Knots and Tangles

Blogging has taken a backseat to life

2008-04-15T21:03:00.004-04:00

A friend of mine just recently sent me a link to her blog about knitting and gardening. Of course I went to look at it, and this triggered me to check out my own blog. I figured it had been maybe 6 months since I've posted anything... ha! Come to find out it's been almost exactly 1 year since my last post. Time flies, seriously. They (whoever "they" are) say that as you get older time seems to go more quickly, and I buy into that completely! A little too fast sometimes...

I have no excuse for my blogging absence through about mid-summer. That was just plain negligence on my part. But, since the beginning of August, life has been non-stop it seems. Two vacations in August (a week or so in the Outer Banks of NC, followed by a cruise on the Norwegian Dawn!) and then back to some serious work on the house in preparation for putting it on the market. Weekends in September were spent painting, cleaning, etc. and finally toward the end of October we put our house on the market. We had one (long) weekend off for a trip to visit my husband's grandparents in Florida -- we did more traveling in that three month period that I usually get to do in three years!

Selling a house is very very stressful. Even once you're "ready" to put the house on the market, it's a constant job to keep up with the cleaning and preparation for house showing appointments and Open House, etc. House hunting is also extremely stressful, but is fun! We received and accepted an offer on our house in early January, and less than 3 weeks later we made an offer on a house that we both fell in love with. The stressful times did not end there -- we had a few "difficulties" with the chimney and the roof and the furnace on our old house, and almost weren't able to follow-through with the contract on the new house because of this crap. But, in the end, we made it!!

However, before we had our closings, but after the better part of the kinks were worked out, I had some unexpected medical issues of my own that landed me in the hospital for a few days in mid-February. Made it through that, then March is my "hell month" at work, and I ended up having to take three days off in the middle of the month for the big move. We finally closed on our houses on March 14, just about 1 month ago!! The closings themselves went well, but the physical moving of our belongings from the old house to the new house was a nightmare. But, we're in our new house now, and I absolutely love it. The house itself is great, much larger and roomier than the old house. I'm loving the quiet and the fresh air, and passing fields of horses and cows on my commute to work every day. And we have quite a bit of land up here in the country, and like my friend who's blogging about gardening I've started to think about where my garden will go, and what veggies I'll be planting! My grandfather is coming sometime this week to plow out my garden, then we'll see how my "black" thumb fares in the garden.

As for knitting -- now that the house is fairly well set up, I actually picked up my knitting earlier this week for the first time in at least a month and a half!! Prior to the move, there was a project I had been working diligently on. It was a lace project (a rectangular shawl that I'd actually planned on using as a table runner) using lace weight yarn for the first time -- I was motoring along, getting pretty good with the pattern and BOOM: I caught a mistake!! I'd been pretty careful about checking my stitch count at each row and somehow I screwed up, and ended up trying to fix the mistake in multiple ways (for multiple hours) but with the intricacy of the pattern and the delicacy of the yarn, I ended up turning a small mistake into a complete DISASTER and, I won't lie, I sort of lost my knitting steam for quite some time. I was very disappointed and angry and, well, pissed off!! I tried frogging back but with all of the yarn overs and 3 stitch decreases in the pattern I quickly lost the whole thing. Ugh. It makes me nauseous to think about it now, and this occurred back in January! I threw the project back in the knitting bag, and it's still there to this day. I haven't had the heart yet to completely frog it, and I think it'll be quite some time before I have the heart to cast on for that project once more (if I ever do).

I'm currently working on a throw blanket that eventually will get "thrown" over the rocking chair in our new den. Ironically I picked out the yarn and color (it's Bernat Softee Chunky in "Soft Taupe") and gave my husband the details for my "wishlist" at Christmas time, well before we found our new house and bought our new furniture -- turns out, it's a perfect complement to the furniture in the room. Who knew -- knitting ESP! The pattern I'm using is from Knitty.com and is called Totally Autumn. I like this pattern. It's a relatively easy lace knitting pattern that you can pretty much follow while watching TV, and since that seems to be pretty much when I end up knitting! I'll get a picture up here eventually (maybe next year?).

I think that pretty much covers it. There was some other knitting since last year (up through about January when the knitting disaster struck), but nothing major that I can think of! I hope that now that we're settled I can start back into my knitting once again!

Knitting updates

2007-04-18T20:00:00.000-04:00

Some things I've been working on since Christmas or so - -

Following the purple bag that I knit for my sister in law (and subsequently kept for myself... I'm selfish like that), I decided to begin a similar bag in a light tan color yarn that my mother gave me. It has no label, but I suspect it's a wool blend. It's an interesting color because it looks tan from a distance, but up close the yarn is composed of many pastel colors. Here's what it looks like in it's current state (it's been a dormant WIP for quite a while):

Another long dormant project of mine are the Lion's Brand Magic Stripes socks (this time in a blue/purple colorway) as shown below.

As you can see, sock 1 is almost complete. I've had a hard time finishing what I've started since becoming employed!

Here's a project I actually finished:

It looks sort of funky in this picture, but it's a basic hat knit for myself with some Lion's Brand Wool-Ease. Not surprisingly, I started knitting matching gloves, finished one of them, and moved on without finishing the second. Knitting ADHD in action (or, more appropriately, inaction)!

Next up, with my new found yarnbuying freedom (relatively speaking) I allowed myself the pleasure of ordering some Noro Kureyon from supercrafty! for another Booga Bag (color #180). Here's a peak:

It's relatively done, except the straps but I've actually been working on it so it may be done before next year. Exciting!

My current actively active project is the Candle Flame Shawl from the KnitPicks website, using KnitPicks Shimmer yarn (as shown in the sample pictures on the website, Turquoise Splendor). I chose this color not because it was the color shown, but because it reminds me of the water, specifically the ocean.

It was a bit of a challenge, as I began the shawl once last summer and got about midway through the first repeat (around row 15 I think of 36 rows) when it got put aside due to frustration. I was having a difficult time visually following the chart (which, back then, charted across all 97 stitches, which made it very easy to get lost). Then, I picked it back up a few weeks ago and realized that I had made a very fatal error way back when... instead of knitting the purls and purling the knits on the wrong side, I was knitting and purling following the chart (which makes more SENSE, but whatever). So the pattern on the little bit that I had completed was all wrong. I knew that I would not be able to live with not having followed the pattern and that it would bother me for eternity, and so instead of just plowing on and completing all 70 inches of this mammoth beast, I ripped it out entirely. KnitPicks adjusted the pattern and consequently adjusted the chart so that it could easily be knit as a skinnier scarf and is therefore much easier to follow. I'm well into the second repeat and going well! I was unsure that I'd have the stamina to complete it, as the first go through on the repeat took me FOREVER. However it seems to be rolling along quite quickly now that I've gotten a handle on the pattern. I'm very pleased with it thus far.

I'd like to have it done by mid-May to wear to a wedding. However, if that goal is found to be unattainable, my next goal is to have it done by August to bring on our CRUISE!! We're heading off in August to the Bahamas and Bermuda on a 7 night cruise on the Norwegian Dawn. It's the first cruise for my husband and I. For years my parents wanted to have a big family cruise because they've enjoyed several cruises over the years. It'll be my first time in a place with crystal clear turquoise waters and all of that... and I cannot wait!!

6 months later...

2007-04-16T20:44:00.000-04:00

I'm about to Lose my Marbles. Hazard of the job, I guess. The job is going well, not to mention busy. It's a busy time of year for me (and for the teachers as well) and being that it's my first shot at organizing all of these things called Annual Reviews, it's been a learning experience for sure. A few notes on having a job:

once acquired, one realizes they're not that great and there's a lot to be said for being able to sleep in
money is helpful in many areas of life
vacations are like a lifeline... and are WAY more fun when they're paid vacations!

Just popped on this blog to see what was up... turns out Google took it over, which is fine... but in the process of switching this site over to Google's setup, I found all of these comments that people left months and months ago. Last I'd been on here, there wasn't a single one (I thought) and so I sort of gave up after I got the job... now I realize people actually DID look on here! How exciting!!

Though not posting, I still have been knitting on and off though not at the frequency I had been before!! I need to organize my photos and refresh my memory as to what I was working on before, what's been completed, and what's been started!!

A sad turn of events (for my knitting, anyways)

2006-11-27T19:16:00.000-05:00

Got the job!

My first day was Halloween, so I'm coming up on my 1 month-versary. I'm at a private day treatment elementary school for emotionally disturbed children. As mentioned below I actually used to work at this same school, as a classroom aide, while going to school to become a psychologist. I left my aide position in order to do my internship. The previous school psych at the job left for a public school job, I heard about it, applied, and was hired. It's a tough job, with many components and responsibilities. I am never bored, and have PLENTY to do. It's also a great diet plan, because I don't have the time to have a leisurely lunch. I eat enough to get me through the day and move on!

It's wonderful to have income and something to do that makes me feel like a productive member of the household and society!

I have been knitting, but not very much. I finished my mother-in-law's Reversable Cable Scarf, a Lion's Brand pattern. I used Lion's Brand Wool-Ease in Charcoal, which is the same color used on the scarf in this picture:

I could post a picture of my finished scarf, and I will just as soon as I actually FINISH it (weaving in the loose ends and blocking it). But for all intents and purposes, it is complete.

In the meantime, I've begun work on a Corkscrew Scarf, pattern in Loop-de-Loop. I'm knitting it in Bernat "Frenzy" in the Black Blast colorway. It's pretty funky, but I think it will suit my younger sister-in-law quite well. It's a fun and relatively easy pattern for a pretty unique looking scarf.

Still looking... still knitting

2006-10-22T12:42:00.000-04:00

I've been very busy these past few weeks. Not working, unfortunately, but knitting for sure. Evidence seen below:

This is the finished purple cabled bag... originally intended as a gift but after much careful consideration, probably not. Had to follow my "heart" and the "rule of the handmade gift": don't give it if you're not sure the person will appreciate it. I am not sure... so therefore, how do you like my new bag?? This was my first attempt at a lining, which I did in a black satin-y material (on sale b/c it's so close to Halloween!). I just sort of made it up as I went along and I think it turned out really well. And I just love the buttons.

I've also been working diligently on a pair of gloves for my dad (completed this week) with a hat to match. Both gloves and hat are knit with Patons "Classic Wool" in "Blue Storm" and a tan colorway, possibly "Camel," not sure.

I also started a small scarf, using the leftover turquoise yarn from my mother's turquoise raglan sweater. I'm using this A Touch of Whimsy scarf pattern, and so far it is looking lovely. I put it on the backburner, though, to start dad's gloves because frankly they were easier to knit while watching Sex and the City Season 5 on DVD... hard to follow a lace pattern when you're watching shows, I've found.

I also bought some yarn to begin a scarf for my mother-in-law... pattern TBA.

In job news, I may have a job. I interviewed at my old place of employment on Thursday. I had to leave that agency (I worked in a day treatment elementary school) to complete my internship, plus it was a per diem position that really did not pay well. So, as I left on good terms with the agency, AND since as of Thursday I was the ONLY CANDIDATE... chances are looking good. I should find out early this week and if so: let the celebrations begin! If not, then I work at Target. Because this cannot go on any longer. (Oh, but I do have an interview scheduled with an agency that works with the mentally retarded next Friday, so I guess Target comes AFTER that interview.) I had hoped to hear on Friday, but I didn't.... so this weekend has seemed VERY LONG because I want it to Monday so I can get a call that says "you're hired!" And if I'm not, then I want to know so I can get my application in at Target.

Back to school blues

2006-09-27T15:26:00.000-04:00

It's well into September now. Kids are back in school, teachers are teaching. My former fellow graduate schoolmates are all working diligently, most within the profession we trained for. Whereas I am here, at home, still.... waiting! It's truly fantastic. What amazes me more than the fact that I am still here and unemployed is that I can manage to do so little with the time I have. It seems that the less I have to do, the less I do overall.

I have been knitting though. My knitting ADHD is still out of control, but I have been knitting nevertheless. A few weeks ago, I began a project with some yarn I had in my stash... label-less but I'm certain it's acrylic. I don't have a picture yet of the results up to date, but here's what she looked like a week or so ago:

The pattern is from this website and can be found here. I knitted mine with my Denise Interchangeables size 5, with the worsted weight purple acrylic from my stash (which came from my mother's stash.... and who knows where it came from before then). The intent is to line it with some sort of material (maybe a black satin-ish type....), find some antique-y silver buttons for the closure at the top, and give it to my sister-in-law for Christmas. As of right now, the body of the bag is completed, bound off, and seamed along the bottom, and the handles are almost complete. All in all a relatively quick and easy project... and my first attempt at cabling! Not as hard to do as it looks, for sure. I like the bag so much (as well as the color... I'll have to be strong to give it away), I've already chosen another selection of yarn from my stash (wool, I think) in a light tan/beige color for a similar bag of my own. I have to be STRONG and not begin it at least until I finish the purple one!

I've also been working on a small bag for a friend, who requested a "flat, square, brown bag with a longish strap." It just so happened that I had some chocolate brown (as requested) yarn lying about, and a severe case of knitting ADHD to prompt me to begin swatching RIGHT AWAY. After attempting several stitch patterns unsuccessfully (holes too big, too intricate to be seen with the dark brown yarn) I settled on a relatively simple pattern and began the bag in the round. Pictures to come. Now we've been discussing closure options (she opted for no flap, open top with a snap). I've never done a snap before, so I'll have to do some research to decide what would be best for this type of thing.

I finally finished the purple gloves a few weeks ago, as shown here:
No, I didn't manage some funky circular light/dark purple pattern... the flash did some funky business. But I am quite pleased with my first gloves... particularly since they fit, and they are the same size! Success!

I also started a pair of purple/blue socks using Lion Brand "Magic Stripes" yarn. Just because I didn't have enough projects to work on.

To keep me busy otherwise, my husband indulged me a bit a few weeks ago with a new Yamaha keyboard, with a very nice Grand Piano voice that sounds very much like a piano. I had said for a long time that I wanted to learn to play the piano someday, and while browsing in the stores we came across a similar model to the one I have, played with it, and that got the ball rolling. Several weeks and a few "Intro" books later, I am attempting to learn in the "classical" way, reading notes and understanding music, how it's written, etc. I've also got a few books that I think might be considered "fake" books, geared toward keyboard playing (as opposed to piano playing) that allow me to delve right into playing "Yesterday" and "Supercalifragilistic" melodies. I have been doing pretty well with playing at least every other day, if not every day, and love the fact that I can see progress from day to day. Unlike with exercising for weight loss... you just don't see those immediate and satisfying results. Probably explains why I play piano WAY more than exercise. One of the many reasons, I'm sure.

Summer's gone

2006-09-01T16:06:00.000-04:00

We have returned from a successful, week-long trip to Waves, NC in the Outer Banks on Hatteras Island.
The weather was relatively cooperative, especially compared to last year! This year, it was in the 80's most days, low humidity, and sunny for 5 complete days. The other two days were cloudy and rainy in the morning, but generally clear by the afternoon. The rainy day gave us a chance to visit the North Carolina Aquarium in Roanoke Island.
The ocean was gorgeous... it felt a bit chilly at first but was comfortable to stay in and get thrashed around by the waves for a while.

All in all, a very relaxing and appreciated vacation by me. It was nice to get away from the stresses of not having a job yet, with the upcoming school year approaching in less than a week. I've resigned myself to understanding that I will not be jumping right into my dream job, as school psychologist (preferably in an elementary or K-12 setting). Instead, I find it more realistic at this point to be working in a "related" type of job in the area, at least for a year or two. Experience seems to be the big word in these interviews. But enough about that.

I wasn't very productive in my knitting while on vacation. I brought along my newest project, the Candle Flame Shawl, but since I'd stupidly left the chart of the pattern at home in the car, that didn't get very far. I did attempt to do a row (ONE ROW!!) using the written out directions, and found that to be so disastrous and difficult that, after unknitting the entire row (b/c I'd screwed up big time), I put that away for the rest of the trip. I also brought along my Frozen Lake shawl, which I did work on for a bit on the way down, as well as the Picovoli still in progress (2 inches to go, give or take). But I felt very ADHD on this trip, and couldn't seem to concentrate on any one thing for too long. I had, up until that point, been one of those people who could sit contentedly in the car for hours reading a book without caring if we stopped. However, on this trip I couldn't get into ANYTHING, even magazine articles were too long to hold my attention. Bizarre.

However, since my return back to reality, I have been a knitting fiend (while watching Season 2 of "Sex and the City" on DVD). I have finally finally finally completed those damned purple gloves I started many months ago, as well as "Hitler's Scarf." Hitler's scarf is a black scarf, made with an entire skein of Lion Brand 'Homespun.' It's for my friend's mother, who so admired a similar scarf I made for my friend out of 'Homespun' in a blue colorway. I did that scarf on size 13 needles, about 25 stitches across I believe, in garter stitch all the way. A very EASY and simple scarf... she didn't even want tassels or a fringe. So that'll get sent in the mail sometime next week.

I also worked on and finished the Frozen Lake Shawl. It is currently being blocked, but here it is pre-blockage (on the floor, attractive).

It is now blocking, with just pins. If I don't like the way it turns out (which I won't, I can say that already) I'll have to move on to some sort of wire or something. Not that it really matters, as I don't wear shawls...

That's pretty much it... Now I leave you with a picture of where I'd like to be right now:

Those lacy days of summer

2006-08-14T12:55:00.000-04:00

The Frozen Lake shawl is coming along splendidly, if I do say so myself. I have not detected any major or even minor mistakes... and if I haven't detected them, then they are not there. And that is final. So far, I have 9 repeats of the pattern completed. The pattern calls for bind-off after completing 15 repeats.

This weekend we're leaving for a one week vacation on the Outer Banks in NC. I'm trying to decide whether I want to bring Frozen Lake with me for completion (or near-completion, anyway) on the trip... or if I wanted to start my new lace project this week, the Candle Flame Shawl from KnitPicks so I can bring that with me. Here's the yarn (which is actually in the same colorway as the pattern picture shows):

I have no solid reason why I don't want to just bring my Frozen Lake with me and keep on keepin' on. Maybe because it is called "Frozen Lake" and I am going for "fun in the sun"? Maybe it's just knitting ADHD. Plus, I realy love that turquoise coloring... so ocean/sky reminiscent. When it comes down to it, I'll probably just lug along my Frozen Lake like a good girl.

Yarn over, baby.... it's too hot for this

2006-08-01T12:23:00.000-04:00

So we're still having North Carolina weather in Upstate NY. Yesterday, 90... today, 100! Insufferable. (But hey, by the time we're actually in NC -- three weeks!!-- we won't even notice the heat anymore.... right??). I can't complain too much, I secretly love the heat. But I also secretly love a break from the heat once in a while too.

In honor of our heat wave, I've begun my second lace project: The Frozen Lake shawl. Well, that's sort of a lie. I have begun Frozen Lake, but not in honor of the heat wave (just ironic) and while it is technically my second lace project (Yoga Mat Bag being the first), it's my first REAL lacey, more intricate pattern. I was a bit nervous starting off. I was tempted to run a "life-line" through every other row, because I was so paranoid. But, honestly (and knock on wood) it's going well so far.
Here's a bit of a close-up of the pattern:

As I said, I feel it's going well so far. It's being knit with Knit Picks Shimmer (100% wool) in "Morning Mist." Which is exactly what this sample for this pattern was knitted with, and oddly enough I had, rather randomly, chose this same yarn in that color without having a project in mind last time I'd ordered from Knit Picks. It was written in the stars.

I'm using my interchangeable needles in size 8, as the pattern calls for. I didn't check my gauge because I don't really care.... the pattern calls for 1 skein and I have three. So... whatever.

Picovoli's gone by the wayside for now... it's just too hot to keep her in my lap as I finish up the last 2 inches or so. As soon as it dips below 80 with less than 50% humidity, I might be able to hack it.

Feeling hot, hot, hot!

2006-07-15T17:47:00.000-04:00

It's been forever since I've updated my knitting progress... and the progress has been minimal, unfortunately. Sometimes I just knit and knit and knit during any 5 or 10 minutes (or longer, for sure) that I can manage to work it in. Then all of the sudden, around the Fourth of July weekend, I hit a wall. In fact, just the other day I realized that I hadn't even picked up my knitting at all in 6 straight days (except to move it out of the way). I think there may be something wrong with me!! I'm back in the game now, though, I'm glad to report. I've continued working on my Picovoli by Grumperina, and it seems to be coming along well. I'm enjoying the yarn, as it is a gorgeous color and so soft.

My needles... it's quite odd. They're the inexpensive Boye circulars in size 2 (which I realized partway into my Picovoli that I probably should have used a size 3 to get the exact gauge... but as usual I was impatient and since I didn't HAVE a size 3 circular... ). Anyways, the tip of the right needle has become worn down almost to a sharp, flattened edge.

As you may or may not be able to see, the needle on the left (which, in this current project, is my left hand needle) has a worn area where the green color is gone, but it is still rounded. However, the needle on the right (my current right hand needle) has a distinct slanted, sharp edge.... not entirely accurately shown in this picture. Trust me, it's there. I'm hoping that next time I use these needles, I'll remember to switch the direction so the pointy one is the left hand needle, maybe I can even it out!

Anyways, here's my progress on Picovoli:

Close up of the shaping decreases above the waist

So, as you can see it's coming along nicely, and I should have just enough yarn to complete the project. I bought the seven required skeins, but I frigged up one of them pretty badly... a badly pulled-out center of the ball mishap. I saved it, just in case I run out of untangled yarn and need it as back-up, but it's looking pretty good that six will just BARELY complete the job.

This ugly bug decided that the Picovoli was at least good enough to lounge on for a while.

As for life in general... It is damned hot here, and will continue to be for the next few days. It's ok, except that because it is just so hot and muggy and we never bother to put in our air conditioner (b/c truthfully, we only really NEED it these 4 or 5 days each year... and we're lazy)... so my desire to throw a half of a tshirt sized project into my already sweating lap just does not appeal to me that much. Which is unfortunate, because the heat really makes it impossible to even consider doing anything else productive!

I have really only one job prospect in the works right now. Got a rejection phone call on the same day that I had an interview about a week and a half ago... and then got a rejection letter just yesterday as a result of that previous interview. However, I did get called for a second interview at one school, but I won't hear about that particular job until probably the end of the month. I'm trying not to get my hopes up... but other than having sent a few resumes out, this is all I've got to hang on right now. There are a few that I may get interviews for... but to be quite honest most of the other jobs that I've only gone so far as to send resumes for, I'm not really too interested in them. I suppose at this point I'll take whatever I'm offered... but wouldn't it be nice to find something and accept something that I actually want to do, in a location that I would want to live in??? Wouldn't it be nice...

One of the interview questions that keeps coming up is "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" My immediate reaction to that question is this:
IF I KNEW THAT, I wouldn't feel so DAMNED STRESSED about having to SIT HERE in THIS CHAIR, trying to sound EDUCATED, INTELLIGENT, and EXPERIENCED when I don't feel ANY OF THOSE THINGS!!!!!!!!!

Thankfully, so far, I've managed not to answer in that manner.

Happy Fourth!!

2006-07-04T23:12:00.000-04:00

Happy Fourth of July!!

View of the Empire State Plaza (Albany, NY) fireworks, from my attic window.

Knitting as a diversion

2006-06-22T22:41:00.000-04:00

To sum it up: No, there isn't (a light at the end of the tunnel... at least not yet). 'Nuff said.

I've decided that I have knitting ADHD. The Obodoh scarf is still in process (the kiwi bird design is completed and I've managed to weave in all of the ends, and it actually looks pretty decent...) and I have "odoh" and part of the "b" knitting in. However it is rather frustrating, and again I'll reiterate that knitting intarsia in the round is not so fun. So that's the sort of project I pick up occasionally, but is not one that I yearn to sit and knit away at.

While that is going on, I also have the damned second purple glove, which is so very close to completed yet I just got bored with it (and seeing as though it's 85 degrees and humid, I'm not exactly thinking winter these days). So it's still "in progress" but on the backburner, for sure.

So to occupy my (as of today, again) unemployed and worried hands and mind, I have started the Picovoli by Grumperina. I'm using KnitPicks Shine Sport in "Violet", with number 2 circulars. I have just gotten through most of the raglan increases (it's knitted top down) so no interesting pictures yet. So far I love the feel of the fabric, so soft. And the color is nice too. I hope it fits!!!

Pictures to come... first I have to find my desk under this pile of stuff. What is this stuff? Where does it all come from?

Could there really be a light at the end of this tunnel??

2006-06-10T17:12:00.000-04:00

I had an interview yesterday, which I felt went very successfully. It was my first "panel" type interview, in which 5 people were all in this room interviewing me. I thought I would be a nervous wreck (and I was feeling sick to my stomach up to the point of walking into the room) but I somehow managed this composure that I didn't know I had. It was weird. I was able to speak coherent English. I really think I nailed this interview, and being that the school is IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE I'm hoping that there weren't many candidates, which gives me a better chance. I went into the situation rather ambivalent about working there.... and when I left, I was excited that A) the interview was over, B) I had done what I think to be a pretty damned good job, and C) I would really be interested in this job. Moreover, I think I have a good chance, and that is the best feeling ever.

Obviously there are downsides as well as upsides to this potential opportunity:

Upsides -- it is a brand new position, the district didn't even have it's own school psychologist before, so the person who gets the job (me???) would essentially mold the position to whatever he/she wants it to be. It's a unique opportunity, and one that I think I would do well in. It's full-time, tenure tracked... and a nice small school that I'd feel comfortable in.

Downsides -- it's far away. It would involve moving, but we planned to do that. However, it is 1 hr and 45 mins from our house right now... not exactly a happy commuting time until we find a house more in it's vicinity. So, that's a potentially scary situation... one that could involve me living in a hotel room 5 days per week and coming home on weekends for a few weeks. Cross that bridge when we come to it, as they say. Another potential downside: I have no idea what the salary might be. Could be kind of shitty given that it's a small district that's in a relatively lower class area. Not ultimately important, but something to consider.

I should find out by the end of the coming week if they're interested in bringing me on board... will my poor, stressed heart be able to wait??

Cold and rainy

2006-06-03T16:29:00.000-04:00

We're back to the chillier and rainy weather again. Just in time for me to finish my first glove (note: not pair of gloves, but single glove). I took it straight from The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns: Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes & Guages by Ann Budd. I used some purple worsted weight yarn of unknown origin (my mother had it in a bin of yarn) and size 5 bamboo DPNs. Here she is:
The pattern was easy to follow once I'd copied the pattern pages and highlighted the numbers corresponding to my size and gauge. As you can see, nothing too complicated. I thought for my first pair I'd stick with the basics and try for fancier stuff later. Now comes the boring part, glove two!

Wool socks seem a bit much this evening

2006-05-30T21:02:00.000-04:00

Well, we went from 50 degrees and rainy last week, to hot and humid (and now, raining) this week. Seemed like the perfect time to finish up the "Magic Stripes" socks. Check 'em out!This picture is fun because not only does it show my lovely socks, but the wall that I painted as well.

Wearing the socks was a bit steamy but I just had to try them on. Here's a picture (a CRAPPY picture, I have no idea why it came out so blurry) of my mom, wearing her turquoise raglan sweater:

So I don't know if she's dancing and I'm also swaying to the music, or if I had the camera on some crazy setting, or what was going on... but there she is. It FITS! Perfecto!

And here's the interesting Yoga Mat Bag, in a bilious shade of green. As you may notice, the strap is completed though not yet attached.

On to my newest fiasco... and it will be a fiasco. I don't know what I was thinking. That's not entirely true; I was thinking that I'd like to try some intarsia and I'd like to make something for a friend of mine for Christmas next year, and I thought I'd try to combine the two tasks into one.

So the deal is... I have a friend who has a solo music project. You can see his website and hear his music here

Obodoh

As you can see, he has a lovely little birdie as a "logo," and his musical name is Obodoh. So I thought to myself that it would be a great idea to knit this little birdie on a scarf to start off my intarsia fun. Upon thinking about this plan a bit further, it came to my attention that intarsia on a scarf was a great idea, as long as there was some sort of backing to it (particularly on a beginner's intarsia experience!). So, I gathered ideas from a great bunch of guys and gals on the MySpace.com group Stitch 'n Bitches. They were very helpful (have been and continue to be!). Some ideas included knitting the scarf on straight needles, then sewing on some sort of backing. Another idea was to knit it in the round, which would be helpful in avoiding having to sew. Knitting in the round sounded like a great idea at the time, so that's how I proceeded.

HOWEVER... what one (read: I) didn't consider in this was that as I knit intarsia in the round, when knitting more than about 5 stitches in any single color, it creates a situation in which the yarn has to be cut on EACH side of the piece every friggin row. As opposed to knitting on straight needles, in which you can usually just pick up the color of yarn where you left it to continue in the pattern back and forth. So yeah. Can you say HUGE SPAGHETTI MESS??? Weaving in all of those ends has not been fun in the least. You live and you learn.

I had gotten quite far into the project before I realized why this was such a pain in the neck, so I decided that I'd just tough this one out. My plan is this:

On each end there will be the bird on one side, and the letters "obodoh" on the opposite. As you can see in the picture, I got the "doh" part done. Yay! The middle of the scarf will just be straight black stockinette, easy schmeasy.

To get the pattern for the bird, I went to this great website at which I uploaded my .gif of the picture, and it shot out a lovely graphed out chart of the picture. The charts for the letters were taken from this website. In order to make it easier to see, I transferred the chart onto graph paper with larger squares, which I created at another fabulous website. Is there anything one CAN'T find on the internet? How did people ever get ideas for projects and fixes to problems without it???

Now I'm trying to decide what project to start next (while the Obodoh scarf is on hiatus). It'll probably be something small (gloves??) so that I don't have to have fabric sitting in my lap during this heat wave!

Happy Memorial Day

2006-05-29T21:16:00.000-04:00

I'm tired and weary yet feel it necessary to post something, as it's been a week. I realize that there are millions out there waiting with bated breath...

This weekend was Memorial Day weekend, the official kick-off of the summer season. Surprisingly, gas prices in the Capital Region stayed where they were. In fact, I even saw the price in some stations go DOWN a cent from Sunday to Monday. Interesting, if not very helpful or comforting.

It was a gorgeous weekend here, which was great after the crap week we had full of cold, rainy days. The campers up in the Adirondacks really got their money's worth, for sure. Instead of camping, we went up north to Moffitt Beach with my parents and our dogs. My brother had a site up there with a friend of his, so we just sat and "shot the shit," if you will. Typical campground activities: going for a walk, sitting by/poking the fire, eating, and doing nothing. Oh, and of course I had been smart enough to remember my second "Magic Stripes" sock and got a few rows of the foot down.

Today, we went to the biggest event of the YEAR: The Town of Galway Memorial Day Parade!! Never has such fun and excitement been had by literally hundreds of people. We've fallen into a pattern for Memorial Day, one which I do not mind in the least. We get up early (well, I mind that part), go to breakfast at Chuck's (local diner and 'hot spot' for the high schoolers), then stand outside in front of Chuck's for the big parade. My dad and brother act like fools for the candy that is thrown, comments are made about what's missing or new in the parade that year, then we head down to the park in the "center" of town to buy some used books to support the Galway Public Library. All in all, a down-home country kind of day, which is just fine with me.

Next time, pictures. Now? Bedtime!

Yay for weekends

2006-05-19T23:44:00.000-04:00

I finally got a chance to finish up the turquoise raglan sweater for my mother this week. I had her try on the almost finished product last weekend, when everything was complete except the second sleeve. I am proud to say that it seems to fit beautifully and she seemed pleased with the results. I will take a picture when I give her the finished product, whenever that may be.

Since that project is finished (SUCCESS!!) I have moved on to another project that I've had in my project queue: the "Om Yoga Mat Bag" from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation.
The green is just about as crazy green as it is in that picture... I'll just say that it was on sale. It's Lily "Sugar 'n Cream" in Hot Green. And it actually looks pretty cool in contrast with my blue yoga mat. Interestingly enough, I don't even use the yoga mat. Maybe once every six months. However, I felt the urge to try my hand at a lace knitting project and this seemed like a relatively easy and very inexpensive project. Plus, it'll provide me with a place to keep the unused yoga mat! Fantastic.

In employment news, I have my first REAL interview on June 1 for a full-time elementary school psychologist position in Amsterdam, NY. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm optimistic about the outcome... considering the fact that many other candidates have graduated or will graduate at this time of year. So the small pool that I graduated with, many of whom I'm sure would like to stay within "the 518" will be applying. Oh well, life sucks and then you die, right?

If this rainy weather doesn't break soon, I just might hurt someone.

My sense of humor is warped

2006-05-16T18:14:00.000-04:00

If you have a sick sense of humor at all, you have to check this link out. Totally hilarious:

www.yumlum.com

Beats the hell out of a scarf (no pun intended).

Update, schmupdate

2006-05-11T18:51:00.000-04:00

I ask myself again, WHY exactly am I writing things and posting things? I'm fairly certain that the "clicks" I do receive are simply people surving through the blog ring and accidentally end up on me. Only to leave ASAP. Again I ask, why do I bother? I'm not entirely sure, but I know that I continue to do it, so I might as well shut up and get on with it.

So the job is going well. It's been about two weeks now, so only 5 more to go which is sort of sad. It goes so damned fast. It's been pretty relaxed all in all, I've got some things that I'm working on that keep me busy enough, but not so busy that I'm a crazy woman. Like today, for example, I didn't get much done. But yesterday I got a load done so I think I'm even.

Last night I shopped as if I was actually making a school psychologist's salary, which I am not. However, I do have to look the part, and since all of my summery clothes were casual (partly due to the fact the job I had last summer required casual clothes)... I spent some money. And, truth be told, I don't feel bad about it. So THERE!

Got a new coffee maker thing today. Chris picked it up and gave it a whirl. It's one of those that you can make basically single servings at a time.... but it came with two 16 ounce travel mugs. It deposits the coffee right into the mugs, and you can do them one at a time or both at once. Very handy for me in the morning, when I don't want to make a whole huge amount in the percolater we have. Yay!

The turquoise raglan is coming along. It's been tough being back working full time along with tutoring. And you should see the laundry piles!! Scary!

The Big Apple

2006-05-05T16:14:00.000-04:00

I played hooky yesterday and joined my husband on his business trip to NYC yesterday. I had always intended to join him on a day when he only had a short meeting in the morning, and yesterday was that day.

We left Albany (well, Rennsselaer) at about 8 a.m. and arrived in New York (Penn Station) at 10:30 a.m. While Chris and his boss went to their meeting, I walked down a few blocks to Union Square, where I spent a few hours just mostly sitting, enjoying the gorgeous day, and watching the dogs in the dog park. Though there were quite a few people around (doesn't anybody WORK???) it was very peaceful and I actually just enjoyed sitting there, watching the people and the dogs. I'm not usually such a "sit and do ABSOLUTELY nothing" kind of person... but it was good.

After that, I met up with Chris and we took in a few hot dogs, as well as some mango and papaya juice, at Grey's Papaya (the #1 special with sweet onion sauce... yummy!). From there, we decided to hoof it down to the World Trade Center site, as neither of us had been since 9/11. On our way downtown, we walked along the Hudson River Park

Looking downtown at the skyline, sans Twin Towers

Some pictures of the activity going on at the World Trade Center:

By this time, we were both overheated and our feet were killing us. There's only so much draw a beautiful day can have, so we headed underground to take the subway back uptown to Times Square.

Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square

Once there in Times Square, we decided it was time to sit in someplace cool and have someone provide us with beverages. So, since Chris had never been, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for an early dinner/late lunch/afternoon snack of salads and diet Pepsi. I enjoy the Hard Rock Cafe experience with all of the fun memorabilia on the walls and loud rock music playing, and it was wonderful to sit down out of the sun and heat and drink like a fish. (We made sure to use the bathroom before we left).

After our respite, we headed for the TKTS booth in order to find some tickets to a show. Which we did. But before heading to the show, Chris wanted to spend some time in Central Park. So again we headed for the subway. There were quite a few people out, and we stretched out on the big rock and basically just hung out for probably an hour or so, shooting the shit and taking random pictures of women singing with full face veils on and a bum who seemed infatuated with or fascinated by the pieces of wire holding the lengths of fence to the posts surrounding the lanscaping work in the park. In a nutshell, boring in a good way.

Then it was time to head BACK downtown to Greenwich Village, where we found our theater destination, then set out to find another snack (really, we just didn't have it in us to walk anymore so we had to SIT somewhere). So we had a dinner/snack at the Peculier Pub on Bleecker St. We just had sandwiches, and we did not have beer though the bottled list looked pretty extensive (alphabetical by country!).

A crappy yet still visible picture of a clown mosaic made of beer bottle caps at the Peculier Pub(yes, that's PeculiEr, not PeculiAr)

After that pit stop, it was time to head just down the street for our show at the Village Theatre to see "I Love You Because..."

I won't go into all sorts of details and what have you about the show, other than to say that it was an acting cast of 6 people that must have an incredible amount of energy. It was entertaining, funny, and I really enjoyed it. I don't have a lot of experience with musicals (on Broadway, off-Broadway, or otherwise) but it kept me entertained and the 2 hours flew by and that's all that matters to me.

UNFORTUNATLY, fly is what we had to do after the show ended. We had really cut it close by taking in a show with an 8pm start time "all the way down" in the Village. The show ended at about 10:15 and our Amtrak train left at 10:45. We made it, fortunately, because that was the last train of the night. We would have been stuck in the city for the night, which would have been expensive (compounded by the fact that I would have probably missed work today too...)!!

I wanted to sleep on the train, since we wouldn't get home until 1:30 a.m. However, people are morons. And morons have technology. And morons with technology tend to have the LOUDEST technology, because he/she is too much of a moron to realize that other people don't need evidence of every single flippin' time one presses a flippin' button on one's F@*$&N' phone. Not to mention Moron Supreme, who sets a flippin' alarm on the flippin' phone, then proceeds to fall soundly asleep so that the rest of us are subjected to hearing that alarm for an entire HOUR before my darling husband decided to go (literally!) shake the guy out of his slumber and tell him to turn it off!

And that was our day. We got home and crashed, and I had to get up at 6:30 for work. YAY! Now I'm tired, and I think I need a nap. And my calves hurt. I won't even MENTION my completely ripped up (formerly BLEEDING) feet b/c of my F@#$IN' shoes. Damnit.

My brain hurts

2006-05-02T17:53:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if it's possible, but I think going back to work has given me a brain ache. I came home yesterday from my first day back at the middle school with a flippin' migraine. Mind you, I had a relatively stress-free day, had the office to myself and basically spend the day sorting through emails and piles of paper just to get things organized. I was wrecked when I got home! I had a probably more stressful day today, in that I got more of an idea of what I was to be doing and actually had tasks to complete, etc... yet today I don't have a headache. I'm tired, but no headache. So I really attribute yesterday's ill-feelings to the thinking equivalent of "brain freeze." After four months of chilling, knitting, tutoring, and doing household projects, going back into the role of School Psychology threw my poor brain for a loop.

I got my books in the mail yesterday, though, so I had that to come home to. After I took some pills and a nap, I flipped through those suckers. I really liked looking at the animal knits book, and I have some projects I'd like to try out... but I think the Ann Budd books are going to be extremely handy. They're pattern books that provide the patterns for VERY BASIC projects, with the information on how to add/change details to your personal taste. But more importantly, the patterns are given in chart form in which you choose your yarn gauge that you are working with and the size of the object (i.e. gloves for a child's size, or a hat with a certain circumference), and you simply follow along with the pattern, inserting the numbers from a chart as you go. This allows you to not only knit with whatever yarn and needles you want, but it gives you a great blank canvas on which you can add your own designs (like intarsia, or stitch patterns). The one is all different project (hats, mittens, gloves, scarves, and a basic sweater) and the other book is all sweaters. I can't wait to try out a pattern...

However, I am still working on the turquoise raglan. Getting there! I have about 2 inches left of the torso before I end with 2 inches of 2x2 ribbing. Then all I have left are the sleeves. I tried it on yesterday and it seems to be the correct shape and all of that. So that's a good sign! Though, as my knitting time has been drastically reduced, it probably will not get done by Mother's Day as I'd thought it might. Thankfully I wasn't counting on it as a Mother's Day gift!!

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

2006-04-28T21:43:00.000-04:00

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

2006-04-26T21:58:00.000-04:00

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!

2006-04-26T13:46:00.000-04:00

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!

2006-04-23T14:26:00.000-04:00

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

2006-04-22T13:25:00.000-04:00

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

2006-04-20T23:36:00.000-04:00

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

2006-04-19T00:43:00.000-04:00

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'?

2006-04-12T19:46:00.000-04:00

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....

2006-04-11T11:24:00.000-04:00

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: