I am knitting socks. These are my jury duty socks, although they are really too pink and lacy to called jury duty socks. I abandoned the first sock right before the cuff last week because it wasn't going to be enough knitting to get me through a round-trip train ride to NYC. So I started the second one (lucky I'd just gotten my knitpicks sock needle set). I didn't actually get very far on the train (I wasn't feeling well - stupid vitamin) but I did a ton of knitting yesterday and went from an inch from the toe to turning the heel. I actually spent about an hour in the park near my apartment knitting in the open air. It was really lovely and refreshing. I didn't even take my MP3 player - I just sang to myself a bit. I'm going to try to go again today. Sooner rather than later because the weather report is suggesting rain.

I think I may be able to finish both of them today - though I may take some time off from the socks to work on the Lacy Hug-Me-Tight I'm making for my mom. The Yankees game should be an ideal time to work on the 21 inches of 2X2 ribbing. I'm about 9 inches in right now. Not too bad for a week's work.

I really want to buy more sock yarn. I'm also freaking out a bit over my budget and I've been going out to eat a lot lately. Intellectually I know I'm not overspending (I barely went out at all in September) but I can't bring myself to spend money on yarn when I have yarn at home. After these socks are done I'm going to use my  KnitPicks Gloss to make Maia's Mystery Socks, I think  they're called Scherezade, because they look awesome. After those I have two socks worth of yarn left (well, 
technically three, but I hate the Clown yarn) before I have to go out and buy more. And if I like the Gloss and Risata I may just make a big KnitPicks order and get cheap yarn with free shipping. I wish I could be less of a miser, but money (and the fear of running out) makes me crazy.

Stash Enhancement

I have been listening to the Yarn Harlot's audio books, and I have been struck (as I've mentioned before) by my serious lack of stash. I am one of those knitters who buys yarn specifically for a project. The project may be put off into the future, and I may have several going at once, but I really don't have much, if any, un-project promised yarn about. So I thought to myself, I haven't really bought any yarn this summer, and I deserve yarn. I'm finishing up work next week and I'd like to buy something for myself to celebrate (ignore all the BPAL I splurged on, it doesn't count).

I'm still not comfortable with aquiring yarn without a planned pattern (unless it's a 2,000+ cone of laceweight) for fear that I won't have enough when I finally decide to use it. So today I compromised on my stash aquisition. I bought two projects worth of yarn and I already have the patterns. I bought three skeins of SWTC bamboo in white to make a Lotus Blossom Tank and seven skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca dyed cotton in green to make Something Red. I'm really, really excited. I can't wait to get my yarn. Sure, I have three projects currently on the needles and a fourth that needs to be partly ripped and redone, but I want to play with new patterns and new yarn. Plus, they'll both be for me. Rather unusual.

I'm going to have to play around with both patterns though, adding a bit of length but knitting a different size beneath the bustline then above. We'll see how this works out.

Post the First

I have no stash. Ok, that's not entirely true. I have two (or possibly three) skeins of Manos de Uruguay cotton in a pretty purple and two cones of ColourMart silk in cobweb weight. Apparently this is nothing. Having read through the entirety of Yarn Harlot's archives, as well as Wendy's, I realize that something is missing in my life. And that's stash yarn. I have no stash yarn.

Oh, wait, I just remembered. I have 10 or 11 balls of Rowan Calmer that I had intended to make my first sweater with. But I then abandoned that project because I was too scared to make a full on sweater and made a Soleil shell instead. Which is almost done. So maybe I shall actually start that Rowan sweater this time.

But still. My stash is pitifully small. And perhaps some would consider this to be a triumph of actually finishing projects and an economical use of my yarn budget (although honestly I don't really have a yarn budget, I just buy yarn when I start a new project and whince when I see the price tag). But now I want to have a stash. I want sock yarn of many colors. Which means I should probably learn to knit socks.