From The Craft Room

Archive for October, 2008

Yesterday I decided it was time to get back to working on the crocheted Popcorn & Cranberry Christmas garland (Ravelry Link) that I’ve had as a WIP for almost 10 years (I started it when I got the issue of Crafts back in 1998). Heck, it’s been over two years since I drug the project out of storage and found the instructions. If I really concentrated on it, maybe in the two months before Christmas I will finally have enough of this stuff to decorate the tree!

Well, I sat myself down in my rocking chair, refreshed my memory by reading the pattern instructions and set to crochet. OMG, I’ve turned into a yarn snob. I worked on this last Christmas season with no issues, but after a year of knitting and crocheting with “good” yarns, this acrylic baby weight crap I am using for this project felt horrible. It’s coarse on my hands, it splits, it doesn’t slide well on the hook. *sigh* Maybe this is why it has taken me a decade to produce such a measly amount of garland.

I should have realized I had turned into one a few days earlier. I was making a practice pom pom for my eyelet hat with a gizmo I bought (more about that in a future post) and grabbed some acrylic from my bin. I kept holding that pom pom after I finished it and felt that something was off. I almost didn’t make one for the hat at all, but I did and it is fine. Now I realize that I prefer the feel of natural fibers.

My friend Marly (from the YarnThing podcast) designed the cutest hat pattern that was published in the current Holiday issue of Knit Simple magazine. The minute I saw it, I knew I wanted to make it.

I’ve been trying to get it on the needles for two weeks now. I finally wound my skein and decided to cast on at my SnB meetup on Tuesday. Well, I got down there and guess what? Forgot to bring my needles. I had swatched earlier in the day and they were still sitting by the recliner. D’oh! I contemplated working on something else, but I really wanted to make this hat, so I bought another set of circs (I needed size 8 DPNs anyway to finish it) and set off. Well, I’m wishing I had waited now. Even though I tried to cast on as loose as possible, I think the edge is still too tight. I really should’ve used a bigger needle to cast on. *sigh*

Then I did a complete goober move when I was home and wanted to show Marcus what I’d started. I put the two inches I completed at SnB on my head and proceeded to pull half of it off the needles. Yay! I love putting stuff back on the needles. (NOT!)

Well, we’ll see shortly if I need to frog it and start again.

It may be only October, but I need to make a couple of resolutions regarding my crafting.

I came to a grim realization the night before last. As Marcus came into my craft room to help me wind a skein of yarn, he looked around and said, “Geez, you’ve got a lot of yarn!” It made me really take a look at what I’ve got.

That’s the thing that happens when I’m upset and/or depressed. I purchase stuff. I’ve been really down lately. I usually have something in mind to make right when I purchase it, but I’m looking at some of these skeins and have no clue as to why they were purchased.

I’ve bought umpteen skeins of sock yarn and have yet to actually make a sock.

So, the first resolution: as of right now, I’m putting myself on a yarn diet until I finish the following fifteen projects listed below:

1. Noni Green Market Bag
2. Interlacements Ruana
3. Rust Goes Green market bags (2 of them started)
4. Crocheted Sunhat
5. Crocheted popcorn garland
6. Felted blue square knitting bag
7. Knitted pumpkins
8. Dad’s Clogs
9. Marcus’ Dishcloth
10. Noni Medallion Bag
11. Boobie Socks
12. Mistake Rib Scarf
13. Eyelet hat
14. Clapotis
15. Harry Potter bookmark

Man, that seems like a lot, and I haven’t even listed everything I have yarn for. No wonder the owner of one of my LYSs says she loves me. Too bad she’s not going to be loving me for quite a while. Then let’s not even talk about all the other craft supplies I have (quilting, cross-stitching, scrapbooking, painting, etc).

Well, with the crap going on at my job, I need to focus more on my creative side to stay sane and hopefully I’ll get all of these items knocked off my list.

Second resolution: I will learn to use my embroidery machine.

I don’t know what is keeping me from tackling this one. It’s been over 9 months since I got it for Christmas from Marcus and I have yet to embroider anything. It’s like since I can’t get it perfect right off the bat, I’m afraid to do it or something. Lame.

Third Resolution: Organize my craft room again. I already wrote about how out of control it is in here.

Fourth Resolution: Figure out an awesome product to market and sell using my awesome crafting skills.

OK, that should be a good jump start on this chaos that I’ve created.