Annie Knits

Get Your Forks Ready!

'Cause these Watermelon socks are done!  And good enough to eat.  Really.  And nearly identical, but not quite...a few rows off at the beginning translates to a whole lotta rows at the end (say that like Pete Puma -- I love that guy).  'Cause even though they don't look it in this picture, they are exactly the same size.  Exactly.  Should teach me to try and get self- striping- yarn- socks to match, eh?  'Cause if I'm gonna do that, I should start at the beginning of one of the color stripes, not in the middle of one.  Right.

Oh, you want the particulars? 

Yarn:  Sunshine Yarns Sock Yarn, Watermelon Stripe colorway.
Needles: size 1, Crystal Palace Bamboo.
Pattern: Generic top-down, heel flap, kitchener toe.
Time:  Last Tuesday night to this morning (do I have to get out a calendar?)  And, rest assured, I am not thumbing my nose at the cosmos.  Nooohooohooo -- I'm thrilled with the cosmos for allowing me to finish these socks.  Really.  Sock Savior or not.  Really.  Now lets drop it.

Next up?  Turn this (the yarn from Judy at the end of the post) into one of these.  I'm on it.

Guess Who my Sock got to Meet Last Night!

Yep, you've got it...Stephanie's sock!  What a fun night that girl puts on, I tell you.  Not only can she write stuff that makes coffee come out of my nose, but she can do stand-up too.  If you get the chance to hear the Yarn Harlot speak in person, go.  Very, very funny. 

Dear Daughter and I got to our local library about 45 minutes early (we really don't have a yarn shop big enough to hold a gathering for this "rock star" of knitting).  In fact, we got seats in one of the last rows set up at that time.  What the folks at the library didn't know was that by the time Stephanie started to speak they'd need a lot more chairs...

They had set up perhaps 50 chairs and easily that many women sat in the nearby stacks, on the floor, along the windows...one of us asked the Librarian in charge of selling books (which were gone 35 minutes before the Harlot arrived) if they were surprised at the attendance and she turned, deer in headlights, and said quietly, "Not in my wildest dreams."  We knitters are certainly an intimidating bunch and the non-knitting staff ('muggles' Stephanie calls them, tee hee hee) made more than a few jokes about being in a room with so many "pointy sticks". 

All the rumbling stopped of course when the Harlot took the podium.  She waited patiently during her introduction, fingers flying over the sock -- she probably really is shy; it seemed to calm her.  She got up and said, "You know what I've got to do, right?"  We nodded and twittered as she got out her camera, the muggles stepped back.

If you are going to get to see her, there are spoilers here, .... if not...She talked first about how 'not cool' she is.  How she's married to a music producer who is the epitome of cool and hangs with cool folks and how when she goes to parties with him and all the tall, thin groupies and cool but dumb music people, she feels like a dork.  How she hoped writing books would elevate her coolness, but that the cache goes out the window when she has to tell them what the books are about -- very funny riff on that topic. 

Her delivery is deadpan, she has a surprisingly deep voice for such a petite person.  That delivery is half the fun.  Now I can read her stuff with that voice in my head -- kind of like Jim Dale and the Harry Potter books.  There is a slight Canadian lilt, dear Daughter caught it and wondered where she was from (I obviously hadn't prepared her well enough for this evening). 

She also talked about the Olympics.  About how surprised she was at how that little gem took off.  She is genuinely mystified at its organic nature, at how it just grew out of all proportion to it's beginning.  One funny statistic is that there were nearly 5000 registered knitathletes, more than twice as many participants as the real Olympics.  We laughed heartily at that image.

Folks drove from all over Missouri and Illinois to this little gathering.  If you have to chance to see Stephanie speak, you should certainly go. 

Are you wondering why I'm blogging at 5:00 a.m.?  I awoke at 4:15 this morning to hear loud pops and rumbles.  I walked all over the house to find what was making all that noise.  I thought perhaps some yahoo was driving past the house with only rims, no tires, then I got to the front of the house.  It was as if the sun had risen.  Bright orange light lit the front of the house.  Across the lawn and just up the block, a three-story construction project that took up an entire city block was on fire.  The flames were 4 stories tall, the noise deafening.  Ash and embers fell on all the historic houses across the street.  Fire trucks and ambulances started to arrive -- they couldn't get even close to the fire.  Man.  Very, very scary.  We all stood outside and watched our roofs, making sure the shower of sparks didn't ignite the pollen and debris in our gutters.  It's under control now, but whooo.  Smelly and a total loss.  The street light globes across the 5 lane street melted in the heat.  The trees in my neighbor's front yard are wilted -- we worried they'd catch fire.  Now that the sun is up, we can see the film of ash and chunks of charcoal littering the street and sidewalks.  The windows on the front of the house are dusted with ash.  The dog is totally freaked out.   We're fine though. 

Sisterhood of the Traveling Stash

Don't forget to consider joining.  Read yesterday's post for more on that.  Still working on a button...

Gotta go make more coffee.  It's going to be a long day.

Finish One and Start Another

First off, I'd like to thank all the participants, listed and un-listed, who knit along for 40 Days For Others.  We had almost 40 knitters in the sidebar and I got a number of things from the shop.  The grand total?  I really don't know.  I'm giving 8 hats, two blankets, a child's sweater, a pair of baby socks and 18 scarves to the International institute of St. Louis via St. Pius V Church.  (I'll deliver and put up pics hopefully this weekend -- there is one knitter from the shop who says she'll have one more sweater for me this week and I'm waiting on it)  There are countless squares for afghans, hats for shelters, kids sweaters, and adult and children's socks going to charities around the country and around the world (Afghanistan and Russia for sure).  I am truly touched by the generosity of knitters -- they give freely of their time, treasure, and talent at the simple request of a virtual stranger.  You all and your talent are a generous gift to our planet.

So, in thanksgiving and for the sheer fun of it, I came up with an idea.  And Pat gave it a name...

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Stash

Here's the idea and its genesis in a nutshell.  Consider carefully whether you want to participate.  Please. 

As you careful and consistent readers know, I have amassed a stash of great proportions.  I work in a yarn shop and I get a discount.  I took the job with the idea that the money I earned working would go toward the craft...a yarn whore if you will.  I pretty much stick to that, but ... really ... while I don't work full time, I can't knit as much yarn as I can buy because I'm working so I can knit for free -- a fabulously vicious circle. 

My boss/LYS owner is a seriously generous woman.  We just got a "knitting season's end" bonus and here's what I bought (on principle I always put the bonus back in her pocket...like I said, she's generous and I get to fondle all the yarn I want all the time) First:  Enough Elsebeth Lavold Classic Al in a great grass green (doesn't read well here -- it's a color we red-heads at the shop -- hi Marlea -- tussel over) to make the long size of this cable collar jacket and the Elsebeth Lavold book with the pattern.  Second:  Enough Classic Elite Flash in the Cool Mix colorway (olive, royal blue and turquoise) to make the Where's the Opaque? Sweater from Sally Mehlville's Book 1:  The Knit Stitch, and the book itself.  Both patterns I've lusted after.  Both I haven't gotten because, well, because the yarn's expensive I just haven't.  And my salary from last week?  Used it to buy a couple (5) colors of STR and Dani's Raspberry Limeade sock yarn.  A summer's worth of knitting, no? 

Ok, well, that wasn't the idea, that was the lead up to why I want to do the Sisterhood.  Gotta make room.  At least temporarily.  Here's the idea:

• I'll pack an 18x12x12 inch box with some of my stash.  My good stash.  I'm talking sock yarn, laceweight yarn, Cascade 220 (which I have in spades!) and other worsted and bulky weight stuff,  patterns, needles, notions, books -- whatever I don't think I'll use.  Did I say GOOD stash?   (Do I have to define GOOD stash?)
  
• I'll send it off.  To Pat first 'cause she thought of the name.  Which I LOVE.  She'll fondle it, peruse it, think it over, and she'll decide what she wants.  Because she can have any of it. 
• With one catch.  That she replace what she takes in number and kind.  Well, approximately -- I guess I'm talking value here, but I'd like to maintain the diversity of the Traveling Stash.  She'll replace what she takes with yarn she loves and for which she wants to find a good home; with yarn that is fabulous and which shouldn't be allowed to languish away in someones stash, un-used and un-knit.  How-ever much she wants to trade she will.  Then she'll pack it up and send it on to the next recipient.  Whose name will be generated by my random number generator and known only to Pat until it is received and blogged about.
• What yarn to put in the box?  What yarn your stash do you love?  Is there some of that yarn that you can part with?  That's the yarn for this little exchange.  I'd also say, I guess, no leftovers/partial skeins unless it's enough to complete a project with.  And I'd also say let's not spilt up lots of yarn unless you leave enough for a project.  Natural fibers only?  Not necessarily -- I have some Fiesta Yarns rayon boucle that's going in...it's hand-painted and lovely.  And, smoke and allergen free please.
• You've got to document this stash journey.  What you receive, what you take, and what you put back in.  So to participate, you've got to have a blog -- one you update regularly.
• The path of the box will be determined at random.  Participants will give me their summer block-out dates (when they'll be gone or when it'll be inconvenient to get the box) and we'll work around them.
  
• The recipient will have a week to turn the box around -- 7 days between receipt and re-sending, get it?
• I'm limiting this first sisterhood to 10 sisters (or brothers I guess) and to US residents (sorry Canucks -- gotta really think through the customs thing -- maybe someone up there can organize a Canadian version?) so I get the box back by the end of the summer.
• If there is absolutely NOTHING in the box you want to trade, email me and I'll paypal you the shipping to the next recipient (hopefully less than $10.00).  You lose nothing. 
• Cost to you for participating? Time:  shipping and receiving.  Cost of shipping the box to the next person.  Your stash -- did I say the good stuff? 

Now, how to get 10 participants, besides me and Pat.  Hmmm.  Leave me a comment between now and Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m.  I'll use that random number generator or his sister to choose from the requests.  Edited:  I'll take the first 10 who volunteer -- if we have more than that, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.  Might have to do two.  (smile)

Remember.  Consider carefully before committing.  I'm serious about this and I'm putting myself and my stash out there.  Please only respond if you want to do this in the spirit in which it is intended:  for fun, to get yarn we can't or don't always buy for ourselves, to trade our GOOD stuff with eachother because, who are we kidding, we can't possibly knit all the yarn we collectively own now can we, so we might as well be amused by it!   And do not respond if it will stress you out...this is supposed to be fun, remember?

And...if it goes well, who knows?  Perhaps we'll keep it going in the fall, or others will...

Did I forget anything?  Oh, yeah.  A button.  We'll need a button.  I'll get on that.

Note to Self

Dear Self,

It is ill advised to congratulate oneself on one's in-touched-ness with the cosmos.  The cosmos doesn't like being figured out and will bite you in the butt.  Hard.  In this case that bite involves the stomach flu and being horizontal for 36 hours and counting. 

Just keep that in mind.

Love, yourself.

The Hardest Thing...

About blogging again after a week-long hiatus is blogging again after a week-long hiatus. 

Hope you all had a great Easter and week following.  Here's what I've been up to if you've been concerned (thanks Pat).

• Holy Thursday?  Covered in the last post -- kid's first day of Spring/Easter break, service that night.
• Holy Friday?  Sister and Brother-in-Law arrive (Hi Regan!) and we hang out and then go to the Cardinal's game in their new stadium.  Posh seats; a few glitches in the food service area (how do you run out of cheese for nachos during the 6th inning?  Sacrilege!  Oh and did I mention that it was 93 freakin' degrees?  Record setting heat for April?  Sheesh.
• Holy Saturday? Dear Daughter's 13th birthday.  We all went to the City Museum for the afternoon (a must-visit if you're in St. Louis...even if you're just here for one day...the coolest place ever); then out to the South City Diner for dinner where we got the patrons to sing Happy Birthday (13-year-olds love it when you get strangers to holler Happy Birthday at them); then out to Ted Drewes Frozen Custard for dessert (another must visit here...go after the City Museum) where we also got all the patrons to sing Happy Birthday (13-year-olds love it even more when the strangers hollering Happy Birthday at them are standing on a street corner holding frozen custard).  Then the Easter Vigil (I sang, daughter was a server/liturgical dancer...just think 3 hour-long service, half of which is done in the dark, that starts at 9 p.m. -- you get tired but it's some of the most beautiful music we do all year).  Husband, son and inlaws stayed home for this one.
• Easter Sunday?  Son arose at 4:45 a.m. and searched the house while I slept.  So he says.  I believe him.  Luckily, that Easter Bunny is crafty -- even after he's been at a vigil for the whole night -- and hid his basket in the one place he knew that boy wouldn't look:  his closet.  You know, the one I made him clean out for 4 hours on Thursday in preparation for the uncle who said he'd be visiting this weekend, but couldn't, and who would be sleeping in his room?  Yeah, the place he swore he'd never set foot in again.  Yeah, that closet.  It took him several sweeps of the house and yard to think to look there.  Hee, hee.  In his basket was the usual non-Eastery stuffed animal:  the Easter Shark.  Last year it was the Easter Frog, the year before the Easter Monkey...I am amused.  Daughter got the Easter Unicorn from Narnia.  Anyway, all we did the rest of the day was:  go to church; have 17 for brunch (quiche, salad, asparagus with walnuts and feta, Easter pizza and candy salad and Birthday Cake); clean up from brunch; go to the last Blues Hockey game of the season ( they suck).
• Monday morning? Sister and hubby left (I think thankfully -- they were exhausted).  The kids and I vegged out for awhile and then couldn't stand it and went to the Missouri Botanical Garden for the afternoon.  (Ok, another must-visit -- I'm sorry, you'll have to take two days).  We saw a red fox and lots of huge koi.
• Tuesday?  Kids and a friend each to the St. Louis Zoo -- you know what I'm going to say, right?  Well, it's free and a great destination.  We rode the train, the calliope, the dino-experience ride and ate lunch there.  Oh, and we did see animals.  Lots of animals.
• Wednesday?  Back to the City Museum with Daughter, 5 of her friends, Son, and one of his friends for Daughter's birthday party.
• Thursday and Friday?  I don't know.  Some shopping, playing at friend's houses, oh and I worked from 10 to 5 on Friday.

I'm in a Spring Break coma.

Did I knit at all?  But of course.  A little.  The blue baby blanket for my neighbor?  Finished and gifted.  She's due any minute now.

I started a sock out of Dani's sock yarn in the watermelon colorway.  It's seriously pink and green.  Seriously.  But I got it out because it smacks so of spring and I wanted a springish sock to knit.  When I turned the heel on Saturday during a double-header basket ball fest, I wondered why I was putting my time into something I so would not wear myself.  Serendipitously, that night, Alison emailed me to ask if I'd be a sock savior -- I volunteered to be a savior when I finished my own Sockapaloooza socks so early (I remembered the last sock exchange problems she'd had right at the end).  I guess it's good that this sock pal quit with some time left instead of after the due date and I'm thinking charitable thoughts like there's a family emergency or illness stopping her from finishing her socks.  Turns out that the sock-pal that needs saving is an out-of-the-country pal whose favorite color is...get this...pink.  And she wanted striped socks.  Man, can I knit for the cosmos or what?  Aren't they cute?

With them is my half done second STR club sock.  Love them.  And a lacy poncho thing from knit simple for a black tie event this weekend.  Nothing like a little pressure knitting. 

And for Judy, my hummingbird feeders are up and functioning.  Now we're just looking for the birds to come.  If the map's any indication, they're already here.  Have a great day.  More fun tomorrow.

Hi all!

I didn't drop off the face of the earth...My sister and her hubby are in town (we took them to a Cardinal's game tonight in the new stadium - fun!) and my brother is coming tomorrow for Easter weekend.  And for dear daughter's birthday -- 13 years old at 4:11 a.m. April 15.  This particular brother and sister are dear daughter's God Parents -- all the more special!  Preparations have kept me out of the loop and away from knitting.  I did finish the socks but not the blankie. 

I may still finish, though because folks are sending me stuff for St. Pius and the International Institute through the mail still, and since I started this thing, I'm taking the time until their stuff gets here to finish mine.  So there.  Charming of me, no?  So, I'll have a full tally later this weekend.  Thanks to all who have sent in updates, which I'll enumerate and comment on later this weekend too.  Like Sunday night...when the birthday-Easter-relative extravaganza is over.

Happy and Blessed Easter All!

Finishing 40 Days For Others

edited:  Tomorrow (not today dummy!!) is the last day of Lent.  (sheesh!  Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the Triduum -- man, you know?  I need to focus on what I'm doing at the moment, not what I'm going to do next..Yeah, not always the sharpest crayon in the box.)

The 40 Daysers have been busy.  Pat sent me this last Friday:  Three hats, a lovely note and a ceramic cross made in the Southwest.  Wrapped up in purple tissue -- kind of our 40 Days color, no?  Thanks a ton Pat!  You did a great job and I'm sure some of our St. Pius folks will be very thankful for these warm, lovinginly-made hats come the cold weather.  Pat's a good egg.

Trudy says:

I have now completed:  one sweater, 7 children's hats (working on the 8th) and 4 pairs of mittens.  I find it tremendously freeing to knit for charity (or "knitting for orphans" as I tell my friends) -- I don't have to worry about my projects fitting a particular body (like my own or my daughters' or my sisters'), so I don't have to fuss with gauge swatches -- I just pull out a ball of yarn and start knitting!  I like the fact that it's going to someone I don't know and will never see and will never be thanked by that person. (Of course I have to admit that I do show my work around and accept any compliments that come my way.)  I'm using only stash yarn -- the very scary thing is that I've hardly made a dent in one of my three large underbed storage containers. (Part of my Lenten observance has been no buying of yarn.)  I think I'll still split the final results between Dulaan and Afgans for Afgans.

Whoa, Trudy!  Great progress.  And I agree with Trudy about the knitting for others being freeing.  I did the same thing with the socks -- they're 3 1/2 inches long and will fit some baby -- no size issues all all.

Jenny says:  Hi Annie!  ...These are some of the squares I  have been crocheting for Squares 4 Survivors. I am much speedier with the crocheting. But, I must admit, I looked longingly at a photo of a "Ramblin' Rows" blankie I did, and wished I could knit faster!! Our group now has 62 members, and we have completed 28 afghans to date, with 25 more that we are working on. If only there were more time in the day.......don't we all wish!

Thanks so much for the knitalong!  Jenny

Jenny's got a super prolific group there, does she not?  Great Lenten knitting.

Dee found us late in the game, but wanted to be included.  Here's part of the note she sent:  Hiya, Ann, ...I would like to be include on your 40 Days knit along, even if it is the 5th Sunday of Lent .... LOL.  I always have a CIC project going.  Right now I have socks and a vest going... CIC is Children in Common and is a charity that supports Russian and Eastern Bloc orphanages.  A worthy cause and glad to have you Dee!

I'll be checking the rest of you and seeing how you did.  I'd really like to have a total or an approximation of our charity knitting  to finish off the knitalong.  Got info?  Send it along or leave it in the comments.

How did I do?  I'd say about half, maybe a little more of my knitting was for others.  The problem?  Not all for charity.  My sockpal socks are finished -- for another, not charity though.  The baby blanket for my neighbor?  Finishing the border -- again, for another, but not charity.  In total, I'll have done two hats, a pair of socks, and a baby blanket for 40 Days.  I'd be done with the blanket and socks completely,  but something interfered this weekend. 

Short story long, you know how we had the last singing Fish Fry last weekend?  Dear daughter has several girls in her class who still need volunteer points to get Confirmed in May.  Our fish fry is a perfect volunteer opportunity for tweens and teens.  One, there are lots of them -- clearing plates, getting coffee and tea refills, helping carry trays -- kids from several schools helped out in the busing department for all 6 events.  Two, it's easy -- you can chat and work together -- it's not like raking out the church flower garden or painting a multi-purpose room; those are too much like real work. 

Dear son hates the fish fries -- he doesn't have a volunteer bone in his body and just sits and plays video games or runs around if there is a kid there to play with.  I had him bring a friend so he would go along just this one last time.  Under duress.  Got it?  I'm supervising 6 kids and singing 4 sets.  It went surprisingly well.

At the end of the evening, about 8 p.m., I was set to drive the other kids home when the chorus from the back of the van was something about an overnight -- a slumber party if you will.  I, magnanimously I might add, said sure...secure in my knowledge that these 4 families would have something else to do and not let all these kids spend the night out.  Phone calls ensued and...you guessed it...all were able to stay. 

So now I had to scrounge food, bedding, toothbrushes, and sleepwear for 3 extra 13-year-olds and an extra 9-year-old.  Fine.  The food was the hard part...4 pizzas, 3 bags of Cheezit Chips, two bowls of popcorn, and a pitcher of lemonade later...I was cleaned out.  If they wanted something else to eat, I'd have to thaw and braise a roast.  Luckily it was 2:30 in the morning and I could reasonably say that there would be no more eating, that they should sleep...ha, ha, ha. 

What follows are pictures of the next day's carnage:  the living room where the girls slept ( I woke early and walked past a pile of arms, blankets and hair , all intertwined -- almost took a picture of that but thought better of the idea -- too funny); the boy's room where the little guys slept; and the kitchen after 3 batches of pancakes.  Human vacuum cleaners all.  More from me another time...gotta go finish some baby socks!

I Wish I had 8 Skeins...

Of Socks That Rock.  That I was willing to give away.  Really.  You guys are very funny.

Your number 11s are great, all of you, so I had to call in the Random Number Generator to choose for me.  Drumroll please....
   

 

Project Spectrum Pics...

From around my house.  I do kind of have a lot of yellow/gold in my decor.  It's a color I'm drawn to, I guess.  Here you go.   Here is my collection of McCoy Pottery --  when we were first married, you could get this stuff for a song.  It's from the 20's through the 50's and back then it was just old, not "collectible."  Now, it's 10 times as pricey if you can even find it.  My first pieces were from Husband's grandfather. 

Next is Dear Daughter's room.  In another life I was a decorative painter and it's funny that I remember significant things in conjunction with what I was painting at the time -- I listened to the hearings as to whether to go to war in Iraq while I did this...Colin Powell springs to mind...

Ripe pears are the only fruit Dear Son will eat -- and I swore to God that I wasn't going to raise picky kids!  That'll teach me.

 

My kitchen has one wall of wallpaper and 3 walls glazed with a linen finish done in this caramel gold.  Love it.  Wipes clean super easily.  It's an easy faux finish to do because you can't make mistakes -- it's supposed to be uneven and blotchy -- just so long as it's uniformly uneven and blotchy...smile.  I change out the tulips for gerbera daisies, then for sunflowers, then for fallish colored silk roses, then the whole container goes away for a wintery sugar-glazed apple wreath over the holidays.  I'm a freak.

Next is my favorite new front-door wreath -- clearance (already) at JoAnne Fabric.  So cute. 

And finally, an Easter tableau.  (say it with a snooty brit accent)  This'll change out too, but since the container is new, that will involve shopping.  Just needed something tall on the entertainment center and -- you guessed it -- Easter stuff, on clearance at JoAnne's -- they'll probably have 4th of July stuff out when I go this afternoon...

So.  Now I've flashed my yellow and orange.  How about yours?

   

Number 11

Well, well, well.  Aren't you all creative .  And certainly understanding of the spirit in which the piece was intended...  Since I'm having a hard time deciding which one to choose, I'll have my random number generator pick a number when he gets home from school.  Out of a hat.  I'll number your replies from 1 in the order received....so, you have until approximately then to think up 11s.  (You all crack me up.)

If You Are Irony-Impaired, ...

Stop right where you are. Really.  Go away.  'Cause I'm going to be irreverant here and I just plain don't want any guff about it.  Gone?  Ok.

12 Steps to Yarn Buying and Hoarding Acceptance

1. I admit that I am powerless over the impulse to buy yarn.  But not that the stash has become unbearable...
2. I have come to believe that a power greater than myself controls my purchasing...yarn color, yarn content, late-night internet surfing, seeing someone else making something - anything - out of said yarn, yarn existing....
3. I have made a decision to turn myself over to the siren that is my stash and it's propensity toward hand-spun, hand-dyed, or smaller gauge yarn...
4. I have made a searching and thorough inventory of this stash...it's large...
5. I have admitted to God and to other knitters and knitbloggers the extent of my stash...at least the part of it not currently in the mail, on its way to my house...
6. I am entirely ready to get rid of some of this stash...to give it away in contests or stash exchanges (watch this spot after Lent...)...and not just the Lion Brand that has inexplicably wended its way into my stash, but also some of the good stuff...
7. I humbly ask you all to call me on my mistakes, knitting, acquisition and otherwise...
8. I would do step 8, which requires making some kind of list...whatever...I just lose lists..
9. I will give my knitting away without remorse because it is the process of knitting after all, and the same goes for stash as it seems that it is the process of acquisition as well...and both make more room for new yarn...but I'll only give it away to good homes unless said knitting or yarn is superwash or more than 75% acrylic because Knitting Philistines wash hand-knit items in the washing machine...eeek!
10. I will continue to organize and reorganize my stash, taking mental inventory, and I pledge to give away what I really won't use...ever...what was I thinking? This stuff is gorgeous but I won't ever get to it because this season's stuff is gorgeous too and really I'm easily distracted ....ahem ...where was I?
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.  Can any of you come up with a good parody of this one?  I'm stuck.  Maybe something that has to do with acquiring yarn more judiciously?  But that's not what this is all about...hmmm...Oh, I've got it!  I'll send the person who comes up with my favorite number 11 some STR, colorway either Pebble Beach or something Canyon...what's the name of that stuff....have to go look later...and if my favorite is penned by Amanda?  Well, I guess I have to knit her something...
12. Yeah, this one's easy.  Having had a spiritual awakening, I will no longer evince concern over my stash or the acquisition of yarn.  I give myself over to it freely and with equanimity.  Acceptance.

Now, I know that the 12-step thing is a serious, lifesaving, sacrosanct thing -- that it's made millions of lives bearable again.  Serious stuff.  I know...really.