A Little Yarn On The Side

I have rounded the third corner and am on the home stretch!!!! Finished WIP number 9 is so close I can almost taste it...... ......which would probably be distinctly awful as it's wool and wet wool generally stinks, so it would most likely taste really bad.... ....but you get the idea.... ....must...go....knit....

It's late September, and about the time that the true crafter creates an insane list of projects that she really thinks she can complete by Christmas morning. Luckily, I am on a knitting WIP marathon and CANNOT cast on any new knitting. Boy, I didn't think I'd ever be glad to say THAT. I did, however, work on my part of the friends/family Christmas gifts. Andy and I have decided to alternate years with who makes the gifts, and this is his year. I did promise some nice bags to go along with his woodworking creations, so tonight I made this: It's made from a wonderful black & red brocade that ravels like crazy, and I don't like the gold ribbon drawstring, but aside from that, I think it's a decent prototype. I decided to go ahead and cut out the rest of them and Theo had claimed the lining. I got in about an hour of knitting today and he completely ignored me. I turn on the sewing machine and WHAMMO! Obviously, all crafts are not created equal in kittyl...

I have almost finished the third side of the edging and might even have WIP number 9 done by next week! Did I mention I'm trying to get to 20?

The 90-day spending ban has been over Since August 16, and I have only purchased one knitting book: It was even a used book, since this is sadly out of print. I have been knitting for about 28-29 years (depending how old I was when I actually learned), and in that time have accumulated an astounding number of knitting books/patterns/magazines. When new books come out, it's relatively easy to resist buying them by remembering that 1) I have nowhere to put them and 2) I already have at least a 10-15 year project list in my possession already--not to mention that I could stop being lazy and simply design my own sweaters again. I used to design quite a bit of what I knit--especially in those early knitting years when I was a lone un-hip knitter hiding in the closet with my metal size 6's and scratchy Red Heart yarn. Kmart actually carried yarn at that time, a store in the Ontario mall called Sprouse Reitz could be counted on for yarn and popcorn--not necessarily in that order....

I just rounded the second corner!!!!! OK, that might need some explanation. On the Fir Cone edging, I started right after the last corner, so finishing the second corner means I have finished half the edging already. Whoo hoo! And the corner was at the top of the picture when I uploaded the picture--I guess Blogger is having some issues tonight. But you get the idea. Now you can sort of see the first corner and Abby is right--it would make a great tablecloth. Actually, it would be pretty easy as the center square was done first. Just converting that into a rectangle would probably turn it into a nice size for a table cloth. I wouldn't do it with this one as it's 100% wool and would felt like a champ, but in an ivory cotton? Hm........ Theo refused to knit with me tonight--apparently it was a "male bonding" night: At least it wasn't beer and football.....

Tonight I've finally had some time to knit, so with Theo holding my place in the pattern book, I have almost reached the halfway point on the Fir Cone edging. Theo has been quite miffed since Calisto was featured on the blog and he wasn't, so this is actually the first time he has joined me in the sewing room in about a week. I think the publicity has gone to his head.

I have just 3 months left in The Year of the Stash, but I've already decided it will have to be a 2-year project. I do want to allow myself to buy something in January, but every time I sit down to make a list, I come up with about 50 balls of yarn. Now, so far this year I have used up 90 balls of yarn--OF WHICH, 5 were not actually in the stash at the beginning of the year but had to be purchased for finishing specific projects. So let's say I have used up 85 balls of yarn from the stash. In December, knowing I was going to do a year without buying yarn but woefully optimistic about how fast I actually knit, I ordered 75 balls of yarn (that was a really fun box to get, let me assure you). So, I added 75 balls and have used up 85. IT HAS TAKEN ME 9 MONTHS TO REDUCE MY STASH BY 10 MEASLY BALLS OF YARN!!!!!! I could just plunge into 2009 without any "reward" yarn, but could I really last 2 whole years without buying any new yarn? And I do want to make another swea...