Knitting, spinning… and probably some bitching.

So I’m one of those lucky (read: childless) knitters that has a room simply for yarn, needles, wheels, fiber and whatever other little doo hickey that catches my fancy. And what do I do to it?

Behold:

So I thought that my sister visiting was why I had stopped knitting, but it turns out that I’m just not feelin it. I don’t seem to want work on any of my current projects or start any new ones. Shocking isn’t it? Pretty annoying, too since I still don’t have a job therefore plenty of time…

Actually, now that I think of it, everything is a little slumpy. It must be January!

I’m hoping to have a pre-interview by the end of the week so that should perk me up. Maybe I’ll do some stash diving and see if I can’t get myself moving again.

I’ve just finished a really good week. My youngest, and pregnant, sister visited. She is having a girl and the knitting possibilties are great!

We played games, ate out a lot and basically just hung out. (I took the opportunity to ignore the dishes. What?They deserved it. Little punks just kept multiplying whenever I turned my back.) We visited one of my LYS so Sis could point me in the right direction for good baby yarn colors. (Definitely not traditional. Thank goodness.) Soon there will be a pile of baby socks as high as an elephant’s eye!

One highlight of the week: Waterloo Blackhawks v. Indiana Ice. (I just try to follow the puck, but R and Sis kept me in loop.)

One of my goals for 2009 is to write more for the blog, so there might be lots of short, kinda off topic entries. (Until I start slacking again.)

I’ve found yet another fabulous resource at my local library. “Playaways” are mini mp3 players loaded with one complete book. You connect your own headphones and push play. So simple, so convienent. I imagine that I’ll go through the local library’s catalog pretty quickly.

Other goals for this year include: eating more vegetarian, eating less (in general), getting out of breath more often (exercise), and oh yeah, finding A JOB. Knitting-wise? More stash busting, less stash enhancing.

At the moment though, I’m working on a birthday gift for my youngest sister and listening to a fascinating nonfiction acount of the mutiny on the Potenkim.

And my view? A kitty who has no sense of personal or knitting space…

2008 was quite year! I worked at some really interesting places, had my first hospital stay (and surgery!), met some great new people and moved to Iowa. Whew.

In general, it was actually a pretty good year. As a greedy human, I hope 2009 is better, but I can’t complain.

Happy New Year!

(gratuitous/celebratory sock shot)

It hasn’t been that long since my last update (my finger is almost good as new and knitting has commenced!), but since then R and I have packed all of our stuff, rented a new place in Cedar Falls, IA, moved said stuff to said new place and, finally, after holing up with the cats in a Motel 6 until our Milwaukee jobs were finished, have relocated. Whew.

It’s been… insane horrible challenging around here.

R has gotten a(nother) new job, this time in Iowa. Since no one in Milwaukee wanted to hire me permanently, I thought I’d give someone the chance in Waterloo/Cedar Falls. It’s strange how people loved hiring me for contracts, but not so much for permanent positions. Maybe I smell funny? I’m pretty sure I didn’t smell in Missouri… Oh well, nothing left for it but to try, try again, eh?

Mean time, when possible, I’ve been spinning (jammed finger didn’t mind spinning at all) a lot. (I wondered what the maid in the hotel room thought of my wheel.) Also the body of Sonnet is complete and the first sleeve is slowly emerging…

PS - Laptop has made full recovery! WOO HOO! Now to reinstall all my software…

Ok, not really down, but unable to knit this weekend. It seems that a football can be a dangerous thing if you try to catch it…

I started thinking about christmas yesterday. A little early perhaps, but mostly to ignore all the crazyness happening around here. (more when things settle out)

Anyway, I started thinking about christmas and I remembered that I cast on a pair of Hedera for my youngest sister. (I’m broke as a joke so I’m waiting to buy more yarn for Sonnet.) I dragged out the Hedera and began knitting away. I’d forgotten how nice this pattern is. So easy to memorize and very nice looking. There may be more of these for other giftees…

Pics courtesy of my iPhone.

First off I must say that I’m being strangely monogamous with Sonnet. Maybe it’s the garter stitch + lovely color runs that are holding my attention, but whatever it is I’m pleased. I have one front and ¾ of a back. I’m pretty sure I’ll need to buy more yarn before it’s all said and done, but that shouldn’t be an issue. (One of the perks of using an acrylic yarn – cheap(er)) Pictures soon. (I hope)

Part of it may be that my laptop has encountered some… ur… difficulties and I haven’t been pawing through Ravelry and getting all restless. Perhaps I should avoid Ravelry unless I’m specifically looking for something new to knit…

My poor laptop isn’t to blame, though. It’s entirely my own doing. It had been a bit sluggish, so techno savvy schmuck that I am, I thought that a nice reformat would be just the ticket. Clear away all the cobwebs of orphaned processes running constantly, you know? Yeah, so I thought I’d do it my way, instead of the condoned method. Imagine my surprise when it didn’t work! (Shocking, no?)

So now the weakened laptop has fewer drivers than it was meant to, rendering it disconnected and with a fuzzy screen resolution. Joy. My only consolation is that the more techno savvy R was involved and encouraged my maverick behavior. (2 peas in an arrogant pod)

Shooting oneself in the foot is so much more painful than having someone else doing the shooting.