Recent News

I've returned from another trip west. On the flight out I had fun chatting with the woman in front of me who also had knitting in hand. I did finish the front for my sweater while I was out there, but not having the back with me, I couldn't complete the project. I since have and will post a picture shortly.

I see TAST has begun with a flourish. There's even a ring and a Flickr group. I'm looking forward to getting settled in with the challenge. I have doodled all stitches to date, but what I hope to start doing is creating a mini sampler each week. And of course I want to refine and complete the ones I did in conjunction with Sharon's online Joggles class, Developing a Personal Library of Stitches.

When I first checked my email I found a thread about Stash Guilt in full discussion mode on one of my e-lists. Right after that I received a link to the latest edition of http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/FEATcollection.html
and one of the best and therapeutically funniest articles I have ever read relevant to stash. I applaud author Kate Antonova , and encourage everyone to read it, for even though she speaks of a yarn collection it could be a stash by any other name. I see it as a miracle regimen for SGS (Stash Guilt Syndrome). This article is so liberating I think I'll stitch an homage to The Stashbuilders' Creed, shamefully adapted by me from the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition:

#10 -Greed is eternal!
#242 -More (stash) is good; all is better.
#97 -Enough (stash) is never enough.
#6 -Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity (for stash acquisition)!!

Another Knitty article well worth sharing is Cheating at Color Theory by Julie Theaker. It promises a foolproof method for determining color value.

Stash

project stash, originally uploaded by Fiberdabbler.

I'm sooo behind. I had one scheduled interruption with houseguests, but I look so forward to their visits I didn't mind and did a bit of organizing ahead of time.

Understand, our spare bedrooms serve as my various work stations, meaning my CQ studio would be in use. You also
have to understand that when I'm working on a CQ project, I utilize the
entire room -- every available surface
including floor and queen size bed. I have to see everything as I work.
Okay, so I began the project prior to the visit, but in anticipation I kept
all of the fibers and embellishments I thought I might use in or near a big plastic bin. Instant tidy. Fit in perfectly with my token housecleaning duties.

At present I have tons more than you see here, all logically strewn for instant access. I've been stitching happily everyday, pledged this project will not become a UFO even though the class ended last Thursday.

Colorway yarns

Colorway yarns
Originally uploaded by Fiberdabbler.

Tropical Sunrise/Festival Colorways

Colorway inspiration for Creature from the Coral Lagoon came from Knitpick's Landscape merino sock yarn called Tropical Sunrise. Last week I came upon a velvety
ribbon yarn in the same colorway by Moda Dea called Festival. Festival is really too chunky to use by itself, so I'll use it sparingly.

Space Invasion

UFO's are attacking my home and my conscience. Unfinished objects lurk throughout the house. They occupy every inch of negative space, especially areas best left void to invite occasional cleaning. The UFO's are multiplying as fast as Tribbles* and firing my own guilt buttons. Extermination is not an option.

A solution is not as simple as one might suppose. It's said we can justify anything. I can procrastinate in the blink of an eye with instant validation. Although my intention to complete each and every project is genuine, I am too easily diverted to the next point of interest. It's not that I get bored. It's that the exhilirating temptation to learn something new or the irresistible opportunity to increase my stash is overpowering. Like anyone who's ever faced Borg* or Ferengi*, I've come to know the futility of resistance and the righteousness of greed.

I'm at war with the nagging notion that I should somehow manage the chaos of my creative pursuits. Doesn't crafty clutter reflect my out of the box approach to any artform once I'm comfortable with basic techniques? Isn't that why I'm drawn to crazy quilting and freeform needlework? Don't I need the array of my stash so I can spot what I need at a glance? And don't supplies need to be handy, ergo, everywhere? I don't need an excuse to put off tidying; I simply destest housework. I resent even the most essential chores because they keep me from doing something, anything, else that I'd enjoy more.

I'll deal with the UFO's. Even though I know one will replace another as fast as I can finish,
I will finish them. And therein lies justification for finding a new project, more stash.

* http://www.startrek.com/startrek/mediaview?id=2102409&episodeid=68744&count=-1

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/features/documentaries/article/5299.html

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/aliens/article/70601.html