O pretty pretty!

I just cast on for a pair of mesh gloves for my mom's birthday. Yes...it is WAY belated considering her birthday and party was this past Saturday. To be fair, I only found Eunny Jang's free pattern from Interweave Knits website 2 days before that and I just can't seem to find time to knit, nothing inspired anyways. I ended up choosing a lavender mercerized cotton yarn over what I originally intended, which was to try out something bamboo/silk. However, I think this will work out very well and my mom will love them.

Since my last dreary post, I have kept my head out of the water by knitting something simple and repetitive with all the left over yarn from bf's Swelling Skull toque & roommate's 1up Mushroom Headband. It's the circular shrug by Julia Allen (pattern here). The choice of colors is not that nice but meh, I need to do something with all that leftover yarn and I need another sweater/vest/anything to keep warm around the office. I don't really care if it's "ugly". The only problem is that I probably have to order more of the yarn to finish it off. So that'll be my second old faithful running project aside from the Never-ending Afghan.

I really find myself becoming a huge fan of Eunny Jang's work. Her other design in this quarter's Interweave Knits is the Katharine Vest. Absolutely beautiful! I love how her designs are classic, fine and modern all at the same time and they always perfectly showcases her design abilities. She is an amazing designer.

Weddings & things

So I've got a couple friends getting married this spring. I am very happy for both loving couples and excited for them to start their new lives together. If any of you read this, please don't be offended by my cynicism. It is not towards marriage itself but more so towards the culture of gift giving or in our day and age: gift requesting.

I understand that the idea of the gift registry should minimize duplicate gifts thus making it easier for family and friends to provide the couple with the essentials of living together. However, in these consumerist times of ours, these registries are designed so that the couple can ask for specific items available at the store of their choice. Let's face it, when given the choice to ask for what we want, don't we always ask for the things we don't really need but would be nice to have? Usually the things we can't afford if it came from our own pocket? Obviously, friends & family still have the option of getting something outside of the registry or simply giving a cash gift but really, what does a couple need to live together? Is the latest, high tech kitchen gadget going to help sustain a marriage? Don't get me wrong. I understand that modern technologies can reduce the stress at home by easing certain household duties. But will the fancier dinnerware make for a better transition into married life?

Why can't these registries be designed so that the couple simply asks for specific categories of items? Such as 1 set of bed linens, 1 x comforter, 2 x pillow shams, knife set, pots & pans, vacuum cleaner, etc. Then family and friends can check off what category & specific item they bought so someone else won't buy the exact same thing from the same category. It's all still a surprise.

It just gets to the point now where I think many couples know they don't need anything and it's not like they are greedy but making a registry is too easy. You think, maybe friends & family really want to give you something but feel that giving cash is tacky or insincere, so they might as well put something down. That is crazy! Cash is probably amongst the top causes of problems in marriages. It shouldn't be that way, no, but certainly I would say having a fuller savings account reduces the stress a hell of a lot more than having a house full of stuff you barely even use.

I really think everyone should just write cheques to the couple. It's way more practical & it's easy. The couple gets to go through the first steps after marriage of making decisions together about their money, learning to balance the give n' take. Since likely before the ceremony, most of their decisions regarding the marriage is about other people's money or they had the decisions made for them. Now, they have to be their own self-managed, self-sufficient operation to build a successful and prosperous relationship with the gifts of love, money and good wishes offered by family and friends.

I would hope that no one really gets married for the gifts & money. I just think this minute difference in the registry system would make for a purer start for their wonderful new life.

Progress to Zero

I'm kind of in a rut, crafts-wise. Whatever shit I am knitting has stopped for almost 2 weeks. I want to sew, but it's hard to find time and be relaxed about it. Seems like I am making mistakes and being forgetful with generic things and by god, I think I have been called moron/stupid about a dozen times in the past 4 days alone.

Sorry. It hurts and I just want to cry except crying will only make it worse. Then I want to punch/kick and destroy something. Or I just want to lie in bed all day guilt-free and hold my dog forever. I hate these times...

Whorling Dervish

Who knows how this started but for the past week I have been obsessively looking up sources for cost effective spinning fibre even though I don't have a clue on how to spin. Of course, those who know me or have read my blog know how chinsy I am with yarn & knitting supplies. By god, I love doing it but simply cannot justify the cost!!!

I suppose it's because I am at that point where I am simply unsatisfied with the quality of cheap yarn but nice yarns (merino, cashmere, bamboo, silk, alpaca, etc/) in pretty colors costs so much dough!!! But I want it... *pout* How can I justify $12+ for a 50g skein when a sweater will probably require 12 skeins? Luckily I may never have the attention span to knit up a full sweater but that's another matter to discuss.

So somehow...I was probably on Etsy looking at handspun art yarn listings, somewhere thrown in there were rovings or top listings. I had no idea what that meant. So I Google'd it, got interested, read up on handspinning and it didn't seem too hard. It looks like something that just requires practice and experience paired with good raw materials. Then the perfect looking spindle for someone like me came along and I can't get over this new found obsession and question: To spin or not to spin?

After some extensive research on the cost of fibre available online and from nearby alpaca farms, it seemed that after shipping, spinning & dyeing, your own yarn will be cheaper. However, considering the effort, cost of spare time & labour, not really by that much? I really sat down and crunched those numbers.

Some things to consider:
1) Raw fleece requires washing & carding (lotta work) and you lose about half the weight after the process.
2) If you choose to wash & card yourself, you must have the tools to do it, the price of which varies depending on ease & efficiency of machine/tool(s).
3) You have the option to send raw fleece away for processing into rovings.
4) You will probably knit with at least 2 ply which will be another spinning process.

So...here're my backwards calculations:
Worsted Weight @ 12 wpi (wraps per inch) - 1 lb (16 oz) = 900-1200 yards
Compare to: 1 x Worsted Merino 50g/100yd @ approx. $5/ea x 12 = $60

2 lbs raw fleece @ $10/lb = $20
wash/card yourself = free -or- Process at mill into rovings @ $1.5/oz x 16 oz = $24
16 oz x $3/oz rovings-to-spin-to-yarn = $48

Savings:
ALL DIY $60 - $20 = $40
Buy raw fleece, send away for process to roving = $60 - $20 - $24 = $16
Buy rovings to spin = $60 - $48 = $12

** If anyone thinks these figures are way off, please comment. They are the results of my "research" & bargain hunting online for lowest/average pricing. By the way, these calculations did not take into consideration the cost of shipping if you were to purchase materials & services remotely.

Is it worth it? Well I don't know just yet. Unless I find better deals to start with I'm not sure I will allow myself to start this hobby. I just have to fight the urge to buy that Trixie Spindle... Honestly, it seems like a helluva lot of effort. Surely spinning enthusiasts will say otherwise. I guess my only other concern here, is feeling kind of silly (even though I am sure I will love it if I tried) when my bf sees me pick up another "useless" hobby, doing something that the Industrial Revolution basically eliminated however many years ago.

Curiously Lacey

I have several projects that need to be started & done before I can allow myself to purchase new yarn but for some gosh darn reason I just don't want to start them yet. I somehow became interested in lace construction. I read up on Eunny Jang's articles, thought I got a handle, attempted to draw a simple lace chart which turned out pretty disastrous even after several tries...so now I am just doing small swatches of patterns from Knittingfool.

I don't know if it's just me but usually the end of the row is slightly wrong or something. Anyways, I've knit up 3 different patterns so far across 28 stitches. It's interesting how they come together where established left or right leaning columns will continue to sway surrounding stitches in the new pattern.

Knit bottom up obviously but listed top to bottom:
3) Overlapping Waves (10 rows - multiple of 6 + 4 st)
2) Diamond Spanish Lace - (8 rows - multiple of 8 + 4 st)
1) Travelling Vine - (12 rows - multiple of 8 + 4 st)

Current Crafting Tally $$

Knitting Tally - At last check in October, this was at approximately $360. I haven't done much since then but let's see what else is new (gotta keep tabs on myself):

$360 - previous tally
$5 - buttons for cable bag
$5 - Sean Sheep yarn
$15 - Christmas presents yarn
$35 - misc. Sale yarn (gloves, dog sweater)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$420 TOTAL / 15 Projects = $28/project
11 months since start = $38.18/month

Sewing Tally - While not much has come of this hobby, the tally is considerably higher due to the startup costs for notions. I definitely plan on sewing more soon. My skills blow right now, need practice...

$110 - sewing notions & Halloween fabric (pilgrim, turkey, machine cover)
$20 - Terry Cloth (pj pants)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$130 - TOTAL /4 projects = $32.50/project
3 months since start = $43.30/month

Wonderful & Icky Weather

It's been T-shirt weather for 2 days now and all the snow has melted resulting in mashed green grass & muddy floors (and a little extra in my backyard from the dog). All that is gross and dead is now exposed from under its white blanket yet it is too early for spring. The ickyness will remain for at least several days but it's not like I'm motivated to go frolick about outdoors. When will the mild winter nights with light flurries come so that we can finally go use our Night Boarding Pass? When?!

The headband for roommate has finally been started. I did about a third of it, decided it was too messy and clumpy doing it all in the round, so I frogged all the colorwork and reworked it the same way I did the Skulls hat. Looks waaay better. Here's my sorta chart:

Also, we are ripping up most of our bathroom because of a piece of rotten wood under the shower step due to minor leakage. Bf is gonna install a new base & walls for the shower. We're getting a new vanity counter top, sink, cabinets & doors. The walls wil be repainted and he will rip up all the existing floor tile and yippy I will be re-tiling both the floor and the shower! It'll be a big, fun & intimidating project but I am very excited! It'll also be something nice for us to plan, work on and finish together. It'll be a first! Gotta do lots of research and color scheming, wheeeeeee!!!