Femiknitter Will Probably Appreciate This Most Of All

Hey kiddies, sorry to have left all that yarn up there for a week. I didn't mean to make you wach my commercialism on purpose. I spent most of last week either blowing my nose every three seconds, bitching about my inability to smell or taste anything, or under heavy sedation (god bless Nyquil), and wasn't able to get to the computer. And then, when I was able, I didn't really want to. You know.

But I started feeling loads better on Saturday and Sunday, and this is what happened:


This might be more impressive if I had a picture of what this corner of the office looked like before. Or what the insides of the drawers looked like, for that matter. I got rid of FOUR huge BAGS OF YARN (stop freaking out, it was crap acrylic) which I had acquired in the days when I was a new crocheter with high hopes of an afghan for everyone I knew! and purchased with quantity, rather than quality, in mind. Lots of Red Heart. Lots of leftovers. Lots of crap just taking up space. Those bags were surrounding the dresser like grumpy castle guards, making it very difficult for me to get into the drawers. Eventually I stopped using them for actual storage. When I emptied them out they just had a few scraps each. Excellent use of space!!!


Now, the dresser holds almost all my yarn (not the sock yarn, that's still in the living room). The top drawer holds leftover balls that are actually worth keeping around, a case of embroidery floss, my shears, and probably other things. (What? It's a spring cleaning, not a spring complete-conversion-to-the-church-of-Martha.) The other three drawers are packed with all my real yarn. I even emptied out the under-bed storage box and moved that stuff in with the rest.

The blue bag to the left of the dresser holds the crocheted ripple afghan my grandma Shirley was working on before she died. The plastic bags in the foreground hold all the yarn I'm trying to sell (see previous post and also here if you are interested and if you are I love you a lot). I do have one more large bag (another crocheted afghan project) that's currently out in the living room. It taunts me with its mass.


This is the top of the dresser. The wicker basket is holding my current WIPs. The crate holds my swift, ballwinder, and Eucalan (other stuff too, but I'll share that another day). The top of the crate holds some Cascade EcoWool (for swatching or for a house cozy - that stuff has some outstanding yardage), my straight needle roll, and the dyepot and dyecolander, which of course both hold extra yarn that won't fit in the dresser.

And that is the story of how a little case of cabin fever can turn into a giant destashing and a soothing feeling of having control over one's yarn. Let us hope it lasts.

It's amazing what you can find under your bed

Being the annoyingly organized (about some things) person that I am, I've started to make an inventory of my yarn and needles. Seriously. I made a spreadsheet and everything. (Stop laughing.)


(yarn waiting to be assessed, categorized, and digitized.)

This effort may be seen by some as pure folly, or a waste of time, or just absolutely batshit crazy. Whatever. I prefer to see it as an effort to gain control over my stash (god, who keeps laughing?) and keep myself (a) focused on the projects for which I purchased the yarn in the first place, and (b) aware of how much yarn I actually own.

Just how much yarn do I own?

Well, for starters, I own 4 miles (7744.6 yards) of sock yarn. Not as much as some, maybe, but it definitely is cause for action Chez HookOn.

And I'm really not sure how much I own of the rest of the yarn (haven't gotten everything entered yet) but it astonishes me how much I've forgotten. When Femiknitter was visiting she asked to see my stash, and I pulled everything out. Everything (except the Red Heart) was a lot. I kept remembering little places in my apartment where I've randomly shoved yarn away, and I really surprised myself with what I found ("Huh, I've got 8 balls of a discontinued Patons superwash merino! I wonder where those came from.").

To sum up: the yarn/needle (oh god, the needles) inventory is a good way to make sure I shop for yarn only in my stash, and is a lovely time- and money-saving device. Lovely.

Resolved

Hapy New Year, everyone! I'm a bit late in saying that, but yesterday saw me in Michigan visiting a bunch of sweet people, then participating in a 4.5 hour drive home.

I did think about New Year's resolutions -- something I don't usually do because I think I set myself up for failure and disappointment if I don't accomplish said resolutions. This year I realized that if I don't give myself goals, I definitely don't reach them, so why the heck not? Why not, indeed. So here are a few off my list:

Physical activity is no longer optional.

Figure out (then TAKE) the next step, career-wise.

Travel.

Challenge myself, knit-wise.

Seriouly, knit more.

Take control of the stash.
I took a mental inventory the other day and am horrified at (or idiotically proud of) myself.

• I have my sock yarn stashed on top of bookshelves in the part of our living room where lives my cozy knitting chair,

• I have yarn stashed between the knitting chair and the wall,

• I have yarn stashed under the end table next to my knitting spot on the couch,

• I have yarn stashed under the bed in a plastic box that threatens to burst open,

• I have yarn stashed in a 4-drawer dresser unit in the computer room,

• I have yarn stashed ON TOP OF the 4-drawer dresser unit in baskets,

• I have yarn stashed in giant plastic bags SURROUNDING the 4-drawer dresser unit,

• I have yarn stashed under my desk at work -- AT WORK, PEOPLE!

• And I have yarn stashed on the third floor of the library (again, MY PLACE OF WORK) which I call my "teaching stash" for when I next teach crochet or knitting classes. I have no plans as yet to teach crochet or knitting classes.

And I realize that this may be nothing to those master hoarders (you know who you are) who use yarn in place of fiberglass insulation to reduce their winter heating costs, but it's a lot of yarn for me, and A LOT of yarn for this tiny two-bedroom apartment. And certainly A LOT for my place of work. Plus, it's rather stupid of me to continue purchasing yarn when that money could go toward debt repayment or saving for a house or other responsible-adult-type things.

After realizing this for myself, I decided to join in on this little thing that you may have heard of.

(Evidence of long hours learning to use The Gimp, culminating in this, my first sucess at making a button! Feel free to snag it, but please save it to your own server. Because that's what nice bloggers do.)

I've stolen from Wendy, raided Rabbitch, and come up with my own rules for this game:

1. This game starts on January 1st (which means my yarn purchases from Femiknitter's visit snuck in just under the radar) and runs through September.

2. I get a bye for Stitches Midwest in August (what? Like I'm going to give that up), but will impose a monetary limit on my purchases.

3. I can buy sock yarn, but only after actually completing 2 pairs of socks.

4. Gifts of yarn are not my fault and are entirely acceptable.

5. The "I've run out of yarn for this specific project and must finish it" excuse is entirely acceptable.

6. I can succumb to the temptation of sexy sexy yarn ONCE AND ONLY ONCE outside of the other exceptions, so it better be well worth it.

I don't think this will be hard. At the rate I'm knitting, I won't even make a dent in the stash (which currently holds enough yarn to make (roughly) 5 shawls, 4 sleeveless tops, 3 me-sized sweaters, 2 baby-sized sweaters, 16 pairs of socks, 4 large crocheted afghans, 1 pair of mittens, 1 Christmas tree skirt, and assorted scarves, hats, and random randomness). I think I'll be okay.

2007 in going to rock!

Again With The Swag

Sometimes, working in a public library is the best thing ever.

I put out adverts for my upcoming (less than a week! Oh My God!) intermediate crochet class all around the town (newspapers, posters in the library, etc) and this lovely woman who comes into the library at least once a week called me up the other day. She asked if I could use crochet hooks for my students, as she is nearing 90 years old and the handwork has gotten beyond her. I said of course I could use them, and thank you for offering. Today she called me up and asked if I could use any knitting needles. Well of course I could, and you are a dear.

When I got back to work from my lunch break I found a bag full of knitastic goodness.

I found booklets (one from 1941)



This one has designs in it for size 35 and 50 needles, and I suspect that the enormous Reynolds Jumbo Jet needles I have are size 50 (because really, how could they not be). I'm currently holding onto the needles purely for the comic relief. I may decide to let them go (what, like into the wild?) someday. Someday, but not now.

I also found the tiniest crochet hook I've ever seen (steel size 12).

Yes, I'm sure there are smaller ones, you wacky crochet-with-cobweb purists. It's just that I own this one. And it's freaking tiny. Can't see the hook part? Neither can I, from here. Click to bigginate and you too shall bask in its petite tinydom. And in my fingerprints, if you look closely.

I also found a pom-pom maker, which is awesome.

I almost bought one the other day, and I'm uberglad I didn't. (Do you ever wish you could type an umlaut? I totally want to right now.) I don't know what those round rings are, unless they are another kind of pom-pom maker and I've just displayed my ignorance to the knit/crochet blogosphere. That would be the best thing ever.

And there were stitch holders, too.

It's kind of hard to make stitch holders exciting.

And there were all manner of needles, including this size 10 29" circular, which is awesome because I didn't own one (until now! Sweet!).

See that price? Yes, that baby was $2.50 once upon a time. Oh, for the good ol' days when a circular needle was two-fifty and all you could buy was ...Red Heart. Oh wait. Nevermind.


I also got this set of four size 4 dpns. Alumin(i)um. Pink. They are cute and I love them.

And these shorter straights, still in their Heroic cases:

Can you see those prices? Well, okay, the two on the left are plastic, but still. The alumin(i)um ones were only $1.35 once.


And here is the rest of the haul, backgrounded by my great-grandmother's quilt made of old neckties. I got lots of needles in all sizes, and my needle roll/case for long straights is almost all full.

I love the people who patronize public libraries. They're so lovely.

In Other News
My wrists feel better. I'm not going to stitch till Sunday (maybe Saturday night. Probably Saturday night--who am I kidding), but I am feeling much better. I'm stretching and moving more while I work (thanks Laura!), and throwing my shoulders back when I sit, as Heather does (although I feel all "tits-to-the-wind" when I do and feel kind of naughty about it). Charming, no?

Now I must away and sleep. Long day today. Long day tomorrow. Normal day Friday. Long-ass day Saturday. Sigh.

Do Needles Count as Stash?

Superbowl Sunday was pretty awesome. Not the game (though that was okay), but the hanging out with family.

On the way to the party, Beloved and I stopped to see my Grandma Shirley (the one with the cancer) in the nursing home. She's doing really well and her spirits are high, and I brought her roughly ten pounds of books (her new room doesn't have a TV, because only the Medicare-paying patients get TVs. If you're private-pay, you get a smaller room with much much fewer amenities, and sometimes the staff forgets to CLOSE THE WINDOW in January so you get kind of cold.). Despite the contents of that rant, Grandma is in good spirits and keeping herself busy. She's working her famous ripple-pattern crocheted afghan (I think she's made one for every member of the family, plus all the residents of our town), this time for herself. Because of the cold.

After our stop in Rockford we headed out to the gathering at my Uncle David's house. Good times, awesome company (my Gram & my Aunt & my Dad were being really goofy and it was so fun I wish I had recorded it). I brought my knitting but didn't get to any of it, which in retrospect was a good thing, as I had only slept for four hours the night before and was a little nutty.

I was going to teach Maribeth (youngest sister) and Lloyd (her BF) how to knit (he wanted to learn how to knit. On Superbowl Sunday. In front of my Dad and Uncle. Lloyd is a strong man, and I take my hat off to him.), but it didn't work out due to my sleepiness and the watching of the commercials.

(In case you were wondering, Yes, I did finish the Lloyd Scarf. He loves it. I had a picture of him with it somewhere, but it seems to have vanished. But I finished it, I swear!)

Traditionally we celebrate my and Laura's birthdays on Superbowl Sunday (in 1986 the Superbowl fell on my birthday, and the Bears were playing, and I thought all the excitement was for me). This year we didn't have a cake (Mom made me a birthday pie, and Laura a birthday fruit salad!) and we didn't really want the singing and the candles, but we got it anyway:



Why yes, yes those are candles in the fruit salad.

At the end of the night I wanted to show my aunts the needle case Laura had made me (they don't knit, but their niece made something awesome. You know.) and they oohed and ahhed over it and my Aunt S. said, "I didn't know you were knitting now" and I said yes, I only picked it up in October, and she ran downstairs and brought back her old knitting needles and said, "I don't knit anymore, would you like to have these?"

And there were two pairs of size 3 needles, one pair of size 8, one pair size 11, two stitch holders, and the most gigantic freaking needles I have ever seen in all my days. So of course I said "Hell yes, Aunt S.! Thank you!"



And some closeups of the huge-ass needles:



That's a size 8 resting on top of the gargantuan needles, for reference-like. There is no size marked on these babies, and my Susan Bates needle sizer only goes up to 16. I'm guessing they're 35s or 50s. If anyone knows the size of the "Reynolds Jumbo Jets," let me know, kay? Thanks.

And now the internet knows that I have not ironed my tablecloth, and my mother is weeping silently into her linen closet.

Swag and The Aftermath

Ah, yarn. ::gleeful bouncing about my home now ensues::

This...



And this...



And this



And much, much more all came from my friend Emily. Her mom works at Village of Progress, a vocational training center for handicapped adults. Yarn companies from all over the country send yarn samples to VOP for color-card making. And they don't want the yarn back! I've been getting lots of yarn from Emily's mom and using it mostly in my classes and in other projects. But about 2 weeks ago the VOP had a gigantic 3-day long yarn sale. One Dollar A Pound, ladies and gentlemen. And it's not just stuff that you'd expect to see in a dollar-a-pound sale, it's mohair (witness the bottom-most picture), it's wool with silk or alpaca and mohair (witness the orange-y ball in the middle-most picture), and it's all kinds. I couldn't go myself, so Emily went and returned with two enormous garbage bags full of yarny goodness for me (and for Heather, as it turns out; I gave her about a third of the total swag). (And it's extra exciting (or not, depending how you look at it) because none of the yarn has a label. I have no idea exactly what it is, or how best to care for it. The mystery makes it more thrilling.)

This caused a massive reorganization of the stash. I took all the wool and crammed it into an under-bed storage box (Tupperware, I think) using a bungee cord (finally, a practical use for that thing!); I rearranged the drawers in my yarn bureau (I know, who the heck says "bureau" anymore?); I kind of organized the baskets sitting on top of the yarn bureau, and I looked askance at the bags of projects loitering around the yarn bureau. I kind of stuffed them in between the DVD case and the bureau (now I'm just using "bureau" gratuitously. I'm trying to bring it back. I have high hopes.) and told them that they should probably think about finishing themselves if they ever wanted to see the light of day again.

And I did all this sorting and reorganizing and integrating before Nick came home from work. (Don't worry that I'm hiding my yarn addiction from my beloved. He's a neat freak very organized guy, and I want to maintain some cohabitational harmony in these first few months. After that, it's a crapshoot.)