Housekeeping

Something about going on vacation makes me want to get everything in order. The change of the seasons has a similar effect on me. As I feel the fall weather coming to not only visit Chicago, but to stay, I have the desire to clean my desk and create an open work surface for myself. I want to look at my nearby book case and see something that makes me want to pick up my books and use them. Have a beautiful storage space like you can only find in one of those TV reality redecorating shows on the day they do their reveal.

I will spare you pictures of my desk and my bookcase. However happy their relative cleanliness makes me, I doubt it will provide anyone else with the same level of satisfaction. However, good knitter and drop-spindler that I am, facing an 8 hour flight to a an island in the middle of the pacific ocean, I'm starting to think about just what fiber and tools I will take with me. And of course, that takes me to my sidebar, as I think about all the projects that I have started but seemingly abandoned over the summer. I'm sadly amused by the section I created "waiting for summer". Now that summer has come and gone, these projects will probably wait a bit longer. Clearly I was not very motivated to get a lot done this summer on the knitting front. I'll blame the spinning bug on that one. But the spinning bug and I are pals, so it knows that I'm casting blame with a wink.

So Saturday morning, sitting down with a cup of coffee and a cool breeze floating through my house and some beginning-of-fall sunshine floating through my windows, and a wonderful vacation on the horizon, I'm starting the process of evaluating the things in my side bar.

The first thing I always like to start with is making sure that those things that I finished but just haven't moved to my gallery get moved there. This is where I can give those finished projects a last salute or, now that I've had time to live with them, drop them into the gallery wondering what I was thinking. This batch of projects gave me a nice stroll down the memory lane of Spring 2005

Kidsilk Haze Scarf

This project was meant as a gift for a co-worker. She got it much later than I had originally planned, but in perfect time for her fall trip to Moscow. This project come out of a book I quite like, Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. It got a very nice response, so I will consider it to be one of my success stories. In fact, I may make one for myself out of some lovely pale green Habu Textiles yarn that seems very similar in consistancy to Kid Silk Haze. One thing I love about going into Nina's on Division is that she carries quite a few yarns from Habu. Last time I was in I found one that was somewhere between thread and lace weight that had stainless steel in it!

Theresa Attempts to Do the Rachael

To be honest, I haven't worn this sweater as much as I would like. By the time I finished it, there wasn't much cool spring weather left in Chicago and while the Eponge is a cotton boucle around an elastic core, it just wasn't all that airy a fabric when knit at the density called for this sweater. The fabric does have a nice texture, though and is easy on the skin, so, hopefully, this pullover will get a better hearing now that fall is approaching. I also have a dirty little secret when it comes to this sweater... I still haven't woven in the ends on the inside. So technically this project is not really finished. But knitting is not always about absolutes.

Bias Scarf Blocked and in the Clear Light of Morning

This is another item that has received more admiration (from me) than wearing. Even laceweight scarves aren't really summer wear here in Chicago. But the colors are perfect for fall and I will be packing this scarf to come with me to help give me a little extra warmth while on Maui. One thing we discovered while on the Big Island was that Hawaiian nights are wonderful but can be a little cool. I'm hoping this will be the perfect thing to take the edge off for me.

And that pretty much wraps it up... (except for the rainbow dyed pearl-barred scarf and my blue hawaiian scarf which I've blogged about recently enough not to give them another hearing at this point and which, given my general blog-maintenance laziness, never even made it on to my in progress list). Definitely a contrast to last summer where I remember having quite a few more projects finished and at least one pair of socks!

So now I have done the blog equivalent of cleaning off my desk (I also retired some buttons from some old knit-alongs that I've long since finished or will never finish), and it's time to start letting the feeling of open desk space help me figure out where to go next and what possibilties I want to take on. And maybe what things will be in my carry-on bag on the airplane....