Sunday, April 5, 2009

Bugs!

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh I have a bug infestation! Carpet beetles!! Ewwwwwwwwww

I discovered the problem yesterday when I pulled out one of my Basket 'O Shame projects to work on. I noticed a small hole in it when I began knitting. It looked like the yarn had been snipped and one of the stitches had unraveled. Repairing it was a pretty simple matter. Then I noticed another hole, and a couple of spots that looked like the yarn had been snagged. Upon closer inspection, I found a couple of the telltale shed skins of the larvae.

I've never been very careful with my stash or the projects I am working on. The stash is stored in plastic drawer containers, but not put in ziploc bags first. The projects I've started are kept in the various knitting bags I've collected over the years. I've learned my lesson! Multitudes of freezer bags were purchased today and a good portion of the stash now resides in them.

So far I haven't found any further signs of infestation in the craftroom, but I found a couple of the adult little buggers wandering elsewhere in the house. I can't tell you how creeped out I am right now.

The infested project is in the freezer right now, along with as much of the stash as I could fit in there with it. It is going to take me for freaking ever to freeze it all just to be on the safe side. I use that freezer for um foodstuffs. Never again will I let yarn sit in my craftroom until it has been properly frozen in its freezer bag.

At least there's some good news on the knitting front. I finished the Merging Colors Bolero Friday night. I just need to find something nice to use as a closure and it's ready to wear. I love how this turned out and can't wait to wear it to work.



I worked some this week on the beaded purse. I wish this photographed better. Maybe when I have nice sunlight outside and don't have to use the flash I can get better pictures. My speed has gotten better, but even at one row every 20 minutes or so, this is going to take a long long time to complete.



Since the Asymetrical Jacket has a bug problem at the moment, I let the spreadsheet pick out a new main project. I had forgotten how much I liked knitting the Roped Shell. Not sure why this wound up sitting in the bottom of a knitting bag, but it's got center stage again, and should be finished up fairly quickly. No sleeves and minimal shaping make for a fast project.



Wish me luck in my quest to rid my house of the disgusting carpet beetles!

4 comments:

  1. The bolero is beautiful! I love it. But...the bugs...ugh!!! I hate bugs. I think all this rainy weather has somehow sent nasty little creatures into our homes. I found a roly poly bug in our basement a couple of days ago and this morning *gasp* I killed one of those whitish spiders in my bathroom. **shiver, shake**

    Good luck with your infestation problem.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh no! Sorry to hear about the bugs. You have me nervous about how I keep my stash now,too. I'll have to put them in freezer bags, too. Better safe than sorry!

    Great job on the bolero. Simply gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have those nasty buggers too. They are hard to get rid of - takes years. I keep everything, stash, finished items, etc. in plastic tubs. It takes years to kill the cycle. Now I have the actual beetle roaming around. I squish them when I see them. The woolie bug larve is the real danger eating its way through all natural fibers, not just wool. Hate em! BTW nice work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, ugh ugh ugh. I'm so sorry! And it's only by total grace that I don't have every single fiber-and-spilled-food-eating bug in the universe all over my house. Seriously.

    I'm sure you'll get 'em licked. Nice to have a spreadsheet to think for you, though.

    Ha! my word verification is "poxing" which is what I'm hoping you do to the bugs, as in "on them."

    ReplyDelete