One Crazy Fiber Lady

Just like the wheels on the bus, spinning wheels like to go round and round.  Mine are actually getting some regular usage now, for some odd reason.  I started last night after dinner in the den with my Vermonter, spinning up another 1/2 bobbin or so of the CVM roving whilst the kids played.

After they went to bed, I moved upstairs to the new girl…

My Reeves

She and I are making some pretty yahn together…

Zarzuela's Toasted Banana SW Merino

¬†For a change, the fiber is yelling at me what it wants to be when it grows up, this is my future Honeybee Stole (ravelry link). ¬†I have four oz of the stuff and fortunately Jessica had more. ¬†She delivered another 2 braids to me last night so I’m definitely going to have enough yardage in the end.

Just so you don’t think I’ve given up on knitting, I made excellent use of almost two hours in a webinar at the office yesterday. ¬†Rather than letting my attention wander or doodling as I normally do (and did during last week’s webinar) I took my sock in progress with me. ¬†I had cast on for the second of the little princess socks while sitting with Chris, made it through a couple of rows of the toe and left it. ¬†Well, I’m now past the heel working my way up the cuff. ¬†Sweet. ¬†Hope there’s another webinar soon

And here’s Kauni progress as of this morning. ¬†I’m just shy of halfway through the second sleeve now.

 

Second Sleeve Progress

I’m pleased.

Craft on!

I don’t have much time today. ¬†I have to finish up the testing on two different changes I’ve made and need to get them done by tomorrow. ¬†Tonight is another early night out for me as mom is out visiting Rikki in PA and dad’s sweet but impractical car has only two seats. ¬†I need to leave early to pick up the twins. ¬†I wanted to show the recent progress on Kauni. ¬†

Negative Image Sleeves

I’m not sure if you can tell what you’re looking at. ¬†I folded the sweater in half, put one shoulder lower than the other and laid the sleeve in progress on top of the first sleeve.

I like it. ¬†I’m on the bottom half of the first chart now. ¬†Yay me. ¬†I try not to think about what’s left to do, like all the hems, including the rippage of existing hems. ¬†I might let my monogamous attention wander a bit. ¬†I’m considering a small piece of neckwarmer type lace as a quick distraction. ¬†Also, while Alex has requested store bought hat/mittens, Kat declared her want of handknits. ¬†Makes up for her not wanting me to knit her more sweaters. ¬†Punk.

Craft on!

I want to thank everyone for their advice and commiseration to my post yesterday. ¬†I do like the idea of the voodoo doll and might just knit one if it comes to that. ¬†While the hormone situation hasn’t quite played out fully yet, it isn’t quite so bad this morning.

First, yesterday we had our team meeting (H, J and myself) to discuss status and then data modeling for the big bad project. ¬†During the course of the data modeling part, J turned to me and said that it didn’t matter to him how it was designed, I was coding it. ¬†Awesome. ¬†That’s a big item that wasn’t on the project plan that he handed me last week. ¬†Cool.

Second, after the meeting, H and I were trying to diagnose a problem that client services sent to me. ¬†When we decided to try something I noted that I just missed an automatic event and said that I’d have to trigger it manually. ¬†This is the change that I referred to yesterday. ¬†She’d asked whether I’d done it. ¬†I said that I’d completed that directive last week. ¬†We got to discussing the “directive” and she apologized for having it come out that way. ¬†I told her that while we agree that the task change and email were properly from me as I am the point person, I do know that any change requires a broadcast email. ¬†Additionally that there is a nice way to get a peer to do something and a not-so-nice/bossy way of doing it. ¬†She apologized right then and there. ¬†On the way home, I got a long email further apologizing for the tone of the directive and how she hadn’t meant it that way. ¬†And again, this morning, she apologized to my face, making sure we were okay. ¬†Call me a sucker, but I think she really means it.

She’s a bright girl, young (think this is her second, err third, job since getting out of school) and not a US native. ¬†To some extent I know where she’s coming from. ¬†I haven’t always taken the nice route myself. ¬†Had a boss several jobs ago tell me to play nice with others. ¬†It’s been a lesson that I’ve learned over the years, how to work well with peers. ¬†This might just be the beginning of that lesson for her. ¬†She is genuinely nice in other areas, including inquiring as to how the kids are, how my weekend was, etc. ¬†I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt this time. ¬†I think maybe in a few days, I’d like to sit down with her and have a heart to heart, we’ll see. ¬†If something like this pops up again, mom suggested I gently prod her like I do with the twins for “please” and “thank you”. ¬†Can’t hurt, right?

Anyway, I feel better.

I noticed last night that while the second sleeve on kauni is one shade off the beginning of the first sleeve, I didn’t really notice that the colors are reversed. ¬† What is the foreground on one is the background on the other.

Second sleeve

First sleeve

¬†I’m now a 1/4 of the way through the sleeve. ¬†I might just finish this sucker afterall. ¬†This project monogamy isn’t a bad thing is it? ¬†I am getting tired of it though. ¬†Oh noes.

Craft on!

It must be that horrendous time of the month as something is bothering me far more than it normally does. ¬†I think I mentioned in the past that my predecessor at this job has returned. ¬†She (H) left the company about 5 months before they hired me. ¬†She came back a year later this past spring. ¬†Now my boss (J) pulled me aside before announcing to the group at large that she was returning, to assure me that my role wasn’t changing.

When i took the job it was a combination of production support and new development, along with bug fixes. ¬†Unfortunately, since H has been back, it has become far more production support with very light development, even as we enter a phase of completing rebuilding the product. ¬†I also hear alot of “When I did that job I had not only that production support, but also the coding. ¬†I had alot to do”. ¬†Add in the “this is how I did it” crap. ¬†Its like they broke the position in two when she came back, giving her all the plum developer things and left me with the crap. ¬†I’ve been asking for more to do, even going so far as to put in my self-assessment that I’d like to be busier. ¬†Still, i get the crap work and i feel my C# coding skills getting rustier and rustier. ¬†The project plan is out for the next release which takes us to June and honestly, I don’t foresee must in the way of real development for me while the rest of the team gets to code away. ¬†I’m like a footnote on the development chart. ¬†Again.

It doesn’t help that she treats me like a very talented admin. ¬†”Change that process so it runs every 15 min and send out an email to the client services team”. ¬†What? ¬†I know that if I change something that affects them to let them know. ¬†I’m not stupid. ¬†I might not be a “Lead Engineer” but I’m not your secretary. ¬†

Honestly, I don’t know what to do about it. ¬†Do I talk to my friend in HR? ¬†In her HR role or as a friend? ¬†(Don’t want to burden her, she’s getting married this weekend.) ¬†Do I talk to my boss? ¬†Do I talk to H and ask her to quit treating me like her assistant? ¬†Do I ask her what the hell her game is? ¬†Do I just ignore it and wait for this time of the month to freakin pass so it doesn’t bother me quite as much? ¬†Shit.

I do like the company. ¬†I do like the people I work with. ¬†I like the product. ¬†I just don’t like sitting around babysitting an automated production process, tweaking it every now and again, and being sent the crap work to fill up part of the day. ¬†Oh yeah, that part of the day is after business hours when the load is off the system, so much of it is done at night. ¬†At home.

Ugh.. y’all don’t come here to read that. ¬†Sorry.

I snapped this on the way to daycare/train this morning.  Definitely going down, but the next car will be a hybrid, what with all my local driving!

Even better, I get to pay that AND keep my arse in the car

I’m back to working on Kauni after taking most of the weekend off from knitting. ¬†The second sleeve is progressing, and amazingly enough the color sequence is just one shade off from the first sleeve.

I have a nice warm lap full of wool on the way to work now.

Craft on!

The knitting is definitely the softer side of me.  It is the Yin to my technology Yang.   There are those projects where both sides get to meet though and Kauni is definitely one of those.  Most of the work of Kauni (except the actual knitting of course) was done with my good friend, MS Excel!

Remember this?

I remember being completely obsessed with this sweater around Rhinebeck-time last year.  I made quick progress, until the sleeves hit and then she sat.  Part of the problem is that I think its is coming out a little small:

Taken last night while ignoring the annoying debate.

I’m hoping a vigorous blocking with rectify the problem.¬† Though in discussing the sweater-to-be with Mom last night, I think the real reason why she sat for so long is that this project is a break for me and it is pushing my comfort zone.¬† I’m a pattern knitter.¬† I don’t make up stuff.¬† Yes, I’ve been known to modify a pattern here and there, but not like this.¬†¬† I’ve been dreading the cuff/hem/collar/button band design issue that I’ve put off working the sleeve.¬†

Well, no more:

I’ve decided not to break the mold and went with the corrugated rib cuff of the original pattern.¬† I looked at quite a number of Kauni sweaters on Ravelry last night and decided I really did like how it looked.¬† I’ve also decided that I won’t be using buttons, but frogs instead.

So there.

On more exciting news, my Joy is Out for Delivery according to UPS.  Yay.

Craft on!

First off, thanks to everyone for their compliments on T&C. ¬†I’m looking forward to wearing it this weekend. ¬†I got to wear it to work this morning as it was a bit cooler. ¬†Also, thank you for the commiseration on the allergies (better now) and the ankle (also better). ¬†Neither should hamper me this weekend, but you might find me limping a bit with no voice

Now that T&C is finished, I needed something else to knit.  While I fought with myself to cast on something else shiney and new, I knew it was time to finish some WIPs that were hanging about.  Anyone remember this one?

(Sorry JessaLu, didn’t notice my toes in the picture until I just uploaded it. ¬†Doh! ) ¬†I also need to apologize for the craptastic colors in this picture. ¬†I switched the high-hat lightbulbs in my room from standard flood to the compact fluorescent. ¬†The light isn’t quite as bright in my night darkened room, but I’m saving electricity. ¬†Down side is less than stellar photos. ¬†Can’t win them all can ya?

Anyway, I dug this sucker out of its bag last night and settled down with it as the Rays trounced my Sox. ¬†:( ¬†I made some decent progress. ¬†That stitch marker in the sleeve is approximately where I started last night. ¬†I toyed with cutting the arms off and making this a vest once again, but Jess talked me off that cliff. ¬†Thanks Jess. ¬†I’d forgotten how sheepy this yarn smells.

That’s it for today. ¬†Got lots to do at work.

Craft on!

If Tuesday is for Twirling, Wednesday is for WIPs.. lets break em out.  

First up is Kat’s Amore. ¬†I’ve made some decent progress on the first sleeve. ¬†I haven’t exactly been a monogamous knitter with this, which explains why it isn’t finished yet. ¬†I’m guilty of reading on the train again. ¬†I’m still deep in my¬†Philippa Gregory obsession and am on the third of her books and as I’m coming towards the end of it, the less I knit on the train and the more I read. ¬†Never fret, I have two more of her books waiting in the wings ¬†Anyway, I should be getting back to this shortly.

Seeing as it was still WIP Wednesday and I’m trying to whittle them down before the SOL and SOS officially being on 6/21 and not actually start anything else (a big problem right about now), I pulled out some golden oldies. ¬†I had to transfer Orkney Pi to a longer cable so took the opportunity to get a better picture of at least part of this pi shawl. ¬†This morning on the train I neither read nor knitting on Amore, but worked 2 rounds on this. ¬†Yes, only two. ¬†Each is now 640 stitches. ¬†She’s going to be a big girl when she grows up as there is a 1280 stitch section after this one.

Not to be outdone, I spend some of my WIP Wednesday time Winding. ¬†I spent good quality time with my ball winder. ¬†Remember way back when I started the Kauni, I figured out that one of my four skeins was wound in the opposite direction. ¬†As I’m nearing the ends of the first skeins, it was time to do something about it. ¬†I rewound both of the remaining skeins so that they are going in the same color progression. ¬†This picture makes me smile. ¬†I’ve since broke off the remaining yarn and connected these two to the sleeve at the right points in the color progression. ¬†Fortunately I didn’t loose much in the way of yardage to accomplish this task. ¬†I have Kauni in the car in case I get motivated to work on her this evening at SnB. ¬†

I know I announced a few days ago that I was starting new socks with the Flat Feet yarn I bought a while back. ¬†Well I did. ¬†Except I can’t say as I enjoyed knitting with crinkly frogged yarn very much. ¬†It is pretty but not a pleasurable experience when paired with a lace sock. ¬†I’m not much in the mood to knit plain socks at the moment and definitely not in the mood to unravel the entire Flat, wash and wait, so back into stash it goes. ¬†I pulled out another new to me yarn, Lime & Violet’s Sasquatch Sock in Mahjong. ¬† I have the pattern for Ina’s SOS2007 design winner all printed out and ready to go. ¬†

You might think that that was all the time I spent with the ball winder, but you’d be wrong. ¬†I had some seriously quality and quantity time with it. ¬†My merino laceweight arrived and I was eager to get that wound. ¬†All 1750 yards of it. ¬†That would be the downside to lace! ¬†It was all I could do to not cast on for it last night. ¬†I did content myself to making a stitch marker for the center stitch. Yup, truly rediscovered the whole beading hobby

 

I figured that while I had the camera out, I should find the little bookworm bobbin lace project. ¬†I tracked down where my daughter hid it. ¬†isn’t it cute? ¬†I now am using it for its intended purpose. ¬†Why yes, as a bookmark! ¬†I loves it ¬†

Since I haven’t posted a picture of the popular and goofy cat in a while, here she is in all her glory. ¬†Even declawed she manages to get into odd spots. ¬†I snapped this this morning after I spotted her sitting on the top of the high back chair in the living room. ¬†Good old Sara.

Having now spent quality time with the posting tool, I’m off to spend some quality time with my .NET console program to extract users from Active Directory.

Craft on!

Do I need to mention that I’ve been busy since the last post?¬† Nah, didn’t think so.¬† I’ve been slowly moving/editing to get photos from older posts in place.¬† I’m good up through Oct. 2006.¬† I think.¬† I also started working on the finished items gallery.¬† You’ll notice in the sidebar, a link to a single page, the gallery.¬† I took a lead from Wendy and opted for the single page containing links off to the actual FO’s.¬† I’m slowly slogging my way through the FO gallery on typepad and building those pages here.¬† You’ll see only a few as I work my way backwards.¬†¬† Time.

What else has been going on?¬† Well, Thursday I succumbed to the stomach virus that has been making its rounds through the family.¬† Alex started it.¬† It wasn’t pleasant.¬† I worked from home that day.¬† More surprising, I was able to get a great deal accomplished.¬†

Friday, the tummy was better, but I was home anyway.¬† I had a leftover vacation day from 2007 that I had arranged to pair with MLK and take an extended weekend.¬† It was no day of rest.¬† Nope.¬† I spent the day arranging and cleaning my bedroom closet, which I’d been meaning to do since I moved into this bedroom.¬† I had an amazing amount of yarn jammed in there, as well as spinning supplies and forgotten projects, and the normal closet things of clothes and shoes.¬† Lots of shoes.¬† An amazing supply of shoes when you consider the difficulty I have in buying shoes with my ridiculously sized feet.¬†¬† But I digress.¬† I spent the day organizing, rounding up needles and the like.¬† Closet is now workable and I have a better grip on what is in there.¬† I also have no business buying yarn.¬† Ever again.¬† Maybe this year will be the year of the successful yarn diet.

The rest of the weekend, today included, has been a mix of children, knitting, XBox and spinning. Oh and yes, I have a new neighbor!¬† Sunday, Kat and I helped (Alex showed up with Pop later) our new neighbor unload some of her stuff in her new abode.¬† Click on over and wish her the best in her new place!¬† I’m looking forward to the upcoming dye workshops in her super fabulous extra kitchen, not to mention a SnB buddy on the train.¬† Welcome Jessica.

Sorry, no pictures of the spinning.¬† I’ve been slowly, and regularly spinning having silently joined the SpinMoreJanuaryAlongThing.¬† I’ve been trying to get in a half hour every day at least.¬† Been pretty successful on the whole.¬† I’m making my way through the pounds of black corriedale roving that I had processed from the 2006 Rhinebeck fleece.¬† I’m working up all the singles, winding off bobbins into cakes and numbering in order¬†and then will ply them together when there is no more raw fiber.¬† I’ve lost count, but at some point, I figured out I get some 4 bobbins out of one cake of roving.¬† I’m into the second cake and have 3 more to do.¬†

Active knitting this week has been more work on the vest that I’m knitting for Alex.¬† I’m using an old Ann Norling basic pattern and some Rowan Tapestry that I got on eBay.¬† Good stuff that is!¬† I have the back done and have, after a week, finally cast on for the front.

I finally put in some more time on Kauni’s first sleeve.¬† I haven’t been schlepping her on the train (that’s Dacapo’s position right now) as trying to balance the chart holder is a pain, and well interferes with watching video on the iPod Touch (just put Live Free or Die Hard on it for this week’s commuting pleasure, along with the final disk of Black Donnelly’s).¬† That’s made Kauni home knitting for when I have most brain cells intact.¬† I’m about a 1/3 of the way through this sleeve now and honestly, I’m very glad that I got my brain in gear and decided that the pattern wasn’t too big for the sleeve.¬† I’m loving how it looks.

Well, time to go knit a bit before bed.¬† Tomorrow is a work day and I’m tired.¬† Mom and I stayed up too late playing on the Xbox last night.¬†¬† Should I mention that Alex has been playing Call of Duty 2?¬† He’s actually pretty good when he can manage both sticks.¬† Poor guy.¬† He’s a future gamer all right!¬† These apples didn’t fall very far from this tree

Craft on!