Chaos

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up.  ~A.A. Milne

Oh, why didn't I read the words above before I started printing patterns out?!!  I've been seriously knitting and crocheting for about seven years now and have been printing out patterns for just as long.  Patterns I wanted to make right away (and I have made some); patterns I would like to make some day; patterns I liked the look of; patterns that would teach me a new technique; patterns . . . well, I think you get the idea. 

I began to put them in a binder when I realized that I was collecting quite a few of them.  I brought the binder with me when I moved from Virginia, along with quite a few space bags filled with yarn.  That was almost four years ago and my collection of both patterns and yarn has grown to amazing proportions.  I am attempting to control the stash yarn by not buying any new yarn and knitting and crocheting items that will utilize the yarn I already have in my possession.  Of course, that has necessitated finding and printing out even more patterns that are ideal for the yarn I have.  So, the yarn accumulation is very s-l-o-w-l-y diminishing, but what to do with all the patterns?

The original binder was filled up some time ago and so I began putting the patterns in plastic sleeve protectors.  I kept these on top of the binder in my craft closet, but every time I wanted to find just the right pattern that I knew I had printed out at some time in the distant past, I had to fumble through piles of patterns that I didn't want.  And they slipped and slid all over the place.  

So, yesterday I decided to get organized.  I pulled out every pattern I could find in the craft closet and put them on my kitchen table to begin putting them in order.  I remembered a box of empty binders that came with us from Virginia that has been hanging out in the garage since we moved in here.  Binders! What a perfect place to store all those patterns!  Much easier said than done, however.  I worked for several hours yesterday and this is what I have accomplished:

Why haven't I finished yet?  Today was Super Bowl Sunday and I had company coming over to watch the game with us; and I had food to prepare to munch on while watching the game.  But, no more excuses.  I promise I will have a picture tomorrow of all my patterns arranged in orderly fashion in binders. Just don't hold your breath.

Another Work in Progress

It's a work in progress. It's got a lot of new things on it, but it still needs a lot. ~Tiffany Ross
The road to h___ is paved with works-in-progress.  ~Philippe de Comines

I began another project yesterday afternoon.  I must be crazy with all the works in progress (WIPs) I already have, but this is crocheting one 12 inch block a month until December, 2011.  When I have finished all twelve of the blocks, I will put them together into an afghan for my grandson.  I am using seven very bright colors of a soft worsted weight yarn:  Caron Simply Soft Brites.  The yarn is a bit splitty, but I am pleased with the pattern and my progress so far.

Maggie's Square for Baby G's Afghan

The square was designed by The Crochet Dude, Drew Emborsky. It is a free pattern that can be found on Ravelry and here. It has a new stitch in it for me--the crossed double crochet stitch.  It took me a bit of practice and research to be able to feel comfortable with the new stitch, but I'm glad I took the time.  I really like it and am happy to add another stitch to my repertoire.

One Shawl To Rule Them All

Back in April, I found a new group that had just started on Ravelry called intriguingly, One Shawl To Rule Them All. According to the administrators of the group, it was "started as a joke, but erupted into an exciting queue of must knit (or crochet) shawls. We’re doing a KAL/CAL for shawls voted on by the group that were inspired by the races of Middle Earth."

I promptly joined the group because of my interest in The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. I had seen all of the movies, but had never read the books. I don't remember now what I was doing when all my friends were reading about hobbits, and elves, and Gondor, and Mordor, and Gandalf, and Sauron, but I missed out on the whole thing until the movies came along.

Now, I am reading all about the Third Age of Middle-Earth as I begin working my way through the four shawls I've chosen to crochet and knit for this group. Thus far, I've finished reading The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring and have started The Two Towers. In addition, I've started my first shawl for the KAL/CAL. It is from a pattern by milobo that she calls Eva's Shawl. I'm calling it my Hobbit Shawl. The pattern and lovely pictures can be found here.

I am using a yarn I've had in my stash for almost two years: Elann Endless Summer Connemara in the colorway #112. It is much more a light golden brown than my photo above shows. The yarn is a worsted weight mercerized cotton which is unfortunately discontinued. I really like the way it is working up and the fiber should be good here in the desert. This is a crochet pattern and I am using a size J (6mm) hook. The yarn is heavier than the designer used and in consequence so is the hook, but I am very pleased with the look of it. I have made quite a few shawls, but never one for myself until now. I'm looking forward to wearing it on cool evenings.

An FO for Project Linus

I finished the above baby afghan this weekend and will be donating it to the Tucson Chapter of Project Linus as soon as I finish this one below.

The completed afghan is from one of the patterns the national organization has on its website. It is called Sideways Shell Baby Afghan. I made it with Caron One Pound yarn in the Soft Sage colorway, using a size H (5mm) crochet hook. It worked up quickly and I would definitely make another some time.

The just started blanket is called Garter Stitch Ruffles Baby Blanket and can be found here on the Knitting on the Net website. I am making it with the same yarn as the previous one using size 13 (9mm) and size 3 (3.25mm) circular needles. I will have enough of this yarn in my stash to make one more blanket. I am happy to be using up the yarn and to have the opportunity to donate to such a worthwhile organization.

Roving, Roving, Who's Got the Roving?

Me! That's who. I posted a wish list in the Random Acts of Kindness group on Ravelry and asked for a small amount of roving to practice spinning with my drop spindle. Two phenomenally generous Ravelers sent me all this:

Big thank yous to franspun and songdeva. People like them are a large part of what makes Ravelry a true community. Now I have no excuse for not getting started on making some yarn with my drop spindle.

Mind Games and New Projects

One of my mental activities in retirement is the solving of cryptograms. My local Sunday paper has one every week, but I craved more. I found this online source of weekly cryptograms--usually about 10 a week. I'm really addicted to these.

I mentioned starting a new freeform project last week. I am embellishing some house slippers for me. I am adapting some patterns I found in Margaret Hubert's pamphlet published by Annie's Attic, Fun with Free-Form Crochet. It is a good way to use up some of my yarns from The Think Pink Challenge and The Pink Project. I work on it at odd moments. It is both relaxing and fun.

Another new project has actually been on the back burner for some time. I promised my daughter I would make her a new afghan to replace one that had been too damaged to repair. I've had the yarn for a year or more. I finally have finished enough of my WIPs to feel ready to proceed with a larger project, so started last night. I am using Lion Brand Homespun and one of their free patterns for a Log Cabin Afghan--size K (6.5mm)hook. I like the pattern and it is very easy, but the yarn is a bit finicky to work with as it catches on the loops I'm trying to pull through. Hopefully, as I get more used to working the pattern, I will improve my technique.

Yarn Snob or Realist?

I protest, like the blogger Cabledguy , that I am not a yarn snob. However, I have been agonizing for some time, as I try to destash, if I should donate/give away most of my acrylic and novelty yarns. I just don't have the desire to knit or crochet projects with them at this time and they have really been taking up precious space in my craft room (also computer/guest room) closet. So, I bit the bullet and looked on Ravelry at the Random Acts of Kindness group to see if anyone was looking for what I had to give away. Success! I shipped two boxes in the last two days, totaling about 11,000 yards of yarn, to two different Ravelers. They are going to use it for charity knitting, so I feel really good about that. I definitely could have knit or crocheted items with all that yarn and had purchased it originally with specific projects in mind. In fact, it meant abandoning two projects already in the works for some time (Barbara G. Walker's Learn-to-Knit Afghan


And the Cuddly Kittens Afghan from Weekend Afghans).


My interests have changed, however, and I'm not sure when I would ever have gotten around to making/finishing those projects. It was very painful closing that chapter of my life, but I have lifted an enormous load of guilt from my shoulders. In future, I will be a much more mindful yarn purchaser and intend to knit and crochet only what I love with yarn that I love.

What projects are on my needles/hooks right now? I am not currently crocheting anything, but have several projects begging to be started. However, I do have two new projects on the needles:

First, Magic Stripes Socks from Ann Budd's book, Getting Started Knitting Socks. The yarn is a discontinued Lion Brand yarn, Magic Stripes. This is the second pattern I have followed in this book and I continue to learn from her clear instructions and good illustrations. I highly recommend this book to other novice sock knitters like myself.



Second, Drop Stitch Sari Silk Scarf, adapted slightly from a Lion Brand pattern. I modified the pattern by using size 11 needles instead of size 19 and cast-on 16 stitches, rather than 8. This is my first time knitting with recycled sari silk. I love the color variations, but the small pieces of fiber that it sheds on my clothing and everything else around are somewhat annoying.

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.

This Old House

We still have no working kitchen, so have been eating out often or microwaving frozen casseroles. I can't wait to eat "real home cooking" again. My husband has been very busy, and things are coming along well, just slowly. A few pictures to show our "progress" :

While he has been busy on the kitchen, I have been busy organizing my craft closet and knitting. My stash of yarn is so large, I had to promise myself not to buy anymore until I have finished a few of my works in progress (WIP) and started some more. Here is my supply of yarn:

And here is my most recent finished object (FO)--a blanket for my daughter's dog, Ladybug:

I'm going to work on finishing an afghan for my son next. Knitting is good therapy. It keeps me from worrying about finishing the house and then trying to sell it.