It seems that I spend a lot of time thinking about space and de-cluttering. I’m always trying to organize my home to make it more user-friendly. Now I know there is just DH and I and our house isn’t huge, but sometimes I feel discombobulated. Nothing is where it needs to be and then when I organize I find stuff and think, “What the heck am I keeping this for?” So, I de-clutter and so far I haven’t regretted eliminating anything.
One large item that takes space is magazines, specifically knitting and spinning magazines. I’ve pretty much eliminated all my other ones. Luckily, there is only one spinning magazine that I get and I love perusing it when it comes, Spin Off. I purchased some of the CD’s a couple of years ago of the Spin Off magazine, so that all issues of a particular year are on one CD. I love it!!! I can peruse them while sitting at my computer and I have really been enjoying that. I recently purchased a few more at Interweave’s half-off sale. One of the knitting magazines that I like, Creative Knitting, in addition to the hard copy magazine, I also get it digitally. The question on both of these, should I keep the hard-copy? As to Creative Knitting, I’ve been tearing out the patterns I like, then getting rid of the rest of it. One of the things I don’t like about the digital mag is that they lock and protect the pdf to the point I can’t extract a few pages. So if the one pattern I want to knit are on pages 43, 44, and 88, I can’t just extract those pages and save it as a new file to put on my Kindle or my phone or my tablet. No, I have to keep the whole HUGE space-taking file. (why do I have such an issue with things that take up space?) Back to the question, do I keep the hard copy? I’m really battling with this and although we just had some cabinets built in the office to accommodate such stuff, I don’t want to pile them full of magazines. What do my blogland friends do???? 
Ok, on to some pictures that I’ve been remiss in adding. First is the Wingspan. This is the original one I made and blogged about. I could never figure out how to wear it around my neck, I tried all kinds of configurations. Unlike a shawl or shawlette, I just couldn’t get it to lay right on my neck and shoulders. The first time I wore it, a co-worker said “oh, what a nice collar.” Collar?? Seriously? No, that wasn’t my intention. I don’t think it was an intentional dissing (is that word still used?) statement, it just wasn’t what I wanted to hear. So I tried it again, and still couldn’t get it right. So, it’s relegated to the closet being unused. That’s why I frogged the Lace Wingspan, cause I knew I wouldn’t wear it.
Next is the Baktus. I modified the original pattern by adding 3 wraps around the needle on every other 3rd row and dropping the wraps on the 4th. I love the way this one turned out. It’s not as dense as the original Baktus and it’s very light. The yarn is Carnival by Creatively Dyed Yarns purchased at Stitches South in 2011, a blend of merino, cashmere and angora.
The next one is the Mae Day dress from Vickie Howell. I'm using Vickie Howell's Rock yarn (40% soysilk, 30% fine wool, 30% hemp). I mainly started this pattern because of the smocking stitch. While it was fun, I was tired of it by the time I was done. I'm six inches into the body of the dress and I have to do nine inches before I get near the end. It will have Icord straps that "grow with the child".
Next up is the Trousseau. I'm knitting this with the Lana Grossa Lace Lux, the same yarn that I was using for the Lace Wingspan. It's a lovely pattern. It actually calls for a fingering/dk weight but this will work. I'm knitting this as a KAL with my friend Reyna who has recently moved back far across the US to California. She is sorely missed.
On an unrelated issue is my new skillet. I love this thing. I was in the market for a new skillet and assumed I would go for a Circulon or a Calphalon. I kept going back to this one and it was comparably priced. So far I'm in love. I'm going to give it a little more use before I decide to buy a complete set, just to make sure it holds out as advertised. Some of the reviews said that within 3 months, it was no longer stick-free, but then I can't see how they use and abuse it. I'm careful with my cookware and since I need some new saucepans as well, I may go to this if it holds well.
And lastly, some recently spun fiber. This was purchased on Etsy fron McMullin Fiber Co. It was glorious to spin and I love the colors. It's called Bambino and the colorway is called French Quarter. It's a 50/50 merino/bamboo blend. 2 ply, 536 yards.
Comments
Love your finished objects btw. Nice to see some photos. Nice to hear from you! :) k
And what on earth IS that new wooden tool with all the pins sticking out. I should know this, right?
As for magazines, I suggest moving across country. A box full is bound to get lost. (Actually, I'm told mine has been found and is going to come to me eventually.). I, too, do a lot of ripping out the patterns I want to keep and tossing the rest.