Cross My Heart, I'm Burnin' Up the Stash

I finished the February block for the 2008 12" Block-a-Month CAL group on Ravelry. It's called appropriately Cross My Heart. It went much easier than the January one. However, now I need to make another January block because I've decided on different yarns to use. I started out thinking I would make each block in the same color and then the pattern for February called for at least 3 different colors. I'm happy with the new colors and it enables me to use up even more of my stash.

Hook: Size H, 5.0mm

Yarns:

Bernat Berella "4" in Soft Forest Green (244)

Caron One Pound in Country Rose (535)

Caron One Pound in Off White (514)

Storage space in our new home is more limited than in the old one. We had an attic and a basement there. I have all my craft things and yarns in a closet in our computer/craft/guest bedroom and it is overflowing. I've decided that I really need to destash my yarns so I joined another group on Ravelry, Burnin' Up the Stash.

Following one of the tips posted there, I have started recording just what I have in my stash. I spent several hours yesterday just logging in my sock yarns. It is a bit overwhelming, but I am determined to do a bit everyday until it is all accounted for. It has made me wonder why I have accumulated so very much yarn.

Am I addicted to yarn buying? Is it some type of disorder like hoarding? I've always been a dreamer and perhaps the thoughts of a new project are as satisfying for me as the actual completion of a knitted or crocheted object. Whatever it is, I feel like I have taken the first step in admitting I have a problem. Once I've finished logging everything in I will need to set some goals for how to eliminate this embarrassment of riches.

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub Another FO

I finished a really quick project today for one of the groups I belong to on Ravelry. It is a Spiral Scrubbie.

I made it for my husband to use when washing dishes (yes, he's a doll!) because he hates all the dishcloths I've made--too big! Actually it looks super easy, but I had problems following the finishing instructions. After some thought, I managed to finish off in a somewhat acceptable manner, but do not think I will make this pattern again. Found two others which I might try in order to use up some of my stash. We'll see. It's pretty low priority right now as I have many other projects on the needles or hooks. I need to finish a child's hat and scarf that I started in January, and my first pair of socks, and a baby afghan I began last year, and . . .

Needle and yarn:

Hook 5.0 mm (H).

Yarn Peaches and Cream Ombre Cotton Worsted.

How much? Very little yardage from a cone.

Colorway Peppercorn.

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

It has been so long since I posted here, I just hope I haven't forgotten how. Seriously, I do have excuses. First, we went to California to visit my husband's family and I had no access to a computer. ( I still haven't purchased that laptop I've always dreamed of having.) Second, upon our return, I was sick for a week with some kind of disgusting bug. Third, I was busy, busy, busy knitting and crocheting the shawls I was taking with me to Texas to give to two of my sisters and one of my nieces for their birthdays. Fourth, I spent a week in Texas with my sisters and never even thought about blogging because we had so much fun reconnecting.


And fifth, but perhaps most important, I have been experiencing some kind of angst about blogging versus journaling.


I have been journaling for about 14 years now. Sometimes almost daily and then sometimes only intermittently, but it has been a great solace and a source of serenity for me over the years. I usually write just before going to bed to reflect a bit on the day or rant or enthuse about a current bee in my bonnet. It is fairly effortless as it is just me, my journal, and a pen.


Blogging, however, seems to take me a long time and neccesitates access to a computer. I am somewhat self-conscious about having everything perfect and also about exposing myself to cyberspace. I'm just writing for myself in my journals, but in a blog there is always the potential that someone else will read it. This is also one of the good things about blogging as I feel more like a real "writer." Maybe it's just exhibitionism but it does satisfy a creative impulse in me that journaling does not.


I haven't completely resolved the issue in my mind, but I am going to try my hand at doing both for a while and see how it works out.