Friday, February 16, 2007

Amelia's Contest Question ~ What Makes a UFO, Valentine's Contest Drawing and My Progress...


Hi there everyone! No, this is NOT ME wearing my FO (c'mon, make-up doesn't make that dramatic of a difference in my appearance and it's too freaking cold here to blow my do around in front of a fan ;> ) ... it's a pic from a Knit 1 magazine of the UFO I'm currently half-heartedly working on, using my very first handspun which is kind of funky but hey...why not? I didn't want to felt the handspun or make a boring bag out of it. I wanted it to *be* something, and I hope that I'll have the guts to wear it once it's done. I'm optimistic that this project will be done this weekend and photos will follow :) I'm probably going to have to buy a couple of plain long-sleeved shirts to go with the thing before I wear it. bummer, eh?

I just haven't been in a knitting groove at all...more of a spinning groove, really, which is good because some of my UFO's are spinning projects :)



I'm going to blog a little on my personal blog this morning about what this pile 'o funky hand-dyed, hand-combed Shetland wool became...don't get excited, it's just yarn at this point and not very much of it! I also used the nasty combing waste and actually spun that stuff up, which was weird and kind of fun. The dyed wool hung out in a grocery bag behind the couch for quite some time so it felt good to finish it. It's shocking how time consuming hand-combing can be and how little you get for your efforts in the time you spend on it but oh MY...the resulting fiber is so dreamy to spin!

Now...MUG SHOT CONTEST....I've actually written down your names and will be drawing them out of a hat (or something) and will post the winner's name tonight or tomorrow morning :) You should be excited if you posted a pic...there are only 4 of you so your chances of winning the custom hand-dyed yarn or fiber are most excellent! Before I draw names, just want to make sure I didn't miss anyone, OK? ~ I have AMELIA, LISA, PHYL AND PAM. Right????

And, our dear Amelia posed a question for us to win one of her lovely Knitting Journals so everyone....POST YOUR ANSWERS SO YOU CAN WIN!!!! The yahoo mail list is kind of slow, so I'm going to request some answers here to the blog. You can read her too-easy requirements for this contest here so read up on it before posting your answer/entry!

What Makes a(n?) UFO?

Hmmmmm.........that's an excellent question!

For me, it's hands-down starting a new project before I'm done with the one I'm working on, and that happens all the time! It's totally rare for me to finish a project without picking up something new along the way, unless it's a washcloth or ONE fingerless mitt or a bulky knit hat or a small felted bag that I do instead of a swatch to test a new wool yarn's felting properties...honestly, these are the only things I can think of that I've finished before picking up something else. Oh...maybe a scarf....but that's iffy. I can think of one, maybe.

And these are the reasons I do this:

1. The thing I'm working on is TOO HARD without taking a "no-brainer" project break (the Sheep Shawl comes to mind!)
2. The think I'm working on is TOO BORING (miles of stockinette, for example) and I need something TOO HARD to break the monotany
3. The dreaded SSS (Second Sock Syndrome) ... the though of casting on sock #2 makes me want to cry all over a new project (not normally a new sock!)
4. NEW MAGAZINES...sigh...I'm a sucker for knitting magazines and they distract me something awful
5. I LOST A NEEDLE ~ hahahahahahaha...this is a good one! Considering I own a yarn shop and this is the worst kind of cop out ever (bringing to mind the Mesilla t-shirt, still languishing in a basket....)

OK...that's it for this morning. Nothing exciting to post about, really, except the contest :)

3 comments:

Redford Phyl said...

In my mind, a UFO is a project that has not been worked on in more than a week. I always have multiple projects in various stages of progress. I try to have something small and brainless that I can work on in waiting rooms. Charted things must be worked on at my desk. And because of joint problems, I don't like to work with my size 0 & 1 needles for long periods of time, so I switch knitting projects frequently. These things are "in progress" not really "unfinished." My TRUE UFOs are things like the sweater I started 6 months ago and haven't touched in 5 and a half months, or the shawl I started in October that hasn't been touched since December.

C4G said...

Has does one become a contributer to this blog? I'd like to sign up. I have MANY UFO's...because I get bored too easily with the same-ol-same-ol.

Leah said...

Hello...sorry to have taken so long to reply to the comment. In order to be a team member, you'll need to email the owner (Leah...me!) and you can find my email in my profile, I believe. Otherwise, please email herbilady@speednetllc.com. Thanks!