Friday, September 30, 2011

Hat Frenzy

Just this week, I realized that Christmas is nearly here and I've made absolutely nothing for my family.  Now, I know that you're thinking, "Didn't your knitted gifts go over over like a lead zeppelin last year?" Well, um, yes, but I was there with them, this year I won't be there so I won't have to see their reactions to the knitted items.  I can just enjoy making the items and then "poof" like magic they are all gone to new homes.

So with this in mind I have gone into hat frenzy.  I've made 5 hats of which I showed you two but I have two more finished, one on the needles and three more to make.  Its all very exciting!  I love the fun fur yarn (LBY) and the colors are great:




Oh and I definitely made a big hit with this black and red boa yarn.  My daughter's school colors, she loved it! and really it is pretty cute, so I'm making myself one in hot pink for October, Susan G Komen breast cancer awareness month. I also have enough boa yarn to make several more of these.

I did stop by the Woolie Ewe today and I bought some beautiful yarn: Berroco Souffle'.  It looks like it would be so heavy but it is light and airy.  I am quite excited about it.
Cheers!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Lunatic Fringe Hat


 
I have had a really productive weekend.  The new stash items I bought have been put to good use. So first I tried a hat out of Fall 2011 Knit Simple magazine.  It has a crocheted top and knitted sides.  I did 7 hours of crochet/knitting on saturday. The hat looks just like the picture but something isn't right with it...can't figure it out.  Maybe I should have made the large version. I have it blocking now.













The Second thing I tried was the Wasabi Cowl from the Ravelry site.  This turned out really great and I found a great shell button for it.

















The last thing I tried was another hat but one I'd made before that was too small.  So I tried the larger hat, it is bright and cute! I'm calling it the Lunatic fringe Hat.  I had to add a wig to my styrofoam model so the hat wouldn't slip down over the eyes.


So I'm off to get back on my larger projects and possibly finish something there!


Friday, September 16, 2011

Yarn Addiction--Just About

I haven't been sleeping well until last night.  I actually had REM sleep and two dreams.  Normally I don't dream or don't remember them anyway but these were exciting.  The first one involved 3 peculiar ants in a planter just outside my "yarn room."  They were about 1 to 1.5" (2.5-4.0 mm) long, stood up on their back legs and were knitted with the tiniest yarn I've ever seen.

The second dream involved a pair of socks that I'd apparently made the night before. I woke up (in the dream) and had a pair of knee-socks that I'd knitted in one night.  The right sock was twice as big as the left. When I actually woke up this morning and realized those were all dreams, all I could think was, "Love that sock yarn, where can get some?" Duh, Lori, that wasn't real. That sock yarn doesn't exist.../sigh. 

The funny thing is for several hours this morning I've pondered how on earth I could make a pair of socks in one night and how on earth can get some of that non-existent yarn.  I notice that buying yarn that one doesn't really need or have a project for is just part of the knitter's persona but I seem to think about it just about all the time.  I have planned today around going to Dallas to buy some slubby yarn that I saw at the yarn store there a few weeks ago.  Let me remind you (or tell you if you're new) that I am not working, I shouldn't be buying anything non-essential.  Normally, my fastidious and frugal self would kick in and place a control marker on the behavior and straighten me out.  Since the yarny in me keeps rising to the surface I can only conclude that I have a serious case of yarn addiction!

I said I would stop when my wall bins were full, I didn't.  So I decided to go around the room and find all the hiding places that reveal the yarn problem...

 <==The main stash and public presentation 
  













<==There is always a few yarn balls here and there about the house













Then there's the stuff that doesn't get all used up in the knitting process but can't be thrown away...I may need it sometime to, um...something...==>









<==This is the main "bucket" that I am currently working from as I need additional balls and if I open the drawer on that little dresser there's a few hidden in there...

What's in here? All the Sock Yarn in those pretty decorator boxes? ==>

 These are the projects I am currently working on less one or two ==>





 <==This little stash was just bought last week and is hiding behind my work chair and I look at it all the time just to make sure its still there. its right in front of the closet.








If we peek in the closet, hmmm, what's this?
Hmm, a good sized bucket of pretties hiding beside the sewing machines...


Open a little further and some more there, hiding behind some quilt tops that need to be quilted...


Just when you think there isn't anymore...I discover my Nashua Handknits yarn hidden under some fabric under my work table.  Aha! There you are...


Sadly, there are two more smaller bins with cotton yarn and yarn I had before I started knitting.  I think that accounts for it all. Well what can I say, I think I have proved to myself that I love yarn at least as much as knitting itself.