Time flying

Well, Happy Chinese new year!

Seems like I have been awol awhile and didn't realize it's been a bit since I last posted.

I started 2016 with a challenge from one of my online knitting swap groups. You pick 12 skeins and put them in a bin, and try to knit from it. Yep, already missed that one. But I did try. I assembled 7 skeins of bulky, 2 dk, 1 fingering, and 3 worsted, so 13 skeins. I started Ballydesmond fingerless mitts with the 1 fingering, and they are turning out lovely. The others stalled out. The 7 bulky skeins were to be a selkie wrap, but then, I discovered that my needle was too short, and it would have been a very tight knit. I treasure my hands, so that was out. I abandoned that plan and searched for an alternate partern. I settled on an Owls sweater next, and after swatching cuffs of sleeves, realized that the yarn is soo bulky, it's probably too heavy for this climate, so now, I'm back to some kind of cardi/wrap thing that will be most likely of my own design. The dk yarn is too light for the gauge of the project - the baa-ble hat. I want the ribbing to look ribbed, so there's math there that I have to focus on.

The rules say that for every skein you pull out (if you want to substitute), must be replaced with double. Therefore, if I try to pull out the 7, I have to replace with 14 skeins - more than my entire bin. It's supposed to be a challenge to get you to knit from stash. The penalty for not completing your bin, nothing, except a whole pile of personal guilt, if you buy into that kind of thing.  If I complete, I apparently am in a draw to win more yarn (yay! haha you can't hear my sarcasm here, if I'm trying to pare down yarn, I should not be concerned to win more yarn! really.)

So, in the meanwhile, I started a cheater project. Yep, already cheating on my bin, one.month.in. Apparently, it's par for the course. I realized that I wear my Capricious cardi the most of all of the cardigans that I've knit, so I've cast on another one and am more than half way through at the waist increases in a from my stash yarn Cephalopodyarns Bugga in Strawberry Crab. It's really a thrill to be knitting with red again. I think I've been knitting for so long with blues that I forgot how satisfying a red yarn really was.

My Christmas was good. A long time ago, I know. I had a week off, and it feels very distant now. I had some socks cranked for me by a swapper friend, and they're gorgeous. Pics to come (when I remember).

It's traditional to do a cleanup to ready yourself for the New Year. At work, I finally went through a whole bunch of old files, and did a purge there. It's part of a move we're doing, and a good opportunity to get rid of old stuff - out with the old as they say. I had some surprising conversations this week...and personally, I'm also trying to lighten my load  a little on my stash, so I'll be updating those pages soon.

Not much being done in the way of weaving or spinning, perhaps one day this year, I'll get back to those.