A Little Yarn On The Side

Or 15,419 yards of yarn--whichever sounds bigger. At this rate, I could use up over 20,000 yards of yarn this year--having only purchased 1400 yards to finish existing projects! (For the sake of bragging we are ignoring that little December episode with the computer & the Visa.....) I'm no longer quite sure of the exact size of the stash--some things not being accounted for and the total still reflecting yarn that has been used--but I believe I probably started the year with somewhere around 120,000 yards of yarn. I know--it's a frightening number even when guessing, HOWEVER, if I have used up 20,000 yards by the end of the year I will have used up 1/6th of the existing stash!!! By the end of next year's yarn ban, I could be down to a 4 year's supply of yarn! THAT could be considered a "reasonable" stash amongst my knitting friends (Note to those with stash issues: hang out with people who have a larger stash than you do. Trust me on this one). I HA...

My ability to ignore projects is second only to my continued inability to estimate how long it actually takes to knit things. 2 sleeves in 3 days......HA!!!!!

Sleeves seem like such small things--you don't cast on many stitches, and only add more stitches gradually, so occasionally an unwary knitter is foolishly sucked into believing that she could finish a sleeve in one day. That, however, is not really the case. Today I have spent WAY more time than I care to admit working on the first sleeve, and I'm not even at the half-way mark. All that knitting completely wore Theo out, so I was able to get some cat-free shots of the Fir Cone shawl now that it is blocked. It's not quite square, and no matter how I pinned it, the edging doesn't lay completely flat--it would probably have been good to skip a few stitches on each side. But, it's still a lovely shawl that will look fine when it's worn. A few close-ups for detail: And now I'm going to go do something--anything--as long as it doesn't involve sleeves!

As of 6:00 PM on Saturday, the front & back of Andy's sweater are done and the shoulder seams are done and the first sleeve has been cast on. 3 days left in the month....... ....and really, don't you think this whole "sleep" thing is overrated anyway??????

So, there are 4 days left in the month and I'm to here: on Andy's sweater, which translates into almost at the division for the neck on the front of the sweater. I have the rest of the front, 2 sleeves, and the collar to do in 4 days. What are the odds?

Early this morning, my trusty sidekick and I washed the finished Fir Cone shawl, with Theo stopping briefly to smell some flowers I received for my birthday a couple weeks ago, though he was on-hand to make sure there were no washing disasters, as this wool does felt if you stare at it too hard. And voila! Finished WIP # 9 in a row!!!! YAY!!!!!! Andy's sweater might get a little quality time this week after all.....

I am this: close to being done with WIP #9!!!!! AND, I'm still loving the pattern--Fir Cone by Cheryl Oberle. Love it, love it, love it! For a little bit, I thought I might be creating a blanket, but folded in half, it will make a reasonable shawl. For those of you who remember that September was going to be Knitting For Men Month....I still have 7 days left and I believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and knitting miracles--probably in that order.