Monday, August 24, 2009

Restless and Anxious

I'll start off today with one finished sock. The pattern is BFF socks by Cookie A.. I can't wait to get the matching sock on the needles. I'm sure the pair of socks will turn out cute. I was more in love with the yarn before I actually knitted it. I just keep buying cheap yarn. I have to learn to splurge on better yarn.



I'm having problems sleeping soundly. It's stress and anxiety due to my job. For example, my favorite night of the week is Sunday. I love Sunday. All day. Sundays are so comfortable and I feel free. I always spend more money on Sundays. I rarely do housework on Sunday. I do most of my knitting on Sundays. And Sunday nights are now filled by viewing of Mad Men, my most favorite television show. However, the last few Sundays have been filled with me counting down the hours until Monday, when I have to go to work and face the projects I'm months behind on and I know I will not accomplish anything close to what will get me out from under this mess. When things get tough or I get scared, I tend to flee. Flight or fight? I'm definitely under the flight category. With my state of mind, I worry that I will do something foolish to get out from under this stress. If I had proper health insurance, I would go find a therapist to help me get out of this funk.

For now, I'll have to bandaid my issues by looking forward to my vacation. I have two weeks coming up in the middle of September. I'll be in Ocean City, Maryland at my brother's condo for at least a week; however, I have no definite plans for the other week.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Clean Up Your Act

I'm watching ESPN right now. Brett Favre is giving a press conference about coming out of retirement and signing with the Minnesota Vikings for $25 million over two years ($12 million for the first year and $13 for the second). While I'm not really a huge football fan, I am surprised that this man is giving a press conference while dressed in a ugly t-shirt, a worn and beat up cap (not even a Vikings hat), and unshaven. This is a man who was offered $25 million to stay retired for goodness sakes. He reminds me of Steve on his day off....as long as he's clothed, then he's good to go.

Onto my knitting, I finished my socks mentioned in the last post. I actually took the socks to work and one of my co-workers said she wanted them. As you can see from the pictures, the socks are a bit big for me. I don't truly understand how to do a test swatch to gauge needle size for the pattern requirements, so I tend to just guess about what needles to use. These socks would be perfect for me if I just use one needle size smaller.



I've done five cookie-cutter type socks (the basic, simplest pattern). I really thought I was ready to venture out into the intermediate patterns and I chose this cable pattern (Best Friend Forever by Cookie A. I've only knitted the cuff and leg and I am working on the heel flap. As I read ahead, I'm wondering if I will be able to figure out the gusset, which looks complicated. The cable pattern continues again on the gusset so I anticipate I will have a problem picking up the pattern again. Cookie A. is a well-known sock designer. If I can master this "basic" pattern of hers, I will definitely consider investing in quality sock yarn and knit some of her more complicated patterns.

Monday, August 3, 2009

It's Not All About Eve

The office I work in has a lot of turnover of personnel. The percentages are pretty equal, with half quitting and the other half getting the boot. The revolving door is a major annoyance, especially when a good worker makes the decision to get the hell out. I just get stuck with covering the work until the next contender comes along.

The newest addition is a young girl, right out of college. I'm sure that she views me as some old sick-in-the-mud, which I can't really resolve in my mind because I don't feel old, but I am really very happy she's here. She's now responsible for a whole division that fell into my lap, and I'm more than happy to hand it off to her. I just can't seem to convince her that I'm not possessive about the files. I would love for her to far exceed my capabilities so that I can be let off the hook. However, the other people in the office anticipate more conflict than teamwork. I'm not worried. I'm going on vacation for two full weeks in September - that's what is in my sights, not some silly power struggle.

I'm working on a new pair of socks. There is a local yarn store that has a sock-making class this Friday, and I'm considering enrolling. A friend from work has tentatively agreed to go with me. Now, this is not a done deal, but it might some fun if my friend and I can go together.

Finding My Treasure

Now that my shawl is complete (yarn purchased during the Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl in March), it is just hanging out in my foyer until I de...