State of the Union.

Tangled Yoke is blocking as I type -- in the garage, so I'm sure she's going to smell like gasoline for the next few days. Thanks much to Mary Lynn for the wonderful comment. I really do love the sweater, it's just that frustrating little perfectionist voice in my head that gets in the way -- but I still can't wait until it's done blocking so I can add the buttons and wear it!

With TY nearing completion, I've been scouting new projects, and reconsidering the old. I've got the Baltic Socks on the needles, as well as the Urban Aran that desperately needs a new collar so it can be worn, the poor neglected thing. The Bella Blouse has floundered while I try to figure out the ramifications of substituting Tahki Cotton Classic (Ravelry) for the Berroco Touche (Ravelry) -- the yarn shop recommended it. No real gauge is used for the patterned details, but using the Tahki my bottom band is much longer than the finished measurements of the top. My other two projects, Capecho and Kiri, have been classified as hibernating for now (explaining their removal from the sidebar over there). You see, when I moved west, I sort of assumed that I'd find a job within a month, make a final move and settle in to a new place. So when I landed here in southern Washington, we crammed all of our (mine and TreeHugger's) belongings into storage as best we could. Leaving my yarn in the back corner of a 5'x10' storage space brimming with what you see below. Well, that was two months ago, and no job yet. So Capecho and Kiri are unreachable, as are all of my patterns and the supplies for the Romantic Cables and Lace vest, Spiral Boot Socks, The Inga Hat, and several other unnamed projects. Which frees me up for the Hemlock Ring Blanket (yarn to be ordered later today), of course, but without an income I'd really like to get at that box. Frustratingly, you can see it in the picture below -- that box on the upper right. Grr!

Otherwise, progress continues on Joel's hat. It's been funny to make the leap from big and/or somewhat focus-intensive projects to *k2, p2, repeat from * in the round. It's just flying by:


TY should be done by Friday, and hopefully I'll get a little photo shoot in over the weekend.

Most recent podcast: CraftLit Episode 54.
Currently listening to: Brandi Carlile's The Story.
What I should be doing: Preparing for this weekend's party, returning email.

I am not my f****ing khakis.

Please excuse the reference in the title, but it's been my mantra for the past few days. (I actually curse with the best of them, more often than I should probably, but I thought perhaps I should avoid it in the title of a blog post). I wonder what Chuck Palahniuk would think of me quoting Fight Club on my knitting blog?

This is one of the things that is taking up a large chunk of my time these days:


Rather disgusting, isn't it? My entire childhood bed is piled two feet high with all of the clothes that I own (minus the clothes I was wearing when I took the picture, of course). In my defense, a rather large chunk of that is clothes I wore in high school. Since college I've been traveling around a bit, always with only what fit in the back of my '95 Honda Accord. I'd bring a large bag of clothes, and then fill it in whenever I got where I was going. So that's how I got here, with doubles and triples of pajamas and jeans, and about 40 sweaters/sweatshirts. So every day I work on getting rid of a little more. (Check out The Seven Things Project for a little inspiration).

Upcoming:
1. New York City area yarn store adventures.
2. Job search/moving plans.
3. New knitting projects, plus progress on some old ones.
4. Spicy tuna sushi recipe!

Most recent podcast: Quirky Nomads.
Currently listening to: Mozart's Lucio Silla, K 135: Overture, on WQXR.
What I should be doing: Cleaning. Working out. Applying for jobs.