DAY 44

I can't wait to land a job. It is nerve racking to be unemployed and I'm only a couple of months into my joblessness. My child-free days consist of a quick run through errands, then sitting down and browsing all of my job search engines. I print out what looks interesting, then read it more carefully to see if I'm really eligible. It is not a fun process.

On the crafts front, I'm really not able to knit or spin at my sister's house. It's considered a waste of time and since I am a "guest," I feel obliged to do nothing but childcare, housework, and job search. Needless to say I am really looking forward to moving out and being free to do what I want, when I want.

After getting the Littleman to bed I did manage to play around with Garageband for a bit. I've been toying with the idea of starting a podcast. I don't expect a following, I just want to produce a nice show and gain some experience with the software. I may invest in a sensible microphone and get recording soon, we'll see

Spinning Out of Control?

I've managed to get some amazing spinning done in the past few weeks by spinning 15-20 minutes per day. It was great. I finally feel like I've got the hang of it and am actually noticing more of the yarn's behavior as I spin. This is a pic of 8oz of Polwarth roving spun and 2-plied. I have yet to skein it up and wash it, but I may do that tonight. It is so much fun to spin I recommend it for anyone who loves yarn.



I need to keep a better record of the fibers I spin and I need more information on the variety of fibers. I want to check out Clara Parkes' new book The Knitter's Book of Wool to see if she provides good details on fibers that I could use as a reference.

Unfortunately I am going to go on a fiber stash diet. I have so much roving, locks, and silk hankies that I should be pretty busy spinning for a long time to come. My last purchases were 1lb of Jacob roving and 1lb of Rambouillet roving. The Rambouillet was no where near as soft as I thought it would be and I actually contemplated buying some hand carders to process them some more before spinning. I'm going to sit and think on that a bit since hand carders are pretty expensive.

I'm also putting my other gadget purchasing dreams on hold. I've been trying to win a bid for a Swedish bobbin winder on eBay but I keep losing. It seem as if the same people keep bidding on these winders and I wonder if folks just create multiple identities on eBay and bid to drive up their own prices. In any case it is so frustrating that I just prefer to buy a new winder. If I buy new however I will buy an electric winder recommended to me by Jasmin of the Knitmore Girls Podcast. The idea is to use the winder to store my spun singles onto plastic bobbins which are much cheaper than the Ashford bobbins. But I'm asking myself more and more, "Is this a need or a want?" It's just a "want" so it is going to have to wait perhaps until the end of the summer.

Our urban gardening is coming along nicely as well. Tomatoes, peppers and basil are all doing nicely. Unfortunately I was unable to find an inexpensive strawberry pot (you know the kind with the holes in the sides) so I just left them with the tomatoes and they took root in that planter (oh well). I should admit that I'm only good at growing mold and this is really my partner Luke's adventure. He of course has a wildly successful garden at the Department of Health where he works. I will post pics of that garden soon.
And finally my knitting has been a bit stalled of late, I'm still working on the Lacy Rib Socks (rav link) from Wendy Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up. They are very easy but I just haven't devoted time to the pattern. The 4th of July holiday driving odyssey will no doubt provide ample knitting time. I must plan carefully what projects I will pack for the road. I'm thinking the socks as well as my Noro Kureyon Leaf Lace Scarf and perhaps a few bibs and burb rags for the impending arrivals of my friends.

I also want to plan out some quick knitting projects for my friends in California. I haven't seen them since we moved and all our kids are 1 week apart. I was thinking about some cute vests with "gender appropriate" colors. I'd have to knit 4 plus one more for my little man so 5 toddler size vests by September. It seems doable.

Well it's back to work now. Happy spinning, knitting, and gardening!

Blogs, Podcasts, and Knitting Like a Pro

I'm going to attempt a full update for this post. Here goes:
On my needles at the moment is the Molly Ringwald Sweater from Knitscene Fall '07. I started knitting but stopped myself to do a serious gauge swatch. And I'm not just knitting the swatch and checking the gauge, but I'm washing and blocking it and re-measuring it once it's dry. I want as perfect a finished product as possible. But I'm not sure what to do once the swatch dries (until I get my Knitter's Blocking Kit, the baby's foam numbers will have to do). If it is grossly distorted in size do I stop knitting this sweater with this yarn? Change needles for a tighter knit? Do I continue but dry clean the finished garment instead of cold water washing? What to do. I will have to consult the Ravelry fora.

Blogs Blogs Blogs, oh and Podcasts: I'm really enjoying reading all the great knitting blogs out there. Great advice, great projects and ideas for yarn substitutions and just plain fun to read about people's knitting adventures. Some of the new blogs on my list are from outside the US and I heard about them on the "Lixie Knits It" podcast: "Go Knit in Your Hat," "Jane's Probably Knitting," "No Knit Sherlock," "Purlpower," and "Socktopus." "Spillyjane Knits" is another blog I'm reading. In fact through Ravelry, Spillyjane was kind enough to give me some suggestions for knitting supplies in the Detroit area where I may be moving soon.

I've also been listening to knitting podcasts - am I obsessed or what?! I'm all caught up with Kelly Petkun's "Knit Picks Podcast" as well as, "Lixie Knits It." I'm going to start listening to "CraftyPod," "Cast On," "KnitWit," "Knit Science," "CRL w/ Vicky Howell," do you see a theme here? I was never really into my iPod (a wonderful graduation gift from my dear friends Ru and Steven) but the podcasts are a lot of fun and I may venture into audiobooks soon.

Ravelry: Can I just say how much I LOVE Ravelry. I'm learning a whole lot and I just love seeing other people's projects. I'm also trying to learn more about fibers. I think one of my biggest knitting problems has been matching yarns to projects. I love buying yarn but then I end up having to buy more yarn when I decide on specific projects because what I have doesn't work. Yarn substitution is a skill I MUST develop. I think after I've worked through my stash a bit and mastered some important knitting skills I would really like to take up spinning.

Tools of the Trade: Because our digital camera was broken I was unable to post pics of my great new knitting purchases. My new ball winder and swift were much-needed, how did I live without them for so long? Also, my new Namaste Cali Clutch was a belated Xmas present to myself (Yeah!) I've wanted a knitting tote for a long time and will at some point indulge in a nice large Namaste but when I saw the Cali Clutch I fell in love. It is sooo pretty. However, I'm afraid it's not as perfect as I'd hoped. You can't fit a large ball of yarn in it which I guess I should have expected. The only WIPs that will really fit in the bag nicely are socks (yeah!); and scarves in their early stages. No regrets though, I like having a pretty bag for pretty little crafts.

Here's one more shot of the Cali Clutch, beautifully modeled by L.


Oh, I almost forgot to mention my new books. One of local bookstores was having a moving sale so I picked these up a few days ago: "Folk Style" and "Knitting Beyond the Edge.