Being Crafty

I don't consider myself a crafty person. Yes, I knit but other than that, I think I'm pretty un-crafty. I'm no Martha Stewart. I don't have a craft room. I don't sit and make paper lanterns with my children. When I need cards, I buy them (or get the kids to fold up paper). I just knit.

However, I did go to a craft show today. I had heard there was yarn and where there's yarn, I'm not far behind. And I learned a number of things.

Lesson 1: There are a hell of a lot of quilters in the world
Every 2nd booth was a quilters booth, or fabric, or sewing machines. And there were quilted bags and jackets and people everywhere. Quilting seems to be where it's at (how is it that even at a craft show I'm not in the cool crowd?)

Lesson 2: Whenever you find cute buttons, buy them.
Lesson 3: I'm not meant to be a crafter.
Yes - I made this lovely jewelled book mark. It wasn't that hard really. But, it was too fiddly and there were too many pieces involved and there were so many tools, needle-nose this, and wire cutter that. They roped me in because I learned Viking knitting. Which was interesting, but likely won't be used 'round these parts again. Into the Christmas gift pile you go....

Lesson 4: Stainless steel in yarn is pretty darned cool
Saw a scarf knit in this that I must replicate. Must.

Lesson 5: You're NOT an idiot, even if after months of owning a spinning wheel you still can't use it.
At least, that's what the ladies of the Spinning Guild assured me. So, I'm supposed to go on a Saturday, Istvan (that's what I call my wheel) in hand, and learn from some greats. And I hear there's cake.

So, it was a good day out. I even brought along J., virtually. It was almost as good as having her with me. Ok, maybe that's stretching it....

Your guess is as good as mine

What do you think this is?

This yarn was plucked out of a bin of seconds and mill ends from the store LK Yarns in Halifax. The lovely ladies at this store go to visit the Fleece Artist studios about once a week and are lucky enough to often get a grab bag with goodies such as this. The only catch - many times they have no idea what it is. They don't know the weight, the fiber, nothing.

So during my lengthy visit at the store, I would pull out a skein (while sitting on a stool the owner had provided me with - she must have known by my look that I would be there a while) and touch it, turn it over, look at the plies and try and guess what it was. Then I would ask the ladies what they thought it was. They were pretty darned good at knowing (or thinking they knew) what each skein was. Except for the one above. They admitted that after much pondering they still have no idea what it might be. Their conclusion - a heavy weight Casbah. It's softer than a merino (can you imagine?) and more tightly wound than a lot of their 100% wools. But really, it's all a guess.

To me - that was the best part of the store. The pulling out of these gems (and there were so many of them I can't even explain) from a box or a bin and trying to guess what it was. Then getting input from the 2 wonderful ladies working there. It was truly was one the best LYS experiences I have had - and more because of the interaction with the ladies at the store, than the yarn itself.

When in Halifax - go to LK Yarns. You will not be disappointed. And when you're done...there is a gorgeous patisserie down the street that makes a mean Lemon Square.

Re-working

Things on the knitting front haven't been good here. There are knee socks that don't reach my knee (not even close....), there are vests that are just not right and there is a shawl I should be working on and don't want to.

That, on top of work insanity and childcare insanity, makes for a horrible week in the knitting department.

Fix???

New book......

And possibly new yarn......possibly.

The Itch is Back

I got it again. That annoying and nagging itch. I was doing soooo well in controlling it. Taking appropriate precautions. Thinking the condition had relapsed.

Then

BAM.

It's back.

Startitis. Back to haunt me again.

I worked through my Christmas list well - got everything done on time. Heck, I even have a couple of extra projects in the gift basket that weren't given away. They're good for next year.

Then Christmas past.

And it started.

Innocently enough, as these things do. I brought out some socks from the retreat and restarted them. Then, I bought a new bright red coat and realized I had absolutely no scarf to wear with it (with all my orange and browns and greens, there was nothing in the red spectrum). Then I decided I needed mitts to go along with the new scarf and the new coat. Then I decided that I should really restart that sweater I had been working on in the fall.

Bam.

It's back. I got 47 things on the needles and they're all calling my name.

And don't forget all those January birthdays.

I'm a few days into the new year and already I'm drowning in projects. I guess there could be worse things.

Now where did I put my hydrocortisone cream?? I need to soothe this itch.

Acceptance of Facts

Fact #1: My Greengable Hoodie will not be done for the Fall Fiber Arts Retreat.
I have hit a few road blocks including needle issues (don't ask) and screwed up cables (don't ask) requiring frogging. I really wanted to have it done, but unless I don't sleep, don't eat and don't play with my kids for the next 10 days, I am NOT getting this baby done. I'm sorely disappointed.

Fact #2: I will not have Princess Leia ears for Halloween.
I was winging this baby, and given that I used no math or measurements or pattern or anything, shockingly, they haven't worked out. I have wasted precious time on something that will not come to be; this is the most frustrating part to me. My knitting time is limited, obviously. When I waste time on something that will never be, I am pissed. I can't get that time back for another project. But it wasn't working and sometimes there is no point in forcing the issue.


Fact #3: My husband rocks.
This isn't really hard to accept as fact, because, well, I did marry him. But, I do like to complain about him sometimes - his absent-mindedness, his inability to know what's going on when, and his general un-organizedness (is that a word?). But really, I got it good. He is ready for his 4 day abandonment while I got to the retreat. He takes it in stride. Hockey with 2 small kids and no extra help, no worries. Birthday preps, bring it on (in an itemized list from his wife of course). Everyone always says "What will he do while you're gone? What about this, that or the other thing?". He just takes it as it comes. Oh, I'll still worry about everything while I'm gone, but I know he won't. Guess that's why we're a team.


Fact #4: I need no more yarn.
Ugh. I had accepting this fact. I think I'm going to make some hard rules about yarn accrual in the new year. I need no yarn. None. I could happily knit what I have right now and be good for a long time (and by long time, I mean up till retirement). And it's not that I have a ridiculous amount or anything, but I just don't go through it that quickly. I need to accept this fact. It's the hardest one by far.

What 36 hours of freedom will get ya

A completed pair of socks.

And some new yarn.

And a renewed sense of self, some sanity, a little quiet time and a king-sized bed all to myself. I can pack a lot of stuff in 36 hours.

The STASH Survey - Updated Results

So I got some grief from fellow people in the research biz about the name of our survey (the BMPISS survey). It's true - I'm in a profession where naming your study is important stuff - entire meetings are spent trying to come up with appropriate acronyms. We like names like HOPE, LIFE, BRILLIANT and PRAISE (I did not make any of those up - these are actual studies....)

So no, I didn't spend much time coming up with the name of the sock stash survey - sorry. Unfortunately - this blogger thing doesn't earn me any money, unlike my real-life job where I get paid to come up with study names.

Here were some of the suggestions:

SOCK - Stash Of Crazy Knitters

ADMIT - BaAD Medicine Informal poll of sock sTashes

STASH - Survey To Assess Sock yarn Hoarding

All excellent suggestions - but I felt STASH encapsulated our objectives best, and all important criterion for study naming. And the person who suggested this name watched some Oprah show on hoarding and is somewhat concerned about this now (you're not anywhere near those crazies yet Lauren).

Here are some numbers from Edmonton Ravelers:

Jillygirl admits to 17

dandelionfluff to approx 40

bonebagz to 10

No one else wanted to respond...can't understand why....

I'm not going to do any formal statistical analysis (oh, I could, trust me) to correlate size of stash with different personality characteristics, or financial status, or age, or sex. Maybe I'll apply for a grant to further our research in that area...but until that time, I think the average is somewhere between 1 and infinity and since we all land somewhere in there, we're all average and none of us has a problem.

Knitting by Numbers (the BMIPSS survey)

We all have it, but we never like to actually put a number on it. We have it hidden in multiple places, receipts still attached, hoping that if it's not all in the same place, we never actually have to admit to the size of it (or if there's a natural disaster, we might be able to make away with a portion of it). The stash.

I have tried to limit mine to my coffee table. It has 3 large baskets in in - perfect for my evening knitting time. Easily accessbile, all in one spot.

Unfortunately, some of it has migrated (perhaps multiplied???) to here....

and here....

I decided I wanted (?needed) to evaluate my sock stash. J. and I have some sock plans for 2008 (you'll just have to wait and see what they are...). So in preparation for this, I dove into the stash and pulled out all sock-related yarn, and asked myself this:

"How many pairs of socks can I knit from my stash?"

And I ask you this question too? How many can you knit?

In the Baad Medicine Informal Poll of Sock Stashes (or BMIPSS for short), we have come across a variety of different sock stash sizes, from minimally invasive (4 for andi) to severely protruding (upwards of 52 for some UNNAMED office mates). Most everyone falls somewhere between that (I can admit to 11, J. to 21. Someone we met at the Lucy Neatby workshop admitted to triple digits. Yes, triple digits).

How do you measure up? Is your stash minimally invasive - only minor intervention needed to clean it up? Or is it affecting your everyday life - protruding from every open orifice? Baad Medicine wants to know.

Living Vicariously....

There are many benefits to sharing a office with someone, depending on who it is of course. I have lucked out with my office mates. This one is a "keeper". The upsides to having an office mate is that you always have someone to bitch with, and someone usually has ibuprofen when needed for the mid-afternoon "what the hell is going-on" headache (we're both pharmacists - we have a plethora of drugs tucked in our office).

There are even more benefits to sharing an office with a fellow knitter.

Sharing in stash enhancements. This is Catknip's new stash acquired from a trip to Canmore's Knit and Caboodle from this lovely lady.


Actually there is more yarn in the bag at my feet (which you can't see). There was a lot of yarn. A. Lot. Of. Yarn.

And not just any kind of yarn - but really good stuff.
Like:

Manos del Uruguary in Agate and Prarie

Misti Alpaca Worsted

Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra

Mirasol Hachu

NoroKureyon

Malabrigo

Other than the Noro, I haven't knit with these yarns. This is some high quality stash. And because it was Catknip's birthday they gave her a ball of Makalu - a wool and recycled sari blend. Very cool.

As a fellow knitter, my office mate Catknip also never judges the size of my stash, as I never judge the size of hers. I have no comment on the fact that she keeps having to go buy new containers to put it all in. Or the fact that she has one giant container just for sock yarn (she's getting me a number on this - it's my goal to figure out how many pairs of socks can be knit from different people's stashes.....even if J. isn't giving up this info, others are....).

We've previously discussed how beneficial sharing an office is with someone who has a major swift/ball winder operation (we try and keep that thing running along).

The best of all is that I can live vicariously through her knitting as well. I am almost excited as she is when she gets new yarn or needles or patterns. We do knitting show and tell on a weekly basis. We also scare the other people in our office when we wield are mighty needles.

All we need now is a couple of rocking chairs and an espresso machine. Then our office would be perfect.

Except maybe for the fact we actually do have to work...

Back to School Blues

I love the fall. Love it. It's my favorite season by far. I got married in the fall, I had a baby in the fall. And, fall means back to school. This has, at most points in my life, been a highlight of my year. New books, new stationary (I love new stationary), and all the things that go along with the beginning of the school year (clothes!!).

As I get older, however, back to school means much different things to me. Getting the kids ready for back to school (can you say "Mom's taxi??), getting ready for my classes (teaching this time round...yikes...when will they find out I really don't know what I'm talking about) and dealing with back to school traffic. An hour in Mom's taxi this am was enough to drive me to drink (it was 8am, a little early for drinking, even in mybooks).

So just as J. did the other day - I'm trying to find my silver lining.

This helps....

(Classic Elite Bam Boo in Flamingo)

As does this....

(Colinette Jitterbug in Copperbeech)

Oh, can't forget about these....

(new stitch markers from here)

And of course, this....

(Mama E's C*eye*ber Fiber in Sea)

And, as always, the back to school pic for mom....

(all yarns acquired on Yarn Crawl '07 with my friend Elsie - we had fun!!)

Catknip Made Me Do It

Today I was working away in my office, minding my own business when my officemate, Catknip, asks me if I'm busy. This is not a question she usually asks me, but I answered politely, No not too busy.

Oh, she says. What time is your meeting??

Again, this interest in my work alarmed me. Is she concerned about my productivity??? Is she checking up on me and reporting back to my boss??? Why this sudden interest in my not so interesting work?

I answer: 2pm, why?

After much prying I realize her true intentions. Stash Enrichment. She really had to twist my arm to agree to that.

I came back with this intended for my new baby niece/nephew due in September.

She came back with, well, a lot more than that.

My excuse is Catknip made me do it. I don't know what her excuse is.

On actual finished objects, I completed my first monkey sock. It's lovely. Very lovely.

I'm concerned that it fits me. My intended recipient has much smaller feet compared to by beheamoth size 12s. They are actually meant to be sort of slipper socks, so perhaps

they'll work out ok. That remains to be seen. On to sock #2 and doubling my Christmas sock output again. (Did you see the HUGE increase in my tally from 0.25 to 0.5. I know, shocking.)

Managing the Stash

I love buying yarn - yep, shocking for a knitter to say. The feel of new yarn, the thought of what it will be turned into - all very exciting to me. Even though I love buying yarn, I do not have a stash that is overwhelming. My stash primarily takes up about 3 large baskets in my coffee table. A lot of it is yarn left over from previous projects, some of it is sock yarn as socks are my go-to project, and some of it is planned for new projects. Typical I would think of many knitters. What I don't have a lot of is "yarn with no plan" (except the sock thing, but it'll be socks one day - just not sure for whom or what pattern).







For example, this (Knit Picks Cotlin in Coral)....

....is destined for this.

This (Lorna's Laces in Envy)...

...is destined for this (who loves Cookie A??).

And my newest addition (and my first ever Koigu)....

....I think will be a Chevron scarf.

Maybe if I had unlimited amounts of disposable cash (is any cash really "disposable"??) I would have a larger stash. But, then again maybe not. I think the main reason I don't have a large stash of unspoken-for yarn is that it would burn a hole in my knitting basket - I wouldn't be able to let it sit there without a purpose. I would hunt tirelessly for a pattern, a purpose to give this yarn. I wouldn't be able to work on my other projects until it was cast on. Once cast on I could finally rest knowing that it would be happy now that the yarn had a reason.