You don't go out looking for a job dressed like that? On a weekday?

Is this a... what day is this?

Apologies for the lack of posting -- things have been busier than usual around here (which isn't difficult, as most days find me in my pajamas until about 10 or 11am). They have been busier because -- I have a job! After several months of searching, moving, applying, and interviewing, I've landed a job with a great conservation organization in Oregon. It's temporary for the moment, but (finger's crossed) should go permanent once the next round of grants come through. And extra good news -- Corvallis has a great LYS (Fiber Nooks and Crannies) with spinning supplies and classes!

I celebrated with a knitting splurge -- I bought a handful of color cards from KnitPicks, as well as two books, one practical and one impractical, as a true splurge should be. The practical is The Knitter's Book of Yarn, bought as a direct result of my Tangled Yoke yarn selection frustrations. There's an excerpt on alpaca in the winter Interweave Knits, and I think it's going to be a useful addition to my knitting library. The impractical: Twinkle's Big City Knits. This is not a book I'd normally buy -- I prefer technique books to pattern books, and simple, classic patterns to trendy, striking ones (nearly every shirt I own is a long-sleeved, solid-colored, cotton knit). But there was something about a few of these patterns -- Shopping Tunic, Karate Sweater (both Ravelry links) -- that I really enjoyed and kept coming back to (I think knit lit kate's love affair with Twinkle helped plant the seed).


The arrival of these two books, as well as finishing the Tangled Yoke and Joel's hat, has led to some serious project lust. The afore-mentioned shopping tunic is tempting as an instant gratification project, and I've been drooling over the Lion Brand Pringle sweater knock-off for awhile now. Conveniently, I also have LYS credit burning a hole in my pocket -- thanks, four extra skeins of Tangled Yoke yarn!

On the knitting front, I'm about halfway through Jared's Hemlock Ring Blanket, which I am loving. The blanket will be a Christmas gift for my Mom, and should be done (knock on wood) way ahead of time. I never plan this far ahead, and I have to say I'm quite pleased. I may even cast on another once I'm done with the first, for a recently married friend with a baby on the way. (Excuse the poor picture -- I was too lazy for a proper photo shoot).

Most recent podcast: Lime and Violet.
Currently listening to: The Seahawks game/The Simpsons.
What I'm reading: Doris Lessing's The Real Thing.

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.

Change is the only constant

I have just turned in the last final exam of my graduate career. It's strangely... mellow. A sort of lovely, mellow joy, with just the slightest touch of melancholy. Last Friday I turned in my Master's Project, the culminating experience of my graduate experience. All that's left between me and graduation is Western Field Trip, a week-long class trip to Washington State -- not a particularly stressful class. I celebrated with a very indulgent weekend that involved little time at the computer, dinner parties, quite a bit of cheese-eating, wine-drinking, BBC-miniseries-watching (six wonderful hours of it), and of course, knitting.

At a celebratory barbecue, a rare fellow knitter and I met up to discuss the Urban Aran, and picking up stitches for the collar. My poor Urban Aran! It's been so lonely, but now I'm ready to go at that collar and seam it up. Exciting!

This turning point in my semester happily coincides with another exciting time. It's time to pick a new project! With the Jaywalkers nearly complete, I'm looking for another project to bring on WFT for the round-trip flight and a fair amount of time in vans. So -- socks, or shawl? Socks may be more mindless, and better for travel, but I'm itching to do lace...

The contenders

Socks:
Monkey
Hedera
Toe-up of my own design

Shawls:
Kiri (pattern here, better pictures here)

Yarns:
I'm falling more and more in love with this yarn I bought at the Carrboro Farmer's Market from Three Waters Farm. A 50/50 merino tencel blend, the shiny tencel lends the purple and green colorway an iridescent sheen. I knit up small gauge swatch yesterday and the short color repeats look just lovely. I bought the skein for socks, but I'm thinking about picking up another and making a shawl.

Also up for socks, Emerald from RubySapphire Yarns, and Marrakesh or Brick House from Fearless Fibers.

A new skein showed up (with excellent timing) on Thursday, and spent the night reposing next to my computer at school while I pulled a nearly-all-nighter. Isn't it lovely? It's Laughing Rat Studio's silk/wool laceweight in the twilight colorway. I've already begun to knit this up into the Kiri shawl, my first real lace-with-laceweight project.

Most recent podcast: Wow, I can't even remember.
Currently listening to: Cloud Cult, The Meaning of 8
What I should be doing: Returning three weeks of email.