Sunday, July 09, 2006

200 grams gone...

Summer is great!
But
living without any schedule at all can be a little bit exhausting.
The sun seems to be up still most of the time and my teenagers are living according to their own inner clocks that have nothing to do with the real time and both of them have their own clocks. Having them together at the breakfast, lunch or dinner table is a task and I have given up completely. I let them follow their own timetables and concentrate once again on my knitting...

Except that it has been very very hot. Too hot - almost - to knit or to think even. Kind of weather where you sit outside with a cold drink in a shadow. Now it is overcast, so hopefully some rain. The nature needs it badly. The lake (which is very warm now) seems to be shrinking and the grass has turned yellow in some spots.

Do you still remember socks that I started a long time ago with this cotton/lycra yarn from Greenwood Fiberworks? Finally I finished them. The toe issue has slowed down my sock knitting but it is settled and I can knit on socks happily. The toe fits now... That does not sound like a big accomplishment but somehow it has been.

This sock yarn comes with a sock pattern but I did not use it. Maybe that is one reason why these socks don't match but really, it does not matter.

I tried to have ribbing at the top but did not like how this yarn looks when purled (see the back side) so made a picot edge but that does not show either. The yarn is very stretchy but knitting with it was not difficult and the socks fit like nothing before them. I hope these wear well.And I finished Trekking XXL socks as well. These looked a bit dull and sad after done so I had to do some detailing on them and added a crocheted red band on top.Besides knitting I have been spinning some Shetland. For lace. But the process is so slow. It feels like I'm never going to have enough yarn. And I did not spin for 30 hours in June which was my goal. There just was not enough time. Even with extra hours due to long day I could not manage it. But I hope I can squeeze more hours in July.

In Iceland I was talking to a fellow knitter Southern Norway Fairytale. She said that she has stopped buying yarn! Stopped! She said that she has lots of lovely yarn that needs to be knit up before it ends up being a problem to those after her and using the stash only makes her very creative. She is about my age. She speaks the truth I think. But I could not stop buying yarn ---

I once knew a lady who had very clean closets. Whenever she bought something new she got rid of the old. Like if she got herself a new winter coat, she took the old one to good will if it was of any use or tossed it away if it was useless. She did that, not only talk about it. I admired that.

Is there a good way to exercise some stash discipline? I think - I know - I need to do that. I have to do that. Enough is enough. So I have been thinking of going on a ratio 2:1, two out and only one in. Like if I knit 2 pairs of socks I can buy yarn for one pair. I wonder if I could do this. Because if I only buy yarn when rewarding myself I can think of hundred reasons to reward myself on one particular day, so that won't work for me. And if I put myself on a budget, I will start hunting for sale yarns and everybody knows where that leads to. I have to work out something I can stick to.

Until I find something better I try this 2:1. Two pairs of socks is 200 grams out. It is not much but it is a start. My intentions are sincere and honest. Wish me luck!

PS. It is raining. Finally!

24 comments:

  1. I understand completely why a toe would stall your knitting. I am stalled on heels, myself..... I love your cotton socks! They seem very cheerful and summery.

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  2. Those socks are neat! I am knitting some right now from similar yarn that I've dyed myself. I had been working with worsted for several months, so the sock yarn seems so fine!
    I think that is a good idea, to limit the yarn you buy. It makes it more special, right? You really think about each purchase, to make sure it's just what you want. My problem is not indiscriminate yarn buying - everything I buy has a project in mind, but I just can't knit fast enough to keep up with the influx!

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  3. The little red ruffle is so sweet! I have some of that Trekking in my stash--maybe I'll do something similar with it. You're right, it really does transform the sock!

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  4. Anonymous22:22

    I like the 2:1 idea. I think I may need to try that because I really need to do something that works. I love how your socks turned out!

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  5. Oh I LOVE those socks,so very pretty.Sales+yarn leads to an over-draft !

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  6. Anonymous22:56

    I have the same stash problem, and although I've been focusing on finishing projects that were planned for ages, my stash keeps growing.

    There are stash-alongs that focus on projects using stash yarn only. I have mixed experience with knit-alongs. Sometimes it is motivating and sometimes I've just created a new task for myself that won't get done!

    Sock heel and toes don't seem to stall me, but sewing in ends does, which is very silly, since that last bit is so close to the finish line! I've got 6 socks that need ends sewn in now...

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  7. I like the 2:1 idea. I too admire those people who can live so neatly, always getting ris of something when they get somethng new. But I have a very, very hard time with that.

    And I didn't get 30 hours in last month either, just 19.5. But I'm working on it again this month and doing well. So far I have 16 hrs in!

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  8. I went through a stash reduction stage a year ago at Christmas. I sold yarn on eBay and I think I had 30 sales. I was finding yarn in very unexpected places! Now I have stopped buying yarn without a project in mind and I'm not buying anything new until I finish a project. I'm trying to decide if knitting all the pieces but not assembling them is the same as finished. I think the attempt to reduce has some affect on our behavior! Beautiful socks - I really should finish 1 of the 3 socks projects I have going.

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  9. Anonymous23:16

    Beautiful socks! And please could you send some of the rain here to the south too!
    The 2:1 sounds good. Good luck with your stash management!

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  10. I think alot of us are thinking more about stash reduction than enhancement lately. I joined the stashalong KAL over 3months ago and have signed up for another 3 months, it is working for me. You are only allowed 1 day of buying yarn per month, which worked fine for me, I really thought about what I needed yarn for before purchasing it. I don't want to buy more yarn until I clear what I have, this morning I was thinking about similar to you, only buy 1/2 of what I knit on the one day per month or try not to buy at all would be better. Good Luck with it all.

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  11. Anonymous03:09

    I don't have a lot of yarn, compared to other people, but that's just because there aren't any good yarn stores close by. Whenever I do find one, I never come home empty handed. Good luck with your plan. Your socks look lovely and cozy, by the way.

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  12. Anonymous04:49

    I have yarn for about 6 pair of socks in the box, and since I knit them at a rate of about 6 months (or more) per pair, I will let myself buy more sock yarn when I have 4 pair knit and 2 balls waiting. Unless I see something irresistible. Looking at all those un-knit balls in the sock-yarn box makes me yearn to have more hands, so it is less frustrating to have less sock yarn on hand.

    Other yarn, however . . . I like to have more around so that when I get an idea I do not have to wait until I can get to the yarn store, but have something that will serve the purpose in the stash right here.

    And about toes (or ankles or whatever) I resent the time and yarn spent on ill-fitting sox, and now that I have found/invented my own personal pattern, I do not want to use any other pattern. Your evergreen (?) sox caused me to buy the handknit holiday book and start the sox, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't stand to put that much time into them, and know I might not be happy with the results. I now have a pair of anklets in boring beige heather color and I love them and they fit. Finding the way to increase toes was a long search. Now that I have found it, I will stay with it.

    Thanks for being there.

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  13. Both pair of socks look SO comfy.

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  14. Anonymous05:49

    good luck with the stash control! so many of us suffer the same problem as you! i've often looked up to the people who can practice the "one in one out" rule.

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  15. Anonymous06:59

    the only kind of yarn diet that ever worked for me was just NOT to buy it. just to stop and say "no". but i can only do that in certain years . . . and this is not one of them.

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  16. Anonymous08:39

    Problem is that I buy yarn when life is a bit difficult...it certainly cheers me up. It's one of life's pleasures. But I think it would be good to find a cheaper way of keeping sane.

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  17. 2:1 is a good goal. One tries, waits to sees if it works, adjusts. I have been sewing lately so I've had a chance to see how much fabric I have stashed away too!

    My dear friend Lynda pointed out that we are women. Women are genetically wired to gather. Stash is just gathering. It's normal. Am I convincing anyone?
    : - )
    Don't be so hard on yourself. You make beautiful things. It's not required that you use it all up. If you leave some stash behind (or a lot) when you go your loved ones can divide it up and make something in your memory.

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  18. Anonymous12:44

    I, too, like the 2:1 idea, although my stash is primarily fibre, waiting to be spun. I've started on some of the smaller parcels. That way, I potentially finish each one faster, and am feeling a greater sense of achievement and control over the stash, rather than feeling as though I need a map to get in and out of the craft room!

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  19. Anonymous16:46

    Stash management is a good idea, especially if you are running out of storage room! But...a dear friend died last year and I was blessed with part of her very large stash. Now I remember her every time I knit with her yarn. It's very healing for me.

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  20. I totally hear you on the no schedule stress... we're having the same problem here :-)

    Lovely socks, and the 2:1 things seems to work, for the most part...

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  21. Lovely socks! We're having a good thunderstorm here in Maine (visiting from Oregon); hope things cool off for you.

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  22. We have matching cats! Cute!

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  23. I read this with interest because I've recently bought some of the same Greenwood Fiberworks yarn. I bought it in a near-solid, hoping to make a textured sock, but your pictures and comments suggest that might not work. Perhaps I'll try a lace panel instead -- yos should be okay, no? Better than purls...

    How hot is it -- what qualifies as too hot? I'm having trouble knitting here, at around 90F/32C...

    Happy socks!

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  24. 2:1 sounds like a good idea - I'll have to give that a try. My mother is presently going through her recently deceased sister's things - unbelievable amounts of fabric and yarn and general craft supplies. Sadly, it was amassed as an attempt to fill up the emotional hole of a loveless marriage, so going through it is more painful than anything.

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