A Little Yarn On The Side

Today while waiting in the drive-through of my regular coffee place, I worked on the Fling scarf--which is the only scarf I've ever made that I wanted to keep. It's sparkly, it's fun, and there are tons of things it would go with. When I got to the window, the server was a girl I've gotten to know fairly well, and she LOVES the scarf. She even wanted to feel it (I think sparkly things have that effect on people). I'm never going to be able to keep this scarf now, darn it. She's just a great young lady and she's working to put herself through college, and it would TOTALLY make her day. If I don't give it to her, I'd always wish that I had, and I don't like those sorts of regrets. So, let's hear it for Random Acts of Knitterly Kindness! As Alison put it, RAKK 'em up!!!

Last night I was up until 10:30 (which is really late for us since we get up at 5:00AM) working on the "Fling" scarf--not because I was getting close to finishing it or had a deadline looming, but because I wanted to finish up the ball of yarn so I could change my tally on the side. It's obvious--The Year of the Stash has done away with whatever shreds of rationality I had left. At least last year my all-consuming goal was number of projects completed, which is a little easier to understand. Staying up late to finish a SWEATER sounds a whole lot better than staying up late to finish up a ball of YARN! And yet, all I can think about now is finishing up 3 more balls of yarn to hit 50.....and maybe I'll even get a scarf out of it.

Aha!!! The part for the washer has arrived (just under the wire for the 90-day purchase ban), and will be installed tomorrow. BUT, if one checks regularly and moves the dial through the cycles manually, it is possible to wash clothes at Chateau Sutton-Goar. So: complete with buttons AND the stabilizer removed. A close-up of the pocket detail: I'm really pleased with how it turned out--especially since I didn't have to cut out a 3rd pocket because my attempts at embroidery botched one of the original ones. This is great progress for me--and a first. My "fling" is progressing: It's S. Charles's Galaxy, and it has little gold metallic threads woven into the "yarn" (as it's really more fabric than yarn, I'm not positive what to call it), and the only size 9 needles I could locate are metal, and the combination results in a scarf that is sliding around so much it practically leaps off the needles if you look at it crosswise. And mayb...

Mature & lasting relationships are truly wonderful, but sometimes you just need fast & easy.

Andy is out with the boys, so I have an evening to myself. I'll be picking out an old movie and working on this, which is the alpaca cardigan if you can't see it through Theo, who would not stay off of it long enough for me to get a clear picture. The ham. And there is a new hat.... made with a Bernat acrylic that I am almost embarrassed to admit I am completely besotted by. I love these colors! I don't know exactly why I only bought two skeins--showing so little restraint at all other times--but this might be one of those things added to the "when I can buy again" list. I generally avoid acrylics, but I think I could make an exception for this yarn. I haven't quite determined the pattern yet--ribbed cuff, followed by maybe some off-white snowflake color work? Or maybe an all-over duplicate stitch "flecked" pattern? Or maybe a tapering pattern of some sort? Or maybe colorwork in black? We'll see what it looks like when I get there. For n...

Spring is in the air, and a reasonably-young woman's thoughts turn lightly to..... NEW KNITTING PROJECTS!!!! For the first three months of The Year of the Stash, I made a new project every month--FINISHED and all--which is very good for the knitting psyche. April was the WIP month, in which I didn't start anything new, finished 2 WIPs, and frogged 5--definitely NOT good for the knitting psyche. Today Dana blogged about some great hats she had made & mentioned what great portable projects they are..... But I have SO many projects on the needles.....this one needs sleeves: That would be portable...I can just think of it as a really ugly hat (like I haven't made plenty of THOSE before), and the yarn comes in these puffy 120-yard balls that knit up pretty quickly and I can add them to the Yarn Used tally.... Reasoning which did at least get me this far. But it's black. Black isn't spring. Spring is...... Hm......................... ................................

Today I finished this: A fleece jacket, started sometime last year. Whew! Good thing it's done as it reached a nippy 75 degrees today. My timing is obviously not that great, but sometimes a FINISHED PROJECT is more important than a useful object.... OK. Some of you have noticed the stabilizer still in place and the lack of buttons, but I would have already washed it had the washing machine not started holding laundry hostage yesterday. (Those front-loaders are devious, let me tell you.) The lack of buttons is because of the washing machine issue. When the stabilizer is washed away, it may become obvious that white buttons are the only way to go, or it might be that a subtle wooden button would look best. No way of knowing really until I can wash it, and the repair man can't be here until Tuesday. I realize that this really shouldn't count as a "finished object" just yet, but while I am used to getting my "arse" kicked regularly by the sewing mac...