It's happening again...

...and winter's not yet begun, at least not in the UK. Not really. It hasn't snowed in the Midlands yet this winter, being too mild, wet and windy - and last year it was still snowing in March, so I'm guessing the worst is yet to come. 

But I digress - already, the startitis is kicking in. I'm browsing and queuing things on Ravelry. I'm perusing other people's destashes (VERY dangerous) and hankering after all the single-skein pretties that I really, really don't need. I'm looking critically at unfinished and finished objects with an eye to frogging them because they are respectively (a) turning into something I will NEVER wear and the yarn's too nice to waste and (b) both straight parts are different sizes and one sock is unwearable (how the heck did that happen?!?).  I'm picking through my yarn stash on Rav and realising that (a) there are some yarns missing from it and (b) there's an unpictured mercerised coned cotton in burgundy on there, that I have no recollection of ever either buying or seeing. I'm eyeing up all the lovely floofy cabled tunisian shawls in this book and also hankering after this one (if I don't already have it, drat, need to update my librarything too!), despite never having done much tunisian at all. Hoping I have enough yarn that'd fit the bill in my stash. 

The stash is at an all-time low of 93 today, bearing in mind there are a lot of odd balls of leftover yarn hanging about that aren't included (and also bearing in mind it's not completely accurate). The leftovers are hopefully going to contribute to some more hats/scarves/gloves for charity. I really should do a proper inventory and perhaps add weight this time. Hmm. 

Oh, and the Cog's folks compared notes on my Amazon wish list and got me the "First" and "Second book of Modern Lace Knitting" for xmas, plus an interesting book about combining yarns, so of course I'm also hankering after starting a beautiful, delicate knitted shawl, that will no doubt have me in tears of frustration within the first half an hour. Trying to figure out whether using coned 2ply lambswool that WILL felt if I machine-wash it to get the oil out, is a very good idea, or whether I should start looking for something machine-washable. Maybe I should wash the yarn BEFORE I knit it? Hmmm....

I noticed that after the finger/car door incident last January, it was a few weeks before I could crochet again (once I realised I could just leave my left index finger out of all operations). The RSI in June in the right hand put more of a stop on crochet. Hard to take the holding hand out of things, and although I can just about write left-handed I'm not sure that I'm ambidextrous enough to crochet left-handed. But that's all healed now - and as I've decided that Blueberry shortcake is, despite my lengthening, turning into a too-warm, too-tight, too-short top I'll never wear, it's time to frog it back and pick something sensible to make with the yarn. I've definitely got my crochet mojo (or cro-jo?) back. 

I just need to figure out what to make next.

I ought to finish the sari silk bag (which just needs sewing up, alas I think I accidentally gave away the space dyed yarn I was doing that with), and finish the second hopscotch sock (part way down the foot as of this morning). I ought to start swatching for the yoked MKAL I committed too last year. I should learn to finish things before I start new ones, and I should also learn to match up stash with sensible, achievable things before planning more things that will almost definitely require more yarn purchases.

But hey, where's the fun in that?! :)

Happy New Year!