Tag Archive | yarn

This Box Represents

Jan7

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So, to you this looks like a box of yarn. And that is true, it is a box of yarn. But this is also, and more importantly, the first box I have packed for the move to Maryland. The ball winder is in there, too, but the swift isn’t because it would not fit.

I want to note a few more things about this packed box of yarn.

1) All the yarn I don’t intend to use before I leave is in there. All of it. My yarn stash now fits in one bin. If you’ve been following me and my yarn hoarding habits for very long at all, you will know that this is just a remarkable turn of events. But I said I was going to stop buying and start using, and that is exactly what has happened. I no longer go into a yarn store just to browse. If I do buy yarn, I buy only what I need for the project I am ready to start, and no yarn orphans jump into my greedy hands for a ride home. No. This is the only area in which I regularly exhibit self control, and I am quite proud. It’s quite a change for a gal who used to collect fiber the way some folks collect water bottles with logos.

2) Half the bin is sock yarn. I love sock yarn. I use it for way more than socks. I once knit myself an entire tunic length sweater from sock yarn, and it is still my favorite thing that I have made for me. You get a lot of bang for your sock yarn buck. It costs about as much per ball as other weights of yarn, but you get a lot of yardage for the money. More yardage means more hours of knitting pleasure. If I had my druthers, I’d work primarily with sock and lace weight yarns. Oh, wait. I do mostly have my druthers, and that is what I primarily work with. Tiny needles do not aggravate my wrists and cause my hands to go numb. Yes, thank you, I can knit with numb hands, but it feels funny. There is an oddness that comes with watching yourself do something when you can’t feel yourself doing it. Like mental Salvador Dali or something.

3) Other than the sock yarn, almost every ball in there is mentally assigned to a project.

4) There are only three unfinished projects in that bin. I have the start of a Suzy Hoodie, and the start of a traveling shawl. I think I will be ripping the shawl out and restarting, because the last time I picked it up, it looked like I had messed up the increases. I’ve only got a couple of hours into it, so now would be the best time. Well, not now, but when I am ready to pick it up again. The last started thing is a set of rust-colored squares that will eventually find their way into a blanket for my oldest daughter.

5) I packed my yarn. I once told a man that leaving yarn at his house, was a surer sign that I would be back than leaving clothes. I guess he got tired of seeing me, because he gave the project I left with him back. HA! It was the travelling shawl I mentioned earlier. But people. My yarn stash is in a box. I am fully committed. I’m moving.

And here we have yarn

Jan3

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You didn’t think I’d get very far into a new year with out setting forth a fiber agenda, did you? Starting at the bottom left, running clockwise

  • gauntlets for a friend
  • pocketed scarf for my friend to be
  • two containers of sock yarn to go into Hocks, and Hocks itself. This will be the year. Because wool blanket. And Maryland. And it’s time.
  • A long-sleeved, ribbed, turtleneck sweater for me that only needs 1.75 sleeves and a collar. This will be the year for that, too. Because wool sweater. And Maryland. And it’s time.
  • The remaining merino from my trip to the alpaca farm. Nope, I don’t have any plans for it yet beyond spinning, but I am sure I will think of something.
  • A cowl for me, that I started this fall, a bit over halfway done.
  • Socks, also for me. Long ones. Like, thigh high. Maybe even tights. Because legs need wool in Maryland.

I don’t have a real order for these things. The gauntlets need to be done while it is still winter, so they will be started within the next few days. They scarf needs to be done by the first of May. I foresee some pleasant time watching Classic Dr. Who and playing with needles and yarn. (Oh, did I fail to mention that I am now a Whovian? Yep. That happened.)

Honestly, I am not sure there is enough here to keep me busy for a year. But I am pretty sure there is enough to keep me occupied for about six months. That means I can probably pack up the rest of my (now seriously depleted) stash. And my swift. And my ball winder. Do I need to tell you that it feels strange to even consider walking into my room and not seeing those things? But everything I pack now is something I don’t have to pack later.

Speaking of Maryland. I hear sweater season lasts more than 40 days. That’s a benefit my knitterly self is happy with. There is something very satisfying about snuggling myself into layers of warm woolen things that I made for me. It’s warming from inside and out. Double warm. “Thank you, I made it myself,” is still one of my favorite things to say. That, and “yes, I will have dessert.”

Anyway, that’s about all I have to say about fiber today. I briefly considered telling you the stories that go with each of these projects, but I figure it might be better to wait until I get the things done.

I’m tired and grumpy. I didn’t sleep well. My shoulder is giving me eighteen fits. And I had to go out and run errands. But I got my degree audit fixed. It now says “>>>> ALL REQUIREMENTS COMPLETED – IN-PROCESS COURSES USED <<<<." I might have burst into tears when I saw that. You know, I've mentioned wool gauntlets that need knitting. I've mentioned Dr. Who. I'm thinking that tonight might be a good night for that combination. And Bigelow's Constant Comment tea. Which is the awesome, and if you haven't tried it, you should.