Because, even when you are horrible and have forgotten the important outfit and had to go back home and you forgot to shower today and are sure that, indeed, you are going to be late to your mother's house and wake the puppies and cause far too much commotion, you can turn on National Public Radio and hear this: "Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,/ the world offers itself to your imagination" and know that you are okay.
(That's from "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver, and maybe this post should really be called "Why I Love National Public Radio")
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
My Poor Little Carpal Tunnels
A few months ago, after my big post about knitting for myself, I was planning to announce my big sweater project, but it's on hold for now. As is pretty much every knitting project.
These are hard times. I've got a steady job, a great little home, Internet access, a working computer, a fabulous dog who loves me... but I cannot knit.
Well I can knit. But not for very long. Typing, too, is a problem. You see, I've got carpal tunnel syndrome. Not too bad, as yet, and I can knit for a bit, especially on something small and non-heavy, like socks. But, only for a little while.
After sitting on the couch and crying one evening, I have embraced a few solutions:
1. I have BRACES. My friend says they look a bit awkward, and they are hard to knit with, but if I wear them after knitting they do help.
2. I got a split keyboard at work. And an automatic hole punch. Laugh away, but medical records requires a lot of paper-punching.
3. Also, I've begun to quilt again. It's much easier on my wrists to quilt. I can wear one brace on my left wrist, which is the worst one. I'm working on a baby blanket. I'm considering moving my mother's machine back to my home and creating some gigantic project to hang behind the tv.
So, this is why I have been absent so much from the blog. The blog may have to expand and not be about knitting for a while. Please bear with me...
These are hard times. I've got a steady job, a great little home, Internet access, a working computer, a fabulous dog who loves me... but I cannot knit.
Well I can knit. But not for very long. Typing, too, is a problem. You see, I've got carpal tunnel syndrome. Not too bad, as yet, and I can knit for a bit, especially on something small and non-heavy, like socks. But, only for a little while.
After sitting on the couch and crying one evening, I have embraced a few solutions:
1. I have BRACES. My friend says they look a bit awkward, and they are hard to knit with, but if I wear them after knitting they do help.
2. I got a split keyboard at work. And an automatic hole punch. Laugh away, but medical records requires a lot of paper-punching.
3. Also, I've begun to quilt again. It's much easier on my wrists to quilt. I can wear one brace on my left wrist, which is the worst one. I'm working on a baby blanket. I'm considering moving my mother's machine back to my home and creating some gigantic project to hang behind the tv.
So, this is why I have been absent so much from the blog. The blog may have to expand and not be about knitting for a while. Please bear with me...
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Four Things
1. My resolution this year is to knit myself something. I am knitting a couple of rows every couple of days on my Daisy Stitch Handwarmers from Purl Bee. I have chosen a yarn that I got from my sister and brother-in-law for Christmas in purple and pink and green and coordinating yarns: lime green, pink, and white. It disturbs me that these colors are the same as my matching Monday scrubs (the top is hot pink, the pants lime green) because I hate them. I match everyone, and it's just a bit too bright. But, provided I finish knitting an object this year, I will have coordinating gloves. I refuse to give them away. I am knitting something for ME.
2. I am a vegetarian again, like I was from the time I was eleven until I was twenty-one. I took a couple of years off, to see if I was a vegetarian for the right reasons. I have determined I am not a vegetarian for the right reasons, but I feel better not eating meat, and it's a crucial part of my identity. It's interesting that I forgot the "other people" factor of being a vegetarian, as in the way that "other people" are constantly asking "why." Maybe this isn't true everywhere, but there are many cattle farmers here, and many people that are relatives of cattle farmers, including myself. I am not a vegetarian to be a personal affront to anyone. At all. I am a vegetarian because my diet is an inseparable part of who I am and I am not a meat-eater. There. But, I am telling my co-workers this: "Oh, there are lots of boring reasons, you know. I want to be healthier." This, I think, will mean to them that it is a diet, and while vegetarianism is NOT an acceptable thing amoung these women, dieting is. (Case in point: Coworker upon finding out my diet: "Oh, Shannah, I have a deer in the back of my truck I'm going to butcher." Me: "Ah. Well, you know I grew up on a goat farm." Nothing disgusts me. It's not their death that bothers me, or the fact that you're eating them, it's the way... well, I didn't go into it with her and I'm not going to here.)
3. I miss my friends. Everyone is either living somewhere far away and more exciting, working evenings, having babies, or redoing their bathroom. This leaves me with Roxie. She is a good dog, but not a brilliant conversationalist. Perhaps I should invest in cable.
4. I am taking medical terminology on-line. This has nothing to do with creative writing or special ed, but does give me a brighter future in medical records.
2. I am a vegetarian again, like I was from the time I was eleven until I was twenty-one. I took a couple of years off, to see if I was a vegetarian for the right reasons. I have determined I am not a vegetarian for the right reasons, but I feel better not eating meat, and it's a crucial part of my identity. It's interesting that I forgot the "other people" factor of being a vegetarian, as in the way that "other people" are constantly asking "why." Maybe this isn't true everywhere, but there are many cattle farmers here, and many people that are relatives of cattle farmers, including myself. I am not a vegetarian to be a personal affront to anyone. At all. I am a vegetarian because my diet is an inseparable part of who I am and I am not a meat-eater. There. But, I am telling my co-workers this: "Oh, there are lots of boring reasons, you know. I want to be healthier." This, I think, will mean to them that it is a diet, and while vegetarianism is NOT an acceptable thing amoung these women, dieting is. (Case in point: Coworker upon finding out my diet: "Oh, Shannah, I have a deer in the back of my truck I'm going to butcher." Me: "Ah. Well, you know I grew up on a goat farm." Nothing disgusts me. It's not their death that bothers me, or the fact that you're eating them, it's the way... well, I didn't go into it with her and I'm not going to here.)
3. I miss my friends. Everyone is either living somewhere far away and more exciting, working evenings, having babies, or redoing their bathroom. This leaves me with Roxie. She is a good dog, but not a brilliant conversationalist. Perhaps I should invest in cable.
4. I am taking medical terminology on-line. This has nothing to do with creative writing or special ed, but does give me a brighter future in medical records.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
In Search of the Lentil
I thought the lentil was an ordinary bean, a yummy main dish, a vegetarian staple.
But here, in God's armpit (this is a loving term for west Texas) they no longer sell the little beans, apparently.
I was at the specialty grocery store this evening, stocking up on vegetarian dishes, and there were several other people there at 9:30: a gay couple, an Indian man, a local tattoo artist and his girlfriend, and a handful of female college students. Not a busy evening.
I went down every isle. This is my second grocery store. I was disappointed by two things: 1) no lentils (how do you not have a little bag of beans?!) 2) no 6-pack of eggs (I will not eat 12 before they expire).
(This post is dying slowly, so I stop here... this is what has happened to me now, that my friends have all officially graduated and moved away, gotten married, or had babies: I buy expensive food. I sit at home and write the strangest poetry yet. I consider Iowa caucuses and Annie Lammott's books. I engage others at work only because they ask about my dog. I worry about the state of West Texas because of its lack of lentils until it is way past my bedtime and write about it on my knitting blog. But there are vegetarian knitters out there, right? There are other lentil eaters? What, oh what, am I going to do with all my stewed tomatoes without any lentils?)
But here, in God's armpit (this is a loving term for west Texas) they no longer sell the little beans, apparently.
I was at the specialty grocery store this evening, stocking up on vegetarian dishes, and there were several other people there at 9:30: a gay couple, an Indian man, a local tattoo artist and his girlfriend, and a handful of female college students. Not a busy evening.
I went down every isle. This is my second grocery store. I was disappointed by two things: 1) no lentils (how do you not have a little bag of beans?!) 2) no 6-pack of eggs (I will not eat 12 before they expire).
(This post is dying slowly, so I stop here... this is what has happened to me now, that my friends have all officially graduated and moved away, gotten married, or had babies: I buy expensive food. I sit at home and write the strangest poetry yet. I consider Iowa caucuses and Annie Lammott's books. I engage others at work only because they ask about my dog. I worry about the state of West Texas because of its lack of lentils until it is way past my bedtime and write about it on my knitting blog. But there are vegetarian knitters out there, right? There are other lentil eaters? What, oh what, am I going to do with all my stewed tomatoes without any lentils?)
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Aaaaaaaaaaargh!
(I've looked and looked, but CANNOT find the author for this)
Knitter's Night Before Christmas
'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
There was unfinished knitting not under the tree,
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep---he was no help at all.
And the sweater for him was 6" too small.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash.
Tripped over my yarn and fell down in my stash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how far I still had to go.
When out on the lawn I heard such a noise,
I was sure it would wake up both Dad and the boys.
And although I was tired--my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment that it must be St Nick.
Yet what I heard left me very perplex-ed
For nothing I heard was what I expect-ed.
"Move Rowan! Move Patons! Move Koigu and Clover!
Move Shelridge! Move Starmore! Move Spinrite!
Move over!
Lopi, don't circle around, just stand there in line.
Pay attention you sheep and you'll work out just fine!
I know this is hard as it's just your first year
But I'd hate to go back to 8 tiny reindeer."
I peered over the sill. What I saw was amazing:
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing!
And then in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's big boots stomping on the porch floor.
I rose from my knees and got back on my feet.
As I turned around, St Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his heat to his toe
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.
A bright Fair Isle sweater he wore on his back.
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His hat was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosey red face.
The scarf on his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
On the back of his mitts was an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I spotted a small label:
"S.C." in duplicate on the cuff.
So I asked, "Hey, Nick, did YOU knit all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit when I was just a kid."
He was chubby and plump, a well dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair.
He spoke not a word, but looked down in his lap
Where I had laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He began then to knit, first one cap then 2--
For the first time I thought I might really get through.
He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks,
While I sat back drinking a scotch on the rocks.
Quickly like magic his needles they flew,
Good Grief! He was finished by two!
He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me.
I heard him explain as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year, start your knitting sometime around JUNE!"
Knitter's Night Before Christmas
'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
There was unfinished knitting not under the tree,
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep---he was no help at all.
And the sweater for him was 6" too small.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash.
Tripped over my yarn and fell down in my stash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how far I still had to go.
When out on the lawn I heard such a noise,
I was sure it would wake up both Dad and the boys.
And although I was tired--my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment that it must be St Nick.
Yet what I heard left me very perplex-ed
For nothing I heard was what I expect-ed.
"Move Rowan! Move Patons! Move Koigu and Clover!
Move Shelridge! Move Starmore! Move Spinrite!
Move over!
Lopi, don't circle around, just stand there in line.
Pay attention you sheep and you'll work out just fine!
I know this is hard as it's just your first year
But I'd hate to go back to 8 tiny reindeer."
I peered over the sill. What I saw was amazing:
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing!
And then in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's big boots stomping on the porch floor.
I rose from my knees and got back on my feet.
As I turned around, St Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his heat to his toe
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.
A bright Fair Isle sweater he wore on his back.
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His hat was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosey red face.
The scarf on his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
On the back of his mitts was an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I spotted a small label:
"S.C." in duplicate on the cuff.
So I asked, "Hey, Nick, did YOU knit all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit when I was just a kid."
He was chubby and plump, a well dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair.
He spoke not a word, but looked down in his lap
Where I had laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He began then to knit, first one cap then 2--
For the first time I thought I might really get through.
He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks,
While I sat back drinking a scotch on the rocks.
Quickly like magic his needles they flew,
Good Grief! He was finished by two!
He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me.
I heard him explain as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year, start your knitting sometime around JUNE!"
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
I've been tagged!
(The rules are that you can't insult yourself or be obvious, but you must go through the alphabet and put a creative word that describes you for each letter.)
A-Abby tagged me!
B-Babysat the best baby Sunday night!
C-Chocoholic
D-Dog lover
E-Exercising (going on two days!)
F-"Fabulous" (a Favorite word)
G-Goofy
H-Howdy! (My Texas greeting)
I-Insomniac
J-Junk (I own a lot)
K-Knitter
L-Lens wearer (bad eyesight!)
M-Medical Records (what I do all day)
N-National Public Radio (what I listen to all day)
O-Old glasses (my frames are from the 70s)
P-Peace (what I want for Christmas)
Q-Questioning (always good)
R-Ravelry (I'm Shantastic)
S-Sarah (who I'm tagging)
T-Totally obsessed with dogs and/or knitting.
U-Underdressed (my office is cold)
V-Vacant (my brain)
W-Writing poetry and fiction
X-X-actly right all the time
Y-Yearning for good books
Z-Zounds! It's done!
A-Abby tagged me!
B-Babysat the best baby Sunday night!
C-Chocoholic
D-Dog lover
E-Exercising (going on two days!)
F-"Fabulous" (a Favorite word)
G-Goofy
H-Howdy! (My Texas greeting)
I-Insomniac
J-Junk (I own a lot)
K-Knitter
L-Lens wearer (bad eyesight!)
M-Medical Records (what I do all day)
N-National Public Radio (what I listen to all day)
O-Old glasses (my frames are from the 70s)
P-Peace (what I want for Christmas)
Q-Questioning (always good)
R-Ravelry (I'm Shantastic)
S-Sarah (who I'm tagging)
T-Totally obsessed with dogs and/or knitting.
U-Underdressed (my office is cold)
V-Vacant (my brain)
W-Writing poetry and fiction
X-X-actly right all the time
Y-Yearning for good books
Z-Zounds! It's done!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Mosaic Knitting
Last night at knitting my friend J brought some of the Mosaic knitting she had done a while back--it was really cool, and she showed me how and let me borrow some of her Barbara Walker books.
This was in the front of Charted Knitting Designs:
To all dispersed sorts of ARTS and TRADES,
I writ the needles prayse (that never fades)
So long as children shall be got or borne,
So long as garments shall be made or worne,
So long as Hemp or Flax or Sheep shall bear
Their linnen woollen fleeces yeare by yeare:
So long as Silk-wormes, with exhausted spoile,
Of their own Entrailes for mans gaine shall toyle:
Yea till the world be quite dissolv'd and past;
So long at least, the Needles use shall last.
--John Taylor, The Praise of the Needle, London, 1640
It appeals to my English-majorness and my craftiness. Very cool.
This was in the front of Charted Knitting Designs:
To all dispersed sorts of ARTS and TRADES,
I writ the needles prayse (that never fades)
So long as children shall be got or borne,
So long as garments shall be made or worne,
So long as Hemp or Flax or Sheep shall bear
Their linnen woollen fleeces yeare by yeare:
So long as Silk-wormes, with exhausted spoile,
Of their own Entrailes for mans gaine shall toyle:
Yea till the world be quite dissolv'd and past;
So long at least, the Needles use shall last.
--John Taylor, The Praise of the Needle, London, 1640
It appeals to my English-majorness and my craftiness. Very cool.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Finished Object
Stats:
We Call Them Pirates hat by Hello Yarn, in Diakeito Diatasmanianmerino colors 729 and 727 (100% wool, 40g/130 yds) from the local ys. It took one ball of each color, with plenty left over.
Mods:
I didn't swatch first (ahem), which made the hat a little tight around the brim and (more than) a little short, so I added another row of skulls before decreasing, and instead of lining the hat I made a 1" 2x2 ribbing (my friend wanted to be able to pull the hat down around his ears). This helped with the tightness, too.
I like the finished product, especially since it's my very first two-color project. I did take pictures of this one before I gave it away.
Obligatory Pictures:
We Call Them Pirates hat by Hello Yarn, in Diakeito Diatasmanianmerino colors 729 and 727 (100% wool, 40g/130 yds) from the local ys. It took one ball of each color, with plenty left over.
Mods:
I didn't swatch first (ahem), which made the hat a little tight around the brim and (more than) a little short, so I added another row of skulls before decreasing, and instead of lining the hat I made a 1" 2x2 ribbing (my friend wanted to be able to pull the hat down around his ears). This helped with the tightness, too.
I like the finished product, especially since it's my very first two-color project. I did take pictures of this one before I gave it away.
Obligatory Pictures:
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Relief!
After that last post I went back to knitting, and I began to panic. Each stitch made me panic more and I wondered if I was doing exactly what the Yarn Harlot is always warning us about--knitting even in the face of a horrible horrible ending full of frogging and cursing and tears...
So I put the hat on some spare yarn and tried it on:
At least it goes around the big ol' noggin! I'm not sure how that compares to my friend's head, but the panic has subsided. It might just work.
Whew! Thank you knitting gods!
So I put the hat on some spare yarn and tried it on:
At least it goes around the big ol' noggin! I'm not sure how that compares to my friend's head, but the panic has subsided. It might just work.
Whew! Thank you knitting gods!
Saturday Happenings
All day knitting today on this:
It's the We Call Them Pirates hat in Diakeito Diatasmanianmerino on 3s. I have a confession about this hat that makes me very very nervous. I didn't swatch. Not at all. I just cast on and knit. It is a bit tight for the gauge, I think, and I know that this means danger ahead, but I am knitting on irregardless. I am being stupid. I have this hope that I can stretch it out a bit. So... I'm going to knit another row of skulls and then measure. Just for, um, practice. I'll let you know how this turns out. Pray to the knitting gods for me, and don't make me think about the truth for a while.
And, another warning. Don't spend all day chasing squirrels, or this could happen to you, too:
It's the We Call Them Pirates hat in Diakeito Diatasmanianmerino on 3s. I have a confession about this hat that makes me very very nervous. I didn't swatch. Not at all. I just cast on and knit. It is a bit tight for the gauge, I think, and I know that this means danger ahead, but I am knitting on irregardless. I am being stupid. I have this hope that I can stretch it out a bit. So... I'm going to knit another row of skulls and then measure. Just for, um, practice. I'll let you know how this turns out. Pray to the knitting gods for me, and don't make me think about the truth for a while.
And, another warning. Don't spend all day chasing squirrels, or this could happen to you, too:
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Flu Shot
I am at lunch. I ache. I'm cold. I want to go to bed. Stupid stupid only-3-absences-until-you-get-warned-and-7-you-get-fired policy. :-(
Why do I live so far away from my mother? Why did she require I get the flu shot this year, and then not be here while I'm sick? (Please don't mention that I am too old to complain about this.)
K at work brought her crocheted things to work today. Everyone oohed and ahhed. I am considering bring some knitting, but I have a serious lack of finished objects... Post Christmas I am making myself something. I've pretty much given away everything I've ever made. This makes the showing off hard.
I am two months behind on my knitting schedule (or more). It does make my wrists hurt to knit, and I have been packing and moving and spending time thinking, so I am very behind. It is a bit overwhelming, and it is hard to know where to start. But, (positive thinking!) I am starting! Don't worry, dear friends, you will get your presents!
(I almost signed this posting, like a letter. That shows you that I am really not quite up to snuff.)
Why do I live so far away from my mother? Why did she require I get the flu shot this year, and then not be here while I'm sick? (Please don't mention that I am too old to complain about this.)
K at work brought her crocheted things to work today. Everyone oohed and ahhed. I am considering bring some knitting, but I have a serious lack of finished objects... Post Christmas I am making myself something. I've pretty much given away everything I've ever made. This makes the showing off hard.
I am two months behind on my knitting schedule (or more). It does make my wrists hurt to knit, and I have been packing and moving and spending time thinking, so I am very behind. It is a bit overwhelming, and it is hard to know where to start. But, (positive thinking!) I am starting! Don't worry, dear friends, you will get your presents!
(I almost signed this posting, like a letter. That shows you that I am really not quite up to snuff.)
Friday, November 09, 2007
Report
Several things to report today, so I resort to the numbered list and do not use connecting language (bad, bad former English major).
1) WORK LIFE: Hooray I am hired! I "officially" start Monday in the position that I have been filling for five months as a temp. FIVE MONTHS AS A TEMP. I am far too exhilerated by my official status. The job is ho-hum, but now I earn seventy-five cents more per hour for my ho-hum job and get health insurance (it has crossed my mind that health insurance might cost at least seventy-five cents per hour and thus cancel out my raise, but I am setting this aside as depressing thinking and imagining those cents adding up into extra skeins of expensive yarn instead). I got my nametag today, my new position under my name announced: "clerical" in all caps.
2) HOME LIFE: The kitchen is put up and clean. My living room is livable; the yarn box is open by the coffee table and there are two pictures hung. The bedroom... well there's a functioning bed in there behind the boxes. It's easy to find, too, since Roxie lounges on it most of the time. Roxie seems happy. In addition to the bed, she has many many squirrels that keep her busy and fresh dirt to dig in.
3) DATE LIFE: I'm going to bed early tonight. (Ha ha, got you excited there...)
4) KNIT LIFE: I went to knitting on Wednesday, having been gone for many weeks. I don't know why I missed so many. I was so happy to see everyone, to feel their warm prayer shawls, to help bless... it was WONDERFUL! I also discovered that Jenny had bought a mosaic knitting book she'll let me look at if I "come regularly" (incentive indeed!) and that there was a basket of donated needles with multiple sets of dpns that I may borrow. I will be back for mosaic and needles. (Oh, and to see everyone, too... that part was the best.)
And to close, I went to my employee health meeting on Wednesday and they did these little stretching tests. I learned that I have the beginnings of carpal tunnel syndrome and may have to start wearing braces when I knit and type. Ugh. I am too young for this. Braces aren't cool. But braces are better than pain I suppose. Bleh. I blame work, not knitting.
1) WORK LIFE: Hooray I am hired! I "officially" start Monday in the position that I have been filling for five months as a temp. FIVE MONTHS AS A TEMP. I am far too exhilerated by my official status. The job is ho-hum, but now I earn seventy-five cents more per hour for my ho-hum job and get health insurance (it has crossed my mind that health insurance might cost at least seventy-five cents per hour and thus cancel out my raise, but I am setting this aside as depressing thinking and imagining those cents adding up into extra skeins of expensive yarn instead). I got my nametag today, my new position under my name announced: "clerical" in all caps.
2) HOME LIFE: The kitchen is put up and clean. My living room is livable; the yarn box is open by the coffee table and there are two pictures hung. The bedroom... well there's a functioning bed in there behind the boxes. It's easy to find, too, since Roxie lounges on it most of the time. Roxie seems happy. In addition to the bed, she has many many squirrels that keep her busy and fresh dirt to dig in.
3) DATE LIFE: I'm going to bed early tonight. (Ha ha, got you excited there...)
4) KNIT LIFE: I went to knitting on Wednesday, having been gone for many weeks. I don't know why I missed so many. I was so happy to see everyone, to feel their warm prayer shawls, to help bless... it was WONDERFUL! I also discovered that Jenny had bought a mosaic knitting book she'll let me look at if I "come regularly" (incentive indeed!) and that there was a basket of donated needles with multiple sets of dpns that I may borrow. I will be back for mosaic and needles. (Oh, and to see everyone, too... that part was the best.)
And to close, I went to my employee health meeting on Wednesday and they did these little stretching tests. I learned that I have the beginnings of carpal tunnel syndrome and may have to start wearing braces when I knit and type. Ugh. I am too young for this. Braces aren't cool. But braces are better than pain I suppose. Bleh. I blame work, not knitting.
Friday, November 02, 2007
A Longing Post
I miss school. Rather desperately.
I was putting away my books tonight, and I realized that no one but a truly snobby academically-inclined person would have my library. I want to be writing about old and middle english again.
I don't want to be entering data every day.
I miss my books.
I hate my job.
I was putting away my books tonight, and I realized that no one but a truly snobby academically-inclined person would have my library. I want to be writing about old and middle english again.
I don't want to be entering data every day.
I miss my books.
I hate my job.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Moved.
Whew! All night and all day and everything fits snugly in my little backhouse, including the dog. She's zonked out on the couch at my feet (the visit from her aunt-dog while my family helped me move proved a bit exhausting for her; it's hard to entertain that long AND chase squirrels AND make sure the people in the ally know there's a dog guarding the place).
Now, I'm unpacking and have come across the yarn box. Very tempted to start a new project. Someone tell me no. Someone tell me just to content myself with the house. That's got to be project enough.
Now, I'm unpacking and have come across the yarn box. Very tempted to start a new project. Someone tell me no. Someone tell me just to content myself with the house. That's got to be project enough.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Passing OVER The Knit
I have been a bit bad lately on many many levels:
1) I GOT SOCKS!!! Fabulous, fabulous socks. A long long time ago.
My first Sockapalooza pal couldn't make it, so I got a "sock savior"! She was fabulous. Just look:
All kinds of goodies! And all purple! I got some StitchKeepers (I've never seen these before, and I am very excited), a book for keeping my sock "Knit Notes" in, Soak for handwashing, a keychain sock blocker sock (How very cool!!! Now, something to do with all of that scrap sock yarn I've been saving--keychain socks!), fancy yummy chocolate, and a 110 gram skein of absolutely purple "florentine" colinette sock yarn (never used this before either)! All of this, for me! I was on the phone with a non-yarn friend when the package came, and I think I may have made him deaf with my exclamations.
MY socks are the Baudelair pattern from knitty, a pattern I've drooled over lots but never cast on for. And they are made out of KOIGU! They are really wonderful, and I feel so special every time I put them on. I can't thank Jenny enough! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
2) I haven't finished anything except, well, for ONE sock. It will have a mate soon! I'll post pictures when they are both done.
3) I forgot my camera when I went to Lubbock's "Knit Out" this Saturday, but I won a beautiful handknit sweater and got some yummy Japanese boucle that will become a scarf for someone this Christmas. The knit out was lots of fun, and I had a great time hangin' out with some of the people from Shaggy Sheep. However, the discussion turned toward their in-stock yarn and I am afraid I am in grave danger of spending more money. I am SO excited that Lubbock's fiber community is growing.
4) My life is in disarray. I am moving. The yarn isn't packed. I think I'm in denial.
Well, enough confessions for now. More soon.
I will post, I will post, I will post!
1) I GOT SOCKS!!! Fabulous, fabulous socks. A long long time ago.
My first Sockapalooza pal couldn't make it, so I got a "sock savior"! She was fabulous. Just look:
All kinds of goodies! And all purple! I got some StitchKeepers (I've never seen these before, and I am very excited), a book for keeping my sock "Knit Notes" in, Soak for handwashing, a keychain sock blocker sock (How very cool!!! Now, something to do with all of that scrap sock yarn I've been saving--keychain socks!), fancy yummy chocolate, and a 110 gram skein of absolutely purple "florentine" colinette sock yarn (never used this before either)! All of this, for me! I was on the phone with a non-yarn friend when the package came, and I think I may have made him deaf with my exclamations.
MY socks are the Baudelair pattern from knitty, a pattern I've drooled over lots but never cast on for. And they are made out of KOIGU! They are really wonderful, and I feel so special every time I put them on. I can't thank Jenny enough! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
2) I haven't finished anything except, well, for ONE sock. It will have a mate soon! I'll post pictures when they are both done.
3) I forgot my camera when I went to Lubbock's "Knit Out" this Saturday, but I won a beautiful handknit sweater and got some yummy Japanese boucle that will become a scarf for someone this Christmas. The knit out was lots of fun, and I had a great time hangin' out with some of the people from Shaggy Sheep. However, the discussion turned toward their in-stock yarn and I am afraid I am in grave danger of spending more money. I am SO excited that Lubbock's fiber community is growing.
4) My life is in disarray. I am moving. The yarn isn't packed. I think I'm in denial.
Well, enough confessions for now. More soon.
I will post, I will post, I will post!
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Pass the Knit Along!
This weekend I got to spend time teaching my mom to knit.
How cool, to pass this gift on. How cool, to give it to my mom. She's knitting her first prayer shawl, and I hope she finds the peace that I do in knitting for someone else.
Way to knit, Mom!
How cool, to pass this gift on. How cool, to give it to my mom. She's knitting her first prayer shawl, and I hope she finds the peace that I do in knitting for someone else.
Way to knit, Mom!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Happy Birthday, My Little M&M
I got to experience the beginning of a new life today. Little M&M was born by cesarian to one of my best friends around noon, weighing in at over 8 pounds and 21 inches (I'm off, I know... he was bigger than both of those... forgive me!).
We're so excited to see him. We've been waiting so long.
These are the moments that life is about, the moments that keep us alive. The utter joy on my friends' faces as they held their baby was almost too much to bear. I love them both, and the love that they have for their child is amazing. How do we do this? How do we hold such a capacity to love?
I think about my parents, about being a parent. There is such risk involved. And the world is really such a crappy little place. Even as M&M was born today, I hear on the radio about the government in Burma preparing to "deal with" the protests of the peaceful buddhist monks. The unbalanced state of healthcare in this country (lucky for Milo he wasn't born too poor). The inmates claiming that lethal injection is "cruel and unusual." These things, too, occupy my thoughts, alongside M&M's appearance.
And yet, I can't bring myself to agree with friends that have said it's irresponsible to bring a child into this world. I can't quite believe that we are that far gone.
I stood outside this evening and I thought about us humans. I thought about little M&M and the power in the choice his parents made to bring him into this world. I thought about the beautiful weather today. I considered this birth of a million opportunities.
It doesn't really matter, I think, the way things turn out. It's not worth worrying about because we do have these things: we have birth, we have beauty, we have absolute truths, and we have love. I believe that life is worth living anyway, despite the shitty bits. It's hard to defend this position. It's hard to say oh well, and live.
But there is so much beauty to be had. There is so much joy to share. I saw it all in the faces of my friends as they held their new child, and I was reminded again to get up, to go on, to embrace the future.
Thanks, little M&M. We all owe you so much already, after your very few hours here with us.
We're so excited to see him. We've been waiting so long.
These are the moments that life is about, the moments that keep us alive. The utter joy on my friends' faces as they held their baby was almost too much to bear. I love them both, and the love that they have for their child is amazing. How do we do this? How do we hold such a capacity to love?
I think about my parents, about being a parent. There is such risk involved. And the world is really such a crappy little place. Even as M&M was born today, I hear on the radio about the government in Burma preparing to "deal with" the protests of the peaceful buddhist monks. The unbalanced state of healthcare in this country (lucky for Milo he wasn't born too poor). The inmates claiming that lethal injection is "cruel and unusual." These things, too, occupy my thoughts, alongside M&M's appearance.
And yet, I can't bring myself to agree with friends that have said it's irresponsible to bring a child into this world. I can't quite believe that we are that far gone.
I stood outside this evening and I thought about us humans. I thought about little M&M and the power in the choice his parents made to bring him into this world. I thought about the beautiful weather today. I considered this birth of a million opportunities.
It doesn't really matter, I think, the way things turn out. It's not worth worrying about because we do have these things: we have birth, we have beauty, we have absolute truths, and we have love. I believe that life is worth living anyway, despite the shitty bits. It's hard to defend this position. It's hard to say oh well, and live.
But there is so much beauty to be had. There is so much joy to share. I saw it all in the faces of my friends as they held their new child, and I was reminded again to get up, to go on, to embrace the future.
Thanks, little M&M. We all owe you so much already, after your very few hours here with us.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Where I've Been (A Vacation of Sorts)
Last weekend I went to the Monolith Festival in Red Rocks, Colorado. I saw tons and tons of great bands, and had a fabulous time with my friend R and her boyfriend.
I did knit, too. (What is vacation without a knitting bag?) I took a sock:
I think my friends thought it was a bit odd to be sitting in the parking lot before a festival knitting. But there were a lot of odd people there anyway. (After all, there was a Flaming Lips concert.)
Inspired by the Yarn Harlot, the sock and I went camping and I took a sock picture:
And just to share with the world the reason I don't usually photograph myself camping:
Fun is not always beautiful.
I did knit, too. (What is vacation without a knitting bag?) I took a sock:
I think my friends thought it was a bit odd to be sitting in the parking lot before a festival knitting. But there were a lot of odd people there anyway. (After all, there was a Flaming Lips concert.)
Inspired by the Yarn Harlot, the sock and I went camping and I took a sock picture:
And just to share with the world the reason I don't usually photograph myself camping:
Fun is not always beautiful.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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