The Art of Time Frittering and Other Bletherings

How to Time Fritter: Ravelry, Facebook, looking at Knitting Stitch Dictionaries, blogging, chatting on email, looking at potential spinning wheels.

How to Time Fritter on Ravelry: Check forums, check SQueenery forum, answer PMs, see if anyone's uploaded any new projects to drool over, check other 41 groups I belong to, check if any more hearts on projects (very sad but it means so much!!), check activity of SQ members in case I'm missing out on anything exciting and then do it all again x 50 each day. Is it just me?

What I Should Be Doing: Putting washes on, feeding next door neighbours' rabbits, cooking roast dinner, sorting out workshop, coming up with pattern designs for Unravel, putting in orders for yarn, putting in orders for business cards, writing cheques for Brownies, housework.

Well, at least I've weaned myself off Plurk!

And I can't stop knitting this - I'm loving every minute - but I think the recipient may well have spotted it on Flickr.

The lovely Yvette who is going to be my spinning guru has disappeared off to India for a well-earned holiday. In the meantime, I'm in the process of acquiring a new spinning wheel. Due to requests for hand-dyed fibre, I always said I need to learn how to spin first so that I get a feel for how the fibre will spin up and how best to dye it. It was my one and only New Year's Resolution and I can't wait to get started with encouragement from the Queen of Spinning and Crochet, Rockpool Candy too. Twas lovely to catch up with her this week and be in total awe of her gorgeous batts and handspun.

Oh and the international parcels for the second installment of the Winter Clubs were posted out this week. UK ones going out next week. It was at this stage that I was going to show you some photos of the December installment but looks like I was in such a rush to get them out, that I didn't take any. If anyone's got any spare...

We spent last weekend in Bristol in this hotel. The plans to go to Get Knitted were somewhat scuppered by the fact that there was water pouring through our bedroom ceiling at home at 6am on Saturday so we had to sort that out before we went. The hotel was very nice if a bit Faulty Towerish in decor and residents and of course, didn't look like this in the storms and gales, but we had a massive family room and it was just nice to have a change of scene (and a full English breakfast!)

Obsession

Ok, this obsession with yarn and knitting is getting out of hand. Spent way too much time over at Ravelry - that place is amazing but sucks up time - was up til 2am on Saturday night just checking it out, adding photos of my projects etc - though half of my finished stuff has been gifts for babies etc so not many pics.

And then, as if I was a lady of leisure who just likes to hang out and chat and has stacks of time, I decided on a whim to sign up to this new social networking site for etsians - We Love Etsy.
Another great place - have already met some lovely people there.

Other than that, wound up my wonderful Watermelon yard from Freshisle Fibers:Doesn't it look good enough to eat? OK, maybe not - told you I was obsessed!

Completed a custom order of Fruit Salad for my lovely Texan customer and loaded in my Etsy shop:
Dyed up loads new colourways in cashmere/silk and Superwash Merino - just have to skein them all up this week and gradually add them to etsy. There's one I'm particularly proud of called Kingfisher... more on that in the next post.

Then, any spare minutes left, I've been reading these:

I got mine!

Yay! I got my Ravelry invite this morning. (She does a victory dance in the style of an Egyptian!) Now I've just got to get some time to figure it out - have managed my profile so far, and included my favourite curse word?! Now have to work out how to register as a Yarnie. If you're looking for me on there, by any chance, I'm on as skeinqueen.

Also I got my first return customer! She purchased Fruit Salad last week:

And placed a custom order for four more skeins which I dyed up this afternoon. It was a bit nerve-wracking as I'd used a slightly unorthodox method for this one, but the old memory kicked in and I think she'll be pleased with the result. Just have to skein them up.

I got a treat in the post yesterday when I finally got my hands on some wait-til-you-see-this-it's-incredible watermelon yarn from Marian at freshislefibers
OK, rather nice I hear you say but look what it can do - self-striping watermelon socks. Amazing, aren't they! Marian is so clever.

Ravelry update

Woo hoo!

Just checked out the antsy rating on Ravelry and it did take my original registration. I know this is only relevant and fascinating to me, but thought I'd post it anyway:

Found you!

• You signed up on June 12, 2007
• You are #8361 on the list.
• 1667 people are ahead of you in line.
• 12112 people are behind you in line.
• 32% of the list has been invited so far

Anyone out there already a member? How's it working out?

Ravelry

Oh poo, poo, poo!

Thought I'd signed up to this new site weeks ago but just checked the "antsy" list and neither of my email addresses were on it. I must've imagined signing up - doh! Especially after I smugly told Skein King yesterday, who thought he'd found something new, that I was one of the 17,000 who'd already signed up. Was awaiting my invite any day. Oh well - start again - I'll get there in the end but it will probably be live by then. Poor Jess and Casey over at Ravelry - must be overwhelming for them.