Stash Management

Ah, where does the time go? So long since I've blogged, the time taken by school and the resulting exhaustion. I have finished a couple of sweaters for myself this winter, a pair of socks for Bob, a scarf, and a few hats. I have been productive, but not good at taking pics and posting them.

I am currently working on the Shimmer shrug from www.knitty.com for Audrey. She gets chilly at work and thought this might be useful. I'm making it in a deep brown color called Espresso. I started Friday night and have almost one sleeve complete. The sleeves are easy, the back looks a bit challenging in a lozenge lace pattern. The trick seems to be the raglan sleeve shaping while holding onto the lace pattern, according to the notes posted by those who have knit this. I am always happy to be knitting for family, and this is no exception.

A couple of weekends ago, when we were in the midst of a snowstorm, I started making an excel spreadsheet of my current yarn stash. What a project this has turned out to be! Bob helped me haul everything into the living room. I am currently over 300 skeins catalogued, with more to go. I do think that this will be a helpful point of reference for me, and may keep me from buying yarn when I already have it at home. When my home studio is complete, it will be nice to have all the yarn in one place and easy to find. Until then, the spreadsheet should help. Ultimately, I would like to post photos of the stash on my ravelry.com page and perhaps trade or sell some of the stash that seems lonely.

School has been terribly stressful. Not from the children, but from other political issues. Somehow I always seem to be drawn into these situations, and my colleagues want to make me a leader. I will be happy when this dispute has passed. I believe that we are fighting for a cause that would make our schools and community better, yet it is still a difficult circumstance. Only three months to go and a student teacher starting in three weeks! I think if I squint I may see a light at the end of this tunnel...