The year to clean the stash.............again....

So I know that the Stash purge was the goal of last year was put out there.... and I did do quite well. Except when it came to yarn for gifts. Then I fell down a bit. I honestly haven't checkd the list I gave last year. I guess I should...... I'll do that later.

So this year I have joined some fellow Stash down 2009 Ravelry memebers in the One Hundred Ball Challenge. (I have my own rules so here we go)
The goal is simple..... knit one hundred balls of stash yarn.

Do new purchases count? No, if I owned it before Janurary 1st, 2009 I want to get it done.

What counts as finished? I want to have no yarn left of that ball.... admittedly some scraps will happen and that will be okay, but I won't be counting half a ball as complete, even if the project is done. I have some great things lined up for scraps.

Can I buy more Yarn? Sure, but I can't count it in my total. I don't plan on it.... but gift knitting for some new babies may mean a purchase or two.... (Erika, Alex.....I know that you know what I am thinking........ we shall order!)

Will Recycled yarn count? Absolutely, as long as it was part of my stash before Jan. 1 2009. I have to skein it anyway so it will lbe a "Ball".

What is my incentive? Other than being way stash lighter..... I am going to have myself a yarn bank. So every ball complete I add a dollar to the bank. I also get a bonus dollar for any completed project.

I know that this will be a tough one. So much baby knitting to do, but I have plans like I said to use the scraps.... baby stuff is small and can be cute in multiple colours.

I like to buy yarn, and my fantastic Husband doesn't see any problem with me purchasing yarn if I want to. (sooo sweet, but NOT helpful.) So I have one order to make that will have some yarn I have baby garment plans for, and then that is it. For as long as I can hold out...... I may give myself a break one I hit the half-way mark. Who knows.....

Wait until you see my bank! LOL

Next post will have project pic updates and some of the scrappy stuff I hope too. See you later. Have a good Monday.

Happy Days Everyone!

Hope you all had a happy and safe holiday. We are still seeing lots of snow here in Beautiful British Columbia! We are all well, family is great...no real issues... except for some work glitches. I almost slid into a median trying to get to work on Friday, and promptly went home!

I was very spoiled iand I was the recipient of fantastic boots, books and a new table top easel. Also two knitting related gifts.......

My brother MADE ME two niddy noddys!!! YAY now I can get to that sweater recycling!

Seriously, he said that he couldn't find them to buy so he googled plans and made them! How happy it make me that my gift was HANDMADE!

And my sister got me this great book which I am so excited to have! Knitalong!

So a bit of an update on gift knitting!

I am happy to say that this secret project happend to find it's new owner safe and sound.....

yes another of the fantastic clogs. Made for a special friend.

A full picture of my sister's mitts. This was a pattern adaptation for the Endpaper Mitts.

Unfortunatally she doesn't have a blog, so I can't link anything except Ravelry stuff. They are fantastic though.

Mitts for my Mom, not done in time... but I did show her them in progress, and she approved! LOL

Yes I am on to more projects, but I can't share I still have a secret gift swap coming up and that must stay under wraps. I am working through pretty quick though, and I hope that I can share more FO's soon! Have you heard about the 100 skein challenge for 2009? I am considering it.... who knows. The only problem is the mitts don't actually use up a whole ball!! LOL

Happy creating!

OMG.... it's almost here!

So....... knitting gifts......

ya,

I'm on it!! LOL I can share a few things..... I feel safe with these.

Mitts for some lovely ladies.MY MIL among them.

Finished slippers for my sister from her birthday..... belated.

And of course..... WIP"S!! LOL

One last shot...... out the front door. Hope you have a Merry and maybe White Christmas.

Vistiting for Inspiration.

Hello Holiday Knitters and crafty-types!! It is a winter wonderland here and we may have a white Christmas after all! That is not something that happens alot here in the Fraser Valley!

I am well into knitting my gifts..... in fact tonight I stop by the post office to pick up a box of supplies for myself and a pal. Yay!! More wool..... yikes. Luckily now that I have a few patterns that I like, I think the gifts that I bought the wool for will be knit up reasonably quickly and I will have no stash addition after all is said and done. I am hoping to have some pics of "Safe" gift FO's here for you...... as I have given my wish list for family and friends on this blog, I have a few more people that I have to hide stuff from. Sorry gang, I know that at this time of year, we all want to see the knitting!!

LOL

Today I wanted to quickly turn you on to two podcasts that I find help with my creativity and get me inspired, hopefully to get you in the same frame of mind!

First is CraftyPod. A podcast and blog about ALL things crafty, from knitting and scrapbooking to making ornaments and macaroni art! Seriously!!

So I have not caught up to all the episodes of the Podcast, but the topics vary so greatly, and the shows can be as short as 20 minutes. My favorite lately was the #79 Episode, Crafting with Neckties!! My brain felt like it was on FIRE!!!

Right now if you pop over to Sister Diane's Blog then you will get a mass of all thing Christmassy from years gone by, and not all of it is fantastic, but it is kitchy and fun!

My second creative inspiration podcast..... is Craftlit. "A podcast for crafters who like books"

Heather Ordover is a former English teacher who runs a literature class through a podcast and also loves to knit and craft.

I am unsure what exactly about this I find so inspirational specifically, but I enjoy having someone discuss the literature that she provides, I did so love English Lit class..... and here it is for me again! The book currently begining is "The Curious Tale of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde" which I have read recently in a literature class, but I am very keen to hear what Heather has to say. I am currently listening to episode 58, which is "A Tale of Two Cities" which I have never read, and honestly am plodding my way through....... and finding out intresting things through. (You may ask yourself WHY I would be listening to a piece of literature that I am not enjoying...... when I don't HAVE to...... because sometimes what you gain from literature has very little to do with how much you like it.)

Any way I hope that you will all catch a few of these podcasts, you can listen from the blog sites in both cases. At least I hope you can. ( I checked both sites, they have the widget...)

Or just pop into the blog and poke around. I have also left another link in the title of this page.... a good site for inspiration. Happy crafting and see you soon!

Wishlist

Ah,

The Holiday wishlist…… at the request of my family….

How fun!!

>Amazon.ca books from my wishlist (some books may be cheaper through Knitpicks)

>Drop Black Pearl earrings

>Holiday Mug

>Knitting Goodies

> Small cookie cutters for clay-work

>Lovely Photo frames for the multitude of pictures I have!

>Registy stuff is always great.... but not the spice rack, I have that.

I hope this is helpful, I have no idea sometimes how to express my good fortune at having such fantastic friends and family.... so Thank you! This is in no way an expectation list.

Happy Christmas and Holidays! More knitting content to come!!

Dang.... I got Tagged!

A Little Yarn On the Side tagged me yesterday with the Six Things Meme.
The rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random, arbitrary things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Hey at least it's only six... there are usually fun. Check Toni's out... they are neat! The first one almost made me spit out my tea!

My 6 random, arbitrary things:

1.I like baths, but usually shower, because I can't do anything that relaxes me in the tub.... the knitting or the book could get wet!

2.I would rather be playing in the mud.

3.I own two game consoles and two handheld game players.... three of which are Nintendo.

4.Scrapbooking and I don't get along. It takes too long! LOL

5.I want to sketch and draw more, so last week I went to the art store and picked up some supplies. Pen nibs, India ink, my favorite lead of pencil and a kneadable eraser among them... I have some great plans!

6.My favorite three teas are Orange Pekoe, Earl Grey and Hawaian Colada Roobios. Yum

And I now tag.....

Erika
Chrissy
Fodeska
Anna
Jan
Aesderina

Please feel free to play along.. tagging isn't always nessecary!