In other news, even though I *think* I'm tied into the local knitting community, I'm really not, since I have really only just done my first survivable wool project, and most of the knitting community is wool-based. I hadn't realized that Clover Hill Yarn Shop is up for sale, nor that Springwater Fiber Workshop is closing its doors. The former I usually hit twice a year during my Triple Threat run (Clover Hill is nestled in a small strip with The Stitching Post (cross stitch) and Seminole Sampler (quilting) - and a comic book store went in a few doors down. It's the most dangerous place on earth for my poor little credit cards!); I've never actually been to Springwater, as it is (was?) animal-fiber-based yarn heaven. It's sad to see stores closing and changing hands. So many cross-stitch stores have been closing due to the economy in the past decade, and now the yarn begins. *sigh*.
(It's my personal theory that the better the economy, for longer, the more cross-stitch stores pop up. Cross stitch and embroidery are the Luxury Time crafts; usually, the finished product is frequently purely decorative, expensive to frame, and wildly time-consuming. Knitting, on the other hand, gains speed in more stressed economic times, as the finished results, while just as beautiful, tend to be practical and fast(er). Really stressed economic times, and even the knitting stores have problems. I don't care what the news says; we're thisclose to a recession. The Signs Are There.)I just noticed on Ravelry that I have two projects 95% done. The first is the Unnamed Sweater. All the finishing is done but for the buttons. That's SO happening this weekend. The other are the Braided Armwarmers - I've got about 8 rows plus tucking-in-of-ends on the second one, the first being completely done. I'm going to try to score another ball of this yarn at lunch today... not necessarily in the same color, either. I really like these little mitts!
Now, from yesterday's picture, I did some frogging. I decided to rip back to the thumb cast-off, and actually do a k1/p1 ribbed thumb. It worked really well, and makes the whole thing snugger, if even more wildly divergent from Wendi's original pattern. (Thankfully, the woman getting these as a gift has slightly smaller hands than I do; they should fit her perfectly.) If I'd actually managed to finish them during lunch, there would be a photo here. On the upside? I'm all of five rows and some finishing away! Yaaaaaay!
So, I'm trying to work on my UFO numbers for the end of the year. Here's the chart of the things I've started this year that I have yet to finish. I've started 37 things, the last of which are the mitts pictured above. Of the rest, I've got to figure out which I can reasonably finish before year's end.
| Project Number for 2007 | Project/Start Date (if known) | Craft |
| 7 | Peacock Mandala (4/17/07) | Canvaswork |
| 9 | Stained Glass Peacock Kit (6/??/01) | Canvaswork |
| 16 | Set of Six Williamsburg Ornaments | Cross Stitch |
| 17 | Lilly of the Valley Shawl | Knitting |
| 20 | The Cat Sweater/"Kitty Love" | Knitting |
| 22 | Peacock Scarf | Knitting |
| 25 | Rose Romance Sweater | Knitting |
| 26 | Secret of the Stole Mystery Shawl | Knitting |
| 29 | Margo & Ian's Sampler (10/06/07) | Cross Stitch |
| 30 | Britney Handbag (10/13/07) | Knitting |
| 31 | Unnamed Sweater (11/07) | Knitting |
| 33 | Set of 8 Dice Bags for Gamers | Sewing |
| 36 | Pretty as a Peacock Shawl (11/27/07) | Knitting |
| 37 | Christmas Braided Armlets for DebC (12/4/07) | Knitting |
- The liklies are the Peacock Mandala, which I seem to remember being almost finished, the Armlets, and the Unnamed Sweater. These I will try to finish this weekend.
- The Britney Handbag just needs two more repeats, a cute strap, a fun button-close, and some lining. The dice bags just need side seams and some hemstitching (and I've got to find some cool gold or silver elastic drawstring). These are possible, but just barely.
- The Peacock Pillow (canvas) - no way in hell; ditto the six Christmas ornaments, only one of which is finished. The Cat Sweater is possible, but only if I carry it around, and it's too heavy. The Pretty as a Peacock and SotS shawls are, well, lace. Ditto my lovely beaded Peacock Scarf. Not gonna happen. Rose Romace swater is just barely started, and I'm not COMPLETELY insane.
- This leaves the wild cards: the Lilly of the Valley shawl and Ian & Margo's sampler. I am carrying around the LotVS, and getting stuff done on it, so it could happen. Ian & Margo's sampler is allegedly just backstitch... but I know I'm gonna try to get a bit fancier with it, which will probably mean they won't be getting it next weekend.
- Plus, there's always the chance I'll find and finish something I started pre-2007. It's been known to happen!
While Cloverhill is up for sale, it likely will not actually close. There are several interested buyers.
ReplyDeleteSpringwater just announced that they are not closing, but they are revamping their stock and class offerings.