The Rest Of The Cleaning Story

 The great yarn studio cleaning and organizing resulted in a pile of trash. 

Shipping boxes and bags, little bits of left over yarn, ruined items, and just plain junk that could not be used by anyone.  We were ruthless in tossing.

Not to worry.

We were careful and generous in the donating.

Twenty hats, scarfs and cowl were donated to three worthy causes.  The box in this photo is filled with yarn destined to a group that knits and crochets for foster youth.  And the white bag is filled with yarn skeins that went to a fundraiser at my local guild.

Getting rid of the junk was cathartic. 
Giving was a blessing.

Life is good.

Yarn Work Is Not Always Glamorous

She who is a crocheting miracle and I set out to clean the yarn studio.  Actually, she told me that "we" were going to do it.  I had no choice.  But once we started we worked without stopping and at such a speed that a mere three hours later, the deed was done.

 The day started with dumping and pulling and culling.  Great thought was put into the task.

Is this ten yards actually usable or tossable?

Can this half skein be donated?

What program benefits from these hats we forgot about?
 

She who crochets started in the far dark corner.  The good news is that we own a bag of stuffing.  The bad news is I never sewed up the bear. 


Some areas were easy to reorganize.  I'm not much for color organization - or yarn weight either.  Most of the sock yarn is in bins, but the open hanging things let me see a lot at one time.

I'm a big picture type and being able to see "it all" encourages me to mix and mingle in new ways.

Someone else is more of the "whole project in one spot" type of organizer.  One room, one closet and we are both able to have our own method.


Over the years, our storage devices have been cobbled together.  It's mostly a mix of left over organization methods that we stuffed into the closet.


She is really organized. 

All in all, it was a super morning.  And we did such a fabulous job of getting "everything" stored away, that the floor could be cleaned. 

Yes, I actually vacuumed!  It felt good.

What you are not seeing (yet) is the pile of hats, scarfs and yarn that we can donate.  Everyone benefits from the effort.  And that feels really really good.

Living And Knitting Silicon Beach

Silicon Valley might have a longer history, but Silicon Beach is hot, hot, hot.   For the last three and a half years, the area has be command central for Clan Stewart.

 This was the beginning of my long scarf which is now named Silicon Beach.  Every day, the tech employees can be seen walking, biking, boarding and even driving around sporting neck wear that is wrapped and wrapped into a personal statement. 

Silly me.  I cast on twenty-nine gazillion stitches in lace weight and set out to knit a sideways scarf with one beaded edge.  Well.  The thing did end up long enough to wrap and twist and gather into an expression of the wearer - all 125.5 inches of the thing.  

This is what it looks like all scrunched up.  The Happy Fuzzy lace is in the verdigris colorway which is a natural complement to the copper beads.

There is no real pattern other than my desire to practice a new cast on edge - with a twist and the beads.

All in all, the result makes me happy and fits the vibe of Silicon Beach.

PS - yes, those are Mardi Gras beads under the scarf.  Feb. 9 is fast approaching!