KISS my stash

Greetings!

My new plan is to KISS my stash (Keep It Simple Stitcher):

P(df): brainless
Q(ueue): green-with-envy-cardigan
R(eceipt): wrapped-in-ripples
S(tash): dancing-doll-tee
T(est or text): pretty-polly

Now, which to do first?

Churro!

Good morning!
Spinning is on my 'bucket' list. Lately, however, I've been getting "pushes" from my Yarniverse to consider it more seriously. Inspirations began with Clara Parkes' Knitter's Review which led to Catskill Merino Sheep Farm and thoughts of knitting with yarn from US grown,  non-muesling-treated Sheep. Why not spin my own?

THEN, while I worked 'brainless', this NPR Weekend Edition Sunday segment further inspired me.

SAVE THE SHEEP! (Buy the fleece, process, spin and knit it to support the breeders and the breed.) This is a Desert breed introduced to North America hundreds of years ago, nearly exterminated by the White man intentionally because it was inconvenient! Just like the Navaho population it supported.

In a world of Climate Change, do we not need more hardy, fleece bearing animals? Methinks so...

Settle down?

Often I don't settle down into knitting or crocheting; I use crafting as a last resort when I'm worn out from reorganizing my PLan for a Yarniverse (PLaY or PLY?). Like a dog turns around and around and around in its bed before lying down, I do the same in starting to craft. I'm fine once I start; it's the procrastination before I start that is not working. I really, really, really need to get going; these items don't create themselves!
I like using acronyms to organize my world. Instead of R.S.VP, I'm considering R.E.S.T(Receipt.Electronic.Stash.Test/text). I'm still seeking that which works in getting me off planning and on crafting. Kind of like a meditation focus word, when I ask myself why am I doing this and what is my goal here, the acronym becomes the answer. RSVP to respond or just simply REST.Why do I do this? Perhaps the thrill of planning is more exciting than the actual work of creating. Sister Diane-  Craftypod episode 116 had a wonderful interview this past week regarding Creativity and organization with making-ideas-happen-with-scott-belsky/

On the needles now:
R wrapped-in-ripples
E dancing-doll-tee
S family-hats---mans-hat finished!
T test-knit-fiddle

harvest-blanket has been completed except for the borders.
'brainless' has been frogged. The yarn was too dark for the pattern; I'll restart with a different yarn.
All others have not been started.

Weekend wrap-up

Good morning!

We have a completion weekend-raglan:

Harvest-blanket has taken a little nap... after recovering the three panels from the children and attaching the fourth panel, I have run short of one square's color "Mushroom" and will need to visit Michael's or Jo-Ann's for a refill.
Wrapped-in-ripples did get some love this past weekend:

Paws for approval

Began the day sewing harvest-blanket panels together so I could release the double-ended stitch holders from their confinement. Three done, one to go (one panel still on the needles) and laundry called out to me...

Upon my return:

then

 I'm having a little trouble sewing that fourth panel on.....

Traffic Alert

This morning I realized that, as I approach the front neck shaping for weekend-raglan, ALL my double pointed, end-capped stitch holders are being used for harvest-blanket panels. Sooo what to do?

Start two pairs of Socks! brainless and undulations-socks (gotta have two travel projects in case one crashes)

Is there logic here? YES. I'm on the last panel of harvest-blanket. The assembly will be done at home, thus releasing the stitch holders. I will be needing socks soon and felt inspired to start both pairs, one for travel and one on Stand-By.

All the other projects are Home projects, so i'll work on those as the Spirit moves me.

Happy yarncrafty!

Update

ordered yarn for jackie and sundance-market-bag from Webs; closeouts are toooo hard to pass up! (My long term goal here is to work each Berroco and Classic Elite Yarn Newsletter.)

Still reworking my knitting plan; I've gone back to my original plan of one Receipt project, one Stash project, and one Various Pamphlet project = R-S-VP.
Receipts are exactly that:  i've saved my yarn purchase receipts and have placed them in chronological order. My oldest goes back to 2004 and is represented by wrapped-in-ripples.
Stash is my Ravelry Stash file in alphabetical order.Currently weekend-raglan fills the bill.
Various (or Vogue) Pamphlet is a work in progress. Currently too many on my needles: jackie, tanya, .sundance-market-bag, harvest-blanket and ribbed-gloves.

Knit on!

Feeding the (yarn) animals

harvest-blanket and weekend-raglan have been my travelling companions this week.
harvest-blanket now has one more square done.
weekend-raglan has a body and two sleeves up to the armpits.

My other plan for a Project of the Day (POD) is not working.
I've overcommitted myself to myself and it's starting to feel like work instead of fun....like I've created a second JOB for myself. This is not good and needs to be changed NOW.

A website I love: free clicks to feed animals, organic, free-trade and recycled items for sale that also support the animals, TAKE A LOOK!

Shuffle up and Deal!

Restart me with a new setup for this week:
Sunday:  Tanya
Monday: Sundance Market Bag
Tuesday: Weekend-raglan
Wednesday: Fisherman's-watch cap
Thursday: Ribbed-gloves
Friday:     Wrapped-in-ripples
Saturday:  Lacy-leaves-tunic

harvest-blanket and Weekend-raglan sleeves may be transit projects.
We'll see....

Cleanup on Yarn Isle

Ribbed Gloves got left behind today; cleanup on other projects instead:

Berroco KnitBits® #2 received more labor on the bottom band and  weekend-raglan has 4 more inches of stockinette on the body and a longer sleeve. wrapped-in-ripples has one color band completed.

Not much for today knitwise; i've been planning and organizing my patterns and catching up on my "yarny-goodness" magazine reading.

Rainshadow benefit

 POD update: weekend-raglan 4 inches left to go in Stockinette stitch IN THE ROUND to underarm seam. Can she make it without losing her mind? And the knitting goes on. Started sleeve. Finished cuff and began main body of sleeve. Body looks like good podcast-listening project.

TP update: harvest-blanket 1.5 squares yesterday and 1.5 squares today...Transit is good knitting time. Only 1.5 strips to go or 9 squares.

I also attended the Rainshadow Charter High School Fundraiser at Barnes & Noble Today: "A children's play written and produced by Rainshadow students will be shown upstairs at 5:30 PM-6PM in the Children's literature section. Other students and adult artists will perform on the first level following the production."
 I purchased Country Weekend Knits - pretty, pretty classic British knits that I NEVER tire of seeing and dreaming of - and Zen and the Art of Knitting, an inspirational compendium of essays, to add to my collection.
A wonderful time was had by all!

Dear Stash

I'm SERIOUSLY trying to address my stash and become more of a "use it or lose it" yarncrafter.
My current plan, as of today, is composed of two parts: Travel Project (TP) and Project of the Day (POD).
My Travel Project is just that: my daily commute project, small and portable or workable in sections..such as hats, socks, mittens, afghan panels, granny squares, etc.
My Project of the Day is my Morning and/or Evening work at home, which I'll work on whenever I have a moment, no matter how small the moment. Since I have seven possibilities on my Ravelry page, one per day perhaps?

Sunday: tanya
Monday:sundance-market-bag
Tuesday:braided-top-tank
Wednesday:aquitaine-pullover
Thursday:wrapped-in-ripples
Friday:weekend-raglan
Saturday:ribbed-gloves

Of course that means some items will take longer than other, but THAT'S OKAY.
We're on stash reduction here, not speed time trials!
Onward!

Knitting report:

harvest-blanket...This blanket is made of 5 panels 6 squares each.
I used a provisional cast-on to begin each panel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSwG6SJ1z2I
I did NOT cast-off; instead I placed each finished panel on a DPN, waste yarn or stitch holder.
My plan is to sew the interior seams then use one circular needle on each side of the blanket, making a very long round for my mitered corners, kind of like a shawl edging.
Picking up the recommended number of stitches in the instructions, I'll increase one stitch at each side of the corner miter. I'm planning on using different sizes needles for top/bottom and sides since my collection of circular needles is not that large. Maybe use the same size needles as the panels for top and bottom and one size smaller for the sides? That way if the border pulls in, it will help the design rather than push out.

The wrapped-in-ripples hit the frog pond again this morning... I guess I can count to 191 but adding 4 stitches to the first row because my tired eyes goofed the setup and shorted my count at the end.
The old "I'll add these here and it won't matter there" routine did not work.NOT a good idea when setting up the baseline for a ripple afghan!
Also, changing from a US13 to a US15 just because the first cast-on attempt seemed to be strangling the US13 needles was also "a slice of crazy pie", to quote Yarn Harlot . It would created a GINORMOUS afghan.
Oh, instructions say "Cast-on 191 stitches loosely" LOOOSELY!
Duh!

Please note: ball bands can lie! The Bernat Denim Style I'm using for my raglan sweater says 18 stitches to 4 inches. Do you ever wonder who does their swatching in Yarnland? Even dropping 3 needle sizes, my swatch will not go there, unless I want a bulletproof sweater that can stand alone in the corner.
So I accept the true gauge of this yarn is closer to 16 stitches in 4 inches on the recommended US8 for me. And plan accordingly.
not being a fan of sweaters

Today's post

Wrapped in Ripples: 2 rows after a couple of frogs...is counting to 191 so hard?

Harvest Blanket: 2 squares done during transit to/ from WORK 
I had made an earlier pre-Ravelry version, also in Lion Brand Wool-Ease. Not happy with borders there.
Starting this blanket, I realized my gauge had been off on the previous version by 10%, or one needle size. I was not thrilled with the straight borders. I'll miter the corners this time.

That's it???? oh, well...
it's a start.

Start It Up

It's raining outside; an infrequent event here in Reno.

I'm restarting my Ribbed Gloves.
I have two other projects going:

a raglan sweater from

and the "Harvest Blanket" also from Bernat:
http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=2848
 

I'm feeling Start-itis coming on for...

http://www.berroco.com/177/177_tanya.html

and "Wrapped In Ripples" from

Big-Needle Knit Afghans

Ahhhh, yarn inspiration on a rainy day!

Hi! I'm new here

Greetings!
My name is Carol.
I'm new here.

This is Miss Kitty:

This is Wuss:

They live with me and my stash of yarn, or Yarniverse.

Some may say my stash is small, but in a studio apartment, it's HUGE!

The book Wuss is lying on, contains instructions for one of my works- in- progress (WIPs), the Ribbed Gloves from Crochet for Today:

http://www.amazon.com/reader/ASIN/1574860224#reader_1574860224

As I work through my stash and seek a better life, I also seek to journal my adventure.

I enter this River of Life here....

All followers are welcome.