So much stash!!

I'm almost done with finals!!

Finally! I can relax! I just have one little paper left to write, and then I am done for the semester.

I have to say, this was a tough semester. Not because of my classes, or the work load, but because of me! I usually have no problem focusing in class or on doing homework, but this semester I found it almost impossible to make myself work on school work. Because of this, and wanting to save up more money, I have decided to take next semester off. I will definitely be going back in the fall, but I think I just need a little break. After sixteen years of getting straight A's, I am exhausted! 

I have not gotten a ton of knitting done lately, due to finals, but I did finally finish one project!

Finished Object

1) I finished Brandon's scarf! Finally!! I am so sick of scarf knitting. My next project is going to have to be in the round, or I will go crazy. 

 

This was made with Knitpicks Brava Sport and some recycled sweater yarn. It's really soft and long (over 70 in long after blocking). I will post more pictures of Brandon wearing it after Christmas. 

So now I am finally done with holiday knitting! Woohoo! I was going to make a couple more things for people, but I am totally burnt out on knitting for other people. I almost never knit for myself, which is ridiculous. I think my New Year's resolution for next year is going to be to only knit things for ME! Selfish knitting all the way.

2) I also finished spinning the singles of the undyed BFL that I have been working on FOREVER! I was really proud of how even and consistent it was, until I started unwinding it onto a "bobbin" (AKA toilet paper roll). Somehow I managed to spin a very consistent lace weight for a third of the fiber, then a few dozen yards of a fingering weight, and finishing with a very consistent, very thin, lace weight. I have no idea how I am going to spin the other 2 oz in order to make it an even and balanced two-ply. I think I'm just going to have to accept that my first yarn is going to be a little thick and thin. 

3) Last night I attempted dyeing a gradient yarn in green, and it did not work out so well. It may have been the yarn's fault, and the fact that it was white instead of natural  yarn means it does not soak up dye as well as I would like. Or it could be that my dyeing skills have not been perfected yet. But anyway, this morning I over-dyed the yarn with blue, and I love it!!

It is still not done drying, but I will post another picture of it in a hank or ball so you can marvel at the beauty. This was a yarn that I bought on Ebay for about two dollars a long time ago. It's a Chinese yarn, so I have a hard time finding the information about it to share with you, but it is a silk, merino, and (apparently) cashmere blend. It is very very soft and smooth. I am not 100% confident about the fiber content, since the yarn is so cheap, but it definitely has wool in it (it smells like clean wool when wet) and it feels soft enough to have silk and cashmere in it too. Who knows. Here is the page on Ebay.

Stash Enhancement

I have a hard time justifying this, but I will try. 

As you can see, I have a lot of new yarn and fiber. So much that as I was photographing it all my boyfriend was sitting on the couch shaking his head at me in shame. BUT, as I tried to explain to him, I am not crazy! Everything in this picture cost me less than 40 dollars!  Let me explain.

Way back in October, I bought a bunch of yarn from a Chinese yarn company on Ebay. I couldn't resist the low price! It took over a month to get here, but I am very happy with the yarn. It is the same brand as the yarn that I dyed in the picture above. I am planning a sweater with these lovelies. 

Then, on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I had a bit of a yarn buying relapse. I had managed to avoid buying yarn for SO LONG, but how I am supposed to resist awesome discounts and free shipping!? I CAN'T!

Brandon bought me some yarn as an early Christmas present from the Knitpicks Cyber Monday sale (or should I say, he gave me permission to use his card to order myself some yarn). I got some lovely Stroll and Andean Treasure for under ten dollars!

THIS IS THE SOFTEST YARN EVER!!

Then, the next day, when I saw that the sale was still going on, I couldn't resist buying some more, for myself. I got three balls of Palette for only ten dollars. So beautiful!

I actually bought two more skeins of yarn, but Knitpicks ran out of it before they could put my order through. And, because they are such lovely and wonderful people, they sent me a coupon for ten dollars worth of yarn FOR FREE!!!!! And, of course, they still had a bunch of fantastic yarn on clearance. I got two skeins each of Felici Sport and Shadow Tonal, for TEN DOLLARS!!

So I got all this fantastical wonderful beauty and only spent ten dollars (plus shipping). 

THEN I was on Etsy, and saw some beautiful fiber on sale that I could not pass up. 

This is the Topaz Tempest wool from The Joyful Sheep . It is a wool and mohair blend, and I cannot wait to spin it. The shop owner also sent me a cute little button and a little sample of fiber as well, because she is fantastic!!

Adorable

And last, but not least, I purchased some of this 

This, my dear friends, is possibly the softest, squishiest thing I have ever felt. It is eight ounces of faux (yes, that means it's synthetic. AAAAAH!) cashmere from Yarn 2 Spin on Etsy.  Since it will be a very veeeeery long time (if ever) that I will have the means to spin real cashmere, this is the next best thing. Seriously, when I say soft, I mean floating on clouds made of marshmallow puff and baby kisses soft. I am planning on dyeing this wonderful rainbow colors and spinning it up to make a shawl or hat/gloves/scarf combo. 

That is all the news I have of the knitting/yarn variety. I am currently also working on a recycled T-shirt quilt that I started sewing two years ago and have yet to finish. I am setting a goal for myself to finish it by the end of the year. EEP. I will update you with it's progress in my next post. 

Now that I have showcased my gluttony and yarn addiction, I think I will head to bed. Boyfriend and I have lots of Christmas shopping to get done tomorrow. :P

Have a great weekend! I will post again next week, barring any unseen obstacles like more Christmas shopping or the Mayan Apocalypse. 

-Nicole