Bad, bad Blogger!

Okay, I know I have been a bad Blogger! Part of it I can blame on Ravelry. Okay, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Ravelry, but it is a major TIME SUCK! I find myself on the computer for hours, talking to my friends in the various forums, researching patterns and yarns, looking for new ideas, and boy the time flies! Knitting time is gone. Blogging time is gone. Housework time is gone. (Okay I don't care about the last one!)


But I have been knitting. Miter after miter and cable after cable. And I have been listening to podcasts and books on tapes. I have listened to Pride and Predjudice and Frankenstein. I have also listened to various short stories and poems.

I did finish the younger son's pirate hat. Made out of Dale Baby Ull, on size 1 and 2 needles. And he did get to wear it before Spring decided to show her face this week.

Let's see what else, received some Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 from Canada for a shawl this week in beautiful shades of red with a tiny bit of goldish yellow. Oh, so pretty!

There are some changes ahead for Mountain Purl, but I won't go into that now. I have some knitting to do. Enjoy the rest of the day!

Start as you mean to go on.....

The problem is that I want to do this now.

I have reached a point in my career that I am ready to move on. However, having the job that I have, and working for the government, you cannot easily make that change. The Federal Retirement system issues must be considered. Age is a consideration. I have what I term as a “golden handcuff” and I can’t just walk away now.

However, I am done. I just do not want to work 50 hours a week anymore. Add in the commute, and you now have 60 hours. I don’t want to go to work in the morning. And after what happened yesterday in court, I thought to myself, I am too old to have to put up with this crap anymore. And I just don’t want to!

So the problem for me right now, is amassing any type of desire to go to work and finish this. The 300 or so days left, or 440 or so days if I wait until the boys are out for the summer in 2009, seems like a never-ending task that I do not want to perform. And it makes me tired, and short-tempered, and I miss things that I should do. Little niceties for people that make you a good friend.

And I wonder if that is poring over into my knitting. Lately I need to get things organized and off the needles. Working on the yarn room. I don’t want to buy any more yarn because of what I know is in the yarn room that needs to be started, is a WIP or needs finishing. And I get that feeling of knitting to nowhere, though I did finish the little guy’s pirate hat. And the pretty things that are in there, that at one time or another were on top of the must knit now list.

And starting as I mean to go on. I want to start designing now. I have some ideas for a coat floating around my head. And ideas for a shawl. I am not a patient woman; no matter how patient I may seem to others when I teach, or take a class, or show something to a fellow knitter, and when I rip things back to fix them, or how long I will work at a project. When it comes to things that I expect for me, or if I expect someone else to do something, I want it done expeditiously. This is not a good trait when you have young children. DH calls me patience because he says I have NONE.

So, I’m not depressed or anything, I just want to escape. I want a change. See, I never got that when I passed the California or the Colorado bars, I just kept going at this job which I’ve had for almost 20 years, a job which I totally disagree with its merit system. I watched my friends go on to something new. I see my friends rewarded in their jobs and get promoted and I am happy for them. I however, just want to go, and I hate the wait.

On a side note, I did get new yarn in the post these past few days. Some sock yarn which is red, and purples, in honor of the Red Hat Society and the poem that I think goes, when I am old I will wear purple…. I have friends who would just love this yarn because of that. It made me smile when I opened the package up. (I am in a surprise sock yarn club. I don’t check the website and I just like opening up the package each month and seeing the new yarn). And I got some wool that I ordered from Montana for a Cobblestone that I will modify for DH. Beaverslide Fisherman weight. Very nice wool, and feels soft, which REALLY surprised me.

Okay, I need to work.

What's up?

So, what have you been up to lately?

I’ve been very busy at work and at home. Rushing from here and to there, a never ending madness of trying to get somewhere on time or get things done on time. Whew!

We did manage to go up to the mountains this past weekend, which bought me some knitting time. We drove up to Winter Park on Saturday and spent the night at the Vintage hotel. We put the boys in ski school on Sunday, for their first time ever on skis. I think they had a good time, and to my surprise, the oldest skied faster. He is usually the one that doesn’t like to go fast, and he had fun going as fast as he could until he would fall down. Me – I haven’t been on skis since the oldest was about 6 months old. So I took a 2 ½ hour lesson and then took it easy. I had a good time and I remembered how much fun it is. So, I think we will be doing a lot more of this with the boys in the future.

What is on the needles? Too much. I am still mitering and mitering on the Mandarin Jacket. And working on lace for Whispering Pines after losing the first shawl on my trip to South Carolina. And I need to do my swatches for my Saturday class with Jean Wong. What I want to do is dive into the yarn room and organize it. Must be a case of spring fever. I did sell some yarn on Ravelry and I am going to go through the stash and see if there is stuff that I am just not going to use. If so, it’s going up for sale. The yarn room is a mess, I don’t know what I have in there.

Belated stash update. Hmm, I really don’t know. I did buy some Beaverslide Fisherman weight to make the Cobblestone Pullover for DH, but that is on order, and I am not starting that until May in a KAL. I bought some sock yarn but only two skeins. You know, I just want to get some feeling of organization. I want to pull out projects and organize them in what should be finished before summer. 1. What I want to start soon, 2. what is close to being finished. 3. What is finished but just needs to be put together. Yep, it’s time for a dive in the yarn room. I also want to work on two hoodies, that are perfect spring causal wearing sweaters. Man, work is just getting in the way! I should be at home figuring this all out!

I took this test yesterday, to find out what kind of yarn I am. Here is my result:

You are Mercerized Cotton.You are always very crisp and neat. You are very playful and are happiest while outdoors in the sunshine. You are sometimes accused of splitting hairs, but in the end people find you pretty easy to live with.

What do you think?

Knitting to Nowhere!

Okay, I’ve been knitting and knitting and knitting. And knitting, and knitting, and knitting. A little ripping thrown in and back to knitting. And I feel like I’ve gotten nowhere. Yep, nowhere.

I’m thinking it’s the miters. I’ve been working on them. And some entrelac. And a sock. So to a corner and back. Knit back backwards. And knit in a circle. No wonder I’m getting NOWHERE!

I think I’ve got the winter blahs. Enough already, I want spring! Baseball season. Of course we are in March, our snowiest month, with two snowfalls already this week. Add to that I’m buried at work. So between snowfalls and piles of work, I’m back to wanting that island again…..

Was knitting with Sharon at lunch today and this VERY TALL guy walked by where we were knitting. I asked her, “Isn’t that Shaquille O’Neal?” It was, the Suns are in town playing the Nuggets tonight. Should have taken a picture of him with the two of us knitting. See what happens girls when you don’t show up to knit with the lunch bunch?

I’ve got a sock class tonight . Eight knitters. Boy that will keep me running around the table. I ripped my sock back to the ribbing this morning. I just didn’t like the eight stitch repeat I was using, so back on the needles and on to a new stitch pattern for the leg.

I have two new knitting bags to show at home, one is from Rowan – the Nolita Bag, very cute!

Well, I need to get back to attacking the piles in my office. Enjoy the day though it’s VERY grey out there!