Retail Therapy?

Another pair of socks started and finished in 2010. This is, what? my 3rd project? I like the instant gratification of small projects. Pattern is from my head and the yarn is another blast from the past, Jawoll Cotton. Why is it so hard to find jawoll these days? I love how each ball has a spool of reinforcing thread in the center for the heels and toes.

I held the yarn double so I could have a nice thick sock while still getting the fantastic wash ability that I think is lacking in thicker superwash yarn. I cast on 40 stitches to make a very narrow woman's sock. I could wear it but 44 stitches would be better for me.

I now have a little sock knitting crisis. I rolled over one of my Knit Pick sock needles at work (I do get a very nice office chair) and broke it. I now only have 3 left out of the 10? 12? of the two packs I started with. I'm making do by using a bamboo needle in a size larger. I just might have to make an order today, it's like I'm being forced to, right? Right?

If Everone Had to Work Customer Service...

...the world would be a nicer place.

I just finished my second week of my temp job doing customer service. I get to spend my days in a loud room trying to hear what a person is saying on the phone. The whole day I live with low levels of terror that I'm going to enter some information wrong because I can't hear it, this, of course, does nothing for my speed or my accuracy.

I've pretty much given up on my not saying anything wrong. NiceDude, sorry, it turns out your account is not ok but I didn't see the tiny red type down in the very bottom of the screen until you hung up and I can't call you back. I hope your son isn't pulled over. I was trying to help.


But during the down times I can knit.

Between being sassed, yelled at, strait out lied too, hung up on, and feeling bad about making mistakes with the nice people I've done this
Three work days of knitting is one sock and a cuff, pattern from my head, yarn is schoeller stall Fortissima Colori a blast from the past Mexiko Color.

The worst thing, this is not even close to the worse job I've had. That would either be selling shoes or the summer I spent scrubbing bathrooms while dodging the maintenance men trying to grab a feel in the mop closest. I won't decide which of those two jobs was the worst since thinking about them and comparing them isn’t good for my self-esteem.

Here, look at some yarn

Random stash photo but it sort of makes it all better, doesn't it.

Iron Socks

No, make that Silver Socks... mmmmm..... silver glitter.....disco ball socks

I'm done. It feels like it took forever and that I was slow knitting them. However, I finished in the top 30% and Dude! I cast them on the 20th and today is the 24th! and I have a finished pair of socks!
The yarn is Kraemer Sterling Silk and Silver. I love Kraemer Yarns and this is no exception. It's made of 63% superwash merino, 20% silk, 15% nylon, and 2% real silver. With the silk and the nylon they should wear forever. The silver is so flashy, I can't get enough of it. I now want to knit all the Iron Knitter socks with this yarn and move to a world where glittery socks count as sexy underwear. It was a tiny bit splitty on the SSK and, as always, black is near impossible to see. I need to remember never to knit black in a contest again.

I was able to answer the quiz questions in half an hour. That first question was a tricky one. I cast on at 8:30pm Wed night. With the new job wiping me out I had only been able to knit on my lunch break and for about an hour at night before I went to bed.

That sliver is just over 2 inches long. That's where I was at 7 pm Friday night when I picked it up and started to seriously knit on the socks.

7 pm Saturday night had me at one sock finished and most of the cuff on the second.

Sunday at 2 pm I completely finished, toes kitchenered and ends tucked in and everything.

My second started and finished project of 2010.

Ppppptht

I'm giving a raspberry to this week.

First, I had/have the second worst stomach flu of my life. It doesn't beat out the bug that hit me in the mid 80s but it stomped all the ones in between.

Then while still down with the flu I drug myself to a job interview. I got the job. Small yay. It's a temp job so it's sufficiently unpleasant. It started today.

Iron Knitters that I signed up for just before Christmas starts tomorrow. Now I'll have very little time to knit and expect to get beaten out on the first round. Iron knitter is just made for the unemployed (or people taking vacation days).

And today it's been announced that instead of just being the speed knitting event that I signed up for it is now trivia and treasure hunt style.

None of this is bad news and much of it is good news, you know, like having a job again and since trivia answers have to given my working may not be a handicap to finishing in time, but I'm disgruntled and out of sorts by the whole thing. It's probably the flu.

Sumi-e is disgruntled too.

Drip drip Drip

It's January Thaw. One of my favorite times of the year. The snow bunny? Remember her? It snowed so much from that post that she was covered up. Completely disappeared without even a bump to show where she had been. Now it is all melting away.
I finished my first project of 2010! I cast these socks on New Years Eve and they are now done. The green is so much richer and prettier than shows in the photo taken inside at night. MmHmm. Here is to finishing knits in 2010 instead of just starting them. Oh, right, yarn is Jitterbug color Velvet Leaf and pattern is ribbed socks from my head.

Last night I went to my last Christmas party so it seems time to show what I gave this year.

Ice Scraper Cozies. I knit three all different but I only thought to take a photo of one.
This one has a stag horn cable running down it front and back. I've thought to write up the pattern since there isn't a pattern out there for long handled ice scraper cozies. But then again it's such a simple knit that even a new knitter could make it up. That could be why there are no patterns out there.I handed out the yearly kids sweaters too. I finished 3 of the 4. The newborn's sweater is in time out. Good thing I'm making the 12 month size. Maybe. That's why it's in time out. Of the 3 I only thought to take one photo. They will get their own post once I collect photos of the other 2.

Hippity Hop

It's a snowy winter.

So I made a snow bunny.
Everyone needs a snow bunny.

I would have made several since snow bunnies run in packs but I wasn't wearing my mittens.

Road Trip

A 3 day New Year's party takes some traveling as we march across a 1/3 of the state. A snippet of the trip from Hays.


I want to look as silly as a clown.


Do I look like a ladybug?


Take my photo!


What the...???




I'm a rock star!



What the...???


Witches have colored faces.



I'm a witch.


Dada is a vampire.


I'm bored.


Let's all be silly.


You too, Sherri.



Are we there yet?


Are we there yet?


Are we there yet?

Are we there yet? (proof of not being a vampire)

Sumi-e Makes a Commentary

I come home from the New Years Party on 2008 to this.

I come home from my New Years Party on 2010 to this.

The symbolism is sharp and to the point. I find his choices in objects to be especially poignant and sum up the respective years perfectly.

Here is to a fresh bowl and clean start in 2010.