One Crazy Fiber Lady

Well the LONG weekend is over, I’m taking a quickish minute at work to post an update.  Work, well now, this is a job that I love with a fabulous company!  I need to send an email to my arse of an old boss who pushed me out as a bit of a thank you.  While I was less than pleased by what happened in March (a bit of an understatement I know), it has seemed to turn out for the best.  Things do indeed happen for a reason.  The company at least from the 2 weeks I’ve been here, seems to have figured out that a happy employee is a productive, if not loyal, employee.  We won’t even begin to discuss how very cool the discount is.  We’ll just leave it that my wardrobe has expanded in the recent weeks.  The commute is pretty much the same as it was before with the exception of getting off the PATH train one stop earlier and walking East instead of West and into a nicer neighborhood.  It’s all good.

I have been reading recently on the train rather than knitting, but there has been knitting (no pictures at present of actual works in progress), though nothing coming close to fruition.  I might have to drop out of my own WIP Wipe-OUt as I seem to be incapable of finishing off things before starting something new. 

First off there are the socks.  I did finish off those yummy Lisa Souza What-a-melon socks.  Once again, I can’t remember when, but vaguely remember it them taking some two weeks to finish… wait it is coming back to me, I finished it the Thursday night before I started my new job.  That makes it:  June 15th.  I did start the Trekking Along socks in that pastel-y color I bought that same night as I was going to the DMV to renew my driver’s license on Friday.  Blech.  I tried my standard toe-up pattern.  Boring.  A week later I ripped it out and decided that since I do all my trekking in the big bad city and I usually jaywalk to boot, a particular pattern seemed appropriate.  Well I started it, reducing the stitch count to make up for the particular shrimpiness of my foot and actually made some good progress.  Until I just couldn’t stand looking at that pastel blandness of the yarn.  It was truly underwhelming.  I pulled the needles out last week and handed the skein to my mother.  I’m no 0 for 2 with Trekking yarn.  Not sure if I can keep on in the KAL.  Last week the first of the Sundara Petals Collection arrived.  YAY is all I can say.  The yarn is gorgeous.  Umm, I did take a picture of the kit when it arrived, but no, don’t have the photo available (nor the Souza finished socks either for that matter).  Deb has lovely photos of the yarn if you’re dying to see it.  I did get the first one started but haven’t made it very far into it. 

The socks have become primarily train knitting (when not distracted by books that is) and home knitting, when given the opportunity has been on a new and not surprisingly, unblogged project.  I found this pattern, Pinwheel Sweater, on Elann and just had to make it for myself.  I couldn’t wait for ordered yarn to arrive, so I went local, with my favorite yarn:  Cascade 220.  I conveniently remembered that Close Knits was on my way to the DMV so I made a stop on the 16th.  The owner was super helpful as she assisted me in picking out colors of my beloved Cascade in a complimentary and long enough range.  After first playing with reds and blues, I finally settled on oranges going from an off-white to a rust.  It is very pretty and I WILL have photos of it for you soon.  I’m now halfway through the 7th and last band of color.  Each round is now taking me some 20 minutes to knit with the 40" Addi Turbo jam packed.  I hope to make further progress tonight at the SnB at Modern Yarn.  While I am looking forward to finishing this garter stitch in the round business, I am decidedly not happlily anticipating the i-cord edging that awaits me.  Never a fan of i-cord, but two color i-cord over 576 edge stitches?  Ugh.  Might take me longer than the actual body of this sweater has taken me to do.  Oh well.  I’m hoping to have enough left over yarn to make a mini-matching version for Miss K.

Anyway, gots to fly.  Wanted to give a quick update and leave you with some monkey zen pictures taken this weekend.  Not up to the normal snuff as they were camera phone shots, but they do give you some shortie goodness.

Craft on!