The Golden Iris

We're up in Rochester for Thanksgiving (we both got to take the whole week off - yay!) and I have a little time to catch up on the internets and some blogging. We drove up to New York through the mountains of Pennsylvania. As we climbed in altitude the weather worsened and it began to rain, then snow. We passed a four-car pileup in Liverpool and had to slow down to get through the snow. But we arrived safely and things have been pretty nice here. I finally finished my gloves a while back. So now I stay a little warmer on my way to work. They look kind of stupid just laying there but they fit really well. I made sure to make the cuffs extra-long to keep my wrists warm, because that's the greatest annoyance about gloves. I'm dealing with some personal stuff these days - looks like things will be a bit hectic for a while.

Well, this is a bit awkward, as I have apparently fallen off the face of the earth for nearly two months. However, I have now figured out how to use the camera we have, and I have my own memory card now, so I can make with more pictures! As I'm becoming more balanced between job and home, I think I'll have more time to blog again. I am still, unfortunately, learning the camera settings. But I'll try to make these better next time. I've been working on some standard socks with the new Kaffe Fassett sock yarn. I love the colors, love the yarn. Happy. These are my basic top-down pattern with a longer heel flap and 3x1 ribbing. They may not be exciting to knit, but they're great to wear and I know I'll go back to them over and over again. I also had to get some of the new Socks that Rock Raven series... the little bitty goth part of me decided that I couldn't go on without some nice black yarn. This is the Korppi colorway, which doesn't, of course, phot...

I will blame being at work 8 hours a day for no significant bloggage. Of course, I know many, many other people are able to handle getting a post out every once in a while, but evidently since my job involves typing at a computer all day, I can't get it done. So here is a photo-less knitting roundup, because I gave my digital camera away and I haven't yet learned how to use S's. Old things: Gloves: at the same stage they were at in the last photo. Yep, I'm awesome like that. Anastasia socks: I've finished the first and am halfway through the foot on the second, and somehow I am not really working on them right now. Raglan V-neck: is getting ripped out. It's a little too short, a little too small, the raglan stuff doesn't fit right, and it's a little too itchy. Maybe it will get made into something with some jacquard-style fair isle on it. Who knows. New things: Mermaid scarf : I have somehow managed to crochet and not die. I will probably run o...

I have a feeling I'll be playing catch-up for a while. As I get used to my new job I think it will become easier, but that may be a while. So I have worked for a week in my new job and I'm happy to be going back tomorrow. I'm getting to learn about interesting things as I write reports on patents. My co-workers seem pretty nice and I get to go home for lunch. I have found some time to knit, amazingly... although most of it was this weekend. I have been slowly working on my custom-fit gloves. I think it's important to make the process look as scary as possible and add all the extra dpns I can to stick out of the glove. I don't know why this project is going so slowly, but I'm just not excited about making those fingers. Maybe once it cools off a little.... And I am impatient and started another sock. These are Anastasia socks, in Claudia Hand Paint Bearded Iris. It's shades of brown and purple, even if my camera cannot properly photograph royal purple t...

I started my new job today and whew, I'm pooped! But I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow, so that's a good sign. The work is reasonable and interesting, the people are pretty nice, there's fresh coffee whenever I want it, and I can go home for lunch. All in all, very good. The BF resigned today to take a new, better job and soon he will be working at home. All is well here. And with no further ado, here, please look at where I keep my socks. They make me happy. I have to go clean up the kitchen and go to bed. I hope your week is going well!

Sometimes you just have to love stockinette stitch. I have been racing along on my new v-neck pullover and I've gotten to the point of finishing the body. All I have to do now is add the collar and sleeves. Amazingly, there will be no seams whatsoever in this sweater! I'm not even going to bind off at the neck; I'm just going to keep knitting for the collar. The sleeves are all picked up and knit, so when I bind off, all there will be to do is weave in some ends and block it. While the pattern says the finished size is 39" - and when calculated, that's about what it should be - it's a little snugger than that. I think the reason is because I am knitting it out of wool and the original is in cotton. Here is a lovely headless photo of me wearing a half-finished sweater (these are always the best!) For the first time in weeks, it has been cool enough here to actually open the windows and get some fresh air in the apartment without feeling like we're goin...

No knitting today - I have other kinds of good news to share. I got the job that I've been agonizing for weeks about! All my history and museum education aside, I'm now going to be working as a technical writer for a very small firm that does research and analysis of intellectual property and patent law for investors. I'll get to write about different inventions all the time, which does kind of fit in with some of the graduate work I did on the history of technology. The business end is not so familiar, but that's okay. And the best part is I can walk to work! My former museum employers will probably be disappointed, but I've discovered I like to eat and I'm halfway decent at writing. So on to a new kind of adventure! I have two weeks until I start, so my summer vacation is getting extended just a little longer. More time to knit and make cupcakes and get new work clothes! Don't worry, this will still be a knitting blog. I have no interest in writing ...