Sock Yarn Blanket: Week 48

Really? Two weeks since I posted about the blanket? I know I took the blanket's picture last week. I even took a picture of the yarn I was planning to use this week. Oh, well. Let me go take new pictures, then I will be back.

please enjoy this musical interlude while I get everything organized
do do do do... bum bum bum bum...

Okay, I'm back! So here is what I have accomplished since you last saw the blanket:

I have a few squares left to go this week (yarn on the left), and I picked out the yarn for this week (right). If I finish my other crafting goals for next week, I will grab another mini skein and do an 8th square for the week. It seems really likely that I will. I already grabbed an extra mini for this week.

Since I last chatted with you, I finished the Ziprelaxagon socks by Kirsten Hall. They are fantastic! That little ball under my heel is all I have left over. It will look wonderful in the blanket :)

I started two test knits for socks, too. I can't show you much, but I can let you see the pretty yarn colors.

The blanket will see you next week!

249/776, instead of 336

101 in 1001 - 6/101 complete, 11 updated

I haven't forgotten about this list; no, I have had it in the back of my mind, and have even added to it. More than that, I have made progress on it. Since more than half a year has gone by since I started the list, lets see how I am doing so far.

101 Things in 1001 days
Start date: 24 January, 2013       End date: 22 October, 2015

1. Complete 50 pairs of socks - 17/50 pairs,  updated: 8/8/13
2. Publish 5 patterns
3. Make 10 pairs of socks for me - 5/10 pairs, updated: 8/8/13
4. Make 3 sweaters - Sweater 1 completed 2/14/13, updated: 8/8/13
5. Finish  lion brand homespun lapghan
6. Finish sock yarn blanket -32%,  updated: 8/8/13
7. Finish MSYB - 12%,  updated: 8/8/13
8. Finish all the repurposed arm warmers
9. Finish Steve's quilt
10. Finish 4 rag rugs
11. Spin or gift all the fiber from Carrie
12. Fit into my size 5 jeans
13. Type [x] story
14. Attempt to get published
15. Clean the storage room
16. Document 52 weeks of decluttering - Week 19, updated: 8/8/13
17. Learn to dye
18. Spin enough of one yarn to make a sweater
19. Make ^that sweater.
20. Record and post 100 podcasts
21. Pare down books DONE July 2013 - 3 daiper boxes, 7 large paper bags gone
22. Completely clean desk area
23. Finish watching Supernatural
24. Read WoT series
25. Make soap
26. Knit 10 Cookie A patterns 1. Kai-Mei, updated: 8/8/13
27. Spin yarn for socks - Have singles more than half spun, updated: 8/8/13
28. Knit ^those socks
29. Attend a fiber/yarn retreat DONE June 20-23, 2013 Zombie Knitpocalypse
30. Do yoga 3x a week for 3 months
31. Read LotR (audio books okay)
32. Make an entrelac project Done Aug 3, 2013 ziprelaxagon socks
33. Knit something with beads
34. Do a colorwork knitting project - started June 10, 2013, updated: 8/8/13
35. Attempt a sweet tomato heel DONE April 25, 2013 cursed cable shorties
36. Read A Song of Fire and Ice- currently listening to "A Storm of Swords" updated: 8/8/13
37. Read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books
38. Visit Rachel
39. Make bagels from scratch DONE Spring 2013 using the recipe from Make the Bread, Buy the Butter
40. Finish the blue journal and the black journal - blue journal full, updated: 8/8/13
41. Write up the Peter Pan story
42. Learn Tunisian crochet
43. Make something with a Latvian braid
44. Make baby blankets with the yarn that has been set aside
45. Make Becka's corset
46. Read all of Grimm's  fairytales
47. Finish writing the sequel to [x]'s story
48. Drive for a Michigan Trip DONE May 2013 - made the drive home from Michigan by myself
49. Make a project with corrigated ribbing
50. Drive to NJ to visit Becka's parents
51. Build a side table for my craft room
52. Plant a garden.
53. Harvest a meal from the garden.
48-53 added, 54 - 101: TBD

I'm up for suggestions to add to my list

Saturday 7: Week 19

I told you last week that I was going through my clothing, right? Well, since Becka and I shared all of our stuff until we broke up last year, I figured I'd give her first pick on the clothing I was getting rid of. She took a little. (5 things)

Then, she happened to be sitting in my craft room as I was unpacking yarn. I came across this colorway that I am not particularly in love with, and I know she can't just buy yarn willy-nilly like I can. I asked if she liked it, and she did, so I gave the yarn to her with the stipulation that I wanted her leftovers for my sock yarn blanket. (1 thing)

The last offerings for the week came up when Becka was looking at my wall of built in book shelves. One shelf is dedicated to books that will be donated if they are not scooped up by friends. Becka saw two books on the shelf and took them: Toreador and Tzimisce, not pictured.

This week: 8 things
Total so far: 227 things

Tour de Fleece 2013 round up

Tour de Fleece ended about a week and a half ago, but I am just now getting around to talk about it. Yep, I am falling behind already. Oh, well.

I did pretty well this year, I think. I spun about 160 yards in a sport weight 2-ply of BFL (green), about 180 yards in a sport to light worsted single of peruvian wool (blue), I made an entire turtle (unknown yardage) that I hope will turn into a 3-ply fingering weight yarn of superwash merino (purple/brown), and I started playing with brown wool and colored locks which is a heavy worsted single - I will probably 2-ply it.

My spinning is definitely more consistent than it was last year during the tour. Here is my round up photo from then:

I can't wait to see what next year's round up looks like.

Saturday 7: An additional challenge

Instead of talking about counts this week, I want to tell you a little of what has been going on here. We just moved into a new house with very little warning. I had 3 weeks to get as packed as possible while watching my littles, and then moving day happened. Maybe you are much better at culling your life than I am, but I still had a lot of stuff that didn't get thoroughly gone through before we moved. That means I moved clutter from one house to another. sigh

The easiest place to see the clutter is in clothing. We have so much clothing we don't use. I have been trying very hard to get rid of unwanted clothing the since I started this project, but... I have been holding on to a lot unnecessarily. Clothes that don't fit well, but have memories attached (note to self, I am not going to be 4 inches shorter for a looooong time...), clothing I liked when I bought it, but haven't worn in a long time. Clothing that other people could be wearing, instead of sitting neglected in the back of my closet.

I realize my relationship with clothing is not the same as others': My rule for jeans is if they don't smell and they aren't visibly dirty, they don't need to go in the laundry. I have several pairs, but I only wear one or two pairs until they fall apart, then I pull a pair out of reserve. (I have been known to mend a favorite pair of jeans until there is no possibly way to mend it again, and then I turn it into something else.) I don't sweat, so a single tank top can last me an entire weekend, and the only reason I put it in the laundry is because it is stretched out. The same goes for t-shirts and socks (aired out over night, of course). My jeans rule also applies to hoodies, sweaters and sweat shirts. The only clothes that automatically go in the laundry at the end of the day are undies.

You would think, with clothing rules like that, that I would rarely have to do laundry. Once upon a time, in college, that was true. I did one load of laundry every two weeks (and a second of bedding) and was good. Now, however, I find little hand prints on my shirts. Glasses of milk are spilled on my jeans. And, of course, I do laundry for my children and boyfriend, too. If they are being kind to laundry, I can get away with not having to do more than 2 loads of laundry a week. More often, though, I do a load (or two!) a day!!!! 

These clothes are not always dirty, though. Well, okay, they are, but sometimes they are dirtied before that have been on a body. I don't mind doing laundry, but I HATE putting it away. Right now, I am looking at a basket of laundry waiting to be folded. Likely it will wait until tomorrow, because I put away 4 full baskets this morning. If it sits there long enough, my littlest will start pulling clothes out of the basket, one article at a time, and distribute them around our home. Some articles will be fine, ending up in harmless places: on a clean floor, on a bed, on the couch. Some articles, though, will be less lucky: dropped in a toilet, put in the dogs' water bowl outside, used to wipe up a spill on the floor. 

I realized as I was folding a shirt I remembered folding a few days before, and a few days before that, but that had been worn by no one, that I was washing clothes that I shouldn't have to. Worse, it was a shirt I haven't worn in more than a year, and don't particularly want to wear now. That is when an idea happened. I put away the laundry that belonged to the rest of my family, and then I went through my closet, one section at a time, and pulled out 1/3 of it. That means if I had 9 around the house t-shirts, now I have 6. I picked 1/3 because it seemed like a big enough percent to make me really decide if I wanted to keep a shirt I haven't worn in 6 months but really love, but not a big enough number to make me have to chose between clothing I enjoy wearing frequently.

For the most part, it was pretty easy-peasy. For dressy t-shirts, it was a little more tricky, but after trying on a few of the contenders I easily decided on what could stay and what had to go. 

I haven't tackled my dresser yet, but I have been keeping strict to the 1/3 rule as I unpack more caches of clothing. The pile on my dresser for friends to look through before I donate is getting bigger. I would guess there are about 40 things up for grabs right now (typing that makes me freak out a little at the implication of how much clothing I still own...).

Here is where the challenge comes in: Pick a percentage right now. 10% is good. 33% is good. Any number that you think will push you to get rid of things you don't wear anyway but won't cause you to have a panic attack is best. Now pick a drawer, or a section of your closet, and go through it, removing the appropriate number of articles and donating them. Or trading them. I don't recommend putting them in your craft stash unless you are going to use them RIGHT NOW - that is just a way to say you are cleaning out your closet without actually cleaning it out. Now enjoy your space, and the knowledge that the next time you grab out a t-shirt/pair of jeans/dress, it will be one you will actually want to wear.

Blanket Project: Week 46

I have been working away on the blanket this week. Really, it is my favorite project to work on and I have to force myself to work on other things. Ready to see how gorgeous it is? I finished the row I was working on. I can't wait to start a new row! I plan to crack open my bag of yarn from the Zombie Knitpocalyspe as soon as possible!

In other sock yarn use news, I finished up a pair of mitts.

Cursed Cable Mitts by Mel-Tran Designs

I picked up a pair of socks that has been sitting for about a month.

Ziprelaxagon Socks by Kirstin Hall

I also have a test knit I will be starting this week.

237/776, instead of 322

Tour de Fleece 2013

Tour de Fleece is a spin-a-long that occurs at the same time as le Tour de France. The idea is to spin every day the cyclists ride. This year, the tour started Saturday, June 29 and rides until Sunday, July 21, 2012. There were two rest days - Monday, July 8 and Monday, July 15. Today, July 18, is the challenge day. It is possible to be a part of a team, and you set your own goal for the ride. 

My goals:

-Spin at least 15 minutes a day on my superwash merino that I want to eventually spin into a 3-ply yarn for socks.

-Spin at least 15 minutes a day on another spinning project.

The superwash merino was a WIP coming into the Tour. I had one complete turtle/cop and had started a second. As of yesterday, I have made a very decent start on the third.

For the second goal, I picked out a few things from my fiber stash:

I wanted to finish up the second part of a green BFL (~2 oz), then start the 3.4 oz of blue Peruvian wool, and play with the brown wool in conjunction with the colorful locks for challenge day because I've never worked with locks before.

I finished the green (bottom skein). It is about 110 yards of sport/dk, 2 ply. I sent it off to my friend Josh. He should get it in the mail today. The top skein I am keeping for myself.

The blue is finished, as well. I set is as a single, and plan to send it to my friend Hayley. It was ~182 before washing.

Pre-wash. Look at all that extra twist!

Hanging to dry - pretty balanced now

Finished skein

 Today I am going to start playing with the brown and the locks. I'm not sure how much of it I will spin, or what it will look like, but I am excited to try something new!