Tis the Moment

Here's my current project: qiuvit-angora socks. I'm currently wearing some very chunky angora socks, and they're fantastic. Check out the prices on fingering weight yarn here: http://www.cottagecraftangora.com; They're about $17 dollars a skein (160 yards), and give you quite a bit of luxury for your buck. I have about six skeins of Cottage Craft angora, and I'm awfully impressed with the warmth and the natural color.

Now that official winter has come to my neck of the woods, I can finally bundle up. The list of winter gear include:

my winter hat, which I've just finished. It's a delightfully quick cro in Misti Alpaca Chunky in Natural. As my hair's been a bit poofy, the stretch of alpaca is a plus in this case. I've been wearing it to work and turning heads.

My armwarmers (Tower of Arrogance) made from Bernat Cashmere blend, handyed...

And an assortment of cowls that are just perfect in the cold, dry climate in which I live; most of them are worsted, so they work up in a snap! Most of them (perfected facsmiles, of course) will be sent out some time this week as Christmas gifts, along with the hat I made for my grandmere, and the baby blanket I made for a friend of mine.

********

Cro'ing on: qiviut-angora sox. A yak sweater (yarn made of yak, not a pic of one, but I wonder...). Another set of Tower of Arrogance armwarmers to test pattern.

Knitting: swatches. Only the nose knows where this might lead, but I'm thinking a baby sweater for pregnant friend.

Spinning: Everything in sight. I'll have pics of my spinning journey on the past couple of weeks...it's been a lot of fun.

Listening to: Cogknitive; because Dr. Gemma is funny, and she's always a welcome addition to

my morning drive to work

Gives Good Knit (I'm addicted; it's enchanting, and the one time I met Tika
[Tehachapi Fiber Retreat] I was impressed by her confidence. It definitely shows
through in the podcast

How Shall We Then Live, by Francis Schaeffer. He's got to be one of my favorite
writers, and while his theories hinge on a rather generalized distilled version of
various paradigm shifts, he's got some interesting ideas. I like him alot. I am,
however, quite distracted by the reader.

Reading: Orcs, by Stan Nichols, light reading that I 'appropriated' from boyfriend's friend.
It's fantasy with a lot of grittiness and interesting, usually overlooked protagonists.
Definitely like this better than the other series I'm trying to slog through. Do. Not.
Like. But promised myself I'd read the first two books. Will blog later on this.

Working on: "The Carol of the Bells", "Christmas Time is Here", "The Little Drummer Boy".

It's going okay, but I hate having to balance my keyboard on my legs to practice. I

want my piano out of storage. Very soon.

You should check out: Amy Alkon, a.k.a. The Relationship Goddess. She's very opinionated,

is funny while insightful, and wears her various controversies like badges

of honor. I agree with her about 60% of the time, but even when I don't

I can always appreciate her point of view.

Me and the monstrous bag of yarn

One of the reasons I'm really starting to enjoy my new living situation is the amount of space I have for yarn. Okay, it's true, I'm a semi-single yarnie with few bills and no real social hobbies (except yarn), which means I technically didn't need a two bedroom, two bath duplex. There were a couple of options in a nearby town with more stuff to do and more people to do it with. But I'm enjoying these quiet times where I can just luxuriate in the fact that I'm a packrat (in the genus and species of a military brat who needs to see familiar things). Pics to come later.

Currently starting the Wheel of Time books. My buddy-coworker-former roomie bellatrix has been subtly nudging me towards this series for some time; it's taking me awhile to get into it. I'm still in the process of putting up all my stuff, have a strict self-imposed bedtime (2130), and need to practice Christmas music for church and my own amusement. Oh, and NANOWRIMO is starting up. I'm going to be working on a story by myself for NaNo this year. It's about a boy...I think this is the first time I've written something from a guy's perspective. He's a high school teacher in his hometown who has to go sleuthing when his best friend disappears. I've been toying with this particular idea for years, experimenting with certain elements, tweaking certain autobiographical situations to create something interesting. I'm awfully confident about this one...we'll see.


I've noticed that living alone has brought back that old familiar silent feeling, as if the whole of reality is waiting to respond to one's ordinary life. There is a certain narcissism in it, as if I'm being recorded by someone or something. Or maybe it's just an metaphysical acknowledgement of the spiritual realm. Dunno

Semper Reformada

Tomorrow I trek down to Tehachapi to get ready for the fiber retreat Dr. Gemma (of Cogknitive podcasting fame) and Straphanging have been planning for the last three months. I've oogled the goodies, got my hotel room, and dug around for stuff to contribute for the raffle.

And lost my super amazing, extravagant little cone of yak yarn. I'm nearly in tears, seriously.

Oh, and ants have invaded my room. For what has to be the tenth time this week.

I really need this break to refocus and take a load off. Le sigh.

Oh, yeah, and I'm moving next weekend. Fun, fun, fun.

Stitched! :)

Went to meeting. The vibe was wonderful and everyone was cool. And we got a new (potential) member, hilhilknits She recognized me from my photo. So I'm currently lazying around the house, waiting for the UPS man (I want my freaking hooks.
Today. I'm getting cranky about this) and listening to some philosophy online. There's a story I'm working on (I'm writing it with my boy) and a room I'm supposed to clean and a joy that comes from doing my hair early in the morning and waiting for it to dry for styling purposes. In short, a very nice day. One of the funny things I've been learning is that: we labor under the illusion that positive thinking can change the basic laws of reality. It's easy to think we are the arbiters of the way things should be. In this life, in this world we share in unequal joys; in another, we may share in an equal misery. What that means philosophically I prefer to ponder for awhile. But it's an interesting thought nonetheless.

Stitches: I'm spinning a million different blues for a Blue Star jacket (my own design that I'm writing. Slowly, very slowly). I finished the star part, and now I'm working on the sleeves. the stitch that's getting me through this: Tunisian knit stitch. It's wonderfully pretty and makes so much sense since I'd learned to knit about a year ago.

Breaking news: Just got my interchangeable hooks! I'm really excited, especially about the large ones. Afghans and sweaters are in my future, I assure you

On Being Hooked

There was this boy once I knew...he was wonderful and sweet and cranky and slightly crazy but he was just what was needed. So we dated. And broke up. And repeated the process until we finally just got tired of each other. And then I went to the other side of the country to go to school.
You'd think one would be able to just move on, romantically speaking.
I figured so, too. But attraction is a funny thing, and for me, at least, an exceedingly rare thing. I don't like many boys (people, animals, vegetables, etc.). Most people, I've learned, are best kept at arm's length. But when someone is able, willing, and determined to know the person you are, and wants to be integrated in your life, it's necessary (at least for me) to let them see. I'm glad i did.
That boy has made a wonderful difference in my life, and he's who I'm hooked on now.

Also currently hooked on: chocolate, crochet socks for a coworker, a sweater made of merino and tencel, and spinning (at least three pounds in three months with more on the way), Denise's interchangeable crochet hooks (for Tunisian cro'ing), and the fiber retreat!

On Being needled

Knitting and crocheting and spinning are supposed to be easy. Fun. Adventurous. In short, everything that isn't like one's real life. So why in the name of all the Furies has it become sad and sorry? I've decided to reclaim the fun and intrigue of my current obsessions by engaging in self-talk. Of course those who are interested enough to stop by will also be privy to whatever's rattling around in my noggin.

I have a relatively un-stressful life...a quasi-technical job, a roommate, and a boyfriend. I play with yarn and yarn-related accessories with a group of free-spirited cool folks, and I sleep more than I probably should. I say all of this to say: I should be stress free. And yet I'm not. Interaction with other people has always been sorta...a work in progress and it takes a lot of work. A lot. So it's hard to see the end of things. When I left college to come back home, I left a lot of friendships there and it was hard. When I decided to socialize in town, it was hard. Seeing it change is hard. Sometimes the quiet ones come for the camaraderie and stay to listen and learn.


So what needles me at the moment: seeing a lot of people who unhappy, all of whom are friends in one way or another. Not being sure if I should attend meetings because I don't want to offend anyone. Wondering if anything could have been done.

Currently being needled: more washcloths, 'cause I keep losing my 'real' ones. And also because I've a wedding to make cloths for.