“I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls off a string.” — L.M. Montgomery
I’ve always admired beaded stitch markers in LYS’s, but never spent the money, figuring I could make them myself. And then never did.
A little browsing through AC Moore yesterday with the daughter, plus an unveiling of the beads left over from my Fort Lauderdale days, resulted in this pleasant diversion today.
And we have stitch markers! The wire wraps came back to me pretty quickly, and as usual, some are of far better quality than others.
My time on the couch yesterday yielded a nearly finished Booga bag. I have four more feet of i-cord to whip out, then I think I’m going to add a flap to this one, and somehow incorporate blue/green turquoise beading into the design.
We’re swinging into February, and traditionally, February is the month where I tend to get a little wired. I think it’s the darkness and the cold. Cabin fever? The endless stretch of gray that looms before me, oh, until about May 25th, when the trees finally start to bud? I’m twitching just thinking about it.
Anyway. It’s still January, and I am trying to ride out the rest of the wave of “Peace on earth!”, “Auld Lang Syne!”, and “let’s get organized!”
Eh.
So I crammed all my yarn into Ziploc bags and threw it into the linen closet.
There.
Organized.
I labeled the bags.
And…
And in the spirit of what-the-hell-am-I going-to-do-with-this-shit…
Anyway. Consider me organized. Now leave me alone.
This freaking Waves scarf made out of Malabrigo is going to be waving me straight to the check-in desk at R-wing. I mean, how long can one scarf take?
The picture on the pattern shows this lovely blanket of a scarf very artfully draped over the shoulders of a woman who must be 2 feet tall. Because after 2.75 skeins of Malabrigo, this is all I have. This freaking thing eats yarn like there’s no tomorrow.
Luckily I was able to score two more skeins on eBay, so I guess I’ll just keep knitting and cabling and cabling and knitting, and maybe if I work really, really hard, in 2009 I’ll have a scarf.
So, bored with Malabrigo and the nightmare on cable street, I’m switching gears. Again.
All hail the Lorna’s Laces. It’s Shepard Worsted, and yes. It comes from my stash. Okay? All the crap I spouted on about last weekend, not spending money, etc., — I meant it.
It will be a Clapotis. I’ve posted the link before and am too lazy, aggravated, whatever, to do it again.
So I think I’ll start it tonight. Since (ah ha! Now she’s going to tell us why she’s mad!) the boyfriend has decided he is too tired to do our usual Saturday night movie thing, and while I am sure this is true, why couldn’t he have let me know this earlier, so I could have made alternate plans. I am not good with abrupt changes.
I am also not good without food. I’m going to go forage for my dinner at Wegman’s and return home to sulk and knit. More later.
I’m trying to start a meditation practice. Yesterday I mentioned engaging in a guided meditation that nearly put me out of commission. I was so utterly relaxed. I’m really making an attempt to live more mindfully. Meditation is part of that. So is simplifying my life, and reducing the amount of stuff I have become a slave to.
Last night I spent with my daughter, perusing the aisles at Target. Not to blast Target (or it’s evil twin W__mart), but the obscene consumerism over there has begun to make me twitch. If I bother to think about it. If I mindlessly wander, like I’m prone to do, then I’m overcome with how much I think I need this item, or that one. And I buy, buy, buy.
Before she dropped by, I was organizing my yarn stash (or trying to), and was stuffing skeins into my curio cabinet in the dining room. When I realized the whole project looked like ass, and I hadn’t even begun to make a dent in the stash, I got wildly anxious and threw everything back where it came from. That’s when I realized I have an obscene amount of yarn. More than I will ever use.
BUT. This yarn brings me a strange feeling of comfort. It feels like money in the bank. Though I suspect actual money in the bank would feel more secure, but at this point, what do I know about that.
Anyway. The stash is going into labeled ziplock bags.
From there I hope to store it on simple wire shelves upstairs in the spare bedroom — well within my sight. I know what I want to use each bag of yarn for — it did indeed have a purpose when I bought it. So when I get the urge to fondle fiber and drool on new colors, I plan to march straight upstairs and do it from stash.
My problem, and it is indeed a problem, is that I view shopping (for yarn and other stuff) as a means of self-care. Now, shopping for food is probably a valid means of self care. Shopping for earrings or shoes or a new lipstick is probably not. But it’s just like the little video above says it is. I work all day, come home exhausted and spent, and think of all the different ways that I suck, and then think, rather obsessively at times, of how I could fix that by buying just the right handbag, or yarn, or the needles that looked really cool, or three shirts that will make me look thinner than I am. Always, the message is that what I have, and what I am, is not good enough.
This is a crazy world we live in. It helps to remember that I did not engineer this wild consumerist society by myself. I am being manipulated and cajoled on an hourly basis that I need more stuff. The trick is to learn to be more mindful.
Does this make sense to anyone else but me, I wonder. It’s okay if it doesn’t. This is my blog, and I’ll write train of thought jibberish if I want to!
I would like to find a soft little case for my digital camera. My mind tells me that Vera Bradley just introduced their Spring ‘08 prints and they make this fabulous little techie case, and Parkleigh is just a short drive away…
I’m trying to mindfully live, remember. So I am knitting some Berroco alpaca up into a striped bag that I will felt, and I am thrilled with the colors. Much better than any overpriced Vera Bradley, any day!
Wisp is blocked. The cat slept on her last night as she dried on the spare bed.
Like I said, all I need is buttons. It remains to be seen if buttons from my grandmother’s stash will work, or if they’ll be too heavy, and I’ll need to run by Joann’s to pick up some light weight shell buttons.
One more shot of the stash (or part of it). On the right is a pile of Koigu topped with Silky Wool, and on the left is some Fleece Artist, Schaeffer, and Lorna’s Laces. Yes, I have plans for all of it. Absolutely.
I really enjoyed knitting Wisp. The pattern was both easy to memorize and quickly changing enough so as not to cause undue boredom. I really like how it turned out in the natural colored alpaca I bought two years ago at Rhinebeck.
I did this guided meditation this morning that nearly rendered me comatose. I must have been very, very susceptible to suggestion. Either that or very, very tired.
I have the weekend utterly to myself as the boyfriend is still away. I thought I might see a movie by myself down at The Little later on, or maybe tomorrow afternoon. There’s a knitting group that’s meeting tomorrow morning that I’d like to stop in on. I should organize my yarn. The bathrooms need scouring. Yet it’s noon and I’m still in my pajamas.
The boyfriend gets back very late Monday night. (Note to self. Don’t try to be two places at one time. Take a personal day on Tuesday, if you can.)
I think I’m going to organize my yarn in ziplock bags, then put them on a very visible shelf in the spare bedroom. This will accomplish two things.
1) Yarn is protected from cats, moths, and other beasties.
2) Yarn is visible so I can “shop” from my stash this year, and stop making a trip to the LYS a form of recreation. Although it is fun, clearly, my bank account is not so convinced. I really need to practice mindful spending.
Posted by purlsoffastring 
Posted by purlsoffastring 
Posted by purlsoffastring 
