Breathing.

It has been verified that my reference letters arrived. Should hear by the end of the week.

Eep.

Whims.

I want to cast on for this hat right now.
(Ravelry link, because the 5 of you who read this are on there anyhow.)

Problems with this idea:
1. I counted, and I already have 12 things in progress. Not kidding. I really feel like I should finish some things up before I get drawn in to the allure of the New! and Shiny!
2. I'm at work, and even if my yarn were here, it would not be looked upon positively for me to be knitting at work.

I broke my camera, so photos may be a little sporadic, which goes nicely with the sporadic posts. It's not fatal damage to the camera, as the issue is just that the batteries fall out of the camera now unless I tape the compartment shut. I need better tape.

I am still waiting. I will emerge from my cave once I hear something, but until then, I'm still pretty jittery. Working on that patience thing.

Saturday

Time to move that last post down the page. We finally have beautiful, sunny weather, great for being outside, or taking photos of things I've been knitting. Of course, now that the weather is good, the wee beastie is down with another bug. Holding steady with a fever just under 102, cheerful, but too tired and sick to do much of anything. Unfortunate, because it's gorgeous.

At the same time, I'm really behind on little tasks and cleaning, so I can catch up on those things. I'm trying to do some meal planning for the week, and stockpile some meals for those nights when there's just no time. I'm trying to eat more healthily, and not spend as much on takeout, but the last couple of weeks have knocked me for a loop.

I've noticed that the more I have going on, them more small projects I tend to accumulate. The latest evidence:

I knit a Last Minute Purled Beret (pdf download) from a skein of Manos I had been hoarding. It's okay, but I think I probably should have knit a smaller size. I just washed it a few moments ago, and it's drying on a plate. I may need to figure out something to tighten up the ribbing, or find a large-headed friend to gift it to. It's okay. I loved Manos when I first found it. The colors are very pretty, and it's soft, but I feel like this hat screams "handknit," and not in a good way. I may feel better about it once it's dried, but I'm thinking that I might put a pink ribbon in right above the ribbing, knit a quick flower, and gift it to my niece. This is hot off the needles, but still.



In the same stash-busting urge, I started a pair of Dashings. The Cascade 220 was a nice contrast to the Manos - I feel a lot better seeing even stitches. These are good for tv or movie knitting. No, I don't really need fingerless mitts, and I probably won't wear them, but I figure someone will like them. Besides, I can't make a hat out of this color. I'm really pale, and this color would look incredibly BAD on me. Wearing a hat out of this color would make me look like a zombie on a good day.


Husband is overdue for socks. I've had this yarn in stash for him for a long time, and I'm slowly knitting these up. I was speeding along for a while - the pattern is easy to remember, and since he likes short socks, they're a relatively quick knit. The hardest part is getting him to try the sock on for size, and I'm rapidly approaching the point where I need to start the toe. (An inch or so.)
I have another pair on the needles for him, but I'm contemplating ripping them back slightly. I realized I liked the purl side a lot better than the knit side, and then proceeded to work them inside out. However, the sock is a lot slower going in all purl, and I have a harder time remembering whether or not I've done my decreases. It might be a lot faster if I rip back and just knit the dumb things and turn them inside out at the very end. I was concerned about the gusset, where I pick up stitches, but this time it look just as good on the inside as the outside. Since I don't love this yarn, I'd almost rather just get it over with, and take the time to undo it so the knitting will go faster.

Finally there's Juno. I love this pattern, but right now, it's an object lesson in why it's a bad idea to try to knit from a chart when you're sick. In other words, although it's not a hard knit, or a hard pattern to follow, it's in time out for a while.


Enough for now, I suppose. I keep getting interrupted, and I can't remember what else I was going to say. Sick one is feeling bouncy, and is demanding attention.

Getting a few things off my chest

Sorry - have to do this so I can keep my mouth shut in real life.

To my new office mate: Hi. Glad you've joined the lab. Well, not really, because you represent a financial commitment that my boss isn't willing to make to me. In any case, thanks for taking an interest in my life. However, I'm able to manage my time without your input, so feel free to stop asking me what I'm working on, how it's going, why I'm not going to conferences/meetings/poster presentations, where I am, where I'm going, where I've been and other questions of that ilk. If you don't see me at my desk, I'm probably in the lab, darkroom, another lab, or the other lab. Oh - and don't worry about the number of hours I'm here - trust me, it's enough, and it's not your business. Thanks! P.S. I don't really want to talk to you about jewelery, face-lifts, my weight, your weight, or how The Biggest Loser is your favorite show because you like "seeing the fat people run around." I don't really think I have much in common with you.

To the clueless grad students: I'm done helping you. You're rude, obnoxious, disrespectful and some of you are just jerks. Just because I'm female doesn't mean that I don't know what I'm talking about, and even if you don't respect the fact that I got my degree and you're still earning yours, I have more years of experience than you do, and you should realize that. You mistake arrogance for confidence, and I'm not in the mood to argue with you, nor do I have the time to do so. P.S. You're wrong, by the way, but you can figure that out yourself.

To the new postdoc I like: No, it's always like this. It's always a frat-boy atmosphere, and liking what you're working on isn't enough to get you through this. It's 6 months in, and you're unhappy. They're never going to listen to you, they think they know everything, and they will always be overconfident and dismissive.

To my potential new employer: Please hire me. Please please please. I love your lab, I liked your people, and I want to go away and do something different now. You seemed really nice and encouraging, and I think you liked me, and I'm really really desperately hoping to come work with you. I know you said you'd get back to me next week, but please make it early in the week because I'm a nervous wreck.

Once more, into the breach.

Ten on Tuesday

Today's theme:

10 Favorite Ethnic Foods:
1. Pho Tai. (Anyone surprised? Didn't think so.)
2. Sushi - I particularly like yellowtail and tuna, but as long as it's fresh, I'm usually pleased.
3. Sashimi (yes, cheating.)
4. Miso soup.
5. Bagels and lox. The good stuff, not the little chopped up bits mixed with cream cheese. Does this count as ethnic anymore?
6. Pickled herring, in wine sauce.
7. Dal
8. Hummus
9. Thai brown curry with tofu, peanuts, and potatoes
10. Ramen

I'm back from my trip. It's still very much winter if you drive a bit north of here. I remembered to bring a scarf and a hat, but I forgot gloves. Now off to put some lotion on my chapped skin and get some desperately needed sleep.

Saturday, too early o'clock.

I woke up around 4:45 this morning, after a not so great night's sleep. I've got a cold, and a miserable coughing fit woke me up. I stomped around for a while before deciding to give up, fix a cup of English Breakfast (normally, it's coffee, but I only want tea when my throat hurts), run the dishwasher, and read internet comics and knit.

Currently, I'm putting most of my efforts into knitting some socks for my husband. I've knit a lot of socks for myself, but it's his turn now. I had started a pair, gotten fairly far along in fact, before ripping them out completely as the yarn and pattern competed too much. It was just a simple rib, but the socks have too much of a striping pattern in high contrast colors. I'm really not sure about this pair. On one hand, the color of the yarn is fantastic, but I'm not really sold on the base yarn. It's a relatively loose twist yarn, and is splitty, and fuzzing out. In general, I'm not a huge fan of superwash yarn. This one in particular feels weird to me - slick and almost synthetic.

Since I'm not sure how well these socks are going to hold up, I'm also knitting a second pair, which I'm enjoying more. It's funny to me how some socks seem fast, even at a small gauge.

Photos later, once the sun comes up, at which point I may switch to some lace projects. Unless I go back to bed, which is also quite likely.

Finished

I decided these had to be Milford socks when I realized how well the socks blended in with the rug in my front room. If you know the show, you got the reference, otherwise, I strongly recommend watching Arrested Development.

More detail on Ravelry. Pattern is Mockery Sock by Katie Grady. Yarn is Araucania Ranco Multy. A new yarn for me - it's nice, but not remarkable. Knit on size 1 needles, but I wish I had used 0s, or dropped some pattern repeats. I'm really happiest with 64 stitches on a size 1 needle, going up to 72 is really too big for my foot. So there's a decent chance these will make their way to my sister, who has feet about a size and a half larger than mine. I am very likely to use this pattern again. I like the texture a great deal, and it's quick, attractive, and easily memorized.

Now, back to a very simple sock while I read way too many threads in the Rav forums. Just fascinating.