Taming the Stash

Is there a better way to see in the New Year??? The clock has just chimed midnight, the spectacular  Sydney fireworks show is in full swing to the soundtrack of Kylie Minogue and you are surrounded by the ones you love - oh yeah and the family are there as well. Deciding to sort out the stash at 10pm on New Years eve may not have been the best decision I made in 2012 but it was a fun beginning to 2013.

My friend had just left, the boys had headed off to their respective parties, my sister AJ and partner Dags (who are visiting from Von Trap land) were out to dinner, I had filled the wine glass (again) and eagerly sat down to watch the The Rocky Horror Show on tv. Working on my current (shawl) project seemed a little adventurous with all the singing and dancing so obviously the thing to do was get a jump on my first New Year resolution - sorting the stash. Right?  

What was I thinking??? By midnight all I had managed to do was make a mess, so it was up bright and early the next morning to get stuck in.


My 2013 stash "reconciliation" is quite involved. I downloaded a spreadsheet of my Ravelry stash. I've checked each yarn against the list, looked for Flickr photos and sorted those to be photographed and/or added to Rav. (How did this yarn get so out of control and where did all these WIPs come from?)

So here we are just over 24 hours later and I have almost managed to sort the first(!) of six rather large plastic tubs where the stash lives - while it waits until I find the perfect huge glass-door cabinet to take pride of place in the knitting room.

I have almost finished the sock yarn bin - only about 12 skeins to go (which I found strategically hidden around the house). The worst part about the stash taming exercise is that it will take me a week to get it all done and another week to update my Rav queue with all the projects that I've planned while rediscovering all this gorgeous yarn!! But I guess that's what holidays are for.....

HAPPY NEW YEAR

How Many Podcasts?????

This weekend in Australia we have a long weekend - yeehah a Monday off work!!!! I had a nice little plan happening for the three days. Saturday: housework (yuk), Sunday: meet some fellow knitters from the Up the M4 Rav group, watch the rugby league grand final & the Japanese F1 race and Monday: more knitting.

Of course, there were no unexpected interruptions to Saturday's plan - I was left completely alone to do those boring but necessary chores around the house. And when I say "alone" I mean it in the sense that everyone else seemed to have something to more interesting to do than housework (thanks for nothing guys). Sunday, on the other hand, was much more fun. I met with the M4 ladies at a pub at Penrith. The food was great, the knitting good and the ladies were just lovely. I'm not sure why I ever doubted they would be - after all they're knitters!! In my experience knitters are, on the whole, remarkably friendly people. I arrived home right on time to flick on the TV and watch the F1 race in Japan (read as knitting time) which led nicely into the NRL (football) grand final (not conducive to knitting). The Melbourne Storm defeated the Parramatta Eeels (not the result I was hoping for).

Monday's weather was perfect for knitting - cool & rainy. I did manage to fit in some of the dreaded housework (mostly ironing) but I quite happily spent time knitting a few laps around my EZ's PI shawl. As one does when in the knitting zone I began to plan some other knitting "chores". "Gee, it's about time I reorganised my needles & notions" became "I must find a better way to store my interchangeable needles"!!! And where does one go to solve such mysteries? Ravelry of course. So off I went like a woman possessed. And away went the hours.......

I was innocently listening to my favourite podcasts while merrily surfing the Rav forums when I had another brilliant (?) idea. "I should tidy up my podcast feeds". O yeah, sounds simple doesn't it?? Anyone have any idea exactly how many knitting podcasts we have to choose from nowadays? Toooo many. No that's not true - we are spoiled with choice that's all. Like I said earlier, knitters are a great bunch aren't they? All these podcasters out there who willingly provide their time and equipment to entertain us and share their life and knitting experiences with us. Aren't they just the coolest people????

I spent absolutely ages searching out shows I had heard about but never listened to, had never heard about but listened anyway and caught up on a bunch of show notes of few old favourites. And what did all this lead to?? More net surfing of course - actually hours of net surfing!!! I guess that's what they mean by saying Monday was a Public Holiday.

Very Fetching Indeed

Today I've spent a heap of time playing with my Ravelry stuff - updating stash details, projects, etc. As is always the case, once you get onto the site, the clock starts ticking at warp speed and before you know it the hours have slipped away. I did manage to (remarkably) work out how to add those nifty little progress bars of WIP to the blog. Not bad going since sadly I'm completely illiterate when it comes to geeky computer stuff. I spent forever on the forum of the we <3 Progress Bars! Rav group. OMG how clever are those people!!!!

Off the Needles: Fetching for Gerda

PATTERN: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath
SOURCE: Knitty - Summer 06
MATERIALS: Panda Magnum Soft 8ply
NEEDLES: 4mm dpns
SIZE: one fits all??
CAST ON: 9th April 2009
CAST OFF: 13th Aprl 2009
NOTES: Cast on 45 sts using the Long Tail method for elasticity. I added and extra Cable Round and 4x1 rib rows at the top and bottom to add extra length. I was pleased with the finished size because they were intended for maximum warmth. I added a row before cast off of k1, k2tog, k1, p1 to slightly draw in the edge.

Amazingly I realised this project was my first attempt at Cables and it was fun. I loved knitting this pair so much that I immediately cast on another - only to be sidetracked by something else. The 2nd pair are about 80% complete so I'm hoping that seeing their progress bar on my blog will spur me into action!!!

I Really Do Need A Blog

I started this thing about 100 years ago & thought I'd be blogging away every day & fill it with interesting stuff & spectacular photos. Clearly I'm not all that interesting & I'm really slack in the photo taking department. Now I've come to the conclusion that I'd like to start blogging again. Not because my life has taken a turn for the better and I've got exciting stuff to share with the world - just because I'd like to use the blog to keep my knitting life a bit more organised. I have a room literally full of knitting "mess" and even though I have a Ravelry account (you can find me there as hhknits) I need to keep other knitting "stuff" somewhere.

I've been knitting bits & pieces - socks mostly - and I jot down my pattern notes, swatch stuff, etc on bits of paper which then make their way out of knitting bags to shelves, cupboards & assorted nooks & crannies all around my house. When I eventually locate them I pile them on top of the other "important" scraps of knitting notes in my knitting room. What a mess I've accumulated.

My yarn seems to have a mind of its own as well. I used to have a few reasonably organised plastic bins in which I'd place newly acquired stash. Not any more. No sooner does yarn come home with me than it's off to find a spot around the house, other than the yarn bins, and it is only located when I attempt that mundane activity that people refer to as "housework'. I don't even want to begin on the topic of wayward knitting patterns and books. They are completely out of control.

And so I return to the world of blogging in the hope that recording my pattern notes and purchases, my knitting successes (and failures) and those bits and pieces of info that knitters acquire will become a bit more orderly. Along the way I might get my Ravelry page up to date, my Flickr photos sorted and my knitting in some sort of order. (I also want a silver Lamborghini but that probably won't happen either).

It's Been A While....

There's been a lot going on in my life in recent times - but very little of it has included knitting and even less blogging. I am the proud owner of 2 teenage boys so that kind of explains it all!! Everybody needs something done (yesterday) and by the time I am ready to sit & knit I look at the clock and realise it's almost tomorrow. Sleeping is such a waste of good knitting time, but as yet, I have not been able to come up with a way to avoid it.

A week or so back I did manage to sneak away from everyone to attend the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair at Darling Harbour in Sydney. It's a place normally bustling with locals and tourists enjoying the entertainment, food and sites of the city but on this particular day there were just the dedicated crafters fighting their way through the wind & rain to attend the show. But I hardly noticed the weather - my mission was, of course, Stash Enhancement!!

What a brilliant day. I had such a lovely time - wandering around the stalls, making a wish list and watching some talented crafters demonstrating their skills. After a short lunch break I set about shopping. I had been lusting after the Lucy Neatby Sock DVDs and (had intended to place an order over the net) so I was thrilled to find Sock Techniques 1 & her book Cool Socks Warm Feet at a gorgeous little stall. With purchase number one in my backpack off I went straight to Ecoyarns to get some of that Tofutsies yarn everybody on the net is talking about. It is sooooo soft and I bought the delicate blue & white Best Foot Forward colourway. Purchase number 2 taken care of.

I had jotted down a stall number where I had seen some Addi Turbo needles which I want to use to learn sock knitting on circulars (I'm currently a DPN gal). I arrived at the spot and then it happened - IT jumped out at ME!!!!! Jitterbug in the Mardi Gras colourway. OMG. The colours are spectacular. There's blue & pink &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; yellow & red in big rich colours. Obviously I had to take it home since it had literally called out my name.

The Craft & Quilt Fair purchases

After more purchases of yarn and a couple of books (they were all "On Sale" bargains) I rugged up against the weather and lugged my treasures back to the train station. I grabbed a coffee and popped into the newsagent (like I had nothing to read on my journey!!) to pick up the latest issue of Yarn magazine. I was gobsmacked. There it was on page 38 - the Swirly Girl sock pattern (by Deby Lake SWTC) written for Tofuties yarn using (wait for it) 2.25mm circular needles - just like the new Addis in my bag.

Aaaah yes. The perfect end to the perfect day...................