Monday, August 13, 2007

AAAARRRRGH!

Remember "Knit from your stash"??? (If not, there's a link at the bottom of the side bar.) Remember how I was going to knit up all the yarn sitting around the house?? (Well, in the Yarn Closet.) REMEMBER ALL THOSE GOOD IDEAS I HAD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR?

The Baby's birthday is coming up, and that means a party, and that means the in-laws visiting. So this weekend I began the needed shoveling-out of my office, which doubles as a guest room. I figured they'd want somewhere to sleep while they were here. While shoveling out the room, I realized that I really, REALLY needed to clean out and rearrange the yarn closet. Just shoving in yarn wasn't working; the shelves all looked like they were ready to throw up, there was no room to hang up any clothes, and you couldn't get in the door, even though it's a walk-in closet.

So I did.

And I found piles and piles of yarn that could keep me going for AT LEAST a year, probably more.

There's this:

Ten balls of lavender cotton I've been meaning to knit into a summer sweater for myself for at least two years. I can't remember if I moved it here from Hawaii, but I think so. Which makes it almost four years old. (And the idiot cat saw the plastic bag and laid on it immediately. I assume it reflects heat. Or maybe she's got a death wish and wants to play with plastic bags.)

Remember this?

This is the yarn I keep meaning to knit into Kaffe Fasset's "Geometric Star" jacket. It's not the original yarn pack, it's 24 colors of Elann's Highland Wool. I used my color theory tricks to pick the colors and it SHOULD work and knit up well. IF I GOT OFF MY ASS AND DID IT.

And then there's this.

Thirty-plus balls of cotton yarn in about twenty colors. I keep meaning to make a meitered shirt sort of thing with it. I never get to it, so I keep buying colors and throwing them in the bag. Because there isn't enough yarn there yet.

In addition, there's a pile of wool-acrylic blend I keep buying on sale to knit baby clothes, and then I never have bloody TIME to knit the baby clothes, so it sits there and piles up. ARGH. And of course piles of odds and ends from ten years' worth of leftover projects, including heaps of oddballs of Dale of Norway and Brown Sheep.

I used to joke that if anyone tried to break in to steal my yarn, Sekhmet the Watch Cat would warn me (she's foiled one burglary already). Now, I think if someone comes by to steal the yarn, I should let them have it. At least the odd balls.

-... -

I finished Tut Tut last night. It doesn't fit. Too fucking tight. (I have a theory - I knit the swatch before I joined the gym, and knit the sweater after. I'm betting my increased hand pain made me tighten up.) If I lose the thirty damn pounds I'm fighting with, it'll be perfect. If it doesn't, maybe I'll hold a raffle or a charity auction. Or burn it in the back yard. I mention this because I suspect some of you think I know what I'm doing, and that is so, SO not the case.

Since Tut Tut was done, I went back to the Pinwheel Jacket. I'd been brooding over this one for a while; the reason I was putting on the knit edge was to enter it in the state fair, and, hello, no state fair this year. Sooooo... I'm crocheting on the edge. Or trying to. Some of you may be getting hysterical e-mails begging for help, before this was over. You know who you are.

But at least I don't have to graft lace this way.

8 comments:

Amy Lane said...

Okay, the thought of going through my yarn stash right now makes me seize up with post-traumatic-spending guilt. Trust me, you're a lightweight in that department... (and considering how many semi-hysterical e-mails I've sent you, I'm thinking you probably owe me a few, so if I'm on that list, fire away...)

NeedleTart said...

E-mail away. But be warned, I hate crochet. I know how to do it, I just hate it (left-handed, stubborn Aunt, right-handed, equally stubborn teenager, nuff said).

Bells said...

I gave up on knit from you stash. Well, not entirely, but mostly. In fact, i'll post about it too.

Louiz said...

I crochet left handed, but let me know if I can help! Oh, and crochet gives me a pain in the wrist so be careful!

Alwen said...

I put it down to Stone Age gatherer behavior. Berry-gathering is fun, but the instinct is that once you pick a berry, you pick the next berry, rather than think, "Ah, I have enough berries." And picking more & more is more survival-oriented than deciding you have enough.

Same thing, just applied to yarn.

Verification word, "Jujeotid," which looks like something celebratory and Dutch.

Brewgal said...

Relax, crochet is your friend. It is surprisingly easy. I'm happy to help if you need it.

debsnm said...

I have thumb issues and arthritis, so I quit crocheting years ago - way too painful. I also crochet left-handed, and think you're a braver man than I, Gunga-Din to even consider crocheting that edge!

sienna said...

Have you found this site yet?http://goodyarnkarma.blogspot.com/

You should be able to donate or trade away at least your leftover yarn to people who would really appreciate it. (compared with donating it to a local thrift store where people may not really care) and now that you're all sorted it may not be a huge job! :) [that's what always holding me back]