The Big Event

Holy %#$@#%#&@^ the last couple of weeks have flown by. Where to start?

Work
You all know I don't write much about my work- the nature of it does not allow for the public sharing of stories. But it has been crazy busy lately and the commuting is not a positive aspect. Nothing is worse than leaving the office at midnight or so and knowing that instead of being home and sleeping in a matter of minutes, it is now a matter of hours.

Guild
This has been a big month for Guild activities. We had our monthly meeting with Janet Szabo as our guest speaker.



She has a fascinating life story - background in science, software tech support, and cancer survivor. On top of all that, she's publishing books on cables. I think I may sign up for her Cable Newsletter.

The BIG event was our annual Knit In this past weekend. We had the Yarn Harlot as our speaker,



offered 10 classes, and a great marketplace - Black Water Abbey, Briar Rose Fibers, Creatively Dyed Yarns, Sophie's Toes (look her up on Etsy under the seller name of emilyparson), The Plucky Knitter, and Yarn Hollow - and these are just the ones I can remember without looking at a list.



As usual, Stephanie gave a wonderful, informative, funny speech.

I enjoy that she includes history, anthropology, medicine, and scientific studies in her speeches while presenting all the information in a very down-to-earth manner. Every time I passed by the auditorium, I could hear laughs - a very good sign.

It was a long, long day - the culmination of a year of planning - but so worth it.

For you readers who have not met me in person, I am NOT a morning person and I use the term "morning" loosely. I admire people who wake up at the same time every morning. If I don't set an alarm, I have no concept of time. Even on the weekends I have to set an alarm - if I don't, there's no guarantee I'll be conscious before noon.

Yesterday I had to be up at 4 a.m. (you all can stop laughing now) and I seriously considered not going to bed at all. But then the grown-up, rational part of my brain said, "Do you really think that's a good idea?" I waffled a bit and it said "Really, now, you are nowhere near 20 years old anymore and at your age, three hours of sleep is better than no sleep." Which was particularly harsh as it knows full well how shocked I was earlier this week when I realized how much gray is in my hair. I feel young, but my hair disagrees. Thank the gods for hair coloring.

So, I had FOUR alarms set to make sure I didn't oversleep. I was so afraid of oversleeping and so unwilling to trust my travel alarm and the 2 alarms I had set on my cell phone that I bought another alarm clock Friday night. And wouldn't you know it...

I woke up before the first alarm rang.

This and That

Girasole

is on the last long lap. Yes, I'm finally on the knitted edging. I'm a bit disappointed - not with the pattern, but with the size. I was hoping for a larger finished project. We'll see what a severe blocking will do to it. If I ever do this pattern again (and yes, I'm tempted to) I would do it with a much bulkier yarn than Cascade 220 - maybe Ecological Wool. (Click on the photos to see the detail.)




Warm Ewe Up Swap Question #5
What knitting pattern have you worked that you could see yourself making over and over and never get tired of?

Heck - my problem is losing interest on it while I'm knitting it! I've got more WIPS than I can shake a knitting needle at. Some patterns I've made over and over because it's a pattern that lends itself to group knitting or knitting while visiting with others. (Translation - it must be a VERY simple pattern.) So, I've made a number of Farrow Rib scarves and given away most as gifts. It's a very simple pattern that I've got memorized - and there's never much frogging because one only has to count up to three.

I've also made a couple of Noro Striped scarves - mainly because I love the color changes. Now I'm trying yarn other than Noro. We'll see how that works out. I'm sure I'll make more of these - they're good looking scarves and are great for gifts especially for the older nieces and nephews.

As I previously said, I'm tempted to make Girasole again - but I may also find a different afghan pattern I like better.

But will I still be knitting these patterns in 1 year or 5 years? I don't know. Between all the books, magazines, blogs, self-published patterns, online mags, etc., I can't imagine ever coming across a pattern I'd like to do over and over and over again the rest of my knitting life. There's too much variety out there and too many things I'd like to make.

The only exception I can think of may be a "vanilla" pattern for socks for the same reason I currently always have a Farrow Rib scarf on the needles. Because it would be a simple pattern that I've memorized which makes it the perfect visiting/waiting/on-the-go knitting project. And, unlike scarves, one can never have too many socks.

Now I just need to sit down and learn to make 'em!