Seeking Knitterly Advice

Okay, I have no idea if anyone even reads this blog on a regular basis, but for those of you who may stumble by at random, I got a question for ya!

I'm trying to follow the Knit From Your Stash challenge, and to do that, I'm thinking that I need to find a plan for the yarn that is currently occupying corners, boxes, underbed storage crates, and the bin(s) in my attic! Yikes! If only I could challenge myself to see how long I could go, exactly, without buying more yarn. I bed it'd be a looooooooooong time! :O)

Anyway - I gave into this at Stitches East a couple months ago:

Cool, huh? 100% CORN. How'd they do that?

And I decided that it matched something I'd picked up at the Maryland Sheep and Wool a couple years back.

It's called "Potpourri" and it's made with "a little this and a little that" probably mostly "that" as in nylon, acrylic, poly, etc. Man-made fibers, definitely - possibly with some linen thrown in for luxury. It feels nice.

But, I'm thinking the two should go together somehow. . .maybe just a good idea for one or both alone?

Anyone have any ideas? There's approximately 700 yards combined - each skein says it has about 100 yards (4 skeins of the corn, 3 of the potpourri). The gauge is not marked for the Potpourri, but the corn knits up at 20sts/26sts to 4" on an 8, so that's about DK/light worsted weight, yes? The potpourri seems a bit finer but I need to wind it and swatch first. It's a hard thing to do - wind and swatch when you have no idea what you are knitting.

So, if you read, and if you have any brilliant ideas, please let me know your opinions. I'd love to figure out a good plan for this yummy yarn. I want to do something useful with the corn, definitely.

Thanks for reading!

Resolutions?

I don't know that I still believe in New Year's Resolutions - that's why the ?? is up there. Seems that they never last very long - maybe it's related to the types of things I resolve to "fix" in my life. I'll never be a supermodel (who is?), and I'll never read a book a week or knit everything I intend to (although one thing I'm resolving is knitting related!), or stick to a tight, tight budget. Nope, I'll never do those things, so I resolve to make some necessary improvements in my life, and to leave it at that.

With that in mind, these are the things that need work NOW, and I'm in motion on plans to accomplsh them as I type!

1) Get my bank account(s) together. I really, really need to be independent of my parents again. After the divorce, I really, really needed to be here and not worry about rent, raising my son, putting myself through grad school, and recovering from the mess that my failed marriage was all at the same time. But, well, that was SO two years ago, and now it's time to move on. Now that my school district has realized that they need to be paying me more $$, this should be much easier to accomplish. So, first and foremost, I resolve to "pay" myself rent each month in order to 1 - put $$ away for finally getting back out there, and 2 - getting used to paying out huge sums of money in this high-cost-of-living area I'm currently (and probably staying) in. If I were a bit more sane, I would find a new place with a normal cost of living, but, well, we like it here. We shall see what type of living arrangements we can actually afford later in the year. First, we put $$ away and PREPARE to look around!

2) Knit solely from my stash for the "Knit From Your Stash" challenge. I can totally do this one! I have TONS (and I do mean that!) of yarn. Of course, the urge to knit something cute that I see in a magazine may strike, creating a humongous desire to buy more yarn, but I'll have to put the urge to buy that yarn off. Unless it's in my stash, I won't be adding that to my "to knit" list. Of course, I get to set my own guidelines in this challenge - the idea is to SUCCEED, not stick to limits that cause failure!. So, since the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is always the first weekend in May (and usually coincides with my birthday!), my participation in this challenge will END that weekend, because I fully intend to spend lots of cold, hard, cash (and even charge a thing or two!) that weekend. It's a tradition for me. I'll just have to knit like a fiend before then. Totally do-able.

3) Loose 15 pounds. I know, I know - this one is so cliche it's ridiculous. BUT! this is actually a continuation of a challenge I had for myself this past summer. I lost 25 of the 40 pounds I wanted to shed, but got stalled by the school year starting. I think it's high time I got back into the fitness thing, before I die of a heart attack, or get too roly-poly again, so I've joined a challenge at eDiets.com, which I love. I realize I need the support of others, as well as the accoutnability in order to actually get myself rolling. The challenge I've joined starts on January 8th, which is perfect timing for me! And don't worry - when I finally succeed in losing the weight I want, I will still be far, far away from being a supermodel. I can completely lose this last 15 and be very well above the average weight for a 5'11" supermodel. And, might I add, I'm only 5'4". :O)

What do YOU resolve to do now that a new year is here?