Yarn Fu

I Must Be Nuts

So, I just found the little organizing tab for my Ravelry queue, and organizing is what I need, so I clicky-ed...OMFGs, there is something really wrong with my brain...Now, I don't really use the Favorites button all that much; basically if I love it, or want to remember the project to do my own version or whatever, it goes in the queue, not in Favorites, but I have been trying my best to keep it edited and down to a 'reasonable number'...

Or so I thought...

37 bag patterns?  17 sock patterns??  99 shawl patterns???  Ninety nine shawl patterns!!  I AM SCARED OF LACE, PEOPLE!  WHY AM I QUEUEING SHAWLS???

*sigh*

But look!

Organizashun--I haz it!

Since I stopped smoking in the house, I can have my sock yarn out, being all decorative and sh*t...It's a little dark in this picture, but I really like having the colors visible, to get me thinking about projects I need to finish up and things I'd like to start on...

It's just New Year, so I have been thinking over the last couple of days about things that I want to do over the next few months...I would say these were New Year's Resolutions, but I am sort of biased against that term, as it conjures up images of weight loss schemes and unused gym memberships...

1.  My Etsy shop has been going quite well; of course, I have not yet achieved World Domination Through Stitch Markers, but I am pleased with how the work I put into it over the spring and summer has paid off...I have plenty more ideas, and have been a little frustrated recently, since my ideas have been more prolific than the amount of free time I have available...But some cool stuff is in the works...

2.  I am going to learn to spin properly...It is so much fun!  Maybe if I get Really Ambitious, I can pick out a project and take it from the wool to the finished item (I am only thinking about roving, because at this point, buying an actual fleece, with all the washing and carding and stuff, would be way too ambitious!)

3.  My major plan for this winter is the Craft Yarn Council's crochet teacher certification...I would really like to do the CGOA Master in Basic Stitches to hone my skills, but I think for now I will work on my teaching skills, since the master class is a year-long commitment, and I have a lot I want to do in the next few months...

4.  I am thinking about expanding some of my Etsy stuff...Maybe a supply store, to get rid of some of my crafty stuff...Or a new shop with some of the other stuff I make; I've been working on designing some patterns, and usually the way I work, I make an item, and write it down as I go, and then make a second one from my instructions, to test the pattern, so then I am stuck with two of whatever I've designed...Why not see if I can sell the finished products as well?

5.  If I'm making New Year's (Non) Resolutions here, I guess I should think of a couple that are non-yarny?  Um...Well, I resolve to return all my Netflix DVDs on time and...In the coming year I'd like to get a new tat from one of Pat Fish's designs...How's that?  *grin*

Olympic-Sized Indecision

Well, would you lookit that...I finally got around to updating all the links, so that they actually go to the pages they're supposed to and not just back here...Hmmm...

Of course, now I have a whole bunch of cool new yarny Blogs that I want to add, so y'all can start taking bets as to how long it will take for me to get those going...*snort*

So, I've been thinking about doing the Knitting Olympics...(Yeah, I know the link is to the 2006 page, but I can't find a 2008 page...)  But I can't quite decide what to do...I have a shawl/stole pattern I could do with the Handmaiden Sea Silk...That would be a challenge...But I'm skeered of it, and I'm not positive I could finish a whole lace stole in 2 weeks, being a Lace Noob and all...I'm toying with the idea of something along the lines of "Do X number of A4A vests", which could be a challenge, depending on what number stands for X...But that might be too easy...Ugh, I dunno...

I want something that is feasible to do in just over 2 weeks, won't make me insane, and that I already have the yarn/pattern for (or there is a free pattern--I is broke)...Maybe Ravelry will have the answer...

Mega Project Update

I have been laboring away industriously all week long on the little sweater for Shorty's Impending Arrival with the leftover yarn from the completed babyghan, and am now in a Serious State of Annoyance with the whole endeavor...Why the hell do I even attempt to knit?  It just drives me crazy...

The instructions for the sleeve tell you to gradually increase on each side up the sleeve...But when I do an M1, it does not in fact make a stitch--it just makes a hole!

Humpf.

So it is now temporarily down the side of the sofa and I just cast on the Berroco Knitting Tote I have had in my Ravelry queue for ages...Apparently, I can't learn because: a) I don't have any of the suede, so I decided to do a doublestrand with some of the red and black chenille I got at Greencastle and leftover random black worsted (Simply Soft?) and that could totally end in tears; and b) didn't I just say that knitting is making me mad right now???

The only thing that is making me happy about knitting at the moment are the Harmony needles I'm using...I stole borrowed them from Someone to finish up a beginner shawl I was working on when I didn't have circs with a long enough cable to finish it up...I think I'm in love...Beautiful, beautiful needles with sharp, sharp points, and oh so smooth...I am totally getting a set for myself...The wood ones though, I think, because they are Aesthetically Pleasing, and a friend of mine got some a little while back and they feel beautiful...I licked them when she wasn't looking, so I know they taste good too--an all-around good buy!

(I am now kind of hoping that Sleepycat will do like the kids in fourth grade, where when you licked the cookie it was yours, and hand over her Harmony woods...)

Speaking of shawls...

I finished the noob one!

It's from this pattern, found on Ravelry, of course...I haven't done the fringe, and I am not sure I will...I kind of like it just plain...Oh, and I hate, hate, hate doing fringe!  So...In the Greencastle chenille, because I bought a 498 pound cone of it, so everything I make from now on will be red and black chenille...

Still working on the A4A Rectangular Shawl campaign as well...It's the Wilshire Shawl pattern I mentioned several posts back, which is nice and simple and soothing...Very good TV crocheting...

Unfortunately, my camera isn't liking the color of the alpaca, so here's an altered picture that's closer to the actual color...It's a nice cadet blue...

I'd really like to make a felted grocery shopping kind of bag with some of the wool I got in Argentina...I have a few ideas flapping around in my head...It almost seems like it would be a good knitting machine project, since my concept is kind of like a regular paper grocery bag, a little bit wider maybe, with the straps and handles in one piece in a contrasting color all the way down the sides and across the bottom...I'm just thinking that making two knitted pieces that would felt down to roughly 12x16 (yes, I am at home on a Friday night measuring a grocery bag--I have no life!) would be like a career...Not including the sides and straps/handles...Obviously I need to ponder this a bit more...

One of my goals for the summer is to try and do some of the projects from my Ravelry queue...I have bunches...Like 6 pages worth of "Oh!  I wanna make that!  And that!  And that!!"  So it's time...

Then there's my Brand New Sekrit BFF...Oh yesssss...My Precioussssss...It's under wraps for the moment, because I am not fond of public embarrassment, but I will let the cat out of the bag soon...(That means I haven't got off my lazy butt and taken any photos yet)

And I figured I might as well post a picture of this too...

I made it some time ago, with a nod to Mr Habit, but I don't think I ever posted about it...It's just a stockinette bag with some leftover worsted and some weird novelty yarn I found on clearance at Mass Ave...With my sad lack of knitting skills, I am sure noone would be surprised if I said I'd learned to knit from some guy named Junior with a dragon tattooed on his neck...*sigh*

Oh, Anticraft, I Love You So!

Have I mentioned how much I adore The AntiCraft??*huge grin*

I totally need to make this...

I have been way into making bags and felting recently; this is perfect...

Which led me to the archives, and since I hadn't been on the site in a bit, I remembered that I had actually bought all the materials for one particular AntiCraft cross stitch, but not started yet...

I found this in the newest issue...It seems like it was made with Lord Oz in mind...*smirk*

Could NOT believe that they didn't get with Lady Linoleum for their All Bacon issue...I mean, come on!  Maybe they were purists, and only interested in Bacon, and the whole Mixed Grill thing put them off...

Snobs...

Brevity

OK, I'll get over the short posts in a minute, but for now?

Best! Bedpillow! EVER!!!

Mr. Edless

Absolutely have to do this one...*snerk*

It's Not That I Don't Want To...

I suppose I could say that I haven't been doing much Blogging because I have been very busy teaching classes (which would be true)...Or that I have been spending a good bit of time working on writing up design projects (also true)...Or learning more knitting-type stuff, or getting my stash under control...All of which I have been plugging away at for the past month or so...

But honestly, it's mostly that I don't feel very computery right now...I don't know what it is...I sat down some time ago and planned out about 15 different posts for the Fiber Blog, but I haven't done anything past that...My Ravelry account and pics are in desperate need of some sort of update, and I've been putting that off as well...I finally did some work on my Etsy shop yesterday, and put a few of the stitch markers I've made in there, but I wasn't really feeling it...

It's not a lack of inspiration, just the opposite, in fact...I'm not in the middle of some sort of creative frenzy, but the ideas are coming along nice and steady, and I am kind of enjoying that, since usually I run around doing this and that and some of the other too...They're 98% fiber-related art too, so I'm hoping I can sort this out and organize myself enough to share some of it...

I just got a new camera this weekend, and though I have some lighting issues to work out, I can already tell that the pictures are going to be about 150% better...Maybe that will inspire me to get some things organized and photographed and up on the Blog/Ravelry/Etsy/etc.

What Do You Do?

A couple of months ago, I was reading some article in a regional newspaper where a group had started doing charity knitting for U. S. military personnel...One of the founders of the group was quoted as saying something along the lines of "Knitters don't really do very much charity work, so we thought this would be a good idea!"

It totally blew me away, since everyone I know who does any sort of fiber art is big into knitting/crocheting for charity...I would guesstimate that at least 40% of the yarn stuff I do is for charity...And anyone who took a peek at Ravelry would be mightily impressed at the number of groups steadily toiling away, producing literally hundreds of beautiful items for dozens of different charity projects all over the globe...

If you like animals, you can make cuddly soft blankets for dogs at animal shelters...Dulaan makes warm items for homeless children in Mongolia...Afghans for Angels helps grieving parents cope with the loss of their child...The Ships Project sends warm items to deployed servicepeople...

Comfort for children going through traumatic events? Binky Patrol!

Something soft and warm for a seriously ill child? Project Linus!

Hats 4 the Homeless! The Mother Bear Project! Warm Up America!

Hell, even Plimouth Plantation needs knitters to help out with period stockings for their historic reenactors!

Even if you just need to destash, places like Interim House will take your excess yardage off your hands for their (way cool!) knitting and crocheting rehabilitation groups! (Check out the beautiful projects made with donated yarn here.)

My friends and I have a couple of charities that we work for, the newest one being Mittens for Akkol...Children in orphanages in the former Soviet Union face a very bleak future--Russians rarely adopt children and the common view seems to be that orphans are "defective" in some way...There is no support system when the children leave the orphanage around age 16 or so...Mittens for Akkol makes warm items for all the children in the Akkol Orphanage in Kazakhstan, and puts together special 'graduation gifts' for the teens who are aging out of the system...There's some more info about the project here as well...

Personally, my very favorite charity project is one I've Blogged about several times before, Afghans for Afghans...You can find the latest news about the group's work on a recent NPR radio segment...Also, a Very Cool slideshow with pics of the volunteers out in San Francisco!

"We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone."--Dr. Loretta Scott

Help!

Noooooo!! Nooooooooo!! This is really bad!!!

There's $63.86 in my shopping cart...I have to edit some books out...I really shouldn't even be doing this at all, but they have two Noob Dyeing books that I need!

Need? Need?!?!

Oh dear...

Auf Bitten von die Strickerinbesucher

Online dictionaries are great, aren't they? *grin*

Oh wait...Or should it be Strickerbesucherin? Ack! There's a reason I stopped studying German...It's freaking hard!!! *enormous grin*

Anyway, here's the Noob Dyeing...



You can really see a gap in the color where I tied the skeins so they wouldn't tangle...It's not pretty, but it made me think of a possible future dyeing project--I could kind of 'tie dye' skeins...For example, starting with a white skein, and a couple of ties, and dye it light blue, then tie it a couple more times, and dye it medium blue, and then some more ties and a dark blue...???

The orange turned out...um, really orange...I was figuring that since it was wool, I could use these experiments for Dulaan hats or something...But I don't think I will inflict that orange on a poor defenceless Mongolian baby! All his little friends would make fun of him, and keep making deerhunting jokes behind his back...

The handpainted stuff I did ended up a disaster...*scowl* The primary colors one basically rinsed out (I don't think I microwaved it long enough), and the other one faded quite a bit, except for the red, which went to a hot pink...Ergh...I may try and overdye them, and play with the Kool Aid a bit more...

Still gonna buy a handpainting dye kit though...Anyone need some Noobish sock yarn?

Twenty Bucks

Unfortunately, the Golden Thimble in Broadripple is having a Going Out Of Business sale...The owner is retiring...But everything in the entire store is now 50% off!!!

Lookit my loot!


Apparently, my camera just does not like the color purple...But I assure you that it is a lovely, rich purple color...And apparently, it is also a Mystery Yarn...I looked it up in the Yarndex, and the name 'Topas' comes up, but it is patently not this yarn...

"Topas" by Gedifra is a thin, shiny yarn that consists of thin fibers wrapped tightly with a shiny thread. It can be used for sweaters, scarves, shawls, vests, and lightweight tops. Made of 45% cotton, 44% acrylic, and 11% nylon.

Nope...According to the label, this is from Muench Yarns in Mill Valley, CA, and is Superwash, 75% New Wool, 25% Nylon...Searched for Muench online as well, but from the business description it seems like it's an industrial textile mill in Novato, CA...

Oh well, I don't care...I'm going to have some purple socks out of it, wherever it's from...

I've never been a frequent visitor to the Golden Thimble, not even when I lived quite nearby...But I am always sad to see an LYS go...I had expected the store to be well picked-over, but was very surprised to find they still have a lot...a lot...of stock still available...I'm thinking of putting together an expedition next weekend (payday!) to go check out some more fiber...

Because I am Slightly Stubborn TM, and apparently was in the throes of a brief psychotic break, I decided to pop in to the Knit Stop on my way home...I can't learn!

They've just completed their expansion, and it has to be said that the store is a lot more easy to navigate with the extra space...There were several people in to help the owner restock and 'reorganize'...If it were any other LYS than the Knit Stop, I would cut them some slack due to the expansion, moving things around, etc. I asked for sock yarn again, and they did actually have a little bit more (pastel Lorna's Laces, and a few Art Yarns too)...Of course, it was in 4 different places...And the Tribble Dogs seem to be rather discombobulated by all the fuss, since they were barking frantically everytime the door opened...The one good thing I saw was a display piece, a felted bag, made by a new knitter...A simple black purse/bag, with large felted flowers and leaves around the top...There was no pattern available, but I will be making one very soon--it was too cute!

I won't discuss the brown baby bikini I was forced to admire immediately following my request for the bag pattern...

Now that I've seen for myself the new and improved Knit Stop, I hereby solemnly swear that I will never darken their door again...

I also succumbed to my book fetish, and picked up a copy a book I have been coveting for quite some time...I'll hold off on discussing that for now, since I think I'll save this title for my Very First Cyber Fiber Book Review...Woo hoo!