Two and a half month.

I've done all my classes on this Tuesday.  A little paper work (PC work, actually) is left but I got 10 weeks' off before starting to be ready for the coming school year.

Now I can catch up with my neglected knitting projects and, of course, start new projects.

First, I concentrated on finishing these socks;

Pattern; Maple Sugar Socks by Karin Bole
Yarn; ONline Supersocke 100 Sierra color, colorway 01, 72g
Needles; Brittany 5 in DPNs in US #0
It's a nice, warm pair of socks.  The color is much nicer when knit up than in ball.  I had to choose size 0 needles not to change the stitch numbers while making them fit to my feet.  I felt I'm taking an extra knitting time just to avoid calculation, but the result is a good fitting pair.  I think I'll make more "size 0 needles socks" for a while.

I had a good time making up my mind to "THE project" as I finishing the socks.  I thought it's about time to "do that".

About a year ago, after I finished Colette pullover, I thought I ought to do this more.  By "do this" I mean knitting light and warm pullover for myself.  Warm, not-bulky, honest sweaters.

I've done a colorwork, so the next project should be a nice gansey.

Picking up candidates was not a hard process.  I was already eyeing on Jess's Gansey and I had Gladys Thompson's book (Patterns for guernseys, jerseys, and arans : fishermen's sweaters from the British Isles) on my bookshelf.  And then, Alice Starmore's book,  Fishermen's Sweaters: Twenty Exclusive Knitwear Designs for All Generations. (Did you know Amazon says "Fisherman's"?) I put four sticky notes on Eriskay, Nova Scocia, Cape Cod and Mystic.  I was going to "do this" by making a dent in my vast fingering stash, too.  After pouring on the pages (and made photocopies of all these patterns), staring at my stash on Ravelry, swatching and calculating, I finally made a decision. 


Eriskay, with purple yarn.


The pattern requires knitting 5-ply (US sport) into 32 stitches per 4 inch gauge.  I think the weather on the coastal area where the garment originally developed needs those dense fabric, but here in Kyoto, I don't need THAT toughness.  I respect the tradition, but I'd go with what I have and use fingering (Chu-boso in Japanese standards), just getting the same gauge.
Miraculously, I'm getting the exact gauge on the same size of needles.  It's suspicious because I'm a fairly loose knitter so usually have to go two sizes smaller than the patten says.  The yarn is thinner, of course, so it may be no mystery at all, but still.  I guess I'm taking a risk of loose fabric with not-so-clear stitch recognition.  My swatch in stockinette stitches looks absolutely fine and nice, but still.  I know what swatches and gauges do to the knitters.

One more thing I'm anxious about is the sleeve length.  I'm OK with the chest circumference and the length with "small" sizing.  But the sleeves?  No way I can do dishes wearing a sweater with more than 6 cm longer sleeves than my size.  I think I have to change the ratio of decreasing to make them fit to my dwarf arms.

I've started it, anyway.  I have plenty of time thinking over the sleeve length while I knit up the body.


This is my 200th project on Ravelry.  I wasn't paying attention which one was my 100th.

My 201st is this, by the way.


A mug cozy with thick-and-thin self-striping yarn.
It's a simple garter stitch project, with any super-bulky yarn and 4.5 mm needles.  Just knits up in no time.

Here's my recipe;

CO 12 (about the height of your mug)

Knit every row for a while.

Just before the half length of the mug's circumference, start decreasing on each sides as k, ssk, knit to the last 3 sts, k2tog, k.  Decrease every other rows until the width reaches the half of what you start.  

Increase back to the original width.

Knit on until the length reaches about the circumference of the mug.

Make three (or more, or less) button holes by adding yo, k2tog on the places at your whim.

Knit a couple of rows flat, BO.

Sew on buttons.

Make sure the narrow part faces to you when you hold your mug, right-handed or left-handed, by turning the cozy upside-down if you need.  That way your lips will not catch any fuzziness, and you can show off your selection of buttons to public, your spouse, or your cat.

One more thing in my mind right now.
Since I don't have any intension to do machine knitting myself, nor I don't have any friend nor family who does it, a lot of fingering yarn in my stash means a lot (more than I want) of knitting time.  I did very good at not buying yarns last year, but I feel I'm under a heavy stress every time I skip the yarn section of craft stores and colorful websites of yarn company.  I am not sure I can bear this any more.  It was so hard to hit "delete" button in the "your shopping cart" page after I poured over the laptop screen for almost one hour and put 15 balls of worsted yarn when my inner "yarn purchase police" finally fought over my adrenaline.  That happened about a week ago.  I felt sad.  Sad to the bottom.  It was like giving up a bright future as a professional athlete to go back to my hometown and marry to an honest but boring boy next door, not with carrier-threatening injury, but just because we made a promise when we were both 6 years old. ( I'm just imagining. Wild.)

I don't have any space left in my house, this is a cold fact, so I can't go nuts and "buy anyway".  Throwing away the good quality wool yarns is never going to be my solution.  So, I seriously do double- or triple- stranding the yarn to knit, or crochet something calls for worsted yarns, to broaden my choice in patterns and re-joining the flock who buys yarns.  I'm sick and tired of telling myself "no, no yarns for you".
I've already started the research.  I got a bullet.  Wait for a hit.

Mittens and more (The one with a lot of links)

Since I gave up knitting Watermelon Cardigan, I now have 4,287 yards in total (minus half a 4-yr sized sleeve, but it's usable, too, in need), 13 colors of Knit Picks Palette.

This amount of yarn can be a burden. Or a joy.

It's simply a joy for me. Naturally.

One of my favorite knit designers, spillyjane uses Knit Picks Palette a lot. I did a quick pattern research, and found 23 mittens and socks of her design with Palette. So far, only a couple of them (Swedish fish and Willistead) are on my queue. My Palette stash is very heavy on greens and purples because, before Watermelon, I tried Tulip socks as a practice piece (sad over-preparation.) I don't have a lot of vivid colors such as orange and red. But I have a good amount of accent/background colors such as two balls of black and more than one and a half balls of white.

I thought I am out of my stranded colorwork phase, but, apparently, I'm still in there. My favorite designers list on Ravelry (SpillyJane, Kathleen Taylor, Nanette Blanchard, Eunny Jang, Tuulia Salmela ...) tells me so.

Let it go.

My daughter has turned to six years old. I still remember the blue clear sky I saw from the hospital room window just before the delivery. She came to this world in the full blast of Texas sun (of course the room was ACed, though).

This year, our home baker (my husband) was not available (just couldn't make the day off, didn't have to stay extra-time on his daughter's birthday. Not so bad deal as a Japanese office worker.) He, got a piece of artisan from a patisserie nearby his office.

(Am I a paranoia to edit the pic to erase her name on the chocolate plate? Maybe. Maybe not.)

The cake was only 12cm in diameter, so we figured out it's the right size for us, family of three to clear it up on one sitting. It was good. VERY good cake, with a perfect balance of sweetness, bitterness and fruitiness. It was moist, delicate and light.

But still, my husband is determined to bake his own for his daughter next year. His baking is, a sort of, like my knitting. He does it for himself and for the family who appreciates it.

On her 6th birthday, I made up my mind on a difficult issue in my stash/WIP.

It's my Watermelon Cardigan project. I fell in love with it, My daughter saw the picture and said "Cute." I got the pattern and all the yarn I need for the largest size (JUST in case I am not so quick) and made half a sleeve. Then, it started to seem... she doesn't like melons as food. She says it's "too sweet" or "not sweet enough" every time I give a piece for her. She "doesn't like the softness."

A while ago, I asked her if she wants the cardigan, and she said no, she'd rather want a slice of knitted watermelon toy.

Even after it was clear that I can't make the cardi for her anymore, I couldn't do anything on my Ravelry project page or the yarn. Until yesterday, when I noticed that she almost outgrew the largest size in the pattern.

It's over. I'll let it go. The yarn could have a better way to go than a overdued, grown-out sized, not-finished-at-all-even-one-sleeve cardigan. Sad. But a good dicision, I guess. (sob)

Now, it's time to hit Ravelry pattern search. (grin)

Spend just to satisfy myself

I have been thinking a lot about my stash these days.

Its sheer volume is overwhelming and almost embarrassing.  I know there are a lot of mega-stasher out there in the knitting world, but, thinking about the size of my house and the fact I'm not making any money with knitting, my stash is just too much bigger than me.  I should not be ashamed of, though, because it's not a selfish stash.

Those yarns I salvaged from my mother's house was meant to be something for the families.  Inheriting her yarns means I am taking over her position as "family knitter."  Now I got a good excuse to knit more - it's something I can be happy about.

I think now I knit somewhat like knitters of years ago; Knit with what you have in your hand.  Years ago, before internet yarn shopping, before LYS, knitters depended on local yarn or what they get from agents.  They knit what they need to, adding a little bits and pieces of fun here and there.  Labor knitters had less fun.  

Now I'm a family knitter of modern age.  I can knit guernsey or Nordic colorwork, even lace.  I can knit in any design my daughter likes.  There's no limit by tradition, age, social position on designs.  I am FREE.  I'm only limited by the yarn I have.  Gauge issue have to be solved by double-, triple-, or even quadruple-stranding and choosing one or two size larger/smaller, but those are what I'm always doing anyway.

But still, from time to time, I feel "I gotta buy yarn".  I'm addicted to knitting, crocheting, and buying yarns.

My solution for it is, to buy yarns for my friends.  And for a single, small project as "vent" knitting.  Like buying just two skeins of Noro Silk Garden for a scarf.

I found out another solution just today.  I have never bought on-line patterns (download & pay-pal kinda stuff) before.  I think I can replace yarn-buying with pattern-buying.  Not started yet, but I have a vague feeling this can be dangerous.  Unlike yarns, pdf files doesn't require any storage space.  

Challenge and reward

Pattern; Clematis Vine in New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One by Cat Bordhi

Yarn; La Primera Junmou Chu-boso, color 13 (pink) 13g, La Primera Wool Multi Color Chu-boso color 105 (pink-orange-purple multi) 34g, Kanebo Cattleya color 201(white) 40g  - 40g of MC (white) and total 47g of CC (pink & multi)

Needles; US 1 1/2 (2.50mm) Brittany 5 inch DPN, set of five and KnitPicks nickel 24 inch circular

This is my Sock Knitters Anonymous Group Sockdown! challenge for March.  Challenge, it was.  I had to carry the charts and instructions everywhere I go.  I didn't imagine I would say "oh, it's nothing - just K1-K1 stripe with two colors!" 

I'm sure it's a gauge issue, but my socks have extra room (more like extra suite rooms) at heels.  I should have stop increasing for the heels two or three stripes earlier, to make gusset shorter and fit a little more better.  I'm OK with this pair, though, because it's my bedroom socks to wear over another pair.  I love these colors.  Original pair in the book used orange and blue yarn, stunning beauty of autumn blue sky and leaves just starting to change their colors.  Mine is meant to be more like dreaming spring flower garden (too girly?).  I am very proud of myself that I did it and did it from my stash - "leftover" stash, that is.  All the skeins were partial at the beginning.  I didn't have to buy any to finish.  

On the first sock, I read the instruction wrong and made only one round of CC stockinette after the picot row.  I wondered why the cuff rolls up so bad, and crochet SC one round to keep it from showing the gut.  It worked, and I somewhat proudly even took a picture of it, and wondered again, why THAT Cat Bordhi publish such pattern.  I read it again, and found "inch" after "k1" at the cuff instruction.  I deeply regretted while I re-do the hem the right way, not to have been more careful.

The second sock was on hold for days after finishing the toes.  

My daughter had lost Gaspard and I promised her to make the identical doll again, and the demand was enough to wake me up from ignorance (not really ignoring, but y'all know what I mean).

 

After Gaspard, I was all obsessed to make Penelope and her doll Doudou completed with the carry basket for him. 

And I had to finish something for a brand-new big sister of my friend's new baby (Welcome to the world, Ahren Kazuma!).

Of course, my daughter had to have one for herself.

Those amigurumi craze made the girls (including the one in myself) really happy, but took longer than I expected.

My mother went home the day before I finished the socks.  I helped her to leave the hospital, do the filling-an-empty-fridge-and-an-empty-pantry shopping with her.  My daughter and I stayed for two nights with her to fill her emptiness a little more  and help her go back in the action (meaning let her cook for us).

I finished the Clematis socks at her home, actually. (It's why the lighting was so bad and the color of the carpet is different.)

I am not so confident about consuming the now humongous stash of mine in my lifetime.  The final (big) box filled with Mom's yarns arrives on Friday.  There are acrylics in worsted and fingering weight, and beautiful wools in rainbow colors.  I am thinking of a log cabin acrylic afghan/rug/whatever and a few wool vests for my daughter to wear under her Kindergarten uniform bolero.

I totally agree with "Life is too short to knit with bad yarns".  Looks like my criteria for "bad yarn" leaves very few yarns in that category.  Acrylics has its own niche.

It's all Greek to me

My mom's house is anything but (edited; more like "nowhere near") perfect, but now a couple truck-full lighter than it used to be.  And getting ready for her to come home.  Cleaning up and remodel still on the way (long way, that is), but anyway, Mom herself is ready to back in action.

I was helping clean-up guys at her house and found some more yarn in oshi-ire, which I blogged right from the scene and forgot a picture from too much excitement.

This is the Greek one.  Grey, maybe a little finer than worsted, 2-ply, ....... beautiful yarn.  20 skeins of them.  HEAVENLY, isn't it?

This is the label.  Literally, All Greek.

But I think I can find all the information I need. 

Recommended needle size; 4-4.5 mm or 4.5mm crochet hook

One skein has 100 grams.  Length is not provided.  Hand wash warm.  And it must be 100% wool, because I found the words "Pure laine vierge" on the front side of the label.

Of course, I can ask for help on Ravelry to hellas, Greek Knitters Group.  Still, a little detective work first does no harm.  Woo, it's fun.

Other than this, there were four more big paper bags of yarn.  I didn't open them all, but looked like all Japanese yarn (old, or vintage?)  This weekend, I'll help Mom at home to settle, and inspect those yarns together.   Yes, I'm really lucky to have this kind of stuff in common with her.  

Should have known

Today, I am at Mom's house for cleaning. Y'all know what I found here? More yarn. Of course. One of them is from Greece.
Agh.

The way I came, the way I go, and after that

This is the 100th post on this blog, according to Blogger Dashboard.

Thank you, my friends, to give me your time reading this and commenting on this. I love you.

To celebrate a milestone (sort of), I'll post about this;

These boxes were on top of a cabinet in Mom's house. A 10-ball box and three new ball of 90% wool (70% angora), 10% nylon yarn and a mini-stole in progress. Apparently, there were 15 balls and one and a half turned to this cleverly designed piece. The pattern used was in the box, too, but it is modified to simplify and show off the beauty of this yarn.

In a sense, I was well bribed with this to adopt her whole stash.

Mom started this project for her mother (my grandma) more than 20 years ago, without telling her about it. It was an expensive yarn. She was on it really really careful not to make ANY mistakes. She doesn't remember why it was put away high up there, but something, a series of everyday and non-everyday events, must have happened to keep her too busy for this delicate project.

It never left from her mind, but she was just too occupied. My grandpa passed away, my father diagnosed with liver cancer and passed away one and a half year after that. I went to college between those. My sister and brother had been married, and they had babies. I started working, got married. Mom herself had been diagnosed with diabetes and her blood pressure was dangerously high all the way. Her eyesight was not good as before. My brother had to change his job because of his health problem. I went to the USA, had a baby.

And, last year, my grandma passed away.

When we started to tackle the piles of stuff in my mom's house, she disclosed the existence of "an angora yarn". I found it on the top of the cabinet exactly as she described. The yarn is a little discolored where the bamboo needles were touching, and there were a few dead bugs but the yarn looks fine.

I didn't think a nano-second to decide finishing the stole for Mom. When I told her so, she didn't get overly impressed nor cry, just said "Oh, yeah, I don't care a bit about the discoloration." I love you, mom.

She is still a knitter, of course. And a knitter knows a knitter. She knows too well that I just can't let the opportunity to get free angora yarn go. And thank goodness, my sister is not a knitter. Peace between sisters is safe here.

Thinking of that, there was always only one knitter in our family. My sister knows how to knit, period. Mom taught me how to knit, but I got serious about knitting after "her era". My grandma didn't knit. Mom learned knitting from her aunt, and from classes. I'm not sure about my aunts' knitting ability, but I never received a knitted present from them.

I don't know how my grandaunt learned knitting. She was a kind of professional knitter who makes garments for customers at a yarn store. They make purchase of a yarn, leave it with some money and something about how they like their garment would be, and takes it when it's done.

The other day, I got a very interesting piece of information from Mom; My grandfather on my fathers side was a knitter. She heard from sibling-in-laws that my father was raised "on his dad's lap" because his mom passed away when he was still very young and his dad felt so sorry about it. His dad, my grandfater, was knitting with my dad on his lap, they say. Even my mom never met my paternal grandfather. He had passed away long before my parents got married. There's no way to know what he was knitting. "But," my mom says, "I heard he was a good knitter."

Japan doesn't have a knitting tradition. Like other stuffs, the art of knitting (and crocheting) was imported from Europe or America only 100 years or so ago. But, in my family, we have at least three generations of Knitters. My niece knits. My daughter knits. Fourth generation here.

eight ninety-four in seventy-three

I finished cataloging my mom's yarn, all but one. 

My stash has now 55627.9 yards / 31.60 miles / 50.86 kilometers of yarn, plus 1062 grams / 2.34 pounds of Aunt Lydia's #10 crochet thread PLUS 894 grams / 1.97 pounds of Gokuboso (2ply or Lace weight).  And one more (next post).

894 grams of Gokuboso in 73 colors.  Yes, seventy-three.  

Almost all of them have lost their ball bands. There are some which weigh exact 1 oz. and still have small piece of paper at the end tucked in the center. They probably are new balls (Why, oh why did you take bands away, mom?) You can safely guess that she didn't care sticking to one brand. There are six bright reds and ten grays, two navy(!)s. They are not the same, you can tell when you se them side by side. They are in different colorways, not just in different dye lots, or so I think.

There are a lot of "embroidery thread" of 100% wool, too. I had no idea that such a thing exists.

I think this picture explains all above.

Grrrrrrrranny squares.

I think I am going to add it as a new project on my Ravelry notebook.  

Or try plying Gokubosos with my spindle.  Theoretically, plying two 2plys make a 4ply, which is fingering equivalent, right? 

Inheritance

My mom had given up knitting and crocheting a while ago.  She says she "graduated" from all those crafty thingies.  Her sight is not as good as before, her hands doesn't work as good as before, and she feels she's just "through."

After she had undergone a CABG (coronary artery bypass graft - Am I the only person who imagined the doctor makes Kitchener Stitches on my mom's artery?) about two month ago, we, my sister and brother and me, thought it's time to clean up and remodel her house.  It was "our" house.  Once a family of five was living there.  Now, it's so cluttered that just my mom has to squeeze herself to fit in there.  It's not just in a right condition for a grandmother who wants her children and grandchildren to gather at her place.

That means, a major throw-away and sell-away and give-away extravaganza.  She allowed us to pick up stuffs first - not "whatever we want" but rather "what Mom wants us to have and some more".  Thank you, mom.

Naturally, I am the one who inherit all her stash yarn.  Her knitting notebook and needles are yet to find out, but when it comes up to surface, those, too, are going to be mine.

Last Sunday, I had my turn to work on THE STUFFS, dug out two large boxes of yarn and sent them to my house along with two smaller boxes of other plunders.

I tried to take the picture of whole things but it was impossible. I took some out and....

These boxes are big enough for my daughter to play school bus with all her dolls, but I stopped her to do that for the fear of bugs.  I just threw bags after bags in a larger (the largest that I have) zip-lock bag.  And weighed it.

This is almost all of it.  And it weighed about 8.5kg (=18.7Lb).  Not so huge?  They are mostly fingering weight.  Looks like it's about time to start flipping through Latvian Mittens by Lizbeth Upitis and The Celtic Collection by Alice Starmore, AND learn how to estimate gauges when you double-strand or triple-strand.  .. I think I favorited one post on Ravelry about that....

Anyway.

First, I have to inspect each skein for bug infection, catalogue it and put it in a separate zip-lock bag.  I am not sure if I should add old, very likely to be discontinued Patons yarns or Japanese yarn manufacturers who does not exist any more to Ravelry database.

About 19 Lbs.  I think I don't need to buy any yarn while President Obama is in the Oval Office (And I don't think he leaves after only one term.)

Something for myself

I have finished four pairs of socks, two pairs of fingerless mitts (Mosaic mitts for Aunt Kei is done!), one pair of Selbu style mittens, one pair of Selbu style gloves, one shawl, one cover shorts, one crochet skirt, one neckwarmer and one hat over these three month.  I'm pretty satisfied with my productivity.  Everything but my casquette is for my family and friends I love.  I am such a happy knitter surrounded by these circle of people who likes my knitting.  And all the joy of knitting, finishing them is mine.  I am the one who had fun.

Am I OK to think it's about time to knit one or two lovely stuff just for myself?

Like...

Leavened Raglan from Knits 2007 Fall issue?

I did a swatch over a year ago and got yarns (Patons SWS -Soy Wool Stripes) enough for the project (or so I think).  It needs a little calculation because my yarn is thinner so this swatch is off gauge if I should follow the pattern, but I like the fabric of my swatch.  I'll simply go for a bigger size (=more stitches), but which size I should choose?  I need a sit-down time without any distraction.  I'm not bad at math at the level required to knitting, but I'm almost 40.  My brain needs to be treated nice to function OK.

Ah, but, a light but soothing knitting before that.  Because I got this little beauty from my friend.

My daughter, who is surely on the right track as a knitter, said "You can make a hat with this rainbow (her term for "multi-color") yarn!" at the moment she saw it.  She may be a genius.  (Of course I had checked your pattern, Janet, but I didn't notice first this is the exact yarn you used for it.  I'm sorry, but, forgive me.  I'm almost 40.  Oh, did I just mention it?  Oh, no.)  To show her my respect as a knitter, I have to make a hat for her.  Or should I put this skein in her stash?  Hmmm.  

Anyway.

I'm all set for a little selfishness.  ... After ongoing pair of socks (Sockdown! January project, Clover) for my cousin, though.

Like grandma, like mom, like daughter

On Ravelry, I met tens of  great knitting friends.  Some lives pretty close.  I went out for a S'n'B last month and had tons of fun.  My daughter came with me, and was a very good girl throughout having a glass of chocolate milk and draw all of my friends there.

 

She is not a very social type, but looked so comfortable just being with us, drinking and eating, minding her own business.  Wow.  A perfect S'n'B member at the tender age of four.

Last Sunday we had this month's S'n'B.  I had told about it to my mother.  The cafe we gather is verrry close to my mother's house (where I grew up), like 15 minutes on bicycle (not "Tour de France" type bike, but "commuters in Beijing" type).  She wanted to join us, weather permitted.  She could get there on subway, but adding up walking to the station, transition, walking from the station, it would be faster just walking there, 30 to 40 minutes or so.

The weather was not perfect, but OK for her to take her trusty old bicycle.

On Saturday, the day before S'n'B, my mom had called me in the morning. 

Mom; Uh, honey, I have a confession.  I guess I don't want to wait until Sunday.

Me; Uh-uh?

Mom; ... I bought yarn.

Me; Uh- Okey.  OK.  What's that yarn like? (I thought she gave up knitting and crocheting, but maybe she dug out her old needles and hooks to make something small....)

Mom; ...For you, honey.

Me; WHAT?!  What's the yarn like?

Mom; It's lovely pink and gray or blue and pale pink varigated, SO soft and the price was good.  What's more, a lady asked me if I really want that 10-ball pack because she would like to have it if I don't.  I just decided I HAD to have it the moment she asked me like that, and, ....

Me; ... repent thyself.

And I think I am as sinful as she is because I rejoiced to have free new yarn.

The yarn she bought is this;

Sorry, it doesn't show the yarn itself so clearly.  I found a color card here (color number 401) .  It's 100% merino, sports-DK weight.  One ball weighs 40 grams, I got 10 of them.

S'n'B was fun, as the last time, to see two of new friends.

I knit several rounds of Christmas Socks #2.  My daughter and mom had fun rolling up some fleece into felt balls and make bracelets with them.

Subs, continued

I went to Yoshikawa, a craft store which has, in my opinion, the best variety of yarn within my reach (means, where I can take my daughter with me and shop and still can cook that day) this Thursday.  A little bit disappointed with yarn selection, but got 13 skeins anyway - this project needs 8 colors, and, although I have one of them, I still needed other 7, a little upset when my daughter started crying over lost (= thrown away) VHS tapes of Hamtaro (she found button collections of Hamtaro caracters and remembered how much she loved the show), bought one each of  whole 48 colors of 20cm x 20cm felt cloth for projects from this and this books.

My disappointment was not about the store, but the yarn itself, mostly.  Looked like all the yarns from Hamanaka are too soft and smooth.  I am into more wooly, sticky and (probably) itchy yarns these days.  Of course soft and smooth and merino-ish yarn has a lot of beauty itself, but, it is not what I am looking for.  Especially for fingering to sports weight yarns I would assign to stranded colorwork project.  Hmm.  

Then, last night, I noticed I looked over one thing.

Woolland 7 is pretty wooly, sticky yarn which felts beautifully.  How about finer selection from Nikke Victor Yarns?  Isn't it the same, or similar fiber and make as thicker ones?  My only buying option for them is online yarn store like here.  It's OK.  Oh, I can't wait.  I will try one skein each of white and black, making Selbu mittens and gloves. 

How about a double-knit scarf with the soft chu-boso (fingering-compatible) Hamanaka yarn I bought anyway (because it's so soft!  Did I say I don't like soft yarn?  I LOVE soft yarn!!)?

Subs

Before I came bak to Japan, I was nervous and worried about a lot of, well, nothing.  Like, "Can we find a good pediatrician for my daughter?" (There're two pediatrician's offices within 5 minutes' walk.  The one who happened to be open when my daughter cut her palm during obon holidays is excellent.  Very open , informative, gentle and energetic.  It's totally my daughter's problem that she have to cry every time she sees him.  Overreacting.)  Like, "Can I find good cheese or baking supplies that I got used to in the USA?"  (Except for bacon, I can find good stuff, if I pay a little more than I used to. Or have no problem with Japanese product. Oh, Texas-thick bacon, I miss you so much.  So-called "bacon" in Japan looks like Spam with fat.)

I can get Quaker's oatmeal at nearby grocery store (Kyoto Co-op. Oh, they don't have English contents).  I can't find those rainbow colored Jell-O nor Mac'n'cheese in that blue box, but I don't miss them so much.  My daughter has a different opinion, though.

Anyway.

Now, it's time to go and find good "To-Go" yarns.

I think I have to find a good substitute for;

1. Cascade 220

2. Lily Sugar'n'Cream

3. KnitPicks Palette

and, 

4. Good and cheap acrylic yarn that I can knit/crochet Tawashis and toys without thinking how small my budget is.

A candidate for 1. is, Woolland 7 or Woolland 9 from Nikke Victor Yarn.  7 is a little finer and 9 is a little thicker than Cascade 220, but they have OK color variation (20 or 22 each) although not so bright as Cascade 220 (but, honestly, do I need that much color choice? Not really.)  I think I can manage with proper size choosing (like, making size L with thinner Woolland 7).

The real problem about 3. is, all the Japanese yarn looks too smooth and soft for Fair Isle style colorwork.  Maybe not.  I am going to try Hamanaka Junmou Chu-boso.

4. is not so hard to find at 100-yen shop, if you don't care about colors (usually very bright and crying out "I AM CHEAP!!").  Or, I would hit some online stores to look for a bargain price for  Piccolo or Bonny from Hamanaka.  

The hardest thing to find is, to my horror, 2.  So far, I have no luck.  Every yarn on Japanese market is either too thin or too "green".  I don't say no to organic yarns, "Go Green" movement nor caring the Mother Earth.  I use my cloth shopping bag for the groceries.  I just say NO to pay $7-$8 to get 120yards (one skein of Sugar'n'Cream) of cotton yarn.  I think it's good ecologically, because I am seriously considering to tear old T-shirts into strips, knitting bath mat and others with it.  Yay to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  Thanks to Mason-Dixon Knitting.

Tomorrow, I am going to Yoshikawa (on B1 floor of Kyoto Tower - very odd place for a craft store, I would say.) to see those to-go-candidate yarns in person.  My daughter will be a good girl, because I promised to make a itty-bitty witch finger puppet for her.

Gotta make a shopping list.  Lengthy one, I am so sure.

Sleeping on my stash

My yarns are mostly assigned to certain projects.  I consider them not as "stash", but a long line of queued projects.  The exception is sock yarns, which I just bought and stocked them up because they are sock yarns.  But, hey, they describe themselves.  They are for socks.  I like my socks with nylon reinforcer, and I like other garments without, so I seldom use sock yarns for other project for socks.  

Now, my yarns are almost settled under our bed in one cardboard under-the-bed-organizing box and three huge Ziplock (am I supposed to insert ® here?)/Hefty (and here?) bags.  The box is for sock yarns with nylon/polyamide.  Three bags are for;

1. yarns which are clearly assigned to a project.  Some of them are on my Ravelry page as "hibernated", others are on queue.

2. yarns which are not assigned to a project.  Any leftovers go here, too.

3. knit/crochet related or not, anything I want it to be here.  My spindles and rovings are in this bag, too.

I had to make second category 1. bag, which is predicted.  

It turned out that the biggest group in 2. is crochet thread.  Oh.  I have not listed it up on Ravelry stash page.  I remembered now that I re-winded those thread balls to remove the cores, to reduce the volume before packing.  Still, I could make a pillow using them as stuffing.

And I have not touched my quilt fabric (torn and cut shirts remains) yet.

One month after moving in this house, the road to "Done!" is still far.

Stash Management

Moving made me think about managing my stash.

It's not so huge, and every skein of yarn has its assigned project.  Well, almost all of them do.

But still, it is likely to take me more than two years to use up all of them for sure.  Of course, I have stashed up sock yarns because it's so hard to find them in Japan.  They are not to meant to be used up so quickly. 

And there are more than just yarn.  I quilt from time to time.  I can't just throw away old clothes, so I keep them to make quilts.  My "quilting fabric" stash is nothing more than torn-up shirts.  I have a large plastic pocket binder full of fake-fur fabric to make small stuffed dogs, too.  And some thick strings to make Chinese-style knot accessaries.  My spinning stuff is very small.  Just two drop spindles and 4-5 oz. of roving.  

Each of them are not huge, but they pile up.

Packing several large (medium, according to the moving company, but it's large enough for my daughter to play hide-and-seek) box of yarn and fabric makes me think about "saving."

They are heavy.  Some of my yarn and fabric came with me when we moved to the USA five years ago, and go back again without being used.  How much extra carbon emission did I make to transport them overseas?  How much money did I save not buying fabric from stores? 

Of course there's "keepsake" meaning in making quilts from my daughter's baby cloths.  But will we use the finished quilts?  How long would it take me to make them?

Yet, I just can't throw them away.  I just pack whatever I have and bring them with me, wherever I go.  All I can do is to recognize how big my stash is.   I'll start with yarn.  Thanks, Ravelry.  As soon as I settle in our house in Kyoto, I will weigh all fabrics I have.  

Scary, but I can do it.  I am a big girl.