An aside

If Ravelry is the enabler of my yarn addiction, Jo-Ann is the silver-tongued dealer.

I just got an email from Jo-Ann telling me that ALL THEIR YARN IS ON SALE. Damn.

A word about my abilities

Every now and then I get some great idea about making something crafty and selling it on Etsy or at craft shows or whatever. In my mind, the plan is foolproof. In reality, however, I am usually confronted by the very "handmade-ness" of the items I make, and I resign myself to crafting for pleasure instead of profit.

Case in point: The doll

I made this doll by kluging together different patterns, and while the idea of her was pretty adorable, the actual doll has a few undeniable flaws.

For example, her legs are two different sizes, her arms jut out at totally different angles, and her head is on sideways (I like to imagine she is gazing wistfully off into the sunset, wishing for a dollmaker who knows enough to pin a doll's parts in place before sewing them on).

The Good Cat is rewarded

We have two cats, one Good and one Bad. The Good Cat does things like snuggling on your lap when it's cold outside, while the Bad Cat does things like pooping on the floor. This weekend I chose to reward the Good Cat for being so good, and so I made him new catnip toy. Of course he loved it, because that's how the Good Cat rolls.

Polite yarn bomb

I really love the idea of subversive crafting, like yarnbombing. But, I have an undeniable fear of going to prison, and with my luck I'd be caught mid-yarnbomb and sent off to the pokey for life. So, I choose to bomb my own house instead of the neighborhood.

Judy's wreath

Because crocheting lends itself well to things like colorful flowers and stuff you don't feel bad about leaving outside, yesterday I made this wreath. As Eliza was helping me, she suggested that we put the wreath on Judy's fence (Judy is our neighbor). I thought maybe we could just give the wreath to Judy, as she and her husband watched the Good Cat while we were out of town recently, but no, Eliza insisted that we put the wreath on her fence.

Thus:

First post

I have yarn guilt. After organizing my craft cupboard, I realized I have over 100 skeins of random yarn, and not enough of any one yarn to make anything significant. As much as I want to start a beautiful project like this one, I can't bring myself to spend over $100 on new fancy yarn when I have so much average yarn just sitting there.

I have made it my goal for 2013 to use up all my assorted skeins and bits and nibblies of yarn before buying any new yarn. If I am able to accomplish this, I will have zero guilt for buying fancy yarn.

I predict that one of two things will happen:

1. I will give up on my goal after a moment of weakness at Jo-Ann.
2. I will make it through the year without buying new yarn, but there will be a panicky dash to use up what's left of my stash sometime in December 2013. If you are a friend or close acquaintance of mine, you might want to expect a dozen or so finger puppets next Christmas.

Cheers!

Laura