the quacking fiber addict

I've been battling a lethargy lately that has affected nearly every aspect of my life. My knitting had dropped off, in favor of reading or watching movies. Admittedly, some of that was due to the antibiotics. But since the vast majority of my projects are stockinette right now, that excuse doesn't hold too much water for very long.

I'd pick up my cotlin project and knit a row and then find an excuse to abandon it. The silk jumper (aka peacock pullover) lay hidden in a cotton bag. Lace sitting unfinished taunted me.

When I told myself that it was too hot to knit, I decided to take the dog for a walk. It's a perfect 3 mi to and from The Knit Shop, and maybe they'd have something new I'd want - a book, a magazine, a pair of needles. Because, as my Dad says:

Buying supplies is the best way to get started without actually doing anything.

The walk was great, Charlie was a rascal (I'm working on training him to heel, sit, and stay), and when I got to TKS I tied him up outside. I walked in and greeted the two people there, and immediately the latest issue of Interweave Knits on display. Greedily, I snatched it up to check out this season's patterns. Impressed, I immediately bought it and set out (the fact that Charlie kept barking prevented much small talk).

When I got home, I let Mum look through the magazine and we critiqued each piece. Several caught our eyes. I considered ripping out my cotlin WIP in favor of starting anew. Then decided against it, out of sheer practicality.

Mum and I watched TV for awhile, but then I had to leave for the Peace Corps Nominee Potluck. Which went exceedingly well. I won a PC baseball cap (for Dad) by being able to name the 3 goals of the PC mission.

When we got home, I went into my room to deal with all sorts of stuff. (I'm nearly up to date with everyone's blogs now, well mostly.) Finally, when everyone turned down the idea of a movie, I admitted defeat and went to fetch my cotlin. But, something happened. Struck by a sudden realization that I don't have a pair of socks on my circs, I got up to look at my stash chest. I pulled out the top drawer and thought:


Jewel tones and hand-painted variegates, ultrafine fiber blends, exotics, and handspun sat in the drawer. I stared at the different skeins and balls of yarn, struck by too many ideas at once. 4 pairs of socks wanted to be knit. Opera gloves in teal or white? A spencer or a bolero? Two boleros? I dug and picked up different skeins, examined them, and put each back to look at another.

Eventually, I grabbed a ball (2 skeins) of Gloss and my knitting notebook and started designing. I cast on a swatch and periodically stopped to sketch, fingering the cloth I'd knit. It would be perfect for a summer bolero, to wear over tank tops on cool nights. As I flipped through the book, looking for my measurements page, I saw the design for the cotlin tank. I paused, put my pencil to the page with one hand and, with the other, I pulled the tank out of my bag and started on it again:


As of tonight, I finally have the neckline figured out. I ended up rummaging around in another stash drawer, to find the other balls of cotlin so I could work both sides of the neckline at once. It hit me, as I sat there knitting away happily for the first time in too long that this was what a stash was really for.

Inspiration. It's seductive and encouraging at the same time. And, best of all, it keeps me busy.

What is your stash to you?

Labels: designing, stash

“Human life is as evanescent as the morning dew or a flash of lightning.”
Samuel Butler (doesn't exactly relate to this post, but I liked it, so here it is)

TheBon came over to dye the cloths for her place-settings today. We think it was successful, hard to tell when they're still wet, though. Hopefully (cross you're fingers for her, y'all! please?), they'll be exactly what she wants/ needs.

After that we went to "Guild" (it's really just TheBon, Emmos, St M and I at this point). TheBon had to leave early, after which St M let it drop that she had been on a date with so-and-so. HA! I might have startled the sorority chicks sitting nearby with my jubilant, "I KNEW it!", but it's so gratifying to be right every so often. Emmos was puzzled, because she hadn't met the man in question. St M distracted us, and it took us 3 tries to hear everything. Well. We shall have to wait and see.

Okay, this might seem weird, but both Emmos and I are just not dating right now (blarg) (unless you count our "date" with each other a last week...), TheBon is getting married, I think D is anti-dating right now, L is engaged, and so I really only have St M to focus my Jewish-mother instincts on. Pity her, I suppose.

Moving on. I finished knitting the left spock today - I just need to find buttons for it. I had trouble, I realised, because I changed the number of buttons and the gauge to a wonky number. S'all my fault. But, writing out the pattern should be much easier now. (I also cast on the right spock).

And, guess what?, today is Flash Your Stash day! Woot. It took me four photographs (I don't have a large surface to lay it all out on...), but I got most of it (who wants to see a pic of Electra's or Shawn's fleeces again, anyway??). Here we go. First, the lace and sock yarns:




I counted everything, and discovered to my own amazement (and joy!) that I have:

• 142 balls/ skeins/ cones of yarn
• 20 lbs of fiber (including fleeces)

Not too bad, eh? I saw worse numbers on Craftster. I admit that a month ago my stash was a terrifying creature, but I cut it in half... mwahaha. I also set up a stash management spreadsheet on Google documents. I'm hoping it'll help me keep track of everything - I put in the yarn, amount, and intended projects. And, below that, all the spinning fiber.

And, as a closing note: if you can catch the Deserts episode of Planet Earth, there's a bit on Guanaco. Really, really cool. I explained to Dad how cool they were, and how their undercoats were collected on cacti, fences, etc across Chile, etc.

Labels: cast on, friends, guild, stash