Stash reduction begins: 5 balls of Bernat Boa

5 balls of Bernat Boa have been officially removed from the stash and are now designated for gift wrapping purposes. What the hell was I thinking, buying that stuff? I tried to cast on for a scarf and got frustrated on the first row.

I've added a box to my sidebar, taking today's stash total and noting my goal for the upcoming year. Yes, I'm aiming to reduce my stash by 105 skeins of yarn by knitting it up, selling or just plain giving yarn away. The yarn purchase ban is also in effect, so in theory, if I knit up just 2 balls a week, I should be able to reach my goal with some room to spare.

Commute knitting for this week is comprised of a third Greenaway Glove (don't ask) with some awesome Alchemy Migration, and a Koolhaas hat for Christmas gifting. I need to make some time tonight to cast on for both of these projects.

Back in the saddle

I was somewhat boggled last week to download my Ravelry stash spreadsheet and see that I have 255 skeins of yarn in my possession.

EEEEEE.

I've instituted a complete yarn purchase ban until the end of 2009. (Heh. We know how well the last one went.) I've been playing around with the idea of posting a stash reduction goal for 2009, but really have no idea what the basis of my projection would be. Historical yarn consumption? Number of potential knitting hours per week multiplied by probable rate? Number of probable felting projects involving double and triple-stranding?

I'll have to think on this a bit more. And what would the reward be?? More yarn seems, um, counter-productive...

April roundup

You know what they say about pride, and how it goeth...

Due to circumstances far beyond my control, April should have been a wicked awesome month for getting some decent yardage on my projects, which is why added a little extra to my goals for the month. HA. I was so stressed out that I could barely manage to get through each day, let alone have the presence of mind to concentrate on a knitting project. I have knit and reknit the second sleeve of my Henley Perfected pullover an embarrassing number of times, and it's still not done. Yikes.

Finished projects
The Kaylee socks were mostly completed in March, so they almost don't even count as a finished object for April. And I did knit a tea cosy as well, in an attempt to shake off the bad knitting vibes.

Projects in process
I made no further progress on the Hedera sock this month--no commute knitting, you see. And I've got about a sleeve and a half done for Henley Perfected. I started a felted box, but the needle size was way off, so I had to rip it before I got any real progress, and I haven't revisited it since.

Stash knit down progress
20 metres to finish the Kaylee socks, about 400 metres on the pullover, and 140 metres on the tea cosy. 560 metres for April!

I hit a 20% off sale on 4 skeins of Cascade 220 in brown, and traded for 8 skeins of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran. I gave up on the yarn purchase ban, obviously, and I'm glad to have gotten enough yarn in both cases for garment-sized projects.

May goals
I really, really want to get this pullover done, so I'm limiting this month's goals to three:

1. Finish the Henley Perfected pullover!
2. Finish the Hedera socks.
3. Start and finish a felted box.

FO: Desperation Tea Cosy

I started the second sleeve of my Henley Perfected, and just as I was finishing the 60th row of stockinette, I realized that I hadn't switched to the larger needle when I was supposed to, some 55 rows back. Ugh. There's been a lot of knitting going on in the past few weeks, and very little of it has been retained.

So I figured I needed a small, quick project to refocus my mind and hopefully shake off the bout of bad knitting that's been plaguing me this month. Here's my aptly named Desperation Tea Cosy:



Project: Cashmere Tea Cozy, from Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Yarn: Elann Peruvian Highland Wool, grape, 1.4 skeins

Needle: 5.0 mm bamboo straight

It hasn't seen action yet, but I imagine it will function just fine as a tea cozy. It could easily do double duty as a beanie too; I stuck it on my head for fun, and aside from the dorkiness of the gathered ends, it fits very well!

So simple, yet so easily confused

I've been knitting away at the sleeve cap on my Henley Perfected, a few rows a day over the past week, and getting progressively concerned over the size of the cap. Self, I say, there is absolutely something wrong. This sleeve cap is nearly the length of the damn sleeve. I must have read and re-read those pattern instructions 14 or 15 times, and it was only on the last read-through that I actually got it right. I'm too irritated with myself to post what I read versus what is actually written; suffice it to say, I ripped back SIXTY ROWS tonight and reknit the sleeve cap.



I'm glad I've gotten all of this practice on the sleeve, because even though it's a very simple leaf lace pattern, I've still managed to royally screw it up in at least two places.