Friday, June 30, 2017

FMM - Yarn But No Knitting

I have to say, it's been killing me to not show you all the darling baby things I've been knitting lately.  I thought I could show you one this week because it's a hat for a baby girl and I'm pretty sure her parents don't read my blog, so I wouldn't be giving away the surprise before I've given them the gift, but then I realized that I'm going to knit the same pattern in different colors for Cary's baby boy, and she does, in fact, read this blog, so that was a no go.  But trust me.  Come August, I'll have some pictures of some really adorable baby items to show you!

Oh wait, here's one thing I can show, because I ended up ripping it out:
It looks like a lot, but this was just one evening's worth of TV watching and knitting.

This was a baby bonnet - yes, a soft aqua blue for a girl - to go with a sweater I'd already knitted.  I liked the pattern, but I didn't like how it was turning out with this particular yarn, which is a cotton/rayon combo - it was too floppy.  So I unraveled the entire thing and found a different pattern, and I'm finished with the new bonnet and love it!  Of course I can't show it to you because I still need to make the i-cord ties; I should have it all done by next week.  This was the first baby bonnet I've made and I have to say, it's pretty cute.

Instead of showing you finished knitting projects, I'll show you before-and-afters of my yarn organization.  I save leftover yarn - a hat for an adult usually leaves me with a decent amount of yarn remaining, so I've been tossing it into jars and bins, intending to use it for other projects.  It was getting out of hand, these leftovers, and it came to a head when I wanted to knit the girl and boy baby hats using those bits of leftover yarn - finding all the colors of the same weight yarn took longer than it should have.  I also have been worried about the morning sun coming through my windows and bleaching out my yarn; I have too much pretty yarn to let the sun ruin it.  It was time to hid everything in bins, but first, I forced myself to dump everything out and get it organized.  Three episodes of the podcast S-Town later, I was done - whew!  Here's the before shots:
Before - I kept pushing the yarn in the exposed cubbies toward the back, but the sun was still getting to it - and the reason I liked having the yarn on display was that it was so pretty, but it really wasn't being shown off nicely anymore.
My supplies.
Inside the bins was a mess of yarn...
Partway through getting everything sorted, combined (leftover DK weight in one bag, cotton in another) and labeled (I'm especially proud of myself for taking the time to do this).

And here's the after shot:
Everything is put away neatly, in a new set of bins that I ordered from Target.  Except that I didn't order enough, so my sock yarn in the top two cubbies is still waiting to be sorted.
Sorted and binned according to yarn weight and type - it might look messy, but there's a method to my madness.
My favorites - mostly Madelinetosh, Malabrigo, and a little bit of Anzula yarn in here.  

In case you were wondering, Henry was fascinated by what I was doing:
...or maybe he was just mad that I wouldn't let him come inside, haha.

This was something that I've needed to do for quite a while now; I'm glad I finally got it done.  Also, S-Town - what the heck?!?  I haven't finished listening to all the episodes, but wowza.  I need to find another project so I can find out what happened!

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Paco's day was made yesterday when he got to go visit his old bestie, Ginger:
Happy, happy dogs!
They ran around and played like they used to back when they were younger.
It was so cute to see them playing together again - Ginger is the only dog who Paco has ever been good with; no growling or fighting - just friendship.

They ran and ran...and then they were kinda done.  You can tell that they aren't young pups anymore - back in the olden days, they would chase and run around for a long time before pooping out!  Minutes after coming home, this was Paco's state:
Naptime!

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We have some fun stuff planned for the weekend, and because it's feeling like a long holiday weekend with the Fourth of July falling on Tuesday, I'm taking Monday off from blogging - Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans, and to everyone, I'll see you on Wednesday!

Have a great weekend!

24 comments:

  1. No blogging Monday! You know I'm going to be confused about what day of the week it is for a while...

    That first picture of Paco and Ginger--they both look so happy!

    I like the new striped cubbies. Its a shame you can't have your yarn out where you can see it, but I know exactly what you mean. And if you're like me, most of it is stored in your mind too, so you will be able to imagine new projects with it just fine!

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    1. Maybe I'll blog Monday Debby. You know, just to help you keep the days of the week straight!

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    2. LOL Helen - thank you for offering to help keep Debby straight!

      Paco could not believe it when I walked over to Ginger's house - he was SO excited!!! He really loves her.

      I like the striped cubbies - boy howdy was THAT ever a decision - striped, solid, pattern, different color...in the end, I like what I chose.

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    3. LOLOL. This all makes me sound like a doddering old woman 🙄

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    4. ...and I woke up today (July 4th) thinking that I needed to blog. I can't keep myself straight without a schedule, either!

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  2. That project was well worth the time - looks great.

    Can you believe I'm not getting a long weekend? My office is open on Monday - sigh. But next week is when I start taking every Friday off for the rest of the summer so yay!

    P.S. S-Town is going to surprise you.

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    1. Oh that stinks about the office not being closed on Monday - Tuesday holidays are the hardest when it comes to working on Monday, I swear.

      I really need to listen to more of S-Town!!

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  3. S-Town is a trip. I had a lot of feelings when it was over, but I won't spoil it for you. :)

    I love your yarn storage! Looks great!

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    1. Thanks for no spoilers - I've had to work at that since most of my fellow Renegades have already listened to the podcast.

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  4. That's a great way to store you yarn! Can't wait to see the finish products in August!

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  5. I was thinking that your before pictures didn't look bad at all, but the cubbies look great with the bins. I wouldn't have noticed about the 2 missing ones if you hadn't mentioned them. You seemed very organized to me even in your disorganized state :D

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    1. Why thank you, I am pretty organized in general. :)

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  6. I feel like I need to listen to S-town! Everyone seems to love it!

    I'm seriously jealous of your organizational skills!

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    1. I finished it over the weekend - you should definitely listen to S-town.

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  7. I love looking at fabrics and yarns! It's cathartic for me!!! I bet that organization session was the absolute best!!!!

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    1. There was definitely some squeezing and oohing and aahing over seeing some favorite yarn, so yes, the organization session was extra fun for me. :)

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  8. I wish I lived closer...I could borrow some wool.

    I used to quilt but haven't for a while. I have quite a stash of fabrics...and I can''t seem to part with them.

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    1. I think we buy yarn and fabric because we love it, so yeah, why would we part with it?

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    2. I know. I feel attached to them.

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  9. You knitted all that in one evening? Wow!

    Love the Target containers, very classy! Methinks I need some for my office, I've got crap all over the place in mismatched totebags, mostly gadgetry I'll never use again but can't quite seem to pitch out. Cute striped bins would be the perfect rationalization for keeping it!

    --Crabby

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    1. Seriously, my office looks amazing with all of the bins now. And at the moment, what's inside IS organized, but we all know that will become a disheveled heap in another few months, LOL.

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  10. Your new bins look great! Sad to not see the yarn, but you don't want the sun to run it! I can't wait to see all the baby stuff in August!

    LOL Henry. It's so funny when cats stare in or out the window. Snow stares in ours for A LOT of the day.

    It's great Paco got to see his bestie!!!!

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    1. Between the squirrels staring in and the cats, I feel like I'M on display in some alternative animal kingdom world!

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