MAYARN: giving in

Ever since I finished undergrad, I assumed I would go to grad school someday. I was too burned out on school and confused about what I REALLY wanted to do to jump right into it after I graduated. Plus, I thought getting "real job" and learning some life lessons would help me figure out if my hunch was right. Well, it's been a long process. Longer than I necessarily expected it would be 6 years ago. But I think I was right about waiting. I tend to be rational and thorough and once I find something I like or want, I can be pretty focused. I only applied to one school with an extremely unique program that feeds my creative and practical sides. I will be getting an MA in Publishing and Writing. And now that I've actually given notice at work and I've freed myself from that stress, I am actually starting to get excited about it.

So, I'm moving. Moving far away from home. This is the first time in my whole life I've planned a move anywhere more than 2 hours away from my home town. But since I just moved 5 months ago (I know. This is crazy.) a lot of my stuff is still packed. In fact, a lot of my stuff is in boxes in Steve's basement at this very minute. I went down there this weekend, thinking I needed to go through those boxes and clear some things out. Turns out, it's pretty set to go. There isn't much work to do there at all. "Phew!" I thought. "Packing this time around is going to be easy."

I returned home this afternoon feeling good, knowing that even though I have some packing to do at my apartment, it's not that bad. Did I speak too soon? Welllll...

Now, compared to many of you knitters out there, my stash is not very big, This is about, oh, a third of it, strewn across the floor, along with some other random junk. The contents of that black basket took me by surprise at moments. Take this for example:

This lonely mitten was felted. And has a thumb hole about the size of a thimble. I think I might have attempted to make a mitten potholder. What does one do with such an FO??

Anyway, my attempts at organization rarely work out the way I would like them to. I usually get distracted by something or other. Today, I was foiled by my collection of random circular needles. Along with an even larger collection of dpns, they were crowded into a plastic bag, poking holes in the sides and becoming entwined with one another. This has bothered me before, but they've been out of sight, therefore out of mind, for quite some time. There they were in my face today, thouhgh, so I halted all organizing and packing initiatives and made this:

Circular needle holder! Yay!

Half open, yet upside down. OOps...

Needle holder unfurled. That sucker sure is long...

The inside.

I have a habit of buying fabric remnants every time I'm at joann fabrics. Mostly they just take up space, but I'm glad I have them around when I get the urge to make something like this. I wasn't sure I liked these fabrics together at first, but I think it actually turned out looking pretty nice. (The stripy fabric is a light upholstry and has a sheen too it while the asian characters fabric has sparkly gold accents. I never said I would make a good designer.)

I didn't follow a pattern. I came up with some measurements based on my circular needles and the amount of fabric I had and sewed away. It was fun. And since I've made several of these in the past, it didn't take me that long at all. I'm really happy with it. It holds my circulars and I feel a little bit more organized, if not exactly on track with the packing. But I have three weeks, right? Pllllenty of time...

And for the finale, I give you a sneak peak at the ruffles scarf. Boy, do I have a ways to go on this one...

* Update: Measurements on the needle holder...

All 3 pieces of fabric were about 3 feet long and about 12 inches high. I folded the tan fabric in half long-ways to create a smooth edge for the top of the pockets. I sewed it to the asian character fabric to create pockets - I made each seam either 3 or 4 inches apart. In retrospect, I wish I had made all the pockets 3 inches wide - 4 turned out to be a bit much. I ended up with about 15 pockets, which was just enough for my circulars. However, I can probably fit more than one needle in the 4 inch pockets. Make sense? The overall pattern was based on the needle holder in the first Stitch n Bitch book.

Comments

Good luck on the new plan!

And wouldst thou be willing to provide us with the measurements of the superfab needle holder and number of needles you have? We'd be so very grateful. ;-)

Posted by: Jenny | August 15, 2005 at 01:25 AM

Three weeks? Eh...you have plenty of time to pack ;) When I moved, (almost a year ago, to the day) I packed the day before. Hehheh. Big mistake. I knew i shouldnt have, but somehow I kept getting sidetracked wanting to see friends before I left and such.

I *still* bring things that I should have packed a year ago back up here with me when I visit home.

Posted by: Stacey | August 15, 2005 at 11:35 PM

Thanks for the update, Maya. I will be making one soon. My circular needles are all CRAZY and busting out of their tin.

Posted by: Jenny | August 16, 2005 at 05:10 PM