"More Later" Part III (Springwater Fiber Workshop)

So, this isn't actually a store review, but it is a chronicle of what was likely my very last ever trip to the Springwater Fiber Workshop, (soon to no longer be) located in Alexandria, VA. After 20, maybe a few more, years in business they are closing their doors, and today they opened their going out of business sale. It was a madhouse!! I stood in line for about an hour (it was fun - I talked to knitters) and I was there 15mins before the store formally opened. I've heard that they were mostly cleaned out by closing time, but I might sneak back for a little hemp I left all on its lonesome (totally against my will, for I was out of cash T_T, but also probably a good thing because of the yarn diet that I am strengthing my resolve on today.

I eventually came away with 14 balls of Rowan's discontinued Designer DK Wool in blue, green and brown, a whopping 1610 meters - 1760 yards!! I wanted this cream-colored laceweight, but i just ran outta cash - and the second I took it out of my basket, it was swooped up by first one, and then another of my fellow waiters-in-line, so despite being sad not to be its proud owner, i at least know that it's gone to a good and loving home. Meanwhile, I've got @ least 2 sweaters' worth of yarn from Springwater by now, both (interestingly enough) at closing sales, but apparently this is the very last one they're going to be having. This is it!!



Talk about bittersweet situations.

"More Later" Part II (Yarn Diet)

So, I've been making a list (and checking it twice) and I've finally realized that I have a stash that I could happily knit from for months without needing to buy anything except maybe a couple of needles here and there. In addition to the projects I already have on the needles, I've got the materials for . . .

1 shawl with Skacel - a Laminaria shawl
1 small shawl with Alpaca Cloud
1 small shawl w/ Knitpicks Shimmer
1 pair of fingerless gloves w/ Knitpicks Memories
1 Branching Out scarf w/ Knitpicks Gloss
1 pair of gloves w/ another skein of Knitpicks Gloss
1 pair of toe-up socks w/ Plymouth Sockotta (in addition to the cuff down ones I'm doing right now, 2-@-a-time)
1 pair of pomatomus socks w/ my orange Trekking XXL
1 pair of socks with my Flamingo yarn
1 socks & fingerless gloves set from my 3 skeins of Valley Yarns Huntington
Another (yoga) socks and fingerless gloves set from my Noro sock yarn
1 jacket out of my brand new collection of Rowan Designer DK wool
and a slew of stuff, probably enough for 1 pair of socks, 1 pair of armwarmers/ fingerless gloves, a hat, small shawl and a sweater from my two huge cones of Jaggerspun Maineline.

I know. Insane, right? Plus, between all the random skeins of worsted and otherwise in my stash, I've got enough for a number of hats and other small knick-knacks. I could knit for a year without buying more.

Yeah right.

But I'm pretty much on a yarn diet until further notice, probably until I go back to school for the Spring semester with a quick lapse in early November . . . I've heard Stitches East is coming to Baltimore!!!

Oh well, I'll try to be strong - I mean my food diet was going well until I came home for the summer, (and I'm getting that back on track as well) so I have faith in me! No more bringing money with me when I go to a Tangled Skein - unless I need needles.

(Slippery Slope Ahead. Exercise Caution.)

"More Later" Part I (Knitting Olympics)

So, let's talk a little about the Ravelympics. The idea here is to start a project when the Olympics start and finish before it ends. But it's not a race. It's also not supposed to be easy. A little cat toy is not an option for me, but it might be for someone who just started knitting . . . or really hates cats, or something. My thoughts on the matter are several. I really, really want some half-finger gloves. I mean really, really badly!

The other thing I really, really want is a Laminaria. It's a large shawl. 17 days seems like a long time, but I'm still really not sure I could do it - it would only be my second shawl, and a really big step in skill level requirements. I think the gloves are a better - since apparently another part of the idea is that the project should be challenging, but not tear-your-hair-out, kill-your-family-members-for-speaking-to-you hard. I think I'll make the gloves, and also try to make some yoga socks. That should do for my skein of Noro sock yarn.

As part of my "training" for the event, I'm going to try and finish the projects I have open now. That is, my ribbon lace scarf, plain 2-at-a-time socks (hopefully I can then knit the yoga socks on the long circular) and my Swallowtail shawl. Oh - and the Monkey socks, but I'll be done with those by Wednesday. I guess this is a mini-challenge, since there's only 17 days left until the thing starts!!

So I guess the plan is knit like a crazy person until the Olympics, knit like crazy during the Olympics, and then after the Olympics, knit that Laminaria!! Wow - that's a total of 7 things to do!

Learning Experience

So, on a whim, I took my camera outside. Actually, I saw somebody's comment on Ravelry that they were waiting for a sunny day to photograph their finished projects and I thought I'd see why. Wow. Wow.




Here's an indoor photo:

And then this is what I took today:



See why my mind has exploded with glee?! I'm so EXCITED!!!

Um . . . more updates . . .

I'm also now officially a Junior in College, I've been to San Diego, CA and on the 26th of March I turned 20 years old. Plus, I just finally figured out how to really link my blog into my Ravelry account!! And I think I might have a Knitmeter soon, too!

Update!!

Since my last, non-apology post, I've gotten a lot done.

For instance, You remember those Jade Monkeys? Yeah, I'll be finished with those tomorrow. They had to take a quick break while I knit my mother's Mother's day socks that she actually didn't get until Early July. They're beautiful, though. Both pairs are. They'll be pictures, but today we're catching up.

I'm back in town (Washington, DC) not just for the summer but for the entire fall semester and through January as well, since I have that internship - more on that later - and I'm adjusting to being *sniff* away from my beloved NoHo KnitTers and my beloved WEBS. To that end, I've been becoming very active in the Ravelry community and been really working at exploring my new LYS which include Stitch DC, Knit Happens, Springwater Fibers and my new and most celebrated discovery: A Tangled Skein, but I'll talk more about stores later.

I've embarked on a few new skills - I'm knitting my first non-sock lace in the form of a Swallowtail Shawl, mainly because I desperately want to knit a Laminaria, maybe during the Ravelympics!!. (More later) And I'm knitting my first pair of Magic Loop Socks!!!

In other news, my stash is now firmly into a *second* plastic tub and I'm on a mini yarn diet - except for July 25th when there's a sale I have to support (More later). And I made my first destash sale!!

Whew - I think that's it for knitting news, but I'm also learning to drive and getting pretty good at it, employed as an etiquette teacher (bizarrely) and losing a fair amount of weight and Drief turns 5 in a month!!

Well, I think that qualifies as a pretty thorough update . . . Now to address some of the "more later"s . . .

Apology

Okay, Not that anyone is actually reading my blog, but I feel it necessary to offer an apology to the occasional random person who stumbles on my blog and realizes that it hasn't been updated in a good long while, so here it is:

I am sorry. I will do better. I know that's been said before, but as my knitting skills have taken off, I have lots more to write about than I did before.
But first, an update -