How I spent my Tuesday

Maybe yarn was spilling over. Maybe. Maybe I was beginning to toss bags of it in my closet because there was no more room in my chest or plastic bin.

There's a big bag of made-for-charity acrylic & another bag of made-for-dishcloths cotton that aren't pictured. So maybe things were getting out of hand. Just maybe.

I had to bite the bullet very hard & go through this stash. I had to be ruthless & sometimes it's hard to be ruthless with your yarn. After all, it's innocent yarn. It's not trying to hurt anyone. Plus, my stash policy has always been "You can have it when you can pry it from my cold, dead fingers." Still, some pruning was in order. I divided it up between (1) yarn to keep--full balls/skeins (2) yarn to give away (3) yarn to sell/destash (4) leftovers to use (perfect for the hat kick I'm currently on).

I even...I hope you're sitting...threw some away. Granted, some of it was fun fur (it was for #1 Girl's school project, I swear!), but some was also leftovers that I knew, deep in my heart, I wouldn't use again. Either it wasn't enough of it or the yarn just wasn't pleasing enough.

I feel much better. Everything is now contained in one area of my bedroom & none of it is in the closet. The chest can now comfortably close without smooshing anything, I have charity & cotton yarns in one bin & I have a sock-yarn basket (my favorite room in the house).

The "After" shot

I'm trying to convince myself that organization is not overrated.

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Instant Gratification

To my surprise, I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Saturday evening (don't worry, no spoilers here). I started reading it about 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning (when I got home from the midnight launch), slept for a few hours & then read all day Saturday. I just had to know certain things so I read it straight through. The family was very nice & stayed out of my way.

So that left Sunday free for knitting. I needed a break from my current long-term projects & wanted to knit something up quick. I settled on hats. This first one is made out of stash yarn & although I love the motif, I don't like the FO because I forgot to knit the ribbing on a smaller needle than the rest of the hat--I knit the hat completely on US size 8 needles & I should've knit the ribbing on size 7's. When I tried it on, the fit was wonky, so this will be frogged.

Yarn: Stash yarn; I believe it's Encore Worsted (bands have been lost)
Pattern: Basic hat
Needles: US size 8

Motif from Andean Folk Knits

After that learning experience, I decided to use some stash wool in other colors & in 100% wool. Also, I wanted to use some not-so-obvious color combinations. I didn't know how this orange & grey would work together, but I think it came out rather nice.

Yarn: Stash yarn, elann Peruvian wool in Pumpkin; Knit Picks Andean Silk in Slate
Pattern: Basic hat
Needles: US size 7 & 8

Again, motif from Andean Folk Knits

Neither of these hats was intended for me, but for a friend who lives in a cooler climate. I'll send her the pumpkin one & hope she likes it.

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A letter to my 22 year-old self

Hi 22 year-old Del! Now don't be alarmed, but this is a letter from the future you, to give you a heads up on what you can expect. First off, turn around. See that cute little rear in the mirror? Savor it now, honey, because this is the last time it's going to look so good. As a matter of fact, take some pictures. Loads of them. I'll wait.

There are some wonderful things in your future & some not-so-wonderful things. You'll get an invitation to a wedding where a banjo playing inbred straight out of Deliverance an accordion player is the entire band at the reception. When he breaks into the theme from The Love Boat, you'll nearly wet yourself. Wear adult diapers that day, just to be on the safe side.

That guy that you're dating now? Yes, he's The One. He snores, but that's preferable to the last boyfriend's annoying little habit (he cheats). Oh, and when you run into that Ex 10 years from now, try to really listen while he whines about his impending divorce (hmm, maybe because he cheats??) & how he has to pay child support for 5 kids. Really listen instead of looking at the wretch he's become & wanting to fall on your knees right then & thank the karma gods (all 891 of them) for breaking you two up.

When you go into labor, take it from me & just take the epidural. This is not a time to be brave; your pain threshold is about as high as the winning bar position in limbo. Natural childbirth be hexed--get the epidural ASAP & save some of your husband's arm meat. He'll thank you later. On a related note, after May 5, 1996, you will never again get 8 hours of sleep a night. If I were you, I'd close this & hit the bed right now.

Don't wait until 2003 to learn to knit; go out & buy some needles today! You'll save lots in hard liquor and pills stress relief once you have that second kid.

And although I'm not supposed to do anything that would influence/change the future, don't drink all that vodka the night you & boyfriend briefly break up. That hangover was gruesome. As you will be when you wake up.

See you in 2007!

**this post is just to distract you from the fact that I have no knitty content AND in unity with other Nerds of the World, I'll be immersed in the last Harry Potter book for the next few days, so next week, knitty content will return**

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FYI

KnitPicks has expanded its needle line with new sizes. This won't be big news to some, but it's huge news to me. While I'm not so much of a yarn snob (OK, that is a lie), I am picky about my needles. If I'm working on a project & the needles aren't working in tandem with the yarn the way I like, I'll switch needles (if I don't have the right kind, I'll buy new ones...it's a sickness).

For the longest time, I searched for a specific kind of DPN. While I love my bamboo & rosewood needles, I wanted some metal/nickel-plated DPNs for socks. I needed US size 1, 2.25mm, 5-6" long. You'd think these would be easy to find, but they weren't. Needle sizes aren't exactly standard, so Company A's size 1 is 2.25mm while Company B's is 2.5mm (this may be company A's size 1.5). I'd find 2.25mm but it'd be 8" long or it'd be right length, but not in 2.25mm.

Anyway, KnitPicks now has nickel-plated DPNs in a shorter length. I have some of their other nickel-plated needles & they work very well. They're like a cheaper alternative to Addi turbos & I bought mine for lace knitting before Addi introduced their extremely popular lace needles.

KnitPicks sells their DPNs either in single 5-needle sets (sizes US 0-3 or 2mm-3.25mm) or in a 6-size collection (brilliant!). I just got the new catalog yesterday & I was so excited to see this. Just wanted to pass it on before I go over to the site & do some damage.

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Plumicious

Yarn: Claudia's Handpainted Yarn, color "Plumicious"
Needles: US size 1 DPNs
Pattern: Plain stockinette (stocking) with 2x2 ribbing cuff

I won this yarn from Wanda a while back. Thank you so much, Wanda! This yarn is a dream. I used to have a sock-policy that stated "No handwash sock yarns" because I don't have time to handwash socks. I barely handwash dishes (thank you, dishwasher). But I can make an exception here because I wouldn't want anything to happen to these socks.

I felt a simple sock was best because if I did something lacy or cabled, the pattern would get obscured in these colors. I didn't want the pattern to detract from the colors or vice versa. For the first time, I did a rounded toe instead of the more standard one that closes with kitchener grafting. You just decrease at regular intervals & then draw the remaining stitches closed. I like both toe methods, but I prefer the rounded toe right now.

The simplicity of these socks was exactly what I needed at the time, but now I'm ready for a more adventurous pattern. For some reason, I'm really loving a pink & black combo right now. I have a pattern picked out, but I want to finish a couple of other WIPs first before I cast on for something new.

Thanks again, Wanda. You made my feet very, very happy.

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There's no place like home

It's amazing what you can learn about yourself when you spend a week away from home.

I learned:
- I don't like being away from home as long as a week
- I'm not crazy about the beach
- I could never, ever "rough it"

Right before our vacation, I was desperate to get away, to go someplace, just away from home. Two nights later, I was desperate to get home to my own bed, my own pillows & most importantly, my own bathroom. For the most part, I allow Weedinator to plan our family vacations, less for the fact that his judgment is so wonderful & more so because I'm lazy like that. So when he suggested "beach vacation" (which we've done before), I said OK. We live a 10-minute drive from the Atlantic Ocean, but sometimes your beach isn't the same as some other beach. We drove from the East coast of Florida to the West coast, to the Redington Beach area.

I did feel kind of nervous about being away for a whole week, but most of the rental units require a weeklong stay. Our rental was...nice. At first. At first, it was a "charming little beach cottage". Even the teeny, tiny bathroom. Right, bathrooM, as in singular. One bathroom the size of a microwave oven for 5 people. But the charm wore off throughout the week, so at the end, it was less a "charming beach cottage" & more of a disgusting, cheap hovel with a stopped-up bathroom sink, smelly beds & bugs (I should've been more suspicious when I saw not one, but two big cans of bug spray in the pantry). Plus, the air-conditioning went out a couple of times. We were told it would "shut itself off" if overworked. Gee, it only felt like hell outside--I didn't know the A/C only worked in temperatures just shy of "fire & brimstone".

What clinched it was the Roach on Steroids that walked past me one night I stayed up late to read. Yeah, walked, bright lights & all, like he was just getting in for the night. I don't know if this is the same roach we found dead the next day (I swear, I didn't do it), but we spent so much time screaming & arguing over who was going to dispose of the roach's remains that I'm surprised the police didn't show up to see who murdered this Mr. Roach person.

As for the beach...I understand how a lot of people love the ocean & the beach & all of that. The beach would be better for me if it didn't have all that...sand. Because a trip to the beach is never just a trip to the beach. It's spent lugging stuff to & fro (when you have 3 kids, that's a lot of lugging), then afterwards, showering every last crevice to be sure all the sand is gone.

Lest you think I spent my whole week complaining (I was good, I saved all my complaining for you guys), I'm going to share my favorite photo (and I'm sparing you the other 148), taken at The Florida Aquarium.

Seahorses

On knitting: I took 3 projects, but only worked on 1. I spent the majority of my time reading (and counting down days).

Next time, I promise to get off my duff & plan the vacation. I'm thinking...knitting cruise.

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