To do

I have quite a to do list to get through in the next few days. I did get a great batch of photos (finally!) this afternoon.

When I was going through my stash the other day,* I was able to empty out one of the smaller storage bins. I have a matching set of three and  two of them are full of FOs for the store, now all three can be used for FOs. I have crazy, elaborate plans for the stash. A slow, but hopefully more productive way of inventorying it on Ravelry. But that is not on the list until March!

Part of the list for this month is updating photos and getting FOs listed. As I was organizing the dishcloths today for photos, I realized there were at least half a dozen colors that I have NEVER listed. Oop. Who knows when I knit all of these things, dishcloths are quickie projects and I tend to make a ton all at once. I can also knit them without looking most of the time, so they were popular study-knit projects.

*I finally found my tripod! I've been looking for it for weeks!

Stash Enhancement

As I mentioned before - I got some yummy treats in Indiana.



I'm not sure what I'm going to make out of these yet, but the colors were just too pretty to pass up.

I also ordered 8 skeins of Noro Silk Garden from Webs last week. They got here on Thursday and are just gorgeous.





I got some other goodies from Michael's. Just some stuff to knit up as gifts for the holidays or for etsy.




Also, since I was too lazy get photos of it until now, here is the Filatura Di Crosa Super Soft I got from Webs a few weeks ago. I have 25 balls of this (it was on sale for $2 a ball!). I have a pattern picked out, but I need to do some math to get the sizing right.

Skunk not stroke.

I finished up the back of the Minimalist Cardigan last night. It looks... odd... sideways... strange. The moss stitch gave it a really bad bias which leads to difficult measuring and I'm going to guess a big effing pain to block. Yay. I'm looking forward to that.

I cast on for the front tonight. I'm going to do both front panels at the same time to try to speed up the process. Moss stitch gets boring.

I still haven't done ANYTHING with the Feather & Fan scarf. I really, really dislike the yarn. It bunches up and tangles. It's gorgeous, but annoying as hell.

I just added a crapload of cotton yarn to my stash on Ravelry. Most of it needs photos taken which I'll try to get tomorrow.

Blah, blah, blah. I sort of stopped writing in the middle of all of this and lost my train of thought.

Dogs Don't Like Hats

I was trying to take a photo of Bug wearing the cute little earflap hat I knit for my brother, but he wasn't having any of it. All the photos turned out as blue-green/brown blurs.

I'm going to spend some of the day today drinking loads of tea and adding yarn that I took photos of ages ago to my stash on Ravelry. I need to get that taken care of one of these days. I'm very good about adding new yarn, but I'm still playing catch up with all the pre-Ravelry stash.

Part of the urge to get these uploaded is the need to find some yarn to knit a scarf for Mother's Day and it just really helps me knit down the stash when I know what I have. Imagine that!

I just packed all my sweaters away for the summer. I was able to fit most into a large space bag and suck all the air out. They are now living in my trunk until I can get to the storage room. But now I'm thinking about digging a few out and trying this. I really do prefer cardigans to pullovers now. Something about them is just much more comfortable to me.

What good little knitters do.

My stash is a mess. Always has been. I'm sure it's better than some people's. I've been pretty good about pairing like yarns in ziploc bags and then shoving them into hiding spots. Most of my stash are orphans though. I don't usually buy yarn with projects in mind - something I'd like to change. I tend to buy things because it's pretty, it feels nice or it's one sale. Maybe all three. So I have a lot of single or double balls. That's the majority of my stash.

I'm trying to be good and match things up with patterns. I freely admit that I would not be doing this it it were not for Ravelry and my new printer. So far I've matched up quite a few things. I've printed patterns and shoved them into the bags along with the yarn. I'm really proud of myself. Now I have an actual working queue. Want to knit a scarf? I have 2 lacey ones waiting. Hat? I've got waiting so far. I should have more in just a little while. Charity knitting? I have a lot of pale pink Cotton-Ease that has been in my stash for about 5 years. I printed off two baby bootie patterns and am looking for those series of hats I queued the other day.

This all started because of my upcoming trip to Ohio. I'm finally off to see a surgeon about my stupid gimpy knee. I will be without the BF, the dog, the internet and the DVR for 2 weeks. I need things to knit.

On the Sesame front - I am having some issues with the sleeves. I want to shorten the sleeves just a bit --- but if I do, the stripes won't match up. Ugh. I guess I just have to deal with long sleeves.

Sisters.

One of the many reasons I love Ravelry are the groups. There is a Boulder group which has been amazing. I've been to coffee shops to knit with other people, I've met some great people and now, our groups is working on a project to lend a hand to Boulder's sister city of Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Dushanbe is currently enduring one of the worst winters in 50 years. People don't have heat or running water. Babies are freezing to death in maternity wards.

Since we're knitters and knitters like to keep people warm and give, we're doing just that. We're knitting for them. We've had volunteers willing to share yarn and other supplies. We're still in the planning stages, but we're knitting for all ages.

I knit a pair of baby booties tonight in less than 2 hours. I'll probably make another pair today and maybe a hat or two. I have all this yarn Oma gave me and I am glad I get to share it like this.

I can't wait to see what we end up with. I'm sure it will be amazing. :)

Recycling.

I always end up with extra yarn. I buy too much of one color or get gifts of yarn that I don't use or like the color of... so yesterday was recycle day. I packed my backpack full of leftover tidbits and went to Hobby Lobby. I wanted to find some nice cotton to make a summer tank and some Sugar 'n Cream in new colors.

I found the greatest thing ever!! A kit for a Nicky Epstein coat. (The coat is hideous, sorry Nicky...) BUT it had 10 skeins of sage green mercerized cotton --- marked down from $50.00 to $9.22!! OMG. Less than a dollar a skein! It's Reynolds Top Seed Cotton. (The color on the card is much closer than any of my photos. I think my floors made it look more beige.) It's very lovely and I adore the color. Perfect for summer. Now I just need a pattern!



And here is all my new kitchen cotton:



I also grabbed a ball of Yarn Bee Soft Delight. I've used it once before in a kit and liked it. It was fun to use and it was only 99 cents.