Hooded Sweatshirt WIP

Day One: dirt cheap Wool of the Andes from knitpicks in "Mulled Wine." I'm altering The Wonderful Wallaby to my own twisted specifications. Yay ribbing.



This project is part of a knitalong, so my butt will get in gear and actually finish it. Eventually. I don't have much time for knitting these days, so having the knitalong will be a nice excuse not to study French and knit instead. :D

Some yarn shop talk

So, I'm a bit in love with working in a yarn shop that's RIGHT in the Chicago Loop. Right in the middle of things (or close to, at least). We get so many travellers in Loopy and I love that so much. A week or so ago, I met this amazing woman from D.C. and we just had a ball chatting as she browsed and I stocked. She was utterly delightful, and reminded me a bit of a friend's mother who just so happens to be the sort of Lutheran pastor that performs homosexual blessing ceremonies. Cooler, funky older women. Yeah.

And today, Melinda came into the store and my goodness is she ever FABULOUS! We chit chatted a little bit and she was telling me all about her knitting and her spinning and she bought some gorgeous Fleece Artist sock yarns (which we FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY got in, except some snotty 'artist' ran off with BOTH skeins of the green I'm so in love with) and...she'ssoawesome! *minisquee!* So, I asked her if she blogged, because ladies that cool must be cyber stalked. And so she wrote down her URL for me and I realized that I've read her before! Small world, the knitting community!

So, in knitting news, I have four projects I have to finish in the month of December, at the very least.

The double knit mittens for my mother in fuzzysoftlovely Frog Tree alpaca (cream and light purple). Now, the fact aside that I'm knitting effing DOUBLE KNIT MITTENS, but while I love Frog Tree something fierce, it won't stop with the self love. It keeps fusing to itself!

...but not as badly as the yarn I'm using to make my auntie a shawl. Just a simple, straightforward yo, k2tog shawl. Easy peasy. Looks great in Fleece Artist Rumplesilk. Well, I'm using a Karabella yarn (9/10 I'm not a huge fan of Karabella) called Kiko a DK cotton boucle. We had it in our sale bin and I didn't get it, and then kicked myself when I saw my favorite colorway walk out the door. Well today, against all policies, my manager took it back when the customer wanted to return it and my darlings and I were reunited. The color is quite pretty: pinks and creams and greenish greys. It makes me think of Victorian Era rose gardens and when it was returned I snatched it up (I got it for 60% off, anyway). And now I know why it was on sale and why the customer returned it. It is about the most ANNOYING yarn on the surface of the planet to knit with. What a total pain. It's making me crazy.

Also, a fun and sexy gift for a good friend of mine for Christmas (I'll only say Cascade Fixation, #2706).

And last but not least, the gift I'm making up for this Secret Santa I'm involved in. I ended up drawing the name of the girl who drew me. We're both late. *total winner*

I also want: to knit Fleece Artist sooooocks, to make myself some double knit mittens (lime green and aqua, please!!), a hat and something out of the Tahiti Sunset Pizazz by Wool in the Woods:

Joyous Announcement!

My coworker, pal and all around cool lady Kristen has an article in knitty!!! Hooray for Kristen!

I'm currently up to my eyeballs in things I have to do and things I need to finish. Pictures are (as ever) on the way.

What To Get A Knitter For Christmas

I'm in a sad state, friends on the internet. You see, I work a bazillion hours a week in a yarn shop and what do I want for Christmas? Yarn, needles, related parephanalia. I must be out of my mind. But I have been coveting some of our yarns as well as some yarns on the internet lately, so my Christmas list is full of yarn.

And a spindle. I want to learn to spin so badly. And I want to learn how to crochet.

And more than anything, I want a pair of fancy fancy knitting needles for Christmas (we're talking sterling silver, hand carved whatsits on the end. Something REALLY effing special, so I can um, feel really EFFING special, alright? Jeez. But no, I think every knitter needs one pair of something ultra special, so, we'll see what we can see). And, I want a beautiful antique thread cutter. Now, with that $7 Clover thread cutter everywhere on the effing internet, I'm having little luck finding THE thread cutter for me. I've found a few pretty sterling pieces, but nothing that really caught me eye.

And then I had a thought. I took nearly two years worth of metalsmithing classes. I can set stones, cast molten metal, carve, drill, shape and otherwise manipulate metal. I can make my OWN beautiful thread cutter. I was thinking of simply encasing a rotary blade in some filligree work. I think that could be quite exquisite--who knows. Now that I've resolved myself to making me own knitting goodies, I get to work through some designs and goodness I hope actualize a piece or two. I think there's a decent sized niche on the market for knitting accessories that are hand made and pretty, so, perhaps I'll make up some prototypes. I don't know about doing needles, as the needles themselves would be tricky. I could start with pre-made bases, but I don't like that idea very much. Well, we'll see. I'll get through Thanksgiving and draw out a few ideas. Maybe something pretty to look at soon.

I so have afghan square pics, but I haven't gotten around to retouching them yet. Also, I will probably pic spam quite soon, as I might shift a bit of my yarn store wages toward a new memory card for my camera. The old one has peaced out, and I'm starting to miss it.

Punk Knitter Gets a Job!

Here we have the very last of my journals. I've truly enjoyed writing them, and my teacher, bless her heart and soul, commented about how she'd really miss reading them (this has happened to me twice, now).

It details the job I got at Loopy Yarns and my pre-training feelings. I've been at the job for three working days now and I absolutely love it. We take time off, sometimes, to just relax and knit. I have brilliant coworkers and OH MY GOODNESS YARN LUST. We just got our shipment of Fleece Artist and I spent a good portion of Saturday coveting the kid silk. Yum! And the Baby Alpaca Grande. I want to make a thousand treasures out of it. I will never walk out of there with any money at all!

Anyway, before I get on with the journal, a Operation Modest Bow Update: No word. Sad. Quite, quite sad.


Punk Knitter Gets a Job!

I’ve encountered a tiny problem: living is expensive. Living a life of luxury (diner coffee, 100% wool, high speed internet) is even more expensive. So, I’ve been looking for jobs since coming to DePaul. When I found out that a favorite café was hiring, I leapt on the prospect. Two weeks later: an interview. Two weeks later still, after I’d given up: training! So, I was feeling quite positive about the entire thing. And then I found out that my boss was just about as scatterbrained as they come. He leaves me after roughly two hours of training to fend for myself. We have no clock-in system or even a posted schedule. My Crazy Boss comes and goes as he pleases, since he is the boss. So, after hounding him with multiple calls and messages to finally tell me when he wanted me to come into work, he told me to come in for a Saturday. Off he toddled with my ID and Social Security card. I started to worry. He left me, again, two hours into my shift, to fend for myself in the swamp of customers. Tips were meager. Another week went by and just this past Friday, I got a call, expecting it to be My Crazy Boss, offering me hours and some sort of consolation. Even better.

It was Vicki, the owner of Loopy Yarns. Right there, on the spot, she asked me if I wanted a job and when could I come in for training. A job! At a yarn shop where there are discounts and trade field trips. Be still my beating heart! You can only imagine my elation. So, we set up a day for training: Thursday at noon. I imagine she’ll show me the ropes and teach me to use the computer system (and ball winder! Yes!) and it will be utterly marvelous. “We’re really laid back here.” Unlike My Crazy Boss who insists on making everything unnecessarily stressful. That or he’s been smoking something funny from the hookahs (we serve flavored tobaccos after 6PM, but no illicit substances).

So, I began to worry about balancing these two jobs. Those worries were entirely banished when I received a phone call from My Other Crazy Boss (the café owner’s brother) with my schedule. 11AM to 5PM several days a week. My brow knit, I frowned. Days? I’d listed my availability as nights and weekends. I spoke to him about this and he sounded downright angry when I told him I wouldn’t have any free weekdays next term. He started to tell me how important it was that I work days, as though my inability to do so was my fault.

My choice became quite clear: ditch the confusion of the café, take on as many hours at the yarn shop as I possibly could over Christmas break and start looking for another night job, in case I can’t work enough days at the yarn shop next term. So, with that worry gone, I can now start biting my nails and fretting about starting a new job. And for the very, very first time in my life, I’m looking at a job that I know I will actually like. Like any other young person with a bit of work ethic and empty bank account to rub together, I’ve had a handful of after school jobs (Retail Queen at a Catholic book/supply/gift shop, amateur florist). These were just jobs. As I think about Loopy Yarns, however, I see something more than a job; I see something I’m genuinely interested in. Vicki wants me to help out with teaching a few people that straggle in. She mentioned as much when I first went into the shop. That’s something I’m not half bad at, and what’s more, it’s something I really enjoy doing. I’m going to be surrounded by yarn and knitters! I personally think that this is entirely brilliant.

Knitting has saved the day! Knitting may also be doing something more. I’ve been thinking about this lately—I don’t smoke when I’m going to be handling yarns, as a rule. All my coworkers at the café smoke and we serve tobacco. I’m weighing the two jobs, and thinking that maybe this yarn shop job will help me kick a nasty habit. Knitting saves the day once more, perhaps. I’ve never been the type of knitter that saw knitting as a healing activity—I’ve too much stress for it to zap that much, plus, I prefer complex patterns. I don’t pray or meditate or any of that, so knitting has never helped me channel either of those forms of mediation. Knitting has always just been a hobby. Perhaps now it will be something more. I’ll kick smoking before work and while on break. I can only imagine that the rest will follow.

I think, overall, this job will be good for me. At the very least, it will be some money in my pockets. More than that, though, it will bring me closer to something I love. It will certainly prevent me from letting my knitting be forgotten for other hobbies when this class ends (I’ve always been a flighty knitter, which I’m sure is no surprise at all. I’ll pick it up with boundless enthusiasm and chug through until that enthusiasm fails me). I think this job will fully entrench the knitter into my body and soul and I shall henceforth never be without project. I’ll leave behind the occasional needle clicking of a hobby knitter and pick up the endless needle chatter of a lifestyle knitter. And that’s pretty darn cool, I think. I see it happening. Of course, I could be very wrong, but cynicism is easily refuted with a few good days at a new job and a little plastic name tag with my very own name on it.

Despite all the excitement over this new job, I’m absolutely terrified. I know I have what it takes and that if I’m not perfectly qualified at this moment, I’ll pick things up quickly. I know I’ll be doing something I love—and perhaps that’s why I worry. I’ve loved past jobs because of wonderful coworkers, but now I’ve been offered a job that does have more perks than just a good set of coworkers.

I must not look at it as something I can lose, something to be prized that can be easily taken away. I must look at it as an adventure. And I do love adventures something fierce.



Anyway, I'm currently working on a baby afghan, and it's far too big for the circs I'm using. I could break down and buy an addi Turbo #8 32" circ, but I haven't the money.

I want addi to make an interchangeable set. They would sell like hotcakes! So many knitters swear by addi needles but so many knitters like the convenience of an interchangeables kit. That would delight me immensely. Hopefully they will in the near future, but I haven't heard word of it. I don't like the Denises (clumsy, in my opinion, and I don't like the joint), but the Knit Picks Options set doesn't seem to have enough cable sizes! I can't find a 16" anywhere! How sad! It comes with two each of 24" and 32" cables, but nothing smaller than a 24"! I want a 16", damn it all! Sometimes I want to make hats on circs and not dpns, and a nice interchangeable set would make me quite merry. Perhaps I ask for too much.

Alas.

Secret Santa

I am SO excited about the Secret Santa I'm doing! I have waaaay cute ideas already!

It's for knitting, not kinky bondage, I swear! Though...if you'd rather...

This is a rare cross-post from my regular old blog. Not something I'd do often, but this post dealt with knitting and I found it to be cute, so, here it is. Tea Boy works at the shop next to my buliding. I'm a bit crazy about him. He read my astrology last Sunday night and I fell harder. I work at Loopy Yarns. Lorna's Laces are some of my favorite yarns.

The entry:

Please Be Mine!

Operation Modest Bow -- Complete.

Operation Wait and Angst -- Ongoing!

So, I did something adorable today. Since my darlingest Tea Boy worked his last night tonight and I will probably never see him again, I decided to thank him for the reading, in a way that can only be called "cute!!!!!!"

At Loopy (new job), I picked up a skein of Lorna's Laces (favorite brand ever, hand dyed over in Ravenswood), worsted weight in "Charcoal" a beautiful colorway that's dark grays and blacks. Today, I was feeling depressed and angsty, but finally decided to take the action I'd planned on taking since talking to Maia after the last run in and I had with Tea Boy.

I wrote him a note thanking him for the astrology reading, told him I wanted to knit him a scarf or hat by way of thanks and left him my contact information. I folded it up and rolled the ball of yarn around it, so the note was entirely hidden in the middle. I cut out a small gift tag telling him to unwind the ball, since it was more than just a ball of yarn. I tied the tag on with a modest bow of dark turquoise organza. I worked up the courage and dropped down to the tea shop. There were a handful of employees in there. The sign on the door said 'Closed' but I knew they were open for another hour usually. So, I knocked, pointed to the sign and pouted. Tea Boy beckoned me in. We chatted for a bit and I ordered a pot. He brought it out and started talking to some chick on the phone. She said she'd drop by. I worried.

I worked on my baby afghan and drank my tea. He dropped by a few times to talk, asked me about my project and told me about learning to knit when he was younger (TEA BOY USED TO KNIT. ♥!!!). Phone Girl showed up with a snobby dog tucked into the front of her coat, its wee head poking out between her breasts. She kept screeching at the dog. It became quite clear that they weren't dating. He has better taste than an obnoxious girl that wears a dog between her knockers, anyway. When I went to check out, the other guy rang me up. I pulled Tea Boy aside, told him I had a secret for him and gave him the ball of yarn. I gave him some brief instructions about unwinding it at his leisure. He smiled this huge effing beautiful smile and thanked me very graciously. I told him to take care and nearly skipped out of the shop.

And now I wait. Wait for him to call. Fret. Angst. Put off my school work.

I find it funny that he wasn't at all confused or surprised by the gift of a ball of yarn with little to no explanation. Just genuinely gracious. No "WTF is this?" Just a huge smile.

I wasn't going to drop by. Today was miserable. But, then I realized I'd regret not doing anything down the line, so I stopped in. When I did, I remembered why I'd planned this scheme--that smile. That beautiful smile. The fluttery feeling in my chest.

Please oh please oh please let him call. Please, But, even if he doesn't, I still have a fond final memory of him.

*wills phone to ring*

*

So, that's my story about Tea Boy. He likes: tea, philosophy and knitting. If I can catch him, I'm keeping him forever, maybe. :D

In other news, school is sucking out my soul. I'm working on a baby afghan for Warm Up America!, I'm working a bazillion hours a week at a yarn shop and am quickly falling madly in love with my job. We have a mandatory afternoon knitting break. I get to explain gauge to a thousand new knitters a day. I get to covet the Baby Alpaca Grande something fierce every time I walk by it. I get a discount! I have a coworker that might be able to teach me how to spin. To spin! Be still my beating heart!

I've got a final 'Punk Knitter' to post, as well. I'll drop that by sometime soon.

Pictures are closer than ever. I can feel it in the wind--or is that the onslaught of snow that's sure to come soon?