Honest.

The yarn is my handspun merino-bamboo blend “Fire Opal” hand-painted by the talented Moonlightbaker.

The blogging plan went awry though. I couldn’t sleep, my brains felt like they were going to explode and there’s nothing more soothing to painful brains than a knitting project that doesn’t require too much deep thought.

My friend Opal sent me some delicious handpainted fiber in a care package which enabled my latest knitting project.

Can you tell what it is?

It’s a spiralling scarf. Constructed like a flat doily, the only difference is that I didn’t stop making sections when it reached a circle, I just kept knitting the segments until I ran out of yarn.

The last bit of embellishment needs to wait but the plan is to put beads and coins on the outer segment corners.

The yarn pictured was the result of reading said book and trying the techniques therein, I wasn’t really fond of the yarn in particular at the time, but when I was sorting through my stash I came across it and I’m looking at it with different eyes.

So I decided to knit it up into a garter stitch rectangle, and throw it in the washing machine with some pinkish/crimson dye. It’s agitating with soap at the moment.

I have no idea what I’m going to use the cloth for, I guess it depends on how it turns out. One idea that I had was to embellish it with some ribbon or bits of fabric and just use it for holding the service dishes at dinner. (Doesn’t that sound fancy? I have cheap dishes, they need all the help they can get.)

Another idea was to felt it up firmly and use it as– felt. I just don’t know, it was a spur of the moment idea crafty impulse to do something and then worry about the consequences later.

It’s a gray 4-ply spindle spun merino yarn, 5 stitches per inch. Mostly from the size 30″ child’s raglan pattern from “the knitter’s handy book of sweater patterns” by Ann Budd. I was sort of on the fence when I originally bought the book, the deciding factor for purchase was that the cover was slightly damaged and it was deeply discounted at the craft store, now I think I appreciate it much more after actually using it a couple of times.

It might not be a big deal to most knitters, but I use my handspun most of the time, so it’s really nice to have a pattern that is based on gauge and not on brand x.

Lexi is really thrilled with the sweater, so much so that I couldn’t get it back from her in order to wash and block it, or for that matter take a nice macro shot of the cable detail on the raglan shaping. Thankfully I was smart enough to weave in the ends before having her try it on.

I must spin more yarn. Must knit more cute sweaters for darling children.

Here is a close up of it. I’ll bask in the glory of completion for a little while, before a good bout of Post Project Depression settles in. This is my first big lace project from a chart, it’s the first shawl I’ve ever knit from my own yarn, it’s the largest shawl I’ve ever knit, and it’s the only top down expanding from the middle triangle shawl I’ve ever knit. I deserve to bask in at least a little glory.I am so wearing this next time I go to the grocery store. I’m wearing it to the library. It’s big and it’s soft and it’s mine and I made it.

(This picture is the shawl length wise on my bed.)

Matt was kind enough to watch me cast off the last stitch and weave in the ends. He even gave me a patronizing kind of quiet golf clap. I honestly don’t think I’m getting enough attention from him to actually bask properly.

Maybe it’s the Post Project Depression setting in already.

I’m spinning mostly boring undyed Falkland wool that I bought last year, I shouldn’t say boring wool, because that’s unfair. It’s incredibly white, soft, low on the itchy scale, and quite lovely. It’s just not the most stimulating spin– although if I have anymore stimulation (as in the website debacle, the OMG-where-are-my-backups-?! stimulation, and the What-effin’-happened-to-my-kitchen-wall?! sort of stimulation) I won’t have a very interesting blog, since I’ll end up sitting in a corner of a quiet padded room, rocking back and forth, touching my forehead compulsively and muttering myself to sleep.

I am seriously craving a jumbo flyer for my Traveller wheel. I have four 80+ yard skeins of 3-ply teal yarn and (darnit!)I could have one big skein if only I had a larger bobbin and flyer set up. I know I could splice the yarn together but that takes motivation that I just don’t have at the moment.

I think it’s time for me to brandish the knitting needles for a good old fashioned poking, I haven’t poked anyone with the knitting needles for quite a while now. Now the key to proper poking technique is to poke hard enough to hurt without breaking the skin. The targets of my poking are the five or so members of the local Freecycle(tm) group that constantly gripe, whine, attempt to organize coups, try to order me to do things and generally just make my life as a list owner living hell.

First of all, I’m a volunteer. I run the local group for free, without any reimbursement (or gratitude) or expectations of reimbursement (or gratitude.) It’s heavily moderated to keep spammers at bay (because all heck will break loose if someone offers free ringtones or a new home mortgage) and inappropriate (or totally inept) postings off the list. I un-moderate members as soon as its clear that they get the proverbial “it”. I help some members write and edit their posts to make it clearer of what they are offering or wanting. I even let members use my home address for exchanges if they are having a hard time meeting up and so on.

I do this alone although I’ve asked for moderators to volunteer and two people have, one could barely use a computer or navigate yahoogroups website and the other turned himself back into a regular member after dealing via multiple e-mails with one of the complainers.

So if I’m away from the computer for a few days, or without internet access, I can’t approve some messages. Or if I approve a message and yahoo’s servers burp and it doesn’t go through to the list immediately I am accused of being “Stalinistic”. In retort all I can say is that I have yet to murder 10 million Freecycle members, when I do then I can be compared to Stalin.

So what have I decided to do about this bit of drama besides rant about it here? I’m going to knit. I’m going to knit serenely and peacefully now that I have unloaded my frustrations. Knitting is good, yarn is good, and I am just going to enjoy it.

Well of course Opal deserves a good mail day too so among her stuff will be enough silk yarn to knit a shawl.

Zippy (that’s the kitten pictured) knows that the key to good silk yarn is to add lots of twist. (Please pardon the background, I was keeping Matt company while he worked in the shop.)

I spent much of Saturday going through the linens and throwing out the old ones, then washing anything in the back of the closet or down where the cats like to nap. Then in a remarkable (for me) wave of organization skills I sorted them all into stacks by use; master bed, childs bed, baby bed, and so forth. I put a plastic crate at the bottom of the closet on its side (so that the open part faces out) and then stuffed the throw away linens into an old pillow case, arranged it into a comfy cat bed then laced it with catnip– fortunately my dad’s cats seem to enjoy this new arrangement, even though Blackie initially seemed put out by all this activity in ‘her’ closet.

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, so my mom came by with her husband. It was a nice visit, my Mom gave me a sweat-shirt with a teddy bear and hearts on it, which was a sweet (if somewhat weird) gesture and I gave her a pin with a heart and angel on it. My husband and I were baffled by the sweat-shirt (as we are by most of her gifts) in that as much as it will probably fit size wise, the whole idea of me voluntarily wearing anything with teddy bears on it is, at best, unrealistic.

Unless the teddy bear was wearing a motorcycle jacket and sneering– wearing a motorcycle jacket and brandishing knitting needles and sneering; I’d wear it then.

I did find out though (because no one actually bothers to call me and tell me what’s going on) that my step-sister Jenny will not be getting married again this fall. This frees up the mohair lace weight that I set aside for her wedding shawl as the break up is for good this time (or so they say, I never know, I could get a phone call a week before a ceremony saying “Oh, yes, its back on– No one told you?”)

I do hope that she’s not expecting me to knit the shawl for her anyway, because I’m really ticked-off at her for not calling and telling me herself at this point (this last incarnation of the wedding was scheduled for August and I have already contributed a large amount of time, energy, personal resources, and effort) as well as doing the same thing for her vow renewal thingie for her first (last?) marriage (the one that ended less than a year after the thingie cited above.) Don’t misunderstand, I’m not peeved about the cancellation, I’m peeved that I wasn’t informed so I could work and plan accordingly.