post-Mayhem Plans

This spring, I'm renewing my commitment to knitting from stash, and knitting patterns I already own. I strayed from this plan in late fall... and it became a slippery slope of purchasing, planning, but not necessarily knitting.  To get back on track, I'm revisiting my queue with this renewed goal in mind.

For inspiration, I'm turning to the MDK March Mayhem bracket.  The final winner is a yoke sweater by Isabell Kramer, Humulus.  Turns out 3 of the 4 'finalists' were patterns I voted for.  Only the mini-skein pattern was different (I chose Luminosity hat by Tanis of Tanis Fibre Arts).  Many of the patterns, however, are not in my library.  While I'd love to purchase many of them, I instead looked for patterns I own that fit these categories AND the yarn is already in stash.  I'm considering:


YOKES:
Indigo Frost by Isabell Kramer - same designer as the Mayhem winner, I own the pattern and have the yarn in stash , with gray as the main colour:

SWEATERS:
I have the yarn and pattern for Winterly  by Suvi Simola in the first issue of Laine Magazine.  My yarn is Classic Elite Alpaca Sox, and will be a bit more colourful than the original:

OR

I have the yarn to knit Wolf River by Melissa Schaschwary that I purchased quite a while ago.  It's bulky yarn with a lace pattern and should knit up quickly (or more quickly than a fingering weight sweater!)

MINI-SKEINS:
I bought a Sweet Georgia Party of Five Mini-Skein set to use for a gift project for a colleague.  I'm leaning toward Talinum by Tabitha Hedrick, a cowl designed for Sweet Georgia Yarn.

This one needs to be done by end of June (end of school year) so it'll be cast on as soon as I'm done my current cowl project. 

SHOULDERS:
I have lots of shawls and big cowls in my queue.  Most will mean a yarn purchase - while I own the patterns or book that they're in, I don't have the yarn ready to go for most.  I do have yarn for Sharman,  which is a shawl/shrug garment.  I own Bristol Ivy's book, and Harjo was included in the MDK Bracket this year.  This category is the one I will likely leave til later... I like to knit shawls but don't really want to cast another one on at this moment.  Maybe in the summer. 

These four categories are organized in my queue on Ravelry, so I'm hoping to knit one from each in the next few months to play along (sort of) with the MDK KAL while also using things I already own.  Lofty goals, perhaps?! 

Home repairs and the Stash-wagon

I lost focus in the fall/winter and purchased quite a bit of yarn (at least, for me it was more than usual).  Some I’ve already knit but other skeins still wait.... so I’m back on the ‘stashwagon’ and plan to knit from stash and finish WIPs this spring.

The motivating factor for this renewed commitment came on the weekend when a wind storm sent a tree branch smashing into a large picture window in my living room.  Fortunately the window is double-glazed so the inner pane is still intact.  Unfortunately it’s a huge window, with another identical one beside it.  So we either have mismatched windows or replace them both.

Alongside the window comes a strange gurgling noise from the powder room toilet.  The friendly internet tells me we have a clog in the vent pipe or a clog in the drain pipe to the septic field.  I live with two teen boys who likely need a refresher on toilet paper use and septic systems.  Long story short, this will be an expensive fix as we are not plumbers.  Or septic specialists. Nor have we won the lottery.

So back to the stash.  I have plans to knit a lot this spring and summer.  I want more sweaters in my wardrobe for layering - cardigans and vests, with a pullover or two as well.  I have a weakness for pattern books and magazines (hello, Pompom Quarterly and Laine!) so there is no shortage of inspiration.  Just need to plan and cast on.... and avoid purchasing for a little while!

Image:  Wikipedia (via Creative Commons)