Thursday, May 10, 2012

Define 'too much'

You will have to excuse my grammar in today's title because of course one would never say 'that is too much socks', but 'that is too many socks.'  If one was from, I don't know, some alien planet where feet don't exist? because it's a well-established fact that one can never have too many handknit socks.

or can one???

Let's explore the notion of excess.   Without linking to any of those horrifying pictures of stash that fills an entire room.

(Have you seen those?  I find them kind of alarming, unless I think of them as setup for a giant weeklong craft workshop with the finished objects going to charitable use, which really would be an awesome way to turn 'too much' into 'fabulous' and a pretty great vacation to boot.)


Socks

During a recent adjustment, my chiropractor asked me how many pairs of handknit socks I have.  He says I have a different pair on every time I go which is probably not strictly true and also that he can recognize them by the wild colours and/or stitch patterns which I would love to think is very strictly true because he is decidedly a non-knitter.

(then he said he especially liked the ones I had on for their especially nice wavy pattern, and that was YAY because I was wearing a pair of PuddleJumpers, and makes the second time in just a few months that a non-knitter admired those socks.)

Anyway I was kind of stuck because I only count socks by how long I can go between rounds of laundry, so I said 35 which sounded impressive yet possible.

When I got home I was curious so I counted and got 22.  !!! that is NOT enough socks.  After that I realized there were more socks in the laundry so I revised and got 26 or something.  Still not enough!  Especially given that those socks are divided between summer, deepfreeze winter, and transitional periods.  I don't have enough superwarm socks to get through an entire week without washing socks.  That just won't do.

I know this attitude is a reflection of growing entitlement.  When I first started knitting socks and strained over every different part of the process - heels were particular torture - I was excited to hit four pairs.  That allowed me to have one pair on, another pair almost dry in the Warm Room, and two more to share the Soak Wash.  I planned all my outfits around the colours of the socks next up in the queue.  Now I am annoyed if I I can't find socks with red and/or blue in them to go with my Christmas-present pashmina.

On the other hand maybe I do have a whole lot of handknit socks.


I can almost fill the laundry basket with them.


Hats

One can never have too many hats either because there are so many colours and shapes and fabrics one might choose to reflect one's mood on any given day, right?

(I have way too many hats.)

Here is the new one I started but couldn't find a picture of the other day:


It's well into the stocking stitch phase now.  I'm refining the notion of 'slouch hat' as it applies to my personal head.  The pink try seems to have too much fullness... which I know will be just enough fullness when it is super cold outside and I have all those folds of cashmere blend yarn on my head.

After watching a show on tornadoes last night I'm thinking of calling this design 'stormcloud.'  cute?


Bags

I'm not talking about tiny happy bags because that would be crazy, you can never have too many of those! but I am reflecting on my friend's Prada handbag.  She has two, one of them black for winter; she's changed over to a tan one now, and after a really long time of noticing them both I finally asked her the other day what she thinks of those bags.  Because really, how much is too much to pay for a bag?

I'm going to take a moment away from writing this to find out how much such a bag tends to run, but I know it's a lot...

... oh, well, okay.  It's less than $1000.  I'm not having a heart attack.  And you know what? I'm not even comparing that bag to an equivalent cash value of luxury yarn, and not just because I am up to my nose in yarn I'm afraid I'll never knit through.  It's because...

... the whole time she was telling me what she likes about the bag, I was thinking how great that bag would be for carrying knitting.

(for the record: she loves the bag.  apparently the leather has never ever scratched, you clean it with a super standardish cleanser, and it's super well organized inside.  you can even wear it cross-body if you want because it comes with a longer strap. both her bags still look like she just bought them.)

(also for the record: I think I would have a heart attack if I paid more than $150 for a bag.  I splurged on one for $125 once and have been afraid to use it ever since, which made buying it pretty pointless. no Prada bag for me I guess.)


Fabric

I want to make new curtains for the cottage kitchen, even though there are already perfectly nice curtains in the cottage kitchen, because it's been SO LONG since I've had an excuse to do kitchen curtains.  But I think I might have gone a little overboard on fabric choices...


... because there are only two windows.

(it's just so hard to stop once you get going!)


Words

This has been a lot of words, hasn't it.  Maybe - too much words. heh.

Hugs is due for a day of less words and more pictures I think.  Maybe the Stoddart Haul, which makes for a very pretty Friday.  And maybe a good segue into the weekend because I have a feeling people are going to look at that one and say Too Much Yarn!

(but please don't say it where I can hear it, I will feel so guilty, gah.)

Hope I see you tomorrow - have a great day today!

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