Is it safe yet?

Sep17

Once again, I debated whether to post this. But like I do most of the time, I decided, why not? I’ve always been honest in this blog. Maybe too honest, I don’t know. But I know there are others of you who have felt this way. I know there are probably some who are currently feeling like this. So here goes. You know how when you start a new job, or maybe a new school, you kind of hold back a little? Maybe you don’t reveal all the crazy until you think it’s safe? I’ve been in the new job for almost three months, and I’m finally starting to feel safe. It helps that one of my bosses is a little wacky, so once I saw that, I knew she and I would get along great. I mean, she brought in a blow-up Ninja punching bag for my birthday! Perfect, right? The others aren’t wacky in the same way, but they seem to enjoy our wacky. I have to tease and joke and laugh at work; it’s nonnegotiable.

But the lab wasn’t all. I’ve mentioned before that there’s a knitting group there, and I’ve been going to the twice-weekly meetings pretty faithfully. It was nice to be around other knitters, even if most of them aren’t *quite* as ~~crazy~~ obsessed about knitting as I am. They’re fun ladies, and we chatted and laughed a lot. Slowly, I’ve been figuring out which of them are kindred spirits, and there are some I feel a stronger connection with than others. And then I found another knitter who IS crazy about knitting the same way I am, and we had a delightful lunch, and I hope for more. Then the other day, the knitting group had a gathering that was more…raucous than usual, more bawdy, more earthy. We laughed and laughed, and it was wonderful. And that meeting really helped me feel more at home here, made me see that there are people here who like similar things, who have a similar sense of humor, who have similar political leanings (that’s more inferred–I try to avoid talking about religion and politics with…almost everyone, really). I think I’ve found people who will accept and appreciate me the way I am, and I needed that. As much as I like my coworkers, sometimes I can’t help but feel separate from them at times–my knowledge base, skill sets, experiences, vocabulary are all so different from theirs. I’ve had to remind myself that just because I don’t always understand their language, it doesn’t mean I’m not equally smart in my own right. I mean, YEAH, of course I KNOW that, but it’s hard to remember when I’m in an environment that uses and values a different kind of intelligence. I’ve felt really dumb many times over the last couple of months. I’ve felt dumb and incompetent and like I’m failing everyone who’s counting on me.

BUT. I had my people. I had my knitting friends. I had the book group, which has been amazing too. I haven’t been in one before, so I haven’t sat and talked about a book for an hour since college, and that was many moons ago. And most of the knitting group is in the book group too (because knitters and readers are AWESOME) so I’ve seen them quite a bit. And I always left my time with them feeling energized and relieved; they’ve provided some of the happiest times there. They’ve cheered me on when I let myself vent a bit; they’ve helped me with no sign of irritation or annoyance. They’re just mostly NICE people. They’re GOOD people.

So those good times have pulled me through the bad ones, and now I’m finally starting to feel a tiny bit more comfortable in my role. There’s still a lot I don’t know, but I’m picking things up, and I’m getting to use my “real” skills of proofreading/editing more often. That’s the best part of the job.

This has been a hard transition for me, going from doing what I truly love every day (knitting, writing, blogging, editing) to an office job. And I don’t mean that to disparage the job at all. The company is amazing, the job is good, and it’s getting better. But it’s different. It’s a different life than I was leading, and I’ve had to readjust. There are things I miss about staying home. But there are things I like about working. So, it’s a tradeoff. I’m finding ways to balance work and home, home and knitting, all that stuff. Sigh. Life. It’s just hard sometimes, you know?

Thanks for listening, if you’ve made it this far. As a reward, here’s my latest FO, completed last night after the kids performed in the band at the Friday night football game.

It’s called Kilter and it was so easy and fun to knit. I used Berroco Vintage in Envy.

Until next time, happy knitting or working or whatever it is you do every day!

Random Photos from a Birthday Weekend

Sep11

This weekend saw a bit of celebrating, since I seem to have a birthday coming up tomorrow. It’s a big one, too: 40. Really? 40? I don’t feel like I always imagined 40 feeling, but at the same time, I’m loving the freedom that comes with age. It really is true that you get more…confident, I guess. I care less what people think. I dye my hair purple and knit at football games and pretend to dab at assemblies to make my kids laugh, and I don’t really give a hoot what people think. So yeah, that part of 40 is awesome. We just won’t think about the not-awesome parts! 🙂 Last night I had some family over and we had a marvelous time eating tacos and cupcakes, and maybe opening a few presents too. My family knows me well.

A gorgeous purple felted yarn bowl from my Knitting SIL, a set of 6″ DPNs, and two Wonder Women. Pretty fun! And look at this:

My brother ordered this, because of course you’re never going to find my name on a Coke bottle otherwise. It’s pretty nifty.

I also celebrated by casting on three new projects, including the Manly Mitts in some Manos del Uruguay Maxima. These will stay at work for when my hands get cold. I absolutely love them. I mean, I’ve only got one done and there’s no second-glove-syndrome going on at all. They’re just so pretty and so soft and so squishy and snuggly.

Now I’m going to finish this second mitt while I watch the US Open and maybe later this week I’ll have a chance to share my other new WIPs!

Silly Selfies and FOs

Sep10

I have some FOs to share, and apparently I like to take silly photos of myself wearing them. Here’s the Cruella Cowl, a beauty in black and white. The pattern is Darn Knit Kinetic Cowl and it’s the fastest cowl I’ve ever made. In case you don’t recognize it, the yarn is my vacation Berroco Brio.

And then we have the Squarshy Hat, finished tonight, which I adore. I could have added another half-inch to the body, but it’s just fine as is.This is also vacation yarn, the Malabrigo Mecha.

Lastly, we have Fractal Danger, completed at last! But no silly selfies with this one, sorry. This was an interesting knit with unusual shaping, and was also my first experience with short rows. They’re not really my favorite. Kind of fiddly, turning so often and making sure your stitches stay on the needles and all that jazz. They slowed down my rhythm, and anything that does that is not my favorite. Still, I like this a lot, and I do think the shape makes it wonderfully wearable. I just need to get it blocked!

Next on my needles: Silverleaf with Malabrigo Arroyo! Can’t wait to get going on that one; I’ve been itching to knit it since it was released.

It’s been a while since I shared some puppy photos, hasn’t it? Grace is as much a love bug as ever, giving as many kisses as we’ll allow.

And Jack, silly cute Jack, he forgave me for boarding him after a day and went back to his charming self, always asking for belly rubs no matter where we’re sitting.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Vacation Knitting

Sep6

Whew. I’m home from a long weekend vacation and I’m pooped. I’m so glad I decided to take today off; I’ve got a quiet day home alone to catch up on puppy cuddles, laundry, and yarn stuff.

So first: the puppies. We had to board them while we were gone and we missed them terribly. I picked them up first thing this morning and Grace was super excited to see me, but my good pupper Jack didn’t want to come see me. He kept backing away and barking. The nice lady said it was because of the smells, but I think he was just too freaked out. Thankfully, when Grace ran over and jumped on me, Jack came to his senses and came to get his cuddles. We had a crazy hour or so once we got home but now they’re both exhausted and sleeping, one on the back of the couch behind me, one at my feet. Life is good: puppies are home.

Now, YARN!! I went to two yarn stores. The first, Knitorious, was fantastic: big, well-organized, great selection of brands and colors, friendly without being pushy or overbearing. The girl went in with me and even she was so caught up in the yarn-love that she bought herself a skein. What did I get? Let’s see:

Malabrigo Mechita in this beautiful rainbow color. I’m thinking Hitchhiker Beyond.

More Malabrigo, Mecha this time. Not sure, but maybe fingerless gloves to keep at work.

Brio!! I love this yarn and hadn’t seen this black and white version before. This is going to become a Darn Knit Kinetic Cowl for me!

This might be my favorite. Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Black Velvet. Sock Head hat, here I come!

The second yarn store I won’t name because it was not good. At all. Very small. It had a ton of empty shelves and the selection was really limited. The acrylic section was the biggest and was the only yarn with multiple color ways and multiple skeins of any color. The “good” yarns were maybe two or three different brands, which I wasn’t familiar with, but they were pretty enough. But there were just a few skeins of each, one of each colorway. I found one skein I liked but it wasn’t priced. Nothing was priced. There were no signs on the shelves. Finally I found price lists on the top of the shelving unit; my yarn wasn’t on there. I asked the woman working and she showed me the sheet. I looked again, and said, “I’m sorry, I just don’t see it on here.” My yarn wasn’t on there so she had to look up the price. Maybe it’s not a huge deal, but it is one of my pet peeves at yarn stores. I like to be able to see how much the yarn is without asking all the time. I like it when the skeins are priced but I get that takes a lot of time, so I’m okay with labels on shelves. But if you make it too hard for me to find the price, I’m going to give up because it’s awkward for me. Anyway, I won’t recommend that store and I wouldn’t go back. Here’s the one skein I bought, because purple.

It’s Black Bunny Fibers and it’s labeled Mayfair. The label says DK but it looks more like worsted to me. It hasn’t told me what it wants to be yet so I’m pondering.

I got plenty of knitting done too, thanks to a nice husband who did all the driving, and have three FOs to show you!

Fern Lace cowl with Nerd Girl Yarns Luscious. It’s a silk/merino blend and SO soft.

Pisky hat! Love this one. I bought Cascade 220 Superwash from the DK section at my LYS but Ravelry calls it a worsted. So I went down a needle size and it’s wearable, but a little bigger than I’d like. I’d love to make this pattern again with a true DK. It was so fun to knit and it’s so cute.

This one’s a donation for a silent auction. I’ve got matching fingerless gloves to pair it with. It’s a simple beanie recipe; you can see the Ravelry project page here.

So yeah, I had such a nice long weekend full of yarn and bookstores and fun things and family, and today I’m going to wind yarn and cast on new projects for the work days ahead of me. And cuddle with puppies.

Thomas Hats

Aug28

I recently received a request for a hat for an almost-2yo. They wanted a striped beanie with a pompom but said I could do whatever colors I wanted. At first I was at a loss, because I want to make it the way they want it, but then as I pondered, I remembered that the boy is a fan of Thomas the Tank Engine and it all fell into place.

My only requirement was that it be soft and washable. For a kid’s hat, that means acrylic, and that meant a trip to my nearest big box craft store for the right blue. Thomas blue is tricky, you know, but I think I found a pretty good one.

I used Tin Can Knits’ Barley hat for my base pattern and cast on. It grew quickly.

It wasn’t until I was at the decreases that I realized I’d looked at the wrong number for cast on stitches and had a hat too big for a 2yo. Oops! Rather than frog, though, I decided I would finish it for my Thomas-loving nephew.

The second, correctly sized hat went even faster. This morning they’re being washed to soften the acrylic a bit more, since to get the right blue I had to use a different brand than I prefer.

The color is off in that photo, by the way. The first two photos are more true. Anyway, now it’s time to make pompoms. I’m debating between solid gray, solid yellow (which the nephew says would make the hat “more beautifuller”) and a mixture of colors. Personally, I would like to do a solid black to represent the pipe-thingie sticking out of his head (seriously, WHAT is that called?? And why can’t I remember it??) but I’m afraid only die-hard Thomas fans would get that. What would you do?

Chemo Caps

Aug24

Well, this sucks. Once again, someone I love got a crappy diagnosis. We’re doing our best to stay optimistic, and for me, dealing with something stressful involves yarn in one way or another. Not only is it stress relief, but it’s a way for me to show I care, and it can be useful in times like this: I’m making a few chemo caps. (I’ve heard bare heads can get cold!) Here’s the first one already done:

The pattern is Diamond Cap and I love it. Simple without being boring, interesting without being too flashy. I used smaller needles but think I’ll do it again using the next size down to make it even more snug. And I’ll definitely do it again, but first I want to make the Shelbi hat.

It’s my favorite pattern for chemo caps because it’s quick to make, easy enough for an advanced beginner, it fits snugly, and it’s beautiful, with a pretty almost-lace pattern that’s not too open. Here’s one I made a while back, for a friend of a friend.

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It’s really well-written, and she’s got it available for five different sizes, from baby to adult. It fits well too. It’s just a great hat. It is a paid pattern, but for the quality of the writing and the number of sizes, it’s totally worth it. You can find it on The Country Willow’s website here. I used the teen/small adult size. I hope you don’t need it for chemo caps, but if you’re looking for a quick, pretty beanie, check it out!

Henry’s Hat: Take Two

Aug18

Okay, so I re-knit Henry’s Hat in the smaller size, and it really is darn cute.

But it’s still nowhere near the size it’s supposed to be.

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This *might* be doable for my nephew, but it’ll still be kind of big. It was supposed to be for Christmas, but I’m thinking I need to try it on him earlier than that so I can make a smaller one if needed. And in the meantime, I’ve started another one on smaller needles, and we’ll see how that turns out.

In other news, today was the first day of school and I forced my kids to take first day photos and I couldn’t believe how grown up they are.

And just for fun, here’s a couple of puppy photos.

This is Jack waiting for the girl to get home from work last night. He does love his people.

And here’s my cuddle bug, Grace. She loves to lay on the back of the couch behind my head so she can reach over and sniff my hair and ear.

Hope your week is going well!

Henry’s Hat

Aug16

It was supposed to be a quick project, an interlude, a break from my big WIPs. A Tangled Yarn blogged about Henry’s Hat, an adorable earflap hat, and it just called to me. I had to make one for my nephew, maybe two nephews, maybe more. I had the right yarn in my stash: Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Aran in Dusky Green. The pattern was only $3, and we were taking a day trip with about an hour’s drive each way, so I gathered my supplies and cast on as we drove off.

It started out well. The earflaps and front flap were quick and looked good. I pulled out the circs and knit around, picking up stitches on all the flaps, and started knitting around. Still, it was going fine. The pattern was simple, and despite Tangled’s experience, mine looked like it was going to be tall enough. I made good progress on the way home.

Last night was gymnastics, so I knit and watched and knit some more. It wasn’t until I hit the crown decreases that it occurred to me I was very close to running out of yarn, and that my hat looked big. Like, BIG. I’d chosen the child 6-8 size, since my almost-4yo nephew has a big head. But after a brief hesitation, I put the hat on my own head. It dropped down easily, the earflaps hanging below my ears.

This would NOT work. Not at all. It was late and I was frustrated, but I frogged back to the flaps so I would be ready to start anew today.

I just wasn’t sure how to proceed. I’d followed the pattern exactly, so why did it come out so big? Especially when Tangled’s hat came out small? I could try the smaller size. I could switch to smaller needles (and hope the hat body didn’t look too different from the flaps knit on the bigger needles). I could switch to worsted weight yarn instead of Aran, but I don’t want to waste the flaps that are already knit. So, without thinking about it too much, I started again at lunch today knitting the smaller size. And so far so good, but it’s still too soon to get a good sense of size. If it’s too big for my nephew, well, I guess I’ll find someone else who needs a cute hat and try again.

Have you ever had such a complete gauge fail?

Isabella Lacy Beanie

Aug15

Finally, the second pattern I test-knit has been released so I can share it with you! It’s called the Isabella Lacy Beanie by Ashlee Lackovic (smashleestitches on Ravelry, WordPress, Twitter etc) and I think it’s super cute. It’s got a garter stitch brim and a fun vertical lace stripe pattern.

Once again my daughter was willing to be my model, as long as she got to keep the hat when we were done! (Note: the hat had not been blocked at this point.)

That was fine, because it came out too big for me. I got a bit carried away and knit it a little longer than I was supposed to, but it looks great on her.

The pattern calls for two stands of fingering held together, and I’m still not crazy about the colors I chose, but it’s okay. If I make it again, and I probably will because it was a fun knit, I’d choose two colors closer together.

So if you need a quick late-summer hat, check out the Ravelry page here.

Three WIPs

Aug7

The new job is going well, and I’m catching on quickly to most things. I think the biggest hurdle has been the Spanish accent of one of my bosses. I struggle a bit with accents, so I’m really hoping that with time, I’ll get more used to it and it’ll be easier. As it is, I’ve had a couple of scary moments where I asked “What?” once and didn’t want to ask again, and then had to ask someone else for help later. Thankfully, he’s a very nice man, so he’d probably be patient with me too. It’s just hard to admit you can’t understand someone, isn’t it?

I’m enjoying bolstering the knitting group at work too. I knit every day, and one day at the cafe, one woman sat with our group because of my knitting. She used to knit, keeps projects handy, but struggles to find time. Of course I told her about the knitting group, so I’m hoping to see her there soon. I go to every lunch meeting I can, and I’ve got the other AA who started with me knitting too. She learned the knit stitch as a child, and I donated a pair of needles she could try again and see if she liked it. She made a mug cozy in about a day, and is now working on a chevron baby blanket! There’s one other woman there who’s a dedicated crocheter/knitter, so she’s always got her yarn too, and we can talk about stash and what to do with leftover yarn and weaving in ends and understand each other perfectly.

But despite my daily lunchtime knitting, I haven’t finished a project in a while. Instead, I thought I’d share what I’ve been working on. I’ve got three biggish WIPs that are moving slowly. First is my KC Royals Crackerjack scarf. I got bored with it a while back and set it aside, but recently realized it makes great lunch break knitting so I made note of all the wins and losses for the last two months (yeah, I neglected it that long) and within a few days I got all caught up. I really like the random look to it, especially if I don’t think about the fact that the big blocks of white and gold mean they lost a lot.

My Saroyan is progressing nicely too. I’m loving the pattern and the yarn. (How could you not love a hot pink cashmere blend yarn?)

I just started the second skein last night while watching the Olympics, and I can see a definite difference in color. But it’ll be the middle of the scarf and at the back of my neck when I wear it, so I’m trying to let it go.

I also have Fractal Danger on my needles, in my newest Manos del Uruguay Alegria.

This is a Martina Behm pattern, so it’s full of delicious garter stitch. This was my lunch break knitting this week, but I had to keep track of the rows just enough that it was hard to eat and chat at the same time, so I think I’ll cast on for a new hat for this week. I might do Yoda hats, since those are strong sellers on Etsy and I can almost make them without any thought at all.

Yesterday, the husband needed to donate something to the Habitat ReStore, which just *happens* to be next door to a lovely big LYS, so I decided I’d ride along. It’s somehow appropriate, given the location of the Olympics, that I came home with some new Malabrigo Rios.

I keep buying new yarn despite having less knitting time than before. This might be a problem soon.

On the way home, we saw this:

Yep, a little chihuahua in a cart on the back of a scooter. I love it.

Now, I’m going to spend the rest of my Sunday baking, knitting, and watching the Olympics. The real question is whether I make myself work out before doing the fun stuff. (I KNOW. Don’t tell me. I KNOW I should. But I don’t WANT to.)

Enjoy your Sunday, friends!

bonnyknits

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