Stash knit-down... and other things...

So... I've been trying to get rid of things, rather than continuing to accumulate, and cleaning out things. I feel like I'm cleaning up my burrow, getting ready to hibernate for the winter, and maybe I am. I've been busy this week. Perhaps it's a way to procrastinate? Since I'm usually too tired by the time I'm done to even think about studying for the GKT which is on Saturday... I dunno... I will get around to looking at it at some point. I'm not terribly worried about the GKT though. After all, I graduated with a GPA above 3.0. Could something called the General Knowledge Test be that great a challenge? The math, perhaps, because I suck at math, and will review some of that before Saturday, but I'm not terribly worried at all about the essay or verbal sections...

So, yes... Procrastinating...

I've been mending things that I come across. Two pillowcases with ripped seams, shirts and pants that were missing buttons and various other sundries. Nothing makes me feel more productive than taking something that was unusable because it was in want of repair and making it useful again...

I also got rid of a whole bunch of tea... My tea cupboard looks terribly bare now. I had a lot of old tea hanging around though. Got rid of everything that had artificial flavors 'cuz why when there's so many good natural flavors in the world? And I got rid of everything that was out of date. I had stuff that's marked "best if used by Jan 05" in there! o.O That was awhile ago, you know. *sighs* So yeah... very little in the way of tea in there now. Maybe 15 kinds? (LOL! Can you tell I'm a tea person in extremis?)

I've been going through my yarn stash and allocating some for certain projects so I can use it up and some for distribution to friends who are new to knitting and don't have a stash yet. I've got a lot of yarn! Only a fraction of it is in my Ravelry stash. I should maybe list some of it there as being up for trade or sale because seriously some of this stuff I will never use. This is not to say that I don't want more yarn. All fiber addicts know that you always want more yarn. And it's not that I have so much that I have no where to store new stuff - because I can always find more room for the good stuff. It's just that I have so much that I don't want and so much that needs making into useful items. So I'm trying to knit-down and give away my stash as much as I can.

I've also been looking at old projects of all sorts.

• I frogged a headband tonight. I decided the pattern was too fussy. I want to do something else with the yarn. (Cotlin from KnitPicks.) Not sure what, since both of the other patterns I have which use one ball of this yarn aren't things I'd like to make either... For now, it's going in the stash. It's too nice to use for something I don't like...



• I've been working on two 1864 Ladies' Winter Shawls that I started several years ago and which have been lying around half-finished ever since. I have only the fringes to finish on those now.



• I also picked up and have been working on an embroidery project that I put aside many, many years ago. In fact, I can't remember when I started it exactly. I know I put it down because working with a tiny needle like that for hours on end for many days in a row makes my tendinitis act up (this time, I'm being more careful) and it got so bad that I had to wear a brace for three weeks straight. I think that was my Freshman year of college. Which would be... like 6... 7 years ago? Something scary like that... But I've picked it up again. I find that some of it might be out of alignment and I might need to rip out some of it and fix it. Right now, I'm basting in guidelines so that I can better judge if things need drastic correction. I'm very willing to do that if necessary because when this is done, it will be so pretty (if I do say so myself)! It's my own design. A cross-stitch castle surrounded by rose bushes at the top, and two cross-stitch dragons passant facing each other at the bottom. In between, a little verse in fanciful script and bands of stitching... like a band sampler, I guess. The only band that I have done right now is the two-tone double-herringbone. It's all on light blue linen. Very pretty. I originally meant to make it for a young cousin when she first got her own bedroom - princess themed - when she was about 2, but she's much older now, so I think I'll keep it instead. I'll post pictures soon.

Once the old projects are done, I'll pick up the more recent ones which are now hibernating - like the Hey Teach sweater I started about a month ago. And maybe I'll finally get around to painting the mural I've got sketched on the walls in the bathroom...

Randomly - I really like the version of As You Like It with Bryce Dallas Howard that was done last year...Check it out if you haven't seen it. Shakespeare in late 19th-century Japan with some people in western clothes and some people in Japanese. It is very interesting. I love unexpected adaptations of Shakespeare... That things like that work just goes to show Shakespeare's eternal genius.

I seriously enjoy these lines:

Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life exempt from public haunt
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones and good in every thing.
I would not change it.

Speaking of Shakespeare... Even if you don't watch Doctor Who (and you should if you don't), you'll probably still find this funny (though of course, it is funnier if you do watch Doctor Who). I laugh myself silly every time I watch it and I think I've seen it at least 100 times now. Catherine Tate, for those who don't know, played "Donna Noble," the most recent of the Doctor's companions. David Tennant plays the 10th Doctor. In this video, Catherine Tate plays "Lauren Cooper," an obnoxious British schoolgirl who likes to drive her teachers crazy. It's a sketch kinda like the reoccurring sketches on SNL. Anyway... Watch...