Which-Crafts?

1. Handspun Scarf, in the “oooh soft” post I showed pictures of the yarn I spun from fiber I got from Grafton Fibers. I knit up a scarf that I love, from my favorite simple scarf pattern. The pattern makes a nice reversible cushy scarf. It also works well with the irregular color and texture of the handspun yarn. The scarf itself is about 5.5 feet long and about 6″ wide. The picture is a bit sucky cause I took it with my phone.

2. In “into the dye pot with you!” I dyed a bunch of fiber, some of which was some a light turquoise/blue BFL, later I found some BLF that had escaped dyeing. During the holidays I took another stab at it and while I didn’t match, I did come up with a good complimentary color. At the time I didn’t post pictures, I snagged the camera at work for these. The lighter color in the back of this picture is the old dye batch, the darked one in front is the new dye batch.  There are a lot more pictures of it over here if you are interested.

So I am sitting here watching Knitty Gritty (am I the only one who finds the hostess to be incredibly annoying?), but what i am thinking about is why I haven’t knit much lately. I have a ton of projects just waiting to be done, some started and some not. I knit one scarf over the winter (for myself, I am generally a selfish knitter), I knit it out of my handspun and it was lovely to knit and worked up fast. It provided a lovely distraction from the landslide of socks, and fingerless mits and other things that are already on the needles.

I even started a few things, hoping they would fire me up. I actually made a really goods start on Eunny’s Endpaper mitts. But right now I am all blah. I was looking at my Aibhlinn the other day and realized that I hated it so much that I ripped it out (all skein and 1/2 of Lavold Silky Wool). It really needed it, on good days I knit loosely, and I apparently was knitting stoned one day (not really) and the gauge might as well have been bad lace for all the wonky shapes and overlarge stitches that were in a few rows. The yarn is lovely and has a nice texture but also has a lot of drape, the pattern was all but invisible and it was excruciatingly boring to knit, especially cause eventhough it was boring I had to pay attention while I knit it.
It was kind of freeing to just rip it out, I still want to use that yarn for a cowl, but now I am just going to design it myself (I am thinking of an allover cable pattern kind of similar to Grumperina’s Shifting Sands). But I am thinking of ripping out most of the “on-the-needle” projects that just aren’t progressing, maybe freeing them will allow them to become something that I’ll enjoy knitting more. And also it would hopefully allow room in my time planning and project planning for projects that inspire me now, instead of projects that used to inspire me.

Projects on the needles now:

• Endpaper Mits
• Aibhlinn - restarted and probably will need to be restarted again
• Koigu striped toe up socks
• Entrelec Felted Bag
• Koigu Cross Stitch Scarf by QueerJoe (this I am so close to finishing it would be a crime if I didn’t)
• A hat with a ear warmer band, bodged together from a variety of patterns.
• Stupidly simple lace scarf in 100% kid mohair.
• New Knitting bag/purse, pattern by me
• AND I suspect that if I did through the stash i would find a few others.
• PLUS 2 scarves I have to weave the ends in on

Knit Projects that are currently inspiring me that I am not yet doing anything with:

• an “inside out” perl side out hat made of variegated yarns
• Sweater in Big Girl Knits, I’ve even skeined the yarn, just haven’t started it yet
• Hooded sleeveless cardigan, have to design it, card the fiber, and spin the yarn first - for the Dye, Spin, Knit-along, I am running behind
• Bobby Bear, pattern from Blue sky alapaca
• Double knit baby blanket, Hoover blanket from Knitty
• Hat to match handspun scarf with left over yarn
• More socks, I really would like to master these - at least getting a pair that fits (right now what think I really want is the end product that I think I will eventually be able to make as opposed to wanting to go through the process of actually knitting them)

From the first list I am going to aim to finish the Cross Stitch Scarf, and the knitting bag I think first. Then the mitts and the socks. The entrelac bag and the random hat will probably get recycled for other later projects. The project that was Aibhlinn will get put on the back burner till I have more patience or maybe a long car trip. Not sure about how I will tackle the new projects yet, but I think I need the satisfaction of finishing a few things before my concentration gets any more diffuse.
p.s. the reason for all the chat and no pics, is that my camera went for a swim, I am saving up for a Cannon S3 IS, its going to be a little while though

I haven’t been posting much, because I have been largely spinning my wheels (and not the kind that make yarn). And when I am not getting anything crafty done, I am working on Capricon. For those of you who don’t know, Capricon is a science fiction convention. This year I am the guest liaison, responsible for being the main contact for the all of the convention guests, this is mostly a correspondence job. I am also running the green room, which is a hospitality suite for all of the guests, convention committee, and program presenters. Basically providing breakfast, lunch, interstitial snacks and a good meeting place for everyone busy running the convention for 2.5-3 days (depending on how you count).

I had resisted posting about this here, because I have been keeping it all fiber related, but then DUH! the point of the title of this blog as that I do all kinds of crafts and cooking is one of them. And right now I am prepping and planning to do one of the most intense bouts of food planning I’ve ever done.

I know I need to plan for a variety of dietary needs, and I need to provide more than basic quality foods. I want a breakfast that people think is pretty spiff, and a really satisfying lunch. I know I can have a microwave, but not a toaster oven (quote unquote -”Nothing that glows”) I am really missing my micro/convection oven right now, it didn’t glow.

I am planning some hot crock-pot like stuff like minestrone soup, potato leek soup, Ham and Bean soup, Chilli, Zuppa Toscana, some sort of veggie chowder. I actually plan one meatatarian and one vegetarian hot crock of yum for lunches both Friday and Saturday (4 actual different flavors, 2 a day). I am planning some pick up and go food, cheese, crackers, sandwiches etc. and some sweets, some home made and some from various other places.

My friend Greg suggested a Chocolate fountain, and being that I ran past one the next day at the store, I decided that his suggestion was part of fate. So I will have a chocolate fountain.

Also in the vein of crafts, is the theme decorating I plan on doing for the Green Room.  But more on that later.

I also have at least 2 fiber posts in the queue.  I hope that I get to them soon.

So Helen over at Knitting in the Shadows has tagged me for doing the 6 Weird Things meme, I don’t usually do meme’s, but since I was tagged, I thought I would go along with this one - So beware, 6 weird things about me below (are you sure you’re ready for this?) Helen I am sorry I am running kind of behind on this, I wrote this all up a few weeks ago and then it disappeared while I was proofing it, and I hate doing work twice. *sigh*

1. Socks - they have to match, not color, but in texture, thickness and height. I want them to feel the same on each of my feet.

2. I am strangely anal about places I like to sit. In a regular size classroom its about 3 rows back in the center, in a large auditorium or theater its about 10-15 rows back right in the center. In a restaurant I like to sit with my back away from the doors and the major traffic flow. On the metra I like to sit facing the direction the train is going, with my right shoulder up against the window and in the back half of a large window.

3. I like to nest, on my bed I sleep with about 10 pillows on the bed and roll up in my blankets. On the couch I usually sit on there is usually a pile of supplies and books and “stuff” related to whatever projects I have been working on and what I have been snacking on.

4. I generally lack attention to detail and forward momentum on projects, unless I am picking up a new hobby or doing research on some new “hobby horse”. Then the level to which my obsessiveness can reach frightens those around me. With the Internet at my fingertips I can find, catalog and absorb information fairly quickly.

5. I like things clean and neat, but as any of you who have been to my house know, I can’t ever seem to keep it that way. I would rather be lazy than do the work, but I wish my house would keep itself clean, I don’t like it messy, i just don’t want to clean it up.

6. I have a love of romance novels, developed when I was young and worked at the drug store. But to keep my brain from rotting, I now only allow myself 1 author at time. When I was in high school, I only read/purchased LaVyrle Spencer, when she retired from writing, picked Jennifer Crusie as my new romance author.

As for tagging - I think everyone in the blogosphere has already done this, and I don’t have a lot of blog friends yet to drop this on. But being that this cross-posts to LJ, I encourage some of my LJ friends to take this up and post it in their own LJs.