A stroke of luck... at the expense of others

Just yesterday, I was given a fabulous offer for a temporary, full-time job subbing for my former internship supervisor at the middle school. Unfortunately this comes about as my former supervisor's been out a lot in the past few months, dealing with family illness. I am excited about the opportunity for several reasons. First of all, it's excellent experience that will look fabulous on my resume. Then, of course, there's the obvious monetary reason. Also, I have missed being 'in the field,' and it will be nice to be back doing what I trained for, in a school building that I am familiar with, working with colleagues that I enjoy working with! Even beyond that, I like the idea of being able to help my former supervisor, as I know she has had a tough year thus far and this will be a way for me to hopefully repay her for her role in my education. All in all, I was at the right place during an unfortunate time, and I couldn't be happier that I was (supposedly!) their first pick for a temporary replacement psychologist.

Unfortunately, this will cut into my knitting time. Blah. Such a catch-22: When I had all the time in the world, I had no money to go CRAZY with knitting supplies (mainly, yarn). Now I'll have a LITTLE extra money to play with... but no time! AHH! I think I'll get over it.

Ironically, the same day that I got the initial email asking me if I'd be interested in subbing, I had gone on Amazon.com to spend my $25 gift card. As usual, spending a $25 gift card lead to spending an additional sum of my own money... maybe I knew a job opportunity was coming my way?? Here's what I ended up with, and should be delivered next week:

1. Toy Knits : More Than 30 Irresistible and Easy-to-Knit Patterns By Debbie Bliss
2. World of Knitted Toys By Kath Dalmeny
3. The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns : Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes & Gauges By Ann Budd
4. The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns: Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes & Gauges By Ann Budd

Meanwhile, my raglan sweater is progressing nicely. I won't bother posting an update picture b/c it essentially looks the same as the last picture, only a few inches longer. I also took a break from the sweater to continue work on my long-neglected "Magic Stripes" sock #2... the heel flap is in progress.

A sweater, and an aching wrist

The turquoise raglan is probably close to halfway done. I've stuck pretty much with the pattern as given, except that I've added some 2x2 ribbing on each side under the arms to help add some shape to the torso. It's tough to say how it'll fit my mom, but I did try it on and it fit me snugly so it should be a comfortable fit on my mom, which is what she was going for. My friggin' wrist and upper arm is feeling sore so I think I ought to give it a rest for a while!! Here's a picture of my progress:

It's official!

It doesn't get me any further along on my job hunt, but my official New York State certification in the area of School Psychology arrived in the mail today!! Yay!! In other news, I may/may not have a temporary gig at the middle school at which I interned currently tutor. It comes under less-than-ideal circumstances (my ex-supervisor's parents have fallen ill) and it would be a TOUGH time of year to 'take over,' but it would be an excellent opportunity and I'm just glad that it has been mentioned to me and that my name came up as the person for the job (if it exists). Someone thinks I'm competent! It'll be interesting to see what happens with that.

As for my knitting progress, the raglan sweater is falling off the needles faster than you can say "lazy bitch." I haven't gotten a thing done around the house, but what the hell. Pictures later! I also bought some yarn yesterday for two new projects that I have in the 'queue.' One is a scarf that will require intarsia, which I'm looking forward to trying out and I'll be thrilled if it turns out well! The other is the Yoga mat bag (from the Stitch 'n Bitch Nation book). Not that I ever use my Yoga mat, nor do I take it anywhere... but it's a (supposedly) simple lace knitting pattern and it was cheap cotton yarn, so I thought it'd be a good intro to lace knitting for me.

Rain rain, go away!

Don't know who I was kidding yesterday, I didn't get anything done. I decided that since I was still sore from my adventures in home improvement the day before, I'd "take a day off" and knit. Big surprise there.

I began a simple Top-Down Raglan Sweater (customizable pattern from knittingfool.com), using a turquoise yarn that my mother gave me specifically for the purpose of making her a sweater! The yarn, which I believe is acrylic, came from a sweater that she had and didn't like because the shoulder seam hung halfway down her arms. She handed me the sweater just after I told her about a link I had followed (from where, I don't remember) that led me to a website that described how to unravel a sweater in order to re-use that yarn. She dug in her closet, and I was in business. Here's the basic schematic from Knitting Fool:

Here is my progress so far:

left: after about 3 hours -- right: after a few more!

I'm using my Denise Interchangeable needles. The 2x2 ribbing at the neckline was made with size 6s, and the rest using size 8s. It's going pretty quickly and is relatively easy so far. After my last sweater fiasco,I was a bit leary about starting a new sweater but as of this very moment I'm optimistic. We'll see how I feel when I get to the arm/torso division!

Perfect day for slippers

First of all, our cat Socrates (aka "Kitty") has summed up my sentiments for this day perfectly:

After several days of beautiful, sunny weather, we're stuck with a rainy 40 degree day here in fabulous Upstate NY. Sounds like a good day for knitting to me... but unfortunately, the rain will NOT give me a good excuse to NOT finish the bathroom painting/grout haze removing/cleaning projects at hand.

However, last night after my deck painting binge, I did manage to come up with enough energy, stamina, and patience to do the finishing work on my "Felted Slippers with Stretchy Cuff" that I have decided will be the Mother's Day present for my mother. Sewing is not my forte, nor do I particularly enjoy it. This project unfortunately required sewing not only once around each ankle area to attach the cuff, but twice in order to attach the little i-cord finishing edge. If I was skilled, I probably could have done it in one step but I am not skilled. So, here you have it:

They may be sort of silly looking, but they are rather comfortable and warm!

In other news, I received a $25 gift card for Amazon.com for using my Amazon.com VISA card... and now I don't know what I want to use it for!! Too many options... any suggestions? I've got Stitch 'n Bitch and Stitch 'n Bitch Nation already... are there other books I NEED to have? I'll have to do some research I suppose.

Seems like a good day for soup... too bad I can't go make soup wearing these warm and toasty slippers. I don't think my mother would appreciate opening them with dog/cat hair and dirt caked to the bottoms and small splashes of food on the tops. I guess it's back to my old store-bought slippers :o(

Timing is everything

Earlier today, I'm just getting ready to re-tool my generic "letter of interest" to send with my resume and other pertinent paperwork for a full-time school psychologist position for next September, when my little email notification 'dings.' Without too much boring detail, this email was from another school district that I had recently sent my resume to (in essence, the only other full-time opportunity I'd recently applied for)... the gist of the email was that someone within the district had expressed interest in the position and therefore the position no longer existed, and that it wouldn't have been posted had this inconsiderate asshole individual expressed interest sooner. Needless to say, that was not the most optimistic event to get me "pumped" to send out a new resume! Will I EVER get a DAMNED INTERVIEW?? That is the true question. Don't get me wrong, I dread the idea of going through my first interview for my first real career job... but I'd really like to get it over with so I can get on with it!!

Regardless of all that... I finally got around to felting the crazy tropical colored slippers for my mom. It was irritating, because of course I didn't go all nutty checking my gauge because I knew I was felting these things and usually felting patterns say that gauge is not so important... so naturally they came out to be HUGE. So I felted them the regular way that I do, then I re-felted them... then I threw them in the dryer, then I felted them by hand in my kitchen sink. At long last, they were approximately a size 9-ish (thankfully the members of my family have large feet!!). Now they're sitting, stuffed with baggies, and I have to wait for them to dry before I can add the little cuffs and cord trim and be DONE! Yay!

I'm at the heel flap of my "Magic Stripes" Sock #2. I'm still in the process of felting my large tote (needs some more individual attention from yours truly). I love to felt items, but damn if it doesn't take forever in our current clothes washer (which is probably from 1982). I'm not sure what I want to work on next... I'd like to try something with intarsia, or maybe some lace knitting. I have TONS of "Magic Stripes" sock yarn but I'd like to try something new before doing more socks... plus if I use that, then I have no excuse to buy new yarn! So I'm not sure what I'll do next. I'm trying to get some housework/housefixing projects done too(in anticipation of the "big move" which is, of course, in anticipation of the "big job"), so I have a feeling whatever project I choose must, sadly, take the backburner.

Back from the Nickel City

We have returned safely from our trip to Buffalo to visit the in-laws. As suspected I did get some time on the ride as well as during some old movie to do some knitting, so I finally finished sock #1 of my Magic Stripes sock (see below) and started the cuff of sock #2. I also knitted up the handles for my large tote (also below) except that I didn't bring enough of the yarn to finish up the last two rows of the second handle, but that is mostly done so hooray! It took forever to knit that damned tote, I hope it turns out alright after it gets it's warm sudsy bath (along with the tropical slippers).

So we had a good time on our trip. Saw some friends, did some drinking, played some poker, and watched some movies. We actually drove through a cemetery for fun. It doesn't sound fun, but the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo is really beautiful, and it was a gorgeous day (Saturday), the daffodils were blooming... and I didn't know anyone personally who "resided" there so it was all good.

We had another "field trip" on Monday to tour the Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna, NY, which is a gorgeous place that is affiliated with the agency at which my father-in-law is currently the CEO (Baker Victory Services). In fact, the basilica is located across the street from the main offices. This is after we had lunch at Curly's, which has the most awesome black bean soup, if you're into that sort of thing (and I am).

I'm off this week from my tutoring fun, so I'm hoping to get some work done in and around the house (and some knitting, of course). I'm trying to decide which large project I want to tackle next, as I have a sweater that is completed but needs to be fixed. It was my first sweater (the Donna sweater at Magknits.com), and it actually turned out well except that I was an idiot and did not do a proper gauge swatch and now have a rather large sweater that should be relatively fitted to the body. I was going to just let it be, but then my mother suggested that it wouldn't look funny as a looser sweater if I made new sleeves (the originals were 3/4 sleeves that looked ridiculous on the new, unwanted non-fitted style!). So as much as I dread ripping out the seams (which I hated doing the first time) and unraveling those suckers only to reknit them... plus I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do to make them fit better... I figure it's worth the effort since I put so much effort into the body of the sweater and all of that.

My other large project is a sweater for my mom (pattern yet to be determined) out of some yarn that she had a sweater made out of once before in a turquoise color (her favorite) but she didn't like the sweater (made by some old lady) b/c the shoulders were halfway down the top of the arms and looked a bit silly. I felt guilty frogging that sucker b/c I know how long it must have taken that person, but at the same time it was sort of a good de-stresser AND... it was free yarn for me!

On that note, the chocolate covered coffee beans that I OD'd on earlier seem to have finally worn off. Goodnight!

What's a happenin'?

I've finally gotten around to taking pictures of my recently finished projects as well as my works in progress (WIPs). Here's the dime tour:

• This was my first-ever attempts at socks, using "Yarn for Sox" (wool/nylon blend, worsted weight) in 'Red Mix.' In all honesty the yarn is a bit scratchier than I'd like, but I did get it on sale at The Periwinkle Sheep.

Yes, they look a bit funny layed out flat on the table, but on a foot they do actually look like socks.

• Next up, the "Felted Slippers with Stretchy Cuff", found here at Knit Picks, knitted with "Sock Landscape" yarn in 'Tropical Sunrise' (again, bought on sale!!). They're completely knitted up, and I'm just waiting for some other felting projects to be ready before they take a bath.
  

The color is a bit funky, as it was knitted with two strands at a time. I'm hoping it'll blend well after felting the main part of the slipper.

• Here is a current WIP, some basic socks knitted with Lion Brand "Magic Stripes" yarn in 'Sea Blue.' I'm using the pattern that was included with the yarn, which is just a basic sock pattern, nothing too fancy. This is my first attempt at socks using relatively small needles (size 2). So far, so good.
  

• Here's my my "Booga Bag" (free pattern from Black Sheep Bags), knitted with Noro Kureyon (color #134), which is 100% wool and fun to knit with because of the fun stripey pattern that isn't always predictable. It was my splurge buy about a month ago, but I am enjoying using this bag as much as I enjoyed making it.

This is the before felting (top) and completed (bottom) bag.

• Last but not least, for now, is a completely make-up-as-I-go creation that will hopefully turn out to be a large tote after adding handles and giving this sucker a nice warm, soapy bath (along with the crazy tropical slippers). This is made with "Yarn for Sox" in 'Blue Denim,' with a stripe of KnitPicks "Wool of the Andes" in 'Mulled Wine.'
  

That is the end of the dime tour. I hope to be able to finish the first of the "Magic Stripes" socks and start the second this weekend (a nice(?) five hour trip to Buffalo and back ought to give me some good knitting time). Happy Easter, if you so choose to celebrate! (And if not, Happy Easter anyways... you can still have a good day even if the holiday is not for you!)

Let's see how this works....

This is my first post. I have no idea why I feel the need to have a blog, other than the fact that everyone and their mother seems to have one, so why shouldn't I? This will be the place that I post my knitting, and probably a few rants about my employment status as well. That's my story.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a lovely display of some of my completed projects of the past year: