De-stashing, Re-stashing, and All Points in Between

We started to seriously de-clutter a little bit in the past couple of weeks - there have been boxes sitting in our office/computer room/junk room/hobby space since we moved in, and I haven't been making very good use of the bookshelf or my "new" desk that I got Christmas 2007 (it's incredibly lovely, made by my husband and my dad-in-law, but it has unfortunately become a holding spcae for everything except my computer... right now the built-in bookshelf is totally packed, though!). I think in that first 2-day burst of cleaning we threw out about five or six bags of garbage/unwanted items that have been collecting dust since forever.

The big part is that I actually threw out yarn! Not good yarn, mind - I'm talking the cheapiest, scratchiest acrylics from when I began knitting, the fun-fur type stuff I got at Hobby Lobby that is a pain in the arse to knit with and offers no stitch definition (but I bought in the beginning stages of knitting because it was soooooooo fluffy and sooooooo fun! Am I ever glad that I'm over that infatuation phase). I actually did some of that a couple of months ago, too, when I realised that I was never going to fit my whole stash into the super-sized tote box I bought for storage. Which is not to say that my whole stash is even in there, now - there's still some on my desk, in another Rubbermaid tote in the bedroom, distributed among a few knitting bags, downstairs by the kitchen... you get the idea, ha. But I made the decision this year not to buy yarn that I absolutely loved, or had a purpose for. If it was of a poor quality, or not for a specific project, I wasn't going to buy it, even if it was on sale. So far I have stuck to my guns on this and I am quite proud of myself!

So, for my birthday this year I received quite a windfall in Handheld Knitting gift certificates, and while I don't usually go nuts in there (as much as I wish my yarn budget could exceed my food/grocery budget, it's just not feasible, heh), I've allowed myself a few things I couldn't ordinarily afford, such as Tofutsies sock yarn, Opal sock yarn, Mini Mochi sock yarn (hah... seeing a trend here?), some Brown Sheep company stuff and... well, that's it so far, but I still have a bit of credit left. I got the Opal on Saturday, and I'm 3/4 of the way through a sock for my friend Bre. Obviously a second one will follow it, but as with all of my sock projects, it's anyone's guess as to when it will materialise! I tried finding the label (I know I saved it, but can't remember where I put it as I am a doofus), so I can't link to a source, but you can see the sock-in-progress to your left. It is such a yummy colourway - it makes me feel very happy to knit with it, and I only hope I can find more so I can make a pair for me! Although the Mini Mochi (in very jewel-y, ultramarine blue tones) and the very pink Tofutsies are for me... so I might have to hold off on that.


Right now I'm just getting back into the swing of the knitting thing, after a brief hiatus (a large work-related project had me delving into another craft - painting - and left little energy for the sticks), and I'm loving it again. Being in the yarn store is a refreshing experience, a little bit of soul renewal every time I step through the door and let myself think of the possibilities. Today I even stayed a little while and worked on my sock while trying to decide what else to get (it's nice to meditate by the sock yarn!) and chit-chatted with Joy, one of the owners. It was quite lovely.


In other news, my aforementioned friend Bre and I started a new blog, Krikki Watch - it's a Kristen Stewart/Nikki Reed hybrid fansite, for following the gossip surrounding their meteoric rise to BFF-dom and also their movie projects, those done together and seperately. It's a bit of fun and I loved finding a cute pic of them for the site!

Ok, that's about it. I will post more works in progress and hopefully get to that second sock by the time the weekend comes!