5 Things to Do

1. I would like to bake something, as that used to be something I did of a holiday.
2. I would like to get the oil changed in the car, as driving will be so much safer.
3. I would like to do some laundry, as packing will be so much easier.
4. I would like to get some sewing done, as it makes holiday giving a little homier.
5. I would like to knit. Knit needs no reason.
=======================
I'll be off doing something good while I'm absent here for awhile.
There's bound to be some knitting.
=======================
Have pleasant days.
Be safe.
Find something in which to find a moment of delight.
Take a moment for something which brings you peace.

Small Confessions

I am sick of grading.
I must take breaks to be more fair-minded.
I have a crazy case of startitis lurking in the wings.
I started nibbling dark M&M's, and now I realize that I've nibbled past lunch.
I finished Tuscany yesterday.

============
Back to the grind.

Place holder

I'd taken these progress photos during my brief stint of daily blog posting. At the time, I actually had a statement to make. Some of it still holds.


I need to learn how to do the short row heel more effectively. I'm inconsistent with picking up the double wraps. I also wind up with a hole I end up stitching up.


Today is not the day. Yesterday I took a break from grading and finished this sock. The photos and post will just have to serve as place holders.

Back to the stack.

I might finish the Tuscany

I might finish that shawl within the week. It's getting close enough to the end of the yarn that I'm obsessing. I can see the end.

Had to put it away, though.

Must. Read. Papers. Grade.

I might finish grading. This is, sadly, harder to envision.
Truth is, it's an actual deadline, so I might as well get back to it.

I might already be a loser.

Sigh.

Next week: knitting and baking and holiday activities interspersed with what passes for reasonably-sized amounts of work!

I might actually have content for posting!

I shrug at the shrug

I zipped out a shrug for my niece. Big talk earlier: I did tentative swatching but finally and only started yesterday morning. I'm off to ship it now for the choir concert deadline. Zoiks.

I'm unimpressed with it. I had a hard time getting in and out of it myself. Unforgiving cotton.

I'll have to up the ante with its replacement. She'll have to look at patterns.
This was quick.

No picture. Camera was at home. No time now. Fedex at the airport closes in a few hours, so I'd like to get there and BE home before it closes.

Besides, I'm just not that interested in it. Insert shrug here.

Nothing BUT show - OR - Nothing TO show

Yes, that half month of daily posting was all well and good. Clearly the maxims about needing to do something for 30 days to establish a habit could be inserted here. That string of posting and good intention was clearly loose talk. Nothing but show.

Meanwhile, I've been impossibly busy. Despite that, I've knit a bit. Finished the Fetching. (Progress picture posted earlier, so I won't repeat it.)AND - true to form - I've given them away instead of keeping them for myself. Call it a gift well suited to the recipient. Call it a great impulse. Call it better stash management. Forgot to take a picture, though. Nothing much to show.

Since this afternoon was meant to include two things and one ran over the time allotted, I'll go home now having only attended one of the two events. I'll take myself home then, do some work at my desk and work on some knitting for my niece. I have a shrug to churn out.

More Gift Knitting

From the weekend, progress only:



This triangular shaping is not suited to my "how far have I gone and how much have I left to do" sensibilities. I've decided I'll have to just keep knitting and not think about it.

Personal Knitting - Grey Fetching

Made a pair of these last year and gave them away. Made notes about what I'd do differently for myself. Thought I'd give it a go.

Knitting on the halves.

Gift knitting - Norberta bits

Finished the last of the bits. Now to sew.

Stuff

Doing Creative Stuff
Elizabeth over at SABLE discussed some of the issues she faces in placing a design on a path for publication and knitterly opinion. I appreciate that she's willing to share her thoughts on the process. It helps me as I extrapolate over to the concerns I have about what I do. I do creative work in a school setting, so I rarely post the details (or much about the process) in an effort to preserve the dignity of my students and provide myself some degree of boundary. Somewhere, sometime, I'll be found, (There Be Knitters Here!) so I'd rather not have shared things which I wouldn't care to be found out. (On a similar note, I'll be avoiding the whole f*ceb*k thing forever, if I can, in light of wanting to respect others boundaries.)

Back to why I took note of Elizabeth's thoughts, as I digress. I go through such manouevres with myself as I wrestle with creative work, recognize that there has been progress, celebrate the fact that perhaps someone is learning something, hold everyone to a higher standard, acknowledge that I can't control everything, and occasional encourage myself to let go.

No matter what, someone will be of an opinion that the project was better than sliced bread, and someone else will find a million and ten things wrong with it. And really, neither of those responses are the reasons I do what I do. And so I remind myself. And so I forget. Elizabeth's post wasn't for me, but you know how it goes: what you read can often speak directly to what you need. I can get through my next week. Thanks, Elizabeth.


Shopping Stuff
I didn't go shopping. I have enough to do, and the crush of people makes the day go too long. In the spirit of creating a smaller impact with future shopping, I did, however, finally finish my Everlasting Bagstopper. All that was left to do was to apply straps. I finally found some fabric I liked for the task. Yesterday I whipped up two tubes, pressed them out, and applied them. The pictures I took are lousy. I'll want to redo them.

I also find it difficult to go shopping when I am making such steady if gentle headway on the clearing out of STUFF (aka thrift donations to the Sally Ann). Took two bags last Wednesday when I went to the thrift store to look for some costume items. (PS. I walked out without a purchase.) Dropped off two more bags today.

Making Stuff
Since I mention the shopping issues and the purging of stuff, I give you a hint of the knitting posts to come: I continue to make progress on finishing what's on the needles. And I've decided I am going to do my knitting on the halves. This one's for me, this one's for a gift.

Part of the reason I ever started knitting and sewing (back in the dark ages of my youth) was to outfit myself. I am by golly going to be doing a better job at that. It doesn't look good on me when it's in a tub, and I've been clearing out steadily the stuff that I don't wear and shouldn't wear.

The other thing I intend to do is make some no-fail pressies - just as people gift fruitcake or bottles of wine - useful, enjoyable in some way, practical and FROM STUFF I HAVE. Because I certainly have enough variety if I shop from my stash.

And I'm doing it on the halves. I can't go nuts making gifts and not take care of myself. One for me, another for the gifting - just as the quilters did when they pieced on the halves.

Stay tuned. I have already begun.

NaBloPoHalfMo

I gave the daily writing effort a good go for me, especially since I don't have computer access at home. I was never worried about the competitive aspect. I am a great one for the self-competitive challenge. I may resume. The next week is crazy, so I'll see what I can do.

Last I was heard from, I was zapped by headache and then needed to focus pretty intensely on what I had to do for the rest of that week. One thing carries into the next, and here we are at the day after Thanksgiving. What have I done since? I've finished a few things.

I'd just finished this hat. Knittyboard posts asked for a modeled view, but it's not for me, so it wouldn't be a good fit. This will have to do:

The mailing envelope is now sealed. Post Office, here we come.

My cousin requested a dishcloth like the one I'd made her some years ago.
A bit of crochet cotton, and voila, the dishcloth of iron.


Took a bit of yesterday morning to make myself a hat. This is Knitty's Foliage. I should have pulled it down over the eyes of the hat block, as you can't actually see the leaf motifs in all their bulky, multi-colored glory. So it goes.


I've been a very busy camper, aside from all that. Major projects at work and an approaching end to a term mean PILES of work. It's alarming. I can't begin to list all of the other things I've been doing and yet need to do that have exactly nothing to do with knitting. Around that, I took a little time for "wellness-knitting." Finished the scarf. Finished the knitting on Norberta. Need to snap the one and stitch & stuff the other. Made progress on the soy silk Tuscany for a friend.

I'll take all of that progress as my personal prize for doing as well as I did for a half month of daily blog posting. I'll post when I can, as long as I'm getting other things done.

(that light is too bright)

(migraine)

(finished the noro striped scarf)

(can't play)

(turn off the light, it's too loud)

Today's lunch brought to you by.....

Now I did do some cooking this weekend. I made a crockpot of ratatouille. Used up some leftover kale and mushroom saute in a midsized pasta bake concoction.

Today, though, I dine courtesy of UK marketing and global groceries. The international foodie aisle at my local market had this marked down, I believe for lack of interest. The date was still good. The soup is a fine contrast to the usual, and I find myself inspired to make soup this weekend.



For really good soup recipes from some UK soup mavens, go to the home of glittrgirl and scumkitten and search SOUP.

Just too mean to post

I love a good cliche. From more southern climes than here: "just too mean to live" as a description of a particularly nasty excuse for a human? Love it. How fitting that it should really be directed at me today.

Crabby about nothing in particularly. Annoyed by impossibly unimportant things. Distracted by minutiae. Disgusted by a good many things. Just too mean to live.

And truth be told, I should just yoink up my bootstraps and move along.

All things considered, I have food, shelter, an occupation, some pleasant people with whom to work. My family is reasonably stable and kind. I'm not going in for surgery next week, as is a dear friend who now faces the surgery phase of her battle with breast cancer.

Just too mean to post.

About this NaBloPoMo adventure

Posting regularly has been a mighty fine exercise. I intend to be sticking with it as best I can. Thanksgiving holiday weekend might prove a creative challenge. But still, there's something about the orderliness of one post per day for a whole pile of days that is strangely appealing to me.

My sister sent a picture of my nephew's incredibly orderly precision-folded newspapers.


I like a little orderly repetition.



Perhaps it's genetic.

(Meanwhile, I'm busting out of this joint. I don't have to be here for an evening, so I'd best take some work home with me and get out so it will count!)

C'est Finis!

I started here earlier today.


I finished here. Le Slouch!


Stretchy yarn, mercifully, as that seems a small band!


(How bad is the French? I can take it.)

1 x 1 ribbed scarf

Sometimes you just need to knit and tune out.



These 1 x 1 ribbed scarves in yarns with long color changes have been hitting the internet zones. There's not much fuss, just two row switches of yarn and letting the color switches do their thing.

Am I a bad person if the airline attendant asked me if I was making it for a holiday gift and I just smiled and nodded? It matches my winter jacket, but I didn't feel she needed an actual conversation. She was just acknowledging another knitter. She had her knitting at the back of the plane -- a hat, I believe.

I'm Old

But mostly I'm tired.

This is how old I am:




Last year or the year before someone passed around a link on the knittyboard in which you could discover the cover of Time magazine from the week you were born.

Seems I still have a copy of this.

I'm going home. Flew back, got to catch up with followup from meetings I missed, and stayed for a show. Mercifully, it was only an hour. Have to be back on Saturday morning.

Remote

It's interesting to be in a city that relies so heavily on automobiles. Houston is not a particularly pedestrian zone, or at least I'm not finding the pockets.

This is the first time, for the record, that I've ever been to a city where I find I really haven't had an opportunity to find a piece of it for myself. I went presented something at a conference, spent a bit of time at the conference, took a half hour walk which didn't get me very far.

Did eat a posh dinner. My colleague relished the notion of finding a steakhouse, and so we did, and I enjoyed a particularly lovely glass of wine. It's a good thing I don't recall the name of the wine, because I'd probably not be able to afford a bottle. If I'm clever, though, I'll call later today and ask them. Neither of these are things I do often - my fridge right now has a lentil and fennel salad, red cabbage with apples, and a leftover lentil and brown rice loaf (which was more a nice casserole than anything really loaf-like or burger-shape-able, despite the recipe's claims). I'll be packing the last of those for lunches and dinners into next week, just as I did earlier. Dark and luxurious steakhouses and glasses of wine that cost more than pairs of bottles I purchase are a pretty far stretch.




This knitting isn't here. This comes to you via the remote capablities of the great picturebucket. Alpaca. Too warm for Houston anyway, I'll warrant. Tomorrow I head back to the cold and the alpaca knitting. For one more morning I'll try to be where I am.

Just because I feel like a slouch ......

doesn't mean the knitting is a slouch....


That would be Le Slouch, if you please.

Ms. Wendy B. has it right: put a french article on it and there's no longer a shadow of anything pejorative about the word.

I'm getting ready to head to the airport this afternoon. I'm going to HOUSTON. Turns out it's warm down there. Delightful.

I just hate that I've had bad allergy things this week. I foresee several days of high-altitude sinus-shifting deafness. Fortunately right now that pales in the light of getting to LEAVE TOWN for a couple of days.

Guess I shouldn't take this knitting on the plane. Big metal size nines? I think I'll stick with the knitting that's on bamboo.