Where are they now?

Day Four of the 2nd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week

Today's topic: Whatever happened to your __________?
Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity.

Like every other knitter, I appreciate seeing knits that I have gifted being used by the recipient. Jean has mentioned that she would like all her family members to wear her handknit gifts to her funeral. I think that's a lovely idea - an all-in-one display of appreciation.

Of the items I have gifted (and, surprisingly, there haven't been many - not even all my family members have received hand knitted gifts), my mom and my friend, Jayne, are the ones seen wearing the item on more than one occasion. I gave Mom the Falling Water Lace Scarf and Jayne the Age of Steam and Brass kerchief.

Many of my projects are still unblocked, stored away, waiting to be given to someone. Once I have enough items for everyone, I am going to block the projects and take the storage bin with me at Christmas and let each family member pick their own gift.

The one project I have been using the most is Wayne F.. I wear it with all my sweatshirts and jeans and have worn it in the evenings while sitting in our chilly living room knitting. It is the perfect combination of covering my neck yet not being restrictive enough on the back of my neck to give me a headache. (This is the reason I can't wear turtlenecks - I get a headache after a couple of hours.) After seeing mine, my mom has requested one. It's a very easy cowl pattern. The next one I make for myself, I'm going to make a bit longer so that I can wear it as a wimple, too.

On a different topic, I have been remiss in thanking my secret pal for the last package in the swap that she sent to me.



What you see here is a Jacob Sheep print (based on pages from antique dictionaries), Zauberball yarn in a lovely mix of purple shades, a sheep figurine she found in an antique shop, a tube of Burt's Bees lotion, a small project bag, and cat treats. Missing are the cat toys she sent - I couldn't take the photo sans cats until I gave them the toys. Many thanks to Spinknitup for spoiling me so well!!

Tidy mind, tidy stitches

The third of seven topics:

How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? It seems like an easy to answer question at first, but in fact organisation exists on many levels. Maybe you are truly not organised at all, in which case I am personally daring you to try and photograph your stash in whatever locations you can find the individual skeins. However, if you are organised, blog about an aspect of that organisation process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organised stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry.

Organization, I think, is not exactly my forte. I'm sort of a clutter-accumulating-until-it-drives-me-crazy-or-company-is-coming-so-I-need-to-clean kind of person. I admire people who are organized and who derive enjoyment from the organizational process. This is one of the things that appeals to me about Chez Larsson. I doubt I'll ever be that organized mainly because overall organization falls low on my scale of Things That Are Important. Obvious things need organization - work files, financial/household/tax info. I'm not good at habitually organizing our household records. It's only the approaching tax time that forces me to get the prior year in order.

Shockingly, next to work items, my knitting accoutrements are probably the most organized set of items in the Haus. My library is listed on Ravelry, as is my stash. When we moved a couple of years ago, I needed to get the stash organized and ready to be put into storage while we showed the house and when we moved. I took the opportunity to photograph the yarn and place it on Ravelry. The hard part, of course, is keeping the system current.

The advantage to organizing my stash is that I have "shopped" from the stash much more than I had in the past. (About 90% of my current WIPS are from stash!) I'd often forget what I had acquired and, if I did remember the yarn, I couldn't remember where it was, or how much I had, or what the exact color was, and it was too much bother to spend a whole evening (or more) searching for it. When a knitter wants to cast on, they want to cast on now (or, at least, I do).

On Ravelry, not only is there a photo of the yarn, but I've noted where it is stored. (How nice to go right to the closet, open the door, and pull out the numbered bin that has the yarn in it!) I love that Ravelry shows the yardage I have. No more having to pull out all the yarn to see if I've got enough. As soon as I get a cell phone that has a data plan, I'll even be able to check my library or my stash while considering a purchase of a book, pattern, or yarn at my LYS.

While it took a couple of hours each night for a couple of weeks to organize the stash, it was well worth it. Yes, it took me awhile, but the time really wasn't that much when compared with the amount of time I was wasting due to the disorganization. And whatever leaves more time for knitting is a good thing.

And now - gratuitous cat photo.

Skill + 1UP

This is the second topic of seven for this week.

Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?

I waiver between knitting as a process and knitting as pure relaxation and entertainment. I see what skills others are blogging about, or those that have set daily/weekly/monthly goals. I listen to podcasts of people who relish reading through a technical knitting book. (I tend to use them for reference only.) I sometimes often feel guilty because I think that I'm not learning more or enough. In my non-knitting life, I'm known for burning the candle at both ends. (Not that this is a good thing.) I feel like a slacker that I'm not doing the same with my knitting.

But then I talk myself off the ledge. I am not about to let my knitting become a competitive sport. Or become work (unless I win the lottery, quit my job, and open my own LYS).

Every knitting project contains lessons for the knitter. Even if one would spend the rest of one's life knitting scarves, things can be learned in that process - how different yarns work in different stitch patterns, color theory, splicing or joining various fibers, how different needles made of different materials feel with certain yarns, etc. It may be the simplest, no-brains pattern but something can be learned from it. It's the learning that comes from experience.

There are many things I hope to learn. Someday I will knit an Alice Starmore sweater and a Sharon Miller shawl. Someday I will learn to knit continental, intarsia, entrelac, double knitting and fair isle. I'm learning to knit socks now and hope to finish my first pair by the end of April. These are cuff-down; my next pair will be toe-up. I hope to be still knitting and still learning when I'm in my 90's.

Lately, my non-knitting reality has been difficult enough. For now, I want my knitting time to be an enjoyable, stress-free zone, free of the I must or I have to. Free to knit what appeals to me at the moment, not dictated by self-imposed stress.

A Tale of Two Yarns

It's the 2nd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. I've decided to participate this year in order to get back to blogging more frequently. There are pre-determined blog post topics for each day. Todays is this: Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

So Many Yarns
Really, there are a number of yarns I have both used or are in my stash, and many more that I yearn after (qiviut or buffalo, anyone?). The yarns I love depend on the project I'm making. For scarves, I love using Malabrigo worsted weight - so soft and a joy to knit with. I've been using Mountain Colors Weavers Wool in quite a few projects lately - also lovely to work with and the colors are so wonderful. But I think what I'm most enamored with lately is Socks That Rock (mediumweight). I'm heading toward the finishing line on first completed pair of socks and I love this yarn. It's tightly spun and knits up quite squooshy. I envision a whole drawer full of socks made from STR. I'd like to try the other weights as well.

I Wish I Knew How To Quit You
Oh, Noro. How much I love you and yet loathe you. I love your colors, I love the projects I've made with you.

But your knots kill me. I like to believe that one gets what they pay for. But when it comes to you, I don't want to pay the high price for knots which result in an abrupt color change. And I know I'm not the only one. It's not just bad Noro mojo on my part. I know other knitters who have taken you home only to be disappointed. I have to admit, a year or so ago I bought a bag of 10 skeins for less than $4 a skein. I've got plans for that yarn. Whether the fact that I paid less for the skeins lessens the disappointment remains to be seen. I expect better workmanship for that price, Noro!

All It Takes Is One Skein

So, the last couple of weeks have been insane.

Mainly because I live in Fitzwalkistan.

For a lighter side of things, here's a website with pictures of various protest signs.

My favorites are numbers 41, 51, 53, 54, 65, 70, and 87.

(If you live in Fitzwalkistan, please remember the upcoming April elections and vote like it's November '08!)

Add to this mix work, family issues, planning our Guild's Knit In - and it's a whole jambalaya of insanity.

But as much as I may complain, events this past weekend have shown just how much worse things could be.

Information regarding Japan relief efforts have been released by the American Red Cross and press in the UK.

A donation in an amount equivalent to a skein of your favorite yarn can make a difference.