Weekend Update

As promised, here are a picture of the completed devil socks before my circulation was cut off. I don't have any after photos. I really like the colorway, Lagoon from Blue Moon, and the design, but still hold that the pattern blew chunks for me and no, it's not like childbirth. I will remember the pain FOORRREEVVVERRR.

In other turkey day news, I succeeded in making a lego swift. The first two photos are my first attempt, the third, my second and final. The only problem is that the base isn't weighted enough not to spin when the arms do...haven't yet worked out how i'm going to fix that.




The mom present is almost finished. Nothing else has been started, although I did leave some of my not so hard earned money at Renaissance Yarns yesterday and bought yarn for baby booties and for a pair of gift socks. I will not be posting a picture of the mom present until after xmas, just because i don't trust her to resist looking.

Devil Socks

The devil socks, those evil socks that I've had to frog and start over at least 5 times (and rip back to the heel at least twice) are finished. The pattern is here(pdf). Now, I know I have narrow feet, but I wear a size 8 shoe and have a sizeable collection of shoes as proof that I don't have freak feet. And I swatched and changed needle size and checked multiple times to make sure I had gauge, and yet I ended up using smaller needles and removing one repeat of the pattern. While this made the foot and the leg fit marvelously, the darned things cut off circulation at the ankle (and blue feet are no fun). So my mother, who has skinnier feet than I, now has a new pair of socks. And I am still sockless.

In other yarny news, I have recast on my sweater (from Knitty), I have started my mother's xmas present (guess what mom, you're getting something knitted for xmas...fits in the stocking) and have at least contemplated the boyfriend's scarf...it's next to be cast on, in Andean Treasure from knitpicks in mystery heather.

Yarny goals for turkey weekend: finish mom's gift, start the scarf, buy yarn for baby booties (i have 2 weeks to finish), and make a swift out of legos (I'm thrilled to no end that I get to sit on the floor and build crap out of legos). Apparently you can make a ball winder out of legos as well, see here, but my legos are too old school to have gears and a motor.

Blue Moon Destash

Last weekend, my friend Jen (she who is responsible for my fiber disease)
ran a little errand. This errand took us to just north of the lovely city of Scappoose, OR to the first ever Blue Moon Fiber Arts destash event. Doors opened at 10AM, and by 11 the place was pretty well picked over.

Everything was set up around the edges, with tables and chairs in the center of the room so that those with GINORMOUS armloads of yarn could actually look at what they grabbed and decide whether or not to keep it all (not much got put back).


Compared to other people, Jen and I got off easy. I came home with 10 skeins of socks that rock (and they do, in fact, rock...noisy little buggers), a skein of kid mohair in vibrant orange, and a grab bag of mystery yarn (more mohair and something that will eventually become a hat). This is Jen in line, patiently holding both her haul and mine while I take photos.
Much fun was had...and we stopped at another yarn shop (Jen was driving, she made us go) and I bought 2 skeins of Manos that I picked up and put down about 5 times before giving in. So much for trying to be good. One would think I'm trying to grow a stash or something.

Stashless

Stash n.

1. A secret place where something is hidden or stored. (American Heritage Dictionary)
2. Something, such as money or an illegal drug, that has been hidden or stored. (American Heritage Dictionary)
3. A collection of yarn (wikipedia.org)
   

According to the Yarn Harlot, I am a knitting freak of nature. I do not have a stash. That's not to say I don't have yarn lying about the house, but all the yarn (that is not sock yarn) has been assigned a project and is just waiting patiently for me to find the time to start. I've heard somewhere that sock yarn is not considered stash. Regardless, sock yarn is used for socks (obviously) and therefore is already assigned a project.

The main reason I don't have a stash is not because I don't find yarns that I want (and fondle in stores every time I come across it) but that I live in fear of not buying enough yarn for a project. If I fall madly for a skein of Rowan Tapestry, but don't know if I will make a scarf, or a sweater, there is a significant difference in the amount of yarn to buy. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with having more than enough, I am also a frugal (ahem, cheap) shopper.

I could also just be resisting the encroachment of storage space in the house, but the above is what I tell people...and I kinda like being a freak of knitting nature.