Not Much Time This Week...

... to knit when you're running to classes that you were approved for at the last minute, and are also on your own with a very adorable but very wacky Baby A.K. because your husband is busy interviewing this woman. The best I can do right now is to direct you to this site, and also to this one, for some excellent primary/government coverage (if you can stand to put the needles down, and if you're not completely and utterly sick of the primary/government by now).

Soaking Wet, But Renewed.

whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug. whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug.

It rained all day and all night yesterday, so much that today, much of Central PA is bailing out of flooded roads and streams. Whenever this happens, whenever the National Weather Service says that the Susquehanna River is going to crest, it also means that my basement is in danger of flooding, too, even though I live many miles away from any large bodies of water.

whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug. whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug.

How is this possible? My backyard is mostly made up of a giant hill, and when we get a ton of rain, all that runoff goes straight to my basement. It doesn't happen often, of course, but when it does, I'm treated to 36 hours of the sound of my sump pump doing its thing to rid us of excess groundwater. It should be a comforting sound, but it makes me nervous. A few years ago, the sump pump stopped working during the remnants of a hurricane, and we, like so many others, spent days bailing out and drying out and combing through the wreckage of water-damaged collectibles and music equipment. In all, the damage wasn't too bad (especially when you add in the nice check we got from FEMA), but I'll never forget that heart-dropping feeling when I went down to the basement that day and saw my cat's litter box floating towards the laundry room.

whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug. whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug.

So my trip to my LYS did what I wanted it to do: reinvigorated my spirit of creativity (read, spurred my butt into action) and renewed my interest in Wrapper's Delight and Husband of A.K.'s socks. And for good reason: I have a nice, easy Spring project in the queue that should help get my mojo going again. It'll be a cute dress for Baby A.K., in pink chenille with some funky stripes of a ribbon yarn going through it. Easy... maybe too easy... but so cute, I couldn't resist.

whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug. whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug.

I promised pictures, but I don't have any. Still. But I will soon. I'm very close to having something to show for my renewed energy - the body of Wrapper's Delight and one finished sock. So hang in there with me... maybe by the time my sump pump slows down, I'll have something to take pictures of.

Getting My Groove Back... Slowly.

Wow. I'm having an epic bout of winter blahs that has manifested itself as utter aversion towards knitting. Can you believe that? Except for the monthly Stitch 'N Bitch, I haven't picked up my knitting, and haven't missed it. This is getting serious. I need inspiration... and fast.

Ask and ye shall receive. Inspiration seems to be manifesting itself as little signs scattered hither and yon:

• I knit a little bit on Husband of A.K.'s socks during lunch these past few days, and lo and behold, I'm almost done with the first one. It was one of those moments when you feel like you'll never finish something, then you look down and realize you're done. Whew.


• Baby A.K. actually asked for a knitted item. Not socks, mind you... a dress. This is a project that's impossible to resist, knowing how friggin' adorable she'll look in a little summer handknit frock.


• I got a really nice compliment from a fellow knitter on Ravelry about a past project - a fitted Spring/Summer pullover from Filatura di Crosa. After the couple of weeks I've had at work ("mind-numbing", "confidence-draining"), I can't tell you how happy I was to read this.


• My cubicle neighbor has taken up crochet again after many years of leaving it by the wayside, maybe partly due to my enthusiasm about knitting. She recently went to a craft store and raided their Lion Brand section, buying enough yarn to make an afghan for one of her daughters. Now that she's fully under way with her project, she said to me today, "I'd rather be home crocheting. I wish I could get away with working on the afghan here, under my desk!" Truer words were never spoken... I wished at that moment that I was knitting under my desk, too.


• Mother of A.K. complained yesterday of missing Baby A.K. very much. Not having heard that conversation herself, Baby A.K. complained this morning of missing Mother of A.K. (aka Gramma) very much. So... we're going to visit Mother of A.K. this weekend in NJ. You know what that means, don't you? A visit to my fave LYS, of course.

Let's see what this weekend brings.

Spring Knitting.

Even though I'm still working on Husband's socks and Wrapper's Delight, I'm definitely thinking ahead for Springtime projects. And a theme keeps rearing its head: cute, fitted short-sleeved tops are all over the place. Interweave Knits is showing them. Cascade Yarn is showing a cute one as an advertisement. And my LYS has one as their Project of the Month. I really want one. Certainly this kind of project won't take long - a front, a back, and short sleeves must make for fast knitting. And with my current projects proceeding so slooooowwwwwwly, all I want right now is a project I can finish quickly and start wearing - something that makes it feel like Spring.

Anyone else have a project for Spring in mind?

Knitting And...

Saturday night was a near perfect knitting night for me. Baby A.K. was so tired from a great day with Grandma (Mother of A.K., who was visiting for the weekend) that she went straight to sleep without her usual tricks. Mother of A.K. was so tired from a great day with Baby A.K. that she went straight to sleep, too - no tricks there. And Husband of A.K. was out for the night playing a gig with the ska band. I curled up on the couch, Wrapper's Delight in hand, and began to make some headway.

About 3 minutes into it, I decided to watch a movie while I worked. Turner Classic Movies is having a month-long "31 Days Of Oscar" film festival, which we've taken full advantage of and have recorded many oldies on our DVR. My choice for this particular night: Lolita, which I've never seen. It turned out to be a truly excellent film. I mean, I listened to every word, but saw maybe 65% of it due to the fact that I can't look up from my knitting and watch TV. Just can't do it. And even if I could, I wouldn't be able to with this project because of those boucle loops of the Claudia Hand Painted yarn that I'm using. But I don't feel that I missed anything, because I find that I listen better when I'm knitting. So my sense of hearing overrode my sense of sight. This is probably why I mostly like listening to podcasts while I knit.

Knitting and watching TV. Knitting and listening to podcasts/music. Knitting and attending staff meetings (ok, I haven't done that one. Yet.). If you pair up your knitting/crocheting/spinning/crafting with some other activity, which one's your favorite? Do you find your attention to be more acute when you do, or is it all just background noise?

(I haven't posted any pictures in a while. I really ought to, but I've been lazy and I simply don't have any new ones. I will soon, though.)

I've Been Commissioned!

Last week, Bob, my project manager, came to my cube and said, "I have a request for you." I figured he was going to ask me to code something/research something/perform some kind of miracle for the project we're currently working on together. I grabbed my notebook and a pencil and was ready to take notes when he said,

"Do you knit on commission?"

And with those words, my first order has been placed: two hand-knit winter scarves will be completed as Christmas '08 gifts for Bob's wife and daughter. The wife's scarf will be a navy and white design, possibly Penn State-inspired. The daughter's scarf will be something funky with a lot of color. I'm really looking forward to researching some nice designs and presenting them to my "client". And I can't tell you how impressed I am that, for a guy who doesn't know much about the craft, he knew to order way in advance of the due date. Maybe that's part of what makes him such a great project manager to work with!

I'm Back.

Wow... sorry for the long break. I had a truly exhausting week since last Wednesday, which was complicated by a severe sinus infection and a staggering lack of sleep. I just got caught up with my email, and I'm also trying to clean my house a bit before tomorrow, when my good friends Joan and Doug come over for dinner.

So what's new with my knitting? Nothing. Still working on Wrapper's Delight, which I know will be great when it's finished, but, well... it's kinda boring. I highly recommend this pattern to any newbies who haven't gone beyond scarves or who have uttered, "I couldn't possibly make a sweater - it's too complicated" at some point (Cindy, I'm lookin' right at you!). But I guess I really need something more challenging. The socks I'm making for Husband of A.K.? Same problem. Socks rock, but again, not very challenging. I know what I need, too - the pattern for the lace shawl to use with my Filatura di Crosa Superior. Better call my LYS...