UFO Month on Paula's Planet

My sewing room is now clean and organized. It took several days, several big black trash bags and several naps. All of the yarn is now in the room. I keep going back and looking at it in amazement.

The one remaining issue is the number of UnFinished Objects. That room is where projects go to hibernate. Some of them involve a great deal of time but most of them don't. That's why I'm declaring October to be UFO month. Every day I will finish something. I'll also avoid starting new projects, but it isn't a fail if I do. No doubt some shiny object will catch my eye and I'll go chasing after it. I will finish something first before I chase it, though. Also, I get my birthday off (unless I actually want to finish something that day).

Shopping

I'm fairly good about not shopping like crazy. I give in to yarn I just have to have once in a while, but less often than it might sound from reading this blog. Once a year I allow myself to have a few more things because my birthday's next month. The packages are piling up and I'll open them on The Day.

My latest favorite yarn thing are spatter-dyed yarns. I don't know if that's the technical term. They've got random spots of contrasting colors. I've only seen a couple of dyers who do what I like. One is Lisa Souza. I actually bought enough yarn for a sweater from her (very rare for me). Great colors, great selection, fast shipping. Check her out at one of the Stitches shows. My new favorite is Cakewalk Yarns. Lots of yummy colors and that spattery effect I love. Two new skeins are on the way.

I've got a couple of knitting books arriving. One is the new Super Scary Mochimochi. I'm sure it'll have me dropping everything and digging through the leftover sock yarn for making monsters. The other is Chrissie Gardiner's Indie Socks.

I'm replacing the aging postal scale that I've been using for various fiber tasks. The new one gives the weight in both grams and ounces (yay, less math!), gives the weight in hundredths instead of tenths, and has a tare funcion. Plus, it's shiny.

I ordered a zipper so that I can finally finish and wear my Central Park Hoodie. I finished it back in January and dug it out last week. It still smells faintly of Soak.

Last (well, last for the moment) on the indulgence list is a skein of Wollmeise. I've always wanted to know what the big deal is about it. I'm waiting to hear from someone on Ravelry who is destashing. I figure it might take some time to hook up with someone who actually has the yarn ready to go, but that's okay. I read about the feeding frenzies in the places where they sell it online and I don't want to do it that way. I'm getting too slow on the keyboard in my old age, heehee.

Off Topic

I'm completely off topic today. I don't feel like talking like a pirate. I'm burning out on my sock knitting project. Pair #6 has been eliminated because the colors don't play well together. Pair #5 is on hold because they aren't going to fit. Pair #4 will be completed. However, they will be a fraternal pair. I'm going to dig up another Cookie A pattern to be the sock in progress' brother.

I'm posting this because it makes me laugh:

Funky Jedi

These are pair two and three (Funky Chicken and Jedi Mind Tricks) of Six Sock September. I have part of four, five, and six started.

SSS and SSS meet KADD

I giggled in recognition as I read this post by the Yarn Harlot. There's definitely such a thing as Knitter's Attention Deficit Disorder. It may not appear in psychological textbooks, but it is real.

I'm in the midst of Six Sock September. In theory, I'm knitting six pair of socks. Pair #1: done Pair #2: about 75% done Pair #3: about 75% done Pair #4: about 30% done Pairs 5 and 6 have patterns and yarn selected and are in their own project bags. I've got a terrible case of Second Sock Syndrome. I started switching off between Pair 2 and Pair 3. The foot portion of both are so boring that I had to start Pair #4. It's ridiculous. I do a pattern repeat on #2. As reward, I get to stop and do an inch on #3. To reward myself for doing that, I get to do 15 rows of the pattern on #4. I know it's a bit crazy, but it is the only way I'll get through them all.

One good thing came out of this. Pair #4 is knit with my first Madelinetosh sock yarn. I really like this stuff. It's got a great texture and the blue color makes me happy. I've happened upon so many good sock yarns this year, maybe I'll do a top ten list at the end of the year.

November Mittens

It's so odd to look at these mittens and see how clearly the pattern came out. when I'm knitting away and swapping colors, I don't see the patterns starting to appear.

I'm working on my six sock September projects. The Emoticon socks are done and they didn't come out all that great so no pictures. I'm switching back and forth between the Jedi Mind Trick pattern and the Funky Chicken (socks, not the dance). The Jedi socks are playing tricks with my brain so I need to take a break with a different pair. The pattern's not that difficult but I keep picking up stitches from the wrong place and not noticing for several rows.

The issue's further complicated with a new project. I was knitting at the laundromat yesterday. No, I still haven't gotten anyone to fix my leaky washer yet. Long story. Anyway, one of the women who works at the laundromat came over to check out what I was doing. She doesn't speak much English, so I didn't get the point across that I don't knit much for total strangers. Next thing I know, she's back with a hat. It is her favorite hat that has seen better days. She begged me to make her a new one and I guess I'm going to do it. She's so cheerful and helpful with her little tool that gets coins unstuck from the machine that I couldn't say no.