Spinning First

Whew! Here I am, back in my little home after a quick jaunt to Newton. (That’s pretty much Boston.)  I had a lovely time with the Metro West Knitting Guild there- they’re wonderful hosts and clever knitters, and as much fun as I’d hoped.  I gave a talk Friday night, and there were classes all weekend, and there’s so much I could tell you that I’m just going to hit the high points.  There was a young, competent and charming knitter – Talia, age 6 (with her self designed monster.)

And sheepy cupcakes (and you will note there are some lambs there.)

and everyone’s favourite flock of nuns (I guess technically, they’re just my favourite nuns since you guys don’t know them, but take my word for it, they’re made of awesome)

and to ice the cake, when I asked the Mother Superior what she was knitting?

She said she was "reconstructing a sheep."  I don’t know what she meant when she said that, but I thought it completely wonderful.

I bashed out a pair of socks while I was there – and more about that tomorrow, but right now, I have to make a plan.  I came back with more yarn and more spinning fibre, and while this is seldom a problem, it is today.  See, I have a simple rule about yarn and fibre. If I can afford it, and it fits in my house, then it is not "too much." I’ve got several generous fibre containment zones, and long ago I made the decision that the stash could be big – but it had to fit in that space. The thing has a tendency to creep out of it from time to time, and that’s always the signal that I have to do something.  As soon as I find myself stuffing something that doesn’t fit into another little cubby, or find the stash exploding onto the floor if I look at it funny, it’s time for a reduction campaign. 

Now, I’ve never believed that diets work.  In my case at least, fibre diets almost always end up with rebound wool coming into the stash as I deny myself things…and so the only thing I can do now is launch a campaign to sensibly reduce the stash a little bit, beginning with the spinning fibre, because that’s where the problem is biggest.  I’m thinking I should go on a little bit of a bender in that department, and turn a chunk of it into yarn.

Of course, that creates another problem – because there’s really rather a lot of yarn too… but, one thing at a time, right?  Here’s my commitment. I’m going to spin every day for a week, as much as I can manage, and see if I can clear a little of it out. One week of a concerted effort – spinning more than I knit for just one week, seven days where I put spinning first.

Anybody want to join me?