Edging Started!!!!!

The edging on the blanket has officially begun!!! I'm so excited!  I would post pictures but you can't really see much right now.  I have a feeling that i'm going to be okay with my brown yarn and will definitely have enough orange to at least do the first round of orange edging.

Spinning Tuesday

The Yarn Harlot, an absolutely hilarious woman and quite a celebrity in our knitting world, has Tuesday's set aside for spinning only.  I thought this was a great idea - having 1 specific day for just one craft, especially since my spinning often gets ignored for several weeks at a time.  I've been thinking about implementing this rule but never actually got around to it.  By coincidence though, I ended up ignoring the blanket yesterday (Tuesday) and spinning, spinning, spinning!  I finished an entire bobbin-full which is about half of the roving.  I'll see if i want to start the second half of the roving today or wait until another day (like next Tuesday).

Here's the finished bobbin:

And here's a picture of the blanket as it currently stands:

It is wonderfully warm and comforting despite having all the holes in it.  I was surprised by this but am glad because I love this blanket already!

Projects Update

I sewed two more strips on the blanket yesterday so now it is an 8x8 giant square.  I laid it out on the bed and it was just 2 strips short lengthwise.  Ruth and I estimated it perfectly!  She was so sweet last night saying that she'd only done a little bit of work on it and it was really my blanket but I know that isn't true.  She did so many squares and at least 3 strips and showed me how to do the squares and the seams in the first place!  I am definitely giving her at least one skein of my handspun - the blue and brown one, as soon as it is finished.  i'm sure i'll be giving her more yarns as soon as they are spun up but I also have to spin more yarn for Jenna.

Speaking of which, i've already got the two skeins of yarn spun up for Jenna and I thought instead of spinning more yarn for her, I may give her cash for her to buy yarn at the Smiley's yarn sale.  I just wish they did gift cards because giving cash seems a bit tacky. 

I haven't started my NaKniSweMo sweater yet - I've decided not to start it until I've either finished the blanket or have run out of yarn and am waiting for more to be delivered.  The blanket is taking top priority. It seems that my tolerance for seaming is about 2 strips a day so since i only have 2 strips left, I will probably be starting the edging tonight.  YAY!!!

Reward System

I'm a fairly active participant on the Stash Knit Down group on Ravelry which is, as the name may indicate, a group of crafters who are choosing (or attempting) to stash dive as much as possible into their many different stashes (yarn, fiber, fabric, beads, etc.).  I've joined the "100 Skeins in 2009" challenge on this group which I've discussed in the past and am currently tracking on the sidebar of this blog. 

Well, I also like to read threads other than the challenges I'm involved in and have been reading the fabric stash down thread; one of the most recent things being discussed is a reward system.  Now this is certainly not some new system that I've never read about but this particular post struck me because the writer said that she would reward herself after she finished "6 or maybe 10 projects".  Whenever I've read about reward systems its always been an amount of accomplishment that I never felt was sufficient so I would dismiss the whole system or wouldn't stick to it.  DUH!  How obvious is it that you can set how much you would like to accomplish before allowing yourself the reward!  I have no idea why this never clicked in my brain before but it has this time!

I think that at the rate I'm going with my projects, if I tell myself that I will give myself a treat after 10 projects - that's a huge accomplishment!  I can use the Rhinebeck trip as a starting point but I have no idea what my reward would be.  Considering the severe storage space issues I'm running into, I've actually LOST the desire to buy yarn or fiber!  My shopping mojo is gone.  I need Yarn-Viagra!  I suppose though, my reward does not have to a crafting thing, it could be something entirely different.  I'll think about it though and in the mean time, i'll let the reward system motivate my to finish projects.

Speaking of finishing...does this look like two strips of the blanket sewn together?!?  :::gasp:::

November Goals

I've gotta have some goals for November.  I usually just post my monthly goals to the list on Ravelry but perhaps I should add them here as well.  I am considering what would be the best way to track this - adding another panel to the sidebar would mean...another panel in the sidebar and its a bit crowded over there at the moment.  I'll just post updates for this month and see how that goes.

Goals (In order of priority):
1) Spin up 1 skein of yarn (B/G)
2) Finish the granny squares blanket
3) Finish OFA Scarf
4) Finish the Edging Setup chart on Aeolian Shawl

Bonus Goals:
1) Start the Aran Sweater
2) Finish Cashmere Leaves Scarf
3) Finish 1 skein of the meriboo fiber