It's the cycle of life for knitters! I
have several new(ish) knitters in my circle of friends—at times,
some of them are over-whelmed by what they perceive as my
generosity--(and yes, I guess I am being generous) But I don't really
feel I am being generous.. I FEEL like I unloading unwanted stash!
Out with the old—the stuff I bought
on sale, (with good intentions) that, I now realize, I am never going to
knit.
Out with the yarns that were trendy—and now look passé to my
eyes.
Out with the yarn made from inferior fibers, or garish colors
or... some other fault.
Out with lovely skeins, too-- wools, or
angora's or other luxury blends... the odd ball of two that no longer
speak to me.
Out with wools that I bought to design and test and pattern
with—but the fiber got discontinued—and who wants a pattern for a
discontinued line of yarns?
It seems, no matter how fast I pass
off balls of wool or acrylic, or smooth worsted, or fluffy novelty
yarn—MORE yarns appears at my footsteps!
Here is the latest addition to my
stash—a gift from Tracy S—who moved and decided to cull her stash
of the yarns she has re-evaluated and that didn't make the cut.
I
took the cone of off white cotton--(another bathmat will be made
sometime soon) but passed on the acid green skeins of cotton (dozens
and dozens of them!) They were originally destined to be market
bags—but goodness know I already have enough market bags with out
knitting more.. and really ACID green?--Though, I am sure it seemed like a
good idea at one point.
First there is the lovely Regia Silk
sock yarn-4 skeins of it (one was balled up, and didn't make it into the photo, but its there.) 2 of them could become a pair of socks.. Or maybe
a scarf--Look--I have some grey fabric (a cotton twill) for a skirt— What a perfect match! But, then again, I already have a half dozen pairs of socks
with grey in the mix that would also match—so I could/should make a
scarf/mini shawl.
Maybe socks first, and the left overs
(I always have a bit of sock yarn left over) added to the second 100
grams to make a scarf that is a smidgen bigger than one I could make
from just 100 grams (there are lots of patterns for mini shawls that
just require a 100 gs of sock yarn). Something lacy -but still casual.
Isn't this JaWoll beautiful? --a blend
of cotton and wool--(mostly--a bit of nylon too, for strength)
These pretty colors will match many of
the skirts I plan to make this fall. I don' think I have a single pair
of cotton and wool socks—and I know just the pattern to use this
sock yarn! (one of my own designs, naturally!)
Then there are the bright cheerful
colors of this OnLine skein—Grey, brick red, and
bright blue- Check, check check for color matches! These are the predominant colors all match clothes I
own, or will soon own (I already have fabric).
Which one should I knit first? Well in
theory—(and reality)-- What I should do first is one of my collection of sock kits from my home
made sock club collection!
Speaking of which—I could only lament
the loss of the socks I started early this month so long—I've cast
on and knit the cuff on another (new) pair of socks. Just like the
lost pair—I haven't decided if these are secret socks or public
socks—so by default they are secret of now. The yarn is from
one of my homemade sock kits—and will go with clothing I already
own--(or fabric that I own and plan to make into something) It's still in stock and available--so it could be for a pattern.
Meanwhile—I continue to cleaning out
closets—2 huge bags of clothes have already been donated to a local
charity—and 2 more have been packed up for the next trip. My
closets are slowly being emptied of old, too big clothes—A few
pieces I really like with be altered (1st requirement—they
must have pockets)--but the majority are going away—and the piles
of fabric that I have amasses over the years will be worked up into
some new clothes—I know, I have been saying this for a few years
now—but I did get some sewing done this spring—and I will get
more done this fall. I have to!--Almost nothing I own fits--and I don't want to be wearing skirts that are so loose that they fall off! Besides, many are too long and dowdy looking now that I am thinner.
Well most of the fall sewing of casual
clothes will have to wait till after the I finished the shawl for
the wedding, and my dress, and my daughters wedding coat. But not much longer than that.
I haven't lost as much weight as I had
hoped—but I have kept off every pound I have lost.. And I have
worked out in the pool this summer and turned some fat to muscle. Not
much of change on the scale, but I am a bit trimmer, tighter and more
muscled. I will make some renewed effort—for no other reason than
its healthier.
