Well, for some reason when I tried to load pics this morning Blogger wanted me to start a Google account. After I did, it still wouldn’t let me ‘sign in’ to google, so no pics today.

Instead, let me paint a picture with words…

First we have five skeins of yarn. They’re a dark brown, like the richest, darkest bittersweet chocolate. The yarn has all the bumpy unevenness of handspun.

That’s because it is handspun. A handspun milestone. It’s the polwarth I bought when I first took my wheel into the Handweavers and Spinners Guild. I finished spinning it up after Christmas. A whole fleece! My first fleece, spun, plied washed and ready for the next step, which I think will be weaving, but might be knitting if I can’t decide on a warp thread.

Secondly, we have a rectangle of knitted fabric. It is mostly black, but at intervals there are sections of varigated colour – mostly orange – mixed with the black.

A few days ago I wanted some small project instant gratification, so I picked up the ball of Filatura di Crosa 127 print my Secret Pal had sent me and started playing. I’d had a panta headbandy thing in mind for a while, so I cast on and started knitting. Pretty soon, however, I realised this yarn was going to make me itch. It was making my hands itch, and they’re one of the least wool-sensitive areas of my body. So I frogged and started again.

This time I decided on a dictionary cover. Plain stocking stitch allowed me to read at the same time, and maybe that’s why I didn’t realise the error I was making. When I finished I stretched the rectangle over the dictionary, tucked the ends in and sewed them in place, then examined my work.

It was crap. The knitted fabric sagged across the middle and the stocking stitch edge along the top and bottom refused to stay straight. I should have known better. It’s not like I don’t know how knitted fabric behaves. But I was in a special little world of knitterly delusion.

I haven’t frogged the rectangle, however. As an experiment I basted the ends together and the resulting tube happened to fit my head exactly. So I knit one end together into a four-pointed top. It makes a delightfully goofy hat. Not one I’d wear, however, so I’ve put it aside where I can look at and consider whether or not to sew it up like this properly and give it away, or frog and just knit it into the hat it obviously wants to be.

Yep, my next fo is my signature sock design, knit from The Knittery Merino 4ply Sock in “Chocolate”.

Chocolate Socks

I was aiming to have the pattern tweaked and polished up, and photos taken, by the Knitty deadline of 5 January. But various delays, including my poor hands packing it in and, well, Christmas and New Year, prevented that. The theme of the next Knitty is ‘traditional knits’, and I’d hardly consider this pattern traditional!

White Chocolate Socks

But I have a confession to make. Lately I’ve also been reconsidering the whole ‘get patterns into magazines’ thing. While I’d love others to enjoy knitting up something I invented, I know from writing that there’s a down side to this.

Due to the wonderful invention of the internet, I get a lot of emails from readers. While most are lovely, there’s a small number of people, whether because they are young, have no clue about manners or how to express themself in a non-agressive way, are nutters, or malicious, who write stupid, insulting or just plain whingey emails.

I can’t help thinking that if I put my pattern out there, I’m opening the internet gates on more of this sort of thing. Look at the comments on the blog entries of some of the famous knit bloggers, and you’ll see what I mean. I know I shouldn’t let the actions of a few people bother me… but there is a limit to what a person wants to expose themselves to. And the benefits of exposing oneself have to outweigh the disadvantages.

So I’m thinking: maybe I’d be better off just posting the pattern here for free. Or explore other options. Any suggestions?

Sometimes there’s heaps to blog about, sometimes there’s nothing. Right now I’m spoilt for choice. That’s probably because of the hot weather last week. It kept me inside, huddled under the aircon knitting or thinking about knitting, for hours and hours.

Today I bring you one of a few recent fos:

The Inca Vest. I dropped into Spotlight on Saturday morning and bought a zipper. (Remind me next time I’m designing a vest or jacket that open ended zips don’t come shorter than 30 cm.) I googled for tutorials on sewing in zippers, then got working. At first I thought I might sew in some zippers on two pillows I knitted ages ago when I’d finished with the vest. By the end of the vest I remembered this thought and laughed at my own foolishly optimistic nature.

I’m mostly happy with it. The ‘mostly’ bit is because I think the fronts are too narrow from the armholes upward, but it doesn’t bother me enough to rip it out and re-knit it. And it’s not as noticable if I wear it unzipped, as in this next, slighly out of focus pic:

I’m wearing it today. Well, at least until it gets too warm. It’s certainly a comfy vest to wear.

More fos tomorrow.

Every six months or so, since the first Flash Your Stash meme, I drag out my stash and photograph it. Since my last stash photo is called “mid06.jpg”, and I’m getting all fired up for Knit From Your Stash, I decided it was time for another:

I know it’s not big compared to some knitter’s. (There’s also another of the small boxes filled with ’emergency’ acrylic for craft/charity projects or for people allergic to wool, but I figure that doesn’t really count because I don’t actually want to knit it up.)

But there are projects in there I badly want to knit and it frustrates me that I’m not getting to them. I’ve experienced this stash frustration before. I used to sew a LOT and even did a patternmaking course. My stash of material that grew so large that one day I realised it would take several years to sew it all up even if I spent every weekend sewing.

Each unfinished project was a little voice calling to me, joining with the others to form a constant clamour. Each time I added another project the noise got louder. Finishing one didn’t reduce the volume much, and I started to work faster, and I stuffed up a lot, and got so frustrated I stopped enjoying myself.

Eventually sewing even small projects would put me in a foul mood, and I realied I no longer liked sewing at all. I stopped sewing and gave most of my stash away.

I know this makes me sound like a crazy person. I’m not. (Honest.) I’ve always suspected that I inherited my father’s tendancy to collect and hoard things and my mothers neurotic obsession with tidiness and finishing things. I can ignore housework for weeks, then suddenly go on a mad cleaning spree. Knit From Your Stash is me trying to do a slow, sane version of a mad cleaning spree.

(How did I get to mad cleaning sprees? I certainly wasn’t planning to digress this far. What was I going to talk about? Stash. That’s right.)

A good way to get through a lot of work is to break it down into smaller tasks – so set goals. So I’ve been thinking, how can I break down the task of reducing my stash? I’m fired up now, so I want visible progress straight up. Success initially shouldn’t be rated by the number of projects finished, but by the amount of room I make in the stash. So I should:

* knit large projects (removes more yarn from stash to wip bags!)
* knit 8/12ply and sock yarn as these boxes are full to bursting
* knit thicker yarns as they take up more room
* if crochet is faster and is suitable, crochet instead
* if weaving is faster and is suitable, weave instead
* use established patterns rather than designing (faster and a good excuse to buy more books!)
* but convert pattern to working in the round, to save time spent seaming
* use simpler patterns (faster and I can read books at the same time)

So I should knit socks and large garments. Which, ironically, is what I was already trying to do. But plain socks and garment I’ve already got patterns for are top of both categories now.

And my first big goal: free up one underbed storage box ready for my NZ yarn crawl.

It was a prolific year for me, which probably had something to do with taking time off this year. How much time is hard to calculate, because of the six months I intended to take a break I spent about five on work-related tasks anyway. But then the house extension messed up the first new project I started, and delayed the next, and I know toward the end of the year I wound up sitting on the daybed knitting through frustration or exhaustion more often than I liked.

Anyway, just for fun I’ve divided the fos up into categories and done some ratings. (I’m going to count the baby wash cloths as one project and the Fetching & Panta set as two.)

Full sized garments: 3
Sleeveless garments: 1
Shawly things: 2
Scarves: 6
Gloves: 1
Hats: 3
Headbands: 3
Socks: 13
Homewears: 3
Other: 2
Non-fibre: 3

Given away: 14
Kept: 26

Designed: 30
Adjusted a pattern: 5
Used existing pattern: 5

Favourite non-sock fo: Squares Jacket
Non-sock fo that gave me the most grief: Zhivago top – challenging, pretty, wrong size
Favourite socks: Rosebud socks
Sock that gave me the most grief: Jaywalker – most frogged project, didn’t fit
Most used fo: ipod nano cover
Most expensive fo: Scribble Knit Shawl (slubby silk cost $100)
Most economical fo: if I ignore dishcloths and the nano cover, then the Summer Stripe is the cheapest for stitch per dollar. It’s made of dyed up leftovers and op shop finds.

(Oops. I’ve realised that there’s one project I forgot to include in the fo list – the white chocolate socks. So the true sock total is 14. Which is probably the most socks I’ve ever knitted in a year. It’s been a very socky year for a lot of knitters, I suspect.)

I gave a lot of fos away – just over a third. Sometimes it was the intention, sometimes not. But the wonderful thing is, the latter were often fos that didn’t fit or suit me, but found appreciative homes so easily it felt like destiny. I like that.

It felt like I was designing or adjusting all the patterns I worked. The only existing patterns I followed almost completely to the letter were the Zhivago top, a dishcloth, the Pomatomus socks, while the Liquorish Allsort Jumper and Scribble Knit Shawl are included though the pattern instructions aren’t detailed, but guide you toward what you want.

It’s doubtful I’ll get as much done this year, which is part of the reason I want to Knit From My Stash. Weekday knitting opportunities will shrink to almost nothing once I get stuck into work, though weeknights are still mostly free, but weekends are likely to be full of post-extension decorating and gardening work.

I know my brain will be too full of work for much designing to be going on, too, so I’ve decided to knit from existing patterns more. It gives me something to buy other than yarn. Books, patterns and tools. Books, patterns and tools.

Which is why I popped down to The Wool Shop in Surry Hills this morning to buy this pattern and a few extra balls to meet the pattern requirements (that’s allowed, in the Rules under 2.c.).

I also bought Crocheted Aran Sweaters and some crochet hooks. Unfortunately I don’t have any aran weight yarn in my stash, but I’m thinking it might be possible to use 8 or 12ply and make a bigger/smaller size.

But there’s plenty else to knit from the stash, and I’m happy to just admire the patterns for now. And stash was what I was planning to blog about today. Oh well. It can wait until tomorrow.

A Summer Stripes Top
B Squares Jacket
C %@#&*!! Zhivago top
D Purple Necklace
E Skein Necklace
F Reminder Stitch Markers
G Ipod Nano Cover
H Thneed
I Liquorish Allsorts Jumper
J Liquorish Allsorts Beanie
K Fetching/Panta set
L Wedgie Beanie
M Green Crochet Headband
N Crochet Headband
O Crochet Sunhat
P Scribble Knit Shawl
Q Catch Me An Alpaca Scrf
R Souvenir Scarf
S Handspun Scarf
T Baby Wash Glove
U And More Wash Gloves
U Re-designed Wash Glove
V Red Woven Scarf #2
W Red Woven Scarf #1
X Purple Woven Scarf
Y Mocha Blanket
Z (bottom) My First Dishcloth
Z (top) My Second Dishcloth

1 The Re-soleable Sock
2 The Beau’s Socks
3 Re-solable Socks v2
4 Snicket Socks
5 Yarnivorous Socks
6 Rosebud Socks
7 Stripey Socks
8 Feather & Fan Anklets
9 Ribble Socks
10 Jaywalker Socks
11 Miracle Socks
12 MegaBoots Stretch Socks
13 Pomatomus Socks

It makes me immensely happy to have, within two days, uploaded my three favourite knitting podcasts onto my nano: Sticks & String, Lime & Violet, and Knitty D & the City. Three hours of fun knitty entertainment.

I’ve also been enjoying a few new podcasts, or old ones I’ve decided to try. CrochetCast is of the latter category and the first few eps were pretty good. Purl Diving contains short ‘meditations’ and is very soothing and calming. Sleepy Eyes Knits is fun and lighthearted. I’ve enjoyed the first few eps of The Knitting Cook, too.

So I have plenty to listen to while my hands glue and unglue themselves to my needles. It’s heading rapidly toward 34c today, and 35c is forecast for tomorrow. And after a small respite over the weekend it’ll be even hotter next week. So I whipped up my favourite heatwave busting recipe just now.

Lychee Icypoles

Take 1 can of lychees
Blend/pulp
Strain into a jug, squeezing with the back of a spoon
Pour into icypole moulds (you can usually get them at supermarkets)
Freeze

I’ve made sorbet before, and it involved adding sugar dissolved in water, and I can’t be bothered with the whole reblending and refreezing thing. The beauty of tinned lychees is they’re already plenty sweet. That’s probably the syrup, but it sure makes this an easy recipe to make when it’s so hot you can’t face the thought of going near a stove.

I really must try this with canned berries…

I’ve become quite addicted to my stat counter. It provides me with, er, minutes of excitment each day. It not only shows me how many page loads are made of my site, but whether they’re from new or returning visitors.

It seems I get lots of new visitors, but only a handful of regulars. I have to wonder why anyone ends up here if they haven’t been here before. The answer to that is in the keyword analysis section. Aside from the one bizzare case where a search engine led someone here after they typed in “beaton up supermodels” (!!!!) it seems a lot of people are looking for ipod nano cosy patterns, knit or crochet. (Makes me want to design and post a pattern for them.) Or else they’re searching for other entries about Knit From Your Stash.

Which brings me to my first controversy.

I’m rather amused at the small backlash to Knit From Your Stash that surfaced in the comments on Wendy’s blog. It seems some people are worried it’ll put yarn stores out of business. I find this hilarious and a bit disturbing. Hilarious because I doubt enough people have ‘signed on’ to the idea to have any effect, or that the majority will stick to it anyway.

Disturbing because many people choosing to knit only from their stash may be doing so because they really need to. Perhaps because they don’t have the room. Perhaps because they’re short on money. Perhaps for the benefit of their family or relationship. So saying they shouldn’t take control of their own stash/money/space for the sake of keeping yarn stores in business is a bit like saying someone who is worried they might be, er, a chronic gambler shouldn’t try to limit their gambling because casinos, pokie machine makers and such might go out of business.

Okay, that’s not a great comparison. A yarn store is a much more ethically sound place than a casino. But I sure hope yarn stores aren’t relying on exploiting the weaknesses or irresponsible behaviors of some customers in order to survive.

The other favourite function of the stat counter I love is the “Came From” page. It tells me where visitors came from. Today, to my surprise I discovered that there was a link to my site in an entry of the Yarn Magazine blog. It links to my entry encouraging people to sign the Knitpicks petition, and raises an interesting issue about bad press. When is bad press beneficial and when is it maliciously destructive? Should bloggers voice their opinions or abide by the “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” rule?

As a writer who gets feedback – both good and bad – on a daily basis I know there’s not much chance of the latter! People everywhere love to voice their opinions, and an awful lot of them have no idea how to express themselves in a considered and well-mannered way, so if you’re in the business of producing anything you’ve got to have a thick skin.

Not that I’d advocating being rude. As we say in the writing business, just saying something is cr*p is rude. Politely saying why you didn’t like something leaves room for improvement.

I’ve just returned from a lovely few days in Adelaide, including that New Year’s Eve costume party I made the jester costume for. While I was there I dropped into Borders in another vain attempt to get hold of Interweave Knits. Instead I found this on special:

And am I glad it was 50% off. It is one incredibly cr*p calendar. Some seriously obvious padding has gone on to fill out this so-called “pattern-a-day” (more like a pattern-a-week) calendar. You get the impression the designer might have even considered putting one line of each pattern per page to spread them out, and you mightn’t have minded that at all if it meant some of the more truly awful patterns had been left out.

But it was soooo worth buying just for this:

It’s almost be worth buying a christmas tree next year…

Anyway. The trip:

My intention had been to finish off the second chocolate coloured chocolate sock, but since it involved the transportation of my deadly Dpns of Mass Destruction I had to use a case that would survive luggage handlers rather than my lap or under the seat in front. And since there was so much extra room in the case after my wee dpns went in, I threw in a few more balls of wool. And a crochet hook. So, of course, I got a bit distracted once I got there.

No, it’s not a crochet bikini. It’s a headband. And crocheting headbands while in Adelaide has become a bit of a tradition for me. My green one holds fond memories of sitting in a doctor’s waiting room for two hours, with a UTI, entertained by a trio of drug addicts who topped off their visit by stealing another patient’s car keys then running off with his car.

I did get some sock progress done under the watchful eye of a 3 year old. The conversation went something like this:

Small cute child: “What are you making?”

Me: “Socks.”

“Would you make me some?”

“Maybe when I’ve finished making the things I want to make for myself. Or maybe I’ll teach you to knit and you can make socks yourself. Would you like to learn to knit?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll make you socks and teach you to knit if you promise to make me socks one day. How does that sound?”

“Good. So when will you make me socks?”

“Maybe after I’ve finished making these ones.”

“When will you be finished?”

“In a few days?”

Five minutes later: “Are you finished yet?”

“No.”

Ten minutes later: “Are you finished yet?”

“No.”

Fifteen minutes later: “Are you finished yet?”

“No.”

Twenty minutes later: “Are you finished yet?”

“No.”

Twenty one minutes later: “Are you finished yet?”

“No.”

Twenty one and a half minutes later: “Are you finished yet?”

“I think I”ll go repack my bags.”

Thirty minutes later small child locates knitting woman: “Truuuuuudi? Truuuudi?”

“No, I haven’t finished them yet.”

Small irritating child stops, laughs quietly and silently walks out of the room.

I swear, they’re evil from the moment they’re born.