a love affair with yarn

ArtFire fires away!

2011-06-12T21:54:00.004-04:00

Hi friends, long time no post! I got on a photography tear today - probably inspired by watching my friend's son so she could do some photography work - and re-photographed and listed a bunch of items on my ArtFire site. Check it out here... linky-link-link!

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

I am blazing away on my Jaywalkers. I'm about 30 rows into the second one, but I have to keep moving quickly since these are technically my May socks - so I have 2.5 socks to go before the end of June!

I bought some beautiful Malabrigo yarn this weekend: Ravelry Red in their wonderful sock yarn. I can't decide what to do - socks, or shawl? shawl, or socks?? Hmmm!

What I'm loving today...

2011-04-01T11:06:00.002-04:00

... Bradley, for scheduling service for the Mini, taking it in, and paying for it - completely unasked. He heard the concern in my voice and knew that I'm too busy at this time of year to handle it myself.

... Signature knitting needles. The socks I'm knitting for LB are flying off the needles. Plus the dog has learned not to jump in my lap when I'm working with them.

... April Fools' jokes. The majority of the blogs I follow are going nus with jokes and pranks. Unfortunately, Bradley is going out of town today, or I'd prank him mercilessly tonight. MUAHAHAHHAAAA!!!

... heating pads. Waking up with a knot under my left shoulder blade was supremely aggravating. My heating pad is amazing. The only thing it doesn't do is massage, but if it did that, I wouldn't be able to bring this bad boy to work. Between ibuprofen and this heating pad, I should be feeling better by the end of the workday.

... foam rollers. Because if the ibuprofen and the heating pad don't kick this knot's ass, the foam roller will.

... Ravelry. Because I am able to buy a pattern for a lace shawl and contribute to the relief effort in Japan at the same time.

Things I love help me survive the last few weeks of busy season.

2011 and still no flying cars.

2011-01-04T19:23:00.006-05:00

What is UP with that?? I am very disappointed in science.

What have I been doing lately? LIVING. Not blogging about it, but LIVING.

Bradley and I in October...

Captain Jack & I at the same shoot...

Now, for knitting...

I FINALLY finished Branching Out for my mother. FINALLY. Blocked it using my wire set, and love the wire set.

I finished those red Austrian Socks, which felted in our new washer & dryer to the point that I can't wear them. Thankfully, my friend Jen has smaller feet than I, and she knits, so she is among The Knitworthy and will be receiving them as soon as I get them blocked [soon, Jen, I PROMISE!!].

Here they are, pre-felting:

For Christmas this year, we visited B's aunts & uncle who live in the Midwest. They live in a very small, quiet town, and I was able to knit to my heart's content! I finished the Waving Lace socks in KnitPicks Turtle Multi, and cast on the Padded Footlets for my brother.

I have a couple of other socks ready to go, but they are gifties, so I will post pictures after they are all blocked and in the mail to the recipients. No worries on the surprise factor; they know what they are getting, but I want to post nice pictures!

Summer rushing

2010-05-24T21:10:00.005-04:00

OK. I owe y'all some pictures but they are not coming just yet. The month of May has been a little bit chaotic, it feels like, but the next five weeks or so should be a little calmer. Hopefully, I'll get some pictures taken and posted.

Work has been up and down, but no complaints as I still have a job.

I participated in Boobquake by wearing a pretty shirt to work that was cut a wee bit lower than I'm usually comfortable wearing in the office. I was amused to later read the "clarification" from the cleric regarding the relationship of women's clothing to seismic events. He should have said, "I am afraid of women and do not want them to be equal to men!" I was also completely amused to hear the justification that Mr. Rekers offered for his employment of a gay escort while traveling overseas. Instead of trying to have people believe that he was actually hiring the kid to carry his bags, he could have just said, "Okay, I've realized I can't deny it, I like other dudes. And excuse me while I figure out how to reconcile that with my ENTIRE LIFE SO FAR." Why have we not heard anything about a raging atheist such as Christopher Hitchens secretly attending prayer meetings? Oh, because he actually believes what he professes. I would be much more forgiving of someone who said, "Women and their power and their gender scare me. Help me understand and accept them." Someone who tries to blame my bikini-wearing for earthquakes is going to be mocked into oblivion. Same thing goes for a person who can't figure out their sexual identity. "I think I like guys and it freaks me out because that goes against everything I was taught," is a much better response than "HE WAS JUST CARRYING MY BAGS AND MASSAGING ME IN LONG STROKES OVER MY BUTTOCKS." REALLY? You expect ANYONE with half a brain to believe that??!!

It boils down to integrity. If you have the guts to say, "Hey, I knew hardly anyone who wasn't white growing up. Teach me about your culture and show me that you're like me under the brown skin..." that's all it takes. Just be true to yourself. Have the 'nads to admit who you are. Don't keep acting like it was an accident you've slept with three different dudes in two weeks... OWN IT. I really don't care what your number is, but if YOU bring it up, and if YOU act like it needs justifying... well then it sounds like YOU have a problem with your own actions. NOT ME.

Wow - I have NO IDEA what ketchup bottle just exploded there. Ahem. This was supposed to be a nice post about how excited I am to be working on the Austrian Socks from the 25 Favorite Socks from Interweave... how I love the red yarn - it's AslanTrends Santa Fe in a gorgeous red colorway. The stitch pattern is complicated and keeping me on my toes. I am reluctantly learning how to read charts. The leg pattern is over 36 stitches; the total number of stitches on the leg is 72, spread over 3 dpns. Having the leg pattern repeat twice over 3 needles is REALLY confusing to me as a new chart reader. I've ordered fixed Harmony circulars from KnitPicks in sizes 1 and 0; when they arrive, I can transfer the sock over to the 1s and magic loop the thing until I become more comfortable with the chart.

The funny thing about the yarn is the dye is rubbing off on my needles. I'm using the Clover Takumi bamboo needles, and the tips of them are turning pink! A friend of mine had this happen with BLACK yarn - her fingers looked sooty after a knitting session on the sweater she was making. The dye isn't showing up on my fingers, but I would wear it as a badge of honor if it did! This yarn was a gift from my friend KD; she traded me 3 skeins of this yarn for preparing her taxes this year.

Well - I have a few more chores to do and hopefully some knitting to get in before crashing tonight.

OH here's another ketchup bottle to stomp on and explode: WHAT IS UP IN THE GULF. I am adding BP to my list of companies not to patronize. My heart breaks for all the beaches that are going to be ruined - all the fishermen and locals around the Gulf Coast who are going to lose their livelihoods... what that's going to do to the local economies. I am working so much harder to get to bed at a decent hour so I can get up in time to ride my bike to work. I don't care if it's Florida heat... it takes just a few minutes to clean up at work and if that means just a little less gas used, I am totally okay with being a little bit rumpled at the office. That's part of my personal journal towards integrity: living the values that I say I hold.

2010-04-26T14:01:00.004-04:00

K's socks are almost done! I'm down to the start of the toe on the second one. I should have pictures soon. K has always had excellent taste; his care packages in college were the BEST. Godiva truffles + useful things = heaven to a broke college student. I still have (and wear on one of the three cold days a year we have here in Florida) a periwinkle blue sweater he gave me one year. The colors he picked out for these socks continues his trend of good taste: the main color is Snowshoe and the contrast color is Jacquard, in KnitPick's City Tweed (heavy worsted).

I have some sooper-sekrit baby projects to work on as soon as I'm finished with his socks. A coworker in my department is due in August, and I have some really fun ideas for gifts. She sent me a link to the nursery set she & her husband picked out, and it's simple and gorgeous. I've been mentally listing yarn possibilities that will be excellent matches for the colors.

Since busy season is over, the house has become cleaner and cleaner. The grout in the kitchen floor is almost back to its intended color, and I scrubbed away some serious frustration in our bathroom tonight. For now, the husb needs to get onto his computer, so I am signing off for now.

First week almost done

2010-04-22T21:13:00.002-04:00

Monday... played around with the dog during the rainstorm.
Tuesday... shopping with my girl EB and then to knitting with my downtown group.
Wednesday... out with coworkers and friends to the Magic playoff game.
Thursday... to the dog park with Captain Jack and home to do some straightening and laundry.

... and now I can sit, and have a glass of wine, and knit.

Back to "normalcy"

2010-04-19T17:58:00.007-04:00

Or as normal as my life gets!

April 15th has passed for another year. B and I spent the weekend in Fort Myers Beach, and ate more amazing Dungeness crab at the Smokin' Oyster Brewery. Before we drove down, we spent Friday afternoon at Orlando's own Gatorland! I had a lot of fun; science and nature are so interesting to me, and when you throw in kitsch and self-mockery, I have an even better time. B bought us the package that includes feeding the gators, riding on the train around the park, and doing the rookie wrangling! Yes, friends & readers, I SAT ON AN ALLIGATOR. Would you like to see proof?? Well, the fact that I'm typing with one hand should be proof enough, but --- ohhh. Photographic proof? Ohhhhkay, I guess I can do that...

Knitting, what's that?? Oh yeah. That thing I do with needles and yarn. I'll have pictures of that on Thursday. I'm exhausted and heading to bed.

march madness

2010-03-22T20:59:00.004-04:00

...but not the basketball kind. I survived the 3/15 deadline in style! Now it's the time for the 1040 clients. A coworker's wife is nearly due with their first child, and I knit a cute pair of booties and a matching headband with interchangeable crocheted flowers. Thankfully, I'm almost done with J's pillow cover - I picked up the invisible zipper and some perfect wooden buttons to finish it up.

The yarn for my brother's socks has arrived, so it's sitting on the kitchen counter being an inspiration every morning and evening. I'm tempted to knit up a pair of socks for myself between J's pillow cover and my brother's socks, but... yeah. He's been waiting a few months for these, so I will start on his as soon as I get J's cover finished.

I've learned I am definitely not a dog person. Captain Jack is a cute bundle of energy, but I just don't have the patience for this stage. I really miss being able to sit quietly with the cats, petting them in between rounds on a project... the constant watching and frequent calls to the dog are wearing on me. I am so comfortable with our decision not to have children - if I'm having this hard of a time with a dog that I can crate when he's out of control, I can't imagine how difficult of a time I would have with a kid!!! [since you can't crate them and leave without getting Child Services called on you (with good reason, of course)] Especially a kid that could TALK. UGH. Definitely not my cup of tea.

With the dog now crated for the evening (he was in that frenzy that children get into - too tired and strung out so completely hyper and out of his head), I can finally sit and enjoy a glass of wine and some knitting. Maybe even some cuddle time with Skye without a ball of fur coming and jumping on top of her... poor kitties.

Joys of routine

2010-02-22T19:42:00.001-05:00

Busy season becomes a blinding routine after a few weeks. Wake up panicky that I've overslept - maybe I have, maybe I haven't, but either way, I'm awake and moving. Get to work, caffeinate, work work work, and then home. Hopefully at home, I can do a chore or two a night... tonight is vacuuming the floors and dealing with the cat boxes - and then some time to knit. Working on my friend's pillow cover is wonderful this season - the repetition of the basketweave is so relaxing at the end of the day. The yarn is smooth and soothing to my hands after dealing with papers and pencils and binder clips and the occasional paper cut. Then, bedtime, and up again to do it over again the next day. Soon, I'll wake up in the normal panicked state, and then realize, oh, wait, it's April 14th. One more day of madness, and then I can sleep all day. Until then, the basketweave pillow case and socks will take up my time and be my creative outlet.

2010-02-01T22:04:00.003-05:00

Hello friends...

Things are definitely getting busy at work. My CIRAs are coming in for preparation or extension, and the busy-season interns started today. I was at work till about 7 tonight, which is not bad, but I was determined to go to the gym and then to the store afterward. Since watching Food, Inc., I have been making dramatic changes to how I eat. If I can't ensure that meat is organic, I'm not eating it; I'm making as many of my vegetables organic as possible. No eggs if they aren't organic (to the point that I didn't buy any at the store tonight); no unorganic dairy products. I was pleased to see that my favorite coffee, Dunkin Donuts, is fair trade certified. So... grocery shopping is a new adventure.

In knitting news, I've finished my Diagonal Cross-Rib socks! I cast on a swatch for my friend JS' basketweave pillow cover, but realized she said she wanted regular basketweave, and I was swatching pie-crust. Oops! So, frogged the swatch and restarted it yesterday.

Well - since it's late, I'm off to bed. The dog was just going nuts, I'm betting out of exhaustion, and I am going to get my second wind if I stay up much longer.

Knitters vs. Non-knitters

2010-01-21T20:40:00.002-05:00

A friend commented to me on Monday that I shouldn't take my knitting into a work CPE because it would look really bad. I was rather confused about what she meant, but I realized she must think that knitting means I'm not paying attention to the speaker. Something that a lot of non-knitters must assume is that knitting takes a person's whole focus. Of course, something complicated - whether due to the pattern (like a lace pattern) or the yarn itself (I'm glaring at you, FunFur) - would need a knitter's focus... but for a simple, repeating pattern or stockinette in the round, knitting is as mindless as doodling. For me, having needles in my hands means I am happy to sit beside my husband while he enjoys his favorite tv shows. We will laugh and talk... he said the other day, "You don't actually watch tv, you listen to it!" I do watch, again depending on the pattern. If I'm turning a heel or shaping a gusset? Not so much with the watching. But the listening? Oh yes. I retain an incredibly greater amount if I have something to fidget with... I'm not fighting to stay awake! I can watch my hands and listen with my ears and everything is just fine. One day, I'll gather the courage to knit in the back row.

So, I've finished shaping the gussets in the second Diagonal Cross-Rib Sock and am on to the foot!! I'm very excited. Also, the yarn for my friend's pillow cover arrived. I'm a little concerned as the yarn is much finer than I was expecting. A gauge swatch will tell me what I need to do, though. It's the LB Collection Cotton Bamboo. I'm really looking forward to finally working with bamboo - although now that I type that, I think my friend J.I.'s hat that I finished was with bamboo yarn... Hm.

My friend B.S. in Pennsylvania sent me a huge box of acrylic yarn! I am not sure what I'll do with it; it all looks very old from the ball bands. I think it's from her fiance's mother's stash; the FMIL doesn't knit anymore and probably needs to clear out her old stash. Regardless, I love free yarn! I will find some uses for it, and I hope to get the story out of my friend about the source of the yarn.

OK - for now, I'm off to watch some more Castle and knit on my sock!

Lateness!

2010-01-16T12:16:00.002-05:00

Things are definitely starting to get busier in my world. Full days at work and already one day over eight hours. Can't wait for things to really get crazy!

With the new officemates, I've been eating my lunch in the breakroom instead of at my desk. I've been taking my knitting so after I finish eating, I can pick up my project for five or ten minutes. Doing this has been surprisingly refreshing. I have a feeling that I will have to continue this throughout busy season.

House projects:
- picking out paint for the living room
- tearing down the cabana
- finding patches of sunlight to nap in!

The cold weather the past couple of weeks has made me grateful for the warm scarves and socks I have. A little heater under my desk doesn't hurt either!

Organization

2010-01-11T20:15:00.003-05:00

This weekend, I sorted through my stash and organized it all! Now, none of it's been put away, but I sorted it by fiber, mostly. Wools, cottons, and blends. Then I photographed it and worked on updating Ravelry (I'm amour over there, too), but I still have some work to do over there. Here are some of my favorites...

Any readers out there also on Twitter? I'm @siren_amour. Some of my favorite knitters & fiber-ers are... @blairqualls, @hipmountainmama, @islandjen, @simplytwisted, @siren_gardener, and @yarnharlot.

Well - I'm off to do some more knitting on my Diagonal Rib socks!!

Insanity in ... 10... 9... 8...

2010-01-07T19:45:00.002-05:00

I have the smelliest dog next to me! He had his flea medicine dose tonight and MAN the stuff smells. Of course, he loves his mumma and papa; Bradley's already managed to get the stuff all over his hands, but (touch wood) I've managed to stay clear of the stuff. It's doing a number on my sinuses - if the dang dog stays close to me for much longer, I am going to be high as a kite from the smell.

Oh, the insanity? That would be Busy Season 2010 looming over me. Bradley has already mentioned how he's not ready for it; he appreciates so much how I come home and we tag-team puppy patrol, and he is going to miss that during the crazy work hours. I will miss puppy time, Bradley time, knitting time, exercise time... but this too shall pass.

I got through the first 3.5 inches of the Diagonal Cross-Rib socks and dropped a needle size as instructed, only to realize that my gauge was off. At knit night last night, my friend R.S. reminded me that I didn't use a size 3 needle; I used a size 2 because I borrowed hers until mine arrived in an order from KnitPicks. DOH. I had to frog about 4 inches, but I chatted with the other knitters while doing so, which made it not so painful. I restarted on my size 2s and resolved to hunt for my size 1s... which I cannot find in circulars. I think I may just have never switched down a size but continued with 2s through the entire sock. I will measure my gauge after making this post and figure out what the hell is going on.

Oh, and puppy just zonked out on my leg. How sweet. (But still horribly smelly.)

In the course of digging through all my various knitting bags, I did find a scarf-ly thing that I need to finish; I will be working on that after I finish this sock if I have time before the yarn for my brother's socks becomes available.

What else... I will probably go to posting once a week during busy season, and they will likely be short, annoyed posts. Just a warning ;-)

new beginnings

2010-01-04T19:36:00.003-05:00

I am zooming along on the second sock of the Diagonal Cross-Ribs. At my day job, some seating rearrangements were made, and I have two new officemates. Out of deference to them, I ate my lunch in the break room today - and after I finished eating, knit a couple of rounds on the socks. I foresee many more knitting lunch breaks over the course of Busy Season 2010.

The weather is unseasonably cold - it's been in the 30s for several nights in a row, and the forecast calls for a few more cold nights. I am glad I have warm wool socks to keep my toes toasty!

Off to do some chores; just wanted to make a quick update and add a new tag to my list!

welcome to the new decade!

2010-01-01T23:11:00.002-05:00

I finished Dad's last sock today. I turned the heel last night as 2009 turned into 2010. Nasty weather today made it easy to sit on the couch and finish the foot.

My friend J.S. and I are in the process of ironing out a commission. She'd like a pillow cover; she found one she liked at Pottery Barn but didn't particularly like their price. We've been able to improve on their design, and currently she's deciding on a yarn.

While I wait for her to decide, I dug out the yarn to work on the second sock of my Diagonal Cross-Rib Socks. Took me a little while to remember where the first sock was after I found the yarn, but I found it. Can't find the remaining yarn of the first skein, but I'm sure it will show up eventually.

So, off to wind the skein into a ball and cast on... fresh start for a new year!

2009, in review

2009-12-28T20:50:00.012-05:00

Let's have a brief review of 2009 - since Thursday, honestly, I probably won't be in any condition to make a coherent post.

Finished objects:

First pair of Eesti Trail Socks for my father...

Who knows how many pairs of baby booties...

Baby headband with changeable flowers...

Dishcloths out the wazoo...

Embossed Leaves Socks for my niece...

Socks for me - but of course no pictures. And my Sonnet!!! How could I forget...

Failures? Well... Not calculating gauge correctly on Sonnet and running out of yarn not once but TWICE.

Successes: Knitting my very first sweater. Knitting lots and lots of socks. Learning to knit around a puppy!

Learned: how to do colorwork. How to correctly calculate gauge.... maybe! The kindness of Ravelers and fellow knitters. The importance of giving of myself when I have enough to give, so that I might be empty and open to receiving when it is another's time to give.

Looking forward to 2010!
My goals related to projects for others... finishing my father's second pair of Eesti socks. Completing my brother's Eesti socks. He's picked excellent colors and I'm excited to beginthem. A pair of booties for each my brother and his wife. Stranded colorwork Christmas stockings for Bradley and Carlina. Socks for my mother. Socks for my brother-in-law, if he's interested.
Goals related to my own self... to finish my Branching Out. Knit more socks for myself! Move the buttons in a bit on my Sonnet so that I can wear it.
The skills I want to learn... more stranded colorwork. How to do mitered squares so I can join the blankie club!
Skills NOT to learn: how to spin. Getting into the whole world of yarn creation is WAY OVER MY HEAD. And dyeing yarn. I love picking other people's color creations; trying to create my own? HAHAHAHHAHA. That would REALLY open the door to madness!!!

Well, that's it for now. 2009 was an awful wretched year. AWFUL. Too many people died; too many people moved away; too much loss and too much grief. Twenty-ten had better be an amazing year... I'm going to be doing my part to make it so.

FOs

2009-12-14T19:37:00.004-05:00

It is with great pleasure that I announce the completion of my father's first pair of socks! These socks are my first attempt at colorwork other than simple stripes. The socks are GIANT - they come up to my father's knees - and very very warm. Alpaca does that! I have already cast on for his second pair; these will be brown and cream. Here are two crappy iPhone pix:
Those are the completed ones... it's hard to see the colorwork, I know, but it's there. I'll get a better picture soon, I promise.

Also transitioning from WIP to FO this week is a big presentation at work. The firm is hosting a CPE (continuing professional education) for our clients, and some of us employees are lucky enough to get to present. I am one of them. Can you HEAR the excitement???!!! Cause it is SO NOT THERE!!! I think the CPE is a great value for our clients but I am not exactly thrilled to be one of the presenters. Well, one way or another, it'll be over on Wednesday.

Oh crap, the puppy is trying to be Superdog again, so I have to run... Hope everyone had a good weekend and has a very good week.

Technology

2009-12-10T19:28:00.002-05:00

It's a wonderful thing and an awful thing all at the same time. Some time ago, I signed up for the MobileMe service from Apple. For a while now, I've used the Google sync service to get my calendar from work onto my phone and saved my contacts into Outlook here at home. Well... MobileMe is over the air, immediate, and not dependent on one of my personal computers. Getting it set up was pretty easy, except for the part where my contacts were duplicated and triplicated! I also realized that my music was stored all over the place: on my external hard drive in two different places and one place on my laptop!

Trying to untangle the mess only made it worse - no surprise, right? I think I finally have it sorted. iTunes is running in the background, adding all my music BACK to my library. I had to reupdate all of my applications, but I haven't lost any of my music (crossing my fingers). For a couple of days, I thought all of my U2 music was gone, and I was ready to punch something, hard. BUT! I found it.

Technology and knitting go hand-in-hand as well. I don't like reading from charts; it's hard for me to keep up with the correct row, and going back and forth from knitting to chart to count gives me a headache. Being a numbers nerd, I have a tendency to use Excel to convert a chart to text-based instructions. I've read on Ravelry that there are some sites out on the web that convert charts to text. Being able to get in touch with other knitters around the country when I ran out of yarn for my Sonnet would have been impossible if I wasn't online. Drooling over the beautiful sock yarns today in KnitPick's e-mail wouldn't have happened! I love how so many knitters embrace technology to make it easier to indulge our interests.

ArtFire

2009-12-07T21:04:00.006-05:00

Tonight marks my first sale on my ArtFire shop!! My friend J.I. commissioned a pair of baby booties in green and white for a friend/relative's baby (can't remember right now which she said). I tried to find matching green buttons but was not able to find the right shade of green. Here are a couple of pictures for your viewing pleasure.
I hope the recipients like them! I am sure they will...

The puppy is being a holy terror. Saturday, he nipped my upper arm, on the back where it's sensitive and delicate, and I have a nice bluey-purple bruise there. He got the outer edge of my right hand tonight; that will be fun tomorrow when I'm typing and writing all day at work.

This past Saturday, I ran in the OUC Half-Marathon and 5k. I have been training for the half-marathon for a couple of months, but the longest run I'd managed had been 8.7 miles. My knees ache and hurt a lot when I run, but I had hoped that lifting weights in addition to the running would help. Wellllll... it didn't. By mile 9, I was dying. Of course, mile 9 is where the hills started - bricked hills, at that. Did I mention that it was cold (relatively speaking) and raining? Yeah, it was. About 60 degrees (hey, I did say relatively speaking) and misting, at a minimum. EWWWWW. Not fun. Bradley brought Jack and they were waiting for me at the finish line - that was one of the best things I've ever seen :D For now, I'm done with running. I'm taking a break this week from exercising (other than chasing around the steeenkeeeng dog) and am allowing myself to have 'bad' foods if I want.

OK. I think that's all I have to say--- oh wait, regarding the socks for my dad: I'm working on shaping the gusset on the second sock. I am quietly and unobtrusively enforcing Papa-Puppy time so that they can bond and I can get some knitting time ;-)

Next week I should have the pictures of my dad's finished socks. I can't wait to show them off!

BRAAAAAIIIINNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSS

2009-12-03T22:35:00.007-05:00

.... I do not has them. A puppy has eaten them!!!

He's gone from a tiny little lapful to a total lapful. His name is Captain Jack and he is a total boob pirate.

Oh wait, did I say that out loud??

Definitely not a dog person. Definitely not a kid person. My temper is too hot, and it's just ... I'm not ready for the 24/7/365 commitment.

And I hate the time suck away from my knitting!

I knit three washcloths for my mother for Christmas and packaged them up with some wonderful Burt's Bees soaps and hand salve. I made a neato flowered shirt for my oldest niece, based on a Martha Stewart wedding pattern...
She's a minor, so I've hidden her pretty young face from all the internet creeps! I made hair ties for the two younger nieces in pretty purples ----

WHOA something else I'm not used to is the MALODOROUS STENCH that emits from this dog's rump!!! I think I am going to VOMIT. ARGH!!!! He's worse than Bradley!

Anyways. So, all the knitting for Christmas gifts is done; now I can get back to knitting on my daddio's socks. I've finished the second sock's star chart, so now I get to zip through the rest of the sock. YAY!

More travelling!

2009-11-02T20:05:00.002-05:00

This time, we are travelling with friends up to a cabin in the North Carolina mountains. The weather is supposed to be a little cool but nothing really frigid - low 60s during the day and 40s at night. Perfect knitting weather! We will also be close to my alma mater, so I am excited to stop by and see the campus again. It's been seven years since I've been there, but it looks like the campus hasn't changed much.

When I visited my family last week, I was able to pick up a Knit Kit and was SO glad I had it. No hassle at the airport, and I had everything I needed for the plane and once I got there. When they first came out in pink and beige, I was very excited about the idea but not enthused about the colors at ALL. I was so happy to see the black kits come out and am very glad I was able to buy one of them.

I bought most of the yarn tonight for the next commission, but I'm having a hard time finding the colors the buyer wants for the last set of booties. I am going to check online and order tonight so the yarn is here when I get back from the trip. I'll have plenty to work on on the trip - the first two sets of booties plus my father's socks. The drive is gonna be a long one so I should have plenty of time in the car to knit. Bradley is gonna love driving my Mini in the mountains! Although thinking about it, considering how much alcohol is going with us, I might need to take some bulky weight yarn so I can KUI on a scarf or two!

2009-10-29T19:50:00.002-04:00

Man, I've been bad with the posting. Life has been busy!

Bradley is bricking up the old windows in the living room. The living room was originally a porch but was enclosed at some point. The windows that originally looked out of the bathrooms and master bedroom were blocked on the bathroom and bedroom side, but were left open on the living room side. We want to cover the wall with corrugated steel, so he's bricking them up to provide sound insulation. It's a relief not to worry about noise anymore!

My Sonnet is finnnnnallllllly finished! We visited some of my family this last weekend, and getting it finished was my #1 goal for the trip. I need to run it through the dryer to get all the cat hair off of it - Pax found it and made a bed on it, so it's been accented with pretty white hair >.<

Next project is a commission that's still being detailed out, but I'm still chugging away on the socks for my father. Dad used to do IT work at a sock manufacturer, so when he tried on the completed first sock, he tried to suggest ways to tighten up the foot. I got some giggles out of the conversation because knitting socks on a machine at, oh, probably a billion stitches a second is completely different than hand-knitting socks. He can be grateful that someone is *hand-knitting* socks for him! :-D I know he is glad to be getting them and was just trying to be helpful so I'm not offended at all - just amused :D

Well - it's time to go do some more chores around the house, so I'm out. HOPEFULLY I will be able to post on Monday with fun updates from the weekend!

sock obsession

2009-09-29T08:47:00.000-04:00

I love socks. LOVE. I love the speed, the portability, the tempest in a teacup-ness of socks. I can learn new knitting techniques on a small scale; try outrageous patterns or colors -- or BOTH! -- in one little item. One of my favorite designers is Hunter Hammersen, and you can find her sock designs at http://www.violentlydomestic.com/. I am drooling over several of her patterns while I work on the socks for my father... I really like the Bines pattern, although I'd probably make them a little taller than her pictures. I have some lovely green variegated sock yarn that would be perfect for those. The Popped socks totally catch my eye - the sinuous curves of the pattern make me want to use a green yarn, something close to a Slytherin color. The Propitiate socks actually remind me of the beach, and I have a lovely blue cotton yarn that would be good for those. My next dilemma is finding a pair of brown work shoes that I can wear socks with; my dress shoes are too snug to wear socks with - only hose.

As far as the socks for my father - I've turned the heel and am working on the foot. I think I've gotten the foot long enough to start the toe decreases, but I am hoping to get Bradley to try it on so I can be sure. His foot is wider than my father's but about the same length. Hopefully I can take some pictures while he has it on (as long as he doesn't run as soon as I pull out my camera).

A coworker has commissioned two baby headbands; they are going to be adorable. I have to learn how to crochet for the flowers that will be attached to them, but no worries; crochet can't steal me away from my true love of knitting.

Hobbies

2009-09-25T14:06:00.002-04:00

Is crafting a hobby for you? What defines a hobby to you?

I don't think of knitting as a "hobby". I don't feel like I have a "hobby" - I love to knit, to pick out colors and fiber contents and patterns, and then watch something grow off my needles. It keeps me from fidgeting; it helps me pay attention and hear more of whatever I'm listening to. If I can't do something with my hands, I zone out and tune out whatever is going on around me. Or fall asleep.

I have been wanting to read more lately but haven't made the effort to get to the library. I've also been wondering about the Kindle, but found out from a friend over on LJ that Amazon has a Kindle app for the iPhone. Downloaded it last night, picked a book to sample, and yep - I'm hooked. I'm definitely signing up for the mobileme subscription next payday; if I have this much of my life on this little piece of glass, plastic, and metal, I do NOT want to lose it. My knitting counters, a Kindle app, four different e-mail accounts, my Facebook & Myspace accounts... yeah, I need to be able to wipe this thing if I ever lose it. I'm wondering if I can get knitting books on the Kindle app, or if it would be worthwhile, given the screen size.

Anyways, this post was supposed to be up yesterday but I got swamped and forgot.

Who's on Twitter? Anyone?

Pattern Problems

2009-09-21T09:14:00.003-04:00

So, I have to confess to spewing a lot of bad words over the weekend while working on the Eesti Hiking socks for my dad. The pattern isn't right in the book, so I found the corrections on Interweave's errata pages -- but THOSE were wrong, too!!! I was quite unhappy that I had to keep searching online and on Ravelry for what other people did to correct the problems.

Turns out, what you have to do is increase and decrease 10, not 8, stitches on rows 4 and 19. THEN you repeat the entire star pattern, just like it is marked in my version of the book - but NOT like it's indicated on the "corrected" chart on the website, which has you repeating only 2/3 of the pattern, not the full star band.

Once I figured out the problems, I was able to sail right along. My knitting style is Continental, and I grew up knitting English, so I was able to do the colorwork relatively easily. Slowly - but easily. I tried to use Continental for both colors, but I couldn't get it to work very well. I need to do some more reading/you-tubing to find out what I was doing incorrectly. I finished the colorwork last night, so now it's onward with the rest of the sock.

I'm still in love with the yarn, thankfully, even though the chart has a lot of loathing now. At least I have it figured out now, so the next sock and the other 2 pairs I'll be doing of this pattern will be MUCH easier.

quick update from real job

2009-09-18T11:03:00.004-04:00

WHOA SLACKER. That's all I have to say!

The 9/15 deadline passed us this week, and now we're focusing on the 10/15 deadline. Yay. Except not really. Whatever. Can't get into work stuff on a public blog... am too paranoid about all the people who get fired for decisions/posts about their jobs.

Uh, house stuff: the door frame to the garage is finally finished. Just needs to be painted and then that little project will be done. Then we can move on to painting the office area. I think we might be working on the corrugated steel wall in the living room first; once we get that up and see how it works with the floor, we'll have a better idea of what colors will be most appealing. We've also been looking for a kitchen table. I've hit my limit for not having one so it's time. We measured the room and hopefully will hit Ikea for some inspiration this weekend. The kitchen and eating area have such dark wood that we're pretty firmly set on a glass/metal table. Adding more wood would probably make it far too dark in the room.

Knitting: finished a set of garterlac dishcloths: 2 red and 2 yellow. Next set will be lime green and brown. Also started on the Eesti Hiking Socks for my father. The City Tweed heavy worsted yarn is delightful! I love the way it feels and knits up. Doing colorwork is interesting - stripes aren't that hard, and I'm about to begin the star pattern tonight.

Well - gotta get back to the real job. Booooo!!!!

Summer's end

2009-09-08T11:19:00.004-04:00

Summer in Florida doesn't end at Labor Day. No, the hot weather and afternoon thundershowers continue well into September; maybe in October, we'll see some lower temperatures. It's not time for me to pull out long sleeves or sweaters yet, and definitely not time to pull out the wool yarn -- unless it's for a Christmas gift or something special!

This past long weekend was a lot of fun. Laughing, playing, story-telling and story-making with friends! A small group of us went out Friday evening for some social time; Saturday, Bradley went diving for lobster with some friends down in West Palm Beach. Saturday night I ate lasagna with my friend LB - she makes delicious food! Sunday was cooking out by the pool, cannonball contests with friends, and then general silliness as the night progressed. Yesterday, we lounged around - I knit, and Bradley snored away while Anthony Bourdain showed us some great places to eat in Chile, the Rust Belt, and Sri Lanka.

I finished the first of the Diagonal Cross-Rib Socks, and I'm not sure what I think of the way the toe looks. My office-mate really liked it this morning when I showed her, but I'm not convinced yet. These socks are for me, so it's entirely up to my mood whether I rip out the toe and re-do it. I am thinking right now I'll wait until I'm finished with the second sock to decide on the first toe.

Then, I cast on Criminy Jicket's Garterlac Dishcloths in a pretty buttery yellow cotton yarn. Definitely a learning experience - I have a new cast-on method in my arsenal now, along with learning how to entrelac. The yarn calls for size 7 needles, but I didn't like how open the stitches were, so I frogged the whole thing and started over with size 5s. In my recent KnitPicks order, I bought a pair of the new Zephyr tips - in size 5 - so I decided to try them out with this pattern. I really like the needles, although I'm convinced I'm going to break them. They are a little more flexible than I'm used to; the Clover bamboo DPNs I use are flexible but I know that bamboo bends quite a bit before it breaks. Plastic/acrylic? Not so sure where the line is between bending and breaking.

Well - time to leave the computer and get back to reality. See you Thursday!

Labor day labors

2009-09-03T21:07:00.002-04:00

This time of year at work gets busy. Many people are surprised - "I thought accounting was busy only in the spring!" I wish! The returns that were extended the spring are due in September and October. I'm in good shape with the returns assigned to me; almost all of the CIRA entities are out. CIRA = Common Interest Realty Associations. Homeowners' associations, timeshare associations, condominiums, etc. The rules for them are weird(er) than normal, so all of the ones the firm prepares come to me. I was even able to handle a surprise addition of 15 entities a month away from the deadline with grace.

The knitting is going well. I'm almost to the toe decreases on my first Diagonal Cross-Rib Sock. Then that one will go into hiding while I start on my father's socks. The Fox shows I watch are starting this month, which means a lot of time planted in front of the boob tube, which means a lot of time to knit.

Balancing the time to knit for the Sirens and myself is going to be a challenge. I need to be sure I can produce and meet my commitment to them, but I also have projects promised to my family members (like the socks) and things I'd like to make for myself. One way to juggle everything is to have a day dedicated to each part of my life, with certain things fitted in every day. Say, do 30 min of chores every day, gym on M/T/R/F, and then fit in a personal knit night, a Sirens knit night, a sooper-sekrit project #2 night, a bum around night, and a night to be flexible or do things with my honey. Then that leaves the weekends wide open for house projects or catching up from the week.

Tonight and last night, my honey has been finishing the door frame for the door to the garage. He is also going to put in the baseboards, and then it will be time to PAINT. I can't wait! The walls are a bland tan with an interesting set of horizontal stripes around the room, which I'd like to leave. So we need to find a blue that we like... he's nixed green since there's a lot of it in the slate floor and he's concerned it would be overwhelming. I am looking forward to getting some sample tubs of paint and having fun patching the wall with colors.

Busy-ness

2009-08-31T19:40:00.002-04:00

My Sonnet is nearly done! I remembered to toss it in the laundry that my wonderful B does, and I was able to lay it out flat for drying. The sleeves evened up and the material feels wonderful. I need to brush up on seaming, and then I'll be ready to get it together.

I've learned how to Magic Loop! My friend RS at the nearby knitting group showed me the technique on a hat, and I tried it out a few weeks later on a sock. I'm working on the Diagonal Cross-Rib Socks from Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave in KnitPicks Essential Tweed in Ash. I LOVE IT. I love this pattern, I love magic looping, I love this yarn... SO PLEASED.

The yarn for my next project is here. I'm going to be working on two pair of Eesti Hiking Socks for my father. Same book, also a KnitPicks yarn, but this yarn is City Tweed HW. I have picked out some great colors to use, and the yarn is so soft. I'm finishing the first sock above before I start on these... so it's a good thing we have a lot of TV to watch ;)

Home stretch

2009-08-17T21:13:00.003-04:00

I am so close to finished with the Sonnet! The last package of yarn arrived in the mail late last week, and after all the birthday parties, I was finally able to wind up a ball and graft it in Sunday afternoon. I am so so SO grateful for my fellow Ravelers! I've reached the top of the second sleeve; for about an inch or two, I simply knit - no increases or decreases. The decreases go quickly once they begin. I'm finally home for the day after my evening Pilates class, so I think I'm going to make a small bag of popcorn, turn on a DVR'd TV show, and FINISH THIS SWEATER! Hahahaha. OK. I will start seaming tomorrow - but the KNITTING will get done TONIGHT!

Then I can order the yarn for all the socks I have in my queue and work on knitting up some goodies for the Sirens. :D

Ahhhh life.

Slammed summer

2009-08-12T15:35:00.004-04:00

Well - I'm in the crazy part of summer. Many of my friends and coworkers have birthdays this month, and it's the last full month before the September 15th deadline. Which means that my stress level increases dramatically!

I'm so close to finished with my Sonnet but I have run out of yarn YET AGAIN. I'm very close to finishing the second sleeve, but have another 2-3 inches at least on it, plus all of the seaming to do. (Insert groaning & moaning here.) Thankfully, Ravelry has saved me YET AGAIN. I am so grateful for the kind-hearted knitters out there willing to sell me a skein or to mail me their remnants of the same dye lot. Next time, I will do a much better job of calculating how much yarn I need for a project.

I need to get working on the socks for my family members. Christmas is coming!

Well - I gotta get back to work; just needed to think about something unrelated for a minute or two to clear my head.

2009-07-30T10:05:00.003-04:00

Not a lot going on in my world, lately; been trying to be more active around the house and get things done rather than turning on the TV and getting sucked in. From the looks of my to-do list, though, that hasn't really been happening lately!

I'm training with some friends for fall 5Ks, and I am proud to report that I did massively better on Tuesday's run than I have in a while. I was very pleased since I had been so sick a couple of weeks ago and then spent this last weekend in New Orleans carousing with a girlfriend. Sickness (including a fever) + all sorts of indulgences should not = better run, but somehow it did. I am looking forward to today's run; hopefully, we'll have some rain this afternoon or at least some cloud cover.

I'm almost done with the first sleeve of my Sonnet; I reached the point where I begin the cap of the sleeve. I hope the second sleeve is faster than the first; I am sure it will be since I won't have the discouragement of thinking I'm out of yarn. That really messed with my motivation! I have a lot to do at work today so I'm out.

Summer's nearly over

2009-07-27T20:49:00.002-04:00

Summer's nearly over and I'm back from my big vacation for the year. A girlfriend and I went to New Orleans to visit another friend for a long weekend. We had a good time and saw lots of beautiful scenery. When going through security, I didn't have any trouble with my knitting needles - I just had to chug about 16 ounces of water as fast as I could because I'd forgotten my Sigg bottle was half-full. I dind't get much knitting done other than the flight - we were going going going the whole time.

Now that I'm back, it's time to settle down and start working on some super-sekrit projects I have going on! I'll have to find time to work on the socks for my family. For now - I'm off to work on my Sonnet and get it out of the way.

Scarlet Letter! Except for sickness.

2009-07-14T20:27:00.002-04:00

Heh - yeah, not the scary red A, but the scary red X or SOMETHING that says, "Stay FAR FAR AWAY!" All three of us have been ill. B has been sick for weeks now; three of the strongest antibiotics on the market haven't fixed him. He goes to a respiratory specialist next Monday. C had a really bad fever Sunday and part of yesterday, but we've been able to get her back down to normal. Her chest is really congested, but at least she's not feverish any longer. I wish I could say that my fever wasn't too bad, but it was. Did you know that the "standard" 98.6F human temperature was arrived at by taking the temperatures of 10 random people off the street? At least, this is what I learned in college, so hopefully that's correct. Who knows what the real "normal" temperature is? Due to my own nerdiness and curiosity, I know that my normal temperature is between 97.5 and 98.0 - so if I'm at 98.6, I'm beginning a fever. My temp this weekend got up to 100.9. I was finally coherent enough to go to the doctor today, and they gave me a script for the generic Biaxin. Nasty nasty horse pills - two pills once a day with food. Yuck. I popped two with lunch as soon as I got home, and I am feeling SO. MUCH. BETTER.

In other personal news, I am working on conquering my fear of deep water. Since I was feeling so much better this afternoon, I put on my bathing suit and got in the pool. B had left his snorkel mask out, and I decided that now was as good of a time as any to start working on it. No one around to make me nervous! So I put it on, got in in the shallow end, and fell in love. Wearing contacts plus never finding a pair of swim goggles that fit my face well meant losing my vision underwater. But today - I could see everything! I could see exactly where the dreaded drain at the bottom of the deep end was; I could see the few oak leaves floating along the surface; I could see the water bug swimming along near the wall. The whole not being able to breathe underwater still skeeves me out, but whatever, I'll get over that. I had so much fun swimming around! I am such a dork but this has bothered me for so long - I am so happy to be making progress at defeating this fear.

I've finished the body of my Sonnet and am working on the first sleeve. Making so much progress on the sweater is the only positive part of being home sick from work for two days. I had to do a little modification to the basketweave stitch for the center panel up the sleeves, but it still looks nice. I can't wait to finish it all, seam it up, and toss it in the washer!

OK - I'm off to do some chores around the house since they've been so neglected over the past few days. Poor cats could use some attention, too.

Post-holiday Mondays

2009-07-06T22:27:00.002-04:00

Okay, I'm learning how to post from my iPhone. This is a little awkward snd I'm not sure the formatting will come out correctly.

The Tour de France is on! Watching the stages in the evening means lots of time to knit. Except for tonight: I spent a lot of time knitting over the weekend, and my hands are a little crampy. Instead, I gave myself a mani-pedi :). I made a lot of progress on my Sonnet; I'm all the way around to the right front! The yarn I ordered should be sufficient - I was a little worried about that. Well - I'm off to bed. Today was a little rough and I'm not feeling super.

Summer travels

2009-06-29T19:09:00.002-04:00

Trips are one of my favorite ways to accomplish a lot of knitting goals. The recent trip for a family reunion was a perfect example. We have a few more trips coming up, and I'm looking forward to finishing more projects while we are in the air or on the road. The body of my Sonnet is almost halfway finished! At knitting tomorrow night, I'll have one of the more experienced knitters, KD, help me make sure I'm accomodating the sideways stretch that will inevitably happen. I've already cut out two inches and think I may be able to cut out another inch in the center of the back.

With the crazy heat we've had recently, it's been hard to do outdoor projects. Bradley is fixing a toilet tonight, and hopefully soon we'll have the pool up and running. We have a quote from a pool guy, and we're just waiting on upcoming paydays so we can have the cash to fund the operations. Carlina's sunflowers have been blooming beautifully; she's been lopping off the flowers and bringing them in for us to enjoy.

Well - I think I'm getting some dirty looks so I should get going on my chores (one of which is quite enjoyable - knitting some more on my Sonnet!!)

Vacation & road trips

2009-06-22T20:05:00.002-04:00

We spent this last weekend on the road. It was my annual family reunion, and seeing everyone in my mother's family was wonderful. The gathering was at Cloudland Canyon State Park in Rising Fawn, Georgia. It's near Chattanooga and in the mountains - beautiful country up there.

I finished my Undulating Rib Socks on Saturday and cast on Sonnet! I was so pleased to finally start that. When I gave my sister and niece their socks, they were very pleased. Emily put hers on right away, but when Grace tried to put hers on - no luck. The yarn shrank in the wash :( Shame on me for not swatching them. I'm so disappointed. I suggested that she get them damp and slip them on carefully, and then let them dry on her feet.

My sister-in-law, brother, and father have all put in requests for socks. Mary and Kenneth are getting pairs of Padded Footlets; Kenneth is getting a pair of Eesti Trail Hiking Socks; and Dad is getting two pair of the same hiking socks. My poor Branching Out is going to be neglected, but thankfully, I have the counter app on my iPhone so I will be able to pick up where I left off. Kenneth picked out some beautiful yarn from KnitPicks - I can't wait to see how it looks and feels in real life.

The Sonnet is coming along nicely; I am using the piecrust basketweave instead of the box/moss stitch recommended in the pattern. I'm also cutting out an inch on each side since I have heard from every direction that the finished item will definitely stretch side-to-side. I finished about seven inches while we were on the road. I do love how Bradley doesn't mind driving...

It's Magic Time!

2009-06-11T22:49:00.002-04:00

Seriously. The Magic are in the NBA Finals and my husband doesn't know who I am anymore! LOL. He's very confused that I'm so excited about a SPORT!!! Staying up late to watch TV?? Even more confusing!! The husband of one of my knitting girls works for the team somehow, and she invited me to go with her to the game this past Tuesday while her husband had to work it. I had never been to an NBA game before, so for a Finals game to be my first experience was exhilarating!! We screamed and shouted and cheered our team on to a win. I'm watching the game from home tonight; it's interesting to see the differences between watching the game from the venue and on TV.

Earlier this evening, some of my girlfriends and I met for a planning session for our craft co-op. I can't share any details just yet, but we had an excellent brainstorming session and I'm freshly inspired!

The game is on right now, so I'm off to knit and cheer and screech - and hopefully not break any of my size 3 needles!!

Monday Bluesday

2009-06-08T22:05:00.000-04:00

I love living in Florida, but sometimes the heat just kills me! Today was so muggy and hot, and I know it's only going to get worse in July and August. Thank goodness for a shiny new air conditioning unit. With all the rain we've had lately, all the hard work on the pool has evaporated - the water is murky and green again. Bradley ordered an automatic chlorine feeder that will go in the pipes between the filter and the pool; that will solve a LOT of our problems. He thinks he's found the slow leak - the pipes at the filter in the bottom of the deep end don't seem to be lined up. Of course, since the water has never been stabilized enough to get in, we can't get down there to see what the real deal is.

In my knitting world, I had a hard time not posting last week about the adorable little hats I was knitting for my friend Jen. She and her husband are having a baby soon, and I wanted to make some little cotton hats for the new one. Even though it's blazing hot outside, the air conditioning indoors could easily chill a little head! I made a blue one and a lime-green one, one out of 100% cotton and the other out of an acrylic-cotton blend - super convenient for new parents since they can both go in the regular laundry.

My family reunion is coming up in just a couple of weeks, which means I really have to get on the stick and fix the cuff on my sister's sock. I need to package up my niece's socks, too. The gathering is up in northwest Georgia, and we'll be driving (buying a pair of plane tickets plus renting a car would triple or maybe even quadruple the cost of gas). Nine hours in the car [one way!!!] will give me LOTS of time to get some knitting done. I think I'll be finished with my Undulating Rib socks by then, so I may take the yarn and start on the Sonnet I have planned.

Well - that's all I have time for tonight. Off to knit for just a couple more minutes, and then bedtime.

Heat & wool socks.

2009-06-01T18:22:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm mixing the two. Bad, bad, bad. However, since the A/C is fixed, it's not so bad to be inside and knitting with wool. The first of the two socks is almost done - I began the toe decreases last night. I don't find the pattern very impressive until the sock is on my foot - then I love the rib!

The Branching Out is coming along nicely. I have about 165 rows or so of it done. One of my internet friends makes gorgeous little flower pins - for both hair and brooches. I ordered a few from her, and I have a perfect mental image of wearing the Branching Out pinned with a lovely grey flower pin she designed.

Spent the weekend slaving over the pool. Not sure if the water is in balance, but the clarity is much improved. I vacuumed some of the debris off the bottom, and Bradley is out there now checking the Kreepy Krawler to see if it works. [Typing that really makes my skin crawl, but that's the actual brand name, so whatever.] I've just been requested to cook dinner, so off I go!

Trips

2009-05-27T17:54:00.001-04:00

Sorry I've been MIA. I try to update on Mondays and Thursdays, but the past couple of weeks have been frustrating.

DayJob is on my nerves like an untuned piano - and that's all I can say about that.

Last week, my little family went to visit extended family in the Midwest. I wasn't comfortable trying to take my Branching Out on the plane, so I brought DPNs in 2s, 3s, and 4s, and a couple of balls of sock yarn. I'm making a pair of Undulating Rib Socks out of Favorite Socks in KnitPick's Felici. I bought a sock sampler from them a couple of months ago, and the colorway Schooner was included. Now that colorway has been discontinued, so I can't link to it. While on the trip, I cast on, frogged, re-cast on, and got most of the way through the first one. I'm working on the gusset right now and just love the pattern. The recommended needle size is a 4 for the cuff and 3 for the remainder, but my gauge was too large - I had to frog and restart using 3s for the cuff and 2s for the remainder.

For the first time, I'm working on two projects that I just love and can't decide which I want to work on! I think I'll continue on the Branching Out for a while since it's been hibernating for a while. The Felici yarn is mostly wool, which is not appropriate for Florida summers!

Ah, summer

2009-05-11T19:14:00.001-04:00

Time for lace and cotton and linen.

Finished my niece's socks! Got the buttons sewn onto my coworker's booties! I picked up Branching Out again - finally - but couldn't figure out what row I knit last. I ended up frogging it and restarting, and I'm so pleased with how it looks already. I made it through about six pattern repeats.

My friend SP finished her Sylvi and posted pictures of it today. I am amazed and in awe of that accomplishment! I know I can do it too - it's a pattern, a set of directions, and I'm good at following directions. That seems like such a mammoth project though... After I finish Branching Out and a few more socks, I think I'll work on my Sonnet. Maybe I'll be able to finish it in time for the chilly season ;)

In house news... the A/C will be replaced tomorrow. We requested several estimates, and the winner will charge us around $3,800. I'm so grateful for savings accounts and for both of us having stable, well-paying jobs. The pool is looking better and better - the chemicals we keep dumping in are working! This weekend, Bradley was brushing crud off the sides, and the brush fell off the end of the pole. It was clear enough that he put on a scuba mask and dove in to get it off the bottom. I was pretty grossed out and made him shower as soon as I realized what he'd done.

We've been considering adding two new ani-pals to our little family - two dogs. Originally, Bradley wanted an English Bulldog. Being from Athens and UGA, I LOVED the idea. My only demand was that my beast would be a boxer. One of my earliest memories is of standing on the driveway outside my childhood home, looking up at the boxer my family owned - that's how I small I was at the time. I adore boxers! Well - Bradley saw a picture on IHasAHotdog.com of a mastiff and has now changed his mind - no more bulldog; he wants a mastiff. HA. My major primary concern is controlling the animal - those dogs grow to be twice my weight. A bulldog would be strong and stubborn, but it wouldn't weigh more than I do, and I could SIT on it if all else failed. A female boxer wouldn't be bigger than me, either. But a mastiff?? Those boys grow to be as big as Bradley!!! We'll see what happens. Right now, we have some immediate house expenses that prevent us from acquiring new beasts. We'll have to get puppies so that the cats can deal with them... there's no way we could introduce adult dogs (such as rescues) into the house with Skye the Amazing Attack Cat and Pax the Stupid Prey Cat. Puppies mean we will have to find quality breeders. I have a bit of a hard time reconciling that with my values; I feel so strongly about adopting pound puppies... but I just can't risk the history that some rescues have when bringing a big dog into the house. Maybe I can ease my conscience by making a big donation to the local shelters when we bring home the pups.

Anyways, I gotta get off the keyboard; my left pinky is being weird and painful when I type.

Heat

2009-05-08T22:24:00.001-04:00

We haz it. Our A/C has been out this week, and the temperatures have been in the 90s. UGH. Needless to say - that means no knitting! I could barely get off the couch without breaking a sweat, so the idea of touching even cotton made me swelter. The poor cats had me so worried, but they didn't seem to be near heatstroke. On the suggestion of a friend, I wrapped each of them in a cold wet towel for about ten minutes to help them stay cool. I was very surprised that they each tolerated it as well as they did. Must have been a sign that they were feeling the heat too :(

The A/C was recharged with freon today, and we're having a new unit installed on Tuesday. Bradley got a few estimates this week and we are satisfied with what we're buying. The current unit is about 20 years old, so I'm not surprised that it quit.

Now that the house is cooler, I worked some more on my niece's socks. I need to get the buttons sewn onto my officemate's commissioned booties, but I'll probably do that on Sunday since I won't see her again until Monday.

I've been wondering how I'll block things in the new house - we don't have any carpet! I found some blocking tiles on KnitPicks, but I am waiting a couple more months before buying them. Most of the projects I'm working on right now are socks or booties, which can just get tossed in the washer and dryer. After I pick up Branching Out or cast on my Sonnet, then I'll reconsider.

I can't wait to finish these socks for my niece - I am excited to pick up BO again!

Productivity

2009-05-04T10:50:00.001-04:00

Quick post today, I hope...

First - from a non-knitting blog, a post which I had to bite my lip in order to avoid screeching at my desk at work: "Dear Economy", from Reactionary. If I don't LOVE it, I'm not buying it. So quit producing mediocre CRAP with the expectation that I will run right out to buy it. I do keep a list of quality brands - and of brands that produce shoddy, poor-quality goods. I will GLADLY pay for high quality, long-lasting products.

This past weekend was very productive. The husband got a lot of work done around the house - we went to the pool store and spent $140 on chemicals to get the water cleaned up. He will add chemicals every day for the next ten days, so we will have to wait at least 2 weeks before we can get in the water. I was amazed that the water turned from icky pond green to pretty blue overnight! But the water is milky and opaque - and now full of chlorine and acid and calcium, so it's definitely not safe to put in even a toe right now. He was a genius and fixed the wiring to the pool lights... I am so proud of him :)

I knit up my coworker's pair of girly booties and am almost done with the boy's pair. I meant to hit the craft store for buttons while we were out on our errands this weekend, but forgot. Will have to stop by tonight. I should be able to finish the boy's pair tonight and get them packaged for her tomorrow night.

I realized with our summer family reunion coming up, I need to get these socks finished for my niece and sister. My friends didn't come over Friday evening, so I couldn't get LB to pick out a pattern she likes... I'm tempted to make an executive decision and pick one for her, but the beauty of custom-made socks is just that - they are custom.

OK - gotta get some work done :)

To Do List

2009-04-30T16:09:00.000-04:00

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.

2009-04-29T12:17:00.000-04:00

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...

2009-04-24T11:13:00.000-04:00

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

2009-04-16T15:12:00.000-04:00

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

2009-04-11T09:56:00.000-04:00

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

2009-04-06T09:49:00.000-04:00

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!

Art shows

2008-12-09T22:37:00.000-05:00

I've participated in two art shows to date, but no luck with sales. I'm about to log on to Etsy and cut my prices dramatically. I need the cash, and inventory isn't moving.

Thankfully, the show tonight produced a lot of interest. One woman in particular was very interested in the scarf LPF commissioned for her sister. She's supposed to e-mail me tomorrow to inquire about other colors for a gift for her niece. I have to block LPF's scarf tomorrow night after dinner with my girlfriend LB.

Projects in the queue:
- Ribbed SWS scarf (need to block, list on Etsy)
- LPF's scarf (need to block, list on Etsy)
- MAS' socks
- ERH's socks
- GEH's socks
- Branching out (for me)
- Sonnet (for me)

I'm a little bent out of shape about some personal stuff, so I'm going to close this entry and hopefully have something more pleasant to say Friday or Saturday.

Art shows!

2008-11-07T15:32:00.000-05:00

I've been invited to participate in my first-ever show! I received a convo (private message or e-mail) through Etsy inviting me to join a local artists' show presented by one of our local downtown art associations. I was very surprised but quite pleased and honored.

The invitation provides me with quite a dilemma. I've been to one art show in my entire life, and it was strictly paintings. I've never attended a craft show. I've never been a vendor! So I'm having to figure out very quickly if I want to do this, first of all, and second of all, what I need to DO. I have e-mailed the organizer back and hopefully I can get some questions answered promptly so I can get my ducks in a row. Thankfully, my husband is quite arty and is already scheming displays and set-ups.

Here are some random thoughts:
- Need to find out what kind of space I will have and what type of table I need to bring
- Must use a white or cream-colored table-cloth - no black or dark colors to show lint (or cat hair!)
- Need a small, attractive mirror so people can look at my wares on themselves
- Should I swatch some of my yarn stash so people can get an idea of future items? (probably)
- How many of my items should I bring?
- How do I handle sales - can I have a computer hooked up so people can go through my Etsy store? Would that be too tedious & time-consuming for this type of event? Probably - but how else am I going to accept credit cards? They would need to at least have a PayPal account for CCs. I will need to have some cash for change. What about invoices/sales slips? This brings me into a whole realm of marketing that I haven't had to address just yet because Etsy has been wonderful.
- Thank goodness I used that particular website for my business cards; I know I can customize postcards and other little dealios for marketing purposes.
- Where oh where can I get a mannequin head or wig stand? I know I can get one off of eBay or an online retailer but for whatever reason, I'm really stuck on being able to see & touch it before I buy it. I want to be sure it's worth my money AND displaying my goods!
- Not to mention, it would be very nice to have a dress form or mannequin torso for scarves - the torso and head would be super-useful for future (hopefully) shows AND for photographing items to show on Etsy.
- I think having a little guestbook might be a genius idea for people who are interested in my products but don't have time/money/interest in current items.

Have to get back to my day job for now :-) Any feedback would be much appreciated!

[2 weeks and counting]

2008-11-02T22:24:00.000-05:00

And two days and counting.

I voted early on Friday, and the line was two hours long. I didn't mind at all - I had been sure to wear comfortable shoes and brought my knitting. The lady in front of me even asked about what I was working on, so I was able to chat a bit about what I was doing and my Etsy store.

I have learned how to knit socks! Knitting from a book while in line was quite interesting. I was concerned about dropping needles & stitches, but I didn't have any problems. My class sock turned out quite nicely. I'm not sure about the kitchener stitch to close the toe, but I'm sure that will improve as I knit more.

My Ravelry page is finally pretty well updated. I have some items that Bradley is going to photograph for me; once I have his pictures, I'll be able to post final pictures on Ravelry and then the items on Etsy.

The banana cozy commission is going well. I finished one with quite a few tweaks and have started the second one with even more variations. I will be stopping by the grocery tomorrow to pick up bananas to be sure they fit.

Tuesday night has me on the verge of hyperventilating. I am so ready to be done with the election season and move on to real work. At this point, I do still care who wins the presidential election, but I am hoping that after the dust has settled, we'll be able to turn purple and end all the divisiveness. I am so tired of hearing all the negative stuff on TV and the news sites. I don't want to hear the candidates tell me what the other candidate did - all of that stuff is in the past. I wish they would speak for themselves: What are they going to do for my future? For the future ahead of my nieces & nephews? For your kids & grandkids? How are they going to improve my situation? Tell me your OWN agenda and quit tattling on the other candidates. I had had enough when I saw an ad on TV the other night where the opposing party didn't even name the position the candidate was running for - it was obviously a local race, but seriously - what the heck. I hope I can stay at home and knit the night away without breaking any needles or throwing anything at the TV. I might have to pull out my Options needles or some of my old Boye needles so that I don't break any of my Takumi dpns or my new Harmony circulars!

Upcoming projects:
+ After I finish the cozies for LP, I am going to go back to Branching Out, I think. I love the alpaca I bought over the summer, and it feels like it would be a great weight for the pattern. I know I need to block the laceweight I'm using right now before I make the decision to frog it.
+ Now that I've knit a class sock, I'm planning on knitting a pair for myself. I bought 2 skeins each of three different colorways, all of which will be appropriate for work.
+ I have some ideas for using up some leftover bits; I have to flesh out the ideas, but I think they will be a lot of fun.
+ After I use up the yarn in my stash, I think I'm going to start working with lighter-weight yarns instead of bulky wools. For Floridians, wearing something cotton or bamboo would be much more feasible.

Au revoir - I'm off to bed! Busy workweek ahead.

[studying]

2008-10-29T14:07:00.000-04:00

That's pretty much all I've been doing lately. Oh, and going to the doctor. I spent this past Friday night in the ER with severe abdominal pain; the diagnosis from the ER doc didn't make any sense to my own doctor when I went in for a follow-up on Tuesday, so we're still working on figuring out the cause.

BUT. I have been knitting while watching the study lectures, so I have several scarves and hats waiting for my B. to photograph, and then I'll be able to list them on my Etsy store.

I have had several commissions lately:
- a hat for a co-worker
- banana and apple cozies for one of my knitting group girls (she's actually a crocheter)
- a scarf for a co-worker's sister

The cozies & sister's scarf are still in progress. The hat got rave reviews when the co-worker went to Atlanta recently; he said it was exactly what he needed while he was there and made sure to promote my store to his friends there.

I've been working on the business side of this Etsy thing lately. Ordered new business cards with my store's actual name (prior versions had an incorrect French translation); downloaded QuickBooks Simple Start (I would love to have the full version like we have at work, but I am not forking out how ever many hundreds of dollars it would cost me); set up templates for product labels; and have been researching the best way to deal with making this little thing legal. I think for now, I'll just register a fictitious name entity and report it on my Schedule C; I need to register with Florida for sales tax purposes and start filing those reports. Since I'm a tax accountant, I don't really have the ignorance excuse - to say the least!! I'm thinking of getting some postcards from the site I used for the business cards (www.123print.com) to distribute at work, craft shows, restaurants, and other places where I can advertise.

In yarn news... the cozies I'm making for my group member are cotton yarn, which I have never really worked with in the past. It's interesting since I've been using so much wool. I have some delicious buttery-colored alpaca that I'm planning to use for a Branching Out scarf for myself or for a gift. My friend KD and I figured out that the Noro yarn she gave me would be perfect for a belt! I love interesting belts since I wear grey, black, or khaki pants all the time. I saw a picture of the Forest Path stole recently, and that inspired me to find a lace pattern that would work for the belt. I have to do some more digging in my stitchionary, but I'm confident I'll find something soon. KD suggested crocheting - but the hook scares me! I'll stick to my needles.

Life is interesting

2008-10-09T19:01:00.000-04:00

Things have been a little crazy in my little corner of the world. Work is good. The husband is good. The cats are good. Knitting is good.

I have had a recent spate of interest in my Etsy shop! I knitted a baby blanket for a co-worker & his pregnant wife and was able to have it finished in time to give them at the firm-sponsored baby shower. When other co-workers realized I had made it myself, many of them asked about other things I could make. I was able to distribute business cards and show people other projects on my Etsy site. My officemate LF bought a scarf this week to give to a friend who lives in a colder climate, and another co-worker has commissioned a beanie. Yay!

I'm beginning to work towards incorporating my little store; as a tax accountant, I can't really claim ignorance about collecting & remitting sales tax or paying income tax (if I ever actually make a profit!). But being a tax accountant will make the process easier, since I'm familiar with the process and the consequences.

I have plenty of scarves in inventory; I've whipped out a few hats recently and am going to work on some mittens & arm-warmers soon, I think.

OK, that's all I have for now - I have to get back to the CPA exam studying. :-(

Two at once

2008-07-20T15:27:00.000-04:00

My usual scheme with life is one thing at a time. One book at a time, one knitting WIP at a time, one TV show at a time, one hobby at a time, etc. I've been working on adding variety in the past few months. I don't like it when different parts of my meal touch when they're on my plate - juice from my spinach running into my mac & cheese grosses me out to no end. But lately, I've tried some new things to see how I like them. I still can't read a different book while I'm studying for the CPA exam, but I cast on a new knitting project before I finished my current one.

I've been producing some scarves for my Etsy shop and still haven't knit anything for myself since I picked up my needles last year. Yesterday, I cast on Branching Out. I started it a few months ago and frogged it; using size 8s with the yarn I'd picked (KnitPicks Shimmer) made the stitches far too airy to even recognize a pattern. Last night, I went down two sizes to a 6 needle, and it's easy to see the pattern now. I've done about 4 repeats of the pattern, and I love it. The project I haven't finished is another My So-Called Scarf for Etsy. It's in Classic Wool Merino by Patons in Palais, and I love the rich colors - brown, purple, maroon, and blue. Today, I was catching up on my TV shows on the DVR, and switching from size sixes and laceweight yarn to size elevens and much thicker yarn was definitely an adjustment for my fingers. I didn't find it difficult, though, which was good.

I could knit all day, but it's 3:30 and I really need to get some chores done around the house. We have the Litter Robot for the cats, and it's time to change the bag. I'm also going to switch from clumping clay litter to crystals this week; several fellow cat caretakers (cause we all know that cats simply refuse to be owned) have confirmed that the crystals virtually elimiate the dust that comes along with the clay litter. My kitties have successfully used the crystals in the past, so I don't have to worry about them refusing to transition. I've already taken care of the kitchen; now it's just the rest of the house!

Ugh, and let's not even discuss the studying I have to do today. [Insert whining, bitching, & complaining here!]

Hmph.

2008-07-14T17:05:00.000-04:00

That's how I'm feeling today. Work is a little crazy today, and I've been ready for the day to be over since about, oh, 10 AM. I have an unbelievable amount of laundry to do tonight, and I would like to hurry up and leave already to go home and start on it.

Two scarves are at home waiting to be blocked and then listed on Etsy. I sewed in the ends last week at TNKC, and since it's almost that time of week again, I feel like a slacker for not getting at least one blocked. It's not that difficult; I've been busy and have been working on everything BUT knitting.

My friend Becky, the Amazing Survivor Girl, was visiting over the weekend and told me how she really enjoyed the hat I made her with stones on it. I think I'll have to investigate that a little more; I think that others would like the hat as well, but I remember having a hard time finding beads that would thread onto yarn thick enough to make a warm hat.

While she was here, Becky and I went to the beach yesterday. The water was really cold, and we were both very surprised since it's July in Florida. We had a lot of fun splashing around and letting the waves nearly knock us over (as if we really have any choice in the matter!) - it was just what I needed before this week. I have to begin studying again for the next section of the exam, and it was wonderful to go cut loose and have a good time before becoming a hermit and studying all the time again.

Summertime fun

2008-07-08T23:31:00.000-04:00

Otherwise known as the CPA exam. Took it last Wednesday and have NO IDEA how I did on it. The scoring people guarantee that I'll have results in hand by the first week of the next testing window. Hm. Next testing window start date = October 1. Yey. I will likely have taken the next section by then. Hmph.

Obviously, with the last week of cramming, I didn't have any time to knit. I made up for that over the weekend! Finished a moss stitch scarf. B. said, "If poop had a color, that would be it!" Great, honey, that's definitely a line I can put in my Etsy listing! It's very brown and olive-y with some navy scattered throughout. I hope to block it tomorrow evening and then have the listing and pictures up over the weekend.

Tuesday Night Knitting Group was a lot of fun tonight. It's interesting to look around the table and see all the diverse people who come together. This evening, we had a relative newcomer, L., come with her adorable baby. There are a couple of other mothers in the group as well. Some of us are married, some are singletons, some are in serious relationships. As far as careers go, we have all sorts: KD is a lab scientist; I'm an accountant; L. is a SAHM; JLo is a horticulturist; LB is a pastor/minister at a local hospital; and ATS is a realtor. I don't know the other members' jobs, but hey, that gives me something to ask about next week!

In personal career news, this time of year is when my employer holds annual reviews. I received a promotion this year! I was very surprised but, of course, very pleased. As my mother put it, it is a promotion in title and in pay. (She worked for the government, so I think their pay grades and staff levels may have been much more structured than the levels at my firm.) My responsibilities won't dramatically increase overnight, which is a relief. My work mentor, MH, is a manager at the firm, and we discussed at our quarterly lunch today what I can expect and how I can live up to the new position. My actual evaluation is tomorrow afternoon. I'm not sure if I'll find out then what my bonus will be, or if that news will show up on the next pay day. Either way, that will be another boost to my savings account and another dent in my credit card debt.

studying

2008-06-23T22:00:00.000-04:00

Hello all... not much going on in my knitting world. At 6/23, I'm less than 10 days away from the next section of the exam. My friend H. gave me a huge motivation boost this morning; she passed her latest section with an 83. So, I was pretty motivated to get home and study, but then fell asleep for about an hour and a half on the couch. Oh well. I can read two or three chapters tonight (depending on length, but I'm shooting for three), and then do the remainder tomorrow before & after Tuesday Night Knitting Club. Then the rest of my time will be spent doing questions and simulations.

I'm feeling all mixed up - motivated, scared, intimidated, determined, all of it.

All I know is that I am looking forward to having a few days of no studying and relaxation - and some KNITTING - after 7/2.

CPA Exam

2008-06-17T14:11:00.000-04:00

Since I'm kicking into high gear these last ... (eek!) fourteen days before the next section of the exam, I'm not knitting as much. Last night, when I was doing laundry, I was studying, instead of knitting, as I usually would be. Tonight is TNKG, but I'm not sure I'm going to make it since I have to read through two chapters this evening.

I won't even get much of a break after this exam; I'll probably avoid the next study book over the holiday weekend, but by that Sunday afternoon, I have to find the book and make my plan of attack. I am nervous about the Auditing section; I don't do anything with auditing or attest services at work. Even with the Financial section, I use about half of the materials covered in that book and need to be somewhat familiar with the rest of it. Eek!

But... if I kick butt on these two sections this month and next... I'll be done. Finishing the exams and earning that license has been way out there sometime in the future, as some goal that maybe I'll get to one day... seems amazing that it could really be right around the corner. It's strange, too, to think about being done with my formal educational process. I remember feeling this way about graduate school and my master's degree. I couldn't believe it that last semester; I just knew something would go wrong and I wouldn't be allowed to graduate. But I did. And I can do this, and I will do this.

Maybe then I'll finally feel like a grown-up!!

Busy week

2008-06-14T22:50:00.000-04:00

Man, there's been a lot going on this week. Friday was a work deadline, and I had to stay late (till 8ish) on Wednesday and on Thursday. Not much knitting going on as a result (or studying!), but this weekend has definitely been useful in catching up.

Right now, I'm cackling like a crazy woman over Monsters, Inc. I LOVE this movie!!! I'm going back to knitting... and giggling like mad.

Basketweave & Baskets

2008-06-08T13:25:00.000-04:00

I'm over halfway done with my next basketweave scarf. This yarn is a little challenging to work with, but it's very soft. It is going to be really nice when it's finished. I really wanted to stop by the craft stores yesterday and get some new stuff, but I was a good girl and reminded myself of all the delicious yarns I have here at home.

I need to get out on the balcony this and water my plants. I forget how frequently I have to water when the plants are in smaller pots or baskets. There's another tomato growing on my plants; I am not sure how many I'll get this year, but even having three little tomatoes is a big improvement over my scorched plants from last year.

TNKC

2008-06-05T21:52:00.000-04:00

I really enjoy the friendships I've made at my knitting groups. Last May (2007), I met KD at the Knit Wits in southwest 0rlando. She had just moved here a few days prior and didn't know anyone. Of course, I had to take her under my wing and do whatever I could to help her settle in to Happytown life. She is one of my best girls now, and I really enjoy knowing her. Thanks to her, I started attending a different knitting group after we moved to the northeast section of town; the Knit Wits are simply too far away to make the drive. The new group, the Tuesday Night Knitting Club, is so much fun. The other knitters have become good friends... from JLo and her bachelorette party to LR's daughter in the new big movie that just came out recently to JI looking up belly-dancing classes on her iPhone for us...

I laugh when people are surprised that I, a 20-something, knit - "Knitting's for grandmas! I bet you're the youngest one at your little knitting circle." HA! Not quite. Well, actually, I might be, but it would be by a matter of months, not decades.

I really enjoy spending the time with other crafty people and seeing their projects grow. LB is working on a market bag that I might have to steal, and V. (a crocheter) was working on a little tin-type thing. Watching her crank out the lid of the box in one evening was amazing, and then I realized that's what I do, too. I had put out several inches of my latest basketweave scarf by the time I left.

One of the other things that is very helpful is conferring with the more experienced girls about how to actually do a new stitch. Trying to translate words on a page to actual movements can be tricky, and having someone guide me has really benefited me. Thankfully, there's YouTube for the times that I can't get to TNKC.

Well - I'm out of here for tonight. Have to straighten up my desk and then get to bed. I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday!

Etsy listings

2008-06-02T21:04:00.001-04:00

I listed another scarf on Etsy last night and have another one ready to list tonight. I spent some time last night updating my Ravelry page (I'm amour over there) with projects. There's one more scarf I need to photograph; it's the one I made for my brother's birthday. I spent a decent amount of time knitting yesterday in between chores. Caught up on a bunch of shows I'd DVR'd, got my apartment mostly cleaned up, spent some time with the kitties...

And then the A/C went out.

Yeah. I live in Florida. The high yesterday was 94F. The temperature inside jumped from 75 to 83 in about 30 minutes. The husband is out of town on a work trip, so I tried everything I could think of plus whatever I could find with Google with no luck. Even calling the emergency maintenance didn't help: "Oh, we can't make it out tonight, but we'll be there first thing tomorrow morning." Slept with the bedroom windows cracked and all the fans on high to circulate the air... when I called the apartment office this morning, the sweet older lady that works there (actually, she's a firecracker when necessary) got all bent out of shape that they didn't come out last night. I was just concerned about my cats; we humans can get down to shorts and bathing suit tops, but Pax & Skye can't exactly take off their fur coats. I was very relieved when I got home after work and the A/C was fixed. I'll call tomorrow and see what they did to fix it.

So, stay tuned for more adventures in Melody's knitting and HVAC world!

Branching Out, revised

2008-05-24T22:15:00.001-04:00

Hm, so, now that I've done a few repeats of the pattern, and I think I'll have to frog it all and restart with a smaller needle. It's turning out to be far too open to even see the pattern. I haven't used needles smaller than a 7 or 8, so I'm interested to see how the size 6s will handle. I dug around on Ravelry for a while to see how other knitters' projects turned out, and seeing those made the decision easy.

But I have a kitty curled up in my lap, and she's had a rough day today, so I think I'm going to wait a few before I pick up my project again.

Branching Out

2008-05-24T19:11:00.001-04:00

I cast on Branching Out this afternoon. I definitely have to pay attention to every stitch right now - the yarn I'm using splits very easily. Not to mention k3tog is tricky, regardless of what yarn it is. I am finished with the first repeat and am on row 2 (or 17, from the beginning).

I have some stuff to get done around my apartment, but I hope to pick it back up later this evening.

Laceweight yarn

2008-05-21T21:47:00.000-04:00

Seriously tangles like mad. I was winding it from a nice hank when something went wrong and it turned into a nightmare bird's nest. I spent all night at knitting group last night untangling, stayed an extra thirty minutes after the other girls left (I was so close to getting it all straightened out!), and then spent another half-hour on it at home before I went to bed. The whole thing is in a nice, neat ball, waiting for me to break out the Branching Out pattern and begin.

It was really nice to see the other knitting girls last night. The other attendees were my dear friend KD, good friends JL and LB, and soon-to-be-good-friend LR. We didn't really get much knitting done; it was mostly just chatting and catching up. JL told us about her wedding veil crisis; the wedding is just a few days away and the only thing going wrong is the veil. I'm so happy for her!

Had dinner tonight with another group of friends; it was CJ's birthday, so we all went to a restaurant called Luma on Park in Winter Park. The food was seriously delicious. I had looked at the menu this afternoon and was horrified at the prices, but hey, it's the girl's birthday, so I'll find something I can afford. I stuck with water for my beverage and a salad for my meal. It was the perfect amount of food, and the flavors were amazing. First time in my life that I've ever cleaned my plate at a restaurant! The chicken dish was also really delicious; LB and CJ both ordered it, and LB let me have a bite of hers. It was served with oven-dried tomatoes on top and on a bed of polenta. I'm seriously craving some polenta now!

Well - after the serious sleep issues I've been having lately, I'm heading to bed. Buenas noches, mi amigos!

Lacework

2008-05-19T22:38:00.000-04:00

I finished the seed-stitch scarf last night while I was watching tv with B. Now I have two needing to be blocked and listed on Etsy, but he has my camera right now. :-/ Oh well. I can work on the rest of the listings and, ya know, block them while I wait. Instead - I started winding a ball out of the hank of Knitpicks Shimmer I bought from a Digsfriend months ago. It's Happy Dance, a color that isn't listed on the site anymore. I am planning on casting on Branching Out tomorrow at TNKG. My first adventures in lacework! I can't wait. I'm a little nervous, but I don't know why. I think it will be lovely.

Well, gotta do a few chores and then get into bed. Have to make it to the PO tomorrow morning to ship out some DVDs I sold on half.com.

Things I'm especially enjoying

2008-05-17T22:19:00.000-04:00

Blue Moon wheat ale with fresh orange slices
Grilled wings
Red velvet cake ice cream
Family Guy
Fresh haircuts

And giggling at my cat after I give her (vet-ordered) sedatives.

This morning, I spent some time on the Digs Boards re-reading the knitting thread. I have some delicious hand-dyed lace yarn from Australia that I've been trying to decide how to use, and I think I'm going to try Branching Out from Knitty. I dunno, the colorway is just amazing! It sounds like it would be a good start for lace adventures.

I'm still working on the seed-stitch scarf with the Patons Rumors; it's just going to take a little while to finish. I've added another several inches and am getting close to the end of the first skein of yarn. I need to get my kool-aid pink ribbed scarf blocked and listed on Etsy.

Last thing that's making me happy: my husband B curled up on the couch with my cats watching Family Guy with me.

two in a row

2008-05-15T10:25:00.001-04:00

Two posts, two days in a row! Little steps to better habits.

I worked more on my seed-stitch scarf last night. It looks much better in the narrower width than before; I'm glad I took the time to frog it. I watched an episode of Nip/Tuck while knitting; I've been watching it from the beginning (thank goodness for Netflix!) on DVD. I'm still in season 1; this was the episode where Meghan dies. I just ached for Sean. And silly Christian, up to his usual sneakiness. It's been a little mentally difficult to watch these on DVD and then watch random episodes that are re-airing and getting recorded on my DVR.

I had to run a couple of errands after work yesterday; one took me into the plaza with my favorite JoAnn's. I resisted the temptation and white-knuckled it out of there. Go me! I have enough yarn to work with right now; I don't need any more at the moment.

A quote on my iGoogle page that is sticking with me today: "Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory." (Albert Schweitzer) How true is that!

Little bits

2008-05-14T09:54:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to say - I haven't vanished!

Started working on a seed-stitch scarf last night. I really enjoy this yarn - it's Patons Rumors, which is acrylic and merino. It's very loose, so I'm glad I'm using my needles with sharp-sharp points. I can't imagine trying to knit this on my bamboo needles (which have much blunter points). I had started this scarf last week, but it was turning out to be much too wide. I frogged it all and restarted with a few less stitches per row, and it is a much more appropriate width right now.

I have so many yarns in my stash that I'm looking forward to getting into! I have some more Patons Classic Wool Merino, which is, of course, destined for more My So-Called Scarves. I might try to make some hats to match them, as the last pair of scarves I made were very, very long.

The next thing I'm trying to do for my Etsy shop is improving my photography skills. Bradley takes excellent pictures for me, but he isn't always available to shoot when I need pictures. Maybe I should have a real, actual contract with him ;-) Ha! That would be pretty entertaining. It's easy to find instructions online to make a light box, so I think that will be my first step. Then I'd like to get a mannequin head; finding a dress form or mannequin upper torso is also in my plan.

I missed my knitting group last night, and I missed connecting with my girlfriends. My friend E. needed help picking up an entertainment center, and since she has always been so helpful when I needed to borrow her truck, I wanted to return the favor. I definitely have to make it to knitting next week! The girls there are so helpful with advice and suggestions; I love the immediate feedback and the bonding. I don't feel like I'm 40 years older than I am (28) just because I'm knitting.

long time no post!

2008-04-25T13:43:00.000-04:00

I survived tax season! Can't believe it. I haven't had time to post or update Ravelry or do ANYTHING. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things; cleaning up the apartment, picking up WIPs, getting my stash organized, and so on.

I finished another copy of the My So-Called Scarf in harvest colors. It's posted on Etsy right now as Harvest I. The MSCS I'm working on now is Harvest On Crack - it's the same colors, but the way the yarn colors are striping looks totally crackalicious. I'm looking forward to upping my production over the summer; I have a lot of delicious yarns in the stash that I can't wait to work with.

completion

2007-12-18T22:08:00.000-05:00

another project finished! i sewed in the ends of Leslee's scarf this evening, and started on the first scarf of TLS' order. this weekend will be busy, but with being sick, i can tell that i will be spending some time on the couch getting some knitting done. that's also the plan for xmas day, i think - shall have to tell Kelly to bring over whatever project she's working on.

Boredom!

2007-12-15T22:07:00.000-05:00

So, boredom knitting tonight, garter stitch, blahblahblah. And FunFur means I have to sort of pay attention to what I'm doing. After going to bed ridiculously late and being up way too early today, I slept for about 4 hours this afternoon - which means I'll be up ridiculously late again tonight. Meh. So, I have MASH out from Netflix and some Sex and the City, so yay! knitting. :P I just don't want to go down to the car to grab the bag of yarn for the next three scarves.

At least with FunFur, I don't have to worry about tweezing the cat hair out unless the buyer/recipient is allergic!

FunFur, bane of my existence

2007-12-15T00:20:00.000-05:00

Why on EARTH did I ever make a scarf out of FunFur?? Now everyone who has seen the first one that I made is ordering them. I made one for LisaLou, and GC at work saw it and ordered one, and Mari saw GC's and wanted one, and Leslee saw Mari's and ordered one, and TLS (a partner! in the firm!) saw GC's and ordered THREE!

So, I have to be a little knitting monster this weekend. I don't feel right about starting on TLS' before I finish Leslee's, even if she doesn't actually buy it right away. I spent the evening with some of my knitting girls, and got a lot done on Leslee's. Thank god the yarn is so bulky that I can just use garter or stockinette stitch the whole way; no ribbing or other real pattern to follow. I'm just a little concerned because I don't think that Leslee realized the colorway she liked so much stripes the way that it does. It won't be a big deal if she doesn't like it; I'm sure someone else will buy it... I just don't want to disappoint my friend.

I'm just a little frustrated because I have a lot of other delicious yarns in my stash. I know Leslee isn't in a super-rush to have hers, so I cast on a My So-Called Scarf in the Rosewood colorway last night and was really looking forward to working on that. That scarf is going to be gorgeous; if we go to NYC for NYE, I am definitely keeping that scarf for myself. I can't wait to work with Homespun - I will have to swatch MSCS and see how that yarn turns out in it.

Well, I might be heading out to have a beer with my honey and a friend, so more to come later!

ethics in knitting

2007-10-16T19:36:00.000-04:00

Well, my previous dilemma has been solved. I contacted the author of the My So-Called Scarf pattern, and she said that the person who posted it on the Sheep in the City blog actually doesn't have any authority to distribute the pattern. However - she gave me full permission to sell scarves made from the pattern as long as I don't give out the pattern itself. So, that answers that question.

I'm working on becoming a better seller. I ordered business cards from V!staPr!nt, and they should be here soon. I bought red ribbon, rubber heart stamps & red ink, white tissue paper, and beads. I have made up care labels to attach to each scarf and stamped them with the red heart stamps, and will attach them with the skinny red ribbon. Then I'll wrap each scarf in the white tissue paper and tie a wider red ribbon bow around that. If I have to ship them, I'll wrap each one in plastic.

On the business side, I've been thinking about how to keep up with the expenses and track yarn purchases to specific sales. A coworker suggested using Qu!ckB00ks at work but I'm not sure if I should do that. I have to talk to my mentor about other, work-related things, so I will ask him then. For now, I have an Exc3l workbook set up to track everything. I've designated one of my checking accounts to be strictly for this little business, and after I get my W@chovia credit card paid off (it has a relatively low balance), I'll use it if I need to for business stuff. I plan to become an LLC next year, I think, just in case someone has some crazy reaction and tries to sue me. For now, I will just do it under the table to figure out my business plan.

I've completed my commission for Lisalou and for my coworker LG. I just have to deliver the scarves to LG tomorrow! I've already started on the commission for GC, but real life is sidelining me.

Orders

2007-10-06T19:28:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been working on Lisalou's scarves for a little while and was nearly finished with the last of her order. I was thinking about what to do next, and one of my co-workers came to my desk to ask about the scarf I sold to another coworker. It ended up with her commissioning six scarves! Two or three for herself and three for Christmas gifts. The original co-worker decided that Christmas gifts sounded like a great idea and ordered two more herself. Then one of my friends saw the signature pointing to my Etsy shop, and is figuring out what colors she wants out of a FunFur scarf.

Score!

So 6-scarf coworker is getting a decent discount for such a bulk purchase. The other two - not so much.

My previous quandary has come back up again. Since I'm new to all of this - I'm not sure what the rules are for selling scarves knit from patterns. I understand that a pattern published in a book or that has to be paid for shouldn't be knit and sold. It should be gifted or kept. I have no problem with that at all. But what about free patterns? Specifically, the My So-Called Scarf pattern? I made three before I knew about rules like this, and have sold them, and they are very popular. I don't try to claim the pattern as my own and gladly point people to the website where I've found the pattern. Also, the person who posted it says that the people who came up with it don't care about the distribution. When I have sold these - I take the position that I'm charging for the materials and my time. I don't want to take credit for the pattern at all. So is this okay? To absolve my concern - I think I'm going to donate part of my profit.

I just want to make sure I'm not stepping on anyone's toes just because I'm new to this. Hm.

So, here's what they ordered:

GC: (by 12/15)
1 Seed-stitch scarf
1 Boucle garter-stitch scarf
1 FunFur scarf
3 MSCS scarves

LG: (by 11/30)
1 Boucle garter-stitch scarf
1 Seed-stitch scarf

I have one of the boucle scarves done, so I think I'll go ahead and do the seed-stitch scarf to finish LG's order. GC knows that LG's order is due sooner so I think she'll understand. I really like the yarn I've picked for this one but jesus does it shed.

Other things to figure out:
Exact pricing structure so I know how to negotiate in the case of more wholesale orders
~~Business cards (anyone have any recommendations for relatively inexpensive suppliers?)~~ - went with V!staprint
~~Care instruction cards~~ (I'll just print these on cardstock but I need to figure out the details) - found several websites with legends for care labels; will just prep them for each scarf as they are finished.
When to make this official as far as legal & tax issues

Sales!!

2007-08-08T11:00:00.000-04:00

Sold the two scarves I have listed on Etsy and another one before it was even listed! And the buyer wants to buy four more. SO. Time to dig into the stash. The Lilac top is going into hibernation and I'm starting with the fun fur yarn. This will be fun and crazy - my mother made me a black & white scarf out of this yarn, and I love it. It doesn't look very substantial, but it's very very warm and feels good on my skin. So I hope whoever ends up with it loves it.

The buyer makes gift baskets for sale at craft fairs, and she's putting my cards into the baskets with the scarves, so this is promotion and sales at once. I gave her a pretty good discount since this is more of a wholesale sale than a retail sale, and because it will hopefully generate some traffic on my Etsy site.

Hurray!

hiatus

2007-08-05T20:25:00.000-04:00

i was washing dishes about a half-hour ago, and cut the blazes out of my right thumb with the blade of the food processor. it was dripping blood before i lifted my hand out of the dishwater... i expected the butter, garlic, and bleu cheese that was on the blade to make it sting, but it didn't. the blade was really sharp, so it didn't hurt, really; i knew i'd done it, but that was it.

i can type because i'm used to hitting the space bar with the knuckle of my thumb... but work tomorrow is going to suck. well, maybe not too bad - i just tried out the keypad, and i hit the 0 with my knuckle, too... but sorting through stacks of paper will be a pain in the rear.

and knitting? hah. any pressure on it, and it starts dripping again. i cleaned it out really well with peroxide and soapy water, and have a bandaid on it pretty tightly, but it's going to be sore tomorrow. i hope this heals up soon.

oops.

KUI

2007-08-04T23:49:00.001-04:00

Or, knitting under the influence.

Great time to start a new project, eh? I spent the afternoon studying for the CPA exam, and tonight, I had a cider (Woodchuck) with dinner. Which meant no more studying, that's for sure, and no work on the Little Lilac Top. I'm waiting to hear what the pros say tomorrow at Knit Wits, so it's okay not to work on it again just yet.

Well, I have this ball of Patons Classic Merino in the Regency colorway (am I using that term properly??), let's see what I can come up with. I poked around on Ravelry, and earlier, I had seen a friend's pattern that used seed/moss stitch. I really enjoyed using that stitch on the BBBB, so I decided to just crank something out. Along with opening another bottle of cider.

So far, I have 1o rows of 30 sts of seed stitch, and just finished another 10 rows of a K2/P1//P2/K1 rib pattern on top of that. I'll just keep going with the 10-10 pattern and see what happens.

And have another cider ;-)

I'd rather be....

2007-08-02T12:17:00.000-04:00

KNITTING!

Am at work with no work to do. I've sent out the available e-mail, but no one has any work for me right now. Which means I should be studying - but I'd rather be knitting! Waaaah!

I think I shall surf around for a few minutes and try to find some other knitting blogs I can link to on here.

little lilac top prep work

2007-08-01T21:15:00.000-04:00

Since I finished the ribbed scarf #1, I decided the next thing I'd work on would be the Little Black Top from Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook. If you go here and go forward through the pages, it's close to the end, opposite a cowgirl in a red bikini. Since this is an article of clothing, I'm being more careful about picking out the appropriate yarn and needles and such. I found this gorgeous MicroSpun from Lion Brand but it's not exactly the right gauge. It's also acrylic, and the pattern calls for Classic Elite Provence. So I guess I have to figure out how to adjust the pattern (and so I pull out Stitch 'N Bitch Nation). Knit Wits is this weekend, so I think I'm going to swatch it out on size 4s, 5s, and 6s, and see what the real pros at the group think.

I was nervous when I was starting the swatch with the size 4 needles - they are tiny and I'm afraid I will just snap them right into pieces.

No sales on Etsy in a while :( I put up an announcement about a sale ($10 off); my prices seem to be right in the middle of the range, so I'm not sure if I just need to promote more or what. My husband was pretty discouraging - I was looking at the free business cards over at Vistaprint, and when I asked him what he thought of a design I'd picked out, he suggested that I wait until I sell more before I do anything like that. Well, Etsy isn't that huge yet - so yeah, I might need to advertise some on my own. Most of the people I know that aren't crafty (ie, most of the people I know IRL) have never heard of it. Granted, we live in Florida, but still! People have friends and relatives that live in other (colder) states! Man. I was a little peeved over that, but whatever. I know he was just trying to be helpful.

Ribbed scarf #1...

2007-07-30T09:33:00.000-04:00

... is finished! My brain just fried last night around 9:30, so I sat on the couch and watched tv and knit. I am pleased with the feel of it - so soft! - and it warmed up within a couple of minutes of wrapping it around my neck. It could be a little longer, but that's the beauty of blocking.

I have to leave around 10:45 for the exam; I'm planning on blocking it before I leave. That way it can dry while I'm gone this afternoon, and maybe my husband can take pictures of it tonight or tomorrow evening, and it can be up on Etsy at the end of the week. Hurray for another FO!

Ribbed Scarf #1

2007-07-29T15:50:00.000-04:00

So, first post - but not my first blog ;) SO. I'll just dive right in.

I'm studying for the CPA exam, which is taken in four separate parts. I'm scheduled to take one part tomorrow morning. The amount of material covered in each section is ridiculous - 800 pages in the study book for the 'easiest' section. So. Needless to say, I have to take study breaks - and that's when I pick up my knitting. It's easy to crank out just a few rows and let my mind wander (or go back over the material I just put down!) and then go back to studying a little refreshed. At least I've produced something with my hands, even if I can't really see the results of my studying.

I'm really enjoying this yarn - Patons SWS in Natural Earth. On this last study break, I just whipped out about 15 rows and made it through a couple of changes in color.

I'm still learning how all of this knitting goes. I'm on Etsy, so I have to learn not just knitting, but also how to sell my stuff. I wanted something to do with my hands and something that would make me some money... so I really need to figure out a way to get business over there. Oh mighty populace of the interwebs... any suggestions?