Yes, for the first time in over two weeks I'm alone (not counting the hours spent in a hospital bed - never really alone there either). School has resumed after a two week break (modified year-round schedule) well, two weeks and one day - it's so cruel that they add the Monday of the third week. (Yes, cruel to me, the mom, this is my blog so it's all about me, so there). Actually, my darling spent yesterday with a bucket next to her, so she wouldn't have been there regardless. Thought it was too much candy, but it seemed to go beyond that. She felt good this morning and no call from school today, so it have been a 24 hr bug. No one else has been blessed yet - crossing fingers as I type.
So what do I do with my free time? And yes, it is unnaturally "free" as I'm on doctor's orders not to "resume activities" for another 24 hours. I had another nerve root block yesterday, so I'm on the mend, but still sore, etc. Absolutely no cleaning (and boy does my house need cleaning), no laundry, can't unload the dishwasher -- free! Well, looking at yarn is low-stress, stress-reducing even. So in glorious privacy I got out the new, the old and the in-process for a bit of yarn house-keeping.
But first, I've not done any scrapbooking or stamping for almost a month, but I just had to get these photos on the pages and couldn't help but share them here. My TypePad account is actually Crafty Wench since I plan to have two other blogs in the future: Stamping & Scrapping Wench and Quilting Wench. I do all of these things, but knitting is the only one I've managed to work on lately. I got plans for some art quilts that use fibers, more object d'art than quilts really, but I have to be able to sit at the machine and really concentrate. Anyway, here are my girls on Sunday:
Now, for the yarn. OK, I gave in to Lara. I had to have Lara. I needed to make Lara. And then, I found some chat in the blogsphere about a great source for the yarn in Canada at $5.69 US from Wool NeedleWork (WNW). Yes, that's right. Even with int'l shipping I knocked $50 off my LYS cost for yarn + book. I do (valiantly) support my LYS's, but that was just too good to pass up. This color and style with be perfect with a silky rayon skirt from J. Jill that doesn't have a good match in my closet. See, I'm filling in - making use of what I already have. Brian got was home yesterday, so he collected the box from the porch. He saw the declared value of $110 and gave his little whistle. I pointed out the extreme usefulness of this yarn, made him touch it (that did a lot right there - glorious hand), then pointed out he had a penchant for $100 dinners - such temporal pleasures - he had no further arguments. He found other mail to look at. I didn't talk about the cost of Noro. We've both learned a few tricks in 8 years of marriage. Doesn't it look pretty just sitting quietly in a basket?
Have an bit of a time deciding where to go with this Noro Blossom pullover (click image to enlarge). Cast on for our long car trip this past June/July and did most of this knitting then. Size 8 needles (could have gone up a size I think - it's a rough yarn sometimes) and no pattern, just a plain boxy sweater (the latest book hadn't come out yet, so I was flying blind). I like the reverse ss for this to play up the slubs. Now I've got to choose a neck line. V-neck, round neck (with a rolled collar) or mock turtle. Hummm. Any thoughts (if anyone's read this far)?
My two scarves are coming along. Both have become waiting room and school pickup projects, which I must have. I'm really happy with the Fiesta Yarns' La Boheme. I'm using a pattern from Scarf Style which specs a much smaller yarn/needle combo, but I like their suggestion that a hand-dyed yarn prone to pooling does well in fan pattern. 
It really does help. I've got a bit more of this yarn which I got in the seconds bin and this should use it all up. Yeah, stash reduction. My Irish Hiking Scarf is also progressing, slowly, but hey, I don't need it until Feb around here. Don't need it even then, but it won't look out of place then.
Got the new Interweave Knits yesterday. Jackpot - the first sweater uses yarn from a stash disaster (ok, not that bad, but a sad mess). Had to face the mess and move on. But, there's a bit of a dilemma. 
First I found the wonderfully soft merino bouclé on the right - loads of it at an end of season sale a year or two ago. I know now it really needs to be a soft pullover with wide cables, but in some strange moment of creativity last winter (very late at night) I decided to hold it with alternating mohair colors for a wide-striped poncho (hey, I was ahead of the curve for once). Not really insane, but about 4 inches of knitting showed it to be an obvious loser. It's been sitting for over a year now and I've worked very hard not to see it when I look through my stash, though I had to acknowledge it when I went searching for the needles for another project – still I just closed my eyes, pulled out the needles and slammed the drawer shut. Yeah, denial is a big part of my life, I admit it. Anyway, that bit on the left is the Ruffle scarf cast on in two colors. Great, except my lazy ass didn't unwind the botched poncho, no, I just grabbed two new balls and got started. If you haven’t gathered, I'm impulsive late at night (other times too). So, now I have this pattern that calls for 8 balls and I have two colors. Don't want two colors for this sweater; prefer the olive for this, especially since I've got that blue merino waiting. Going to go to the yarn store tomorrow and hope/pray that they still have the olive and see if I can exchange the unopened balls. More tomorrow.
Decided to put this tidying energy to good use and unwind another mess of silky ribbon yarn that had become a total knot. I can't stop patting myself on the back - so responsible of me to face these little disasters stuck in the bottom of the basket.
Well, need to spend some time with an icepack before going to vote and get the kids. Going to try to swatch the Alpaca Silk later today.
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