Maybe it’s that I don’t like making decisions, but I’m still hemming and hawing over joining up with the 2500+ others in the Knitting Olympics. Tomorrow amongst the other things like cappucino drinking and motorcyclic shopping I will get to go to my LYS for the first time in several weeks. Because I like to torture myself, I plan on taking the pattern and yarn I’m considering as a maybe possible Olympic try. I don’t have needles that even vaguely resemble what the pattern calls for (I seem to have a drought in my needle collection when it comes to size 6 and size 7, and I certainly have neither size in a 24″ length circular needle), and I still need to swatch.

I think some part of me has decided it wants to take part; it just hasn’t convinced the rest of me yet.

In the coming weeks I will definitely need something to keep my hands busy at night after dinner because I have gone back to Weight Watchers. I went to my first meeting on Wednesday. I figure it worked last year (I lost something like 50 lbs, but gained 10 lbs back over the collective holidays), and I still have plenty to lose. Knitting keeps me from snacking.

In other knitting news, I get to take the afghan that I’m making for my mother down to Monterey on Sunday to work on while “watching” the Super Bowl… I really only tune in to see the commercials. Hopefully, I can finish it while I’m down there so it doesn’t have to come home with me again, and so my mother will stop asking why I haven’t finished it yet.

In honor of Brigid’s Feast Day and as seen on many another blog (including Grace’s Poppies, who started it), a poem…

Miniver Cheevy

Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn,
   Grew lean while he assailed the seasons
He wept that he was ever born,
   And he had reasons.

Miniver loved the days of old
   When swords were bright and steeds were prancing;
The vision of a warrior bold
   Would send him dancing.

Miniver sighed for what was not,
   And dreamed, and rested from his labors;
He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot,
   And Priam’s neighbors.

Miniver mourned the ripe renown
   That made so many a name so fragrant;
He mourned Romance, now on the town,
   And Art, a vagrant.

Miniver loved the Medici,
   Albeit he had never seen one;
He would have sinned incessantly
   Could he have been one.

Miniver cursed the commonplace
   And eyed a khaki suit with loathing:
He missed the medieval grace
   Of iron clothing.

Miniver scorned the gold he sought,
   But sore annoyed was he without it;
Miniver thought, and thought, and thought,
   And thought about it.

Miniver Cheevy, born too late,
   Scratched his head and kept on thinking;
Miniver coughed, and called it fate,
   And kept on drinking.

   — Edwin Arlington Robinson

Got home from work last night and made myself a vodka tonic before settling down in front of my wheel with some of the pin-drafted roving my in-laws gave me. I decided to try for a lace weight yarn, so I started spinning very thin singles, which proceeded to continuously break on me. It’s been awhile since I tried my hand at alpaca or lace weight, and I guess I had forgotten how short the staple is and how much twist is required. The main part of my problem was I would get a section that would become too thin, and it would snap as it was loading onto the bobbin. So, I’d go to pull out the end and get started again, and the yarn would fall apart as I gently pulled on it. Eventually, I decided that my hands were too sweaty (although I don’t know why) and I was too uptight to deal with fussy alpaca. Thankfully, my brother-in-law arrived for dinner just about then, so I had an extra excuse to put it away for the evening. I had predrafted the fiber, but I think I’m going to try again with the roving spilt in half lengthwise.

I’m still debating joining the Knitting Olypmics. Like I’ve said before I have a pattern and yarn to go with it, but I don’t have the needles so I haven’t had a chance to swatch anything. Additionaly, I’m still feeling underwhelmed about my knitting; I just don’t know if it’s in relation to the current projects I have going (which I just realized I have never updated my sidebar with… might be time for a blog spring cleaning) or knitting in general. I’d hate to sign up and realize that I just don’t want to do it… but if I could manage to finish in 16 days, I’d have a pretty purple sweater to wear. *sigh*

Let me start with Phoenix… The only family at the memorial was my aunt and uncle, my father, and myself. Then there were all the old people from the park in which my grandfather lived (apparently, in Phoenix, there are a lot of these “parks” where you have to be at least 50 to move in, and there’s a community building, and they take field trips). A few people got up to say things about my grandfather… I learned things like he introduced gambling to the park (when my father’s side of the family gets together it’s not if they’ll play poker, but when). I also learned that the lady who lived in the house behind him is going senile caues she got up and eulogized the old guy who had previously lived in my grandfather’s house instead of my grandfather. Overall, it was an okay trip… except for the 24 hours total spent driving down and back up again. *groan* Who knew sitting in a car for that long could exhaust you?

I spent a couple days trying to recover from the exhaustion so that I could go back to work and start the Spring semester. I feel like I’ve been spinning around so fast all I can do is fall down. And I wonder why I haven’t knitted in a week (and yet I’m still contemplating joining the Knitting Olympics). Maybe I’ll try my hand at spinning a little tonight; it’s not quite as involved as a lace shawl. Maybe I’ll put out one of the packs of alpaca roving my in-laws sent me for Christmas.

Of course, maybe this has something to do with my mood…

Ugh… I think it’s time to try wearing my computer reading glasses again. I know I’m a bit overdue for a eye doctor appointment as well. My tension headaches seem to be coming back. They’re kind of a circular problem — I have a little trouble seeing my computer screen so I unconsciously strain forward, which makes my neck hurt, which soon escalates into a tension headache, which in turn makes my eyes act funny, repeat from beginning.

Of course, these tension headaches always seem to coincide with something I have to do. This time around I’m driving down to Phoenix with my dad tomorrow. He’s coming up to pick me up tonight because I’m spending the night at my parents house so we can get an early start. Unfortunately, my dad’s idea of an early start for a drive like this is 6 am (and I mean car pulling out of driveway at 6 am, not waking up at 6 am). *groan* We’ll be going to my grandfather’s memorial, then returning with my grandfather’s rolltop desk.

Twelve hours down and twelve hours back… plenty of time for knitting, right? As long as I don’t get sick to my stomach from trying to read the lace chart.

I have a new toy — a Razr phone. The Husband and I decided it was time for new phones since Motorola denies the existance of the models we had, and the chargers were breaking down. (I’m sure the way The Husband drooled over the new Treo 700w had nothing to do with it.) This is my first camera with a phone. Combine that with Flickr’s ability to have photos emailed into my account may actually result in more photos in my blog.

So, I’m considering signing up for the insanity that Stephanie has spawned. The copy of Knitting Pure and Simple‘s Neck Down Shaped Cardigan #241 (pictured below) arrived in the mail the same afternoon I first heard of The Knitting Olympics.

The Rowan Felted Tweed I picked up in Mendocino a couple of weeks should work nicely. I think trying to get a sweater done in 16 days would be rather challenging (especially when you consider that the two sweaters I have made to date both took at least a month each).

My packet for Stitches West arrived a few days ago. I’m all signed up for Knitting Estonian Lace with Nancy Bush. I wish I could have taken her Vintage Sock class as well, but that Friday and Saturday I have to be at the univeristy from 10 am to 5 pm for an archives class (a class that only meets 2 weekends all semester… *bah*). I rather excited; this is the first time I’ll be taking a class at any sort of convention like this. I’m still not entirely sure what having signed up for a class gets me (beyond the class that is).

Anyone else out there planning on going to Stitches West? It might be nice to meet others out there in blogland. My Friday and Saturday evenings are free after class, and I’m free after class on Sunday as well (of course, somewhere in all this I have to have a few hours to hit the market).

In an effort to avoid finishing my mother’s afghan, I seem to have come down with startitis. I cast on a lace shawl back before New Year’s, I started a scarf with the Manos I got in Mendocino, and I started the baby blanket for a friend who is due in May. *sigh*

What’s really sad is I feel slightly uninspired by all of them. I think I’ve fallen into a rut I’ve been in before… all the projects I want to do have a certain level of complexity to them (Dublin Bay socks have some lace, baby blanket has some lace, scarf has a pattern I have to pay attention to, even my mother’s afghan requires attention). I have nothing going that is mindless… I think I’m beginning to understand that this is necessary for me. I can have five things on the needles, and as long as one of them is simpler than all the others, I’m fine. Once all the projects equal each other in concentration effort I feel blasé.

It certainly doesn’t help that I’ve felt overwhelmed in general of late. You know things have built up mentally when you find yourself bursting into tears because the treadmill in the complex’s fitness room is broken. Perhaps it’s time for a personal day… sadly, I can’t take the time off work, and Saturday I have an engagement I want to go to… but Sunday, Sunday it is highly likely I might be found in my PJs hiding in my bedroom under the covers… there may be hot beverages and silly movies involved as well. That does sound nice… now, to make it to Sunday.

This week my Dublin Bay socks were my take to work knitting. I had stalled with about 2.5 inches done and decided they needed some attention. You know your knitting’s been sitting a tad long when you can easily pick out the row that held the needles.

So, I slowly worked on my Dublin Bay socks during breaks or if my brain was feeling a bit too mushy. I even took it with me to the all hands meeting that was held at noon today cause they tend to run about an hour and a half. Halfway through the meeting I realize there is something wrong with my lace pattern… it’s off by about one stitch. I count… stitch count is all hunky-dory… wait… why are there 23 stitches on needle 3 and 25 stitches on needle 1?

This is when I remember that when the sock went to Monterey for Christmas some of the stitches came off the needles. I popped them back on without another thought. So, I ripped back to the last row I know is good (this would be when it’s good you can see the row that held the needles for weeks on end). I find what I belive to be the center stitch and put everything back on the needles, 24 stitches/needle. Start knitting again.

Okay, the lace pattern still looks odd. Crap, must have put the stitches on the needles wrong. So, I recheck the center stitch… yup, it’s on the wrong needle. Tink back the 5 rounds I have knitted. Rotate the stitches by one stitch. Start knitting again.

Okay, now it’s off by 2 stitches. WTF? I must have moved the stitches in the wrong direction. This would be my inability to vizualize 3D objects correctly coming to the suface (this is a bad trait for a knitter by the way *sigh*).

At least this time I had only gotten 2 rounds down when I found the problem. Now I just have to remember that after I get back to the starting point that I have to move 2 stitches in the opposite direction.

I think my avatar may not be fugly… just special.

Edit: Stupid thing isn’t saving right… *gah*

Edit the second: Apparently, Yahoo is having issues, not me… I think.