Where's the Maytag man when you need him?

I finished another hat this weekend and was going to felt it yesterday but the washer crapped out in the middle of a load of puky sheets. (I love having a kiddo who is under the weather, don't you?) It washes and agitates just fine, but it won't spin out at all. Thankfully we still rent while Eric is in school, so it isn't really my problem. I am a bit nervous that it could be from felting. I use a zippered pillowcase but it is possible that some of the fuzz escaped at some point. I am crossing my fingers that the repair man won't find a hunk of fibers in the pump, not so sure how to explain that one to the landlord and get out of paying for the repair.

I cast on again for the Pomatomus socks. I just love the design but an struggling with the gauge. Actually, that isn't true. I'm struggling with my cankles.

I decided to go up a needle size to see how it looks. This yarn and this pattern together really need to be knit on a US 1.5 (2.5mm) but it ends up a smidge too tight on me. The socks look fabulous until I put them on. I won't describe it, wouldn't want to sear any one's eyes. It probably won't look the best, but if they fit I will be happy, because no one, I mean no one will get my first pair of Koigu socks as a gift. I love this yarn in all of its purply goodness.

While in the hospital on Monday, I worked on this hat for the craft fair and I have decided that I MUST get my hands on some more of this yarn because it is the absolute best. I am endlessly fascinated with the color variation. Yes, I realize this is a commercial yarn, not hand crafted, but it rocks. I can so see a kid's sweater done in this. What a twee little sweater. Have a friend having a baby. must. get. more. yarn. Baby bolero from One Skein, or MDK...

The ball band on this says 3.5-4 and I knit the cap up on a US3. Dense as hell, but it should make it warmer. I never understand knitted caps that are knit loosely. The wind whips right through them and defeats the purpose of covering your head.

Is it a bad thing that I had to buy another contain for my yarn? I didn't think so either. I currently use these and love them because I can pull out just the one I need and I don't have to dig endlessly. My collection of sock yarn has expanded exploded recently and I needed to add another drawer for just that. It works well because I can endlessly sort and resort how the yarn is organized. (Mind you, it really needs to be reorganized, not just petted.)

How do you organize your yarn? As I said, most of mine is in the drawers, but then, there are all the WIP in the baskets next to the couch. This area is in a sad state, because I have a bit of a problem with startitis, but never really finish a lot of the projects.

Current WIPs

• Purple Cotton Fleece tank - headed for the frog pond, destined to become Sizzle, I purchased the pattern already and just need to frog.


• Lace scarf from recycled mohair - this is from the shawl I had given to my grandmother, one of my first knitting projects. I will most likely pull this off the needles and try another variation on the same lace. This has sat for nearly a year.


• Pomatomus socks


• Stork Cap - you haven't seen this yet. Nothing fancy, just a beanie for the craft fair


• Felted Hat - just need felting, which requires a functioning washer


• Chenille scarf in broken rib to match the cap. While I love the look of the pattern, it is killing me to knit it. Mind-numbingly boring. Oddly, I don't find plain stockinette in the round to be boring at all. The vagaries of a simple mind never fail to amaze me.


• Peacock Feathers shawl in Merino Oro

My intention is to finish a few more items (I need to get to a multiple of ten to print off the labels) for the craft fair and then I will start working on cleaning up the WIP pile. A lot of these will be sold, but they don't take much concentration and so get left for riding in the car or watching TV.