I was all prepared to sadly call this entry Intermission and apologize as I took a night off from opening packages and blogging about it. It took me a couple hours to do last night’s post (I guess I am not the most efficient person in the world), and tonight I have a class at the store so I was afraid there would be too many packages and not enough time to tackle them. It didn’t seem fair to open some and not all of them, plus I’m honestly really tired. I’m used to getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night, and I’ve been averaging about 5 this week. Not enough, and if it were just me to worry about, I would caffeine up and keep the party going, but since I’m nursing, not only is caffeine a bad idea, but I have to get enough rest or I risk mastitis or losing my supply. That would truly be a disaster.
But, fate she turns my way. First, the mail man came a little early. Second, he brought only four packages today. Third, Sophie went down for a late nap, allowing me a bit of time to type before Joe comes home to cover the childcare while I’m gone. And now I’m picking up after coming home from the class – Joe is chowing on the Chipotle burrito I brought for him and watching Sophie, who is still up, so we’ll see how much time I get. To the opening of packages!
Janet in Chitlenango, NY mailed me a package of lovelies. In her e-mail, she apologized for not having enough scraps for me. mmm – I think you did just fine, Janet! There’s a little bit of everything in there, including some nice Koigu-type, some cotton/wool blend, and the nylon-wool blend that can go into this first blanket. Janet also sent a little gift along for Harry cat. See the little mousie with the colorful feathers for a tail in the bottom left corner? Very thoughtful. Poor Julie thought it was for her, but I managed to convince her otherwise.
Here’s Harry playing with the mouse:
Here we stop to note that I did, in fact, have to take over Sophie for a few minutes to nurse her to sleep so that Joe could eat his giant burrito. Onward!
Amy in Esko, Minnesota – way up north – sent a box of very nice yarns, including some Koigu, some Regia, some Rowan 4 ply soft (which I think can get along well with the Koigu-types); a partial ball of Nature Spun in Turquoise; and two partial balls of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.
Oops – and now the baby is back up, but Joe has finished eating so I have a few more minutes.
Kathleen from Santa Ynez, California sent a potpourri of fibery goodness. I see Trekking, Fortissima, and Patons, among others.
Katrina from Berkely, CA sent some of the glittery striping stuff, and managed to fit it in a regular size-10 envelope.
A non-postal infusion of yarn occurred this evening at the store…Laura, who lives in these parts stopped by with a little package of wool/nylon and cotton blend sock yarns for me, and we had a nice little chat. She got to see the blanket first-hand too.
Sheesh, and now I’m typing one-handed as I try a second time to nurse Sophie back to sleep. Thank you, thank you to everyone who has sent me yarn so far!
Here is your cute kid pic of the day – that’s Julie pretending to be a firefighter in the cape I made for her at Christmas (yes, even heathen children get Christmas presents around here.)
Finally, we have a picture of the blanket project collection so far. We’ve definitely outgrown all the pretty baskets and fancy receptacles I started out using. You’re going to see some more utilitarian containers as the stash grows bigger, I’m afraid. Lucky for me I bought a bunch of big plastic bins when they were on sale after New Year’s.
You are looking at a giant IKEA bag holding all the yarns that probably will not make it into the current blanket. This includes a basket (my childhood Easter basket – I grew up as a non-heathen) full of koigu-types and a gallon-sized ziploc stuffed to the max with cotton-blends. Next to that on the right there is another gallon-sized ziploc overstuffed with the yarns that have already appeared in the blanket and the biggest non-laundry basket I own precariously piled with all the yarns that qualify for the current blanket but have not yet been used. I wouldn’t say that I’m buried yet, but there’s definitely enough there to make a blanket.
If you still have yarn to send, don’t fret! Go ahead and send it to me. I’ll sort it and see that it gets to a happy home. I really want to plan on making a second blanket out of either all cotton/wool/nylon blends or koigu-types. I would like to collect enough of each of those to make at least one blanket, and give the extras to lucky recipients who can convince me that they’re really going to use it and hopefully blog about it so we can all see where our yarn went. For the other yarns that just don’t qualify for the current blanket project categories, some are in big enough quantities that they can be given away to people who really want them right now (like the purple and pink, which already has several claims out on it, but which I have not fully committed to any recipient yet – I’ll make an announcement tomorrow, I think.) Others may turn into separate collections like sport-weight sock yarns or something like that. I’ve had some other awesome e-mails from people interested in doing charity knitting with some of it, too, so there are no shortage of places that will welcome your yarn, and I’m happy to act as a clearinghouse for now.
Okay, it’s 11:20. Maybe I can get to bed right now and have a chance at close to enough sleep tonight for once. Thanks again for all your comments and support!
I have 5 children – ranging in age from 23 down to 7. I got really good at folding one leg up and laying the baby in the “crook” of my leg (sort of like my own boppy) so I could type with 2 hands!
I used to nurse with DD in the baby sling all the time, so I could work (type) while she was sleeping. She would only sleep on someone, never on her own, bed, crib, playpen, floor, never. But like four hour naps if she stayed with me. And I couldn’t even eat chocolate or NO NAPS AT ALL. You might understand why I’ve had such a long caffeine binge (after the second one came along). Maybe that’s why I had mastitis a couple of times with DS…never thought about the tiredness…
Anyway, I know I’m not sending you any yarn. And I kind of feel badly about that since that’s what this started from. But the blankie (evil, evil) is coming along slowly. I carry my gallon-sized ziploc around with me. I realized last night that I put on a square upside down but I’m not going to unknit that square and fix it…well, maybe I’m not. Not at the puppet show, anyway.
But if any yarn (I don’t care fiber content at all) needs a home…just don’t tell DH!
Your blog has become one of my favorite daily reads (along with the Yarn Harlot and Grumperina) so thanks for perservering… I love reading about all the treasures that come in the mail!
Okay, I have Sophie in my lap and laying across one arm asleep post-nursing as I type this. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I never have figured out how to nurse a baby in the sling. We use an Over the Shoulder Baby Holder all the time, but maybe my breasts aren’t big enough? Sopranospinner, I don’t want your yarn – I want you to keep knitting on your own blankie. And I think you should consider the upside-down square a design feature. Just reapeat it a few times here and there,and it will look like you meant to do that.
Now I have to go get the kids and me ready to go out to ECFE in the pouring rain.
Pouring rain sounds great right now! Never (almost) rains here in the summer, though.
And thanks for whatever comes my way someday. This blanket will take plenty long! I already took out the upside down square. I knew it would bug me and, for goodness sake, they only take a little while to do over, right?
I’m so close on the socks, I don’t think much else will happen with blankie today, but it’s lurking there in the back of my mind. Handspun works really well…