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The past couple days have been an exercise in torture for me. I get migraines about once a month (uhh… *cough*) and for some reason this month was exceptionally horrible. My migraine lasted about three days, off and on, in combination with chronic headache. Today is the first day I feel like a human again. Although I still have some awesome looking alien veins on my temples. They’re a fashion statement, I swear!

I haven’t been very productive due to the aforementioned foray into the pits of hell, but I did manage to take a few quick snaps of the project I recently added a button to.

Yep, it’s a neck cowl! When I bought this yarn it was for hoarding purposes. I saw it, thought, “Oh pretty!”, then bought it. I am glad I managed to make something useful out of it as there is nothing worse that having a bunch of random hanks of pretty yarn in your stash with nothing to knit out of them. Not that I would know anything about that!

This picture shows the stitch a bit better. For some reason I really love this stitch with this yarn. It’s one of those few times where I think that it couldn’t really be any better of a match.

So, should I even bother to make a pattern for this or is it too simple?

Another knitting project is on the go, I’m using some lopi and making a helmet style hat. It’s inspired by my home back in Western Canada. I can’t wait to have this complete - it’s rolling at the top so it’s a lot closer to be done than it looks in this shot.

Now this is a pattern I think I will need to share.

As for the spinning, I have managed to get some sporadically done over the past few days. I would guess there is about 2.5 ounces left to do up until I have the third bobbin done and can start plying. Because I am getting SO CLOSE to being done I am hoping it will spur me on to plying this weekend.

Speaking of, hope you all have a good one filled with lots of fibre-y loving!

There is nothing better on a Sunday morning than making a nice cup of espresso and relaxing for the day.

I’ve cleaned the house, done the laundry, and even finished my errands today! Very productive. In fact it was a great day to start spinning down some of my stash.

If I want to move forward with my spinning goals, I first have to clear out what’s on my bobbins. On my mazurka I have an alpaca/merino blend that has been in the process of being spun for so long I can’t even remember when I started spinning it. It’s probably been over a year. That does sound like a realy long time, but it’s over a pound of fibre so I don’t feel that horrible about it.

My wheel is now in my living room to remind me to SPIN. I think this is last of three bobbins, then I get to ply. This yarn is intended for a twist collective sweater pattern that I fell in love with some time back, so I won’t be able to knit with it just yet, but it sure will be nice to have it off the wheel!

I have 8 oz. of soysilk blend on the Journey wheel in a crazy red/orange/brown colourway, but I think I may just scrap it because it’s bleeding on my hands. Why do people even sell fibre if it’s not set or rinsed properly? So I either dump it, set it (with vinegar?), or save it for blending. Anyone have any experience trying to further set 100% soysilk that’s been dyed?

I also want to clear out some of the small little things I have been meaning to knit. And yes - I still need to seam that medallion cardigan! I guess I like to procrastinate a lot more than I realized. I did sew a button on today though.

Yes, this is that project that was blocking over the last week. Now I just need to take better pics of this FO than the ones I took today. They were so embarrassing I couldn’t bring myself to use them to show this project to you. It really is a cute little knit and deserves better than an awkward snap in the bathroom mirror. Ugh!

I have had massive knitting ADHD this past week and I know why. I’m bored. Sweater knitting is out of the question because I am trying to lose weight and don’t want to make a sweater for myself “right now”. I have more mittens than I can admit to without sounding like some sort of fetishist. A person can only own so many hats. The boyfriend doesn’t really care for knitted items. Family and friends are mostly all born in the winter months so the period of knitting for them is over (although I have secretly gotten a head start on items for next year).

I’ve spent hours the past couple days pouring through magazines, books, and my yarn stash. It made me realize that not only am I bored with what to knit, I am also bored with what I am knitting with. I am bored of… yarn.

I KNOW. I KNOW! I don’t know how I’ve come to that conclusion but it’s true. I know it’s true because I went to a very popular yarn website that is having a sale and… I didn’t want to buy anything. Nothing. For some strange reason when I look at yarn I think, “Yep, that’s some yarn” and not “OMG GIMMIE GIMMIE GIMMIE WANT WANT WANT”.

I still like yarn, I just don’t want it like I used to. My hope is that this is temporary.

There may also be a solution. Spinning.

It may just be that I am bored of my stash. Maybe the yarn that I bought months ago (and in a lot of cases years ago) just isn’t hitting that excitement button for me. It might be a good idea to focus on making some new yarns.

The other reason that it’s a great idea is the amount of fiber in my stash. It’s actually quite a lot when I look at it. Almost a daunting amount. When I think of all the hours it will take me to spin this into yarn and then knit it into a garment I get a tightness in my chest.

Yet another reason I should spin more - I have exciting blends you just can’t find in most commercial yarn that would be in any reasonable persons price range, like yak and silk.

Or unblended fibers like buffalo.

I have two pounds of camel. TWO POUNDS.

What am I going to do with two pounds of camel? Maybe I should blend it with the pounds of merino or cormo I have.

I have loads of goodies just waiting for me to be inspired by them, there is no point digging listlessly through a stash that I am not in the mood for when I can create my own.

So here is my question for you. Anyone have experience with making a scheduled time for things like this to keep you on track (a certain day, posts I have to make regarding progress, things of that sort) and have it work out? Any advice?

I don’t know why my luck happens to be so bad with internet providers, but I have been having issues with my cable. We only moved into this apartment November and I think I have spent fifteen hours on the phone with them trying to sort out issues. I feel like it may be done now. At the risk of jinxing myself, I have not had the internet work as well as it is right at this moment. Of course that is because I spent two and a half hours on the phone with them over the weekend, but still - it should be ALL BETTER NOW.

Which lets me finally be able to post!

I have not yet begun seaming the Medallion Beast. Instead I am procrastinating with small instant gratification projects. Such as a Koolhaas hat.

I used The Fiber Company’s “Road to China” for this and it couldn’t have been a better choice. Two skeins was plenty and this blend is luxury at it’s finest. I have never owned anything so soft, I want to make pillow cases out of this yarn. Or an apartment cozy. Too bad it’s so pricey.

This is my cute unshaven boyfriend modelling the hat. It’s actually my hat but it was manly enough for him to be willing to model for me. He’s so helpful!

I also finished this:

Well, “finished”. It’s just blocking before it gets it’s buttons. Any guesses as to what it is? I may write up the pattern because I really like how the stitch I chose worked out with this yarn.

I am nearly done the medallion cardigan, the seaming of it looming in my mind. Hopefully this weekend I can dig into it a bit.

It’s odd to think that I have been knitting for over a decade. The knowledge I have collected over the years builds as I go, each project is another sum added to the total that is all I know of the craft. So when you start a new chapter of fiber arts - like weaving - it’s strange to have nothing to build on.

The scarf, which is the finished weaving project I didn’t show the other day, is not how I wanted it to be. In my mind I thought, “soft alpaca plaid in white, grey and black”. What I got is something scratchy that looks like a kitchen towel, the grey so dark it’s indistinguishable from the black, and not really wearable for it’s intended use.

So now what do I do with it? Is it a runner, or do I cut it up and sew it? Or is there a way to make it soft?

Hrm. Ugh. Blah. No idea what I am doing with the weaving, but this knowledge and experience will one day be the thing that helps me create something beautiful.

To pick me up I cast on for a pair of socks I KNEW would be awesome.

Noro yarn, knit in four round stripes (one from each end of the ball) in probably my favourite ever colourways of theirs. The fun thing is that I am trying out those new square needles. Have you seen them at your local LYS?

They don’t seem to be really affecting much, but I do love their colour and their finish. The only difference I can see so far is that they tend to bend less than most dpn’s, which is always a good thing.