I am not sure what the phrase origin of “go big, or go home” is, but I have always liked it, I am not really sure why. In a lot of ways it makes no sense; but, in a lot of ways, it sort of does. In any case, I plan on going “big” for Project Spectrum 2.0 (well, big for me). Usually after I finish knitting something I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to knit next…and then I buy more yarn for some undetermined project and the waters get muddied further (and the newly bought yarn gets sent to the stash). I have a list and everything but there are a kajillion things on the list and they are categorized by project, not listed by priority; not so helpful. So for PS2, I am pulling yarn and projects from the stash. For the February and March cycle I pulled out all the white, blue and grey yarns I could find. I tried to remember what projects I bought most of it for…not a lot of success there, but that’s okay.
I had to put some things back. Baby Silk for an undetermined shawl…how many shawls can I really knit over a 2 month period—with other projects? There is bag of gorgeous blue Noro Cash Iroha that would love to be a sweater (and I want it to be a sweater, honestly and truly I do), but I can’t commit to another me-sized sweater until I finish Arwen, so I put it back… going big is very different from being stupid. I am trying to be somewhat realistic. So this is what I am looking at.
If you are at all interested in what these skeins, hanks, and what-have-yous may eventually become, go here. When you stop laughing, please come back.
In addition to knitting all sorts of randomness in celebration of white, blue and grey, I will also be continuing my relationship with Arwen, because I will finish this sweater this month…if it kills me (and it very well might). There were some issues with short rows while shaping the sleeves (mostly involving my inability to follow directions—shocking, I know), but I have ripped and re-knit, so all is well. While the ripping of 32 rows of cables and 2, 260 stitches (yes, I calculated) was sort of traumatic, it was nothing compared to Cara’s ordeal which involved a surgical procedure so I didn’t even post about it, it seemed the stuff of small potatoes. I figure at this point Arwen and I have been through so much…I have invested so much time, energy and effort into our relationship...I just need to see it through. If I go too long without mentioning her, please keep me honest and ask how she is doing.
I am anticipating a lot of knitting this weekend. We Special K will be skiing this weekend in Vermont with friends. I have never been a skier. I have been a person on top of a mountain wearing skis inching her way down the mountain with various body parts “cushioning” her descent (none of which were attached to skis), and since that is about as much fun as it sounds I will be knitting, thank you very much.
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Well that is a lovely pile of yarn....a lot of inspiration in there! (I loved the little flickr show!)
Have fun!
Posted by: Pat | February 02, 2007 at 10:51 AM
there is lots of great potential there! looks like you have ideas for some stuff....it makes it seem all the much more when you figure out how many stitches you ripped, doesn't it? I always hate when I can't follow directions. It's not like I read them and just interpreted them wrong, I just plain didn't read them!
Posted by: Stacey | February 02, 2007 at 11:52 AM
Wow--that's a formidable pile of blues, grays, and whites... makes my single skein of Yarn Pirate seem pretty pitiful (grad student status = anti-salary...hey, I'm barely scraping by, here!) And quite an ambitious plan of action...let the Spectrum commence.
Posted by: knittingphilistine | February 02, 2007 at 03:21 PM
Your yarn is so beautiful and you knit so fast so I can't wait to see what you do!
Posted by: tiennie | February 02, 2007 at 04:41 PM
Ooh, knitting in a ski lodge sounds idyllic. Enjoy, and drink lots of hot chocolate.
Those blues and whites and grays all look so nice and wintry together. Good luck working your way through them!
Posted by: Rachel | February 02, 2007 at 06:09 PM
The STR yarn is gorgeous! Curious what "mittens,aran" would be. Hope you have a great weekend knitting-sounds perfect to me! :)
Posted by: brooke | February 02, 2007 at 10:45 PM
I don't have a huge stash, especially compared to many knitbloggers I read, but I can definitely relate to your method of stashing... I plan projects much faster than I get to them, and by the time I finish something up I've got two or three other ideas queued up and, as you say, the waters get muddied.
The upside of all this is that we have lots of things to keep us busy and to look forward to!
Posted by: Karma | February 03, 2007 at 03:30 AM
Drinking hot chocolate, knitting, and having a beautiful view sound like a good time to me. And that is an impressive collection of yarn.
Posted by: Christy / Not Hip | February 03, 2007 at 08:15 PM
Excellent pile of yarn for the big project!
Posted by: diana | February 04, 2007 at 08:19 PM
I used to love skiing weekends - great knitting time, as you say!
Posted by: Theresa | February 07, 2007 at 11:36 AM