Home & Garden Show

So I went to the Home & Garden show in Richmond last Saturday. And had an overwhelming desire to buy a pile of zippers!

At least that's what it looks like, right?

Actually, you zip and zip and zip and it turns into a tote bag!



Just like this. Kinda cool. The real idea is that it takes up less space unzipped so its good for traveling. But I really just bought it because I was amused. Though I do like the colors I picked.

Otherwise I mostly bought food - flavored oils, balsamic vinegar, applewood smoke sea salt and an herb blend.



This is my new idea for the backyard dream landscaping. This year replacing all the windows has to take priority as the big project, but next year maybe I can get the backyard landscaped. My backyard is fairly flat for about 10 yards from the back of the house, then slopes down pretty steeply to a wooded area. The constant in my plan is a patio on the flat part, maybe with planter boxes all around, then a winding path with terraced gardens down the rest of the yard. Because mowing back there is a nightmare! It also is the south side of the house, so a pergola over the patio would be nice. So the idea of a wall of water like this coming off the pergola before the garden area seems really cool to me!

Trades are fun!

Okay, so in my last post I mentioned surprising me with something from where you live as a trade for some of my yarn. And the first one from my end anyway was so much more than I ever could expect. The only thing I feel bad about is that apparently the Royal Mail is so much better than the US Postal Service that its not even funny. I've had my package since early last week and Jan is still waiting for her yarn to arrive in Scotland.

So I'm think Scotland, hmm, maybe shortbread or scotch (which my father and BIL would have enjoyed but not me), or .... Okay, I did wonder whether haggis was something you could mail, but had decided I'd at least I'd give it a try if it came!

Instead I get some cards - one with a small scene with sheep and the heading "missing ewe," two with print of textiles by Susan Woodcock from Blue Beyond Cards, and the last card a print of a painting by Martin Devine.

AND... The original painting you see here by Martin Devine called Scottish Landscape No. 71. I LOVE IT!

The best part is that I'm currently trying to put together a room in the house that will be my craft room. This is definitely going on the wall there.

Oh I only hope Jan's yarn arrives soon and she likes it as much as she expected!

Thank you Jan!

Stash

A while back I used my excel spreadsheet to list my stash in Ravelry. Since then I've been gradually adding pictures. Once a picture is added, I've been moving the listing to the "trade or sell" section if I don't have an idea of what I'd use the yarn for or if I've decided I'm no longer interested in the project it was purchased for. I've added a link to that page on this blog.

I'm serious about making me an offer. In fact feel free to browse the entire stash. I've been rather open to requests for other yarn unless (a) I specific idea for a project and think that yarn is perfect or (b) its a yarn I purchased to try and its the only example in the stash.

I'm not actually interested in trades for yarn, since stash reduction is my primary goal. But i'd be interested in other trades. Be inventive. Maybe something unique to the area where you live. I'll also add a list of things I'm interested in, for example some older Simply Knitting magazines I'm looking for.

Or make me an offer for purchase. I tend to be rather generous with how cheaply I'll let things go, though that may be a function of how much I like the yarn.

Oh, and my Ravelry name is vaknitter . Feel free to add me to your friends and I'll do the same.

Happy? Groundhog's Day

I have a niece who thinks Groundhog's Day is a major holiday. I thought she believed it was THE major holiday, but she clarified this week that Christmas is a bigger deal.

She also loves dressing up their dog Blaize, aka Bubba (he was a post-Katrina rescue, so a southerner now living in New England). This is him helping her celebrate last year. Doesn't he look like he's having fun?

I put the ? in because the prediction is six more weeks of winter. So maybe not such a happy day for everyone! Actually, maybe that explains the look on Bubba's face, not the hat.

January resolutions met!!!!!

Woohoo!!!!!

This is the first time I pulled off all resolutions since I started monthly resolutions, and I don't think its because I've learned to lowball myself!

These were the January resolutions, with results in bold:
- Take the "knit a mile" challenge in the Stash Knit Down 2008 group on Ravelry, and, since it straddles two months, knit the January proportion to reach that goal.

Counting only finished objects, I've knit 831 of the 1760 needed to meet this challenge. A little less than 1/2, but I've done a little more on some other things and feel it is still achievable from here.
- Finish the last two Christmas presents.

Done, as mentioned in my last post.

- Knock at least one more WIP/UFO off the current list.

Done, the Loopy and Luscious scarf in the last post takes care of this.

- Knit enough yardage to exceed the incoming stash from existing clubs and any other purchases I don't manage to resist (yikes I'm going to be near Webs!). Though there are enough existing clubs incoming that I'm hoping that thought will help resist the later.

By the skin of my teeth! Incoming yardage = 4150; outgoing = 4370.

The only reason I pulled this off is because my first yarn from the Neighborhood Yarn Company's Tour of DC sock club didn't arrive by yesterday, even though others have been getting them for the past week. Then again, the only reason I was this tight was because of my sister deciding that yarn was a good gift after all (see Murphy's Law ). But I didn't buy any new yarn myself, despite that Webs visit!

The beginning of the year totals I posted were off. I think the formulas in the spreadsheet that did the tallies were wrong. The new numbers are:
- 462990.15 yards of yarn in the stash
- 41 kits not otherwise counted in the stash (I did destash one of these)
- 19 WIPs

In addition to the three FOs mentioned above, I also started and finished two others.

So what will February's resolutions be:
- Meet the Knit a Mile challenge
- Finish two more of the WIPs
- Knit or destash enough yardage to exceed the incoming yardage from existing clubs and any other purchases I don't manage to resist.

So what clubs might I see this month:
- the last 2007 Flock Sock Club kit (not renewed for 2008)
- Yarn4Socks February Club (not renewed after this)
- Yarn Pirate Booty Club (not renewed after March)
- dkKnits Technicolor Dream Toes (continues through October)
- January and February Tour of DC Sock Club (continues through March)
- Harmony Sock Club (continues through June)
- Webs Skein of the Month (continues through December)
- Brooklyn Handspun Holiday Sock Club (continues through April)
- Tofutsies February, and also a 4-skein Collector's set I ordered last year

I've got a lot of knitting and/or destashing to do!

I'm hoping I can resist renewing these, especially since I'm in three other clubs that start in March! But if Zen Yarn Garden restarts the Sumptuous Sock Club I will not be able to resist that!

Shhhh, its a secret

Well I can't really tell you what that is yet, but it is fun. That picture was this morning of what i knit yesterday. Its about twice that now. I'll tell you more some day!

Actually, I can tell you I'm using some very old stash yarn for it. Alice Starmore Scottish Campion in Teal and Eggshell. I think this yarn is an example of "must not use because it is no longer made" thinking. But what's the point of the stash if you don't use it. And its not like there isn't other similar yarn!


Doing pretty well on the resolutions. The Christmas presents were finished in time for the trip to Massachusetts. They went over well not just with the recipients but also others. I may start a box of accessories and just take/send it up next year and let them all sort it out amongst themselves. After all New Englanders can use hats, scarves, mittens, etc. much more than I can in Virginia!

I've also finished one old UFO/WIP - Loopy & Luscious. Unlike many of the old ones, I know when this was started - January 2006. I knit until I had knit through about 3 of the rows with the thick yarn and then nothing. Once I picked it up again it was finished in about a week. I really need to focus more as things really do get done then!


And last, I started and finished a moebius in less than a week. This is the free pattern from when Cat Bordhi was on Knitty Gritty. I told my sister I'd give her the Handmaiden Cashmere from my stash if she'd push herself to try. I started one myself to demo the cast-on for her, and finishing it only took a few days. If you're on Ravelry, check out my sister's profile pic (she's princesssusie). She's not good at entering projects, etc., but changed her profile pic to show her moebius modeled by Bubba her collie.

Murphy's Law

For years when people asked I said that yarn would be a good gift for me, or yarn shop gift certificates, etc. And they always said something like, "you have lots of yarn, that's not a good gift."

Flash forward and we reach a point where I've come to the conclusion that I really do have too much yarn. I see my sister yesterday for the first time in a while and what does she have for my Christmas present - two skeins of yarn! Lace weight with lots of yardage to throw off the January resolution!

Now in her defense, this is gorgeous stuff. The picture is one of the skeins, but it doesn't do it justice. They are both Posh Yarn Eva 2ply lace - a silk and cashmere blend. The one pictured is called Lustre, which is a very appropriate name and hence the reason its hard to photograph. And get this, the other is called Violets, and I'd already bought a skein of that for myself. Great mind right!

I think I created a monster giving her some Posh last year. She doesn't want to knit with anything else! I gave her some Handmaiden cashmere yesterday and we'll see if that takes. On the other hand, I ended up with her Filatura di Crosa Superior yesterday because she decided she couldn't stand that yarn.

I just re-calculated the yardage tally for this month, and I'm still negative (meaning I've used/destashed more than I've gained) but not by a lot. So heaven help me - we're going to Webs today!

So a week in I still feel good

Well about the knitting resolutions anyway. I'm fighting a terrible cold, so that I don't even feel like knitting much.

I've decided that I'm not going to post numbers weekly, only monthly. But thanks to Ravelry I am ahead of the game at this point. As I've been updating the stash with pictures, I moved a few things into "for sale or trade" that I no longer was interested in the project for or couldn't think of one. Well I got a message about one of those this week and sold a couple skeins of Silky Wool that way. And someone wrote about another skein and I decided I could let that one go also. So yardage-wise I'm ahead even though some of the January club yarns also arrived this week. There's quite a few more coming, so I either need to destash more or get in the mood to knit to stay on the right side of the ledger!

So this means that if you're on Ravelry feel free to shop my stash. Even if I don't list it as "sale or trade" I'm fairly open to the idea of getting rid of stuff, unless I have a specific project in mind I'm still eager to do that is.

I'm leaving Wednesday for Massachusetts. I was planning to go up later in the month anyway for a delayed family holiday party, but my father needs to go to Idaho so I'm going earlier to stay with my mom. Hopefully I'll get a fair bit of knitting done sitting and visiting with her.

But Becky may be coming up to join me during the trip, in which case a trip to Webs would definately be on the agenda. Lord save me from myself!

Looking forward into 2008

Okay, I've been out of the country a lot lately, but there's really no excuse for how lax I've been here! When I went to review my December goals I realized I never made any. Then even worse, when I looked back to the November goals I realized I never finished any of those! But I really like the idea of monthly goals, so my only goal for the new year is to not make any but instead to make (and hopefully keep!) monthly goals.

While I haven't been knitting I have been putting my stash up on Ravelry. Currently I have 784 different yarns (meaning unique brands, colors, and dye lots) stashed, and I figure its about 80% of my stash. I decided to use my spreadsheet to enter yarns even if I didn't have a picture. If I couldn't locate the yarn in the Ravelry database, I'm waiting until I pull it out to photograph and/or use. I'm also adding items to the queue when I know what I intended the yarn for. And if I have no idea, or know for sure I'm no longer interested in the plan, I'm listing it as available for sale or trade. By the way, if you aren't yet on Ravelry, get over there and put your name on the list. Believe me, as long as the list seems you'll get in much quicker than I did. And it is a wonderous resource!

Now for the beginning of the year totals:
- 463727.15 yards of yarn in the stash
- 42 kits not otherwise counted in the stash
- 23 WIPs

The only one of those I'm in any way proud of is the last, as its the only one smaller than last year!

Now January goals are tricky. I know I'm going to be away a large part of the month again, but I'm hoping unlike other trips I will be able to do a fair amount of knitting on this one. So here's my January goals:

- Take the "knit a mile" challenge in the Stash Knit Down 2008 group on Ravelry, and, since it straddles two months, knit the January proportion to reach that goal.
- Finish the last two Christmas presents. Yes, that's right, since my travel took longer than expected its not all done!
- Knock at least one more WIP/UFO off the current list.
- Knit enough yardage to exceed the incoming stash from existing clubs and any other purchases I don't manage to resist (yikes I'm going to be near Webs!). Though there are enough existing clubs incoming that I'm hoping that thought will help resist the later.

I've stashed 500 yarns in Ravelry!

Yikes, once I decided I didn't have to put a picture in for everything who knew it could add up that fast. And I'm still no where near done!

Work life is crazy right now. I can't really think of anything until after a certain project is done!

I never posted this picture

I said I'd post a picture of the finished moebius when I took one and I never did. Thanks to Becky's modeling skills, I finally have one.

I also caught up with my tracking on yardage, WIPs, etc. Since most of the recent WIPs were so close to completion I never entered their yarn in the database. So I don't get a yardage reduction for them. But the WIP count is down to 22 from 30 at the beginning of July, so that's something to be proud of!

Good news and bad

The good news is I have some long overdue finished objects to report. My friend Gayle invited me over for a finishing day yesterday. She should do this more often as it really works for me!

To the right we have a lace scarf and a little beaded purse. The scarf was knit long time ago. The fringe is supposed to have a bead on each one. I had beaded one end but then never finished the other! Then I couldn't find the matching beads. So Gayle suggested removing the beads already on there. Viola - finished. The little purse was a sampler from a bead knitting class I took a long time ago at Knitter's Day Out. I'll use it as a tree decoration now that its finished.



And to the left, the sampler from the Danish Skråtrøje class I took with Beth Brown-Reinsel at the local guild years ago. I'd put one of the sleeves in sideways and put it aside fed up. So yesterday I took out the bad sleeve, sewed it back in along with the second sleeve, crocheted the neck edge and viola once again.

The bad news, looking at my list of resolutions for this month I'm rather apprehensive about finishing any of them. The wristers are started, but in black silk they're very hard to work on and definately not train material. Plus I didn't factor in the week I was in the UK and didn't even bother to bring any knitting because I knew I wouldn't have much free time.

Oh well, I still have some time and a long weekend coming up. Though I have to 'fess up that I'm planning a wee yarn crawl on Friday with a couple of friends.

October wrap-up/November resolutions

Okay, first off, I've figured out who I must credit with the idea of monthly resolutions - Polly of All Tangled Up. So thank you Polly. All in all, I don't think October was too shabby. Enough so that I'm going to continue.

So this is how I did with the October resolutions -

- I didn't finish the knitting on Robert the Bruce. In fact I haven't even found it again!
- I did finish knitting the socks with Regia Bamboo.
- I did knit at least 20 rows on Hanami. In fact, exactly that many!
- I did start something new despite the vow not to.

So, lessons learned. I get most of my knitting done on the train while commuting, and right now most of the WIPs/UFOs cannot be done under those conditions. Either too complicated and/or too big. So I need to make allowances for that in the plan not to start anything new.

On the other hand, the project I started when the socks were finished was also finished by the end of the month. As with most lace, its nothing much to look at right now. Hopefully I can wash and block it this weekend and will post a pic when that is done.

So here's the November resolutions -

- Finish the knitting on Robert the Bruce (at least run it to ground!)
- Knit Whitewater Wristwarmers.
- Finish the current repeat on Hanami and knit at least one more.
- Do not start anything new except to replace the current train project. Preferably with Christmas knitting. The Whitewater Wristwarmers are in that category and are what I'm about to start on tomorrow's commute. There's at least one other pair of mittens I'm considering as a Christmas gift for someone, so that would be good here also.

Beyond that, not buy anything in the UK next week that I can't get here! The dollar is so weak compared to the pound right now! The last time I was there (about a decade!), the dollar and the pound were almost equal. I really need to keep in mind that the real cost of anything I look at is more than double what that tag says now!

The Universe is Trying to Tell Me Something!

So I bought The Knitting Tarot. That block to the right is a "magnesium cut" used in printing it. Not being a printer, I really didn't know what to expect. I think I could even use it as a stamp if I wanted to. But this is where it gets weird. I'm flipping through the book that accompanies the cards and I find my image. And you're never going to guess what it is: Seven of Skeins - Too Much Stash. Is that eerie or what!



And to the left we have the wimple I started, breaking the first of those October resolutions. The yarn is cashmere lace weight from Posh Yarn. You have to lurk on the site for when the yarn goes up on Sunday (6pm on the east coast), but its worth it. This was actually sale yarn because it had a "flaw." I believe she called it a green spot in the description, maybe the size of a quarter on the skein. It broke up when balled and it just causes the occasional stitch that now seems more gold. I actually really like it as a highlight! The pattern is the Wavy Feathers Wimple from Caryll Designs. I'm really enjoying it and suspect it might end up becoming a go-to pattern for gifts.

BTW, on those monthly resolutions. Not my idea. And I really wish I could remember who I got the idea from to give them credit. Maybe in November I'll find another post from them and can do that.

And yes, there was new yarn this week. But I'm getting bored with posting about that. Never mind that tarot thing freaking me out!

Well one resolution done!

Finished the Regia Bamboo socks.

The yarn was a cream color with red, pink and purple flecks. The red dye really ran, so the background is more pink now. Just as well I decided to do some lace when I got to the cuff of the first one, thinking the yarn was girly and needed a girlier cuff than just ribbing!

I also got to some knitting on Hanami last night. I really enjoy that kind of knitting. I just need more time when I can sit and focus.

There's a little problem with the other two resolutions. First, I can't seem to find Robert the Bruce. Second, now that the socks are done I really need some traveling knitting! I don't know whether I can get another WIP there or not.

More yarn arrived this week - a few more colors of Kidsilk Haze (I'm also gathering yarn for the Earth Stripe Wrap in the recent Rowan magazine), my freebie kit for renewing my Rowan membership, some sock yarn from Spritely Goods. Oh, and my Wollmeise! I got some lace yarn, three skeins of worsted weight to do her moebius pattern, and one more skein of sock yarn.

As I'm typing this I kinda decided what to do about traveling. I gifted my sister with a skein of Posh Yarn cashmere lace weight. I think we finally settled on a pattern that will work for her. I'm going to start it myself with one of my single skeins, so when she starts I'll be better able to help her.

Have I said that I run a call-in Knitting Emergency Help Line? At least for her. Its kinda funny.

I think I'll give monthly resolutions a try

I've been thinking about this, and maybe monthly resolutions would work better for me. The big ones I seem to do okay at for a few months, then go crazy when I break them.

So for this month this is what I've decided:

- finish the knitting on Robert the Bruce
- finish knitting the socks with Regia Bamboo
- knit at least 20 rows on Hanami
- not start anything new.

Robert the Bruce is a gorgeous aran that I was test-knitting for a woman who unfortunately died before her patterns could be published. That caused me to put it aside when all that was left was basically finishing. Then when I picked it up again I started sewing it together without finishing the knitting on one side of the neck on either the front or the back. I'm ashamed to admit how long it took me to figure out why it just wasn't going together right. So totally fed up with myself I put it aside again. I'm thinking I'm make the knitting a goal for this month and the sewing up/collar knitting a goal for November and finally someone can wear this baby!

The socks are both at the cuff stage (they're toe-up), so that should be doable and get another project off the list.

Hanami was supposed to be my mother's Christmas present, so I joined a KAL for it. And promptly had life get in the way so I fell behind. Way behind. Some members are finishing and I still haven't finished clue 1! I'm re-evaluating whether this can really be her Christmas present, maybe it will be for her birthday in February. But I'd at least like to get back to the knitting!

Now you probably noticed that not buying yarn isn't on the list. Well that would be because I've already done that this month! In fact, a slew of mail orders arrived Saturday (almost 10,000 yards worth of yarn plus 5 kits!). It did help me decide not to go to the Fiber Festival in Montpelier on Sunday or Stitches next weekend though!!!!!

Finished!

Check it out! I finished something from the great New England buying spree of a couple weeks ago!

Yarn keeps mysteriously showing up at my house. Another 3001 yards this past week. One of the things was the Knit Picks Palette to start Spilly Jane's Sea Mineral Mittens (see the link on the right side of her blog). This was one of the first patterns I found after joining Ravelry and I've been waiting for her to post the pattern. I'm dying to start them, but I also have some Christmas knitting looming over my head so I'm torn.

So here's a question - what knitting web sites would you be better off not visiting (lest you find yarn mysteriously showing up at your house also)? For me two big killers are Earthfaire and Naturesong Yarn or any of its sister sites. 'Nuf said.

Ready for the number?

10796.95 yards!

Plus seven kits - the six little ornament kits and another Flock Sock club kit.

Here's the damage!

That's it all together. Knowing what I spent it doesn't look like much, but there is a lot of cashmere, alpaca and silk there.

On the left side, top to bottom, we have 2 skeins of Filatura di Crosa Superior in lime and burgundy, one skein of Kidsilk Haze in Drab and one skein of Rowan Calmer in a light tan. In the middle section, left to right, we have one skein of Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton, one skein of Valley Yarns Hand Dyed 2/14 Alpaca Silk in Atlantis, one skein of Classic Elite Alpaca Sox in Garden, and two skeins of Art Yarns Silk Rhapsody in color #139. On the right top to bottom we have six skeins of Frog Tree Alpaca Sport in two shades of grey, red, orange, chartreuse and light blue, and one skein of Tofutsies in color 785. Oh, and not in the picture are the the sheep ornament kits that can be seen at the Buttermilk Cottage site. I have all six now.

Now the good news is I actually have a plan for all of this. The Filatura di Crosa Superior is for a lace scarf. The lime skein is for me and the burgundy for my friend. We saw the sampler lace scarf in the pattern book, but we aren't going to buy that book for a scarf pattern when we have lots of stitch pattern books! It is good to know that you can get a nice scarf out of one ball given the price of it!

The Rowan Calmer is to make a chemo hat for an aunt (though she's actually about my age so I always think cousin), the Organic Cotton for a baby kimono (even though there's no baby in mind now, I just love that pattern), the Alpaca/silk for a Rhea Stole (a Valley Yarn pattern), the Silk Rhapsody for a Dramatic Squares shawl (an Art Yarns Pattern), the Alpaca Sox and Tofutsies for, well, socks! The Frog Tree alpaca is a substitute for the Blue Sky Alpaca to make the Composed Mitts in the most recent Interweave Knits magazine.

The skein of Kidsilk Haze in Drab finished this collection:



Can you guess what it is for?

I do have some additional yarn that arrived in the mail since the last time I did a tally. I probably won't get all of this entered into the inventory until the weekend, so I'll give a two-week total next Sunday.

Quickie until I get back to Virginia

Well I said I was taking my Aunt to Webs while I was up here, but that's happening today.

But Saturday I had to take my niece to her job, and decided to take a quick run up "to check on the store hours for Monday." So while I was there I decided to look for the stuff on my shopping list, so I could focus on helping my Aunt today. Are you buying any of this????

So this is what I bought at Webs on Saturday - 1 skein of the Alpaca Silk Handyed, 2 balls of Filatura di Crosa Superior (1 for me and 1 for Gayle), AND (not on the list but I noticed while I walked by) 1 skein of Classic Elite Alpaca Sox and 1 skein of Natural Cotton (blanking on the name but its the one for the One Skein baby bolero). Plus 2 shawl/stole patterns.

Then yesterday we went down to Tiverton Four Corners and my sister remembered that the sheep ornament kits she had ordered for me were at the yarn shop. So we went there to pick those up, and I found the one color of Kidsilk Haze I'm looking for Modern Quilt Squares. Oh, and 1 ball of Calmer for a hat for an aunt who's undergoing chemo treatments right now.

Plus I vaguely remember that some stuff had come mail order since last weekend.

I'll post better details and photos of the pile when I get back.

Anyone think I won't buy anything else at Webs today?