Archive for the ‘Organization’ Category
So I abandoned the hat as a gift idea for the new baby, and decided to get rid of some of the stash sock yarn I had on hand and make a Monkey from the Itty Bitty Toys book. I love the patter, but I cannot believe this yarn. This poor monkey is fairly hideous.
 |
| From Baby Stuff |
Seriously – this is a face that ONLY a baby could love…
 |
| From Baby Stuff |
While I was working on that, I was listening to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off, and found out about a scrap-eating project called the Traveler’s Life Afghan, which is a blanket made with every bit of scrap yarn left over from finished projects. Each row knit into the blanket is a different scrap of yarn. It’s a very cool idea! I spent much of Saturday going through all of my scraps of yarn and updating Ravelry. Then I went to Fuzzy Wuzzy yarns with some friends and knit, and bought the needles I needed to start it. When I got home, I started to put the yarn in chronological order (thanks to my Ravelry project list for keeping track of it), and Tux would NOT LEAVE IT ALONE! This is after much subduing and picking up..
 |
| From Misc Pics |
She decided that she loved the Cashmerino more than anything.
 |
| From Misc Pics |
She was also a fan of the Misti Alpaca.
 |
| From Misc Pics |
More to come on my other project that I resurrected from the depths. 
Somehow, the weather in Chicago went from 40-ish to 80-ish overnight. (Woo!)
We don’t have central air conditioning, just a single window-unit and ceiling fans. Personally, I’m fine with this. I hate AC. I hate being cold, and AC makes me cold… My husband is on the other side of the spectrum – he hates being hot. Some time ago, we came up with the compromise that we’d use the ceiling fans until the heat was absolutely unbearable (for him – uncomfortable for me) before we turned on the AC. Last night, we officially needed the ceiling fans (don’t tell him I said this, but we probably could have used the AC).
Anyone that has semi-annual ceiling fan use knows that you have to DUST the blades before you use them for the first time after a few seasons, or you get a year’s worth of dust flying through your house, settling on your food, in your eyes, and most often in your iced beverage. Eew.
So we went to get the Swiffer so that my tall, dark, and handsome man could dust the ceiling fan blades. I handed him the handle while I looked for the box that contained the actual duster – the *useful* part. No love. Nothing. OUT of duster thingies.
My enterprising husband improvised… I’m not sure what he did, because I was busy taking action! I started knitting a duster to fit on the swiffer. I was 80% done by the time he finished dusting and didn’t need it anymore. I worked on it a little more while we watched Glee. I have less than an inch to go before it’s done. I’ll let you know how it works!
No pictures of the duster until it’s done and tested, but since all interesting blog posts have pictures – here’s one of how Tux tried to stay cool in the hot weather last night. Thanks for the bamboo tray, Paisley Rose!
 |
| From Misc Pics |
So apparently, it is Knitting and Crocheting Blogger Week. I had no idea until I read the Bearded Knitter’s Post, and now I’m a few days behind – so let’s get to it, shall we?! Catch-up Time!
Day One: 28th March. A Tale of Two Yarns.
Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.
Okay, so this should be an easy one. Everyone knows I LOVES me some Malabrigo. (or they should know… and if they didn’t know until now, they should buy some for me to make up for it! :-D) Whether it is the super chunky, size-15-needles-and-done-in-a-few-hours yarn, or the super-soft super-wash wool to give to my little sister and niece; I love Malabrigo.
 |
| From Cowl and Hat Set for KK |
 |
| From 2011 FOs |
The issue with Malabrigo, though… as it gets smaller, it decides to choose its own destiny as a cat toy. Seriously. I bought some great Malabrigo ‘sock’ yarn (sock is in quotes because that was laceweight if I’ve ever seen it!) and as soon as we got it onto the swift, it saw the yarn-ball-winder coming… and that thing tangled itself up worse than gum-that-you-fell-asleep-with-it-in-your-mouth-so-it-fell-into-your-hair… In the end, it took two dedicated professionals (yarn-store employees) and myself to somehow come up with three separate balls of yarn after about two hours.
 |
| From Misc Pics |
However, even after all that, I still loves me some Malabrigo more than any other yarn I’ve tried.
Day Two: 29th March. Skill + 1UP
Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?
I started knitting a little over a year ago, so I’m trying to keep it in terms of as close to ‘exactly’ a year ago as I can, because the easy answer is I learned everything in the last year…
Let’s see… this time last year, I was knitting baby booties and hats for kids, a blackberry case, and a Mother’s Day Sweater for my (now) Mother-in-Law. (thank you, Ravelry and the list of FOs from 2010…)
 |
| From Finished Stuff |
 |
| From Finished Stuff |
 |
| From Finished Stuff |
 |
| From Finished Stuff |
The thing I can say about the difference between then and now is the yarn size. Alex (the one who taught me how to knit) used to comment about how I loved TINY yarn… and I do! However, I have seriously learned to love Worsted And Bigger yarn. Don’t get me wrong, DK and smaller have their place, but I’ve accepted the fact that I am a ‘small thing with big yarn knitter’. I do it for the FOs (finished objects) not the hand cramps! (of course, I say that and look at my WIP of socks with laceweight-pretending-to-be-sock-yarn…)
 |
| From Socks |
Part of being the Knitiot Savant is that I don’t turn away from a challenge… but I accept the kind of knitter that I am. I don’t pretend like I’m going to knit a sweater, because that would take too long. However, I have recently started dabbling in the sock arena. Honestly, while I was making the first pair, I had decided that I didn’t ever need to knit a pair again. But then I gave them to my husband, and he won’t shut up about them. I like making stuff that is loved and appreciated… so socks are probably going to stick around for a while – most likely in Worsted weight yarn.
 |
| From Socks |
Day Three: 30th March. Tidy mind, tidy stitches.
How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? It seems like an easy to answer question at first, but in fact organisation exists on many levels. Maybe you are truly not organised at all, in which case I am personally daring you to try and photograph your stash in whatever locations you can find the individual skeins. However, if you are organised, blog about an aspect of that organisation process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organised stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry.
I recently posted about the ‘ottoman rule’ for my yarn, and I have been trying to keep to that. I also have my ‘knitting corner’ that has all of my knitting needles, books, and scrap yarn. I keep each WIP in its own bag with all of the yarn as well as the pattern, presumably so that I can grab them on my way out the door. the only problem is that my knitting accessories (stitch markers, crochet hooks for fixing dropped stitches, tapestry needles, etc) get forgotten if I don’t bring the same ‘travel project’ all the time.
 |
| From Misc Pics |
 |
| From Misc Pics |
 |
| From Misc Pics |
 |
| From Misc Pics |
For the most part, Ravelry is my Stash/WIP management tool. I can look at my ‘stash’ and see how much, what weight, what colors, etc. I can also see what my ‘sleeping’ projects are, and try to re-dedicate myself to stuff that I’ve chosen to ‘forget’ so that I can be motivated to work on it by the time I get home… – and I can do it from anywhere!
Okay, all caught up now! phew!
It has hit me. I’m not sure there’s a cure. I feel the need to START projects. The Harlot calls it Startitis. It is a very serious affliction.
It all started last weekend when I finished both the Cowl and Ed’s socks, and as a result had nothing on the needles. I decided to start a pair of Evil Stepmother socks for myself for an ‘at home’ project, and a Market Bag out of Shibui Knits for my ‘on the go’ project.
The socks are awesome. I’m very excited about them, but the yarn is SO SMALL! I think it may be the tiniest, skinniest yarn I’ve ever worked with. I have the toes done, and I’m about to enter the endless stockinette before I get to the gussets. I’m not sure my hands can handle gripping such tiny needles for extended periods of time.
 |
| From Socks |
The market bag has sort of lost my interest. I LOVE the yarn, but I feel like using it for a market bag is wasting it. I think it’s going to take a time out until I can figure out what I really want to do with that yarn.
 |
| From Oddities |
Sometime this week, Joey stole my hat. The one I made for him last March is now too small, so I think he needs another one (that is not mine). The other night, I ‘flashed my stash’ for him so that he could go through it and figure out which yarn he wanted me to use. He picked out the very same yarn that he decided on when we went to the yarn store (many moons ago). Check out the SAME SKEIN, top and bottom…
 |
| From Misc Pics |
 |
| From Misc Pics |
I turned that into my ‘on the go’ project and this is where I am with it:
 |
| From Hats |
The only problem with ‘flashing your stash’ is that you realize exactly how much yarn you have – which I think is one of the causes of Startitis, the need for Stashbusting, because this is what I want to do now (in no particular order):
Start a hat for a guy at work that keeps asking for one with this yarn:
 |
| From Misc Pics |
Make some socks for a dear friend of ours (the one who officiated our marriage) with this yarn:
 |
| From Misc Pics |
Make the fingerless mitts that I was going to make with this yarn:
 |
| From Misc Pics |
Start a ‘fake isle’ hat with these two skeins:
 |
| From Misc Pics |
… okay, maybe not an *ode* but certainly a post!
My brother is my webmaster. He designed the template and maintains the blog. As the Harlot says, he “makes blog go”. He is a pretty awesome big brother.
 |
| From Misc Pics |
As many of you may have noticed last week, the blog was down. Now, let me be the first to say, it was NOT my brother’s fault. *I* received the email that said that I needed to change something, but I never sent it to my brother so that he could “make blog go”. Once I sent him the info, he officially fixed it. That would make the fact that the site was down MY fault, and the fact that it is now fixed HIS fault…
See, he likes to build things. I *sometimes* like to help.
 |
| From Misc Pics |
So, since my brother has come to the Blog’s rescue, I feel the need to officially dedicate this post to him.
Remember when I thanked him for building the blog by making this?
 |
| From Cozies |
Well, his wife, Natalie saw it and also wanted one. That’s when I made this.
 |
| From Cozies |
Well, my brother saw how much more efficient the cozy with a bottom was so he officially requested a bottom for his Seamus cozy. When he was in town for the wedding, I picked up the stitches from the bottom and gave Seamus a bottom. The cast-off stitches turned into the ‘neck’. Can you see it?
 |
| From Cozies |
They were both very excited.
 |
| From Cozies |
That particular weekend, I was trying to get ready for a Bridal Shower at my house and a “Dinner Party” that only a few select people knew was a wedding. (My brother was not one of those select few.) Given the stress that all of the weekend planning entailed, I have to say that my brother was an AMAZING help.
I needed to get the house clean enough to entertain over 30 people, but there were two children who just wanted to spread Legos love and joy all around the house. My brother made sure that the house was clean when it needed to be. Amazing. (Legend has it that they officially told him to ‘stop sounding so much like Abby’)
This would not seem like a big deal unless you knew my brother and I from when we grew up. He and I were *always* fighting. 15 years ago, nobody would have ever imagined that my brother and I would ever be caught working together, let alone *choosing* to make gifts for, and helping each other. We were typical sibling rivals, fighting and getting the other in trouble (he mostly deserved it… I never did…) See how happy we were to be seen together?
 |
| From Misc Pics |
When we were cleaning, he noticed my Malabrigo Rasta Cowl and mentioned that he would like for me to make one for his wife.
 |
| From 2011 FOs |
As a token of my appreciation of all of his hard work keeping my house clean, rather than make a California girl suffering temperatures in the thirties wait for me to get to the yarn store, buy the yarn, knit the cowl, and ship it to California (about a week); I gave up my cowl so that my brother could give it to his lovely, cold, pregnant wife.
Thanks, Ken! and thanks Natalie for whatever you did that made that miracle happen.
 |
| From Misc Pics |
(PS. It was freaking cold today. I really wish I had my Rasta Cowl. Natalie, I hope you really love that thing!)
So I have to admit that there has not been a lot of knitting going on around here. Plans for a Dinner Party AND a Bridal Shower have sort of taken up most of my time – not to mention this whole ‘gainful employment’ thing. That seems to always take away from my knitting time. But it keeps me fully funded for yarn, so I guess I can’t complain.
Knitting has almost completely taken a back seat to other things – like housecleaning. Not your normal housecleaning either… Pre-Bridal-Shower/Spring Cleaning. A week from Sunday, people are coming to my house that have never seen my house before… people that are (apparently) going to bring gifts, as the Bridal Shower is for me. It seemed like it made good sense to make the house look presentable, and get rid of all of the crap we don’t need/use so that we can fit whatever comes through the door. We got rid of about 10 garbage bags of stuff to go to the Salvation Army (!!!) Part of me wants to say that there is no need to bring gifts – just come over and hang out – I have enough ‘stuff’. But I’ve been told that I shouldn’t say such things… So I’m writing it instead ;-)
However, in between all of that organizing and cleaning and purging… I have managed to frog Eleanor (I gave up on her… she had obviously given up on me) and started the Accidental Cowl. (Three times… it is living up to its “Accidental” name…)
 |
| From Cowl for Winter Coats |
It doesn’t look like much now, but it will look like something… someday!
 |
| From Cowl for Winter Coats |
I still love the yarn – Malabrigo Silky Merino.. but it doesn’t frog well, so this is going to have to work out, or this wonderful sikly, woolly yarn will be wasted – and that is unacceptable.
Now it is time for gainful employment!
So with work, wedding planning, dentist visits, sinus headaches and all, I have not been minding my blog… But I’m all caught up now, and full of antibiotics and a new filling in my tooth; so it’s time to catch my faithful readers up on what I’ve been knitting.
I mentioned my new yarn-ball winder. This is my yarn-winding ‘station’
 |
| From Misc Pics |
Jason, Joey and I managed to wind all of these!
 |
| From Misc Pics |
I’ve also finished a few things:
This was supposed to be an ear-warming headband for me, but since I didn’t pay attention to gauge when I started, it’s a headband for my niece, who will be year-old this month! It still needs a button, but I like it!
 |
| From Finished Stuff |
This is the hat that was ordered by my friend at work. I made it with washable yarn, so they don’t have to worry about ruining it:
 |
| From Finished Stuff |
I’m getting ready to go to my cousin Katherine’s 6th birthday party, so I finally washed and blocked her presents:
 |
| From Warm Stuff |
Recognize them? It’s the Cabled Cowl and Headband from a while ago!
If you look at the purple yarn, you can see the second ear-warming headband I made for myself, which also still needs a button. I made it from birthday-yarn Alex gave to me. She probably pet the sheep the yarn came from – how cool is that!?
On to ‘in progress’ projects…
I would love to finish this ‘scarflette’ before I need it this winter. It’s the one that lives in my ‘knitting purse’ that my Mommy made for me for my birthday. I make progress on it whenever I have spare time not at home.
 |
| From Cowl for Winter Coats |
This is KK’s late birthday present, because I’m a horrible big-sister… she’ll probably get it for Christmas.
 |
| From Cowl for KK |
…and now you are up to date!
I’d have some pictures of finished knitting projects (FO’s) for you today, but I got my yarn-ball winder in the mail, and therefore have been winding and re-winding yarn instead of knitting. I even got the boys excited about winding balls of yarn, or as they call it, “making yarn”.
The only downside to ‘organizing your stash’ is that you find that one ball of yarn that you hand-wound three strands together: two lace-weight strands and eyelash yarn.
 |
| From Misc Pics |
That is NO FUN to un-wind and re-ball into three separate and distinct balls of yarn. However, when you DO have three distinct balls of yarn, the boys get to take turns winding it – which is lots of fun!
More pictures later… and I promise I’ll have actual knitted stuff to show you soon!
I did not get to much knitting this weekend because I was vanquishing Clutter Demons from my house with Ed. We succeeded in getting rid of most of them. (You don’t want to vanquish ALL of the Clutter Demons, or they will come back with a vengeance, and you’ll never see a sock’s match again…)
However, I did finish the VVVVV border on Morgan’s L’Ace Tank. It isn’t perfect, but it works.
 |
| From L’Ace Tank for Morgan |
The yarn looks more grey in this picture than it does in real life. It’s a purple-ish yarn…
Also, I made progress on the ‘backup gift’. This is one side of the purse. I’m working on the other side. Then there’s the bottom, and a strap. Once it’s all together, it goes for a trip in the washing machine to transform into a felt purse.
 |
| From Purse |
I’m also still on the hunt for buttons for Katherine’s cowl and Something Else That Shall Not Be Named.
