National Blog Posting Month!

Along with NaNoWriMo, today marks the beginning of NaBloPoMo or, in other words, a month where a bunch of people set about the task of writing a lot.

I was previously all set to go this month, but truth be told, my heart's not really in it today. Maybe it's some sort of post-holiday hangover, or possibly the dreary weather, but I woke up feeling uninspired, listless, and just generally brood-y. Generally when I'm feeling like that, I try to simply hunker down with a cozy blanket, a pot of tea, and television I know by heart, but that just wasn't doing it for me today.

So I did something I haven't done in some time-- I attempted to indulge in some retail therapy. Although I'm not a currently active member, I've been diligently sticking with my Wardrobe Refashion challenge. With the exception of picking up a dress to wear to a wedding last summer, I haven't bought new clothing that wasn't underwear since February. Apparently my clothing diet has left me way out of practice, because I left the mall with a bath mat and conditioner. Having said that, if I can find a pair of knee-high boots I like, all bets are off.

I did, however, fall off the wagon pretty hard when it comes to knitting books-- Hat Heads, 101 Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders, and Stitch & Bitch Superstar Knitting are all sitting on the couch next to me. My Christmas knitting has just begun, so I can use all the ideas I can get. I'm already months behind!

Hey, gotta keep trying. Gotta keep holding on to whatchagot (which sure ain't a lot)

Why does it seem like when you want things to stay the same, they up and change on you, but when a little change might be nice, you start living life like it's Groundhog Day?

Life has been in a sort of doldrums. To the point where even working up the energy to think about anything (like working on one of the 2493762 UFOs I have) more work than it's worth. In the last two weeks, I have finished a sock. That's it, just one sock. The same Uzume sock I'd been working on for over a month. While I should herald that as progress, I can't seem to get myself started on the other one and, really, what the hell good is just on sock?

Consequently, I've been avoiding ravelry for a week or two as well, and skimming through all of the fabulous knitting blogs I read. I'm terribly happy for all the folks who went to Rhinebeck and enjoyed the hell out of themselves, but reading too much about it might just make me stab myself in the eye.

(See how morose I've become? It's just pitiful.)

But when I woke up this morning on my day off, the rain and clouds had blown away to reveal a beautiful, rather balmy fall day. It seems like a sign that today is the day to kick myself out of my funk.

I started by just thinking about good things, like the spinning wheel I'm saving up for, and whether I should take some of that spinning wheel money and put it towards a spinning class. It would set me back a month or two from buying one, but then again I'd have a better idea of how to use it then. As far as problems go, it's a pretty good one to have.

Now, it's time to shower and get some stuff done.

The to do list for today:
-felt a sweater Gus got ahold of last night*
-Work out some Halloween costume details
-make trips to the following places:

• craft store
• hardware store
• Goodwill
• possibly Old Navy

-find some star earrings, or make them myself
-make soup
-dye my hair
-return the batteries I bought and get the right ones
-take mucho pictures of all WIPs, FOs, and whatever the heck else

*And of course, it just had to be my favorite cardigan that he chewed holes through. My oh-so-wonderful purple 100% cashmere cardigan that I found at Goodwill for $8.00. I atleast have to give it to him-- Gus has got good taste.

Stop the madness!

Okay, that does it-- no more buying yarn until I finish atleast one project. I'm flitting about with so many different things right now, and yet I still bought a skein of a yarn I want to test out for sweater I eventually want to make. It's like I have ADHD or something.

I did however, also manage to pick up some handles for the purse I've been working on, as well as some finishing needles, since I can't seem to figure out where I put the four I bought six months ago. I'm just really hoping they don't turn up in the couch or something. E will not be happy with me.

Right now, the current "on the needles" list is as follows:
-fuzzy sweater
-purse
-fingerless mittens (kind of like these but different), cribbed from this pattern by the girls at SpinCycle Yarns.

I also still have the cable scarf waiting to be blocked AND I found a purse I started a couple of years ago that I want to pick back up and finish. (It was my first semi-successful attempt at argyle and could be awesome if I actually got up off my butt and finished making it. )

In other words, I REALLY had no business buying any more yarn.

Now where the heck do I put it all?

So when I say I went to town with the whole stash-building thing, I meant it---



Click on picture to see details about what the heck all those yarns are.

Two of this, three of that. Oh, you only have one left? Don't worry, I'll take it!


Bells had it right that I'm a yarn store owner's dream. While everyone else is busting their stash, I'm buying up oddballs like it's going out of style! So now I've got a ton of yarn for a bunch of little things. On the upside, I didn't really have much of a stash too begin with, so now I can atleast relate a little to those gals with yarn closets (or even, dare I say, yarn rooms!)



As mentioned, I also finished the slightly-short-kinda-stripey-cable-keyhole scarf, with the exception of blocking and weaving in ends. I don't know that it really needs to be blocked, but frankly I could use the practice and I think that cable pattern could benefit from it.

Full-size photo when it's all finished. As for now, the goal is to take a shower and go out, with the hopes of procuring lavender, more roving, and something to make for dinner tonight. I'm thinking I might do spinach lasagna....

I'm proud to be someone who does things and sometimes scrapes my knees...

It's official, the sweater addiction has reached dangerous levels. I now own 40 sweaters. I could wear a sweater every weekday for two months without a repeat!*

...and I just deleted a giant paragraph full of excuses for being a sweater addict. It sounded too much like an alcoholic trying to explain why he isn't an alcoholic.

The thing is, if loving knitwear is wrong, I don't want to be right.

On the cool side, I did find a couple of sweaters that are ripe for re-engineering. Well, maybe. One is perfect, but the other one may be cut from knit fabric, which will leave me nothing but a bunch of short strings.

Tomorrow is definetely picture day-- of my new yarn, and my finished keyhole scarf!


*I actually own more than that, but the rest are for recycling projects. The official sweater count only includes sweaters I've bought with the intention of wearing.

I'm a consumer whore (and how!)

So I'm feeling pretty darn good after finding all kinds of awesome deals in my shopping excursions the last few days. Probably better than I should, given my ongoing goal to buy less. Some of it I blame on the gift cards. Some of it is just plain addiction. And some of it is because I can't pass up a REALLY good sale, especially on something I kind of already want.

Frankly, talking about how cheap one got things is pretty boring, so to sum up:

-Embroidered silk found for over 80% off! I just might have to go back and buy the rest of it up before someone else does. Also, flamingo print fabric for $1.80/yd!

-a really cute $5 sweater at Macy's (which puts the sweater count up to 38. I have a problem.)

-A discount on merino/silk roving because I let them know about an error in their price list. (yay for good karma)

And to top it all off, I found a pair of jeans that actually fit! That's right up there with the Loch Ness monster as far as "things that are rarely seen" goes.

Luckily, I think this week has been my last big binge before I go back on my clothing diet. Aside from the ones from Target, all the gift cards have now been spent, which removes the reason for me to look at clothes in the first place. I've already placed a moratorium on buying any more knitting books. And as for fiber and craft stuff, I'm trying to avoid buying anything without first having a project or goal in mind, so my own indecisiveness should slow me down a bit. That pretty much takes care of my frivilous spending with the exception of chinese food and beer, neither of which I'm willing to give up. One has to draw the line somewhere.

*****

I've been thinking a lot today about community and how the internet has both helped and hindered communication, but my thoughts aren't quite formed enough to put down in any readable format yet. I am however starting to believe that I am one of those people who communicates better and more effectively without the crutch of a backspace key.

We're back.

E and I went down to Seattle on Saturday for our friends' housewarming. I was a bit nervous about it at first, but had a great time once we got there. Seeing our friends new house has increased that desire to move, though. I have loved living in our quirky old apartment, but it's starting to wear me down. Plus we need the space. We're batting around the idea of moving into a bigger space within this building, which may be all I need. Beyond that I've been kind of scanning the for-rent ads, but we have such particular tastes that finding what we want could be hard.

The other awesome thing about getting out of town was the shopping. I decided that since the new Wardobe Refashion doesn't start until Jan 31st, I'll let myself buy whatever I want, then go back on the wagon at the end of the month. I found a couple of cute shirts at Anthropologie, and a nifty $5 t-shirt at Urban Outfitters. Didn't get to stop by the yarn store as planned, but that's really quite okay.

Today being my day off, I have to have an overly ambitious list. Today I'm going to:

• Finish taking the ornaments off of our super-dry fire hazard of a Christmas tree
• Work on E's Tube Sock Scarf
• Spin some more. Work on getting an even draft.
• Hop on a bus and go to Fairhaven, making a stop by the yarn store, the bead store, the bookstore, and that lavender place I was told about
• Go to JoAnn fabrics for secret project fabrics. Cross my fingers that that clearanced embroidered silk is still there. Try not to cry when it isn't.
• Make a salad. And maybe eat some hummus.

Finally, for Julie the Samurai Knitter, a picture of where I knit. On our living room couch, atleast during this time of year, with my feet tucked under the super plush faux fur throw my mom made for me when I was 13.

When E asked me why the heck I was taking a picture of the couch, I explained, "cause that's where I knit." He told me that in that case I should also take pictures of the bed, the floor, work, the coffeeshop, the local bar, our truck, the park and the bus stop. I think maybe he's trying to tell me something.

(Sad thing is, I actually have a sort of make-shift craft room, but it's mainly where I store my stuff and work on beading/sewing/desk-friendly projects. )