Just When I Thought I'd Heard of Everything

Today while I was looking at stuff on Ravelry I happened upon a link to String Theory which linked to a Ravelry group called Knot A Problem. Evidently members of this group "love to untangle or detangle skeins of yarn that are in a big, giant, tangled mess!". So if you have some yarn that is so tangled you want to start taking scissors to it, STOP! Take a deep breath and look up one of the over 140 people ready, willing and able to detangle your yarn. Most people don't charge anything to provide this service - you just pay the mailing costs each way. One gal asked for 2 cents per ounce or chocolate as payment.

I just looked at one of the threads and someone was suggesting ways to create a big tangle. She thought she'd get 10 different skeins of acrylic yarn and tumble them in the dryer for a few minutes. It's kind of creepy - like I've stumbled on the seamy underbelly of the knitter's world, somehow. Oh well, whatever floats your boat.

I've been kinda bummed out these past few days. I was SO close to finishing my drop stitch scarf that I knit with bamboo/nylon yarn and sometime on our trip last week I LOST THE PROJECT!!! I didn't lose the magazine that had the pattern, just the scarf (90% done), the rest of the yarn and a lovely pair of KnitPicks Harmony Wood 3.75 needles. Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

There is no LOST category for Ravelry projects so I guess I'll just leave it in its WIP state.

One of my new knitting buddies, Kaila (aka Kniterella), inspired me to knit Charade socks using some beautiful Misti Alpaca sock yarn.

She found the socks she knit were aggravatingly too tight so I've cast on an additional 8 stitches to make them big enough. The yarn is very soft so I'm using 2.25mm needles so they'll wear well. I just love working with that yarn.







Through a new friend on Ravelry, I found a very cool, free pattern for a Lace Jewelry Frame using a small amount of fancy yarn and an ornate picture frame (without the glass). It's perfect for organizing and displaying earrings and a quick gift idea.

I practiced spinning some yarn yesterday and although my product lacks consistency, I'm getting a better feel for it. Paula has offered to teach me the finer points of spinning so I'm going to spend a day at her place next week. I'd love to spin enough yarn (about 70g) to make a pair of socks. If I can't get the yarn thin enough, I'll spin enough to make some fingerless gloves. Of course, before knitting the yarn, I'm going to dye it. I have a Hand-Dyeing and Handspinning book on order.

So much to learn ... so little time.