Stashes are crazy out of control creatures.

That are both Lovely and Terrible to behold. 

It's true! My Guild had a stash swap at a meeting two months ago and I tried to pull some things out to get rid of...... honest I TRIED. It didn't work though. Not at all, my stash loves me and wants to stay at home. So a few weeks ago I pulled it all out. As much as I could find anyway, I have a feeling that something is missing and I searched everywhere but that white yarn I just can't find!

Here it is. All I could find.

To some I know this is a puny stash.... but it's mine and I love it, I love it all!

Some is planned projects. We all have a few of those, and some is just a beautiful acquisition that I needed to add. I don't want to get rid of it....... I want to KNIT it. So there has to be some way that I can gain some type of organization, so nothing gets lost. Honestly though, it escapes me. The idea of organization for this or any of my crafty things makes me think that if I had a week I may get it done, but only if I took it in small bites and didn`t have a deadline. LOL.

I love my stash and I hope to show it off in finished things soon. I`ll keep you posted.

The Questionables

We all have them, projects that have gone awry.

Sweaters that linger at the end of the bed waiting for a bit of completion, that zipper or finishing button.

I am not immune, I know I am not alone. So when is enough enough?

When do you decide that the yarn is better served in another project?

I have a few confusing projects at the moment. A few however are straight forward finishes.

These two need to be finished with zippers. 

Yup, just zippers, thankfully.... but also I am not great at zippers, the last one I tried did not work out so well. So I think I have to take some time to check out a tutorial and then get the zipper in. So that is the stall. Time to watch a video on zippers. lol

This sweater is too short to wear much, but I do like it enough to wear it.

So I have to undo the base and knit it longer. I have yarn, but I don't really have much info on it, I don't know the needle size as it pre-dates Ravelry. IS that possible? Yes, yes it is. So not only do I have to take out the base edge I have to try needles out to see what works..... another road block but not insurmountable.

Frogging! for sure!

No discussion needed..... it's a goner.

This little number is a bit of a issue for me. I like the pattern and I have some to finish, but more than I though. So frog or finish the knitting and put it together.....

I waffle a bit on this one because it should be a very useable sweater when all is said and done. It currently lives in my working basket, so I can move on to it once my current project is complete, but I seem to keep avoiding it. So I will have to keep considering the pros and cons. It's no so far from being done that it will be a terrible slog, but I still have two front pieces to make. This is why I usually knit in the round.... less procrastination about completing pieces.

This blue number is a good sweater, but I never wear it. It's a sad combination of being too bulky for me and a mis-matching of pattern/yarn. Lionbrand Homespun was not made to be a sweater for my chubby little body! So as a result I think a frogging or give away is in order.... can't decide.

This next one is my Central Park Hoodie, I used it alot... but mostly under a vest. It's warm and lovely, but not long enough...... so I'd have to make it longer or totally re-knit it. depending on the construction. I am unsure whether I knit it in one piece or in pieces.

The good thing is I have more yarn and I have the details on Ravelry, so I can find a solution readily enough. This one was a great knit and if I did have a piecing issue I could totally see myself making another. No sweat, I like the sweater and I want to wear it more, but fit issues are a problem. So this one will also have some specific consideration go into it.

Following that we have a recently completed object. The Oatmeal Playmate.

Another problem sweater. A great knit, a nice fit....... but see how the collar pulls up in front? Yea, re-knit that in five different variations to get a good fit...... this was the last. None worked for me. So good house sweater? Or just wait a few months for my hatred to subside and try another method?  So many choices. My last sweater object for this post is a red wool sweater that is mt first personal steeking project.

,

I am glad I knit it and I have a problem that was out of my control. My animal was sick on the arm..... and I couldn't salvage the yarn. So the trouble here is that I don't have the same amount of wool needed to finish the arms, (no ordering more, it was discontinued a few years ago) however the baggie you see sitting on the side is remarkably similar. if not the same red. So it may work. I only cut the steek on the sleeve I was working on so that if I decided to frog I wouldn't loose the whole sweater. This one is less of a question for me. After having the yarns out in the lovely sunlight it was hard to tell them apart, which gives me a good feeling about substituting the Cascade in.

Wow, this was a long post with my sweater issues. Hope I didn't bore you and as I find my solutions I will update. My plan is to have them sorted by the end of the summer, when I will start needing sweaters again!

Comments are always welcome, suggestions too. Thanks for visiting! Hope your knitting is going well.

Shawls and neck things

Shawls!
Seriously....... a friend of mine wanted to see them all in one shot....

So here they are, with my dog!
I may do a "one a week" profile thing, but I have posted about each of them on this blog. I know it. LOL
I may do it anyway. I was playing with my stash the other weekend, trying to get things in some kind of order. I am pretty sure it didn't work. More photos on that to follow.

Mostly I am out of the shawl making stage, as a frenzied, must make kind of way. I still have one on the needles and I have a second planned, but it's not all consuming. The hardest part is wearing them all..... not all at once, that would be crazy. (but the picture may be funny)

Here is the first one in the triangular shawl as scarf knitting if my memory serves the Multnoma.

Really enjoyed knitting it, in fact this collection has more that one Multnoma in it. Three I think, two were also knitted as gifts, it's so easy and relaxing to knit up. In addition it makes variegated yarn look lovely!

Finish!

Bonus points for the studio audience that just thought of Mario Kart. 
There has indeed been completion of projects! Woo!

James' Blanket

All done. Bulky, squishy and fluffy after the washing. Sam and Simon adore it.... but you can have it when you want it James!

Red Blanket

 A blanket that I knit up to add to my box of gifts. I picked up a bunch of this Lion B Homespun from a local big box for a great price on boxing day. Two make a baby gift and having some for when I need one quick is great. You can see from the texture that its a box style pattern. Easy to kit and relaxing.


I did finish two other projects, but I don't have good photos of them, and I think both look more effective being modeled. So more information on the Oatmeal Playmate and the Sock yarn hat later. Hopefully in the next week, I am super close to being finished my Cassandra shawlette as well. So this update is the blanket edition of the blog lol. Less Works in progress for me!


Happy knitting and crafting this week!

Hey, it's me!

Just wanted to link to this blocking post on the Fraser Valley Knitting Blog.
I am one of the blockers, but the lovely knitting is a friends.
LOL    Link is the last word.
Enjoy?!?

Adventures on the weekend!

This is a delayed broadcast! lol

The adventures that I am referring to are from last weekend.Soooooo

Last weekend was busy for me. There were two early Mother's Day teas on Sunday! My sister her kiddlets, Sam and I spent most of Saturday busy making treats to take with us. Honestly the Kids and Sam were as helpful as they could be but honestly, their attention span is totally lacking. That being said Sam is excellent at floor cleanup.

We worked on three major projects.

The first- not food related. We worked on an upright garden in a shipping pallet

Yes, this was our resulting trip to the nursery. My sister saw the idea on a blog called Life on the Balcony and we both have pretty small backyards with limited gardening space. It is a far cry from the gardens that we grew up with, but anyway to grow fresh veggies and some strawberry plants is a good idea. She mentioned it to me and I got  a pallet from a work neighbor and we made sure that the supplies we needed were in the cart. 

To be honest we did not follow her directions exactly as I mentioned we were using some decorative plants but mostly edibles, and I have no finished photos as it wasn't filled by the two 40 liter bags of soil we used. More photos after the triumphant finish. WE did enjoy making it until the kids had their own meltdowns, but that's what happens at nap time.

The Second- Cake Pops. Yes that's right..... there are tools at the kitchen store for everything!

We mixed up a box of Cherry chip and went to town!

They looked especially interesting after they were dipped in chocolate and fun decorations.

These are cooled off and placed in a container upside-down, so please don't be concerned. WE had a great time! Yes they were yummy. You may want to know that one box of cake mix did all of this plus. I urge you to be going somewhere with these goodies if you make this kind of volume unless you plan on eating them all. Not that there is anything wrong with that plan. Just sayin'

The Third- Candy Sushi....... Stay with me.

See? not so crazy. You are looking at the genius combination of rice crispy squares, gummies and fruit roll-ups. You can find this all over the web right now, but we used Mommyknows as our inspiration. This is also a tutorial. Try it, love it!

Ya we made nigiri too! They were a big hit with the party people and very fun to make.

Turns out Sam likes sushi...... especially with marshmallows.

More knitting content next time. Hope you enjoyed this crafty diversion as much as we did making it. More projects to come I hope.