I feel the need to organize myself.

I need that organization in my house and in my mind. I worked on the house part this weekend since I didn’t need to zip up to NY to be with Mom. She felt like she needed more rest than she would get if I was there, so I stayed home. I really wanted to see her (when I last left NY she was still in the hospital) but I had to respect her wish for rest and quiet and I also appreciated the weekend at home.

Regarding my fiber pursuits, here’s a list of what’s going on:

Knitting – projects on the needles. (There may be more, but this is what I can remember):

Vampire Boyfriend socks (one almost complete)

Rob’s afghan (5/8 complete)

Slinky Ribs top (One sleeve and neck edging to go)

Grey striped vest (2/3 complete, I think. It's been a while. blush)

Cotton/rayon shawl (a little bit of stockinette and the edging to go)

Purple shawl (from Victorian Lace today) (no idea, but a lot to go)

Laminaria shawl (frogging before re-knitting to go)

Cardi Cozy from the Mason Dixon book (lots to go)

Blue cotton cardigan (only an edging, I think)

Things I want to knit but that are not on the needles

Wrap/lap blanket with my handspun

Hat and scarf with handspun (blues)

Hat for DH with handspun in black, red and tan

Sweater/coat with Cascade Pastazza also form the 2^nd Mason Dixon book

More linen face cloths for Mom

Market bag

Spinning on the wheel/spindle

Need to spin more black wool to ply with the 2 remaining bobbins from the Tour de Fleece so that will be finished.

Wensleydale on spindle. I changed my mind and plan to un-ply what I’ve plied. I will ply colorway with colorway and then semi solid with semi solid.

Silk on spindle – have to decide whether to ply it or use as a single for knitting

Blue merino/silk blend on a spindle – it’s been there for years. Shame on me.

Silk hankies that I am not enjoying spinning but hate to waste, so they might get done.

What I want to spin

Blended fiber from the recent spinning retreat

Icelandic fiber on a spindle (6 oz. all together)

Get back into the Knitters Book of Wool (Rav. Group) fiber sampling. They are doing Dorset this month. I've never spun Dorset.

Get back into the spinners study group to learn more about other fibers.

Sweater’s worth of yarn (if it’s not enough, then at least a vest worth. LOL)

Do you think that if it is in print in public (on my blog), it will happen? The chances are improved, I think. If I just write a list on paper, I’ll probably loose it. : ( On the blog, it’s there and I’d have to take positive action to remove it.

Fall and spring – I get the nesting/cleaning/de-cluttering bug. It has hit me hard right now and that’s not a bad thing. When I clean things out, lots of useful stuff goes to the Goodwill store or some other charity place, and maybe someone will get use from it. I go through all of the clothes bins, put away summer stuff and take out the cold weather stuff. That’s when I make decisions about what stays and what goes. Some of it is just worn out and goes into the trash or rag bin.

The gardens need to be cleaned out, too. The vegetable garden was mostly cleaned out (by DH) and I think I want to put straw over it all for the winter to cut down on weeds. That can then be tilled into the soil in the spring.

I wrote most of this post earlier in the weekend, and now I can update some things. I pulled out the Slinky Ribs top, knitted on a sleeve for a while and tried it on. DH offered his opinion when asked, and I will knit long sleeves. I worked on one sleeve during the Raven’s game yesterday (it was a close game but they lost in OT) and knitted it to just above wrist length. I left it on a holder and have picked up the other sleeve knitting, which was still above the elbow. I plan to knit on that sleeve as much as possible this week. I am apparently in finishing mode and want to get this top wearable.

The Vampire Boyfriend sock (1^st one) is at the toe decreases!

The Perfect Storm Wensleydale looks much better plied on itself, though I am now wishing that I had thought to chain ply it. Hmmm… We’ll see how the un-plying of the first skein goes before I decide anything else. Meanwhile, I spun a little more of it yesterday.

That’s it – I think I am all caught up. I really hope that I can follow through on spinning 20 minutes each day. I also want to get the sweater and the Vampire boyfriend socks complete in the next month.

Mom feels tired but good today. That's a good thing.