The “powers that be” decided to steal my mojo.

For a girl who does something crafty every day (and I mean that…literally EVERY DAY), dealing with a creative slump is tough. I went though all sorts of phases. There was denial and mourning and letting go. I figure, why force something that isn’t there right? Maybe it was all the stuff I did before my slump that burned me out. All those projects *I didn’t post here*. I couldn’t bring myself to even take pictures of the garments I finished before this loss of creativity. I had no desire to knit.

Before you start thinking, “But Stacy, you have plenty of other hobbies. Why not work on something else?” The answer is: “I just couldn’t”.

All this happened at the height of Tour De Fleece, which turned out to be an epic fail for me. I finished NOTHING. I was so excited about starting, but I fizzled out quick. I had no desire to spin.

No knitting, no spinning. I had done a few sewing projects pre-slump. But even though my sewing machine is still sitting on my dining room table…it looks cold and lifeless.

My husband suggested our trip to Comic Con might help jump start things. It didn’t. A couple trips to the my local LYS had me sitting in a chair watching everyone else knit. How. Freaking. Sad.

So I waited, and waited, and waited some more. For what seemed like an eternity, I did nothing.

But then something happened…

It started with a request to knit for the shop. It’s a pattern I don’t care for particulary, but I decided to take it on anyway. I decided I was gonna force myself to soldier on through whatever this is I am going through. Then I was watching Being Human and decided I was going to try and sew this:

Annie

I started sketching right away. Hey, it wasn’t knitting, but it was *something*.

Then it got even better! I went to Stitch ‘N Pitch 2010 on Friday night. The Dodgers v. The Nationals. There was a big pre-game sale at my LYS (Unwind). I was there two minutes and zero’d in on the Madeline Tosh Merino Light. The Fjord colorway. I snatched up the 4 skeins that were left and carried them around for very little time before I walked up to pay for them. 4 skeins of yarn with no project…but I knew they were destined to be something awesome.

I got as far as Dodger Stadium before deciding what that yarn was destined to be. I met a lovely lady in line for a Dodger Dog that was wearing the most amazing sweater. I made a point to ask her about the pattern name twice and texted it to myself. Pas De Valse.

So now, I am excited about knitting again. I can’t wait to get started on my sweater. Thank goodness!

1)  This group includes the lovely Nicole of FreckleFaceFibers and Laurs of BeeMiceElf. Both of which were bringing their beautiful fibers!

2)  They were going to have dessert.

3) SPINNING!

4)  The ladies in this group are made of awesome!

So I showed up with my wheel and a desire for fiber. I got to meet some great new ladies (well, new to me), hang with some lovely enablers, and consume mass quantities of sugary treats! What could be better than that? I also brought some spending money to get some purty new fluff.

Tubs o' fluff!

The fiber I brought home with me...

I also learned (via Casdena) all about a new Ravelry group called 10 Shawls in 2010. Since I was looking to knit a bunch of shawls and kill my sock yarn stash for scraps, it seemed like a good idea to join. They do have prizes every month. Maybe I might win something? I also got to see a beautiful shawl that LimeJuicy was showing off (Loremor made it for her). It was so gorgeous I asked about the pattern…and so gorgeous that I have started crocheting one. Yes, you heard me right.

It was so much fun being a room full of wheels! I hope I get to make to to more meets. It is very much worth the drive!

Can you tell someone has been blocking at my place?

Rainbows and Unicorns Simple Things

Tudor Grace Scarflette started at Stitches West 2010

My Very First Fair Isle!

My Aestlight

My Aestlight made use of a good 600 yards or so of 100% Fine Alpaca dyed by yours truly! I was glad to finally get it out of my stash…it had been there a long time.

I am very much on a shawl crawl lately…

I could totally fix this situation, but I choose not to…because I like to torture myself.

I work in a bitterly cold office. You would think that, because I am a knitter/spinner/crocheter, I would be able to fix this situation pretty easily. Knit or cro something up and wear it up in this icebox I call “work”. Do I do that? Of course not.

Back in our old building, what seems like ages ago, I had started the Office Blankie of Doom. I pulled that sucker out of hibernation in March. I am knitting it on something crazy like size 17’s or something. No, I am not done yet.

So, I started a couple of shawls. Aestlight is one of the patterns I started. I worked on it today at lunch…and this is where the torture begins…

Look at me! You know you wanna...

Here she is…three repeats of edging left to do. I left her sitting on my desk all afternoon. I am rubbing my nose in the fact that I am freezing here and this 100% superfine alpaca shawl is still not done. Take that Ice Girl! Not even your knitting gives a crap that you can’t feel your extremities.

It’s been fun getting together with the ladies, but as I mentioned in my last post…318 stockinette stitches in the round is painfully boring.

Good thing my project is pretty. It sorta makes up for it.

Ooooh...

Ahhhh...

Everyone’s projects turned out beautiful. Yay for summer knitting!!

Everyone did a beautiful job!

May is normally a pretty busy month for me. My folks make their regular trip out to stay with us for a few weeks, during which time we celebrate my Dad’s Birthday, Mothers’ Day…and the Twin’s Birthday.

This year the twins turned 5…which is a big one…

My babies are so big!!

But despite the multiple birthday party plans (we threw two parties for the kids…that a lot of freakin’ cupcakes…) and my folks a good time while they visit sunny California, I did get a boatload of stuff done. Mostly various “life” type things…but some knitting too. Plus, to be honest, I have held some of my finished objects back. I’ve started a “Block Party” bag. I have just been throwing various knitting projects in it that need to be blocked.

So let the Carnival of Finished Objects begin!

My Twin Cities Headband...

First I finished my Twin Cities headband, which was a kit I bought from The Sweatshop of Love. It is a great little headband and I have been itching to knit a few more…especially now with my new short hairdo!

Baby Hat

Damnit! It just occurred to me I needed to send this home with my folks and I didn’t! Doh! Oh well, I guess I will have to box it up and send it. I totally just ruined the surprise. Baby Gillies, this one is for you!

My Second Simple Things...the first isn't blocked yet...

A Simple Things all blocked and ready for my mom to wear! Woot!

I also finished my strappy tank…and finished before the Classic Elite Yarns KAL deadline.

318 stitches in the round is really painful.

I know, the mere fact that I get anything done is amazing. Yet I still don’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything. Mostly because I am out of my freakin’ mind, but that is common knowledge. Do I dare talk about all the projects I just started?

Maybe I will wait for the next post.

In the meantime, here is blankie update in pictures!

A blurry pic of my 50th square!

It's getting harder to fit the entire thing in a photo...

If I wasn’t crazy enough as it is, I decided this morning that I should get some double pointed needles to work the squares on. I figured it would be easier to maneuver with a dpn then to worry about the super long cord on my circular needles. Yes, I am knitting these dinky squares on a pair of 47 inch circs! What can I say? I am a magic loop fan!

Anyway, the circs are getting difficult to deal with the bigger this blanket becomes. So this morning, I thought I would buy a set of dpns from Knit Picks. Normally I would just go buy them at a store, but my LYS doesn’t have metal needles and ordering them from Knit Picks means I can nerd out and find an excuse to buy the Time Traveler sock yarn. It’s a Doctor Who thing…

The socks won't be larger on the inside?

But I am nerding off topic here…

So I decided, and a good move on my part, to double check the needle size I am using to knit that bad boy blankie of mine. Wouldn’t ya’ know, I am not knitting it on size 2’s! I am knitting it on a size 1!

::faints::

I am nuts.

Let’s crunch some numbers, shall we?

In my yarn stash, I have enough skeins of sock yarn to complete somewhere in the neighborhood of 26 pair of socks. No, I’m not joking. If I want to have scrap yarn for my blanket, common sense dictates that I best get my ass to knitting!

So, in the last week in a half I have finished my Tudor Grace scarf, which got me a nice ball of shiny purple yarn…then I did my first Simple Things with some Socks That Rock in “Fire on The Mountain”. Nice scraps there too. Now I am working on second Simple Things that will eventually be a gift… even more yarn for my Insanity Blanket.

Simple Things alongside my Strappy Tank

More knitting...

I have started to make plans for the other sock yarn in my stash. The stash has yet to include my Wollmeise acquisitions… but I am planning projects for those too.

I also snagged some of the sock yarn out of the stash to put up for trade on Ravelry. So far, so good. I actually traded four balls of Knit Picks Palette for sock yarn scraps. Yes, I am *that* determined to get this blanket to work.

I have also gotten some great donations from friends of mine at my LYS!!

So, blankie update time…

So far...so good.

I am 49 squares in. 2 are not attached. One more to the 50 square mark! I am moving slowly right now, but once I get a few more projects under my belt I can start to devote more time to this. Plus I will have more colors to choose from once I get some of my swap stuff. I am hoping for some yellow.

Solid. Yellow.

I never knit anything for myself in yellow and there is spot in the blanket that looks like it wants it.

My drug of choice? Wollmeise.

I haven’t quite achieved snob status just yet. I mean, come on, I haven’t even knit with the stuff yet! But I see it coming…oh yes, it’s coming…

I have to say I have enablers…those little devil’s on my shoulder pushing me in one direction or another. This one’s name is kataish.

First let me say, this girl is amazing. She can knit and draw and is generally an all-around craft goddess. She is also my biggest crack dealer.

Last week I decided to put the call out on Twitter asking where she scores her Wollmeise. Now, for those of you out there still into acrylic, or maybe those of you that don’t knit or cro (GASPS), Wollmeise is a highly coveted yarn. I know of two places that sell it, The Wollmeise website (in Germany) and The Loopy Ewe. I also know that the chances of scoring said yarn on those sites is pretty darn low. Unless you are one hell of a sniper up at insane o’clock, you probably won’t get any.

So, I put the call out and Kata responds. She says she will PM me on Ravelry. So I sign in and I wait….and wait….and wait. Surely it couldn’t take that long to shoot me a PM? Then it comes…what is now the longest personal message I have received on Ravelry to date. She goes into your standard methods of getting the stuff. Waiting for updates, sniping…ya know, the usual. Then I see this:

“Now, onto the ways you can REALISTICALLY score WM ;)”

She launches into how you can get it from other people. Swaps, trades, commission knitting…oh my! My head was spinning. Now, I know I have WAY TOO MANY projects right now. How the heck could I knit anything for trade? I barely have the time to do everything I am doing now (luckily I don’t sleep much and it helps that I know how to walk and knit at the same time).

So I told her what I was looking for and she hooked me up with a friend that worked out a deal for me. Nice right? See…it’s all about who you know.

Woohoo! It's much prettier that my crappy phone camera allows it to be.

And just think, After I am done with whatever project I decide to use this for, I can use the scraps in my Insanity Blanket. Bonus!

Crafting is pretty quiet.

Except for the sewing, which I try to keep to a minimum after 9 p.m.

I finished two skirts recently. Yay, something to wear this summer for work! The hand sewing hook and eyes with black thread was a real treat for some evening fun in low light. MY EYES! MY EYES!

I had some fun with a hot glue gun after knit-a-long last Sunday and made some cute hair flowers.

My daughter is thrilled with Mommy's attempts at girlieness

Then there is the knitting…all the knitting…

I have slowed down a little on my strappy tank, but it is pretty much all stockinette at this point. So it is more my mindless knitting. It’s “I’m half asleep on the couch watching bad t.v. shows” knitting.

So. Much. Stockinette.

Then my baby for the moment, the Insanity Blanket. It is coming along nicely. I got some great yarn from Vilma and Camille this week!

Vilma's contributions.

Camille's samples: noro from her poncho, and some of her koolaid dyed yarn from a class she took

The new stuff is amazing, and it is hard to get sick of knitting the same thing over and over when you get to try out all kinds of different yarn. It is really starting to grow.

I am going to knit some more squares as soon as I am done blogging.

I have been making sure to keep track of where everything is coming from. I have been tagging all of my flickr photos and labeling each square. Yay me!

Also, in a “hell must have frozen over” moment, I have started spinning again! My wheel and I have not had the occasion to spend much quality time together since the new year. It feels good to get reacquainted.

Of course I have been spinning all of my fiber samples for use in my insanity blanket. Man, ulterior motives!

I spun them end to end...

Later I will break the ends and ply them on themselves.

Now, off to knit some squares!