while i was knitting...

I am temporarily between jobs.

Gee, what a cliche'! But oh, so true!

I have ended one career, about to embark on a change in employment. Not sure which new direction, just happy to have one chapter ended and be starting on another one in my life.

So, for now, focus is on finishing my rough drafting of knitting instructions for my sock book, and then I'll knit up my samples, take pictures, and piece it all together. Just glad I don't have to sew flat pieces up together!

Yes, I'm a "round earther" and not a "flat earther" as I like to put it. As few little pieces to sew together as possible. Yes, I hate seaming knit pieces. Not sure when it started, my hate-hate flat knitting feelings, but I despise and pity the magazines that insist that all sweaters have to be in flat pieces and sewn up. Seams can be bumpy, and thick, and get in the way of wearing the sweater. I much prefer something done in the round, or in just about as much in one piece as possible.

I don't mind doing duplicate stitch, or the occaisional weaving of stitches together at an end. But why do something flat, that goes on a round body? I mean, c'mon! Our bodys are not flat angular boxes, we all have shape and some sort of curvature to our bodies. Makes sense to do our knitting that way too, doesn't it?

Hmm, no wonder I love to knit socks or gansey sweaters. All in some kind of continuous or almost continuous knitting, with almost no seams. In socks, especially, who wants a seam on their toes, or to have it rubbing their foot in some spot?? I have a niece, age 12 (going on 20) who hates seams on her toes. She's been known to take her socks (store bought) and pull the toe part way down and under her foot. Just so she doesn't feel the seaming. Glad I can knit some for her, that not only are comfy and soft, but have no knots, no seams. Good thing she's not a flat-earther. Good girl!!

Posted by Anna at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, the ankle's a wee bit better. It always shapes up and stops aching as much after the weather changes. In this case, it rained some this morning, yippee!!

We need rain. Really really do. The ground's hard, dry, dusty, and plants are starting to brown/yellow up and look sad.

At least my brain's still pretty happy with new ideas, growing more socks than I can write down at once. But, I'm playing it smart, and sticking with socks that I've already designed, and made for this book. I can always write another one!

Now, where did I hide my notes?

Posted by Anna at 09:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have a bum ankle. It gets wonky and cranky on occaision. Sometimes I've just plain used it too much, the weather goes crazy and it's predicting a system, or I stood or sat or slept on it wrong.

This week is a particular example of the weather patterns. Tropical storm coming up via Florida, and it's a crankly left ankle. Brace is on, Teva sandals all I can wear for the day. No fancy shoes, they won't fit around the brace.

Sneakers and hiking boots were out for the day for 2 reasons: 1. sneakers don't look good with what I'm wearing to work and 2. boots are too warm for work right now.

 So I walk with a slight hitch in my left side stride, and I've been doing such a good job of normalizing my walk that nobody's really noticed that the ankle's bothering me. Until the spy the brace, and think that I've injured myself somehow.

Sorry, nope, old injury. It's the result of falling down the stairwells at high school, twice in the same school year, about 4 months apart, when I was in 10th grade. I was, what? about 15 or 16? Anyhow, I have a very weather-wise ache when it's cranky.

About 99% of the time, I don't need any extra support or bracing on that ankle. It's just another joint that functions fine. But when that 1% kicks in, all I can do is brace it, prop it up, and pop another OTC tylenol or ibuprofen to take the edge off. Or think about knitting.

The knitting book progresses. I now have a shopping bag of sampling yarn, all wound up into balls, anxiously awaiting their turns at being knit into sample socks. I still have the rough draft, have started on my introduction section, and started roughing out how I want to write each section. Interesting process, and I can wait to see the finished book! Now if only work-work would motivate me as much!

Posted by Anna at 08:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, I broke down and bought the Kindle. And a few e-books to read on it. And...

I luvs it!

Easy for me to use, takes up space of one book, holds several...and less paper using up trees. Now I get to figure out how to translate some of my knitting instructions to a format that I can upload to it. New experience!

I'm participating in the Tsock Flock 2008 projects this year. So far, 2 tsock kits in process (yes, I need to post pictures! Hey camera! Where you hiding?) and just received the Tsurprise Tsock kit yesterday. I'm running out of tsock tsize needles...oops! Need to back off of the ts-es for a bit! And I can't seem to figure out if I want to join 2009 or not. Hmmmm!

So, I have to figure out which sock-in-progress I can finish fastest to free up another set of size 1 needles. I use 2 circular needles, usually the Addi turbos in size 1 (really, they're more like size 1 1/2) and I have a set of Harmony size 1 (2.50 mm) that are currently entangled with possum sock yarn. I can say that the yarn is luscious to knit! Just wish there was more of it in the world!

I did finish a hat for a very good friend the other day, now all I have to do is finish it off properly and work the yarn ends in, give it a gentle wash, package it up and mail it to Colorado. I'm thinking of writing up the directions and posting them on the G-Woolykins website as a free pdf download, not sure when that will be yet. The hat looks great, works up fast (well, for me at least) and uses the same amount of yarn as a pair of socks, and yes, uses sock yarn. The hat I made used one skein of Fleece Artist Sea Wool in Crystal Dawn (purchased from Simply Socks), and my mother told me that it looks beaded. Of course, it has kitten approval!

I'm currently also roughing out a book outline for a sock books, to be titled G-Woolykins: It's Socks and I am having fun! So far I think I have about a dozen possibilites as sock designs to put in there, when I originally thought I'd only put about 6 in there. Then I started remember the various socks I've designed over the years, and started counting them up as I wrote my list out...hmm, about a dozen!

Next step: find where I put all my older design notes and charts, so that I can re-write them more clearly, add in different sizing options, and make nice pattern instructions for the book. And use my wonderful software to create charts and stitch directions that are actually legible...as compared to my usual scribbled notes in my knitting journal! Not that it's not a nice journal, with a Laurel Burch horses cover.

Posted by Anna at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)