Category: Golightly Stashing

I’m making room for more fiber (how excited am I about Rhinebeck?!), so here are a few things I cleaned out.  I’ve done my best to represent each lot as it is in real life, but there are a few fibers that I’m uncertain about the content.  If you see something you’d like, please leave a comment–I’ll do my best to check e-mail regularly today, but tomorrow I’ll be out of the house most of the day, so please be patient.  Once you’ve heard back from me, I’ll send a Paypal invoice that will include shipping–I’ll use USPS Priority Mail, and I’ll go to the post office on Wednesday and Friday this week.  Feel free to e-mail me questions if you have them, and I’ll do my best to answer.  Click for bigger pictures, and happy shopping!

Honeydew.  About 9.5oz 40% wool, 20% mohair, 20% angora.  Purchased at Rhinebeck 2006.  Lovely shades of green.

$23.75 + shipping.

Sold.Raspberry.  2 oz. of light gray/burgandy 69% Corriedale Wool, 31% angora rabbit.  Purchased at CT Sheep and Wool in 2007, before I knew about my angora issues. 

$12 + shipping 

4 oz. of un-dyed Ingeo.

$8 + shipping.

3 oz. Brown Mystery Wool.  Purchased at Village Wools when I first learned to spin.

$5 + shipping.

6 oz. Undyed Mystery Wool purchased at Good Fibrations.

$12 + shipping.

I also have some un-processed camel that was given to me, and frankly, I’m not interested in cleaning it.  The first person who purchases something and tells me they want the camel can have it.   

I’m off to the yarn sale.  When I return, I’ll close the "Tell Me Your Dream" contest.  Here are the skeins I’m giving away:  Manos, Soft Baby, and hand-dyed sock yarn from Spindle Cat.

Told you it would be good stuff.

Yesterday I spent part of the afternoon taking pictures of stash and uploading them to Ravelry.  I came across this 900 yard cake of raw silk from Blue Heron yarns.  I bought it in Irvington, New York, at Flying Fingers back in 2004.  I originally was going to make Sonnet, but after looking at the sweater a little more, I didn’t think it would flatter me.  So now, what to make? 

I’m considering Chickami, but I’m also thinking that a v-neck pullover might be nice. I"m just not sure that I have enough yardage for that.  I have to swatch to see, I guess.

Part of my quandry is that I don’t know how silk behaves when knit up, and I’ve been frustrated by my searches to try to find out.  Does it stretch?  Does it hold its shape?  Any advice is welcome.

In Sockapalooooza news, I’m halfway through the fifth repeat on the leg of Monkey 2.  I doubt I’ll finish this sock in a week–MS3 Clue 1 comes out tomorrow–but within ten days seems reasonable to me.

ETA:  I decided on the Chickami.  I’ve been wanting to make one for ages.  I’m going to make it my Tour de France KAL project.  Thanks for the feedback, gang!

Looky!  I won a prize from the A.D.D. Knitter!  My first Trekking XXL.

Also, I dyed with Blogless Sara over the weekend.  We colored up some roving (no pictures) and this sock yarn.  Sara dyed a couple of skeins–one for herself (she’ll be a sock knitter yet) and one for Blog-free Kim.  I have to do another dyeing day this week; I didn’t get roving done for the contest winners despite my promises.  Instead, I dyed 6 oz. of Tussah silk I bought at Village Wools *sigh* when I was in NM.  Can I tell you?  Silk sucks up the dye.  Like it’s a freaking chocolate milkshake.

Last week I had my second spinning lesson with Ellen from the Guild.  "From the Guild" isn’t her last name, but doesn’t it make you see how we all got our last names way back in the before times?  This was from the 3 lbs. of romney I purchased when I was waiting for Zinnia to arrive.  I dyed it last summer or fall, and spun my most consistent yarn to date.  I forgot to measure how much there is.

Summer of Socks starts tomorrow, and I thought I’d list my goals for it.  I’m not going to enter any competitions except that of meeting my goals.

1.  Finish Monkey socks for Sockapaloooza (one is almost done).

2.  Finish Neal’s socks (ahem).

3.  Knit another pair of Monkey socks for me.

4.  Knit a pair of ankle socks.

Big dreams, but why not? 

I’m still licking the wound of having lost the big long book review post.  I know, I know, get over it.  I’m slow to recover from these things, though.

I caved so quickly.  It’s because I was all full of myself and how easy it was to knit from stash.  I love my stash.  I know there are lots of folks proclaiming that they are not in any kind of stashalong this year, and I envy them a little.  But I’m glad I’m doing it.  I honestly could knit for at least a year with what I have.  I want to become the kind of person who buys (most) of her yarn for a specific project, and then she makes (gasp) that project. 

Well, as I started to say, yesterday I caved.  I stopped at Marji’s to pick up something for a friend (really) and left with a skein of Karabella Gossamer.  Just one.  Because it was marked down from $24.95 to $10 and I always fondle it when I go in there.  And I like this smokey shade of gray.  And it would make a pretty ruffle scarf for someone on my list.  Or maybe arm warmers for me.  Or something. 

Neal chided me when I told him, but I reminded him that I gave myself three free days of yarn buying.  He didn’t believe me, but you remember I said that, right?  Right? 

One of my goals for the winter break was to clean out my craft closet, which fit right in with my plan of this morning to put all of my yarn stash on a spread sheet (well, not literally, but to enter each skein onto such a sheet).  I’m about 90% done.  I just have to add the handspun, decide if bibs and bobs (yes, that is a technical term) are worthy of their own page, find the few skeins tucked in odd places about the house (Noelle‘s handspun sits like a work of art [she did do her art degree in sculpture] on one of the living room speakers.  I have to remember to count that yarn!), and I will be done.

But that bit of organization leads to others.  I’ve tidied up the closet, put all the loose needles in one place so that I may size them up and get rid of unneeded dupes.  I’m also thinking that I should have a list of my craft books somewhere.  And that fabric.  I should measure and track it, right?  No.  That’s going too far.  But the embroidery floss should be wound on to bobbins.  That I will do one evening with a good movie on the tube.

Tomorrow is for writing syllabi and thank you notes.  And maybe some actual spinning and knitting.  Why can’t every day be a vacation day?

I’ve decided to join Wendy and L-B’s Knit from Your Stash-along for 2007.  Here are my tweaked guidelines:

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 — a period of nine months.

2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:

    2.a. Sock yarn does not count. What? You think we are made of stone? I have enough sock yarn to make at least 23 pair of socks.  No need for more for a while.

    2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really and truly do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn to knit that gift.

    2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project.

    2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card — we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one three times. I want to give myself a little more than one exception.  I figure once every three months is reasonable.  There’s another Webs trip in my future, I’m sure!

3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn. Hint, hint.  My b’day isn’t that far away!!

4. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt. No new spinning fiber until I’ve spun at least the wedding shawl fiber.  And maybe more of that Romney I purchased last year.

I’m thinking about other resolutions and projects for the new year, but wanted this to have its own post for when the going gets tough.  I’m sure I’ll need to review this now and again!