A Little Yarn On The Side

It seems I spoke too soon. Theo was able to pee Monday morning, but by evening not so much.  He could get small amounts out, which is usually the sign the trouble is going away, but it's not been followed by getting worse.  So Tuesday morning, I packed up Theo in the cat carrier and bustled out the door first thing so I could have my little buddy at the vet's when they opened at 7:30......which would have been a much better plan if the VETS arrived at 7:30 as well.  They, however, roll in at 9:00, so to add to his stress issues, Theo spent 3 hours at the vet yesterday in addition to getting his pain shot.  I was finally able to pick him up and by the time we were back home and everything taken care of, my little buddy and I both needed a nap. Not to be outdone, I woke up to find Calisto had done unspeakable things in the guest bathtub--tracking it all over the floor and carpet for extra fun.  Theo's vet visits always freak her out a little (I'm not sure why...

From September 1 until November 30, it’s time to fall back in love with the things you already have. New yarn cannot compete with a long-term love. Complete as many of the following as you choose. As always, please feel free to involve other hobbies or crafts as well: Love at First Sight - pick a yarn in your stash that was truly an impulse buy--a yarn you just fell in love with. Find a pattern that will do it justice. Soul Mates - make a pair of socks, slippers, booties, or stockings from stash yarn--the deeper the better Glass Slipper - Match a pattern you already have with a yarn you already have and put them into a project bag to surprise yourself with in 2014 ‘Til Death Us Do Part - complete FIVE rows on a WIP that is at least one year old, or your oldest if they’re all more recent “Are You Lonesome Tonight? - Complete TEN rows on a second WIP “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” - Complete SEVEN rows on a third WIP “Killing Me Softly” - complete SIX rows on ...

The next basket dash is finally here--just in time for the hottest days of knitting in the Northern Hemisphere. Between July 1 and August 31 fill your most summery basket with any combination (or all) of the following summer-themed items: Ice pop: complete your oldest WIP or use your oldest yarn Fresh strawberries: make something red Fireworks: make something with beads or sparkles Weeding: give away or donate one item (does not need to be knitting related) Beach: make a bag or something else you might carry to the beach Sunburn: make a hat Walking barefoot in the grass: make a pair of socks or slippers Summer vacation: make something for a baby or a child Swimming: make something blue or green Summer reading: read 1 book Lemonade: make something yellow Allergies: make something that ISN’T made of wool Bonfires: make something out of the warmest yarn you have Vacation: arrange a day or a weekend all to yourself

About one hour ago, I finished the last seam on this baby..... and it's a bit big.  I think I'll eventually redo the collar seam at the "V" and I'll see what blocking does for it.  If that doesn't solve the problem, I'll be frogging and making something else with this yarn.  I've hung onto it for possibly 10 years now--I'm getting a sweater out of it, dang it! Of course, it might be fine once I fix the neck.  It was 95 degrees yesterday and today, and thanks to a mouse that Theo brought in and lost when it crawled into a crack underneath the bathroom cabinets where we can't get at it, we have eau de dead mouse permeating the upstairs of the house.  If we close the windows so we can turn on the air conditioning, the stink is unbelievable.  So, we have all the windows open and roast, we're hot but it doesn't stink.  I wouldn't have automatically guessed it, but it seems hot beats stinky hands down.  So, I had this sweater on for ...

And I'm onto the seams: which is really the worst part of the whole thing, and if I didn't have an absurd goal for the number of projects I can finish this year, there's a good chance this sweater would be remaining in this stage for an extended period of time.  Partially to reward myself and partially to preserve my sanity, I cast on a pair of socks last night: They're going to be relatively plain toe-up socks for Andy.  The yarn has been in my stash for at least 5 years, and I think could be accounted for in my I-just-learned-to-knit-socks buying frenzy.  It's not bad yarn (Schachenma  Nomotta Regia Strato), but I'm not wild enough about the colorway to explain why I had enough of it for 3 pairs of socks.  Thankfully, one pair was made some time ago, so I'll make a pair for Andy and one for me and can get to that "44 all used up" mark in Ravelry.   I am going to give myself credit for reaching my stashdash goal.  I went from this to th...

I finished the last of the dishcloth yarn in my stashdash basket last night, so now with 8 days left to go I just have the pink sweater.  BUT I'm doing the 3/4-length sleeves two at a time, and I just switched from the 3-inch ribbing to the main pattern.  It is possible.  The REAL challenge, of course, will be to see what gives out first--my desire to finish a project or my new project lust that makes me want to cast on ANYTHING but this pink sweater!

With less than a month left in the stash-dash challenge, the pink sweater now has a back, there's another shower cloth, and the last chemo cap is in progress,  leaving me with just this: left to use up. This weekend I hope to work on Andy's sweater and maybe even finish it, but I don't think it will take all of the remaining black yarn. I'm not sure exactly how to account for that as far as the stash-dash challenge, but maybe I'll see if Andy would be interested in a matching hat..... There has finally been actual sewing: and Theo is just beside himself with joy over the new projects to fur. The placemats and napkins are either 1/3 or 1/4 of a gift for some close friends coming over on Saturday.  They recently redecorated their dining room using primary colors, so I'm making 2 yellow, 2 red, and 2 blue placemat/napkin sets (and will throw in green if I have the time).  This is the first real sewing I've done since cleaning the sewing room, and ...

The sewing room is actually clean.   Like really clean--you can actually see the tables because things are put away and everything.  Combining spring cleaning with friends coming to visit was more motivating than I had dared hope.  Of course, all that cleaning did interfere with crafting time, but there has been some crafting since the last post.  There was some quilting until I had "help,"  and I have finished another Crest of the Waves scarf, which is the last of the mohair blend in my stash-dash basket.  Andy's sweater is still waiting for me to redo the collar, and I now have a 30-inch zipper, which is the largest size I can get without getting creative, so I hope it works.  There's a new chemo cap in progress, with what I think is one of the last 4 skeins of the chemo cap yarn.  I made a change in the stash-dash basket, replacing the two skeins of pink baby cashmere left over from Fleur with two similar skeins left over from a baby swe...

I'd like to say that I got lots of things done on Finishing Friday, but I was too angry with Holland's Sew Shoppe to really focus on anything.  I'll be taking Jeeves to the other dealer this afternoon, and when HE finds the problem, I'll be reporting that to the BBB.  I don't know what--if anything--the Better Business Bureau will really do to them.  I've always sort of believed in the back of my mind that they are the champions of the consumer, but I've also known that one of the most unethical businesses I have ever encountered (and I can say this because I worked for them for a few months) has been a member for years and has an excellent rating.  So, I guess we'll find out.  BUT, no one I know will ever  do business with that company again, and that's a fair number of people. I thought it best to avoid sewing in any form, so I dug out my Stash Dash basket, and have now (as of last night) finally finished that monster 880-yard skein on the shawl...

Obviously now that you have all seen the size of the stash, this comes as no great surprise.  Probably more along the lines of "stating the completely freakin' obvious" such as "I like to buy yarn."  But this  time really is different. I am lusting after yarn I already own. Basically, I want to knit anything that isn't one of these lovely yarns: I know, I know, the Stash Dash was my own idea, and I've even been doing really well on it.  I believe I've used up 7 or 8 of those skeins already and am rapidly closing in on that big 880-yard monster skein that I've been working on forever  since February.  But I apparently have the emotional maturity of a three-year-old, and as soon as I can't have something, BAM!  It's all I can think of.  Today's object of lust is socks, but I'd settle for pretty much anything so long as it's forbidden.   Perhaps after the Stash Dash is over, I should take away all my WIPS and forbid myself to...

I view it as a personal victory that I have even been able to make headway on the April project of the month, since I've had more than my share of "help"  They're obviously taking it in turns to "assist" me.  Actually I shouldn't complain.  Andy is out of town on business right now, and they have taken it upon themselves to entertain/protect/instruct/snuggle me--mostly at 3:00 AM.  A little sewing help is a small thing compared to trying to convince two cats that it is NOT in my best interests to have anyone sleeping on my head.  Even with the obvious case of insomnia, the floral jacket is now 99% complete, and has just been hanging a bit before doing the final top-stitching and the 4 front buttonholes, and I even have buttons that I think will work nicely:  They are some extremely pointless buttons I bought some time ago before realizing that the silly things are dry clean only, but since this fabric is dry-clean only as well, I thought they were...

Meet the first stashdash finished objects: That's 691 yards used up from stash on these two, which doesn't count the yarn used for Andy's sweater, which now has two sleeves and is waiting until I exchange the zipper (not scary) and cut the remaining steek (pretty much scary) and figure out how to attach a zipper to knitting (definitely scary).  Which is why the socks got all the attention this weekend. Speaking of scary projects, the spring jacket is moving along.  I've gotten used to the fabric sliding around, and I figured out a way to mark the buttonholes without marking on the fabric, though my bright idea to hold the tear-away stabilizer in place using quilting basting spray didn't work.  I bought the home decorating fabric I'm using on clearance, and I'm only now sort of positive that it was normal home deco fabric and not something meant for outdoor use, as the material has very obviously been treated with something.  I'm hoping that it means...

...but we survived the steeking.  To be fair, so far I have only cut the armholes because I thought it would make more sense to figure out the zipper length before steeking.  Obviously my first guess  was a bit wrong.  The 26-inch zipper it is. There will be a collar, but not a 3-inch one.  One of the great things about making up a sweater is the ability to alter on the fly as needed.  Of course, one of the great drawbacks is the need to do so.  In spite of daily fantasies about other yarns, I am holding firm on my Stashdash challenge, and when I was in dire need of purse knitting for a day of running errands on Monday, I started a new scarf from one of my stashdash basket yarns.  I'd purchased this stuff years ago from Elann.com specifically to make scarves, and it's only taken me about 6 or 7 years to get around to doing so.  I think in the knitting world that might be sort of speedy.  There are (were) 3 balls of this stuff in...