New Project Feeling

So since I am 99.9% done with the sweater, just need those toggles, I have been on a new project kick. Which is good and bad, as all of the new projects I've been interested in come from stash yarn, and all of the new projects are presents for people, but they are still new projects. And they are rather quick knits, so methinks I may bust through that requirement of the number of new projects being at most half of the number of finished projects. I have some wiggle room, especially once I finish the Lopi Cardigan, so I can start and finish up to four projects before killing my numbers. Problem is that I have between five and eleven new projects in the works. One is a quick sock pattern, Thuja, which I have knitted before, I have leftover yarn to knit this pair, and it takes a very short amount of time. The last time I knitted them, it was around 12 hours total for the pair, and each time I make them it gets faster. This is a graduation gift, and gets rid of approximately one full skein of yarn.

The other four to ten other projects are belated Mother's Day gifts. I had an idea for matching washcloths and handtowels from the yarn I already own, and I'm really, really, really liking the way it's turning out. I have one washcloth done so far and would have two or three had I not transferred my scissors to my other bag this weekend. They are still in the other bag. I definitely want to make the washcloths for my Aunts and Grandmother, who I will be seeing in a few days, so that's the first four, and if I finish the socks and the washcloths in time, I will be working on matching hand towels. I'm not sure how many washcloths and towels each ball will make. I know the balls will make at least two washcloths, I'm thinking more like three or four. The handtowels may be more ambitious than my stash will allow me to be. I have four balls, two vareigated and two in a complimentary solid. Best case scenario, I get four washcloths from the vareigated balls and two handtowels from the solids. Then I can give two vareigateds and one handtowel (or really give one matching set of each color to everyone as the Sugar and Cream is currently on sale at Jo-Ann's for $3/2 skeins) to each person. I was also considering making a set for my mom if I have the materials and time. I probably won't do that though, as my mom is getting the Broomstick Lace blanket, which is still going to be discussed in its own glorious post at a later date in order to keep me from being more long-winded than I usually am. And to provide me with filler fodder when I have nothing new to say.

I also have two draft posts waiting to be completed once I can integrate pictures. Both posts have to do with my beautiful Lopi Cardigan, which is soooo freaking close to completeness that I wore it last night even though it still does not have toggles (and I had no crochet hook when I finished so had that last bit of yarn just hanging off the collar - oh well).

Now I just need to stop in my craft storage space to grab that Thuja yarn and see if I can find that blue Sugar and Cream for the blue/green vareigated set. I have millions of skeins of blue yarn (actually probably more like 10) so I may have just overlooked it, or it could be in one of four other places. Because though I have a storage space especially for yarn, not all the yarn is in it, due to space and laziness. Hey, I think I remember putting it into the secondary yarn bin, the one with the Broomstick Lace blanket yarn (I have yarn for two more of those...) because it didn't quite fit last time I moved my crafting stuff. I'll have to check that out...

Speaking of moving, the stash-busting-ness is actually a really good thing as I'm a college student and moving for an internship in a little over a week. Which means it's time to pull everything out and try to fit it into as small a space as possible. I like to do my craft stuff last, as I actually really like spending the time going through everything and playing tetris with the bins to get it all to fit in some semblance of order. Like Lopi yarns go here, sock yarn there, acrylic fingering weight on this side, Red Heart worsted over there, Patons Classic Merino thisaway, random novelty yarns thataway, etc. And of course sorting by color a bit too. Ooohh, I just figured out what I can do with my leftover Lopi from a vest I made! I can make the hat from my Lopi Cardigan pattern and possibly give it as a gift...or keep it...

Since my Broomstick Lace blanket has been finished, and I've gotten a bunch of worsted yarn out of the bin for presents, and if I can use up all this Sugar and Cream and the Thuja yarn, I think I'll actually have less yarn this move and be able to pack it all up better. Awesome.

I'm off to try to find some scissors!