Okay, credit card bills are in danger of creeping back up after we got them down to zero, so I’m going cold turkey on the yarn.
Say a little prayer for me, folks, as I suffer through withdrawal, clutching my knitting needles.
So I finished my “I’m stalling” project, which was another bag. I did this to a) use up a skein in my stash, b) see what happens when you use a lighter weight than is called for, and c) put off working on that pink bag again.
I finished it up just before tonight’s DR wedding/party/free-for-all, and decided I’d pop it into the washing machine for a quick felt. So I did, and it felted to just about the size I wanted! But then I thought, well, I’ll just give it another couple of minutes to firm it up just a little more.
But then, as always happens, I gave my DR event my full attention and totally forgot about the bag in the washing machine. Which really shrank. It’s now a handbag in the literal sense, in that the body is just a bit bigger than my hand.
On the up side, I did learn that you can sub in a lighter wool, if you’re willing for it to be a little floppier and to felt down a little more. And as I’d hoped, the Araucania Nature Wool, which has a great variation in color within the skein, gave a nice effect. I think it looks kind of like blue tiger striping. It’s a little more subtle in person than in the picture. Hard to believe that this is the same pattern (more or less) as the Tessima.
I have two skeins of this yarn in blue-jean colors, and may knit it again, holding it double to see what the extra bulk does for the size. There’s enough of this blue left over to add in a nice, rich stripe or to do the handles with it. I’m considering these ‘mistakes’ to be exercises in learning about what the materials will do.
All in all, it’s not the effect I thought I’d get – but I’m still happy! I’ll add some kind of closure, and it’ll make a nice little kicky purse.
Tomorrow, I start on the pink bag again and do another DR wedding.
I love this guy’s dance: http://homepage.mac.com/evanbaumgardner/iMovieTheater24.html
And this song is hard to look away from, like a wreck on the highway. http://homepage.mac.com/evanbaumgardner/iMovieTheater6.html
So I’m pretty friendly with the folks at the local bagel shop, but lately the old guy in the back (every place has an old guy in the back) has gotten friendlier, too. So here’s an actual conversation from today:
Him: “Hi, sweetheart!”
Me: “Hi! How are you? You look worn out today!”
Him: “I am! I was up late abusing myself.”
Me: “Uh… heh heh. Well, sometimes…”
Him: “Too much red wine, staying up too late…”
Me: “Well, you have to live a litt..”
Him: “Sometimes, you know, you just gotta let the badger loose!”
Me: (nervous laugh) “See ya!”
Okay, so was it just my smutty mind that linked “abusing myself” and “let the badger loose” in a masturbatory way? Because if that’s what he meant, it’s TMI! And if it’s NOT what he meant, what the hell is the badger? What the heck is old bagel guy getting drunk and doing late at night?
…so I expect I should update my LJ too!
I decided to take a knitting class called “Beyond Beginners” to brush up on some skills. The class started tonight. So far, I’ve learned zippo. I think I’m a little beyond “Beyond Beginners,” but I’m hopeful that by the end of the course some new techniques may come to light. They better. I’m payin’ $45 bucks for this and missing my daughter’s bedtime one night a week.
It’s an interesting class because it’s taught by my 8th grade English teacher. We always had a great relationship, both of us being fairly free spirits. Of course, I keep slipping up and calling her Ms. Prater instead of her first name. Old habits die hard!
All three of my yarn auctions sold on eBay. Not at much above the minimum, but they sold, and that’s good enough for me. So I’ll be getting back a little bit of scratch. Which is good, because I bid on a swift. It’ll about balance out, if I win that auction.
With extra work in DR and many projects lined up for family members, I’m not sure that I’ll have enough bags to put on a respectable table at Simucon. I’ll evaluate again in a week or so. The current bag is going pretty quickly. However, I do think it’d be a great idea to have a stitch ‘n’ bitch at Simucon! I’m thinking about bringing extra needles and old skeins of acrylic yarn to teach anyone who wants to learn and give them supplies to take home. It’d be fairly informal, not like an official seminar. I’m not sure if folks would be interested, though.
And because I want to post something for the non-knitters, here’s a little slice of roleplaying humor.
I went into the yarn store to get a row counter, since I keep losing mine (this makes three, thank goodness they’re cheap) and I made the mistake of browsing the discount bin.
They had two balls of Crystal Palace Deco-Ribbon in color 117, blue and white on sale for 20% off.
I could probably have resisted if I didn’t already know about a handbag pattern that called for exactly two balls of Deco-Ribbon. So then I was able to visualize exactly what I could make with it (assuming I didn’t go the scarf route and pair it with something flashy). Next thing you know, I’m at the counter being rung up.
Moral of the story: If you’re a yarn addict, just don’t go into the yarn store, idjit! Jeez!
I know some of you DR people auction off your wedding stuff – but this is one of the best wedding auctions I’ve ever seen. You MUST read the text.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4146756343&category=6#ebayphotohosting
I bid on yarn. If I win it but the auction doesn’t close until after the 1st, do I stil get credit?
No, I didn’t think so.
Weak, weak, weak.
My local yarn store has gotten in a bunch of Kureyon, including at least ten skeins in color 40! If you haven’t already placed an order with yarnmarket, I’d be glad to buy you a few skeins (they’re 8.50 per) and send them along. You could paypal me. Like I say, I don’t know if you’ve already ordered, since I remember they were out of stock before. Holler if you want to do it!
As for why I was in there, I lost my size 11 16″ circular, and I needed a new one to remake that stupid messed up bag project. So it wasn’t for yarn! Honest!
Soap volunteers, I’m sorry, I’m going to need to cancel the soap. Tessima was my table buddy for Simucon, so I need to step back and think about what I want to do on that front.
It seems like every GM I wanted to see at Simucon won’t be there, for one reason or another.
I already miss the recent off-staff people. Sigh.
