Stash Slimdown Con't.....

Am almost done with the reorganization of my stash, don't worry, I'll be posting pictures of the extent of it when I'm done. And after my friend G. shows me how to post pictures online. (This is my first computer and I'm still learning how everything works. I tend to be a bit behind the times on the technology.) I've found more UFO's than I thought I had. (Hangs head in shame.)

I did come up with a nifty way to use up all the little odds and ends and pretty up my apartment while doing it. Since the furniture shift around my bed now sits lengthwise along left hand wall of my studio and during the day it can double as a couch. (Seating is woefully lacking in the studio, as of now I have two chairs, count 'em, two. Although you can take the stereo off of the small table and use that as a chair. So, three!) As I've said before I've made lots of afghans, all but one of them using the Crocheted Throw pattern by Lauren Lindeman and available at somuchyarn.com. It's made to use up those odd balls of yarn you have lying around the house but after making five of them I'm a little burnt out on them and the odds and ends I have are really small amounts, not enough for a throw. Hmmmm, wish I had some throw pillows for the bed/couch. Ding dong! Brainstorm!

So I took some time out of the re-organization today to start on a pillow based on the afghan pattern and it seems to be going well. (The first one is going to be 12 x 12. I'm no the world's best of fastest crocheter so I won't push my luck.) Will post pictures once it's done, I promise! I also started on a scrap sweater using all my rust, orange, and reddish yarns and it's coming along great and I'm on track for this month's goal. Tune in tomorrow to see how it's going!

Happy pride Portland! You all looked fabulous!

The Stash Slimdown

After yesterday's post, and taking another good hard look at my stash, I have decided to go on a yarn diet. My studio apartment is far, far too small for this situation to continue on as it has, something must be done and done soon. So here's what I'm going to do: Between today, June 18th, 2010, and June 18th, 2011 I'm going to remedy this situation!

Here's how it's going to work. I'm going to go through my stash this weekend and organize it into the following categories: enough of one single yarn to make a sweater for me or someone else, enough of various yarns in similar weights and colours to make a stripy sweater for me, and all the itty, bitty, leftovers, used to make children's hats and scarves. Since I'll be on a yarn diet there will only be minimal amounts of yarn purchased, mainly to provide ribbing for the stripy sweaters. (I'm putting my yarn budget for each month at no more than $40.) That's right kittens, I'm going on a stash slim-down! Stay tuned and see what happens!

I will post an picture of all finished projects, along with the patterns if they are my own. If not I'll post the source and a link if possible. I'm shooting for at least two large projects, (i.e. sweaters, afghans), a month along with several smaller ones. Tune in tomorrow to see how it's going!

Forgot to add there will also be a pattern diet too! I'll be creating my own patterns, using patterns from books I already own, or from patterns that are available for free.

It's Not You, It's the Yarn

This is my first blog entry, which is slightly scary for me but I'm going to put it out there and see what happens. (It being my New Year's resolution this year, going ahead and doing things that I would have normally not done. Within reason. No jumping out of planes or handling of insects.) But the blog is nowhere as scary as the state of my yarn stash, which is in complete disarray. I tend to tell myself it's all neat and organized and put away in storage boxes that will sit nicely and neatly in my closet. (and under the sink. and under the cabinets in my kitchen. and in the far corner of that space where the murphy bed originally was in my apartment.) But, after being on Ravelry the other day and seeing a sweater that sparked an idea to use up my stash I took a good look at it. All of my yarn stash. I realized I may have a problem.

Just a small one.

See, I'm one of those knitters that has a fear of commitment. I go to the yarn store, see something I like, and I buy one ball of it to see if it works. When I get it home and try it out I often find what seemed like it would work doesn't and I'm stuck with a ball of yarn. ( I was under the impression that this was a once in awhile thing that I did, but after delving into my stash, I must admit I do this more often than not.) I make a lot of afghans. Lots of afghans. Thankfully my friends and family appreciate this.

It's not that I don't want to make a commitment, it's that I'm just a bit tentative about making the commitment. We've all gone out, found what we thought was the perfect yarn, bought the lot, brought it home, introduced it to the pattern, made the swatch, made three quarters of the sweater, only to wake up one morning, look at it and go "What am I doing?!!!".

The yarn suddenly doesn't look so good in the harsh light of day, causing you to question your judgement, taste level, and common sense. It has to be a lack of common sense for me to bring home some of the yarns that I have, I tell myself. But they looked soooooo nice on the shelf, all neatly wrapped up in their cute little labels! Then you get it home and start knitting, and you're so excited about the project you tell your friends all about it, and pretty soon you and said project are inseparable, and your friends ask how it's going when you see them, and you go along happy and excited until..............it isn't.

It was a three quarter sleeve mercerised cotton pullover that did me in. I almost never knit with cotton, for some reason it and I just don't click, not the way wool and I do. Cotton can be difficult, heavy, and un-elastic. What had I been thinking to take on this project? What caused this lapse in judgement? (It was the colour. It was such a perfectly perfect shade of red I couldn't resist. I tend to choose more by colour than something more practical like is it itchy? is it the right fiber for the project? is it wearable? These parameters tend to fly out the window when the colour is really, really pretty.) Suddenly I was not so in love with the project anymore. I bundled it into an anonymous bag and put it in the back of my closet where I wouldn't have to look at it. But every once in awhile I would think about it and feel guilty that I hadn't finished it. I began to doubt myself and my knitting skills.

My friends told me that I was a good knitter, really good, and it just hadn't been the project for me. Cotton and I just weren't meant to be. The next project would work out better. I'd get over it and move on. I did, but with reservations. Was I not the knitter I thought I was?

So I started being very wary of the yarn that I buy and driving my long suffering LYS crazy with my purchasing of one ball of yarn to try, hold the rest please I will call and let you know if it works. More often than not, it hasn't. Which has led to the creation of some very oddly striped garments, many cute hats for kids, armwarmers by the basketfull, and the realization for me that it is perfectly fine for me to be as choosy as I am because I deserve the perfect yarn. You do too. Take the project that's sitting in the corner of the room, staring at you with the why-have-you-abandoned-me eyes, put it in a bag, and place in the far corner of the closet. Leave it there. (Do this only if it is not a present for someone. It's a bit mean not to finish someone's present.) Call your friends and organize a yarn swap. (You can do this with clothes, why not yarn?) Call a charity and ask if they need craft donations, you'll be surprised how many do. This is the best thing for the both of you.

It's not you, it's the yarn. Remember this the next time you throw the project across the room in frustration. It's the yarn.

Treat of the week! (Every Thursday there will be treat of the week found in the Portland metro area. Because I am weak and cannot resist. This is why I walk everywhere. If you have a suggestion in the Portland metro area please let me know and I will most likely try it. Unless pistachios or walnuts are involved. You're on your own with that. Thanks!)

Treat of the week: Pecan Tessies at Two Tarts on NW 23rd Ave. Absolute perfection in a tiny package, the perfect ratio of brown sugar to pecan. Every time I get their cookies as a present for someone there is a phone call asking where I got them. So good!