Obviously, I’m managing okay, since I’m still working my way up the sweater…but it certainly would have been nice.

I’ve gotten far enough, even, that I had to wind my second ball of yarn.  I’m pretty comfortable with how far the first ball has gone and think that I should have plenty of yarn to complete the project.

Now, I usually get my yarn wound at the store, but occasionally I end up with unwound skeins for whatever reason.  Last time this was the situation, I took a few pictures of my technique to share with you.  First, here is my makeshift swift:

I start with the chair backs touching in order to get the skein around them, and then move them apart until the yarn is no longer sagging, but not taut.  Sometimes Mei Mei likes to help; she is making sure I don’t lose that yarn end that’s on the ground.

It’s hard to see in this photo, but I leave several inches of the tail of the yarn hanging down as I begin to wind the ball.

Then it’s time to loosely wind around, making sure I don’t catch the tail.

Once I’ve wound all the yarn, I tuck in the end I’ve been winding under the last few passes.

If I was careful enough not to get my original tail caught in all the winding, it should still be dangling down from the center, giving me a center-pull ball of yarn!

I also finished my stash buster kitchen towel.  I even got it washed and put away with my other kitchen towels, so it is now ready for a true test.

I’ve got one baby blanket waiting to be mailed off and another waiting for the baby shower.  Thankfully, both are finished and one even got washed!

So, at this point, I’ve down to three projects that I really should finish before starting something new.  One is the Spanish Moss Coat that I’ve been working on forever!  I really should focus my attention on that, since it will be perfect once spring really does start.  I currently have the back finished, one side of the front, and half of the other side.  There is still a lot to do, since the assembled coat also gets a knitted edge, but if I quit getting distracted by other projects, there’s still hope.

I am very close to having the Veronica sweater finished.  It still needs the clasps sewn on; that sort of got put on hold as I tried to race through the Dove Vest and then a major sewing project, but I should be able to get that done as soon as I have an evening free this week.

Finally, I frogged my one Ambrosia sock and started knitting the yarn into a Mojo sock.  It’s not that I didn’t like the Ambrosia pattern–I just didn’t like it with that yarn nor did I like the modifications I made to it.  (While the mods looked fine on a flat sock, they did not look fine on my fat calf.  I ended up with saggy socks that were that annoying “almost” knee length.  So sad.)  So, while it kills me to have all that leftover yarn, I’m sticking with a shorter sock length this time.

Still don’t know what pattern I’ll end up using this yarn for.  I’ll have to just wait and see.  We are already cutting this so close to the deadline that I’m not sure I’ll be able to get anything made up on time.  This was supposed to be my UN-stressful hobby, completely free from deadlines.  Not sure I’ll do this again, now.  Last year went so smoothly, but this is starting to frustrate me and stress me out, something I really don’t need right now.  So, this will definitely be the last time I crochet a sample unless I have LOTS of lead in time and VERY clear directions.

My Sólás Caomh blanket is just about finished.  I just need to weave in the ends.  It turned out beautifully–just as I’d imagined.

I started another baby blanket for yet another friend that is expecting.  I’ve got a bit of a tight deadline with this one, so of course I’d choose to knit it.  Yikes!  This will take me forever, but it is going to be so darling, while still looking simple and boy-ish.

And finally, I’ve taken on a commission (sort of).  I’m acquainted with the owner of a LYS near my mom’s office.  Last year she asked me to crochet a sample for her to display at her booth at Stitches West.  The sweater was a huge success, and I enjoyed making something that wasn’t just for myself, so I offered my services again this year.

I just got the yarn yesterday, so I got started this afternoon.  While the yarn is very beautiful (the owner of the store does wonderful dying), it’s been a bit frustrating to work with.  The twist runs very thick and thin, which gives the fabric a wonderful texture, but makes the stitches difficult to see.  I’m also not crazy about how thick and stiff the fabric is turning out.  It would probably be better if I went up a couple of hook sizes, but then the gauge would be WAY off.  It’s already off enough that I’m crocheting two sizes down from my desired size and I’m eliminating some rows.

So, I’m not sure what to do at this point.  I’ve gotten about half the back done and am just really worried about how it will fit and look once it’s done.  Like I said, it’s a great yarn, but would be much better suited to something structured.

Of course, the nice thing about being a teacher is that I get two weeks off of work this time of year.  So, even though we are really busy, I always find time for my hobbies.  As I mentioned in my last post, I spent the better part of our vacation knitting and crocheting.  I’ve slowed down a bit since we got home, but there have always been a few moments of down time to pull out a project.

One of the best gifts I got this year was a sturdy velveteen project bag that my mother made for me.  It’s big enough to carry around even my largest projects, though I tend not to work on anything larger than a baby blanket these days.  in fact, just yesterday, when we went to my in-laws to celebrate Christmas, I put the Sólás Caomh blanket in my new project bag.  I only had time to crochet a couple of rows, but babies take awhile to arrive, so a few rows at a time should still get this blanket done with time to spare.

When space is an issue, I also have a little cloth purse that I can throw my smaller projects into.  (Another bag that my mother made for me made of two layers of cotton/linen.)   The tightly woven cloth means that I can put my double point needles in there without worrying that they will work their way out through the fabric.  I’ve currently got my first Ambrosia sock in that bag.

The added benefit of keeping my projects in these bags is that my yarn tend to avoid getting tangled.  No matter how careful I try to be, when my skein is sitting right next to me, out in the open, the end of it always wants to tangle up.  When the skein is in a bag, the fabric shelters the skein and keeps the yarn from shifting as it loosens up from that perfectly formed ball, which means I can knit or crochet to the very end of the skein without having to stop to untangle a knot.

If you don’t sew, and don’t know anyone who does who could make you your own project back, fabric shopping bags work just as well.  I’ve developed quite a collection of canvas bags as well as those other lightweight bags that stores are now selling as a substitute for fabric bags.  (Most places I’ve seen sell them for just a $1–a much better price than the prices on official “project bags”.)

Every one of my projects gets its own bag.  (See, I told you I had quite a collection!)  Then, when I’m on my way out the door, I can just grab what I feel like working on.  I know that everything I need is already in the bag…hooks, needles, yarn, pattern instructions, stitch markers, and a small pair of scissors (the kid ones that you can buy by the dozen that have a blunt nose so that they don’t puncture the fabric of the bag).  I find that I do a lot more knitting and crocheting when I don’t have to go hunting for everything I need.