25 July 2006

ooh, look!

an FO!

now, this one was finished but un-blocked when i decided to take on this little endeavor, which is why it isn't in the stash photo or on the sidebar. and its such a timely FO, what with the country just easing out of the grip of the biggest heatwave we've felt in a while, and august not yet come to pass here in the sauna of the south. no matter, i love it, and wore it around the house last night for an hour.

(ignore the smiling idiot head)
scarf 2

mistake rib scarf - cast-on 23
yarn: 2 skeins rio de la plata handspun & handpainted merino wool
size US 10.5 needles
specs: 7 inches wide and 94! inches long

close-up of the stitch pattern & truer colors
scarf 1

it's home for the next few weeks at dunwoody yarn, helping to sell more rio
scarf 5

i LOVE LOVE LOVE the colors of this yarn, and i think the stitch pattern, plus alternating skeins every two rows (one hank had more green, the other more yellow) helped disperse the colors more. for some reason, it made me think of tomatoes. weird. i'm so happy with this FO, it was exactly what i envisioned - super-wide, super-long & super simple.

awesome!
a*

22 July 2006

eye candy friday saturday

in the spirit of purly whites eye candy friday, even though it's saturday, i'm going to share with you some of my favorite photos i've taken lately. i figure i'm not the only one up early on a saturday to walk the dog, now sitting around with my coffee looking to see if anyone's updated their blogs. (oh crap, did that rhyme?)

they're holga b/w, so not much "candy" per se, but i love these photos i took a few weeks ago at oakland cemetery

pathway

empty eyes

stone daisies

next time i'll share a little more color. i'm off to shoot a dale chihuly exhibit, then babysit a photography gallery...which means 4 whole hours of knitting!
a*

20 July 2006

my resolve is already getting shaky...

but it's not yarn...well, not exactly.

would buying a drop spindle and roving count as cheating? i know the answer is yes, i think i just needed to see it in writing to realize that it's not really a good idea.

sorry for the short post. it's been so hot and i've been working very long hours. i've also been working on a new website for a friend. it's knitting-related, and as soon as it's in good shape i'll share it with all of you! =]

eta: i'm just curious...what's with everyone deciding to open their own yarn store? i mean, i get dying and selling your own yarn line. and i really do get that we all love yarn and would love for it to be our day job. but whatever happened to supporting the heck out of your LYS? it just seems like "opening a yarn store" is the Aught's (or at least 2006's) version of "starting your own web design business" or "opening a computer store" of the 90's. it's kinda weird.

of course, i'm still working on the retirement dream i've had ever since i was 15 and visited england for the first time: my own sheep farm. no yarn stores for me...i want fleecy fuzzy faces to love and care for. =]

a*

18 July 2006

the hard truth

alrighty, let's see what we have here. last post, i showed you my stash as of about 1 year ago (not as long as i thought...not sure whether that's good or bad). that was then:

100_0665

and this is now:

stash
please click on the photo and view it at flickr with tags to see the details

a few things to note:

  • pictured is approximately 110 average-length skeins of yarn in various weights. i'll work out the meterage this weekend, since i'm curious to know. i'd also like to work out the approximate investment. hard facts help.
  • not pictured now but still very much in the stash are the 16 (16!) hanks of naturgaarn, 6 skeins of bernat, and 6 skeins of tlc amore from the top of the older photo. i just didn't have the room or the time to drag them out and add them in, but they took up a nice chunk of real estate in the last photo, along with the bag (also not pictured) and the yarns directly below and to the left of it...those projects were finished. yay! but...
  • in the first photo is the top half of the bed, with everything nicely spaced. in the second is the entire surface of my queen-size bed viewed from atop a 3-foot stool. my head, and therefore the camera, was against the ceiling. most of the yarns are stacked so that they would all fit.

since this meager task took all night, i'm going to leave the individual cataloging for the weekend. i'm beat and a little speechless. i had actually forgotten about some of those yarns in only a year. boy-howdy, i have a lot of work ahead of me, but at least i have some really nice yarn to work with.

thank you for your comments! =]
a*

ps - also not pictured is the hank of sunshine yarns superwash sock in waterfall that i bought last week before i made this commitment. dangit! her yarns are so lovely, and it was an anniversary goodie sale, and i just couldn't seem to help myself! but i'd rather feel good about treating myself to those pretty colors, rather than guilty.

17 July 2006

let's begin, shall we?

hi, my name is amy, and i am an impulsive yarn-a-holic.

(the first step is admitting you have a problem.)

so let's get to the root of the problem. i'm a bit of a fiber/color nut. that in itself isn't the problem. the real problem, the root, is that i am an impulse/emotional shopper. this really affects just about every aspect of my purchasing habits, not just yarn, but lately, the yarn stash has become an excellent visual barometer of just how much potential this particular habit has. let's explore.

about a year and a half ago, i came across a thread on the fantastically lovely craftster forums titled yarnaholic seeking support group. thinking "what a great idea, even though i don't have TOO much of a stash..." i took the following photo:

100_0665
(clicking the photo will take you to my flickr photo with tags)

not terrible, right? it's gotten much, much worse since then. and sadly, most of the projects the above yarns were intended for have not been finished.

so the question is...how did we get to this point? well, i have never been a responsible shopper or money-saver. i have long admitted that i have a serious problem with impulse-buying and emotional shopping, the later being when i shop to make myself feel better even though i should be saving. believe it or not, the first step is NOT admitting you have a problem, at least not if you aren't doing anything about it. and my impulse shopping tendencies don't limit themselves to yarn; rather, it changes from week to week based on my current mood: one week it will be yarn, another it will be patterns and fabric, yet another it might be film for my various cameras, books, cd's, exercise equipment i don't use, etc. etc. etc.

so now, right now, i am declaring a 6 month moratorium on unneccesary purchases. if i don't NEED it, i don't buy it. this will not be a loose definition of "need" either. if i can get by just fine without whatever it is i'm jonesing for, i can't have it. (this obviously includes yarn, right?) in the meantime, i am going to catalog my entire current stash here on this blog, and before i can purchase any more yarn, i first need to make it through at least 80% of my current stash.

truly, you have no idea. i have a ridiculous stash that would probably make any fiber nut with limited funds weep, and then beat me senseless for letting it all sit in my cedar chest untouched.

i'm counting on you all (as in all of you that haven't found my blog yet, but hopefully will soon) to provide a little support and tough love. i don't care how badly i want koigu, or noro, or some pretty silk for knit and tonic's sizzle tank. i can't have it. not until i work my way through most of the "gotta have it" stuff i have already.

stay tuned...
a*