alisonknits

Almost, but not quite

I have been hanging around the house for the last couple weeks (2? 3? I don't even know anymore...) I'm in between temp assignments. I interviewed for a p/t job that would have gotten me out of the house 3 days a week, leaving me time to work on my knit design business and all that other good stuff. It went very well, they checked my (apparently excellent) references, I had a 2nd interview, which (I thought) went very well, but I don't think I got the job, because I was supposed to hear by now. Poop.

Well, it wasn't meant to be, I suppose.

Also, I recently submitted a very sweet little baby sweater I designed to a popular venue for knitting patterns. I heard back yesterday that they like it, but don't have any room left in issue I submitted for, and would like to hold it for possible publication in the next issue, or the one after that.

I guess that's okay.

My own website is so close to being ready to go live that I can taste it! (It tastes like raspberries.) But I have a little more content to put up, and my hubbo web designer has a few more things to do on the functionality end of things.

We hope to put in more work on it this weekend.

(BTW, I'm thinking about a contest to celebrate once we finally get it up for all the world to see. Stay tuned.)

So, what do I have to show for two (or 3?) weeks without work outside my house? (Not counting all those times I've brought my laptop to Starbucks or my favorite tea house because I'm getting stir crazy.)

Bupkis.

Not exactly true. I put my Christmas decorations away, finally, on January 28. I knit the back & front of a sample for a sweater pattern that I'm hoping will take the knitting world by storm in a few weeks, and I calculated all 8 (8!) sizes. I did a little freelance tech editing, and started along the steep learning curve of using Adobe Illustrator. Look what I made yesterday:

Yes, my heart is a little bit blue.

Almost.

New Pattern: Chalice Cable Handwarmers

The latest pattern I'm offering for sale is the Chalice Cable Handwarmers that Cate was kind enough to test knit for me last month (thanks Cate!).

These fingerless mittens make a lovely, as well as inexpensive and quick-knit, gift. The graceful cable includes one row that utilizes two cable needles – a fun little maneuver that you don’t see every day!

Size: To fit adult woman - hand circumference approx. 7.5”.

Yarn: Approx 170 yds DK weight yarn.

Gauge: 22 sts and 32 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch.

Sample used 1 skein Rowan Felted Tweed (50% merino, 25% alpaca, 25% viscose; 191 yds. per 50g ball) in color #141. 

Alternative yarn suggestions: Classic Elite Inca Alpaca or Inca Marl; Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK.

Needles & Notions
- Size 5 (3.75 mm) double-pointed needles, or size needed to obtain gauge.
- Two cable needles
- Stitch marker
- Small amount of waste yarn
- Tapestry needle 

PDF download available via PayPal for $4.95

A Return to Form

Something that people who've met me in the last few years don't realize is that I'm actually a short-hair person.  However, a few years ago I got lazier and lazier about cutting it, until finally I just gave in and decided to grow it out.  So for a few years now (including all the time I've been living in MA as an adult), my hair has looked like this:

But, for about a year now, I've been meaning to cut it.  (Yeah, that's how I ended up with long hair in the first place.)  In honor of my new start this year, and my renewed commitment to a creative life, I finally made the appointment.  And tada! I am back to my old self again, only with gray streaks in the front:

Look how much happier I look!  I love my haircut.  And, I really liked the hairstylist (at Apple Salon in Newburyport, his name is Justin), which is great since now I actually have to get haircuts regularly again.

I'm donating my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which makes free wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.   People keep telling me how nice that is... I guess I would feel more virtuous if I had grown out my hair specifically for that purpose.  But hey, at least since I'm not using it anymore, someone else can!

New Year, New Directions

On Saturday, I spent the entire day - from noon to midnight - putting together a submission to Knitty.  I learned some nifty, new-to-me tricks with Photoshop, taught myself how to size patterns using Excel (so cool! reminds me that I actually like math & formulae), and progressed further in my skills using Quark (a page layout program), which I used to create my schematic.

As exhausting as the day was, it was a lot of fun.  I actually really like desktop publishing, as I'm discovering doing the layout for my self-published patterns, and I want to do more of it.  The Husband is a graphics guy professionally, and this morning I suddenly thought how cool it could be for us to start our own business.

The more I work in offices, the more I realize that it doesn't really matter how great an office I work in, I just don't want to work in an office.  I want to work at home.  I want to do something creative with my time.  I want to be my own boss.

Scott gave me a really cool book for Christmas, called Crafting A Business.  It profiles about 20 women who started their own businesses as artisans, and I'm finding it quite inspirational.  It's so encouraging to see real examples of craftswomen who are making a living doing what they love.  In the second half of the book it has a lot of practical information for starting your own business, and I'm looking forward to getting more into that nitty-gritty section.

There's something especially exciting about starting a new year with all these ideas and possibilities.  Now if I could just win the lottery or get an inheritance from a long-lost relative, I could quit temping and really get down to it!  (Or, I could turn off the TV in the evenings - there's nothing on anymore anyway! - and accept that doing what I love is going to take a lot of hard work.)

More Christmas Knitting

In addition to the mittens I posted about yesterday, I also knit a pair of socks recently, as a Christmas gift for my dad.  I was so good about knitting gifts from stash this year, I'm quite proud of myself.  (It wasn't that hard, since I only knit two gifts.)  These were knit out of some yarn that I knit into an ill-fitting pair of socks several years ago.  How silly am I that I knit the first sock, tried it on with difficultly, because it was done in a cable pattern with these weird wrapped stitches that caused it to only go over my heel if I tugged and tugged, and then went ahead and knit the second sock anyway??  But I did.  They actually fit fine once they were on my feet, but I decided I was not interested in battling with my socks to get them onto my feet, and so I threw them in the sock yarn bin to recycle someday.  And then I actually did!  Eventually.  Isn't it amazing when "someday" actually comes around?

I started to believe the yarn was cursed, because I started these many times before finally getting them right.  First I was going to knit Ann Budd's Mock Wave Cable socks from Favorite Socks, but knitting the large size, they were coming out ginormous, even though I was using much smaller needles than the pattern calls for.  And the small size was going to be too small.  I tried various ways of adjusting the size, but wasn't satisfied with any of them.  Then I mucked about with some improvised patterns, but none of them panned out either.

Finally I settled on Thuja, which I think is a perfect Dad sock pattern.  Interesting enough, but still quite understated for conservative Dad taste, and super easy to work.  Since I was using fingering weight yarn rather than the DK called for in the pattern, I knit the sock on 64 stitches and adjusted the heel & toe accordingly.

Dad reports that he likes them very much.  I actually had never knitted him socks before.  But before you start pitying my dad, keep in mind that he owns two whole sweaters that I knit for him, and one of them is Henry VIII.  And a cashmere hat.  (Do I sound defensive?  I feel defensive.  I guess I'd better knit more socks for Dad.)

Happy New Year!

One of the many downsides of posting on a blog infrequently is that when I come back, it's hard to know where to start.  Often in the intervening time between posts, I've composed posts in my head, only to never write them, because by the time I get around to it, the time has past.  (For this reason, you will not be getting my post entitled "Present Tense" about my anxiety around giving and receiving gifts.  Maybe next year.)

We could talk about the knitting... I finished these wonderful mittens, oh, two or three weeks ago.  (click for bigger.)  They were well-received by my sister, who happens to own a hat I knit for her in a similar purple.  How fabulous is Kate's pattern?  I have to admit I'm a little envious.  (Jealousy is probably my greatest sin.  And I'm a UU... I don't use the word sin lightly.)

I love these so much, I've already started a second pair, this time with royal blue as the background color.  I'm knitting them ultimately for myself, but they'll likely spend some time modeling at my LYS, A Loom with a View, where I'm hoping to teach a class on how to make them.

Want a close-up of the birdies?  Sure you do.  The embroidery was a little tricky for me, as that's not my native language, but I think it came out well enough.  For the second one, I did the embroidery before closing the top of the thumb, and it made a huge difference.

Stats: yarn - Cascade 220 in #8885 (plum) and Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in natural; needles - size 2.75mm bamboo double-points; mods - none.
 

One of my goals for 2008: either be more attentive to the blog, or just quit.  I'm sick of doing things halfway!  So, I'm going to stop this post here, and save the rest for tomorrow.
 

Had Myself a Merry Little Christmas

Like every year, I struggled through the holiday season, only to have a perfectly lovely holiday.  This year, I was especially blue for most of December, but starting on Saturday, became especially content.

Sunday was my last day at my main church job, and in the couple weeks leading up to my departure, I became rather sad to be going.  But I couldn't have asked for a better last day.  Staff and congregants said nice things about me.  They gave me gifts.  We had a carol sing.  It was lovely.

Last week I had a little pity-party about not getting to host either Thanksgiving or Christmas, and was bummed out that Scott & I were going to make a very quick trip to NYC to spend Christmas day with his family.  I was upset that I wouldn't be able to do many of my own holiday traditions, and was stressed out that we were going to have to drive for 4.5 hours only to turn around and come back the next day so that I could be back at my temp job today.  But in the end, it was all very relaxed, we had a nice time with my in-laws (I have to try and remember more often that I actually like them), and even got to spend some time on Christmas Eve with a friend I rarely get to see.

And, because we're celebrating with my family later this week, I have some extra time to finish the socks I'm knitting for my dad, which I didn't start until last Wednesday.  (In fact, I started them about five times last Wednesday before finding a pattern that I liked and would come out the right size.)

All in all, I'm counting my blessings this Christmas and New Years.  I'm so thankful to have wonderful friends, new opportunities, a fabulous spouse and a loving family.

Happy Boxing Day!

Christmas Meme

Terry posted this meme on her blog, and in the absence of any knitting pictures to show you (hopefully later this week I can show you a Bird in Hand mitten), I thought I go ahead and do it too. 

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  I love fancy wrapping paper with elegant designs, and I usually try to buy some of the nice stuff when it goes on sale after Christmas.
2. Real or artificial tree?  Real tree all the way for me.  I've seen some beautiful artificial trees, but my favorite thing about a Christmas tree is the smell.  In fact, one of the things I miss about living in NYC is that after Thanksgiving, vendors sell Christmas trees on the street, and walking past them you get to inhale the wonderful scent of evergreen.
3. When do you put up the tree?  It varies... usually mid-December.  We're doing it this Saturday I think.
4. When do you take it down?  Too late... not until the pine needles are all dried and falling off.
5. Do you like eggnog?  Love it!  I may try to make some from scratch this year.  Anyone have a favorite recipe?
6. Favorite gift received as a child?  When I was around 4 or 5, I got a giant cloth doll named Sally.  She looked sort of like Raggedy Ann, but with black hair, and she was bigger than me.
7. Do you have a nativity scene?  Nope.  I'm not Christian, and celebrate the secular and pre-Christian aspects of the holiday more than the birth of Jesus part.  Although Jesus is pretty cool, he's not my personal savior.
8. Hardest person to buy for?  My dad, hands down.  He doesn't have any hobbies that are really gift-able (we've exhausted the golf-related gift possibilities), and never seems to need anything.  Lately I like to get tickets to something we can do together, like museum passes and that sort of thing.
9. Easiest person to buy for?  I can always come up with many options for the husband, and my sister is always a good recipient of knitted items.
10. Worst Christmas present you ever got?  My grandmother, bless her, used to do all her Christmas shopping at church bazaars and flea markets. and came up with some amazingly tacky knick-knacks for my sister & I.  They had a certain hideous charm in their way, and I look back on them fondly.  But not to the point of wishing I had kept any of them.
11. Mail or email Christmas cards?  If I get around to sending any, mail.  But many years I don't get to it.  I do like sending them, though
12. Favorite Christmas movie?  It's a toss-up between It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?  Anywhere between Thanksgiving weekend (online only, I hate crowds) and a few days before Christmas.  Most of it gets done in the last 2 weeks.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?  Not that I recall.
15. Favorite thing to eat on Christmas?  My aunt used to make these things called "Forgotten Kisses."  They are kind of hard to describe, but a recipe is here.  (God bless the internets.)  They're called "forgotten" because you heat up the oven, turn it off, and then leave them in there overnight.  They have an odd texture, they're kind of... squeaky?  Mint-flavored, with chocolate chips (or a single Hershey Kiss in the center, but we used to have them with chocolate chips inside).
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?  Colored.  But white lights for outside and for the candles in the windows.
17. Favorite Christmas song?  "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (the original sung by Judy Garland)
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?  I much prefer to stay home and play host.  But this year we're going to the husband's fam in NY.
19. Can you name all of Santa's Reindeer?  I think so.
20. Angel or star on top of tree?  We have an angel, which was my mom's, but I'd probably prefer a star if I could find a really nice one.
21. Open presents Christmas Eve or morning.  Christmas morning, but we had a tradition when I was growing up (actually, even when I was in college), that we would open one gift on Christmas Eve, which was pajamas.  I loved wearing my new pajamas to bed and waking up in them Christmas morning.  I will definitely carry on that tradition when I have my own kids.
22. Most annoying thing this time of year?  As much as I love Christmas, a lot of things annoy me about this time of year.  Top annoyances for me are the crowds, and the relentlessness of it all.  The assumption that everyone celebrates Christmas, or at least should put up with the holiday pervading everything around us.  The commercialism.  And when "the season" starts before Thanksgiving.  (For example, a local radio station started playing exclusively Christmas music in early November.  I wrote them an e-mail stating that I would miss the classic rock, and that I might not remember to tune my dial back to them on December 26th.)
23. Do you decorate your tree in any theme or color?  Definitely not, it's a hodge-podge of ornaments, old and new.
24. What do you leave for Santa?  Um... pine needles?

Being Where I Am Now

I'm still having a pretty stressful week, but I am taking concrete steps to make things better.  I no longer have five jobs - I have told my temp agency that I'm not going to do the Saturday assignment at the shoe store.  (An assignment which Sara, aka Haydenmumma, accurately decribed as "suckass.")  It doesn't seem worth the couple hundred dollars I would make there to not have a day off until Christmas.

I'm still getting used to my new schedule - today I was almost late to two different jobs, finding myself running down the street sucking figid air into my lungs both this morning and this afternoon.  I'm thinking about ways to keep myself on schedule better.

But to keep my head on straight - and my blood pressure down - I am adding something new to my schedule: a daily meditation practice.  This is something that I've been wanting to do for a long time, and now I need it more than ever.  I was also inspired by Terry's post about creating new habits.  The ironic thing is, I find the more I am in need of meditation, the harder it is to do!  But I will keep trying.

Also, in an effort at frugality this holiday season, I've decided to knit a couple of Christmas gifts.  Kate Gilbert's new Bird in Hand mittens are just too lovely to resist, so I'm knitting them for my sister out of stash.  In the same color as Julia, it turns out.  It's so nice to be knitting colorwork again.

Happy Channukah.  May your days and nights be filled with peace and light.

Where I Am Now

Okay, I gotta vent.  Warning - lots of whining coming up, and little (if any) knitting content.  Consider yourself warned.

No really, if you don't want to hear my kvetching, turn back now.

Still here?  Okay

So, I'm finally leaving my main job, a half-time job at a church.  It's hard to be leaving, even though there has been a lot about the job that I've struggled with.  I worry about what will happen to the congregation with many staff having left this year, and many members of the congregation leaving or getting burnt out in the wake of the various controversies and increased volunteer workload.  It's hard to see an institution with so much potential to be a great church struggling and falling prey to a scarcity mentality.  It makes me feel angry and sad.

I will stay there until Christmas Eve, but meanwhile to pay the bills have taken on some temp work.  Last weekend I started one weekend gig at a shoe store greeting customers and asking them to sign up for the store's e-mail list.  It's very boring, very cold (I stand in a vestibule with just a space heater - I bundled up much more for my second day than my first), and sort of discouraging that few customers want to sign up for the list.  (And I can't say I blame them - who wants more e-mail from stores??)

This afternoon I also will start another part-time temp job, this one at a really great AIDS organization.  I'll be doing mostly reception area coverage, with some other light office work.  They warned me that I might have to deal with some belligerent drunk/high people.  Sign me up.

And I also still have my youth-related church job on Sunday nights, with a couple hours of work I do during the rest of the week.  And I will teach my twice-a-month Tuesday night drop in knitting class. 

So that's five jobs I'm working in December.  Five. Jobs.  What the f*** am I thinking!?!

I'm thinking I would rather not continue my downward spiral further and further into debt.  I'm thinking I would hate not buying my family any Christmas gifts this year, and I don't have time to make gifts for people as I'm spending all my knitting time trying to create samples for my knitting pattern business.

But holy crap.  I don't have a whole day off until Christmas.  I'm only working afternoons a lot of the month, but still.

I'm not looking for advice (I have plenty), but thanks for listening.  I'll be okay.  I will be okay.  Soon it will be a new year.  I'm just writing this one off.  Whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?