Knitamazoo(tm)

I’m finally done with all the moves/removes at work! YIPPEE!! Now I don’t have to worry about that again until the end of March. Hopefully by then most of the moves will be handled by the techs on the different campuses (our company is really spread out here) and we will only have to be responsible for moves between campuses which don’t happen as often. So we shall see.

I’m in a quandary with my socks right now. I started one with some lovely Lang Jawoll that my first SP sent me. I was doing a plain sock and it just looked, well, boring. It didn’t excite me in the least. So I ripped it back to the ribbing and started these Jaywalker socks from MagKnits. I like the pattern but just not in the yarn I’m using. So now I’m thinking of totally frogging them and doing the Lava Socks (or maybe even the Sheri’s Lace socks) from Sockbug. I love this yarn but it seems to need some kind of pattern to really show it off. Maybe I’ll just try ripping back to the ribbing (again) and then decreasing to the amount of stitches I need. I’m going to have to ruminate on this for awhile I think.

At our last class on Wednesday night, our teacher tempted us by tossing out several 100g skeins of Schoeller and Stahl Fortissima Colori Disco in various shades. The yarn has sparkles in it! Who can resist something that sparkles? I couldn’t and picked up a skein for myself. I haven’t taken a picture yet, but maybe I’ll get to it this weekend and post a little Monday yarn pr0n.

Well that’s it from my little corner of the universe. Happy knitting!

OK, so Monday was my birthday. Hubby surprised me on Sunday and had me pick out seats so he could order tickets to see Phantom of the Opera in April! I’ve wanted to see this musical for years and what makes it extra special is that hubby absolutely hates musicals. And that’s the only good thing that has happened in the last few days.

Starting this past Monday I am on moves/removes at work for two weeks. That means that any office moves or removal of pc equipment gets done by yours truly. I’ve twisted my ankle, had laptops chained to desks, had people try to have me move them into a different space than the one they were supposed to move into, I’ve lifted 21″ monitors which feel like they weigh 550 lbs (and this really should be a 2 person lift . . . I’m just saying) and the list goes on. I came home Monday night and had to lay on a heating pad most of the night due to soreness in my lower back. So today I have only one move and one remove that I absolutely have to do. Both are in the largest building on our campus. When I say large I mean that it is 1/4 mile from one end of the building to the other. I have no idea how wide the stupid building is. So I park the van at the end of the ramp (oh yeah, backing down this same ramp yesterday I managed to rip the side mirror right off the company van . . . oops!) and have to walk, er limp, to the other end of the building. The move went smoothly. So I go to pick up “a computer” and it turns out to be 4 computers and monitors and keyboards and mice. I managed to get all of that on my cart and pushed it all the way back to the ramp. By the time I got it all unloaded into the van and then back on the cart when I got back to the shop, my arms and hand hurt so badly. Right now I can hardly lift anything or move my arms at all. I tried playing the piano when I was home but that didn’t work out so well. I’m afraid that I might not be able to knit for several days and I have my last socks on 2 circs class tonight.

Speaking of class, here is a pic of my progress. I’ve had so much fun in this class that I think I’m going to sign up for the toe up sock class.

Well that’s it from my old, tired and sore little corner of the world. Hope you all are having a better week than I am.

First off I was tagged by Helen so I guess I should play nice.

Four jobs you have had in your lifetime-
- packing tomatoes/greenhouse stuff
- music library
- secretary/receptionist
- computer tech

4 movies you could watch over and over-
- Princess Bride
- Shrek
- Chronicles of Narnia
- most musicals

4 places you have lived-
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- Hawaii
- Michigan

4 TV shows you love to watch-
- CSI: NY
- CSI
- Stargate
- Battlestar Gallatica

4 places you have been on vacation-
- Disneyworld, Florida
- Nashville, TN
- Virginia
- California

4 websites you visit daily-
- My Yahoo!
- Gmail
- Knitty.com
- wunderground

4 of your favorite foods-
- Taco Bell
- chocolate
- pizza
- ice cream

4 places you would rather be right now-
- home
- home
- home
- home

4 bloggers you are tagging-
- Shetha
- Kirsti
- Amy
- Choomon

Now for the promised yarn pr0n. My newest acquisition of Koigu KPPPM.

Just a quick update as to what’s been going on. I spent the weekend knitting and finished up this pair of mittens for hubby for Christmas. I even think I have enough yarn left over to make a hat to go with them. I started a hat but I’m not sure I like how it’s turning out so I put is aside and I’ll think about it for a few days. Now I just have to finish up my mom’s Christmas gift and I should be done with the holiday knitting.

I also received my last package from my SP this weekend. She has been wonderful but I still don’t know who she is! She gave me three clues in the card she enclosed in the package and I haven’t had a chance to do any sleuthing yet. Things have been busy at work and I just don’t want to turn the computer on at home. I’m hoping that things slow down a little and I can try to figure out who she is. But just look at what she sent me! Some lavender scented stones for my stash, a choker with my name on it and two luscious skeins of knitter’s crack (aka Kid Silk Haze)! She has spoiled me to no end! Thank you just doesn’t seem like enough to express the appreciation for all you did. Each gift was so thoughtful and I loved every single one of them!

In other news, I just got an email from my hubby that his temporary job in Grand Rapids will be ending this Friday (3 weeks early). He was filling in for a helpdesk tech that was working on a project and the project will be finished early. So it’s back to unemployment for now. He does have his resume in with the hospital in Paw Paw, the hospital in Battle Creek and there is a possibility that he could get a job working at his former place of employment in Kalamazoo. The company where he is working now did tell him that they tried to work it out to keep him on but the budget wasn’t there. They do want him to contact them after the first of the year as they will probably have some IT openings then. I’m sure glad we didn’t pack up and move to Grand Rapids right away! So who knows what will happen over the next couple of weeks. At least it will be easy for him to go to interviews now. Isn’t life fun?

the clapper! I’ve been working quite a bit on the Clapotis II (aka Clappy II or Clapper II). The yarn is so soft and yummy I can’t put it down. I started the third section last night and I have one more row to do and then I will drop my first stitch. This one is going so much faster than the last one. It’s still in that Kong Thong stage but I thought I’d post a progress picture anyway. A few more rows and it will no longer look like a thong. When I bought the yarn last week, hubby asked what I was going to make with it. I told him I was making another Clapotis and he said, “Oh, that thing that looks like a thong?” Between the fits of laughter I managed to confirm his suspicions. I was pretty impressed that he knew what I was talking about when I said Clapotis. I guess he pays a little more attention to my knitting than I think he does.

My last post, Shetha asked if I had said what yarn I was using for my Kepler. I could have sworn that I had but after searching my posts I found that I had neglected to include that important piece of information. So Shetha, I am using KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in chestnut for Kepler. Love those cables!

I think that my calendar is defective. In fact I’m sure it is. The calendar says that it is November but it can’t be true. I walked out the door this morning to go to work and it was 66 F! I didn’t need to wear my coat. This is Michigan and there is no way that I should be walking out of my house in November without a winter coat, gloves and a hat. So I’m sure my calendar is defective. I’m thinking about returning it to the store and asking for my money back.

Wow! I can’t believe that this is my 100th post. Who knew I had so much to say? If you would like to send congratulatory gifts, feel free to send lots of yarn. I’m not too picky, but please no 100% acrylic, scratchy, itchy, ucky stuff. What? This isn’t one of those occasions where I receive gifts? Phooey! Well you can’t blame a girl for tying!

So last night I get all settled in to watch Criminal Minds and CSI: NY in high definition. I get the lighting just where I need it so I can continue knitting on my fuzzyfeet, turn the tv and all the related electronics on, find a comfy spot on the couch, cuddle up with my favorite blankey and tune the high definition receiver to CBS. Static and snow! That’s it. Nothing but static and snow. Our stupid local CBS affiliate can’t seem to get the hang of broadcasting in high definition. Usually the sound is screwed up but this time the whole thing was screwed up. We ended up watching something off our TiVo until CSI: NY came on and we watched that on regular tv.

As I’m sitting there watching tv a particular commercial came on that bothers me. I can’t tell you the name of the product being advertised because the commercial just creeps me out. Is there a particular reason why these people feel it is a great marketing idea for them to get on national television and tell me all about their latest outbreak of genital herpes? I don’t want or need to know about that. Why do you have to tell me all about your herpes to try to sell your herpes medication? And then I got to thinking, what about all those commercials with these women yelling to the world they have yeast infections? TMI people! TMI! Just tell us your product is good for clearing up these personal issues. I really don’t want to hear all about your personal experiences with these “plagues” while I’m trying to take a break from life.

OK, enough ranting. On to knitting news. The fuzzyfeet are ready to be felted. I didn’t get a picture last night but I’ll take pre-felt and post-felt photos tonight. I’ve picked up the bed socks again and maybe I can finish them up tonight as well. I should probably try to finish up the Christmas gifts after that. It will be here before I know it and I won’t have everything done.

Well that’s it for my 100th post. Pictures and FO’s tomorrow, I promise.

Let me begin with the leaves. My hubby sent me an email yesterday afternoon saying he was planning on leaf blowing our yard when he got home. I got to thinking about that and figured that since he doesn’t get home until just after 6pm that by the time he was half way finished it would be dark. So being the wonderful, loving wife I am, I decided that I would start the process for him. I went out to the garage and looked for the leaf blower. Ut oh . . . I forgot that he got rid of the electric blower and purchased a gas blower. I have no idea how to turn this thing on let alone which of the gazillion gas mixtures he has goes in it. So I did things the old fashioned way. I raked. And raked, and raked, and raked. I managed to get all the leaves in the front yard raked to the curb and had a fairly good start on the backyard by the time he got home. He showed me how to run the leaf blower and which gas to use but not before I managed to get 2 blisters.

I have a confession to make. I am sometimes not the best human to my cats. I have to say though, that I feel at least half the blame for this should go to the cat who was stupid enough to get in the closet in the first place. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Last night after I had brushed my teeth, I was walking down the hallway and the door to our (2×2 foot) coat closet was open. So I shut it. I never looked in it to be sure it was clear of kitties. I then went upstairs and went to bed. Around 3:30am I woke up, went downstairs to the bathroom, and went back to bed. Walking past this closet twice with no peep out of the cat inside. After getting back in bed I couldn’t fall asleep. I kept hearing strange noises that I couldn’t identify. I finally did go back to sleep. When I got up to take my shower, hubby asked me if I had seen our cat Cosmo. I said that no I hadn’t and that he hadn’t slept at my feet all night (which is unusual). Hubby said he had been hearing scratching noises since he had gotten up. We opened the closet door and out shot Cosmo. Poor kitty! He is doing fine despite his stressful experience. Though I’m sure he’ll be right back in the closet if he has a chance. He seemed a bit traumatized this morning but that could just be his normal neurosis, I’m not sure. He has been in the front window all morning but I think he’ll recover just fine. (I still think it’s partly his fault for being in the closet in the first place. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)

I’ve been making good progress on Dad’s Christmas gift. I finished the neverending six inches of 2×2 ribbing Monday night and started on the back bib yesterday morning. I didn’t get to work on it too much last night as the bandaid on my little finger covering my blister made it hard to tension the yarn. But it is coming along nicely and should be done by next week. Just click the picture if you want a larger view. This has become my TV knitting project as the 2×2 rib and stockinette is pretty mindless. I really enjoy the feel of the yarn as it moves through my fingers and the fabric it creates is so soft. This is definitely one of my favorite yarns to work with.

I’m going to close this with one of the funniest pictures I’ve seen in awhile. A friend of ours had this up on his fantasy football website and it just cracks me up. Welcome to the Mickey Mouse Club of the New Millennium . . .

Let’s start with the ranting and get that over with. For those who do not know, my job is to get problem tickets from the company helpdesk and then assign techs to work on the issue according to the particular campus the client is located on. We have 5 different campuses spread out over about 30 miles. So I get a high priority ticket for a client who’s location is listed as a building that has been unoccupied for over a year. I send the ticket back to the helpdesk asking them to verify the location since that is their job. They send it back with the comment “Verified location. Please assist.” So I figure this guy is over there for a meeting or something. I assign one of our techs to the ticket and let him know since this is an emergency. He calls the client and finds out that the client is located on our downtown campus about 10 miles away. So they lied to me. Did they think I wouldn’t find out? Another tech did the same thing last week. What is the point? If you didn’t verify the location the first time, just do it when I send the ticket back. Don’t lie about it. I let their management know so we’ll see how that works out. I’m also shorthanded on one of our busier campuses so that has been a mess too this morning. I’ve been looking for a nice solid brick wall to bang my head against but I haven’t found one I like yet.

Now on to some good stuff. Let’s start with the promised yarn pr0n. First up, from Knit Picks, we have Merino Style in Hollyberry for my Dad’s Christmas gift. I’ll be posting a picture of that WIP later. Then Wool of the Andes in Cloud for my Mom’s Christmas gift. She already knows what she is getting but I’m not going to post any pics until after Christmas. Then I also got some Wool of the Andes in Chestnut for a sweater for myself. I didn’t want to dig out all the balls I bought so you get a picture of one of each. I’m lazy, I know. But the stash is upstairs and I take the pictures downstairs and well I’m just lazy that’s all.

Next we have some yarn that I picked up at one of my local yarn stores. We have some Cascade Pastazza in a rust color to make mittens for my hubby. I let him pick out the color. I also picked up some Elsebeth Lavold Angora yarn in a lovely green to make some house socks for myself. I love the last pair I made with this yarn but I wish I had made the cuff longer. The pattern was for shorter socks but I want it to go above my ankle. More boring 2×2 rib, but these socks knit up quickly and are soft and warm. I am resisting the urge to cast on for them until I get Christmas gifts done.

I did manage to do some knitting this weekend. I started the dickey for my Dad for Christmas. It’s only 6 inches of 2×2 ribbing. I was happy that I was able to get it on a circular needle so I wouldn’t have to use dpn’s. I started out with the dpn’s but because the circle was not small like a sock or sleeve, the dpn’s flopped all around and I was always worried about twisting it. So while I might like making a mobieus, I’m not sure my Dad would like wearing one. So after two rounds on dpn’s I quickly switched over to circulars and have been happy ever since.

I also did some work on my Kiri. I have now finished section 1 and the first of 12 repeats of section 2. My lifeline has been inserted and I’m happily knitting along. I didn’t get it pinned out too well for this picture. I took it this morning before work and I was a little rushed for time. But I at least put it on a solid background so you can see the pattern this time. You can see a larger picture by clicking on it.

I also have a finished project. This is a really, really old project. In fact it isn’t knitting . . . it’s . . . crochet! Yes, I used to crochet all the time. I’ve had this afghan in the works for probably two years. It’s made with Lion Brand Homespun. I’ve left it languishing in a basket for at least a year and a half now. I decided yesterday to see if I could finish it up when my hands began to hurt from the endless 2×2 ribbing on the dickey. I wove in the ends this morning and it is now sitting in the washing machine. It was rather dusty after sitting in the basket for so long. Not the best for my allergies. But it’s soft and warm and will get lots of use while watching hockey in the basement rec room.

Since I started this post with a rant, it seems only fitting that I end it with a rant. What is up with blogger? I started this post at 10:46 this morning and have had nothing but problems getting my pictures uploaded. It’s now 12:20 and I am finally able to publish this. And it better publish . . . that’s all I have to say.

CHOCOLATE! I sure could use some right about now. Between the stress and PMS knocking on the door I think a large bowl of chocolate is in order.

Life news . . . well I took Monday and Tuesday off of work to well . . . uh . . . work. Work on cleaning house, packing and getting ready to move. We started Sunday and by Tuesday afternoon I had had enough. Our realtor had stopped by on Monday and had gone over some stuff with us and then on Tuesday afternoon we went to her office to sign the papers and get the house listed. Then the large pit in the stomach opened up and my stress level hit record highs. What happens if we get in a new house, this 2 month temporary job my hubby has doesn’t turn into something more permanent and I don’t have a job? New house, new mortgage and noone working . . . let the nightmares begin. By the time I went to bed I was a basketcase. The tears wouldn’t stop and I was so sick I wanted to die. As it turns out, hubby was having some of the same fears (though they weren’t manifesting themselves in uncontrollable tears and sobbing). We talked for a long time and finally came to the conclusion that we should wait until we have a better idea of what his job situation will be before we sell the house and move. So Wednesday morning he called our realtor and she pulled the listing for us. I felt badly about that but I feel so much better with our decision. And the best part . . . I’ve got a sparkling clean house that is organized! (Though half of my stuff is packed away.)

I didn’t do much knitting over my extended weekend. I sat down Sunday night and was so tired that I screwed up one of the Christmas gifts I’m working on. So all knitting was put on hold for a few days. Last night I fixed my mistake and managed to finish up that gift so I am making progress. No pictures because I don’t want the recipient to see it before Christmas. If you really want to see it let me know and I can email a picture to you. Tuesday my hubby took me to the LYS so I could buy yarn for some mittens he wants for Christmas. I let him pick out the color so I’m sure he’ll like it. I also managed to walk out of there with some more Elsebeth Lavold Angora to make myself another pair of house socks. I’ll try to take some pictures tonight and post the yarn pron for you all tomorrow.

Hubby started his new job today. He is in training today and tomorrow and will start on the helpdesk Monday morning. The hour drive each way will be a pain but he’ll be making considerably more than unemployment pays and I’m thankful that he was only off for a week and a half. Hopefully he’ll get something more steady and we’ll be able to move. (Especially after we did all that work.)

I’m going to finish up my hot cocoa and get back to work. It’s still freezing in my office area. Turn off the a/c already! I may need those socks to keep my feet warm at work this winter if they can’t figure out how to get the heat going. Sheesh!

We have pretty much decided that we are moving to the Grand Rapids area now. Hubby contacted our realtor yesterday and she is coming by on Monday and we’ll get the process started to put our house on the market and get a realtor up in Grand Rapids. I’ve taken Monday and Tuesday off from work so that we can clean house, start packing and get rid of clutter. Not my idea of a couple of days off but I thought it would be a good idea to have hubby’s help so I got to do it while he is still not working.

I placed an order with KnitPicks Monday night and it arrived yesterday. I didn’t get any pictures of my haul last night. Most of it was yarn for some Christmas gifts but I did get some yarn to make a sweater for me. I want to make this. I love the cable on the edge! I bought some KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in chestnut brown. It’s lovely and I can’t wait to get started but the Christmas gifts come first.

I started on my Mom’s gift last night. I can’t post pictures as she does read my blog (Hi Mom!) so you’ll have to wait until after Christmas to see what I’ve made for her. What I like about her gift is that it is simple enough to do while watching tv, especially hockey (Go WINGS!). For my Dad, I’m making a dickey. He prefers them to scarves. I bought KnitPicks Merino Style in a gorgeous red hue for it. His favorite color is red and the merino is so very, very soft. I hope it comes out nice.

I’m sitting in my new office at work freezing my tush off. Not that I can’t stand to lose some off of my tush, I’m just saying that it is arctic cold in here. It is 54 F (12 C) outside and the air conditioning is still on. Despite wearing a sweater, jeans and wool socks I am practically shivering. My toes are frozen solid and the only reason my fingers haven’t fallen off is that I’ve been typing to keep them warm. Maybe they’ll figure out how to turn on the heat over the weekend. In the meantime, I think it may be time for a knitting break to try to warm up. (wink)