Stash Busting

I visited the LYS yesterday to pick up some more Cotton Rope yarn to finish off my kerchy kerchief (more on that later), and Suna was there. We were talking about knitting (duh) and yarn (double duh) and she happened to mention that she had 123 balls of sock yarn. I know that not everyone who reads this blog is a knitter, so for you non knitters, let me clarify that that is a lot of fricking yarn. But I think you knew that anyway. 123 balls. And that's just the sock yarn! She probably has a lot more than that, all kind of yarn together.

Well anyway it got me to thinking about my own stash and how I've been adding to it lately with reckless abandon. And it's nowhere near 123 balls. I am so ashamed. And I call myself a knitter. It's....it's.....56. I have 56 balls/skeins/hanks of yarn. And this is only the yarn that hasn't been knit off yet. So these are 56 complete balls of yarn. I've probably got about 20 more that are scraps, half knit mini balls, or leftovers. Here is a picture of my stash (all zip locked, of course!)

I organized it this morning. It had gotten a little bit out of control. After I took this picture, I literally planted myself face first into my little mountain of yarn. I gave it a big hug. I told it I loved it. I am not making this up. You can ask the Cowboy. He gave me a strange look. Whatever. If he could hug his precious guitar wood, he would. (and why can't he?)

Here it is, all organized and happy in its home. Funny story about this wonderful trunk. The Cowboy gave it to me for my birthday and I love it. Aside from the fact that, as you can see, I cannot fit any more yarn in it (well maybe one or two more skeins, and I can always move my books out of there if push comes to shove), it was a wonderful, thoughtful gift and it looks so snazzy in the living room. Oh, hi. I'm old. I say things like "snazzy". Well anyway it was also a very necessary gift because my stash had outgrown its former home in about a week.

Look at that tee tiny box. I bought it at Michaels, back when I only had about 6 balls of yarn in my stash, and before yarn buying mania had fully set it. A week later, I got my Knit Picks sock yarn and promptly outgrew that little basket. So my yarn lived in bags for about a month, until the Cowboy brought the Great Trunk home. The End.

Fairy Tales are real. Me and my trunk are proof.

Moving on (which is just another way of saying "In other news"), I have also been a knitting fool these past few days. In the spirit of my great declaration of Christmas knitting, I have decided to put a deadline on myself. One knitted Christmas gift a week. I just decided this this morning, though. So in the meantime, I knit myself up a few little treats.

This is Crazy Aunt Purl's "Magic Scarf", made with yummy Manos del Uruguay Handcrafted Kettle Dyed Pure Wool. In other words: made with love. That is what this yarn is. Love. The scarf itself turned out OK, the rows are a little lopsides and funky, and it's not very long, but I am going to block it, and hope that that will take care of those problems. This bad boy is for ME, even though I seldom wear red and don't have a coat to match. Guess I'll have to get myself a new coat this winter.

This is the Hipster Kerchief Pattern (Kris Percival) made with Rowan Cotton Rope yarn (and the reason for my trip to Bluebonnet). Sometimes I don't like to follow patterns. Sometimes I don't have the size needles required to make a pattern, so I use a bigger size. As a result, not only do I run out of yarn, but I also end up with a kerchief that is a wee bit big for my head. And that is saying something because peeps, I have a big melon. I would have taken a picture of myself in this, but it was 8:30 in the morning when I did all my picture taking and I wasn't about to let you see what I look like first thing in the morning. It ain't pretty. In any case, I'm not sure I will be wearing this. I suppose I could try shrinking it. It is cotton. Hmmm, something to ponder.

So after I finished that, what I should have done next was work on these:

I call these The Purple Socks of Death. Because I feel like dying when I am knitting them, and I'm sure that I won't ever finish them before I die, and because if I ever see Vanna White, I am going to kill her. These are made with Vanna's Choice yarn. It's acrylic. While I'm not a yarn snob by any means, I do not particularly enjoy this yarn. At least not for socks. What the hell was I thinking? Hey Vanna, I'd like to buy a vowel because "Oh my God this yarn sucks". And you know what else sucks? I'm not even sure I will have enough to finish out sock #2, and if that's the case then you'd better all watch out because I am going to go postal. (Oh, and I was only joking about killing Vanna White. Please don't come after me.)

Instead of working on the PSoD, I started a new project. It's in keeping with my 1 Christmas Gift a Week deadline.

Aaaaaaand it's a garter stitch scarf. Seriously what the hell is the matter with me? I am a sick individual. But in my defense: I am lazy. And this yarn is really cool (and it's also acrylic, so see? I'm a not a total acrylic yarn snob, but Vanna didn't make this yarn), and it does all the work for you, so garter stitching is the easiest thing to do, and it looks cool. It's Bernat Soft Boucle.

And also, when did "I am lazy" become a good defense strategy? Just wondering.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!! More pictures of Baby Stinky Pants coming next week.