A Little Yarn On The Side

Whew!  I'd like to say that we'd been off traveling or doing something exciting since the last time I posted, but the truth is far more boring.  I had to finish up our taxes, get a lot of work done in the greenhouse and in the beds, have been racking up some big walking mileage, then this weekend with two parties and dinner guests, I didn't even have enough time to rest & stretch my back, so yesterday I was exhausted.  I know--I need to be more vigilant in doing what is right for my back, and after an interesting episode this weekend of watching 2 60-year-olds with heart problems chug down a bottle of wine each while complaining about cardiologists, trust me--making good health decisions is our new driving force around here.  :) There has been some crafting: The remaining three table runners are finished, laundered, and in the gift bin, and I don't even want to discuss kimono ornaments for a while.  I am, however, probably all set for ornaments to gi...

There are MORE.  A total of 36 in progress, to be exact. Every time I cut fabric for something, I cut a strip or two for my kimono ornament box: which allows me to play around with matching fabrics and makes for less ironing (ALWAYS a consideration in my life).  While this has many good aspects, lately it has also meant that the box was getting very, very full.  THEN I got the idea for these,  because so many of our friends play music (I think the clasp stitching needs to be in gold on the next ones, don't you?), and while I was getting the music fabrics out, I ran across the silver fabric which really looks good with two blue and silver fabrics...........and by the time I stopped pinning I had 36 ornaments in progress.  And not a huge dent in my kimono ornament stash.  Ahem........ I think one of the things that added to so many ornaments in progress is that I had my craft table to myself.  This is the official sign of spring around her...

Ha!

I managed to squeak both both scarves in under the Mad Dash wire, giving me 2090 yards for my Mad Dash team (which luckily had some faster knitters, so we made the 12,000 yard mark) and 34 projects for the year!  Of course, what I wanted to do was immediately cast on more lace, but I would REALLY love to see a physical reduction in stash this year, so I cast on a one-row scarf instead: The yarn is an acrylic that I've had for a while, and generally I only use acrylic for baby clothes, but I really like this colorway.  AND it's been in my stash probably 9 years, and this scarf will use it all up--and hopefully make a great gift.  THEN I can revisit the lace thing.......... The two runners with fleece for a backing have been finished and washed,  and while they turned out okay, I'm not overly thrilled with the bottom one with the decorative ties.  The stippled one was certainly the bigger pain to actually MAKE because the fleece was so stretchy, b...

*  Publish a free pattern on Ravelry, and the next time someone asks you for a chart, make one using Roman numerals..... *  Walk into your local knit night and announce that with Global Warming, soon no one will need knitwear at all. *  Take a small ball of yarn with you when you go out for sushi, and start knitting with your chopsticks while waiting *  This: * or this: * Call your local police station to report a tip on a local yarn uni-bomber, but specify that he does occasionally dabble with acrylic 4-ply *   Confront the local quilter's guild for encroaching on your craft-store turf--if possible, with a catchy background score by Bernstein. *  Take your knitting out in public, and the next time someone says, "I would never have the patience for that," tell them the doctor says it will keep you off the medications and maybe the shock treatments....

Thanks for your kind words everyone!  I am SO in love with the new shawl!!!  And to give credit where credit is due, this is the Raverly link to the Begonia Swirl shawl , which a lovely knitter has chosen to share for free.  Aren't knitters the best? I've had a bit of an up-and-down (literally) week with the back, so only a tiny bit of sewing: which was trying single decorative stitches in variegated thread as ties on a table runner with fleece as a backing.  Not bad, though not my favorite.  And the limit of this week's sitting. Since there's been a fair bit of laying on the heating pad, I took the opportunity to try out the size 17 needles I just bought, and made half a scarf before having to stop because I couldn't find the second ball of yarn.  My organization "skills" are just truly frightening sometimes.  I liked the pattern, so I started a second scarf with slightly smaller needles (10) and some of the oldest yarn in my stash: wh...