Not Going To Breakfast After All

Durwood was supposed to meet his cronies for their monthly breakfast this morning but when he heard the TV weather guy say "5 degrees" he turned right around and went back to bed.  I was even going to drive him and drop him off at the door but he decided that it's just too cold.  He's probably right but that means that now I have to make my own breakfast and it surely won't be an omelet with cheese and ham and mushrooms with sausage on the side, a slice of marble rye toast, and a little bowl of fresh fruit.  (can you tell I was planning what I'd choose from the buffet?)  Oh well.  Mr. Fat Squirrel's already been by for his breakfast of corn, suet, and fallen birdseed with a sip of heated water to wash it all down.

What it also means is that I have the entire day to go downstairs and "toss the stash."  I'll be opening each and every bin and bag of yarn, sorting out the WIPs (keeping some and frogging others), finding all my needles and notions and organizing those, pulling out skeins that need to be knitted up soon (you know the flirtatious ones you can't ignore) to be bagged with a pattern and sent to live in the basket under the coffee table to be within easy reach.  "Tossing the stash" is my annual check to make sure no critters have moved into the yarn and to reacquaint myself with the wonderfulness I already own, to convince myself once again that I don't NEED more yarn, I just need to knit what I've already got.  Also to reinforce my yarn diet.  Knit what you have, Barbara, you loved it when you bought it, KNIT IT UP.

Mixed in with a bit of the yarn, at the very edge, is some fabric.  I'm going to try really hard not to get distracted by it or by searching for a purse pattern (no, Barbara, no! keep your eyes on the yarn) because I found some really cool ginkgo upholstery fabric in the cupboard that will make an awesome purse.  (ignore it, ignore it)


This week at work I knitted on a new hat for LC and made it to the decreases last night at knitting, and I cast off the spark pattern swatch for the Bay Lakes Knitting Guild design contest last night too.  This morning I pulled out the waste yarn and, look!, a place to put a thumb.  I need to make some notes about how to do it better but this is good.  I'm glad I started right away so I won't be staying up nights and giving myself headaches over this.  It's due at the April meeting and today's February 1 (really?  already???) so I've still got 2 months to swatch, knit, and write the pattern.  I think talking it out at knitting last Friday solidified my idea so next (after knitting a few thumb rounds just for practice) I'll swatch the cable I think is the winner, then it's just a matter of knitting it up and writing it all down and I'll be done.  Hey, maybe today I'll find the perfect yarn in the stash.  I'm thinking tweed but we'll see what turns up.

February 1 (are you sure?)--Central Anatolia, Vessel Terminating in the Forepart of a Stag.  There was a deer head stuck in Hank's neck.  Tom and Steve stood frozen in the doorway, Tom's hand on the light switch.  "What's that thing?" Steve said pointing a shaking finger at Hank lying flat on his back with the silver artifact buried antlers deep in his neck.  There was a pool of dark red blood under him that gleamed in glare of the ceiling light.

I didn't feel ready for bed until after midnight last night so I'm happy that the words hung together as well as they did but it was kind of nice to be up into the wee hours once again.  I won't do it often but it was peaceful and quiet.  I'd forgotten.  Off to play with bags o'yarn.  Toodles.
--Barbara