uh-oh

I made the mistake of catching up on some Yarn Harlot blog posts while on my lunch break at work. I now have a new yearning that with a bit of nudging could become an obsession. I have shared my love of doing colorwork in my knitting with some of my friends but only occasionally do I make the leap to doing a project with extensive colorwork. I recently felt the pull and cast on the Nederland Vest. Well, with what I have just learned in a few short minutes, this type of project is no longer going to be able to fulfill the colorwork desires. Bohus is going to become my holy grail of knitting.

And so it begins...

My last post focused on my ever increasing yarn stash and my planned efforts to thwart that growth. What is it they say about the best intentions? Needless to say, I've had some setbacks. I collapsed under pressure at the offer of joining a group buy of yarn from an indie dyer that I have long yearned for (more details to come later). I also bought some Shepherd's Wool by Stonehedge Fiber Mill which I have also been coveting since my sister bought some at Stitches Midwest in September. That one actually gets to be an exception though, because I followed my rule of casting on within 24 hours of buying it. I even completed that project in a timely fashion, since it was a Christmas present. It really is a wonderful, deliciously soft wool and that always helps! I have one skein left and it will, shortly, be a hat for my dear husband, who never gets anything knitted for him. Additionally, as I type this, I am also staring at a new pile of yarn that just came out of a Knitpicks box.
Only half of that yarn is mine though! I swear! The brown, technically Camel Heather, is my sister's. AND...it is destined to become this really lovely Nederland Vest for me, so can also come under my exception rule.

The good news is, I have made a plan. Also, I did finish two of my UFO's that were dragging my motivation down!! The opArt blanket has been completed!! Yay! And it only took 11 months. Also, my Pink socks using the HatHeel pattern are done. I know only have one UFO that is dragging me down, the Empire Lace Sweater. But that is meant for warm weather wear and, I swear, I'll finish it by spring...or at least I'll start working on it again.

So as for my plan for working through my stash, I've made a list of yarns, my plan for them and a proposed finish date.

Yarn	Project	Finish goal
Shepherd's Wool	Dean Street Hat	January 17th (Michael's bday present)
Purewool "Lima"	Toddler Tunic	January 31st
Selah "At the Ball"	Sheepy pants (maybe skirtie)	Mid-February
Knitpicks Wool of the Andes	Nederland Vest	Mid-February
Schaefer Yarn "Minnie Pearl"	jacket for Madeleine, not sure of pattern yet	Mid March
Happy Feet	Twinkleberry socks	End of March
A Time to dye "Good Earth"	Sheepy pants (shorties)	End of March

Okay, now, the truth is, this is only a fraction of the yarn but this gives me multiple projects per month to work on for the next three months. I'm really incapable of planning much farther ahead than that so as I progress, I'll update my list. Oh and if anyone hears of a good yarn sale, please, don't tell me!