But on another level, I put things in there that may not end up as a final object. Some are in there just for inspiration.

I don't think I will make any new resolutions for 2011. After all, it took until now in January to get this posted. For now, I think I will continue to work on these and try to enjoy the process more.

With an explosion, the yarniverse begins.....

Speaking of, there has been a bit of an explosion in my project queue over the last month or so. I made the mistake of visiting a new city. Well, not really new as in brand new in existence -- rather a city that has been around a while that I don't happen to live in full-time. While I was there, I visited a few yarn shops and ended up with some practical souvenirs for my stash. (I guess I fell off the yarn diet.) The new projects popped up as a justification for the purchases in large part. A few of these are on the needles and in process. Progress pictures of these will show up shortly.

Spring break!

The weather is finally lightening up a little here. Actual sunshine and temperatures above freezing. Unfortunately, this is not helping further my progress on the KIP. Add to that a new project with a deadline in two weeks and you can see how not a lot of knitting has gotten done. For now, this is just a placemarker post. More knitting to come.

Noodling along...

Winter seemed to loosen its icy grip a bit today in our corner of the universe. Although the cold weather has helped my knitting production, I was happy to see the sun for a little while today. We are also supposed to have a better-than-average weekend as well.

I just looked over the resolutions. One month out and I have already fallen off the yarn diet somewhat. Last weekend, I visited a LYS and came out with some new stash fodder. Almost all of it was for gifts to be. I have managed to finish a gift in plenty of time to take pictures (although I haven't yet -- that would be too easy!) and start a new project. But the year is still young and I have time for improvement.

On a separate note, I do feel like I have improved in using Ravelry. It is very useful for keeping track of the patterns I like and intend to knit. Keeping the yarn and the pattern together is also helpful. And it is encouraging to see that I do finish some things (even if it is not as much as I would like.)

A clean slate

A new year, new projects, new yarn and a new purpose. All good aspirations and all seem attainable at the start of January with the whole of a new year laying before us. For me, I think I will stick to a few new craft resolutions:

1. Learn to spin. I have a good start on this because I bought a beautiful ceramic drop spindle at SAFF. A friend was kind enough to give me a lesson in the mechanics, so now it is a matter of practice. The initial foray from the practice bump of roving is still in progress, so we will see what happens.
2. Finish some projects. This one has been in process for a little while now. There has been a good bit of progress in reducing both the "frog pond" and the WIPs, but there is still improvement that can be made.
3. Reduce the stash. Yes, this one will probably prove to be the most challenging. I have a stash that threatens to grow whenever the new e-mails or catalogs from my fiber friends come knocking. It will be an effort to restrict new projects to using the stash supplies on hand instead of hitting up the LYS on a whim.
4. Take pictures. I am often running on the last few stitches just before a project needs to be delivered. So, I think I need a little more time built in for finishing and pictures. I've enjoyed being able to have a visual record of the things I have worked on. I just need to be more diligent about it.
5. Limit the queue. Probably the least likely resolution to succeed, just because the queue is sort of like the "what if?" or the "wishlist" if you will. The queue helps you to remember why you knit in the first place. But a list of five resolutions is a little more rounded than four, don't you think? Ok. It stays.

That's it for now, faithful readers. I will also try to post on a more regular basis. Happy New Year and happy knitting to all!

All the leaves are brown....

OK not really, but I did just notice that it is the first of October, so it really can't be too far away. Fits of knitting have continued over the summer and I am just now able to have something to show for it. But not just now. The chill in the air is inspiring me to work a bit more and there are a few things that are thisclose to being completed. And (sigh) I need to take some pictures.

One problem that I have during the fall is stash management. I enjoy shopping for yarn, both on line and in my LYS. I try to curb the urge to buy yarn that I don't have a current project for or just because it's on sale. This is pretty easy in the summer down south because it's really too hot to knit much of anything larger than socks or more substantial than lace. But when fall comes around, it tests my reserve. There is the influx of catalogs that suddenly find themselves in my house. Boxes start showing up with yarn that I don't remember ordering. Knitting patterns that were not part of the queue of projects to be wiggle out of their hiding places and find strategic places around the house. Before I know it, I am standing outside the yarn shop with a bag full of yarn, a rogue pattern and a credit card receipt wondering what the hell just happened.

The up side is that the cool weather makes me want to knit more. Like every-second-I-am-awake more. It is good for my finishing, but I also start a few more projects. I look forward to this time of year for both those reasons.

Mr. Foo

Bunny FooFoo is finished! And I have pictures to prove it!!!!!

Trend for '09?

Looks like May slipped right out the door too, sometime between coaxing tomato plants not to die and building a garden plot to house their squashy and cucumber-esque kin. Happily, there has been knitting. I am putting the last touches on a knitted bunny for a new little girl. She arrived before the bunny is finished, but I hope to unite them soon. Pictures to follow, once Mr. Foo has all of his lapin-appropriate parts. At the present, he is minus an ear and a tail. More to come....

Late spring also seems to be the time to clean out the craft room. I am discovering bits of my stash all over the house. Unfortunately, there are a couple of really good on-line sales, so the stash may be destined to grow a bit more.

Rites of Spring

Well, it looks like March blew out of here before I could get anything posted! Only one project really got finished last month. The Boogie Vest, which I opted to knit without the cable pattern, was finished in time to wear for St. Patty's Day. Paired with a pale green shirt, it worked out really well.

I am hopeful that April will be a time of growth and new beginnings. We are planning a vegetable garden for the summer. The location and dimensions have been decided. Now we just have to do the work. I also have teeny seedlings in the sunporch that are ready to move outside as soon as the frost clears out for good.

The knitting landscape is hopeful as well. There are new colors coming out in all of my favorite shops and websites. With the weather improving, it is easier to pick up a small project and take it outside for a bit of sun and fresh air.

I have also done some stash exploration in hopes of completing a project to wear for the spring and summer. More about that later. First, I will have to finish a pending baby project (since the baby arrived at the end of March.)

Finish line

Blanket -- 2/22/09

Mitts -- 2/24/09

Pics are from a cell phone. Not great, but at least I have a record!

Marathon (wo)Man

WOOHOO!!!! I get so excited when I can update my project progress on Ravelry even just a little bit! The blanket is about 75% complete, but the baby will be here any minute. Add to that a new mini-project set to go to NY at the end of the month, and, well, you can see that my every spare minute will be tethered to a ball of yarn.

Not that I am complaining, mind you. For the first time in a while I have incentive and a clear progression of project priorities to follow. AND we had some wonderfully light and warm days this weekend -- perfect for knitting outside. As I understand it, we are to have a few more of these during the week. Maybe some outside knitting is in my future during lunch hour.......hrmmmmmmmmm

Time flies when you're having rum.....

Or watching pirate movies. Or both! All are acceptable ways to spend a rare snow day, as long as you are knitting.

No snow day for me though. I was hard at work once we slogged through the ruination of our secondary road. No knitting in the company of friends that night either. Sigh.

So, this Tuesday was a long-distance participation in Knit-Night. I am now in a race to finish a baby gift for one who is set to arrive at the end of the month and to start another for an April girl. To make things even more interesting, my friend Lenore challenged me to a race. Pictures to follow.

As for the sweater, I goofed. I have pics of it in progress, but the final product was not captured photographically for posterity. Oh well.

Freezy poofs!

It has been a while since the last knitting update, mostly because I had some ideas about projects for Christmas presents and ....... well, that just isn't working out to plan. Those projects are on the same path to destruction as the other unnumbered cross-stitch projects that are marinating in the closet from Christmas-es past.

On a happier note, I finished the baby sweater! It's not exactly to plan, but it worked out for the best. The pattern was for a little layette with jacket, hat, pants and booties. It was in seed stitch with I-cord trim. I decided to do the jacket, in a size slightly larger to account for my knitting speed so that it would actually fit the recipient when it was received. The I-cord also ended up by the wayside. The ties were cute, but the color of the trim keeps playing tricks on my eyes. It really does match pretty well in the right light. Other times, not so much. So, I edited the I-cord to the length I could stand to knit and designed a closure that would be baby-friendly. Pictures will go up after Christmas. (This one made the deadline.)

As for the others, more to come. Maybe if I get busy now, at least one will make the show. The weather outside has been frightful --- wet and foggy for the weekend changing to sunny and blustery today. If I hold my coat just right and run REALLLLY fast, I might even get airborne.

Let me tell you why I suck.....

I, being of unsound mind, have been found guilty of suckage by the Tribunal of the Needle and by my own admission. (To learn more about the Needle, click here.) My penance is to write out this admission, here in what will be known as "the flog blog", the top ten reasons why I suck.

• 10. I use movie quotes in conversation. For proof, see above blog title.
• 9. My yarn stash is quietly taking over my house. I have yarn that will probably never see a project but that I can't liberate or trade at the moment. Maybe someday, but not today. My preciousssss.......
• 8. I have a frog pond the size of Lake Erie.
• 7. I love Hot Topic. Deal with it.
• 6. I love Halloween. I didn't dress up to answer the door this year and so this Halloween was terrible. There were also only 5 trick-or-treaters which made it a double-bummer.
• 5. I am an accountant and I love my job. Working to pass the CPA exam is partly to blame for me having to write this post. Still working on that whole work/life balance thing.....
• 4. Heavy Metal music is my personal drug of choice. The louder, the better. My hair will always be long so that it whips around as I bang my head. Given enough time and AquaNet, I will make my hair bigger than yours.
• 3. Disco sucks, but ABBA will forever hold a special place on my MP3 player. I'm not giving up my roller skates either.
• 2. I want real paper in my newspaper and my books. The on-line versions are just not the same to me.

And the number one reason why I suck:

• 1. Bailing on my friends at the last minute after PROMISING to make it for the first time in weeks. For one who was present at the conception of the Needle, this is probably the biggest reason why I suck.

Respectfully submitting the above, I throw myself on the mercy of the Tribunal.

Fall is in the air

Yesterday was the first fall-like day that I have been privileged to experience. Although the weather was nice last weekend at the CRF, it got a little sweaty towards the middle of the afternoon. Yesterday was breezy with just enough of a nip in the air to let me know we had passed Labor Day. Yay Fall!

I particularly enjoy the season because it encourages me to work more on my knitting. It's just easier to hunker down on the sweater when you REALLY want to wear it the next day or next week. It also doesn't make working on the Christmas stockings seem as ridiculous when you can sort of imagine snow as a vague possibility in the near future.

And then there are the church bazaars and fall festivals. Well, who can say no to a cup of cider or the scent of hand decorated cinnamon brooms? I am also hopeful that I can attend a fiber festival towards the end of October. It would be my first, but I think it would also be a lot of fun.

The projects are going well. The baby sweater has made significant progress, although I anticipate sending an IOU for it to the mother's shower. Oh well. I also started a vest for myself. It is probably going to undergo a "design change." The pattern has a plain back and a cable pattern on the front. In knitting the back with my thick & thin yarn, I found that it made a wonderful "bubble" pattern. Sort of an illusion of the yarn, but pretty cool nonetheless. After consultation with the needle gurus of my knitting circle, I'm going to do the front in plain stockinette also. Less work and better results than getting lost in all of the cabling frou-frou. Pictures to come soon.

Just for fun

This is what greeted me shortly after breakfast. The blue dot is a sticker from the banannas on the counter. It says, "Place sticker on forehead. Smile." I think my husband has something to do with this.....

A diversion

These are little socks that are a lot like me -- twisted in a good way! Cat Bordhi's latest sock book has these as a practice pattern for the full-sized version. The pattern is called Coriolis and is named for the force that makes the water circle down the drain in the same direction every time. Really neat! Notice that the little curly seam bit curves out towards the ankles on each sock -- which means you get to knit a different pattern for the left and the right foot.

I was also very pleased with this yarn. It's called Red Heart Heart 'n Sole. The fiber has aloe added to it so that it softens your hands as you knit. It should also help the socks stay soft -- perfect for baby feet.