Hey, I'm Knitting!

Things have been CRAZY for me lately. I was on call last week (and last weekend), so I wound up working 70 hours last week. In exchange, they gave me today off, which I desperately needed.

My parents are coming to visit Friday and I needed to do some MAJOR housecleaning. They're bringing me a cabinet that was in my grandfather's office, so I had to move some furniture around, and M's office and my art room were both in a shambles. Plus, I hadn't taken the recycling to the center in three months! It took me over an hour just to bring the recycling out to the car - ugh! I am exhausted and sweaty, and I still have 15 things on my To-Do list before Friday at 2. When the cleaning is all finished, I will take some pics of the pad to show it off.

I have actually done some knitting too - I finished the scarf for my Ravelry Scarf Exchange pal (who knows who I am, so no pics until she receives it!), and it came out so much better than I expected! I think I may have a calling as a pattern copier.

I made wristwarmers to wear at work. It is ungodly cold in there all the time, so it's nice for my hands to feel warm.

(yes, I already know that I need a manicure)



I made a gaiter, which is a tube that goes around your neck to keep it warm, instead of wearing a whole scarf. I got this yarn through an exchange on Ravelry, and it feels oh so good against my neck!







I started the Ribbed Lace Bolero, which is the pattern that my Caffeine Swap pal sent me, with some of the yarn she sent me. I'm kicking myself for not doing a gauge swatch though, my gauge is a full stitch short per inch from the pattern, so I think I may rip it and start over. At least I didn't get too far.



AND, I heard from my "upstream" Secret Pal that she mailed my first package!! I cannot wait to see what she picked out for me. We've been emailing quite a bit, and we have so much in common that I can't imagine not loving every single thing.

When I got home from work yesterday, a box was waiting on the front porch. I opened it to find this:



**squee!** It's the box from my caffeine swap pal!!

Here's what was in it:


A pattern that was in my Ravelry "things I want to make" queue,


2 skeins of Red Wool-Ease, my most frequently used yarn,


Super cute japanese stationary - it's thin plastic rather than paper, how cool,


A handmade mug from a local artist - it's beautiful and huge and actually holds an entire French Press' worth of coffee,


Five (!!!) balls of Sugar n Cream in super yummy colors,


2 skeins of salmon-colored Cotton-Ease, enough to make the bolero in the pattern,


A pound of super yummy extra bold coffee from a local roaster, to which I am now officially addicted,


A bag of never-before-seen Ghirardelli dark chocolates with extra-fine ground espresso in them,

AND


A glass candleholder and layered candle with three different coffee scents.

Whew! I can't believe how much awesome stuff was in that box! I feel so spoiled!!

The only disappointment is that she didn't tell me who she is, so I can't thank her properly yet! C'mon pal, out yourself!!

Thursday afternoon, we had a HUGE storm here. "They" recorded sustained wind speeds of 78 MPH at Wrigley Field, with heavy rains and serious flooding. After the storm ended, I walked to the bar down the street to meet Leah (4 blocks down the street) and I counted 13 trees down. It was the biggest non-snow storm I've ever seen. My street was blocked in 2 places by downed trees, and two of the three cross-streets I went by were also blocked. The city crews worked the chainsaws and claw trucks all night on the cleanup, and as soon as it was light enough outside, I walked around taking some photos.

My street:



One cross street:



Another cross street:



And a couple of the downed power/phone/cable/somethingorother lines:





Ugh, look at these cars:













Here is another blog with some fantastic photos outside of my neighborhood.

Luckily, my power stayed (mostly) on, but the cable (and therefore, internet) went kaplooie and just came back this morning. Oh intartoobs, how I've missed you so!

On Friday, Kathy and Emmy drove in from Cincinnati for the weekend. We had a great girly visit - Saturday morning we had mimosas and got mani/pedis, then Saturday night we went to the Roller Derby. I hadn't been before, and it was really interesting. I learned the rules and took blurry photos (those girls are moving FAST!):







Unfortunately, during the third match, a girl was very seriously injured - she couldn't feel or move her arms or legs. They stopped the game so her teammates could go to the hospital with her. The latest update I've heard is that she was in surgery all night, and they won't know for a while whether the paralysis will be permanent. We were all very shaken up, and she is in all of our thoughts. If you could keep her and her family in your thoughts as well, I'm sure it would be appreciated.

Kathy and Emmy left on Sunday morning, and Sunday afternoon Dan came over with his very well behaved kids for a knitting lesson. They both already knew the knit stitch, and N (11 year old boy) already knew how to cast on, bind off, and purl as well. I worked with L (7 year old girl) on casting on and purling, and taught N yarn overs - both with the k2tog and as dropped stitches. It was really nice to feel so very useful, and those kids are just great. I'm hoping they will come back for more lessons.

Yesterday I heard from my downstream Secret Pal - she got the postcard and gushed about it! I am positively beaming.

Ok, I think that's a long enough post for now, and it's past my bedtime. I'm sure I'll talk (type?) your ear (eye?) off again soon.

I'm sure all this "swap" talk is super exciting to those of you who don't knit (I know, I don't really have any readers, but it's fun to pretend), but it's a bright spot in my life right now that I desperately need.

So, y'all know I'm a joiner. I have joined Secret Pal 11 (see the 2 related entries below). The deal with this is that something like 600 knitbloggers sign up for this thing, a few people generously donate their time to match people up, and everyone sends and receives gifts. I have two pals - an "upstream" pal, who is secretive and sends me presents based on my blog, and the questionnaires I've filled out, and whatever questions they feel like asking me anonymously. I have already heard from my upstream pal a couple times and provided as much info on myself as I thought of at the time. I'm a tad wordy. My other pal is my "downstream" pal. I know her name, address, and blog address, and I need to investigate what she's interested in and send her presents. I am totally stalking her and already have some present ideas for her. The Secret Pal swap lasts 3 months, so that's a lot of little packages, postcards, etc. and I'm excited.

I have also joined a Ravelry-based-group swap. The group is the caffeinated knitters, and it's a coffee/tea/mug/yarn/etc. swap with upstream and downstream pals, but it's just 1 month (most folks seem to be sending a single package). Well, I did my coffee shopping for my downstream caffeine pal today, and I am so proud of what I got for her! 1 lb. of El Salvadoran coffee beans, medium-dark roast, direct trade (paid 25% more than fair trade, straight to the farmer rather than a co-op), shade grown, etc.; 4 oz. of lovely green tea; "make your own" teabags (they're empty and you put your own tea in them and steep as usual), lots of different tiny chocolate bars, and a great Intelligentsia Coffee Co. mug with the Municipal Flag of Chicago on the reverse:



Now I just need to stalk what kind of knitting she does and find some nice yarn to go along with it. I may also sew a needle case for her, and I am definitely including one of my self-storing tote bags.

I am also GETTING MY SORRY ASS OUT OF THE HOUSE TONIGHT. I found out yesterday about a Stitch 'n' Bitch group that meets at Black Rock, a mere 1/4 mile from my house, each first and third Tuesday of the month. What awesome timing, since I need to STOP FEELING SORRY FOR MYSELF AND SITTING AROUND IN MY EMPTY APARTMENT. I'm going to re-start the Cabled Newsboy Cap, this time with less shiny yarn. Wish me luck in making some new (i.e. "local") friends!

I joined Secret Pal 11 (and will put the button over there ---> as soon as I figure out how to do that). Hey upstream pal! Here's my questionnaire!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely not like?
Ideally, cashmere, heh. Nothing I don't like so far though.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Straights go into a zippered straight case, circs have a plastic expandable check file, and dpns have one too.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting since April of 2006 - I taught myself using a book, and keep teaching myself just by following patterns and trial-and-error. I'd actually consider myself advanced even though I've never finished a sweater. I can do lace, cables, stranding, intarsia, short rows, shaping, and garment construction.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Indeed!



The Things I Want Portable Wishlist


5. What's your favorite scent?
Oranges, Bacon, Campfire, Vanilla Frosting, Coffee

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
YES! The two adjectives M uses to describe me are "cute" and "candy-filled". I love nearly all candy (no coconut, please). Fruit-flavored? Check. Chocolate? Check. Caramel? Check. Licorice? Check. Nuts? Check. Hard candy, gummies, jelly beans, chocolate bars, I like it all.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I dye fabric (fiber-reactive process), sew, paint, draw, etc. I don't spin yet, and I'm not really sure that I need another expensive hobby.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like everything except new country and techno/trance/electronica/jungle/blah. My favorites are late 70's punk, classic rock, and hair metal. I can definitely rock the MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love purple, orange, greeny-blues, red, black, pink, grey. Not a big fan of yellow or brown though.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm living with my fella (though he's gone for a while) and a diva of a kitty (she's a plus-size model in her secret life).

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves, hats, mittens, gloves - it's COLD in Chicago! Not a big poncho fan.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I like to knit new things all the time, but seem to fall back on dishrags as my public transportation projects.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Cabled Newsboy Cap, a skinny version of Calorimetry to wear as a headband, and Knucks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
YES!!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Bamboo circs for the win.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Both - thanks Grandma!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Hm, maybe since last August?

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween, for sure.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Antique barware and records (the kind made of shellac, wax, or vinyl - you know, those big round black things we old-timers used to listen to music on).

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I don't have any subscriptions - do I need one? Books I'm dying for are on the Amazon wishlist.
ETA: Dur, I didn't even see the word "needles" up there. For some reason, I am severely lacking in dpns. I prefer a 7- or 8" length, and I have sizes 1, 2, 4, 8, and 10. Of course, I have exquisite taste, so my favorites are Crystal Palace bamboo.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'd like to try socks one of these days.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Not yet, see above. I don't know what measurements are required for a foot. If you need them, email me which parts need to be measured, I guess.

23. When is your birthday?
May 8

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
I am! I'm SillyPutty.

Whew! Hooray for Secret Pals! If you need more info on me, let me know, I'm an open book.

So you may have noticed that I have been doing A LOT of knitting. Witness:









etc. I actually made 2 of the Pop Tarts, and I'm about halfway through a cabled newsboy cap. I also made a little progress on my Knucks (but not much - too hard to concentrate). I find knitting very meditative and serene. It's my "Serenity NOW!" chant. And right now, I need it.

Things have not been going well in my personal life lately. On June 3rd, M told me that he had a substance abuse problem. I was completely taken aback - first by the fact that he had been living for the last 6 months without being sober, and secondly that I hadn't known. I knew he wasn't acting "normal", but he was out of work and stressed, etc. None of that makes up for the fact that he had this huge problem, and I just flat out didn't notice. [I'm working on the guilt thing.] Since then he's been "dry" and using online message boards and telephone helplines to help him through. He's been asking me for help and support, and I've been giving him all I'm able to, but it seems that whatever I do hurts rather than helping. Being around me is making it harder for him to get better, so I've asked him to stay with his parents for a while. Asking him to leave is one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I know that if he stays here and we continue to have the same circular conversation twice a day, we will wind up hating each other. We are not breaking up - he's only taking his clothes and the laptop with him - he is just going to stay with his parents until he gets some real help and gets on the road to recovery.

I am feeling completely overwhelmed and alone and I have no idea what to do about it. I don't really have anyone here in Chicago that I can lean on, and I'm working so much, and so stressed out that I just can't keep up with cooking and cleaning that I've lost 15 pounds unintentionally and am living in a pigsty.

So I knit.

Since I got back from Tulsa, things have been relatively quiet around here.

I made another trip up North to see my folks and do a final run-through at my Grandmother's house. The estate sale will be held over two weekends, and this was my last opportunity to stake a claim to anything I wanted. I still can't believe how much stuff was in that house! I spent almost a whole day there, and my mom and I were still discovering things we'd never seen before. Of course, I came home with another carload of memories. I did get some more knitting stuff, including a metric assload of needles and a ballwinder, and a lot of the Japanese china and stoneware. I also went to two art fairs while I was there and of course got a couple of things there too - a new spoonrest for the stove, a hand-turned wooden spoon, a beautiful clay serving bowl, and a SUPERCOOL plasma-cut steel garden stake in the shape of a skull, with wrenches welded on as the crossbones. Awesome.

I finished the shrunken head! It looks a little like Hermes from Futurama, totally unintentionally.





I also finished the hotpad for my sister - I felted it at my parent's house because we don't have hot water in our laundry room. It came out a little less than rectangular, more hourglass-shaped, but it still works and she still likes it.

My sad news is that I ripped out the sweater. 25 hours of work, reduced to nothing. Le sigh. I don't think I'll re-start it again right away, ripping it out was really depressing, and if I screw it up again, I want a little time to have passed.

Before:



After:



Thank goodness for that ballwinder from my Grandmother - 25 hours of knitting, 5 minutes of ripping it out. If I'd had to wind all that up by hand, I never would have ripped it out. Ugh.

1. I'm listening to a new country CD I downloaded (yeah, I know, but it's the good old twangy kind of country) by a gal named Elizabeth Cook, and it's called "Balls". The CD title is an abridged version of the song "Sometimes it Takes Balls to be a Woman". Freakin awesome.

2. I just saw a license plate frame that says "Knitting: It Takes Balls". WANT.

3. My friend Josh just sent me a link to this LOLCAT (maybe NSFW-ish?). Hilarious!

So it's been a couple of weeks, I know. I have updates.

The training in Texas went very well for the most part. There was one session (out of eight) that went very poorly - the attendees were extremely combative from the start, and one man rolled his eyes and made that exasperated "uuhh" sound every time I said something. Grr. The rest of the sessions went well, and one of them, the attendees actually applauded and thanked me for coming! That was very nice. While I do understand that I am essentially a bureaucrat, I am trying to help them get through the "paperwork" that they are REQUIRED to do. I was not expecting applause, for sure, but I wasn't expecting malicious intent, either. The nice thing is that my supervisor (who was supposed to come with me and got sick) nominated me for a "Spot Award" for excellence. This is a little bonus given out to people to reward hard work on a specific project. So my next paycheck will be $500 heavier! w00t!

I had a FANTASTIC time in San Antonio at the nerd barbeque. It was nice to see my imaginary internet friends again.

I have finally seen some concerts! I think these may have been my first since moving to Chicago - we've been paycheck-to-paycheck, and the concerts at Taste of Chicago are free. I saw Kenny Rogers, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, (unfortunately, by mistake) John Mayer, Umphrey's McGee, and the Black Crowes. The food at the Taste was awesome too - I had a veggie samosa, some pierogi, goat biryani, and a lot of the frozen southern comfort hurricanes - it was HOT out. I also got to see my friend Deb, who was visiting from Dayton, and Todd, visiting from Atlanta. Yay, real-life, human friends!

Last week, I was supposed to continue my training world tour by going to Tulsa with my supervisor on Tuesday and Wednesday. Our flight was at 3:30 Monday afternoon, so I went to work at 7 a.m., then we left for the airport at 12:30. We got on the plane, taxied for 45 minutes (for reals), then sat with the air conditioning turned off for 2 hours, waiting out a thunderstorm, with a toddler on his mom's lap sitting right next to me. At 6:15, they said we didn't have enough fuel left to make it to Tulsa, so we had to go back to the gate. When we disembarked (debarked?), the gate agents told us the flight was cancelled. We managed to get on the top of the standby list for the next flight at 7:50, which by that point had been pushed back to 8:55. They gradually kept pushing back the time, eventually getting it to midnight before cancelling that flight too. When we asked about getting on a flight in the morning, the gate agent said the earliest we could get there would be Thursday. So, I hopped in a cab and came home, getting back at 10:30. Thankfully, my boss let me work from home on Tuesday, so I got to sleep in an extra 1.5 hours! Our trip has been rescheduled for the 22nd - 25th, so wish me luck in getting there.

I am working today too - teaching in Waukegan (just North of the city). Not my regular class, 2 days notice. Don't get me started.

I have been knitting. A LOT. I really need to take some photos so my blog is a little more interesting, don't I? Maybe I will make M take some while I am working later today. So here's what I have been doing:

1. Finished knitting a wool hotpad thingy for my sister - needs to be felted.
2. Started another dishrag - nice and mindless to do on the train.
3. Started a SWEATER. I know I said I'd never knit a sweater, but the yarn was $1 a skein! Dude! A $7 sweater!! It's actually coming along quite nicely.
4. Started and finished Calorimetry in 2 sittings - in beautiful Soy Wool Stripes. I promise I'll add a photo, it's really gorgeous, if I do say so myself, and I do.
5. Started a Shrunken Head bag. How can I not make this?

I will try to keep updating more often, but I cannot make any promises. I finally got my invitation to Ravelry, so I will be spending some time over there.

and have not had a lot of time for blogging and whatnot. Since we spoke last, I have traveled to see my parents, changed to Summer Hours at work (6 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. with Fridays off), gone to a barbeque in San Antonio, and taught eight classes at our office in Dallas. Hooray for travel! So I will try not to be too verbose with my update because I have to go to bed soon, but I seem to have a problem with that lately. Here goes:

The trip to see my parents went very well. M couldn't come (job interview), so I went alone. The drive went smoothly, I stopped at Mickey-Lu's (the sign outside simply says "EAT") for a burger, and arrived with plenty of time to spare before our dinner reservation with the grandfolks. There was much visiting with them and the parents, but unfortunately my sister was out of town. The purpose of the trip was to bring some things home from my grandmother's house, and to just go through in general and make a list of the things I'd really like to have. It's very hard for me not to list everything I have fond memories of - we went there at least once a week the whole time I was growing up, in college, and after my divorce. I spent a lot of time in that house, and have fond memories of a LOT of the things. When I really think about it, I already have several items that make me smile and think of my grandparents every time I see them. If (goddess forbid) the house were to burn down, I still have all my memories, and enough things to trip those memories. However, there are some things that are worth far more to me sentimentally than they would be worth monetarily in the estate sale. It's making me feel greedy and sad and weird. But I do think that there are some things that just should not be sold to a stranger.

Some of the items I have already acquired include lots of souvenirs from their time in Japan (ooh, fabric!), a chop, some stained glass pieces, a couple of her paintings, and my great grandmother's Rock-Ola bar cabinet, complete with glasses and a beautiful glass shaker. Oy!

In addition to that stuff, I got ALL OF THE YARN. I know, I know, actual KNITTING CONTENT! There were lots of wound balls of some type of thin scratchy yarn in about 20 colors with no ball bands whatsoever, and 2 entire 30 gallon Rubbermaid tubs full of cheapo acrylic, with no 2 skeins of the same color. Geez. I took it anyway, the whole lot of it probably would have fetched $5 at the estate sale. I figured what I can do with it is use that any time I want to learn a new stitch or new technique. I can make 8" squares of all the new stitches I want to learn, and donate them to one of the charities that makes blankets for folks in nursing homes. My grandmother really would have liked that, I think.

One of the items I'm waiting to hear from my dad about is a cabinet that is in my grandfather's office. It's just over 6 feet tall, maybe 3 feet wide and a foot deep, and instead of shelves like a bookcase, it is entirely comprised of 4" x 6" cubbies. All his best stuff to play with was in there when I was a kid - the chinese dragon puppet, his bugle, the flyswatter gun (don't ask). It would mean so much more to me than some summer tourist who sees an estate sale advertised. So please, keep your fingers crossed that the appraisal on it comes in low.

Well, that was more than I had intended to write for my entire post, and I haven't gotten past the first subject! I'm going to hit the sack, and the rest will have to wait. Maybe saving some stories will make me update this more often.