Category Archives: Stash

Winding Anxiety

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I have am really leaning into knitting as a balm for my anxiety and stress levels. My brain has been really drawn to my recent Apothefaery Yarns acquisitions. I really want to work the Suri Alpaca yarn and jump on the bandwagon. I have chosen a pattern yet but I did wind it up this past weekend. I have never wound laceweight before and I was nervous….

It was loose on my swift and I literally held my breath the whole time I was winding. Even with the floof….it wound perfectly the first time with no tangles! I was worried because it looked a little matted in the hank. I had more trouble with the fingering weight skein I picked to hold with the Suri! I had to wind that one THREE TIMES.

And while I had tools out I wound more yarn for some more socks. I pulled my BFL sock yarn from Amy of Stranded Dyeworks and some self striping Must Stash yarn. They both wound just fine. Although I didn’t pay attention and wound the Must Stash perfectly matched skeins backwards. One I will need to knit from the inside and the other from the outside.

I think this is all proof that I have a case of Cast-on-itis in the works!

Stashing Down Scraps

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I am still riding the wave of accomplishment from finishing my scrappy DK Hibernation Throw last week. I was cleaning up the project bag it had been living in to put the needles and notions away and noticed how small the pile of scraps were at the bottom of the bag. When I started I had two gallon sized ziplock bags full of scraps and a CONE of undyed sock yarn. Now I’m left with two quart sized bags and one sandwich sized bag of scraps that don’t have a plan.

Now, full disclosures these are not all my scraps or mini skeins. I still have my mitred square memory blanket going. I “tossed the stash” so to speak and aired out that bag to make sure all my yarn was in good order. It’s safe to say I I have plenty to work with, lol.

I’m just the kind of knitter that gets a thrill from using up as much of every skein of yarn I possibly can. I like the idea of scrappy projects where I can remember all the cool things I made with the full skein. Its akin to checking completed items off a list for me.

I’m curious, are most knitters this way? Do you keep your scraps?

A Purple Present

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I have been mum about this but I recently received a promotion at my job. It’s been in the works for a couple of months and I didn’t want to count my chickens until they hatched but its official now. I went from a staff level accounting to a manager of accounting operations. I have four direct reports and new boss who is….challenging…to say the least. It’s been a ton of work and I have a lot to learn. But I’m excited to have gotten this opportunity. I’m 35 years old and this is my first promotion ever.

My husband decided to get me a little congratulatory gift. He asked for yarn suggestions and I said anything from KnitCircus. So he and Jellybean made an order. And shocker, since Jellybean helped its ALL PURPLES. That is Jellybean’s go to color. I don’t mind because they made beautiful choices.

The top skein is a Trampoline base in the Dream a Little Dream colorway. It’s 440 yards of a light fingering weight and the same kind of yarn I made my Sherwood Forest Wrap with. The bottom two skeins are the Greatest of Ease base in two matching 25 gram gradient sock skeins in the Knit Sky colorway.

My favorite part of these yarns? They are already wound up and ready to use! I like when that less than fun part is done for me. KnitCircus may be in my top five favorite dyers. Do you have a favorite dyer?

Boxing Day

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I fell down a bit on Boxing Day. Now I live in the United States and it’s really not a thing here. But you know where it is a thing? The UK where the wonder dyer from the The Corner of Craft podcast Chromatic Yarns lives. And she had an unprecedented 20% off sale. And I was flush with Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket..

All of her yarns are Dungeons and Dragons themed. I have never played and know next to nothing about it. But what I do know is that I LOVE this purple speckle madness. I picked up three skeins of her Sturdy DK in the Eldritch Blast color.

And Hannah tucked in a small package of tea from Bird and Blend Tea Co. It was Dozy Girl, a chamomile bedtime blend and it was AMAZING.

As for the yarn it is going into my stash. I’m feeling like I want to track down a solid contrast color in DK and make striped sweater or shawl/blanket thing. For now I’m content to admire and pet the pretty skeins while feeling glad I supported an independent dyer who busts her butt to make a quality product.

Just curious, did anyone else score any kind of Boxing Day deals?

Teal Torch Knits 12 Days of Christmas

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Man….January is getting away from me!  I opened a box on my office desk at home and saw the beauty that was my Teal Torch Knits 12 days of Christmas advent. I haven’t been able to put it away since opening the last box because I just love it so much!

This was my second “advent” calendar of 12 minis. I didn’t have the budget on hand this summer to buy a full 24 skein advent from any one dyer but I did manager to sleuth out two 12 skeins advents for less than price of a full one. And boy did this one not disappoint!I keep smelling the soak and having to hid the stitch marker from my children.

Teal Torch Knits dyed their 12 day advent to be a rainbow. And not just any rainbow but a rainbow with speckles!! I have zero ideas what to knit with this one. Someone recommended the Fuss Free Festival Shawl by Louise Tillbrook. But I think I need more time to marinate on this choice.

Any good pattern suggestions from out there in blog land?

I Almost Forgot LMFA!

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You guys…I almost forgot to tell you about something totally last minute and totally crazy I did before Christmas. I ended up needing to drive into Kansas City from Topeka to help out a friend on December 20th. I was off work anyway so it wasn’t a big deal. Well…I was scrolling Instagram earlier that morning and saw the Leading Man Fiber Arts was doing a trunk show at The Studio (a LYS) in Kansas City. A quick consultation of a map told me that I would less than 15 minutes away from my friend’s place.  So I went!

I had never been to the shop before and I was excited to meet Steve and Andy from LMFA. I watch the podcast and so I tried to hold in my inner fan girl. Well it was AMAZING. The shop had snacks, champagne cocktails and a beautiful setup. I had a wonderful conversation with Andy about their yarn and knitting in general. And I might have fallen down hard with my wallet in their yarn racks.

I picked up (from left to right):

  • Three Show Stopper mini skeins (fingering weight) in Mary’s Jam, It’s Cold Outside, and Bend & Snap
  • A Soliliquay skein (fingering weight)  in Koi Pond – this skein is over 650 yard and 100% BFL
  • A Box Office skein (100% merino in worsted) in He Will Have His Revenge
  • A Callback skein (100% merino in sport weight) in The Great Sweater Debate

I know the BFL will be at least one pair of socks. And the worsted and sport weight skeins will be hats or accessories to go with my new navy winter coat. And the minis will likely head straight for my memory blanket.

All in all I got to meet some really cool knitters, fan girl over some awesome dyers and kind of have some self care time before the hectic holidays. It was kind of perfect. 10 out of 10 would do it again!

Happy Knitting!!

12 Days of Christmas Advent

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Merry Christmas to all!!! It’s just before noon and we have thoroughly exhausted ourselves with snuggles, brunch and presents. I opened up my second advent Christmas box after the kiddos crashed for nap to start my “12 days of Christmas”. This one was from Teal Torch Knits in Oregon. I learned about them from the Pigskin Party KAL and they had an affordable 12 day option for advent mini skeins.

You guys, this one was beautifully packaged! It’s gold and cream tiny boxes with neatly wrapped treats…

My kids are going to want to steal these boxes HARD. I think I might need to keep these under wraps until they are empty of yarn, lol.

Because it’s Christmas I made the executive decision to open all the treats at once. I got nibbles, sips, some yarn soak and a beautiful christmas tree progress keeper. I think I may slip away and slip some whisky into the peppermint cocoa and just watch the fireplace

May each one of  you have a peaceful day full of the things that bring you joy. Merry Christmas!!

Cornbread and Honey Advent Box

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Merry Christmas Eve to all!! I finally jumped on the advent mini train this holiday season. I couldn’t fit a full 24 day advent into my yarn budget this summer but I did find two indie dyers who were doing “12 Days of Christmas” boxes for a much more affordable option. So I got two 12s to add up to 24.

Here is my first box from Cornbread and Honey. They box was a little worse for the wear by USPS but it was intact and on time.

Inside was a cute little project bag, 12 mystery bags and some delicious extra goodies. I did pick out a project to fit these little bundles. I purchased Annapurna by Aspen Knits because its a cute stole/wrap/scarf that was specifically designed for these minis.

I started opening these up on December 1st through the 12th but in the chaos and spirit of December I forgot to show you the yarn! Between stomach viruses and work drama I didn’t find the joy and the energy to start my advent project.  This yarn was so pretty I wanted to knit only good vibes into it so I chose to wait until it felt right. Right now it’s Christmas Eve day and I need to get my butt moving on some cooking and wine drinking!

P.S. I’m still can’t wait to cast on my special Christmas Eve cast on! It’s waiting under the tree for me with my warm snuggly PJs.

Happy Knitting!!

Preparing For Christmas Eve

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Christmas is almost upon us and I am once again preparing my family’s Christmas eve boxes! Mostly I get everyone in the family a new set of pajamas and special treat for Christmas eve. I like being able to open an early present. So I wanted to give you a sneak peak inside mine. (My box includes a special Christmas Eve cast on!)

I have a brand spanking new pair of Christmas pajamas, a bottle of wine, and brand new knitting project to start. This year I chose the Arya Shawl by Ambah O’Brien. It’s a two color shawl worked up in DK weight. And I just so happen to have those two coordinating skeins of Chubbs and Squeak in tweed DK from my Portland trip. It seemed just like kismet. Now I just have to wait for Santa to get here!!

Happy Knitting!!

Twisted Project Plans

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Alrighty….let’s talk some wishful knitting! I have had some time to think about my purchases from Twisted in Portland, OR and here is what I’m thinking….at least for now. I reserve the right to change my mind as many times as I want.

Hazel Knits Lively DK in Acquarius, Paisley and Sea of Tranquility

Chubbs & Squeak Tweed DK in Colonel Mustard and Scabbers:

This might be the next shawl on my needles because I literally lay in bed thinking about this beautiful tweed yarn. And how gorgeous it would be with a black or grey tunic top…

Knitted Wit Smarties in assorted colors: I picked these up to add to heels, toes and cuffs stash for my hand knit socks. I tried to get colors I didn’t have in my stash but that matched the color palette of my stash.

Twine. Sock in the Wild Abandon colorway:

Knitted Wit Sock in Unicorn Giggles. I think this will be just a fun pair of blueberry waffle or vanilla toe up socks for me. The rainbow colors just make me happy!

I have dutifully logged all these ideas on Ravelry and in my stash pages lest I forget. Do anyone of you have an patterns to suggest with these beauties? I’m always open to suggestions and falling down the rabbit hole that is Ravelry!

Happy Knitting!!