Side Benefits of a Reorganization

One of the things that happens when one is forced (or forces oneself, or hey, does it for fun, if you're one of THOSE*) to go through one's crap is that one rediscovers some great things. 

Moving the books closer to my workspace, for the time being anyway while they are fresh and new again, (do you remember this with your kids' toys, those of you who have kids? Put them away in a closet for a couple of weeks, and then pull them out and woohoo! It's like new toys. Same goes for Mr. Jefferies, but I digress.) I'm having so much fun remembering some of the things I really REALLY wanted to knit early on, and realizing that yes, even though years have gone by, I do still want to knit them.  Such as:

Fair Isle mittens and gloves from Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves by Carol Rasmussen Noble;

this fab sweater from Alice Starmore's Fishermen's Sweaters,

and more recently, this little cardigan from Knit Circus magazine (Winter/Spring 2009)

Some of the books, even if I feel that the sweaters are not to my taste or are beyond my knitterly reach, are just plain good to look at, like another Starmore book, The Celtic Collection:

Well, that goes for all the Starmore books and Rowan books -- Amazing photography, amazing sweaters -- not all for me -- but I love to look at the pictures.

I noticed that the words "Vintage" and "Classic" are present in many of the books I have bought and things I (still) want to knit:

And things don't have to be fancy or expensive to be desirable and helpful -- take a look at these things in two little Paton's booklets.

CUTE!

Now if I could just conjure up the perfect storm of desire to knit, time to knit, and lack of this annoying tendinitis that seems to want to keep flaring up...
--------------

*I'm one of those who loves to have everything clean, tidy and organized, but I HATE to do it. When it's done it's so satisfying, but I hate the process. A full staff, I've always said, is what I need. 

I found this bookmark in the Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves book. I have no memory of this photo, when it was taken, why, or why it was made into a bookmark. It's a mystery. 

Comments

[Sarah]

Glad you have the beautiful books to keep you company while you continue to heal.

[inglesidebelle]

"*I'm one of those who loves to have everything clean, tidy and organized, but I HATE to do it.... A full staff, I've always said, is what I need."

I so agree!

There's a reason things are called classics - the older Rowan and Starmore patterns are great designs. They may need a bit of updating in the silhouette/lines, but the stitch patterns are great.

Cute photo! :)

[Polypropylene Membrane Filters]

I like the second one.

[(Another) Joan]

There's a reason I mostly knit "classic" or "vintage" things: I am so slow that anything trendy would probably already be out of fashion before I finished it! (Mostly down to me, but I also blame time spent on Ravelry...)

[Julie]

I love the Alice Starmore sweater! I love rediscovering things, but hate reorganizing.

[AnnaMarie]

Okay, I admit that I'm one of *those. I enjoy cleaning and organizing and stuff. In the old mansion I used to re-organize my craft room on a quarterly basis. I miss those days so guess what? I'm going to re-organize my upstairs craft room starting this weekend. I'm looking forward to the coming chaos in anticipation of the organized end.

[gayle]

If you ever get the full staff, could you loan them to me a day or so per week? Thanks...

[margene]

The process of cleaning and organizing isn't enjoyable and the end work doesn't stay long. It's a thankless task, methinks. Love the bookmark pic of you.

[Brenda]

Do you mean that yo put Mr. Jefferies in a closet for a week or two and then he's more fun?! (It's pre-coffee and that's how I read it).

[Geri]

Love the fingerless mitts.I seem to be into small projects this winter. Cleaning, organizing,such a project; such rewards.

[Joansie]

I especially love the red sweater. Sorry to hear about the tendonitis...what a bummer!

[Joannah]

Poor Mr. Jeffries! Stuck in a closet for a week or two! I hate to think what the state of the closet will be when you take him out again! ;)

[marianne]

Exactly! As I mentioned I had also tidied and reorganized my little cave, brought out some books from the closet bookshelves and put them in the room proper, that and going through/filing patterns. Now I just want to knit them all, Right Now! it won't happen but damn. Yep, did that with kids' toys.
That is one fabulous bookmark!

[Mary Fran]

Well, we finally bit the bullet and found some cleaning ladies - I haven't had that luxury since we moved from Chicago THREE years ago. I'm so excited that I will go home to a clean house today. But yesterday was all about de-cluttering so they could get to what needs to be cleaned. It wasn't so bad, I keep a pretty tidy house, but BOY did it feel good.

[Elaine]

I must admit.... I am one of *those*.... and while cleaning bathrooms is not high up on my list, I really love tearing apart closets and cupboards , weeding out, getting rid of (donating, mostly) "stuff" and generally reorganizing. My pride afterwards is all out of proportion to the actual amount of work it entailed!!

[Seanna Lea]

I am horrible about cleaning, but there are a few rooms that start to bug me with just a small amount of clutter. The only rooms that are likely to be clean are the kitchen and the library (and the library is clean by default - I don't bring any junk into that room to begin with). Everything else I want someone else to do!

[Ally]

Haha, I read the first part the same way Brenda and Joannah did.

And wait, that's a pic of you on the bookmark? How the heck do you manage to look YOUNGER as you age?!

[Julie]

I'm sort of "one of those" people. At work, as a librarian, I'm always organizing and tiding up shelves, creating displays to showcase new stuff and hidden gems but at home I want the elves to come in and tidy it all up.

I am a bit compulsive about tidy bookshelves, see above and love finding old patterns that I put aside because they were too hard and thinking "Hey, I can do that now!"

[sandy]

If only we had time to knit all that we dreamed of knitting! (And I do not think that ANY of those are beyond your reach!)

[Doris]

Did I write most of your post? I could have, but don't remember doing it :) I have always told my husband that I need a staff, and so far it hasn't appeared. In my case a good portion of the clutter comes from my husbnad and son, so even when I do clean up, the crap ends up back where it was in way too short a time. When they aer away for any reason, things stay so much neater for longer.

[Rebekah]

I love that, every now and then I move my books around for that very reason. So I don't forget what I have and enjoy the many, many, many books I own. Which reminds me I need to move my books away from dogs, as they've eaten all my husband's sailing magazines they are now bound to start on the knitting books and that would be a fate worse then death for them.

[Karen Burns]

I'm cleaning too-the closet and finding all sorts of crap. I told my husband that he can have the whole closet to himself because I am NEVER doing this again.
I'll make do with the dresser drawers and a shoe bag over the door--whatever doesn't fit in them will be given away!
Karen

[Suzanne]

I love Baltic. I like to just sit and look at the Alice Starmore books I have.

I just cleaned out a bunch of old knitting magazines and brought them to my LYS for them to look at.

[--Deb]

My knitting books are all within arm's reach now, too, since we moved. I find it comforting to have all that inspiration right at my finger tips!

[elizabeth a airhart]

i dearly miss the books i gave away
now out of print

have you been to visit webs yarn blog today

the cup cake mittins are just delightful

good night

[Katherine]

One thing I love about you, Norma, is that when you put an asterisk by something, YOU HAVE A FOOTNOTE TO GO READ ABOUT THAT ASTERISK. I am so annoyed when I see something marked as if there might be more information about it somewhere and there is nothing (especially annoying in ads). I sit there wondering what the HELL that asterisk is for. Did the writer not really mean whatever it was that was starred? Is it a trick? What?? WHAT???

So. I'm a Norma lover because of the footnoting. I might be a footnote lover in general.