Sigh. This is the current state of my studio. That's what the contents of one crafty winter gathering in New Hampshire, and one conference in Vermont look like upon returning home and depositing it all. I've been home just two full days this month, which was only enough time to pack for a second trip, not deal with unpacking the first. Oh, and right before all of this? I had the crazy idea to rearrange my studio, which, well, only sort of was finished (not at all). A disaster, I tell you! That's what I have on my hands in here. Crafty bits and papery bits and gear and fabric and oh so much. Not to mention six extra sewing machines that need returning (huge thanks to Uncle Ron at Cote Brothers for the loan of those! I fell so in love with one - the quilting machine - that I think it just might have to come live with me. As soon as I clear a space for it.)
But thank goodness for the ability to look the other way! Because that's precisely what I plan on doing, at least for today. Closing the door on that studio and its mess, and looking right here in front of me instead. Obviously at those cuties who I'm eager to spend a whole lot of snuggle time with. But also at this knitting. I've been hauling this rather large project bag with me since the first of February - from room to room at our gathering, from state to state, from hotel to conference center! There were a lot of stops and starts, more than a few distractions, and it's been ripped out more times than I care to think about. But! Finally, I think I've got a groove going and I know just where I'm going with it all. I gathered all of the random little bits of my first handspun yarn - from different sheep and from various dye sessions - and am joining them all together into a hodge-podge wooly cardigan, raglan top down (with great pattern help from Elizabeth Zimmerman). Being that gauge is an elusive thing with this first handspun of mine, I'm not entirely sure what size it will end up being, but my hope is that it might be somewhere in the range of a certain ten year old, either now or soon to fit. The only who loves those sheep ever-so-much, and hasn't been deterred in her love or care no matter the weather or the temperature. Surely she could use a burly, stripey, warm and wooly sweater made from the very girls she loves. And I'm excited to make it for her. (Especially if that means I can put off cleaning that room for another day!)
