If you can’t knit ‘sm, stash ’em

Whatever is a knitter to do when she cannot find the energy to knit? Why, buy yarn for the future, of course! (A positive attitude always helps, right?)

This Indigo Moon sock yarn in “Aubergine” was the one and only in the basket, and just cried out to me to someday be knit into a pair of Baudelaire socks.

First Jennifer showed me the pair of fingerless mitts she was knitting from this yarn. Then I tried one on. Then she showed me the colours. Then I was hooked, and a skein of Malabrigo Silky Wool in “Stonechat” just had to be mine.

You’re probably seen similar skeins of Manos Del Uruguay around here before. Good ol’ colourway 102, you remind me of embers at twilight and I’ve loved your texture since I was a wee knitter. Finally the many incarnations of my previous stash have become a comforting triangular shawl*, and this last, lonely skein in the discount bin was destined to come home and be that shawl’s border. It was fate, not impulse sale-buying!

Not one, not three, but six skeins of Elann Peruvian Alpaca Fina were my loot from Glenna‘s stash at her fabulous dissertation party at the Purple Purl last Friday (it was like a hobbit’s birthday — she brought presents for the guests!). I think half are “smoky grape” (lavender) and the other three “Byzantium” (magenta), and together they will either form a very pretty shawl or a snuggly, lacy wrap/shrug.

Greed also got the better of me that night, and since this skein of Austermann Step (mit Aloe!) was left out of the table after several minutes passes of the table had been made by the other party-goers, I popped it in with the Elann. Sheepish thank yous are owed to Glenna. Dru or I will have a nice pair of socks soon**. (Bets can be placed now if they will be a) Monkeys or b) any other pattern at all.)

*Stay tuned! There actually has been a marginal amount of knitting during my DVD vegetation phases, so unless the border I’m working completely sucks there may be an FO soon**!
** If by “soon” I can mean 2 days to 2 months. Y’know, “soon”!

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The Update Post Without Much Content

Weekend
In order to celebrate Jodi‘s return to Canada and completion of her MFA (Yay Jodi!), we took off down to Windsor for the long weekend, sharing the ride with Krista and hanging out with people we haven’t seen in far too long, especially all in one place. The party was a tonne of fun (though I pooped out ‘early’ at midnight), and the next day was spent lounging around Jodi’s place until we all got up the energy to lounge around Kelly‘s farm.

The farm, as usual, was also great: the lambs have grown huge, the sheep have manicured the property into fine lawns (sometimes to Raven’s chagrin, I think he said one ate a small peach tree), the chickens are still humorous. There was a small rabbit-related tragedy, but I guess that’s just the way country life goes, and a side effect of it all may mean Kelly has angoras in her future…

Pregnancy
Midwife’s appointment last week went really well. I loved hearing the baby’s heartbeat! (Probably could have listened to it for hours — anyone know a good fetal heart monitor rental in Toronto? or recommend a similar thing for purchase for the later weeks?)

I have continued to lose a little weight, so I’ve been given the happy directive to eat what I want whenever, and not to fuss about the calorie content (so long as I keep eating my fruit and veg.) even if it’s ice cream. I’m now in the second trimester, but don’t really notice any big changes to how I feel. That mythical “energy boost” can come along anytime now!

Despite the weight loss, there have definitely been some physical increases. I had to break down and get ‘maternity’ pants. Oh, the comfort! Also got an incredibly generous loan of clothing from Emily, so I should be fitly clothed for a while. I long to sew myself wrap dresses and stretchy skirts, but until the creative mojo returns it’s not going to happen.

Week So Far
I taught at the Purl last night. I think it went kind-of awfully (deep apologies to any of my students who actually read this blog), mostly due to my inability to think or communicate anymore. Jennifer and Miko seem to still like me, though, and I’m engaged for another class next week (thank the lares and penates it’s one I’ve taught before).

Otherwise, there has been so little knitting in my like I’m beginning to get despondent. Where are the oversized cardigans, the booties and BSJs? I haven’t even turned the heel on that Noro sock.

I do, however, continue to acquire yarn.

In Progress

I am so tired of being tired.

Most evenings I come home from work and am like some sort of zombie, shambling around between napping and complaining that I don’t want to eat/go out/go to bed… But they say this should pass soon, and it’s all for a good cause:

My first baby photo! Can you see the nose? Or the little floating toes?)

But folks, perhaps there has been a slight turn towards the light… I have been KNITTING.

Noro sock yarn, my own(!) pattern.

Ok, so the only reason I bought this nifty new Noro Kureyon sock yarn was because I was so brain-dean I forgot to bring knitting to knit-night, but hey, it was a good excuse for a small spree and kicked my but into knitting mode! I executed the picot hem all on my ownses at knit-night last week, and a few days later performed the miraculous feat of looking though a stitch dictionary, finding a cute pattern, and checking the math so it fit with my stitch count. (These days, that’s practically the same as rocket science!)

Simple-but-effective lace pattern, cute picot hem.

Hooray for little victories, I say. This may be coming slowly, but I like the way it’s turning out so far and it’s already bigger than I expected. Much like the baby!

Buying Green?

I just came across an advertisement on one of those eco-blogs I mentioned the other day, claiming “…earth-friendly products to help people consume less…” It’s got me thinking, is this statement true, or even possible?

Can we consume something (i.e. buy a product) that offsets or reduces consumption*? I’m not sure. When I wrote about some of the changes I’ve been making, I realize now that they are almost entirely wither things I do buy, or changes to things usually bought. My new steam cleaner means that I don’t use the myriad of chemical cleaning products found in most homes, and also relies upon reusable ‘helpers,’ like tea-towels, as opposed to disposable sheets or whatnot. And yet, it is made predominantly of plastic, and will break someday — and what of it then? I try to bring into my home products that are non-toxic, non-harmful, less wasteful, and by doing so to support business that seem to be promoting positive and sustainable chance. But are my changes really for the better, or am I fooling myself?

Is the “green consumer” a myth? Or a step in the right direction? I’m not sure. I don’t think that we can completely escape consumerism,and although there are many choices that can be made towards consuming less (like say, just not buying things at all, or making X by hand), can we really achieve sustainable change through products?

Discuss!

*Not the Victorian wasting-sickness kind. Yes, my mind goes there with words like “consumption”.