Gosh, I am amazed at how the month just flies by when I'm not paying attention! I can't help but think, where did the time go? Can't I just have a week of it back??
You may ask what I've been up to this last month that has had me away from the blog. Apparently not so much that the excuse sounds good, but enough to make me feel like I've been doing more than I have...
Recent projects this month:
I finally sat down and finished my dad's socks. You know, the pair that was supposed to be for Christmas that will now be for his birthday. They turned out nice, and I really like them! Its a pattern called "Masonic Lodge". No, I did not have to stay in a locked room and only knit them at night under an oath of secrecy.
About midway through the sock, I ran out of yarn. You know, no matter how much you plan, you never plan on something like that when you order yarn. I thought I had enough yardage, to find out that my former favorite yarn distributor makes only 137 yards in this particular weight yarn. WTF. Really? Even with 2 skeins, that is only half a pair of socks. Apparently their whole approach is "make them buy more, spend more". Thank you, I did not need that.
On a side note, I now have enough yarn left over I could potentially make him a hat as well. We shall see if I feel particularly crafty. Hats usually knit up quick unless I have 4 other projects going. For that matter, same with socks.
For project #2, which is still in progress, I cast on a pair of socks for myself for the Sock Knitters Anonymous KAL (knit-a-long). Yes, I've become a huge Ravelry-er. Its my version of Facebook crack. Except you have patterns to knit and crochet.
The socks I will make mine (maybe) are a pattern called Clover. I chose to make it in a verigated orangey colored yarn. It was on clearance and I stocked up because I fell in love with it.
Clover is a lacy pattern with "tight" cabled pillars down the middle of the lacy parts. I have fudged up on them, but without looking inch by inch over the length of them, I doubt anyone would notice. And if anyone did notice because they're scrutinizing my work, they would hear from me just what I think they should do with the time they waste scrutinizing everyone else. Oh, sorry, guess this isn't soap-box-a-thon.
Then the last project I've been working on is my son's double-knit hat. He wanted one just like his dads, in red and black. Well its been a work in progress since oh, November. Its taking more time to make because a) his head is so dang small compared to his daddy's, and b) well I've been side tracked by other things, and c) I'm working at work and now at school too, so its been a bit of a struggle to find a happy balance of knitting, school/work, housework, kid work, etc etc. But I've finally started on the decreases, so when I do sit down and work on it, it should be finished in no time.
Oh, yes, I have started school again. Going to go for the Medical Administration Field. Or really any administration field. Right now I'm taking all online classes for the Microsoft Office Professional suite. Power point, word, excel, outlook, access. With a side of accounting thrown in. Busy work, but its worth it to expand my job outlook right? At least thats what I keep telling myself.
Throw in a visit from my brother from Oregon into January, and that is my month in a nutshell. Busy, busy, busy. And here comes February around the corner. Jeez, where does the time go?! If anyone out there ever creates a device that either sends you back in time, or slows the time down around you so you can get more done... Or even a cloning device, I'd greatly appreciate the chance to use it first!
Everyone have a great rest of the month!
Ok, so I started off the New Year a little late with a new post...
A new year is a time for "resolutions". Things we promise to do for the new year, which may or may not come to fruition. Everyone attempts them, and some actually finish what they try! Me: Not so much. Every year I say "I'm going to lose weight, get in shape, wear make up and do my hair every day", yet not much of that ever happens. Yes, I lose weight for a little while, then gain it back. Wear make up and do my hair every day for a month, then decide its too much work. Etcetera, etcetera. My resolutions? To use the stash that I have to make things rather than buying more (gonna be tough), and to buy more products locally/semi-locally rather than via giant corporations (not so tough in the yarn/craft market), and of course the ever "Save money, don't spend money" resolution (ha!). I'm not going to worry about my weight just yet. My pants still fit (mostly).
Well this year on Rav, someone posted a "Get Real for 2012" thread asking people to go thru their stash, add up how many yards of yarn they have, and try to figure out how much knitting/crochet it would take to get thru the stash in 1 year. Well it really is a wake up call as to how much yarn one has, and realistically how much does one really need? And yarn is like food for some people... You never can have enough! I know when a new colorway comes out in my favorite yarns I do the "Ooooh Pretty! I can make *insert project that may not come to be here* for *insert family member* with that!" I have foot tracings of just about everyone in my immediate family with the intention of making socks for EVERYONE! A lofty little goal, but someday it might happen!
So I downloaded a link to my stash, added in the yarns that I had ordered prior to Christmas that have not arrived yet, and I got a little scared. Yes, some of the yarn is Lace weight (800+ yards per 4 oz of yarn), but most is sock weight, that will one day become socks, hats, bags, scarves, etc. The total for the yardage is over 35,000 yards. For me, it would take using up 740ish yards/week in order to get my stash to 0. Socks only take 200-300 yards/pair to make depending on length. Hats, roughly about 150 yards. There were some people there with over 100,000 yards, and some that were too scared to add it up. I think I'll be on a yarn diet until I halve this number.
New year is also a time for organization. My brother decided to drag his stash out of his storage and organize it too... Apparently it was too much to deal with on Christmas day, so he hung out at our house most of the day. I'd hate to add up the yardage for him! My stash consists of 2.5 bins. Some hanging file folder bin things from Wally World. Cheap but they work. I organized it to 1 bin is all sock yarn, 1 bin is all palette yarn (100% wool, non machine washable), and the half bin of lace yarn. Not bad all in all. The problem being I have just discovered independent yarn dyers. They are pricey, but for the size of the hank of yarn, they are completely worth it. My top 2 right now are Indigodragonfly.com and Hazelknits.com. Indigodragonfly is from Canada, and for shipping, its not bad! US airmail for $7+ (give or take for weight) and it gets to you in roughly 7-10 business days. Hazel knits is from the Seattle area (semi local) and uses priority shipping which costs $5-10 depending on size of box no doubt. They also offer free shipping for orders over $120.... No, I have not ordered that much from them to justify free shipping.... yet. There is the future, of which I'm attempting to save money. They both have scrumptious colors, and the sock yarn with cashmere in it has the same content base, same price... Gah! I am in so much trouble, for soon I shall own a bit of each! So much for the resolution to spend less money, and save more... Maybe I can be saving for yarn?...
But I'm attempting something new (to me). Repair rather than replace. Especially things like work pants and shirts. I just wore a hole in the thighs of my work pants, and discovered a pair of D's discarded khakis in just about the same shade I'm going to use to repair today. Make my own patch... yay! Doing that with the kids clothes as well. Granted after Christmas and Birthdays, they need no clothes... Sheesh.
Anyhow, thats it for the update right now... Gotta go knit and repair, and watch girlie movies now that the kids are back to school! Yay!
