To Do List

Tonight's to do list includes...

• dealing with cat litter duty
• confirming plans with the husband to visit family
• gym time with the girls
• dose the felines with Revolution
• put inboxes from home into car to take to work
• and knit.

Current commission list:

• Socks for niece (almost done! finished the heel turn last night and will work on the gussets tonight. These will be a gift.)
• Finish socks for sister (the whole too-tight cuff; also a gift.)
• Coworker LPF: 2 pr baby booties - 1 girl (pink & lavender) and 1 boy (light blue & navy) [priced at $7.50 each; discounts start at 3 pair]
• Coworker EMG: 2 pr baby booties - 2 girl (colors to be confirmed) [same price as above]

Commissions to confirm:

• Coworker DDV: baby booties; will discuss over drinks Friday after work [price depends on quantity and yarn desired]
• Socks for friend LB. She will be coming over with another friend Friday evening for Wii bowling so I will show her sock yarns I currently have and let her pick yarn and pattern. [price depends on yarn and pattern but will probably start at $10. Need to check on price charged to friend in winter to stay consistent.]

One more payment on my Citi credit card and then I can close that account!!! I'm so pleased.

Booked, again.

Foiled, again! Crap. My two officemates both want baby booties. I need to find a new pattern or mod one up enough to be my own... I don't feel comfortable continuing with the pattern I have now. I was feeling grumpy about my personal knitting time being taken away, but with the recent discovery that we will have to replace our entire HVAC system by the end of the summer, I really am not in a position to complain about something that will bring in some cash. To that end, I have created a price list in my Google Docs to help myself stay in a business frame of mind. Making some cash was one of the reasons I picked up knitting to start with - so I need to remember that, as well.

Finished niece's first sock and am about halfway done with the cuff on the second one. Spent a few hours knitting last night and made serious progress.

I have a lot of random ends in my stash that I need to use up. I sense some baby hats, booties, maybe some mittens coming soon!

Completion...

Aaah... Life is getting back to normal. What a relief!

I've finished the commissioned baby blanket and woven all the ends. I will wash it tonight and make any last adjustments then. It's bigger than expected, of course, because I always forget how doubling the strands changes the size of the FO. DUH.

I had jury duty Tuesday, which involved a lot of sitting around and waiting. I took the socks I'm knitting for my niece, so I was able to make some serious progress on the first one. The security didn't have any problem on the way into the courthouse in the morning, but on the way back in from lunch, a different guard was manning the scanner, and I very nearly lost my two small crochet hooks. She didn't really like the needles, either, but let me go on through with them because I was a juror. So I finished the heel and gusset of the first sock and am working on the foot now. I am so glad to be on socks after that damn blanket! Something that shows progress much quicker - is much lighter-weight - and the yarn feels good on my hands.

I'm definitely sticking with small projects for the next couple of months - or rather, any big projects are going to be for ME. I want to cast on my Sonnet, finally, and work on my Branching Out. It will be a lovely scarf for the summer!

Quiet

Well. Welcome to post-4/15 world. I can breathe again; I can leave work during daylight hours; I can knit again!!!

Current WIP listing:

• baby blanket commissioned by coworker - absolute top priority!
• socks for my niece
• re-doing the cuff of my sister's socks
• Branching Out for me
• Sonnet for me
• baby booties just commissioned by a coworker last night (need to e-mail her to finalize the details)
• another hat & scarf set for my girl Becky (she lives in PA)
• and some other friends who want socks.

I was reading something yesterday that helped me be more at peace with my Branching Out - I was concerned because it seems so undefined. The pattern author was talking about lace patterns and how sometimes the lacework can look like such a mess until it's blocked - and then, wow, amazing, the pattern reveals itself. I am looking forward to seeing it finished up.

I plan to do some serious knitting this weekend. Plant my round ass on the couch, watch some TV, drink some beers, and KNIT. Hmmm... I wonder if it is possible to bike on the trainer and knit at the same time... Hmmm...

near the end

The end of this busy season has been really difficult and challenging. The firm I work for has made some changes that impacted our benefits and thus our motivation. Previously, the overtime we work in the spring is given back to us as paid time off in addition to our normal vacation allowances; if we chose not to take the time, we would see a significantly larger bonus. The change has completely revamped that system in such a way that it's nearly impossible to see a direct effect of our overtime. Why should I work so hard and so long in the spring if they won't tell me the benefits I get in return? I either want the money or the time, and right now, it looks like they're not giving us either. If I'm giving up time out of the prime of my life, I expect to be compensated for it. I do NOT want to be like the majority of the current partners here - all they do is work and work. There is MORE TO LIFE than work! I don't live to work - I work to live. I work so I can have money to go do things with my friends and family. I work so I can pay for a great house and a beautiful pool that I ENJOY. What do they do? They pay for their damn houses and barely get to use them or enjoy them.

I miss my knitting girls so much. I miss lazy spring Saturday afternoons by the pool drinking beer. I hate feeling bad for leaving work at 5:30 on Bradley's birthday so I can go spend his birthday evening with him. I hate not having the time to find the perfect gift for my mother. I hate not being able to take off work on my birthday.

Something has to change.

Busy season

Busy season this year has been rough. Bradley and I bought a house and moved in mid-February - right when work began to be busy. One project had to be done immediately: the carpet in the living room and office area *had* to be ripped up and replaced (we put down slate tile). The carpet was old, stained, and disgusting, and once it was out, the air in the house cleared. I found it really interesting how much of a difference taking it out made - I left for work on Friday morning, annoyed at the old stale smell, and when I came home that night, it smelled like a different house.

As far as knitting goes, I have been working on a few different projects, even though I've been a total slacker about updating here. I knit up 3 pairs of baby booties on a commission from a coworker. The same coworker commissioned a baby blanket, which is a little more than 1/3 done. My carry-along WIP is a pair of socks for my niece. I also finally remembered to throw the swatch for my Sonnet sweater into the laundry last night; I have to measure it soon to see how my gauge turned out. Honestly, I probably won't pick that one up until well after 4/15.

My CPA license was approved recently, and as a reward to myself, I bought a Namaste bag. I am not one to spend a lot of money on purses since I abuse them, and this was a big purse purchase for me. Not more than $100, but still - a lot more than my usual $15 Target purse! I love it because it has enough room to carry a sock project, my coupon book, and my book club book.

OK - gotta get back to work - just a few more days of the insanity left!