Jumping the Gun....Just a Little

Ok, remember this was the year that I was going to get the stash under control. Well, I'll let you draw your own conclusions...


Click HERE for a larger, more horrifying version.

The painters left our house Friday at dinner time and we were expecting company on Saturday, so we had to hustle! I'm amazed that the girls and I managed to set this up, take the photos and put everything back into plastic baggies and appropriate Rubbermaid totes in under 3 hours. Unfortunately, the composition of the photo suffered somewhat because of our haste. I think we did a better job of arranging the yarn by colour and texture last year.


Just for reference, here is last year's photo.






Ok, so the stash doesn't look any smaller, but the transformation to our hallway is pretty dramatic...new stairs, fresh paint...ignore the handrails...they still need to be restained, but hey, it's a start!!

Silly Busy...but not too much knitting

We're painting...well, actually Prep & Paint Plus is painting, the kids, dog and I are merely observing. Not helping (that's important), just trying to stay out of the way of the horrid, choking dust (stripping and sanding old wallpaper glue) and fresh paint. So far, so good.

Anyway, the painting is done and as soon as I have removed the light patina of white dust from everything, I'll post pictures of my new front hall. In the meantime, here is Clare sporting my Fake Isle Hat. Notice that I completed it just in time for our spring weather!! Hey a Finished Object is a Finished Object.


I got stalled up on the Eyelet Yoke Sweater for about a week, when I ran out of yarn about a third of the way through the collar. The mailman brought the final ball of yarn today, so completion is imminent.


In the meantime, I cast on for this in Clare's size....

Remember a couple years ago when I attempted to knit this from mercerized cotton and couldn't keep the edges from rolling despite NUMEROUS attempts. I figured that a merino might be more forgiving (it isn't) and if not, at least it would block more easily. The lower back edge is curling, but I'm thinking that if the curl won't block out, I might repeat the front edge ruffle on the bottom edge to conceal the curl. The merino I'm using is a variegated blue/multi colour and I think that the subtle pattern on the ruffle will be lost. I'll play around with some swatches, but I think that a plain, but fuller and fluffier ruffle will work with the yarn colour. Fluffy ruffles always work with 7 year olds.

Anyway, the worst part about the construction debris in the hallway is the fact that I haven't been able to take my Flash Your Stash 2007 picture yet. I don't think the stash situation has improved much, but the staircase and hallway look nicer!

Finally, Some In Progress Pictures

See, I really do knit a bit.

Anyway, I'm really hitting a wall with my knitting lately, so I figured I'd better post some pictures of my WIPs before they all get frogged. Yup, rippit, rippit time....


This is the back and left front panel of Gillian's Toggle Coat. There isn't anything "wrong" with it, I'm just really feeling ambivalent about it. Perhaps the fabric isn't quite right for a toggle coat. I think that I've given it enough of a chance to win me over, and if it hasn't done so yet, it isn't gonna happen. I might try knitting an overgrown cardigan for Ellery or Gillian with the same yarn.




This is the Fake Isle hat from Magknits.
Strangely enough, I like it better in the picture than in person. Something about my wonky camera and piddly-poor photographic skills make the pattern "pop" more in the photo than in real life. Anyway, the curling edge and muddied colours are kinda leaving me cold, but I'm so close to finishing that I might as well complete it rather than frog it.



This is the Eyelet Yoke Sweater from Vogue Knitting Winter 2002. The pattern was written in two sizes, XS/S and M/L...I'm so not XS/S.... Anyway, despite knitting gauge squares, downsizing my needles by 0.5mm as a result and taking careful measurement throughout the knitting process, I'm really worried about the size of the finished garment. I did order an extra ball of Adrienne Vittadini's Trina for this sweater, yet still managed to use it all up, so my fears about sizing may not be baseless. (Can anyone out there confirm this for me....if you downsize your needles to achieve gauge, you should expect to use a bit more yardage when the pattern calls for "knit until sleeve/body reaches 19 inches"...right?)

So, lots of knitting, no finished objects.

Not Much Knitting to Report...

Freezing cold temperatures, near-snow days, sicky pups, too many extra-curricular kids activities, household projects and fund raisers are all closing in on me right now and I haven't had much time or inclination to knit or blog.

I have been working on the Eyelet Yoke Sweater and have frogged it twice so far.

On an up note, sort of...I hadn't planned buying any yarn for a while, but look...




Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran Yarn...in Machair (a light, piney green) Enough for a very generous sweater for me (or a skimp of one for DH). Absolutely lovely.

It was stolen from Knitomatic. Haley is having a basement-clearing sale of epic proportions, including "buck a ball" finds! I picked up an armload of $1 treasures for the knitting kids and some ridiculously priced pattern books too. Despite the considerable dent I put in her inventory, there is still a huge amount of luscious stuff left!

Other than that, I am laying in crafting supplies and snack foods for the pups who are on Spring Break next week. Wish us luck!