This Week's Top Ten List

Let's just jump right into it, shall we?

Butterfly Bib by Lovisetto - Leaves me speechless.
Love Mug by claylicious - I loves me the handmade ceramics and this little cutie would make a great knickknack!
Sea Shell Poncho by Benivision New shop on Etsy with lovely knitted items. Go and be inspired!
Necklace by Classic Keepsakes - love that color. It would be brilliant against either a black or white shirt.
Love you, Dad Rock by sjengraving - Dads need love to and this rock would be a great reminder for everyone.



Here is my anniversary gift - 20 skeins of Universal Yarn. There are two different types with two colors each - I hate the word 'colorways'. I have no idea who thought that up but it seems a little pretentious to me. I've tried it - I may have even written it and I can't stand it. I've heard people say it and I cringe. Color. Nice, solid good word that has been good enough for centuries.

I don't know if I told you that Mr. Honey transported the cache back from Phoenix in his suitcase, sacrificing the pillow he brought with him, to do so. Yes, he is a darling man and really should not love me as much as he does.

But he does. So better for me!!

Soap Pouch by Mountain Girl Soap - Simple, clean. Just like I like it!
Leather Earrings by katrinshine - So, who really thought we would make it through a list without a pair of earrings in it?....
Italian Tote by Chic Leather....or a tote bag?
Queen Bee by Classic Keepsakes - OK, is anyone else creeped out or is it just me?
Popcorn Scarf by Beemaya - Fun with fiber! I have some of this kind of yarn and haven't done a thing with it yet - but the time may come!!

So, that's the list for this week. I have completed a crochet newsboy cap and a market bag and I am about to do the hat in another color. I've put a poncho up in the shop. I need to get more items in there. I hate to say it, but you know what is almost six months away - time to start looking at the gift knitting!! Just saying.

I Think..Therefore I Have A Headache

The world may be back to normal. I went to bed at one of my normal times and I got out of bed before Mr. Honey. This means he has to make the bed because the rule is the last one out makes the bed. For the past three years, that has been me but now that he is back, it should be him because I am up in the wee hours. Except that's not how it's been working. He's been getting up because he was still in the work habit and for some reason, I've been staying in bed later. But today, I was up and out and he was still in bed. This leads me to believe that Superman is doing that thing he does where he goes into orbit and reverses the turn of the world.

There are some stories from the road - some cute, some not so much and I will be sharing them over some of the time. I downloaded the photos I took and the first one was this one from the first game we went to on Friday night. Kosuke Fukudome of the Cubs. I did remember to take some photos outside of the stadium to prove which stadium I attended - you know, in case I run for office and have to prove I was there.

Chase Field is the latest in our 'visit every park where the Cubs play' series. It is a little slow going. So far we have Wrigley (which shouldn't even count since it is the home field) Milwaukee - which has the friendliest folks, Cincinnati - which has the best plaza outdoors, Pittsburgh - where the yarn is not taxed. That makes the baseball experience even better and now Chase Field in Phoenix. My brother reminded me that Denver (where he lives) is also a National League Park. Which I needed no reminding of. The way my mind works, I wanted to do the division teams first and then expand and the only reason we did Phoenix was because of the anniversary thing. In truth, on our anniversary the team was in L.A. and we were headed there but decided to spend time la familia.

There are also some new knitting books in the library - did I mention that already? I brought back two from Phoenix and two more made their way home yesterday from Half Price books which was right next door to Tuesday Morning where a friend of mine sent me an email saying they got an alert that Tuesday Morning was having a good yarn sale. I went to check out the yarn sale which was not good. It two shelves with remnants tossed on them. Not that I needed to purchase yarn anyway because I have that resolution thing where I am not purchasing yarn (except for the exceptions to the rule) so I walked out of Tuesday morning fiberless and walked right into the Half Price Books and purchased two books for more than half off. I can put a moratorium on book buying as well since I don't have that many years left on the planet to do all the patterns I want to do and once I leave the planet, I think I will have the capability of knitting whatever I want from memory.

OK, I did kind of break the rules about not purchasing yarn but I did it before I left. And I did come home with 20 skeins of yarn newly purchased in Phoenix - but that wasn't me, that was Mr. Honey - he bought it.

I'm dancing as fast as I can.

In The Mood

Susie says she wasn't that fond of granny square afghans until she saw mine. Awwww. But I know what you mean, Sus. I wasn't a great fan of them either until I was surrounded by some made by my mother-in-law and when the fabulous Vickie showed me how to make a granny square I found them addictive. I have a couple more in the works and they have a relaxing quality that's hard to explain. (By the way, you all should read Susie's blog - it's a hoot!!)

The good news is we were confirmed for two craft shows; one at the end of October and one the first week of December. The bad news, though not so bad, is that we were confirmed for two craft shows.

The practical side of my brain (known in some circles as the Minority) is beginning to pick at the other side of my brain (can't give it a name, maybe, creative, fun, irresponsible - something like that.)

It is saying perhaps I should leave afghan mode and get into hat and scarf mode and that will accomplish a few things:

One - hats and scarves are faster to produce than afghans so the inventory will increase to cover two shows that are six weeks apart.

Two - it will clear away the stash and after being in the office and trying to sort through the yarn and having come up with even more yarn that was hiding behind other yarn and finding completed items we forgot we had clearing the stash wouldn't be a bad idea.

Three - can't believe you're still in the afghan making mood. You don't usually focus for this long so I'm just trying to maintain the status quo.

Well, hats and scarves would be easier to produce but the thought of having to do something as opposed to wanting to do something has always been problematic for me - maturity issues aside. But it does make sense to start making things people may actually buy. Scarves and hats are decidedly less expensive than afghans and in the search of inventory, a lot of my hats sold last year so I don't have that many. I probably need to make some as a good business decision.

As far as the office is concerned, every once in a while I go in there to do some work. My blocking boards are in there and I got it in my head to do another homespun afghan and that's when I found all the yarn and items I forgot about. I told Joe I thought I would have to give away some yarn and he actually stop his fork half way to his mouth and looked at me as if in that very instance some alien force had come down and taken away his wife and replaced her with a sensible being.

I started separating the stash into whole skeins and partial skeins so I would know what I have. If I thought that would do something other than tell me I had a lot of both then the experiment has failed. I do have a lot of both. Hats and scarves are a more practical solution as it doesn't require as much of one kind of yarn to do a hat or scarf while an afghan takes up a lot more.

So, of course, I am working on an afghan and it is clear I do not have enough of this color to complete it. But I will only need one more skein to finish it off so I will get it and finish it off. I'm just not in the mood to do hats and scarves right now. I like doing what I'm doing and that's going to win the day because I know I will lose interest and want to start on something else so I will ride whatever project waves rolls in. It's one of the perks of being able to make decisions for oneself. I am certain between the 38 days to the first craft show and the 50 some days to the next one that I will hit a hat cycle such as I did last year and create hats out the wazoo but until then, I'm going to stick with the afghan run.

The only downside is that I was surrounded by so much fiber (just in my office not what's in the basement) that it was a little depressing but all that means is more granny and square afghans which are also popular and sell every year. I've already told Joe that in the event of my untimely demise he should call the wonderful April and the marvelous Melissa to organize the massive yarn sale that should take place. Someone is gonna get a really good haul.
He agreed a little too fast but can't really blame him. The garage is the only place where yarn isn't - and I can't say that for certain. I should throw a ball in there just to make the invasion complete.

Does That Count?

This isn't a very good photo of her, but this is my pastor; Pastor Harriette. A couple of weeks ago she asked if I could take her to a clinic where she was having a procedure done and I said I would - never mind what she was having done, so not part of the story.

I, of course, took my knitting with me (knitting the shawl that never ends - and it still doesn't look like it ever will) and while she was in the recovery room, I told her of my resolution of eliminating my yarn stash and she said:

"Oh, well, there goes what I could have gotten you for Christmas."
To which I replied.
"You can still get me yarn for Christmas. You're not trying to eliminate my stash. I am."

That was right, right? I mean, I recall the resolution quite clearly that I was trying to eliminate my stash - Oh, all right, Melissa, I know I chastised you yesterday for being an enabler for telling me about the yarn sales. But that was you trying to get me to go buy yarn; not somebody else getting yarn for me - yeah, there's a difference!

There's a difference, right? I mean wouldn't it be just down right rude to discourage someone wanting to sincerely gift you with fiber? I couldn't very tell my my minister no. I mean, she anointed and all.

Besides, I'm thinking by the time we get to the Christmas season, I would be well on the way to having that stash gone. It will be a distance memory - enhanced with plenty of blog posts. There will be room for a small amount of yarn gifted by a woman of the cloth - see there; it just seems right - cloth - fiber.

Come on - it's kismet.

How Is This Possible?

One month. Just one month in the new year and I cannot bring myself to post a photo. I am making myself believe it is not because I have lost hope but because I am full of it (hope, that is, not full of it the way we usually mean it.)

You remember the resolution to eliminate the yarn stash? You also remember there were two exceptions: to purchase yarn to go with what was in the stash with the expressed intention of completing a project thus getting rid of the stashed and purchased yarn.

To purchase one particular yarn I've wanted to try.

And the circumstance of purchasing that yarn was that it was going to be on sale. It was on sale. I told you guys it was on sale and that I was going to go get some.

I did.

Bummer.

We don't get along - this new yarn and I. I purchased four skeins; two colors. Both shades of green that can be blended. One shade was Camo, I don't remember the other. I started with the Camo and the feel of it, while soft, is somewhat strange and the whole purpose of this yarn was that it's supposed to have all these wonderful color changes...

Not so much.

Though I suppose if you're called 'camo' you probably shouldn't change color too much or else you wouldn't be very 'flauged' would you? The other color, I believe it's 'Rustic' does appear to have more color changes or color fusion. But I'm let down just a little.

I tried to continue with the camo but alas we had to have the discussion ("It's not you; it's me.) and I told it I paid way too much for it, even on sale, for me to disregard it completely. It will become a part of the stash set aside to make my favorite afghan. I explained that it had the texture and softness to fit right in and because there was so much of it (390 yards) it could be the cornerstone of the whole piece. I then removed it from the needles and cast on with another yarn purchased to clear away the one skein in the stash and make another prayer shawl.

Meanwhile, the rustic color looked at me as if to say, "Don't put me in that same basket. I deserve a fair shot." And it does. But a little later. I don't want to risk the disappointment again.

Better to Wear Out Than Rust Out

Yes, it's the same photo as yesterday - except yesterday I didn't notice that pink thing. I have no idea what that is and as I am sitting right next to that spot at this moment and there is nothing pink on it, I have no idea what it was and I have decided not to worry about it.

It's the same photo because I'm not sure there's been much progress. I mean, I've attached a new ball of yarn but I don't think I've gotten much further. And now I'm worried that the three balls of yarn I have will not be enough to finish it. (I hear you, it's not an excuse to go yarn shopping.) Because the one ball I've already used makes it about 1/5 done so my math brain says if 1 ball makes it 1/5 done then I need 5 balls to make it 5/5 done and I have only three balls. (Don't even start, my mind went straight to the gutter already.)

Because this is an off the cuff shawl, there are no directions to tell me how much yarn I need. Something in my mind is saying since for a shawl with a thicker weight I would need three skeins, I should take that yardage and double it. I will spare you the calculation process and just tell you that comes to about 1100 yards. And I have a little over 600. And even as I say this, I'm not sure that will even work. So now I am a conundrum: do I go an purchase say three more skeins in the hopes that will be enough? Is there another calculation I could use? Don't ask me to measure the gauge so far - I can hardly see the stitches as it is. I have no idea what I'm doing.

This could get ugly.

Cratfalicous!

I love Susie. I would even go so far to say that if I weren't married - I'd marry Susie - if she would have me...and if I were gay...and she was gay...and I lived in New York. You get what I mean.

Dear Susie said I wasn't lazy; she said I was craftalicious! I was so moved I opened up a Word document, typed craftalicious and put it in my dictionary. That's the kind of thing that can really move a person to adequateness! I can't be quite as lazy as I would like to be now that I am craftalicious.

I've made a couple more of the caps and I think I have the pattern where I want it so I will start putting them in the shop when I have five of them. I don't know why that's the magic number but I'm not going to fight it. I made four that don't make the cut, but they can still be worn. The three that are done are the pumpkin, orange and aubergine ones. Pics to follow when I'm not feeling so lazy (yeah, well, I'm trying.)

Didn't make it out to HB yesterday but I am thinking today will be the day. In fact, it will be within the next hour or two. I have another reason for going, I need some netting to make pot scrubbers. I have a ton of dish clothes and spa cloths I made for the sale that didn't make it to the store and I want to add pot scrubbers to them before I add them. So, I have the perfect cover..I mean..reason to go. But I have to say I am still hesitant about getting the yarn even though buying one skein of it is the same as buying 3 skeins of the yarn I make prayer shawls with and I would get almost the same amount. It really makes no sense.

I am off to my Facebook Cafe World. One of my cousins got me started and I have to make sure the food hasn't spoiled on the stove and all my guests are well taken care of!!

I'll let you know if I get the yarn...but I have a feeling you already know.

And We Have Contest Winners!!

Thanks for bearing with me with the delay of announcing the contest winners!
As you know, there was first one prize of the book Knit Fix, some yarn and needles. That was supposed to be the only prize, but then there were so many good tips and I have so much yarn that I thought I would give away some of my workhorse yarns to the person who had the tip that benefits me the most - purely subjective.

So, first, the best tip prize. I read the tip and I said 'wow, that makes sense. I like that and I tested it out to see if it was really a time saver - not so sure about that - but it gives me an option for how I might want to do things. So the prize for the tip:

Instead of doing the original ssk, you can K2Tog through the back loop

Goes to CiCi!! Yeah, CiCi..send me an address and I will send you some yarn from my stash!

The Grand prize was pulled by Mr. Honey and I told him not to just take a name from the top, so he shuffled them all around and he pulled out a piece of paper and the name on it was..


HEATHER!!!

How's about that, babe? You get some of my yarn and the book and needles. So, send me the place you want it shipped and it will be on the way.

There really were some great tips and even though you can go to the post and read them all, I will be featuring them one by one along the way.

Thanks to everyone who posted - Mr. Honey was impressed and that's saying something.
I have to go get dressed for our date night but I will be back quite soon with a new post!

Witness for the Defense

You can read about the contest here. And for those of you who have already commented - I added another way to get an entry. Tell about the contest on your own blog and let me know about and you can earn a 4th entry! Thanks to all who have already entered - your tips are great!

I stayed up until about 2 this morning finishing the offending afghan. Do not be too impressed I stayed up until 2 - that's normal. I usually go to bed at about 2 and get out of bed before 9 - it's a blessing. If I weren't so lazy I would have enough daylight to be Oprah on steroids. Then I could pay someone to stay up and finish afghans that cause me problems due to no other reason than I did something wrong.

But I decided to finish off the afghan yesterday when there are two other projects pending and I should have - keeping with the program - been working on one of them. But that would have meant I would not have gotten to the afghan until Saturday and it would have sat there - mocking me. So I decided to put it out of my misery.

But he did not go quietly. I put together three of the four strips and when I got to the fourth one, it again seemed to be too long. (Have you ever heard yarn laugh? Not pretty.) I took the pins out and turned the strip around the other way and voila!

Don't ask me why it worked, I have no idea why it worked. I don't think it should have worked. But it did and if you know the science of it, feel free to give me the explanation. I would be interested in hearing it just so I can say it makes no sense. I will say this though, man this afghan is incredibly soft. I've made this afghan twice before (didn't I say it was my favorite one to make?) and this is the thickest and softest. The main yarn (the Homespun) remains the same and then there's a hodgepodge of other yarns thrown in. We have some Norville, some fu-fu yarn some one gave me that I couldn't make anything else out of, and some artistry yarn. I will have to figure out what yarns were used so I can set the price, but today, I am happy to come out of the scrimmage intact and ready to move on to the next project.

It will eventually go on sale in the shop or at the Holiday Sale in December - probably both. What do you think? Was it worth the effort? Feel free to lie to me.

042609

One of Those Things You Can't Explain..Oh, and a New Contest

I am knitting up my favorite afghan pattern. It's pretty simple: it's all garter stitch and chunky weight yarn. The thing that makes it fun is you take all your chunky weight yarn and put it in a bag then pull out a skein and knit for about 25 rows, then switch yarn and knit for about 15 rows then repeat the steps until you get a strip that has 12 of the color changes. Then you make about 5 of those strips and sew them together and you have a cushy, lovely afghan

Pretty simple.

Then why am I having trouble making the strips the same size? I do the 12 changes and then pin the strips together. First two were fine. Third one was a little short. Fourth one was fine. Fifth one a little short.

Well, of course it's the yarn. Though all the yarn is chunky weight, some is boucle and some is cushier which means they don't all have the same gauge which means some pulls in and squishes more than others. No biggie. I could measure the strips - wait, you didn't take me seriously did you? Nope. I'd much rather to the pinning, see the strip is way short and then pick up stitches and knit some more.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

So, let's do a contest!

First, I still owe someone stitch markers from the last contest. I put your email in some folder and have to find it - I have not forgotten. You will get them.

OK - So, the prize for this contest is a copy of this book:


It's Knit Fix by Lisa Kartus and it's a book that gives solutions to some every day knitting problems.

The winner of the contest will also receives some of this:


Some yarn from my stash. You are not going to receive this much and it actually may not be any that's in this bag. But you will receive the book and enough skeins to fill a small mailing box.

You will also receive a set of knitting needles. So, you will have what you need to start knitting and fix the problems you encounter. You will also get a few extra goodies in the box cuz I'm sweet like that.

Here are the guidelines:

U.S. and Canadian participants only, please.
Contest will end November 28 - I like ending contests on my birthday
Winner will be chosen at random by Mr. Honey - cuz he likes doing things like that.

Make a comment with your best knitting tip - get one entry
Tweet about the contest - get another entry
Re-tweet my tweet about the contest- get yet another entry.
I'm adding this on - Talk about it on your blog and let me know and you get another entry!!

So, there you are, my lovelies. Get yourself or someone you love a little knit-kit of a book, yarn and needles (but the treats.) Boy, I'd enter this contest! And if you're interested in other knitting contests pay a visit to WitKnits. It's a fun site that's all about the contests!

Good luck everybody!



042304

Can You Believe It?

Before I even start, let me just say I know there were other alternatives. I know there were other things that could have been done. They would have delayed action and action is what I needed to take...even so, I am not at sure many (or any) of you will understand what I've done. But here goes.

Remember when I told how Mr. Honey emptied everything that was in my trunk into my back seat? I had a lot of stuff in the trunk including some newly purchased yarn and pillow forms. Well, I am not going to just put it all back into the trunk and I am taking Mr. Honey's advice to 'go through the junk in my trunk.' Every time I've had to go to the car, I take out something from the backseat and decide to keep it or toss it. When I got home from church, I took out a big paper grocery bag. It had a plastic bag inside of it and inside of the plastic bag was yarn.

Ugly yarn
Old, ugly yarn.
Old, ugly, 'who the hell thought that would be a good color, yarn
Old, ugly, who the hell thought that would be a good color, made of the roughest ply of wool ever to come off a sheep, yarn.

My mind ran through a myriad of ways I could use this yarn and I couldn't come up with anything that appealed to me and then I heard myself say out loud: "I don't want this."

Me.
Who would steal yarn from a knitting baby.

I took the bag and closed the car door and started down the walk to my house. Now I had two options:

Keep straight, go through the gate, walk through the backyard to the gate and place the bag on the garbage can.

Go straight, turn right when I get to the side door and go in the house and place the yarn in the basement until I run across a pattern calling for an old, ugly yarn in the stupidest colors ever thought up, in which case I would be set.

The Bears played a really good game today. They started off a little rough and then realized they were playing Cleveland and then started playing smarter. We were watching the scoreboard to see if any team would remain undefe....what?

Which option did I take?

I placed the bag on top of the garbage can in the hope that one of our nosy (and they are) neighbors who walk in the alley (and they do) will look in the bag, find the yarn, take it and excitedly run home to tell their spouse or significant other: "You won't believe it! Someone put this yarn in the alley. Look how soft it is - and what wonderful colors! Can you believe it?"

042904

A Return to Normal and A Book Excerpt

I know when I asked what book I should get started on, most of you selected My Father's Son
the story of two men born of the same father but one mother is a slave mistress and the other the mistress of the plantation. I meant to start with that book, but when I sat down at the computer, the first chapter of The Coffee Club came out. That's the story of the five women who have been friends since high school and college. So that's the excerpt I am going to share - a part of the first chapter. But do not fear, the first chapter of My Father's Son is also started. It came out a little later, that's all.

Excerpt from The Coffee Club:
“Hey, Eden! What? Slow down. What about Freddie? No. You’re kidding. When? Yeah, I’m on my way. Is she OK?” She started towards the staircase and climbed. “Gina’s probably in court. I’ll try her. No, I’m at Loopy but I drove. I’ll try her in the car. Is that Halle I hear?” She stepped out into the street and rushed down to her car. “I’m at the car. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She was halfway to Freddie’s house when the car phone rang. The radio went off. “Gina?”
“I’m already on my way. I was in a deposition but Halle left a very detailed message.”
“Well, then you can let me know what’s going on. I was talking to Eden and couldn’t get much out of her other than Freddie was in a bad way.”
“Isaac left.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean he left her. He didn’t come home last night. Didn’t call. She found an email from him. He left.”
“Email? He left her via email? Good God.”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t see this coming.”
“We weren’t looking for this to come. She didn’t know she was supposed to be unhappy.
How far out are you?”
“At least thirty. Luckily traffic is light on the Ike.”
“I’ll probably beat you. See you when you get there. Bye.”


***********************************************************************************

Yesterday was a fluke.
And thank God for it. After ranting on about how I called acrylic yarn fake yarn and how it wasn't fake and I was in love with the stuff - trying to convince myself it was true-I started yet another hat last night and I am happy to report:

I am so back.

The hat was knit with Norville's Chunky Weight yarn in Forest. The hat is a simple done hat with an cast off edge done in brown suede. Hat and camera downstairs - writer and computer upstairs. You'll just have to wait for the picture.

But while I was creating the cuteness, I was saying to myself: 'This yarn is so soft. It feels so good." See, the acrylic fairies (who are real and not fake fairies) are smiling down on me and welcoming me back to the fold. Of course, I also had to admit the softness was not the same feel as the natural fibers, but that's OK. It doesn't have to be the same - it just has to be soft. And it is dreamy soft. So instead of moving from one horizon to the other, I have brought those horizons together.

So, will I incorporate some natural fiber in the knitting as I suggested I might? Well, considering the yarn I got in St. Louis is natural fiber, I've already started. I actually pulled out a skein yesterday and thought it would make a great hat but decided it would make an even better scarf.
So there you go. Nor will I abandon the acrylic yarn - that stuff is good and it provides more variety for my knitting and the items I make and sell.

Whew, I am glad we can all get along.

041004

Oh S *%T!

On the one hand, you might be quite proud of me - on the other, you could think me something of a traitor.

I can explain.

You see to the left a photo of the next series of hats I've completed - and there's one missing but I've already packed it away along with the purse I've completed and I didn't want to pull them out for the photo but trust me, they're cute.

The second hat from the left is halfway sold (waiting for the PayPal payment to come in and it will be on the way to New Hampshire.) But it's the hat in the middle the cute peach, fuzzy hat, that has caused the trouble.

I started that hat this morning sometime after midnight and I went stash shopping in the upstairs stash. The yarn is Sensations Bellezza Collection Dolcetto - yes, the yarn is discontinued, I bought it about three, four years ago and I've been waiting around for a time to use it. When i saw the picture of the hat, I thought of using that yarn - I could finally use at least two of the five balls I have. So out it came and I started the hat. Soft. That's what this yarn is - soft. It's 54% wool, 24% nylon and 22% cotton.

I was actually mad at myself because I got sleepy and had to finish the hat later in the morning when the sun came up.

I was working on the hat this morning when I again noticed how soft it is and I said out loud to myself:

"This yarn is so soft; this may make me give up the fake yarn."

I quickly corrected myself and said acrylic, not fake, acrylic.

Who the heck is that girl decrying acrylic yarn? I have a ton of the stuff. I mean, the city of Chicago is thinking of making me rezone the house as a commercial enterprise. I have bags and boxes of yarn that is 100% acrylic - it's even in the car trunk!

Acrylic yarn is not fake. It's real yarn. It's just manufactured from man-made materials. It's a synthetic.

I have betrayed my roots. I have turn against my belief systems.
I put the mostly natural fiber down and picked up the acrylic and apologized for my lapse. It's like when we say designers make clothes for 'real' women and not the models on the runway. Those models are real women, too. I mean they are not man-made (OK some parts are but the chassis is all natural) They're just skinny...really, really skinny. But they are not fake. And neither is my acrylic yarn.

But I had to wonder about the natural fibers. Could there be a way to incorporate some into my knitting and not feel as if I am abandoning the principals in which Narnia - I mean - my knitting was built.

I cannot be so easily persuaded that I could leave behind all that I hold dear. Do you know how much REAL acrylic yarn I have in my possession? I live on an acrylic farm - for goodness sake. I cannot possibly consider leaving it now.

Man, that yarn was soft!



040904

And the lids just keep on coming...

Jewellshandmade sent me a tweet asking if I was blessed with being a fast knitter. (You can find me on Twitter under designbcb!) And I responded to her that I was. That in the past couple of weeks - about four - I have completed a shawl, an afghan, eleven hats and four scarves.

Any normal thinking person would think that's a lot. And most days - at least part of most days - I would call myself normal thinking. However when it comes to the time right before a sale, my normal thinking is replaced with a tad of the A.B. Normal thinking because the blessing of being a fast knitter is influenced by the curse of being a paranoid shop participant.

I always think there will not be enough to go on sale. I thought that way when my group participated in the sales at the church and I think that way since we will be at the holiday shop at Pleasant Home again this year. Now understand, that at these sales, I usually contributed a lot and as I look around the living room and dining room, I notice I have a HUGE duffel bag, a large bin and a storage bag full of items that are in the shop and will be on the table in the holiday sale. A quick calculation will tell me I have nearly 70 items all my own and the sale isn't until December and unless there's a run on the shop, I will have items enough - plus there are other members of the group who will contribute items of their own. I then say to myself I have some items I asked the old group to return to me and I have to pick them up from the friend who was kind enough to get them for me. (I am hoping they have enough integrity to return all my items) and that will give me even more. I should not worry.

All this I tell myself. I also keep in mind that we've never sold out.
But the worry happens all the time. I think I'd worry if I didn't worry about it.

So, there are more hats and scarves...somehow scarves made it in. OK, I admit, I almost talked myself into being bored with doing just hats so I thought I would throw in some scarves just to keep myself from totally abandoning the plan. But the thing is: I wasn't bored with the hats. While I was doing the scarves, I was thinking about the next hat I could do...how about that for a turnaround?

During our play date, Melissa asked if I ever thought of opening a fiber shop (nope). I have thought about have a very nice space where groups can come and sit, knit and do other crafts. I suppose we can add the sale of fibers in there, but no, being a fiber shop owner has never crossed my mind. (BTW, Melissa, we should do that again. I'd even be willing to go the same place. Just let me know!)

I think I'm too cheap to have a yarn shop. I would be worried about having yarn that was over about $15 a skein. Then there's all the taxes and stuff. Yikes. I don't have the mindset for it.

Speaking of hats and fibers - A long while back, I purchased some of Deborah Norville's chunky weight yarn and as I was finishing up a scarf at about 1 this morning, I thought I would go down to the basement and pull out that yarn to make the next hat in my head. I think I have about five skeins total and actually found three of them in the same bin. I put it on the needles and started the hat.

I don't much care for Inside Edition but the yarn is great! It's called fine acrylic (la de da) and it's really soft and knits like a fluffy dream. I didn't even get upset when 15 rows into the hat I realized I was doing the wrong stitch - meant I could start again!

After searching for a chunky weight yarn I could love, I believe the search is over. Now, the colors she offers aren't the best, but I can work with it. My birthday is next month - I know what I'll be getting during the Hobby Lobby shopping spree. I think they sell it - if they don't, Michael's does. Hey, 98% of the stash is worsted weight and a knitter needs to have a back up fiber and for me, it's chunky weight. Some of you love sock yarn and i don't. I want the worsted, chunky and super chunky. What was missing for me was the chunky weight and I may have found some thing to fill the need. Let us take a moment to rejoice.

Thank you.





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Sweeter For Me

Still looking for more contestants for the haiku contest!

Come on, now - you gotta give a sistah some love for this! Looky at what I did over the weekend. I made me some colored yarn. There are some hot spots which will be easily avoided in the future, but this isn't a bad thing for my second time dyeing yarn.

I meant to call this color Seaside, but when I put it on line, it came out Seafoam. I will take it either way.

What I love is that the variegations are natural with the kettle dyeing process so a twin skein will still have its own personality while being in the same family - kinda like your sibling.
This is Daiquiri - I know, ain't I clever? Actually, a strawberry frozen daiquiri would be pretty nice about now. I didn't know about kettle dyeing until I looked up dyeing yarn again after Joe got me the book on natural dyeing. I would have to say kettle dyeing is easier than the hand painted yarn.
But it doesn't allow for the same kind of manipulation. I am already thinking about the next time I do yarn how I will be able to get more of the variation I want. I won't get that precise kind of coloring folks who do the handpainting get - on the other hand - that process is much more time consuming and it's definitely messier so Mr. Honey appreciates my choosing the neater way. (This is creamy lemonade - but you've seen this already, I talked about this one in a previous post.)
I am really amazed at all there is to learn and do surrounding this craft we love. Even if I never did anything like making stitch markers or dyeing wool, even if all I had were the needles and the yarn, I would find that enough to fascinate me the rest of my days. I mean think about it: all the yarns, all the different kind of needles, and enough stitches that you can go several years and never see the straight stockinette stitch unless you really wanted to.

That would be enough to keep us all going, wouldn't it? I'm calling this color amethyst - cuz that's what it reminds me of. Anyway, just knitting would be fun enough, but look at what else we can do. One wonders why this little craft ever waned in popularity - there's so much it can do for making a whole lot of things better. This color is Cherry Vanilla - it's good enough to drink.
I love this craft.
I simply love it.




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Tribeca! - WWKIP - The Yarn Store

Warning: this post can cause a yarn orgasm - I'm just saying!

Get something to drink. This will take a while.

I loves me the yarn! Y'all know I don't even have to have a reason to buy yarn, I just buy for the same reasons I buy CDs and books - I'm a little obsessive about those things that I am interested in.

One of the activities we had was a secret pal swap. We filled out a survey and it was sent to our swap partner so they could get us something from $20 -$25 and we were to exchange our gifts at dinner. My swap partner (Lynn) mentioned she wanted 'knit jewelry' - decorative stitch markers - so I headed over to Etsy and In Stitches and Sunnshine and purchased the following:

She got stitch marker bling! Maybe a dozen and a half stitch markers that could go on all sizes of needles. I was worried she wouldn't like them, but she did.
On my survey, I said the only thing I was really interested in was...come on, now, take a guess, YARN. I said I would probably like either sock yarn cuz I never buy it or perhaps a natural fiber like a bamboo, or chunky weight because I don't have enough of that. So I was imagining I would get one, maybe two, little skeins of yarn because it's supposed to be $20. We were sitting at dinner - this is Lynn sitting across from me. When the time came to exchange gifts, I pulled out this pitiful looking plastic bag. Lynn, on the other hand, pulls this out:
As I explained to Mr. Honey that evening on the phone - at no time did the words 'tote' or 'bag' enter my survey (I went back and checked) I mentioned yarn - and it was supposed to be just $20. This is the yarn tote (that's it's name!!) made of corn husks and purchased from Wal-Mart. Now, I would clean Lynn's car with my tongue just because she got me another tote bag - but
there was something inside it:Let's all say it together: YUUMMMMYYY! So, now not only would I clean the car - but I'd throw in the tires, too.

So, the night we arrived in St. Louis, we had an appointment to go to a LYS. I did not go. Yarn stores are not my thing-even as much as I love yarn - I tend not to want to spend a lot of money. I go t0 my LYS because I can get bamboo needles on the cheap. That first night, I spent the fours hours to myself finishing my hat, watching reruns of NCIS, and rolling around the king size bed in my hotel room.

But the next morning...the owner of Knitorius opened her shop early for us and she had some coffee (which I don't drink) juice (which I do and did) and some of the best pastry I ever had. She also had a 15% discount on all our yarn purchases. I thought to myself I would buy maybe one little skein of yarn just so I can say I was a good sport and while everyone else was downing acrylic I would stay above the snobbery and purchase a natural fiber.
So I put this in my cart:
The room in the back of the store has all the clearance yarns (they were nice enough to tell us that, but I have a feeling they may hide it from the general public unless forced.)

I don't know what you see: but I see a nice trim to a hat or pair of gloves or a shawl. It's ribbony and soft. So, there, I should have been done. But then I sat down in the back room to finish off my hat and talk to some of my peeps and there was this cute little basket of hand dyed yarn from a local fiber artist. Her label says - get this - dyeabolical yarn - isn't that cute? There was a color scheme that caught my eye and before you know it - my first ever potential purchase of sock yarn was in my basket. It made the cut and here it is:


I should now be done...officially finished. Not only did I buy yarn at a LYS, I purchased a skein of yarn (albeit 200 yard +) for $24 and it was sock yarn - every yarn commandment I have, broken in one luscious, colorful ball. I should have left the store and gotten in the van... and that's what I started to do - except on the way I passed these: 400+ yards of natural fiber for just $15 each. It was all I could do just walk away with these two cuz there were about 4 in the basket in some beautiful colors and I settled for these two - with no idea what I'm going to make with them, but I am almost certain it will involve a cable.

We're not quite done yet. On the way back to Chicago, we had a White Elephant yarn swap. You put a skein of the most hideous yarn you own in a bag and put it in the pile and you select another bag someone else thinks hold the most hideous yarn they own. I did not take a photo of my hideous yarn - and it was bad - but I did take a photo of what passes for hideous to someone else - and when you see it, you'll know right away why I am the most excited about getting it (no, it's not Caron by the Pound or I Love This Yarn - that would have been too good): Fun Fur - in a color I already own..and a really cute skein of some other eyelash yarn. This photo does not do it justice. It is black with sparkliness in it. Again, I see cuffs to a black pair of gloves and Fun Fur scarves sell like hotcakes at our craft sales.


So here is the family portrait of my St. Louis yarn family:
Happy family - Nice Trip
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Flow!

This is going to be short and sweet. Just walked in the door from the WWKIP trip to St. Louis and I do have enough info for several posts. But just to tease you a little:

The trip to the Arch that wasn't.
The synergy of a group
what my swap buddy honored me with
I bought yarn at the yarn shop (and not all of it was on sale!)
Another tease: I spent $24 on a skein of yarn - I know you wanna see it!

and you will, later on in the week!

Amazing Grace

Thursday I went to Cora's Life Celebration. And what a celebration it was. The chapel in the funeral home was packed with people of all different ages and races and everyone had nothing but the kindest words to say about a woman I called my Mom. (For the record, she wasn't really old enough to be my Mom unless she was really naughty at a really young age.)

I remember giving Cora knitting lessons. I spent a few hours with her and we knew it wasn't something she would pick up, but she had a lot of fun trying and that was the material point. That's one of the things about this knitting thing: it's not the easiest thing in the world to master. We are part of a unique group. Not only am I missing Cora today; I am missing my Mom and my mother-in-law. However, it is gratifying to know the three of them have probably met up briefly in Heaven just to look down and agree that I am in need of constant prayer.

Yesterday was StitchCraft and we had a great time. We met a new member named Jen who brought a baby blanket to work on. There were varied projects going on and Elissa brought cookies - be proud of me, I did not have any!

Last night, was our Good Friday service, The Dubois Seven Last Words of Christ. It's very dramatic. We had a combined choir and three professional soloists. We've done it three years in a row. Frankly - ready for a change and we can go back to the Service of Darkness and start alternating the two. Just to mix it up a bit.

But here's the highlight of the day. StitchCraft went from noon to 3 and I had to be back at church at 5:30 for rehearsal for the cantata. It made no sense to me to go back home and then just drive back. It was a perfect opportunity for me to go Hobby Lobby...you know...just to look around. There was nothing in particular I wanted. I had gone to the one in Westmont recently (looking for my sequins) so I decided to go to the one in Lombard.

They must be doing something to their yarn section because, like the other store, they had a whole big section of clearance yarn. I got some eyelash, and gilt, and I wiped them out of eight skeins of slubby yarn that normally costs $9.84. Total 18 skeins of yarn for less than $40.
I also ordered 12 gold bracelets off of eBay. 12 of them for about $15. I will use them as purse handles when I make little purses with the eyelash and gilt yarn I bought.

Hold the applause.
It was my pleasure.

When Karma Taps You On the Shoulder

I can't go downstairs to get the camera because when I came upstairs, I told Joe I was coming upstairs to clean my office (which is a serious clutter bomb) and I was cleaning the office. I started in the corner that has the upstairs stash (that is no longer a stash.) These boxes here:
Well, oddly enough, I decided to go through the boxes to see what could be consolidated now that it wasn't a stash and therefore didn't need to be organized I am more willing to take a look at it.
You see in the photograph five garment boxes and a big storage box. If I had a camera upstairs (note to self, stick a digital camera upstairs) and if I took a photo and placed it here - you would see only three garment boxes and a big storage box.

The stash that is not a stash has shrunk!

I have comfortably consolidated yarn that it left me with two empty boxes! This is the cosmos taking immense pity on me and saying: "Dear child, we know you are trying your best so we will give you a hand here."

I know what you're thinking, but no, I am not going to fill these boxes with new yarn procurements. There are enough loose skeins on the other floor that can fill them, but I am not going to fill them with yarn at all. These boxes are going to find themselves over at Marilyn's house where I am certain she can use them (and I don't really care if she can't cuz they'll be out of my house!)

Now wasn't that worth stopping the work and telling you about?

I Don't Have A Stash

Imagine my utter amazement to discover I no longer have a yarn stash. I mean, if you've followed me even for a little bit, you know I have yarn bombs all over the house. There's yarn, in some degree, in every room of the house. I wouldn't be surprised to find yarn in the garage - I mean everything else but a car is in there.

However, this afternoon, I have it on good authority that I don't have a yarn stash.

A 'stash' according to Dictionary.com is something put away or hidden.

This - and the other twelve boxes or containers are neither hidden or put away. Therefore, not a stash.

No stash. Nothing to organize.

My work here is done.