Thank God for Stash

This year has seemed fairly tight financially, I just never seemed to be coming out ahead nearly as much as I'd have liked, it's been fairly stressful for I am determined to take my kids to see the Pharaoh Tutankhamun while he's so near to us (my parents took me the last time-- it was an event that I feel shaped my future). Luckily for me, I have stash so scrounging up projects wasn't anymore difficult then stepping into my basement. So I was a silent participant in the summer of stash this year, partially because I only heard rumors and partially because I avoid committment whenever possible (why, oh, why did I commit to Serrano, I'll never know). Not to mention that I'd have failed miserably because I did happen to find some "extra" money here and there that just screamed to be spent on yarn.

Well, I found out yesterday that I can expect to have @5% less for the next year to spend. I processed this information last night and thought of possible solutions, getting a second job?-- no, ick-- can't do it when I have an 11 year old son that often remarks on how much he likes cuddling with me in the evenings, cutting back on expenses?-- not much left at this point. I was going to buy a new computer this year since mine has been in the shop more then it's been home this year and it will soon be obsolete (thanks Bill), I could cut cable, but that's only $25 per month and really the only channels I watch are in the upper cable range. I've already dropped my car insurance (live in a city with great public transit-- I'm not driving illegeally) and we can do without Marco's Pizza delivery and the occasional eat out that we do. But really, when it comes down to it, it's the superfluous things like DVDs, shoes, fabric and yarn that I can live without.

I think I just felt the earth tremble as 5 people fainted.

The only reason I can say this is because of stash. Remember the mention above about the Summer of Stash and the basement? Let me assure you that my yarn (and fabric) holdings most likely exceed my life expectancy right now. What will be tough will be making do with the old rather then indulging on newly introduced yarns when keeping my needles clicking, but as a single mother, I think that really, I've had to be tougher then this many times in my life.

This will build character.

I was about to regale my premition for this life experence with a photogenic journey of the ugly duckling yarn style, but it would seem that my dear sweet daughter felt that her music needed the batteries more then my camera, so I will have to leave that for next time.

No suprises here.

You are Shetland Wool. You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered.

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Of Sense and Sensibility

This weekend was crazy busy, so when I sat down to knit, I didn't have the attention span to work on Serrano as I've already discovered that I have to be in peak condition to count to seven over and over and over again.

But I also have issues that I'm trying to reconcile in my mind so that I will love my sweater once again. The pattern isn't symetrical. I want each section of the body to independently contain a series of pattern repeats, I don't like the continuous pattern. I'm seriously playing with the idea of using some blocks of st. st at the underarm seaming area to cater to my sensibilities a bit, but I don't know if I will like this better. I just think that lack of mathmatical perfection is going to grate at me (boy would Mr. Noffsinger be ROFLHAO right now-- I flunked his geometry class, hand to take it over-- of course I got an A when he wasn't standing in front of me, but I digress).

Anyway, between trying to decide if I would like big hunks of anti-lace while achieving logic, or if that would bother me more, I keep looking at the yarn and seeing cables. Oh, what a temptation to use the designger's schematic and insert cables......................

Which is why I'm working on something different for the most part (though I know not what that will be), until I fall off the Seranno fence and can commit to a single path.

How old Can you Go?

This blogger asks what the oldes UFO in your possession is. Well I don't know what it is now (though I'm suspecting it's a pale blue sweater that I started and stalled out on for my daughter when she was about 3 or 4-- she's 17 now). But I can tell you what the oldest piece used to be.

Two summers ago I was rummaging through a closet in my parents house and I came up with a sweater that I'd started in 1982. Seeing that I was hip and trendy at the time, the sweater was not going to cut it in that incarnation. So I ripped (I get a perverse pleasure out of ripping, BTW-- I rip finished sweaters that have exceeded their fasion-life expectancy). And I used a table runner pattern from Majic Crochet to create a shawl/scarf thing with fringe on the ends. It's wide enough to be a shawl, but it's made out of sport weight yarn so it also compresses to become a nice scarf-- very handy when you are going to the night club in the dead of winter, scarf outside, shawl inside, no need to carry extra clothes.

The yarn was an acrylic with an irredecent metalic thread wrapped around it (which of course won't photograph). The yarn was bought at Lee Wards, it was a pound skein and it cost, according to the price sticker, $2.50.