Well, I realized that it was extremely likely that I would run out of yarn before finishing up the Ruby Slipper shawl. After much pondering and agonizing, I caved and wrote to Toni Neil to see if she had any more Ruby Slipper yarn. She kindly took my order for two more balls of Ruby Slipper (and lo, though the Tiger Eye yarn beckoned, and said it would make lovely socks for Dan, I resisted) and sent them out last Friday. With any luck, they will arrive today, and I might be able to take Ruby Slipper with me for the Muncie trip.
In the meantime, I figured out how to make a candy-cane Fun Fur scarf for my mother that looks respectable, and finished that on Monday. This may sound silly, but it took me a rather long time to figure out what stitch, what method, etc etc before finally crocheting the dern thing. There was a lot of ripping involved. Fortunately, ripping Fun Fur with a carry-a-long strand of Lion MicroSpun was not Horrible Evil, but only low-grade evil that was no big deal for someone who's tried to rip mohair. I'm debating writing that crochet pattern up and sending it to Lion Brand, or just publishing it here if people are interested. I figure candy cane season will be here soon enough, and once I figured OUT what I was doing, the pattern was very quick to crochet.
So, the burgeoning question is this: if the Ruby Slipper balls don't show up today, what knitting project do I take with me? I'm supposed to start the Cabled Block Sweater for my mother (which might earn the name of Tile or Parquet, due to its construction) but she hasn't gotten around to telling me what her bust measurement really is. This is, indeed, AFTER the explanation that band size for your bra doesn't equal bust measurement. Oh well, the likelihood is that I'll have to warp the pattern some anyway because the yarn will shrink, and I've not done any of that math yet, so that sweater isn't going with me anyway.
The leading contenders so far are these:
I recently found the Lily Chin Charlotte's Lace Shawl pattern that I lost. It goes with a cone of Brown Sheep Cotton Fine (Jade) in my stash. Bonus - one circular needle, one large ball of yarn, eats lots of time. Minus - This isn't on the To Do list for this year.
Knitting the other balls of Socks that Rock (Farmhouse) into socks. Minus - metal size 1 sock needles. Don't know if people will think I'm a terrorist for having steel lace sock needles. Somehow, I feel like I'm explaining I'm a loose woman instead of a loose knitter. Would a loose woman qualify as a terrorist?
Knitting MY Harry Potter Scarf. It'd be Gryffindor, from the 3rd movie. Bonus - one circular needle, project I've done before so I know about gauge, on my to do list, etc. Minus - I'll need scissors and several balls of yarn. Hrrm. I've done the other one as a traveler before, so it might not be all bad.
I *could* do the stash-eating project of converting the leftover Cotton Thick N Quick that I got from WEBS long ago into a tank top. This also requires mathemagic on some tank top patterns since I don't currently have a bulky yarn one. I also could convert several small balls of Cotton TQ into pot holders, but I'll probably have more time than yarn or space for that many pot holders. Or I could try and convert some closeout Tahki Zebra into a Shapely Tank... narf. Maybe later.
I *could* take two (or four) balls of the Random Fun Fur Knockoffs that my mother sent me and convert them into Mom presents for later. Right now, this looks like a less exciting idea, especially since I just finished one such project. I wonder if Mom really wants a Fun Fur capelet of some kind... ponder. (Yes, I have quite a few balls to Do Something with.)
I *could* work on the felted bulky kitty bed, but the incomparable Miz D and I have recently struck a yarn stash trading deal, and I'd rather wait on the kitty bed until the other yarn is ready. (No mad mad rush, Miz D. And if you want to make that yarn blue-purple-turq instead of blue-green-turq, that would be Very Cool. :) It's Noro for Spun and/or Dyed, and I think we're both going to be happy. :)
So, socks, HP scarf, or shawl? I'll have to see how this evening goes, I guess, since the socks and the scarf would need some quality winding time. I've done the gauging on these and suchlike... otherwise I might be considering the White Lies project I have, but I don't have time to gauge that stuff. That and the White Lies looks like it will need notions aplenty, and I'm trying to minimize.
Ahh well. The things knitters worry about when they're going on a trip. :)
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