Sorry, that's the rules.

Here it is, with my own alterations in italics. I was toying with the idea of saying that I was allowed to fall off the wagon one time after each student loan refund check, but no. No no.

Knit From Your Stash 2007: Guidelines for Me, borrowed from here.

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.

2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:

2.a. Yarn that is on sale for less than 50% of its regular price is exempt

2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really and truly do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn to knit that gift.

2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project.

2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one time.

3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn.

4. Dyeing supplies are exempt.

I found a picture of my pre-organization stash drawer:



This was one drawer out of four, all stuffed, not including yarn that was boxed up elsewhere. It's neater now, but there's still a lot of yarn . . .

Must go clean the apartment. I'll make a proper year-end post later today.

Clapotis #3, stashing

Here it is! I made this third clapotis months ago, to give to my mother for her birthday in October:

(Lorna's Laces Shepard Sport, Irving Park Colorway).

And here she is showing it off:



I've been going nuts with the Ballband Dishclothes. I'm about to complete #5, pics to follow.

Last night I (finally) started straightening the apartment in preparation for houseguests and the traditional big New Year's Day brunch at my place. It became clear that I was not going to be able to do anything until I attacked the unruly yarn stash. (It started out occupying on dresser, then grew to fill a couple of boxes and bags as well). So I did it. I wish I had taken before and after pics, because it was scary. But I threw away some truly impossibly tangled stuff. Then I bagged up some of the crappier acrylic stuff for donation purposes (it will go to the Brown Elephant, renamed The Old Miseries Charity Shoppe by Robert). The rest of the stash is now organized in one 4-drawer dresser, one cardboard box, one knitting basket, and two plastic storage bins. I feel pretty good about it.

Speaking of stashes, I've been seriously considering this: Knit From Your Stash 2007. I don't have as crazy a stash as some, and I tend toward the bargain yarns (hence the Knitpicks). But for a poor social worker/student, my yarn habit is a bit out of control.

Merry Xmas!

I am posting from my mother's house in lovely Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. We did a fake Christmas morning on Saturday, while my brother and family were here, and for the past couple of days we've been watching movies non-stop. Yesterday's marathon was Good Night, and Good Luck, followed by In Her Shoes (better than I thought), followed by Gosford Park, which I have seen like 400 times and only gets better and better. While movie watching I've made 2 Ballband Dishclothes and started a garter-stitch scarf. I've also made an attempt at making the no-knead bread recipe, which turned out . . . okay. Good, but a bit flat. I think it was a bit cold in the house when I left it to rise overnight. I'll certainly be trying it again, in my apartment which is always like 98.6 degrees in the kitchen.

So, pictures to come when I get home, including a shot of Clapotis #3 (aka my mother's birthday present.

Free for the holidays

Time for one last post before I leave work, and then leave town. Yay!
I bought the Mason-Dixon Knitting book, and I f'ing love it. It is just very "me", somehow.

Here are my first two Ballband Dishclothes. I am working on a third in black and fuschia.



Merry Christmas everybody!

Borrowed from The 21st Century Hostess

Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps.

Does Father Christmas wrap presents or just set them under the tree? I think the elves do the wrapping.

Coloured lights on tree/house or white? White.

Do you hang mistletoe? Nope.

When do you put up your decorations? I don't do decorations per se. This year the silver tinsel Christmas tree went up around about December 14th.

What's your favourite Christmas dish? Cranberry sauce.



Favourite Christmas memory as a child? Mass insanity at my grandma's house.

When and how did you learn the truth about Father Christmas? When I was about five or six years old I decided that I needed to know whether or not Santa Claus was real. My concern was that I would grow up and have a family and not know whether or not I was responsible for buying the presents. I told my mother that I needed to have this information right away.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I used to, but my little brother has become a Christmas morning purist.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? It's silver tinsel, it needs no further embellishement.

Snow! Love it or dread it? Love it!

Can you ice skate? Nope.

Do you remember your favourite gift? When my father bought me "The Low End Theory" by Tribe Called Quest. He didn't realize it was hip-hop. He was quite appalled.

What's the most important thing about Christmas for you? Buying/making presents, although it stresses me out sometimes.

What's your favourite Christmas dessert? My mother's german chocolate cake.

What's your favourite Christmas tradition? Taking a break from opening presents to make breakfast/Owen and I putting bows on our heads (definate have to pass that one on to Henry).

What tops your tree? Nothing.

Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? I love giving presents, but I really, really like getting them too.

What's your favourite Christmas song? I don't really have one, but "Please, Daddy, Don't Get Drunk This Christmas" by John Denver is my least favorite.

Candy canes? Mmmm pepperminty!

Boring knitting.

The legwarmers.

I've been desperately needing these, because I like to wear skirts & tights in the winter. My first winter after I got rid of my car I had to use some creative measures (e.g., wearing fleece pajama pants under my skirt) to survive the walk from the train station to my office. The great thing about public transportation in Chicago is that, no matter what I am wearing to keep warm, someone is guaranteed to look more insane than I do.

Anyway, they're just stockinette knit tubes, not particularly exciting knitting. But here they are:
(Knitpicks Wool of the Andes - Black Cherry Heather).

Speaking of not-exciting knitting, I also made myself a scarf:

(Knitpicks Swish Superwash, Truffle and Baby Blue).

It's a stupidly simple garter-stitch scarf with two colors held together. I have gotten more compliments on it than, like, anything else I have ever knitted. There is hat to match, which I have already lost twice.

More to come!

Hats, hats.

Prepare yourself for a deluge of Finished Object photos. I have a serious backlog of projects to post here.
Let's begin with Hat #3:



Made from the same basic pattern as this hat and this hat, with my own little alterations. Knitted from Knitpicks Swish Superwash (my official new favorite yarn) in Truffle and Copper. Given as a birthday present.

Next we have Hat #4:



I made this on my trip to Buffalo, NY & Toronto back in November. It is the same basic pattern, but knitted from a double strand of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes (still using up my stash). Given as a gift to the friend I was visiting, who has now requested earflaps.

More to come!

Location: The cubicle
Listening: They are Night Zombies.... - Sufjan Stevens
Reading: Nothing!
Knitting: Owen's sweater.

Guess who?

I've been remiss in posting. Basically what happened is that Owen's Cycling Aran turned out to be too small for him, and I got so depressed about it that I just couldn't look at it, and I went on to work on some other little projects, but I felt guilty about posting them (But really, the sweater will done soon. Really!)

Now I am posting because I really should be either a) working (since I am at work) or b) studing for my Research exam, whihc is in about 2 hours and for which I have not really studied.

Since my last post, I have made myself a really simple but really cool garter-stitch scarf, finished one legwarmer, and bought "Mason Dixon Knitting" which I really love, and started a knitted dishrag. There's also been a lot of work/school stuff which I can't bear to rehash, since today is basically the last day of the quarter for me and I can't be relieved about it yet.

In about four hours, though, I will be filled with both relief and margaritas, however this exam goes.

Location: The cubicle
Listening: Guess who loves you more - Raheem DeVaughn
Reading: Something about cross-tabulation and chi-squares and scatterplots.
Knitting: Today, legwarmer #2, because it is 10 degrees and I really need it.