Frugal Knitting

This post was originally written in November 2007 from my cozy knitting nook down at Edisto Island, SC-- complete with sunshine, acrylic afghan crocheted by D.'s grandmother, a mug of tea, and a pup for company. The good folks at Farmer's Telephone hooked up my DSL last night... a very nice gift for girl with a cold!

I've been in a bit of a knitting rut lately... So overwhelmed by the pile of projects that I've finished and then partially deconstructed (i.e. the Lace Leaf Pullover that I decided to unseam and do it "the right way," the Green Gable raglan with unraveled ribbing to be reknitted on smaller needles, and the Lacy Hug Me Tight that needs some work on the border-to-body seaming-- I fudged it a little bit when I realized I didn't have enough lace... this was hours before the wedding... and desperate times call for desperate measures) and all the large undertakings (Forest River Gansey for D.) that I have wanted to cast-on for but haven't had the energy. I've been working three weeks of night shifts and have discovered that I am a day worker! I barely have the energy for knitting, cooking, sudoku, or even having a glass of wine at the end of the day. I somehow manage to sleep all day and all night on my days off! It's reeking havoc on my knitting.

In addition to not having much inspiration, I've been trying to knit (and live) frugally. Examples, when tempted to buy the new Haruki Muraki book-- I request it using the online catalog at the library... when dying to order the new Patty Griffin DVD and have it two-day shipped from Amazon-- I put it at the top of my Netflix queue. Maybe these seem minor, but I'm trying hard to curb the little spending that adds up.

My only FOs in the last month have been another pair of Saartje's bootees and another Heart Sachet, both constructed from leftover yarn. As you can see, haven't been going too far out a limb lately. The Heart Sachet is knit from the Interlacements Tiny Toes sock yarn in color 220 purchased at SAFF 2006.

It was a tough decision this year not to go to SAFF. I still had 2 skeins of sock yarn (alotted for socks for D.) and two different bags of roving that were untouched from SAFF 2006. I felt like I didn't need to accumulate any more fiber and I wasn't enrolled in any classes (even though I considered dyeing, weaving, and finishing techniques for knitting.) Because I had already requested the weekend off, D. and I used the time to work in the yard and go to the local fall festival at Ovis Hill Sheep Farm. I think we were the only people there without children! It was a larger gathering than I expected with an older woman singing gospels and playing guitar, kids painting gourds, and a few spinning and weaving demonstrations. We bought local cheese, apple butter and lavender soap in the farm store. There were vendors selling hot, fair-trade coffee and homemade bread. D. helped with a shearing demonstration. The 500+ sheep live the good life at the Ovis Hill Farm. I didn't buy an inch of fiber.

So what's a girl to do in the midst of a frugal knitting rut, you ask? Cast-on for a simple, lovely pair of socks, of course!

Cup Cake Progress

I wish I were eating cupcakes, but damned if they don't make me fat. So I'll just have to be satisfied with the knitted kind. What do you think of this hat. It's intended for a 3 year old but I don't know. I could definitely make a statement at one of my committee meetings.

LOL

X-mas Socks for Jeff and I

I might be starting a Christmas tradition. I think I knitted socks for the both of us last year too. Well these are the 2007 Holiday break socks. One pair for Jeff...




And one pair for me...



The pattern is from Favorite Socks and the yarn is XXL Trekking. I just love handknit socks.

Gifts

After a long break from blogging, I am back. For the last several months I've been sucked into Ravelry and have putting other websites on hold. Even though I haven't been writing about my knitting, I have been knitting like crazy. These pictures are of my newest project. My friend from Boston, Julia, knows just what I like. Yarn and a cute little project are excellent gifts for me. I started this project just a few minutes after opening the box. Isn't it adorable?! I finish the main part of the hat that very night and the next day started the scarf. I'll add the cherries after all the main pieces are finished. I also have a deadline of February 28th, Dana Elizabeth's birthday. I think I'll make it. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. It's lovely and I must find another project for myself using it.

So I'm almost too excited to write about another gift I got. This one was from Jeff. I've been pining away for one of these and thought I'd be pining for much longer and then I opened this box on Christmas morning and nearly cried.



Isn't it absolutely beautiful. I started spinning with it almost immediately. I'm still getting used to its weight, but it just goes and goes and goes!


It's a Golding! Walnut 1.9 oz Heavenly!