Denial.

You know that feeling you get when you're knitting, that you're not going to have enough yarn?
Do you ever ignore that feeling and keep knitting anyway, because you're convinced that your half a skein will magically produce, say a whole sock? I do. And then I end up with this:

This is a very fine example of denial. I was actually surprised when I ran out of yarn. Like, how on Earth could this happen?

So, now what? Do I look everywhere for another skein of this yarn, that I bought 3 years ago, not even sure in what city, let alone which shop. Or do I try to find something of similar color and just continue? Ripping does not sound appealing.
And to make the matter worse, these were supposed to be for my 78 year old aunt. I don't think she'll care that they're multicolored, but still. You can't just give crap as gifts. Grrr!

So while I'm deciding about the fate of the socks, I went and practiced some crochet.
So behold the crochet square, that was lying flat before I added a crochet border around it - to make it lie flat. Oh cruel world!
And the not so circular circle, that has so many mistakes it's a wonder its stitches are holding together.


Crochet seems hard and like a lot of works. I don't get the turning chain, don't understand how you can do a million things in the same stitch and I don't see the stitches like I do when I'm knitting. It all looks like a bunch of knots, I can't tell where I increased, or even how many stitches I'm working with.
But, to be completely honest, I haven't read the book on crochet. Just opened it on the page where it says "crochet circle". I should probably start from the beginning. Like I said, a lot of work.

So long 2009! Welcome 2010!

Here are my very last 2009. projects. Both are made form Wonderwool yarn, on 6 mm needles for the hat, and 7 mm for the scarf.

The hat is a bit pointy when I put it on, but it kind of looks all pixie-like, so I'll let it slide.

Knitting plans for 2010. include: A knitted Dalek toy (from Doctor Who, the tv show) for a friend, socks for my aunt, and possibly a sweater for another friend. Those are a must. Everything else - well, it'll just be plain knitting fun!

This year I got a late start on Christmas crafting. So the grand total of decorations produced to this day is - two. One tiny wreath ornament. And some spray painted pine cones.
Thankfully, I don't work in Santa's workshop, otherwise I'd be in trouble.

This pipe cleaner ornament is made from, that's right, pipe cleaners twisted around a cardboard circle. The idea came from Martha Stewart. The candy canes are just beads on wire twisted to the candy cane shape, the stars are also plastic beads, and the ribbon on top is ... the ribbon on top. It's maybe 8 cm in diameter.


This one was super easy - I had some pine cones saved from this fall and I just spray painted them with acrylic spray paint. The end. The candle and the ho-ho sled are store-bought.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

Stash update

So I passed my exam. And I rewarded myself with yarn. Lots of yarn. What a great positive reinforcement for studying!

First we have Wonderwool, a yarn by Schoeller+Stahl. It looks terrible once you wash it, but it's super soft and warm. So it will be turned into something that rarely gets washed and is supposed to keep you warm. I'm thinking a colorful garter stripe scarf. And maybe a hat. Me being me, I'll probably only wash it once every two years. Good for the look of the yarn, not so sure about the message it sends about my personal hygiene. How often do you wash your hats and scarves?


Next Merino Mix, also Schoeller+Stahl. Also very soft. This will probably be a sweater of some sorts. I wash those regularly, in case you were wondering ;)

This stash update pretty much used up all the space I have for storing yarn. That means it's time to start knitting! For the sole purpose of freeing up storage space, of course!

Back by popular demand ;)

I haven't posted anything in the past month, because I literally had nothing to blog about. My craftiness has reached a stop.
It had to be sacrificed while I study for ... no idea what it's called - the exam you have to take after having worked in your field for a year. State exam? Expert exam? The exam that is sucking the life out of me and taking away precious time I could be spending crafting? Yeah, that one.

Anyway, no craftiness from me, at least nothing until Christmas.
But here are some random stuff I did ages ago, and never posted.

A crochet rectangle... thing. Just another reminder that I need to move past the damn single crochet, and learn how to work in the round, so that the stuff I crochet aren't flat rectangles, but cute toys. But at least I found a use for this thing. It goes really well with my couch.
See how amazingly useful a crochet rectangle can be? ;)


Next up - a wall decal I did to add some decoration to the wall above the couch. I cut it out of some self-adhesive wallpaper, just started cutting, with no plan whatsoever. Now that I look at it, it might need something else. But I have no idea what. A flower somewhere? More leaves? Random swirls? Or should I just leave it like it is?


The wall next to that one is still bare, I plan to add some framed art to it. When I find something I'd like to put there, that is.

And we're back to geometrical shapes. A potholder. Love the mushroom fabric. Of course, I managed to spill cocoa on it, the very first time I put it to use. Now it's a stained potholder. But you can admire it here in its fresh-off-the-sewing-machine stage.


OK, that's it from me for November. I'm going back to studying. Or banging my head against the table frustrated over the fact that nothing I read sinks in.