Knitting and jobs and boys, oh my!

Well.



I don't know where to begin.



The past six weeks or so have been pretty crazy. The technical difficulties were real - my power supply died and it took me a couple of weeks to get it replaced. After that, it's been hot (too hot to sit in this stuffy office) and I've been hunting for a job, and dating a boy, and generally trying to crawl out of the cesspool of negativity I've been wallowing in for the past eight months.



So, first the important news: the secret knitting project that kicked my butt, was almost finished on time, and did get finished in time to be sent with its owner to an important event.



The wrap is a 30th birthday present for one of my dearest friends, N. She's attending a wedding in her home province this week, and needed a dark wrap to go with the stunning dress that she bought. We could not find anything appropriate, so I decided to make her one. I had to choose carefully. N does not wear wool (in fact, she hates wool, and I do not hold that against her, but it's difficult). N also if very trendy, and would not wear anything that was folksy or hippie-like.



So, after Icarus was done, I was flipping through the summer IK, supposedly looking for a pattern suitable for my Sea Silk, and was struck by the pattern. I figured I could shorten and widen it, find some lovely black silk, and away I would go.



It took me a month to knit the first six inches. I have never tinked and frogged so much in my life. The sad part is, IT'S A FOUR ROW PATTERN (and two of the rows are straight purling). It's my own fault. I thought it would be easy, after Icarus, and it should have been. I just could not get it through my head that it was "k2tog, yo," and not the other way around.



Details are as follows:



Pattern: Montego Bay Scarf, Summer 2007 Interweave Knits.

Yarn: Ella Rae Silkience, nearly five balls.

Pattern modifications: 5 mm needles, 16 inches wide and approximately 66 inches long before blocking and fringe.



N is quite pleased. She will look stunning at the wedding.



Other news:



I begin a new job on August 8, and I'm so pleased about this that I can hardly stand it. I'll save the story for another day, but I am so glad that I achieved the goal I set at the end of June and found a really good job for the beginning of August. I am going to a company that really values its employees, has a wonderful reputation, and the work I will be doing is a return to real accounting. That's the best part. I can't wait to get back to doing what I do best. Which is bang out accurate and highly analyzed financial information in a timely manner. I really, really hope that this will be as good as it seems - I want to love my job again.



For the past six weeks or so, I've been dating a man exclusively. He's a skinny little nancy-boy, totally unlike anyone I've ever dated. It's breaking the rule I made a year ago, that I would NEVER again date anyone shorter than me. But, I like him. He makes me laugh, we can talk for hours, and for a change, he's my own age. I've even met his son (something I have never done before) because if I don't screw this up (and I've come close - another story for another day) I think he will be around for a while.

That's it, for now. I need to get out of this stinking hot office, sit outside with a cup of coffee and my Ipod, on which is the latest Harry Potter. Why didn't I investigate audio books earlier? Makes knitting sooo much easier when not flipping pages at the same time.

Catching up

These are Wendy's toe-up socks. I was thoroughly ticked about the lack of a gusset (I thought my big feet needed a gusset) but I have changed my mind. Short-row heels and toes rock. Sooo clever, so much fun. Turns out, she also has a pattern with gussets. I will try that next...er...soon...er...maybe someday.

Why are toe-up socks so cool? Because this is how much I have left over:

It's Koigu. I needed to use as much as I could.

What have I been doing to prevent blogging? Enjoying the summer! Coming soon: the reveal of a secret project, and how it kicked my butt.

I'm baack!

Sorry folks, technical difficulties over the past few weeks. Much fun and updates to follow, shortly.

I promise.

If I stop having fun. It's summer in Manitoba, after all. The best fun is here. Are you sad that you are missing it? You should be.

Sittin' and spinnin'

Yesterday and today just flew by. Spinning is so much fun, and I suck. I can't wait until I'm good at it - how much more fun will it be then? The mind boggles.



We all had a wheel to play with, lots of different fibres to try, picked colours to dye a fleece, heard all about washing, dying, we steamed yarn, plied yarn, combed fleece, carded fleece, used a drum carder and skein winders and niddy-noddies. I finally figured out what an orifice is, and why it needs a hook.



Even tried using a spindle. I suck even more at that, but I bought one and a bunch of fibre anyway. Also bought some dyes. I learned what Scotch tension is, and what a lazy kate is, and some of the history of spinning, and how different fibres spin differently.



And, and, and it was so much fun that I never want to go back to my crappy job. I just want to sit in the country among the flower pots, battling mosquitoes and spinning. Seriously, if I wasn't all responsible and grown-up like, I would stop squashing my inner hippie, live in the boonies and spin.



Here are some photos:

Dating and stuff. Well, not so much stuff as venting.

Apparently, I'm the smartest, prettiest woman he's ever seen.



That sort of freaked me out. I've heard that before, many times. But never when I was in a place to say "I think you are cute. And not stupid." Well, that's not true. I've heard that before, but never when both of us are in the right place.



Since I am just finding my right place (again) I lectured on subject 3(A) - A woman does not need a man to feel smart and pretty.



The lecture I gave is about how an woman's identity is not tied up in who she's with. I can't begin to say about how strongly I feel about this - If I have learned anything over the last 10 years, it's that I only need me (and my girly pals, can't do anything without them).



Can I "break up" with a fellow before we even get started? Well, yes. Or, I can spend the 20 minutes explaining that I have had a long life of romantic "entanglements", if that's a word, and can we just eat the over-cooked steak that you requested and enjoy the evening?



Maybe my dating "break" should be permanent. Boys are stupid. Even if they are cute and only a little bit dense.

P.S. This is not the fellow who said that he loved me. I still haven't decided what to do about that. I think, right now, doing all the silly things I am doing, that it's nice that somebody loves me. Whether he does anything about it (or not, and I know he won't), it's just nice to know that I had an impact on someone. Isn't that what it's all about?

Strange winds a blowin'

There's something strange in the air. I don't know if it's the heat, the humidity, the spectre of huge thunderstorms on the horizon, but I smell change.

The first clues came several weeks ago, but I didn't pick up on them until last week. A couple days later, I was in a terrible situation, didn't handle myself well. Then, this week at work has been absolute hell. When work is hell, my personal life suffers. I've also had some candid off-the-record conversations with people whose judgement I trust. It's not just me being a princess. And management likes the situation the way it is.

I'm job hunting. If there's going to be change, I'm going to be in charge of it.

There, that's one decision made. Strangely, it's a relief. Making the decision is the hard part. Now that that's done, I look forward to the next opportunity. Which may come as early as next week. Cross your fingers for me.

I hereby solemnly swear

that I will finish these sweaters very, very soon.

I have one work appropriate sweater, and I've been wearing it while gardening. Not fit for the office right now. So, today, I shivered at my desk wearing Icarus across my shoulders and another wrap over my legs like a blanket. I had goosebumps everywhere all day. Not at all work-appropriate in a thin white t-shirt.

Details:

Blue sweater is this cabled hoodie (cover pattern). The yarn is Briggs and Little, grown and spun in New Brunswick and purchased in Halifax. I do believe I was a little bit drunk in that yarn shop (I had to phone the nice people at Visa in order to eat for the last two days of my holiday). That was BEFORE I got seriously back into knitting after a brief hiatus. I started the sweater when I got home. That's right. It's needed a hood, zipper and sewing up for about four years now. I decided this winter that the reason it wasn't done was because I, however much I adore hoods on casual sweaters, do not like them for professional wear, and I dress half-assed professionally all the time. Even on weekends. I know, I'm a freak. Then, there's the whole zipper thing. I've never done that before with knitting. I don't do well with zippers and fabric, so this could be interesting.

The bright-screaming purple/pink is this pattern. Yarn is Galway Heather, and I adore it. It's thick, not scratchy (to me. I have a leather hide, I think). It's straight-up 100% wool, good for just about everything. I bought the yarn this winter at my beloved Wolseley Wardrobe, just when I started going to knit night. I wanted a bright, simple cardigan for the office, and I wanted it quickly. Sadly, it got cast aside when I could no longer bear to only think about Icarus any longer. Oh, and some hats and about a thousand pairs of socks got in the way.

I realize it seems strange to be thinking about finishing sweaters when we are staring at the two hottest months of the year, but damn, the office was cold today. (Of course, two meals in two days and only four hours of sleep last night had nothing to do with it, correct?). For the record I was not hung-over. Though, the only thing missing was the headache. The rest of it felt the same.