Snaky Blanky startup

I spent the past month gradually spinning up my November subscription to to the Hello Yarn Fiber Club. This is superwash Corriedale wool in a colorway called "Toxic". And in a cosmic turn of events, I hurt my back again last Tuesday--So I spent the following 3 days lying down and swatching crochet patterns out of a Reader's Digest knitting and crochet stitch pattern book that my children gave me for my birthday. (It's not Barbara Walker, but it's okay.)

It started out innocently enough: I just wanted to do something mindless. Swatching crochet stitches goes so fast that you can work, hate, and rip out a stitch pattern in a matter of minutes. Wouldn't you know it, I happened on a stitch that I LIKED! I was just a wee bit loopy from a pain pill, so I messed up the directions and came up with my own version of the stitch pattern. I have decided that I must make an afghan with it. The original stitch pattern is called "Long Waves", but it looks more snaky and sinuous to me, so I shall call it the Snaky Blanky. It's a Poisonous Snaky Blanky because it's made out of Toxic materials. Har har. I love this yarn--what's not to love about handspun in these colors?



I started out with 8 ounces of this fiber and got about 310 yards of 2-ply aran weight yarn. My calculations yielded the somewhat discouraging news that I'll be able to make a itty-bitty afghan of about 36 x 14 inches with this amount of yarn. If there weren't already enough reasons to love Ravelry, I have been rescued by the Hello Yarn group there. I went fishing for generous souls who might be willing to exchange any of their Toxic fiber for some of my other hoarded Hello Yarn club installments. I had two takers on the trade (Bless you Vickie and Felicia, if you read this) and Adrian (Hello Yarn, herself) let me know that she still had a pound of Toxic in storage. It's a Ravelry Miracle!

All together, I'll end up with 36 ounces, which should be enough for a 36 x 63 inch afghan. I might end up blocking it into the more conventional dimensions of 40 x 60--or I might just leave it long and skinny...snaky. (Hmm. I have a tendency to get caught up in themes.) The first batch of traded fiber arrived today, and I'm going to try really hard to let my back finish calming down before I start spinning it. I predict that I will last 2 days.

brunette ambition

Yet Another Work-In-Progress:

I have plans. Yes. I have ambition. I am going to be a better person, yea even a better knitter. I'm going to finish something. I know that statement is directly contradicted by the presence of Yet Another WIP, but I'm hereby resolving to go finish that Brea Bag for my sister-in-law and then Eric's convertible mitts before I knit anything else. AND, I'm going to go fold the mountain of clean laundry on my couch and put it away before I knit! (This is intended to be a mitten for moi, knit from my handspun--Shetland wool dyed by Spunky Eclectic. Crazy colors, huh? You should have seen the wool before it was spun.)

But first, some Personal and Religious Musings:

I'm a Mormon. I know this comes as no surprise to my sisters (hi sisties!) and my local pals who stop by the blog, but I thought I'd just lay it all out there today. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the man that I revere as a prophet of God, Gordon B. Hinckley, died last night. I have such gratitude and love in my heart for him. All sorrow that I feel is totally selfish. I know that he's rejoicing with Christ and his loved ones. I'm also engulfed by feelings that I'm not able to articulate very well--conclusion being that I need to expect more of myself. I need to do more to reflect God's love and light--as President Hinckley did.