JQ's First Cabled Project

So, it's been a while since I've done more on the blog than to make the occasional comment. I have very few legitimate excuses. I had a brief bout with pneumonia in late November/early December, which is why this hat took me longer than planned if you count the 2 weeks I didn't do much of anything except cough.

I did do some knitting since my last, long-ago post, but not all that much. I finished off a little sweater for Blaze, but I haven't sewed it together yet. I made the hat in this post over a month ago! I guess the holidays did happen in there which sort of distracted me from doing any craft-related tasks.

The recipient seems to really like it, which is very good. This is the first time I've done anything with the cable class I took in the fall. It was a lot of fun and very rewarding, and I learned how to un-knit cables, too. I probably did not get all the incorrectly crossed ones out, so if you see any in the photo, it's too late! The hat is in use and as far as I know, my colleague hasn’t found any boo-boos.

Pattern: Shedir by Jenna Wilson, available for free from Knitty.com
Yarn: Rowan Calmer in Garnet (#492)
Needles: US size 3 (dpn and 16" circular)
Began: November 5, 2007
Finished: December 10, 2007

Spinning with Beads Part 2

Post moved to http://wendelkate.com/2008/01/28/spinning-with-beads-part-2/

Ravelry scares me

No, I am not on Ravelry. This is my current world:

• I have 2 year old pictures on my camera that I can't seem to get on Flickr.
• I desperately need to update my regular blog.
• I get updates on MySpace from people I knew in high school or college. I can barely keep up.
• Facebook is out of control--and I am supposed to be keeping up a Facebook page for my real job.
• My stash is now condensed to a huge ziplock bag, and my needles are all in one place (mostly) for the first time ever. I have discovered that I have 2 addi turbos exactly the same size, and lots of sets of bamboo the same size. I fear I am falling into my old pattern (like I did with cross stitch) of just buying whatever is necessary for the current project. Improvement on old pattern: I am not chucking the remainders when finished (mostly).

From what I can tell, Ravelry seems too much like cataloging to me. I don't feel the need to keep track of my former projects to quite that level. I obviously can't keep track of my needles and I just don't care about my stash that much--probably because I just buy new stuff when I see it!

Warning--whining coming.....
My new year's resolution was to have more balance and fun this year. I don't think I am making it. Summary of last week (first week of classes)
Monday, MLK holiday: worked 6 hours in office, 3 hours at home
Tuesday worked from 7:20am - 8:10pm
Wednesday worked from 7:10am-7ish pm
Thursday worked from 7:25am-5pm
Friday worked from 7:10-6:05pm
Saturday worked from 9:40-3:30 training new students
And, I am not counting the phone calls, or reading/responding to emails at night here.......or the fact that I had only one real lunch break, and I don't take other breaks during the day.
I really do LOVE my job most of the time--except when I am this tired.
And....the name of this blog is: don't talk about work!

Spinning with Beads Part 1

Post moved to http://wendelkate.com/2008/01/22/spinning-with-beads-part-1/

Contests

I actually can be quite competitive and ambitious, believe it or not.
Now I have a new goal: preemie project crafty contest. I'm going to Des Moines tomorrow, and if I can find some organic cotton, I will try to make something for it. The advantage of preemies--they are even smaller than dogs!