A Little Yarn On The Side

See all the progress I've made? Me neither. Twelve days in to Work In Progress month--the month when I was going to finish 5 or 6 projects because they are so close to being done and I am still spending most of my time with the new alpaca cardigan that I wasn't going to cast on last month and the Lady's Circular Cape. Finally out of frustration I made myself work on this: It's a cuff-down sock made with the discontinued Magic Stripe sport weight yarn from Lion Brand, and there was a point in time when I was totally enamored with this sock. I found the yarn on clearance for an insanely low price, and rushed home to cast on--thoroughly overexcited because I had never made a sock in red or black before. Obviously when it's a matter of clearance yarn, it does not take much to excite me. That was a little over a year ago. Ours was a passionate affair, but fleeting. I have finally made it to the toe decrease, will be rewarding myself with a chocolate martini for h...

Last night I did a couple rows on the EZ baby surprise jacket--labeled an "A" project for this month, then went right back to the Lacy's Circular Cape--certainly NOT labeled an "A" project for this month. You know, as a child I actually did my homework. If the teacher said, "Read chapter 8," I didn't go home and read chapters 5, 7, and 10. What happened to me??? Oh, and to answer Danielle's question, last summer I organized The Stash and listed everything (well, almost everything) on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. I list amount, a description, what it's made of, the color, weight, total yardage, what project it was destined for, the start date & end date, the recipient, whether the yarn is feltable, washing & care instructions, and the cost of the yarn (or fabric--it's in there as well). When I start a project, I use the "fill colors" to change the line for the yarn/fabric in use to lavender, and when it...

The chenille blanket is finished! And yes, it does look exactly like the one I made back in November, though perhaps it's a few rows longer. The count is now 2 WIPs frogged, 2 thrown in the trash (don't worry--it was really cheap acrylic yarn), and 1 finished. And.... ----drum roll please----- I have used up 3.11 MILES of yarn so far this year!!! (It sounds SO much more impressive in miles) Luckily, even I have the sense to not total up how many miles the entire stash would be--there are fun experiments and then there's downright insanity. Let's just say that crossing a state line would not be unthinkable and leave it at that.

Sad, isn't it, that there is a part two? Thankfully, there is no Part Three. Just really long parts 1 and 2. MS3 - no picture, no progress. This unloved project is 30 rows from being done, and yet I haven't touched it in a month. This is a baby aran sweater that I started making when a close friend announced she was pregnant, and put away after she had a miscarriage. Still, I love the color & the yarn & the pattern, so when they're ready to try again, I'll finish the sweater. The next sweater for my husband, which I put away after discovering an error & being too lazy to figure out said error. I have it on this year's "to-do" list for July or August, so there's hope. I am in a sock rut. This sock got derailed because it isn't my normal sock pattern, and requires some pattern consultation, so it lost "purse sock" status to those of my normal pattern which I know by heart. I CAN branch out! I will finish this sock with ...

Gleefully casting on a new project every month is WAY more fun, but thanks to a powerful decongestant, it is the WIP Month. I have given myself a few days to recover from the shock of the sheer volume of unfinished projects, and am ready to dive in. First though, Cheap Thrills is finished, blocked, and furred. Honestly--I set it down for 30 seconds TOPS. I think the cats have some sort of radar for detecting clean, furless clothes. For those 30 seconds, though, it was a really stunning sweater. Deep breath, and time to check projects. This is a lace scarf that I started sometime last year. I love the yarn, love how it is turning out, but it's one of those lace projects where you always have to consult the chart, and I'm not always in the mood for "attentive" knitting. Still, I love it, it's more than halfway done, so I keep it, though I'm calling it a "B" priority for this month as it's for me & I can wait for a while. For some things....

I would love to say that I buckled down today and finished some component of that pile of unfinished projects, but though I finished the seams and am blocking the Cheap Thrills sweater I decided to do some decorative stitching on a set of towels--or, rather, one towel as even with a sewing machine decorative stitching takes an insanely long time to do, especially where are bands at each end of the hand towels. I'm up to 2 washcloths and 1 hand towel and will not be discussing the amount of my life trim on three pieces of terry cloth represents. The towels are actually almost a navy blue, and the trim is done in an ice-blue rayon thread. I know, no stash depletion, but they do look pretty sharp if I do say so myself. Faced with the mound of Works In Progress, I have been working on the largest project first, a blanket made from Lion's Thick & Quick Chenille. I love the blankets, but like all chenille, it sheds everywhere and will probably wear out quickly. It's most ...

I never learn. I decided to total up all my lace yarn "just to see"......... 46,000 yards! I don't know that I needed to see that in all honesty. Knitter's Fantasy Land is a fun place to live--everything is possible, all patterns will work out, and there's always something soft nearby. Undeterred, since I was considering making April the "Works in Progress" month, I decided to find all my WIPs and just see how many I really have. (See how little I've learned?) My knitting Works In Progress Oh my! And with a tape dispenser for size reference, as the cats either fled or are buried: On the positive side, finishing at least a few of these will count toward stash depletion. On the not-so-positive side, there is a sewing version of the WIP pile, which even I am not fool enough to photograph. But back to the positive side, I found many of my rosewood needles!