little bit of crazy leaking out

This arrived yesterday (mouseover to see what’s inside):

I know, you’re shocked! Me, buy yarn? Never happens! Umm, yeah. Of course the whole box of yarn wasn’t for me, half was for Emma. In fact I just got back from dropping off her yarn. This yarn is for me, for Dad’s blanket:

I started Dad’s blanket last night (using layout C) and so far so good.  I am quite happy with the yarn, it is soft, has a nice twist, the colors are even but not at all flat and knits up into a nice squishy fabric.  It reminds me of Cascade 220 Superwash, but a bit softer.  I have split a couple of stitches using my ultra pointy Addi Lace needles, I think if I were using a blunter needle this wouldn’t be a problem. 

I did a bit of number crunching and I am beginning to doubt my ability to finish this blanket in a timely manner.  The stitch count came out over 136,000, not including the i-cord binding.  eeep!

The vest is almost done and I think this is going to be the next thing on the needles, another Peace Fleece cardigan for the Bug. 

Or maybe this, a simple pullover, also for bug, from some Lorna’s Laces.

Oh, but I need to cast on the yarn I bought today and finish the project by Wednesday.  So, I guess the above projects will have to wait a couple of days.

I was innocently reading thru my usual blogs when I came across one of the Yarn Harlot’s latest post.  In that post is a great simple hat, chunky and cabley, quick to knit, and oh so cute. 

I headed over to BMFA to browse the yarns and find a couple colorways that would be perfect for hubby’s niece, my aunt and my cousin.  Okay, $20/skein x 3 skeins, no problem.  Then it dawns on me, I could make matching mittens in the STR!  Hmm, that puts it at more like $40-50 per person and I’d have to knit three hats and three pairs of mittens.  Okay, that’s still doable.  The more I browsed, the more people I wanted to add to the list . . . and the more un-doable the list became.

I’ve now come back to reality and I’m back to one hat/mitten set and . . . I don’t know.  This could be a little more crazy leaking out.

Yesterday’s post got me thinking . . . what happened?  What was all that yarn for?  Why didn’t I ever use it?  So, let’s take a look at some of the stash. 

Lorna’s Laces Jungle Stripe.  This, along with a skein of black Opal, was for the 6Sox KAL, Oct/Nov 2005.  Never started.

Knit Picks Merino Style in Pine and Fog.  “We Call Them Pirates” hat for Hubby.  Poor Hubby, no hat.

Plymouth Tweed.  Also for a hat for Hubby, just before casting on Hubby made a comment about not wanting a boring gray hat.  *sigh*  No, he didn’t know I was about to make him a classic gray hat that would go with anything, but still no hat for Hubby. 

Ultra Alpaca.  Purchased last winter for a hat for me, had other projects that needed finishing, never cast on.

Elann.com Sonata.  These coordinating yarns were purchased to make a color-blocked sweater for Bug.  She grew, now I don’t have enough yarn to make the sweater and the dye lots have changed.

Ironstone Yarns Streamers.  Purchased on clearance for a cute purse in a magazine.  After reading the pattern I really didn’t like how it was constructed.  Pretty yarn but no clue what to do with it now, so into the stash.

Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, this was purchased for the Samus KAL from the Fall 05 Knitty.  Knit a swatch, then panicked, wasn’t ready to knit a sweater for myself and doubted how flattering it would be.  I have used some of the yarn for some charity knitting, but still have more than enough for a sweater for Bug and maybe one for Bubba, too.

There are yarns from the deal I just couldn’t pass up or the store closing sale or the retail therapy sock yarn.  Some of the stash will go on the sell/trade page in Ravelry, some will go out in the garage sale (most of that didn’t even make it onto Ravelry)  Actually, more than half the yarn could go and I wouldn’t mind, I am attached to some of it for various reasons but the rest . . . eh.

 Very tempting to do after getting most of it cataloged into Ravelry along with photos in Flickr.

So far 41 pictures in the sock yarn folder and I’m sure I’m missing a couple . . . so lets call it enough yarn for 45 pairs of socks.   Sweater amounts of yarn were definately fewer and mostly kid sweater amounts . . . 16 total . . . 2 in amounts for sweaters for me . . . maybe 5 average adult sweaters of various types . . . 9 or so in kids amounts.  The rest of the stash is mostly in ones and twos, sure there may be a four or five here or there, but mostly it’s ones and twos. 

What the heck am I going to do with all those singles.  Yes, I have One-Skein Wonder and several other books with small projects but I could be knitting hats, scarves and mitts until I’m 60.  Guess I could do a couple of Baby Surprise Jackets and tuck them away for gifts, same with the hats, scarves, and mitts.

But, really, almost half the stash?  I guess the thing that sucks it that almost all of those ones/twos/threes were purchased for specific projects.  This all goes back to the “talks a big game, follow through sucks”. *sigh*

 These are samples from my all day class on Friday with Susan Forsythe.

By the end of the class I had a need to buy fleeces, lots and lots of fleeces.  I had a need to flick them, to comb them, to card them and then finally to spin them.  I resisted, I guess it helps that the vendors were only setting up, not actually open.  In spite of that fact, I did manage to buy these . . .

Back at the hotel that night I finished off the Bluebells and Buttercups Superwash from Dragonfibers, and plied it.  Love the colors.

Saturday there was the much shopping, but no buying.  I know, I was shocked too.  My class in the afternoon produced these samples . . .

I learned how to andean ply in class.  I had tried it before, but this was the first time I had it work the way it’s supposed to.  The yarn barf on the bobbin, that we will not speak of, it is cursed. 

This beautiful skein of alpaca, from Sweet Grass Wool, was a birthday gift from Emma.  (Thanks Emma!)

Sunday was the parking lot fleece sale, where I walked away with a Finn lamb.  This is the softest fleece I have ever felt.  Look at that crimp.

And this is the washed Romney from Iron Water Ranch. 

Sampler packs from The Dizzy Ewe.  Breed Variety Pack:  BFL, Corriedale x, Shetland Moorit, Merino, Jacob, and FInn.  God’s Critters Variety Pack:  Angora Bunny, Tussah Silk, Fine Count Alpaca, Merino and Young Mohair.

My last purchase of the day arrived today . . .

. . . and is now in the freezer.  

 This last weekend was the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival.  Friday, I picked up Annie at 4:20am . . .

. . . and Emma at 4:45am . . .

 . . . both agreed it was way to early. We made a quick stop to stretch our legs, top off the gas tank and get a nice view of Mt St. Helens with the sun rise.

Upon arival at the fairgrounds we met up with Betty and she and I headed off for an all day class with Susan Forsythe and by the end of the day I was in search of a set of Forsythe MiniCombs and even though none of the vendors was officially open I managed to purchase a set. oops. 

Although we were up before the crack of dawn, we managed to stay up late, spinning, in our hotel room.

We arrived Saturday and things were really cooking, so many vendors that every time you walked through there was something new you had missed the first time around.  It was amazing, but never felt overcrowded since the vendors were spread out over two buildings, the open grassy area and the barn.

There was another class in the afternoon, this time with Janelle of Chameleon Colorworks.  I now understand the fractile stripe article that was in Spin Off Summer ‘07, along with three other methods of spinning painted rovings.  Dinner was wonderful as we met up with Betty and her mom, Martha, a good time was had by all.  For photographic proof, see Emma’s blog, here.

Sunday was bad for the budget.  The parking lot fleece sale . . .

Emma and I were looking at some Finn fleeces, so soft, and I swooped in bought one of them while she was still deciding.  All’s fair in war and fleece sales.  There was more wandering and shopping, no classes for us today.  Here is Annie with her alpaca shawl and new basket, I wish I had bought one now, but there’s always next year. 

In addition to the Finn fleece I bought a washed Romney fleece from Iron Water Ranch, pics tomorrow.  Emma and I also bought a lamb, we opted not to get the head, and it will be FedExed to us to be placed in the freezer.  Grass fed, no hormones from SuDan Farm. 

The ride home was uneventful and we resisted stopping at Ikea for some tax free shopping.

ETA: On the way home hubby called to see how far from home we were.  I may have told him I would call before we headed out, oops.  I asked how the weekend had been for him, it was the first time I had left him with the kids for more than a day/afternoon.  He told me he had grand plans of what he was going to get done while I was gone. Ha!  The quote, directly from his lips was: “I was bitch-slapped by the baseball bat of reality.”  Yeah, staying home with the kids isn’t as easy as it looks is it!?

I can’t wait until next year!