A Little Yarn On The Side

After getting all the attention yesterday, Theo was in place early today and just begging for some tummy rubs The ham. The napkins are trimmed, washed, and ironed, and three sets of six napkins each are ready for Monday's "Soup Night" salsa tasting and I have used my "Martha" quotient for the month. Too bad, as Andy's birthday present clothes still aren't done..... The scarf, however, being intended for no one in particular and having no deadline at all is getting lots of attention and may be done before the month is half over. I'm using some yarn that I have had in my stash for several years, and after I used up the first skein, I went to the bag and pulled out this I have had yarn break in a few places because I wound it too tightly, but this wasn't tight. It's a Patons superwash & it has been discontinued for a while & maybe this is why it was discontinued. I noticed on the first skein that there were some places where strands h...

And it doesn't bother me in the slightest that it was a brand new one and that all the ones "in progress" are still "in progress." Did I mention that I leapt off the fabric wagon many months ago? It's one thing to buy no yarn for a year, but fabric is a bit harder as things come up and I've only been stashing fabric for a few years. Anyway, the August Soup Night is on Monday, and it was originally going to be a salsa tasting as I assumed I would have had time to make a few new salsas by August. I failed to discuss this plan with the tomatoes however, and I am now just hoping to harvest our first tomato by Monday. So I have changed the event to a salsa cook-off, and decided salsa cocktail napkins to give as prizes were in order, so today I made 18 napkins: The problem now is that they are so cute that we want some for ourselves, so I'll be headed back to Joanns soon. I am still counting the 2 yards of fabric used in my stash tally--even though ...

OK, normally I love lace. I adore lace. Lace is wonderful. But lace is really, really s l o w. . . . Meet the August Project of the Month: a WORSTED weight scarf made with tiny 116-yard skeins that might finally move that darn stash tally AND from a pattern that does not require the continual consultation of charts. It even fit easily in my purse when I went out to run errands today. I think I'm in love...... But lest you think I've been spending all my time with the new scarf, Theo and I played a rousing game of sheets today: So what is it like to have sheets that aren't covered in cat hair?

And WIP Wrestlemania is over!!!! Last year I managed to contract a severe case of "finishitis" when I went on my WIP-finishing binge. No such luck this year. I did get one WIP done and made astounding progress on the Kimono Shawl, but enough is enough. It's time for the new Porject of the Month bag........ and it's a knitted scarf in worsted weight yarn! Excellent--I needed a good portable project. Now I just need to decide what sort of pattern to use. I think I'll make it a cable or waffle pattern--something that could be considered "manly" as the "gift bin," like all the stores, has a whole bunch of gifts for women and one for men. So it's time for a nice "manly" scarf. And, having already canned 4 quarts of pickles early this morning, I am devoting the rest of the day to crafting. Andy has gone on a motorcycle ride, we have no social engagements today, and no one is coming to visit. Theo has nabbed the favorite morning ...

I have finished the 13th pattern repeat and it's all downhill from here! Granted, it's a really long hill, but still... Theo grudgingly agreed to hang out with me while I knit but he sulked the whole time. He only agreed because he's really clingy since I was gone for a whole three days, and right now this is as independent as he gets. If I get some time, we'll do a little sewing tomorrow.

* Do I knit for the finished items or so I can buy more yarn? * How many shawls can one person truly wear? * Why is buying yarn so much more fun than buying groceries? * Why can't I get as excited about eyelash scarves as I do about lace shawls that will take a heart-wrenching amount of time? * If people own cats and don't knit, what do their cats nap on? * How many more times until I learn: scratchy yarn = scratchy sweater? * If those darn story problems in high school math had been about knitting, would I have complained less? * I've never been attracted to really big men. Was this out of the fear of having to knit them cabled sweaters? * Is it just a coincidence that my closest friends appreciate hand-knit gifts? * Would there be less road rage if everyone else knit at stoplights too? * If knitting is so dang popular, why do strangers keep complimenting me on my lovely crocheting? * How long can I keep a project in the Project Time-Out Bin before it's d...

In the last 2 weeks, I've hosted 3 parties, gone out 3 times, had two different rounds of house guests, gone on a long weekend to Oregon, baked THREE chocolate zucchini cakes, made two batches of pickles, and met some friends for lunch. What I have NOT done so much of: * sleep * knit * sew We returned from Oregon Sunday around 3:30, and Andy's parents arrived around 5 for a quick visit on their way to Seattle. My little sidekick was obviously thrilled to see them as well, because he promptly brought my mother-in-law a dead mouse, which he hid inside her shoe. Luckily, she's a cat lover, so she could appreciate it as a "gift," though I was, of course, mortified. I guess I should be thankful he didn't recreate the live mouse floor show that he provided for one dinner guest. I have finally reached repeat #12, so one more and I'll be halfway: and it still continues to look exactly the same. I think I'm going to do a little minor blocking with the i...