The Quickie Cowl is complete, although I question just how "quickie" it was. Somehow, I am able to bungle the most simple pattern. How many times did I have to rip back because I forget to keep three stitches at each edge in garter stitch? Many. Too many really, but the Quickie Cowl is a gift, so it was worth it.

Specifications
The Quickie Cowl by Fawn Pea
1 skein Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande
10.5 US needles
02/26/2008 - 02/28/2008

It may be worth it for me to re-work the seaming. At first, I could not slip it over my head!

I have several hilarious photos of me wearing it as a touqe, but nothing I am willing to post. My skin is a post-peel mess. See me in a week for radiant skin.

The internal conflict over my stash is not just about the physical space it occupies, but the psychic space as well. Stephanie's post about yarn serendipity made me realize that I do not want to be a hoarder of yarn -- or much else for that matter. Spiritually, I have too much yarn.

I recently traded Amy (friend and co-worker) my ex-Tubey charcoal Cascade 220 for one kitten-fur-soft skein of Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande. I was at a loss for a project, but when I saw Amy's Quickie Cowl by Fawn Pea -- knitted in Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande -- I knew it was Yarn Kismet!

In spite of the proximity of the book, I am not a knitter who can read and knit. Real Food: What to Eat is very interesting and educational. It pre-dates Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, however, I found Pollan's book a more fluid read. I wish this book were a bit better written and better organized, as it could be a solid reference book in that case.

As for the knitting project, the pattern is easy enough to allow me the luxury of some television knitting. The yarn is an absolute pleasure. As it stands, this project has an excellent chance of being finished -- and surviving.

Behold a small selection of my knitting projects: the Ellen neck warmer, Calorimetry, and both the ChicKnits H2O Hat and Point 5 Bulky Scarf (no longer available on the ChicKnits site). I feel as if I have hit the bottom with my knitting. Not only can't I find a project that moves me, I am hunting down finished projects to dismantle.

I know many knitters delight in finding that perfect one skein or stash-busting project, but frankly, I find it more of an annoyance. It feels too forced to be enjoyable or pleasurable for me.

Thanks to the constant falling snow, I have gained a three-day weekend. Idle hands and idle stash...

As of late, I have been consumed by both Kim Hargreaves' Heartfelt, The Dark House Collection and Weardowney Knit Couture. The Dark House Collection, and to some Extent the Weardowney book, and magical. Transformative. Life-altering.

Their arrival on my doorstep will trigger my transformation and blossoming into a slender, dewy-skinned, Neo Gothic English Rose. Nancy concurs.

As inspired by these collections as I am, I do not want to knit them. I simply want the clothes -- knitwear and all -- to arrive and work their magic.

During my Thanksgiving visit to Pittsburgh, I committed to a near-daily walk of 30 minutes. A mere day into this new lifestyle, I suffered a small setback. As I strutted along, I felt a "pop" in my left arch. I hobbled home, iced my foot, and rested a day or two before getting back at it. The pain continued intermittently, and my right foot started aching as well.

I scaled back on the walking -- with some unpleasant results on the scale -- so I braved the pain. Which only made it worse. In short order, I was barely able to stand or walk in the morning. Welcome back, old friend, Plantar Fasciitis. It sounds whimpy, but it could make Andre the Giant whimper. My left foot is wrapped and strapped for relief, and my Easy Spirit walking shoes (purchased late November) are two steps away from extinction.

Foot pain has a way of making you feel rather dowdy and old, and one of the shoes recommended by the podiatrist will do nothing but advance that...quickly. I know that vanity is secondary to health, but these make me want to cry.

I am slowly battling back from knitting near extinction. Ellen qualifies as Mission Possible project, using the lingering, lone ball of Karabella Aurora 8 in my stash.

But let me say this. I am barely enjoying the process. I am knitting with obligation -- because I should knit, because I should use stash yarn -- and it stinks. Obligatory knitting is anything but enjoyable.

After a job offer in Japan went belly up, I did the only thing I could possibly do -- move to a new city. My decision was largely based on the single premise that I had never lived in the South. This is how I became a resident of New Orleans for six months in 1992.

New Orleans was not the best place I ever lived, nor was it my favorite. It does, however, hold a unique place in my heart, which is why I was particularly touched by last evening's Anthony Bourdain No Reservations show.

On the eve of Fat Tuesday, two years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Bourdain showed us the truth -- not some FEMA fantasy of recovery and battling back.

While New Orleanians (and tourists) celebrate Fat Tuesday, New York State is celebrating Super Tuesday. To me, voting is a celebration and a privilege. Women struggled to win the right to vote, and I do not take it lightly. This is the most disheartened I have been in years. The candidates presented to me do not excite me, nor to they infuse me with any sort of confidence that real change can take place. Thus, I must choose from a pool of "meh".

Last week, Frances bestowed upon me the Make My Day Award. I so enjoy her writing on everything from her knitting to the blooms and mud along the local roads, I must say that reading her blog makes my day.

Sunny and Rona make my day with hilarious rapid-fire ping-pong emails. Similarly, no day would be complete without a post or an email from three ladies who appreciate red-blooded bitchery as much as I: Bronx Girl Knits/Nancy, Tango Diva Tanya and Stephanie.

Frankly, the numbers of blogs and websites that make my day are too numerous to mention, so I will stop here. I have to vote and plan my next vacation to New Orleans.

The Possibilities

There are times when I ask Joe a simple question, and I am met with silence. Most likely, it is not a long silence, but I am an impatient sort. I want an answer now!

My impatience had me in a quandry over my Mission Possible 2008 projects. A few of the patterns were selected because they matched a stash yarn, but they failed the Klosekraft tests. Why bother knitting a pattern that does not excite you?

Feeling bound (rather than inspired) by the knitalong, I decided to cull my queue and my stash sooner rather than later. several yarns were swapped or sold. Perhaps that was bending the rules, but I feel lighter without the burden of unwanted yarn. Yesterday, I deleted the Corset Pullover and the Chocolate Creme Square-Neck Top from my Ravelry queue in spite of having Filatura di Crosa Elena and Diakeito DiaCoutoure SilkLame in my stash. I will either for suitable patterns for the yarn or sell it.

By selling and swapping, I have narrowed my stash to:
20 balls of copper-coloured Filatura di Crosa Elena - Cabaret Raglan?
5 balls of Rowan Big Wool - Storm
5 balls of Rowan Calmer (Laurel)
4 balls of Rowan Calmer (Chiffon) - Lorelei
3/4 ball of Noro Silk Garden - Lorelei
4 balls of Classic Elite Classic Silk - Molly Ringwald
10 balls of Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo
8 balls of Diakeito Diacoutoute Silklame
15 balls of Jackobsdahl Bahamas
1 ball of Schaefer Anne
1 ball of Year of the Goat Handspun
1 ball of unknown multi-green yarn
3/4 ball of Noro Iro

Of course, there is more yarn, but it is listed for sale/swap on Ravelry:
6 balls of Rowan Calmer in Kiwi
2 balls of Berroco Comfort
2.5 balls of Katia Celian
2 balls of Bemidji Wool

Even if I manage to unload the remaining unwanted yarn, what remains still feels like a burden.