A couple additional thoughts (I seem to be swinging back into a more creative cycle, where I have lots of ideas I want to try out):

From the "you can embroider anything you want" school of thought: what about interpretations of Edward Gorey's drawings? The thought of a tea towel with The Doubtful Guest on it amuses me greatly. Or, keeping with the gothic-Victorian theme in many of Gorey's books, maybe an antimacassar with an embroidered center and a crocheted edging...

(Oh, and Charlotte: the idea of a coloring book for embroidery patterns is an excellent one, but I've never ever seen a Moomin-related coloring book offered, at least not Stateside [they were originally Finnish (? Swedish, maybe?) characters]. But yeah, that would work if I could find one.)

Often, after finishing one project in a particular style or craft, I get energized for that craft and want to do more. After finishing the crocheted scarf, I pulled out my long-neglected back issues of "Interweave Crochet" and happened to find the Boteh scarf pattern. At first I was going to use some of that Sea Wool I had on hand, but it seems - from what I've read of the pattern on Ravelry - that I'd not be able to get quite a complete scarf out of the 360 or so yards I have.

Then I remembered some multi-green Koigu I have had in the stash for way too long - I bought it for socks, and then felt like "I don't want to use this beautiful yarn for something I will wear holes in." So it's been sitting - I have three skeins of it which should well be enough for a Boteh scarf.

AND I have a second skein of Kureyon Sock in the stash, which I really didn't like for socks. (I'm going to finish the pair I'm working on but meh, I'm not fond of it as a sock yarn). But I see someone on Ravelry has used it for a Boteh and it worked quite brilliantly. (And it's "hand washing required" nature will not be nearly as much an annoyance for a scarf). So I might make a bunch of these and keep some on hand for future gifts.

Speaking of gifts, I have not forgot my third Pay it Forward person...I have the raw materials all lined up and I just have to sit myself down and MAKE it. Maybe I'll start later this week.

I've also been digging around in my fabric stash, trying to reorganize, trying to make a little more room in the storage area. I haven't worked on a quilt (other than handsewing some bits for the Grandmother's Flower Garden) in quite a while, and that's because my sewing room's a mess, and I need to at least clear a path in there. (I was also looking for some tea towel blanks I stamped to embroider and then never got around to doing. Haven't found them yet but like the optimist's attitude about the pony in the room full of manure*, they must be in there somewhere.


(*Heh. I wasn't aware of that being popular in the Reagan White House but, like Edwin Meese, I have said on occasion, when something went wrong, "Well, there must be a pony in here somewhere.")

I'm also contemplating a new sock design. This is one that I thought of a while back and considered (after it was done and checked) trying to submit it to Knitty or somewhere. But you know? I deal with enough potential rejection-of-things-I've-written when it comes to grants and publications (I'm working on one journal article which is this close to being submittable), that I think I'm just going to offer it as a freebee to anyone who wants it, either here or through Ravelry.

It's an idea that amuses me, but might be a bit esoteric for the non-science-obsessed.