ebay – Enchilada Sunrise

Alive, alive-oh

D’oh, I zoned out for a while there. I wish that would stop happening. My next psych appt isn’t until July, either. It was s’posed to be April or early May, but it got put back. :-/ Still, I can phone them if need be, so it’s not that bad.

Anyway, I haven’t been completely unproductive (read: asleep) over the last few weeks. I’ve been reading (I keep meaning to write reviews… I really will do that. Eventually), and knitting, which I shall talk about a bit more in a moment, and doing a bit of work on a fannish website project with Sann. And over the last couple of days I’ve been gradually putting some knitting / crochet books and some more yarn up for sale on eBay. I might even get the non-knitting things I have to clear out up there, if I can get around to taking photos and working out postage. I need a better pair of scales!

Actually, talking of scales, I may or may not have lost weight recently, but I have been eating more healthily. And without having to think about it too hard, either – it’s becoming more of a habit, which is really good. As well as that, I’m going to start doing more exercise again. I had meant to before, but I as part of the whole zoning out thing I was mainly stuck indoors. However, this morning I’m planning to either go for a walk in the park if I can get hold of Ally in time, or go to aquafit and then either the gym or just stay in the pool for a swim. I’ve got to get back into a routine where I’ve got something to get going for in the morning, and having something that I need to leave the house for is better. Otherwise I’m likely to faff around at the computer in my pyjamas until lunchtime! Quite possibly doing something productive, but still – I need that routine of being really “up and about”, and being actually dressed is part of that.

Back to the knitting, anyhow. Let’s see… looking back at those goals I set myself at the beginning of May, I’m afraid I still haven’t finished Mum’s present (I’m going to go and do some work on that in just a mo!). But as I said, I did finish the baby bootees, and I’ve also finished my second pair of socks – the Berlin Muster pattern – for the Sock Knitter’s Pentathlon. I hit my personal targets as well: I wanted to finish in the first 100, and to improve my sock knitting time. Which I did: I finished as number 68, on 23rd May, so it took me exactly 3 weeks to knit them, doing an average of an hour or two a day. :-) Since then, as well as Mum’s pressie I’ve been working on my Fireworks socks, and I’ve now finished the first one after a bit of a hiccup with the garter stitch toe the first go around (it ended up about twice as long as it should have been!). The second one of those is cast on and I’ll now be slowly making my way down the leg whenever I want to work on a project that requires very little concentration for the most part. I don’t have any pictures of that just yet, anyway, but I do have some of the finished objects. Want to see?….

Continue reading “Alive, alive-oh”

I think you’re great, but I’m going to have to let you go…

If you love something, let it go… and other clichés. The grand de-stashing has begun! I’ve actually ended up being fairly ruthless and turfed out a lot of yarn on the basis that I don’t have any specific project in mind for it. It might be gorgeous, but unfortunately, I need the cash more. You see, a few things happened, including my washing machine having a very dramatic last hoorah (it was trying to throw itself out the kitchen window, I’m sure of it) and now I’m kind of hideously broke. The yarn, she is not necessary. So, here goes. I’m not putting pictures up in this entry because it would get too big, but there are links so you can click through to the photos. Or if you like you can jump to the yarn sale section of my photo album – all pictures but two are there.

Is what’s below everything that I’m clearing out? Well, no. As it just so happens, I’ve got some more yarn on eBay. And I’m also destashing some of my knitting books. I’ll make another post about those!

Continue reading “I think you’re great, but I’m going to have to let you go…”

Alright, that’s it.

No more eBaying while under the weather for me. Clearly my brain just isn’t working as it should, and I’ve completely embarrassed myself not once, but twice. Even three times, if you consider it that way. First of all I sold a Colinette pattern book to a lady… and failed like a big failing person to post it out: I sold several lots of yarn at the same time, one of which I was being paid by cheque for, so I didn’t post it with the others. Neither did I notice that the envelope with the pattern book in was under that package, so I didn’t pick it up with the others when I posted them. Obviously I found it in the end, when I went to take the paid-for-by-chq yarn to the PO, but I’d been telling the poor buyer that yes, I had posted it out, really I had! Uh, not so much.

And now, guess what I’ve done? I sold two lots of yarn – same stuff in different colours and different amounts. Posted them out on Monday… to the wrong people. I switched the addresses. Cleverrrrrrrr. One of the buyers has just been in touch to let me know. *headdesk headdesk headdesk* I’m such an idiot. I don’t know if I put the wrong receipts in with them or not, but now I need to arrange for them both to be sent back so that I can post them out again. Either that, or arrange for them to post them to each other. Whatever they prefer.

I think I’ll go back to bed. *gloom doom etc* ;-)

Autumnal Spring Cleaning

I’ve been having a really good clear-out over the last few weeks, and I’m starting to feel less mentally cluttered as well already. I’ve even eBayed more of my yarn. I know! Can I really be breaking my hoarding mentality? Well, no, not if you look at my bookshelves (MY books *clings*) and, uh, the remainder of my yarn stash. Not to mention the contents of my wardrobe and drawers… and a couple of suitcases… However, I am going to eBay some more stuff. Not yarn this time (although I might be able to persuade myself to part with a couple more skeins), but things like my spare Palm cradle (never used) and serial cable (not used since approx 3 computer upgrades ago)… oh, and I’m sure there are some other things. I have also sorted out more clothes and knick-knacks etc to go off to the charity shop. I think I still have more to do there, though!

Unfortunately, I’ve been a bit stalled on the whole thing because I’m still ill. Bleuch. I left the flat yesterday for the first time in about 2 weeks (alright, maybe my mental health hasn’t been ideal: being stuck indoors ill was threatening to push me into a ‘down’, but I think I’ve caught it in time) because I had to go to the Post Office, and stopped in to speak to the pharmacist on the way. She reckons I have bronchitis or a chest infection, and what with being asthmatic already, I’ve been told to go to the doctor tout de suite. I know, I know, I should have gone a week ago. I am Procrastination Woman. In this case, that’s particularly stupid of me since it means I’ve been propped at a weird angle in bed for several days since I can neither sit/stand up or lay down normally and breathe comfortably. V annoying. Oh well. I have an appointment this afternoon. I’ll be fixed soon. On the plus side, this whole thing seems to have sorted out my insomnia / wonky body-clock thing that I had going on: I’m now tired / sleeping during the actual night again, instead of being awake all night and tired or asleep all day. Hoorah!

In knitting news, I have got some work done on my WIPs. I really must remember to make a couple of posts about my current WIPs and recently completed FOs to spring-clean that off my mental to-do list. Mainly I’ve been working on “Mmm, Refreshers”, which is a Christmas gift. Can’t say anything else about it in case the recipient trundles over here. You never know with my friends and family *peers around suspiciously*. I’ve also done a bit of “WFS” (likewise, Christmas), and some of my Fireworks socks… which are for me me me, so there. Obviously I finished my Tête à Fetching (wore it when I went out yesterday), and I’m really chuffed with the response – some people have said they like it and want to make it, it’s in a few queues (and one in-progress!) on Ravelry, and I even got a really lovely comment from Cheryl Niamath who designed the Fetching gloves. :-) I’ll get the scarf pattern written up soon-ish as well, but I want to make a wider version of it for Mum first. Once I’ve finished something else, that is.

I actually think my WIP tolerance has been reached. If I cast on one more project, my head would explode. I can cope, just about, with the number I have going at once right now (8 plus 3 in hibernation) because I have a definite Christmas deadline for, um, three of them. Although I have at least two more things I wanted to cast on for gift knitting as well. Oh dear. But I’m not going to think about that now! The thing is, those gift knits are the ones which are taking priority, and the rest are pushed to the back-burner. Some more than others – I’m still working on my various pairs of socks (for me) every now and again, to give myself a break. It seems to be working. But anyway, like I said, I’ll make a proper all-about-my-WIPs post a bit later.

I didn’t find my gloves, by the way. So far I’ve been wearing my Fetchings or my Hurry Up Spring fingerless ones, but I’ve wound a skein of Yarn Yard Merino sock into a ball to make some new ones – I think I’m going to make cabled ones with that. And I did crumble and get ones of the glove kits, so I’m going to make a pair with that too.

Photo of Yarn Yard Merino Sock yarn 'Damson'

Photo of Yarn Yard Glove kit yarn 'Olive-ish'

Yay, gloves! I’m not allowing myself to cast on for them until I’ve finished a couple of my current WIPs, though. Preferably the Christmas gift ones, since those have a deadline!

Hmm, was there anything else I was going to say? I can’t think… oh! I remember. I found a (the) Holiday Gift KAL-CAL. Just what I wanted! I have duly signed myself up. Um. Oh yes, and I’ve been working on my next (final? I’m not sure if I’ll be sending one more package or if I’ll split it into two – Katie, do you have any preferences?) SP11 package. Mwahaha. Etc. ;-)

Right, that’s enough being upright for me for the time being. I’m going back to bed for a bit to listen to the radio / podcasts while knitting, then I shall get up again, have foooood, and get myself off to the doctor’s. TTFN!

Hi, my name is…

…and I’m a yarnaholic. Although when I follow that analogy through, perhaps it’s not quite accurate. Because it’s not my actual consumption of yarn that’s the issue. No, it’s that like many many knitters I have a little tiny stash problem. But then again, if yarnaholic = addicted to yarn, then I spose that works. The point is – and I do, usually, get to my point ;-) – I’ve come to the reluctant realisation that I have Too Much Yarn.

You see, I’ve been cataloguing my stash on the wonderful Ravelry, and this has meant hoiking out yarn that I haven’t even seen for about three years. And I’ve realised a couple of things about all this yarn. To me, “too much yarn” doesn’t mean that I have more yarn than I’m likely to use in the near (or far) future. It means that I have specific yarn that I now can’t see myself ever using for anything. In general, that’s yarn that I bought because it was too good of a bargain to pass up. Ahem. Well, we all do it!

So, what I have at the moment is pretty much this:

Doesn’t look tooooo bad, does it? Although when you bear in mind that of course the bags and basket are really packed full of yarn that you can’t see properly in the picture… Um. And I also have a large-ish box full of machine knitting yarn under my bed that I haven’t brought myself to drag out yet. Yeah, I need to start knitting faster. And knitting larger things again: I have the yarn for more than a couple of jumpers / cardigans. The top two boxes by the telly house my sock yarn. They’re a bit jammed. Oh dear, I’d better knit myself more socks. Shame!

So, what I’ve done is gone through everything and sorted out some things to go to charity, and some things to be sold on eBay. The ones that I’ve put on eBay are yarns that I bought because I liked at the time… but as I said above, I’m really never going to actually knit with them. They need to go to someone who can use them. For example, there was a time when I bought an awful lot of mohair because it was pretty and fuzzy and also very reasonable in the LYS. I did my typical thing of “ooo, I like! I shall have that colour and that colour and that colour, and…”. Yes. Four years later, I’ve knitted some of that yarn up, and now I just don’t have a use for the other colours of it! Some of it, I really do love the colour… for a hat, for example. Which I don’t want to make in that kind of yarn. Doh! But you learn these things with experience.

Therefore, to eBay it has gone. There are five lots of mohair (80-90% mohair or mohair/wool and acrylic blends), one lot of Jaeger Cadiz (silk/viscose), two lots of 100% wool fingering weight, and a Colinette pattern book. Help me de-stash!

Once I’d done that, I decided to work out, with the help of Lixie’s Stashtimator, how much yarn I now have left. Oh dear. Like I said before, I’ve got to start knitting faster, and most importantly knitting from my stash. Because I have:
Laceweight: 238g = 1.6 miles
4-ply / Fingering: 5805g = 13.2 miles (of that, Sock yarn: 3810g = 8.7 miles)
DK: 9640g = 13 miles
Aran: 3995g = 3.8 miles
Chunky: 1915g = 1.6 miles
Super Bulky: 1100g = 0.9 miles
TOTAL: 57626g = 34.2 miles

From now on, then, I’m on a yarn diet. This does not mean no more yarn: food dieting doesn’t mean stopping eating, after all! What I’m going to pledge to myself is to buy no more yarn for larger projects until I’ve used the yarn I already have, unless it’s for a gift (honestly: unlikely… gifts will probably be smaller things!), and to budget the amount of sock yarn / single skeins that I can buy. Yes, in this case, sock yarn does count as stash. Somewhat. ;-) Again, yarn for gifts and commissions doesn’t count, but I am going to try to knit from my stash for those as well where possible.

…… Wish me luck? (And buy my eBayed yarn! ;-) )