fair isle knitting (Ivy League Vest)

1 strand held English, 1 strand held continental

Purl Stitch

any advice on getting my left hand to stop cramping?

*stitch, stitch, stitch, wince* rep from *

and no need for cautious optimism on this one!

one weekend, three finished knitting projects, 2 sewing projects and 2 loads of laundry.

you don't care about the laundry. the sewing projects are surprises for people, so you'll have to wait to see pictures, but I do have pictures of the knitting!!!

Behold, my first knee socks! Yes there is another one and yes it is done. I will post more specifics on my knitting blog tomorrow, but this is just a teaser:

( look at the pretty! )

and this awesome lace scarf. 1/2 of a skein of malabrigo lace weight. will be making more of these, i can feel it. also, i have another 3 full skeins of malabrigo lace in other colors, so that's another 7 scarves.

( soft like a marshmallow )

and finally, that damned sweater. i really thought it was never going to end. oy. it was chinese water torture by the end there. and now its too damn hot to wear the stupid thing.

( i'll bring it out in October )

now, finally and without guilt, i can start on some new projects. there are 3 that i want to start right away, but i think i'll stick with 2. One travel project (BSG socks, baby!) and one home project. I should probably start on the tank top if i want to wear it in the season it was meant to be worn in, but i also want to play with the malabrigo worsted i brought back from SF.

decisions, decisions.

to being done with this godsdamn stupid, frakking sweater, i can almost taste it. i think i only have 5 repeats of the pattern left to go (ok, maybe 7). but i've been knitting this same pattern for weeks (2x2 knit, with a baby cable every 4th row) and it is killing me.

almost literally. my hands are cramping from all of this. it doesn't help that the sleeve was knitted directly into the body of the sweater, so now i have a really heavy garment on 4 DPNs. so my wrists and fingers are supporting everything and THEY DO NOT LIKE THE WEIGHT.

but once i'm done with this, i am done with all 3 current WIPs. which means i can start my BSG socks and one other project.

carmen_sandiego i may have to hold off on the Malabrigo sweater. I forgot about the fingering weight silk that needs to be made into a cute summer tank top (don't worry, the yarn is held double, so it shouldn't take too long).

oh, and i may need to treat myself to this knitting purse. i really like the namaste bags i've seen, but no one in NYC seems to sell them, so if i do decide to indulge, i need to make sure that their return policy is a good one.

ok, its hot, i'm tired, and my hands, wrists and shoulders are killing me. stupid sweater.

ok, so in an attempt to make myself finish these FUCKING UFOs (UnFinished Objects), I'm writing my summer list here.

1) finish Cherry Hill Knee socks. Considering that the Point group on Ravelry has already taken pictures, I need to get on those

2) finish that damn sweater. I've got half an arm left. That's it!!!! argh!

3) The list
BSG socks: OMG, i have the best idea for them /geekout
Malabrigo sweater: this will be a quick knit as it is worsted weight and top-down cardi construction
Ive League Vest: Although I think i like the color combo so much that I may have to save that for Venezia
Spring Forward Socks from Knitty.com: my Koigu cries out for it.
Embossed Leaves Socks: love the pattern, must hunt through stash for some Fleece Artist.


must got knit, must go knit, must go knit...

considering the vats of alcohol i drank last night, the fact that i have woken up sans hangover is not only impressive, but possibly a sign that in a moment of spiked-limeade inebriation, i may have sold my soul to the devil.

worked up until i finally gave up at 4. beer bash was a 3, but it was such a lame beer bash that it lasted 10 minutes and then everyone went back to work.

sum total of recognition and thanks i got from my bosses? zero. needless to say, when it was time to leave, their doors were closed and i decided it wasn't worth my time to cross the floor to see if they were actually busy or just anti-social. i had a more heartfelt goodbye with the woman who is temporarily taking my place (known her for 2 weeks) than the managing director, who i've known and respected for over a year.

then it was on to the drinking. at first a slow start and i was feeling a bit unloved, but then the people started showing up and it was awesome. for whatever reason, the engineers can drink everyone under the table so they ended up there for the longest. and they are also hysterical, so i had a blast with them. plus my good friends from the other departments were there, so a fun time was had by all.

now i'm going to watch BSG, maybe go out for WWKIP day (world wide knit in public- shut up), and basically, start that long vacation i need.

freedom. gotta love it

ok, 2 different posts for the crazy duality in which i currently exist

dad's triple bypass had some complications. namely that when they opened him up they realized that triple bypass wasn't going to cut it. so they did a quintuple bypass (if any doctor is reading this journal, could you explain that to me?) and the surgery lasted almost 10 hrs.

my father woke up mid-afternoon on saturday feeling like, well, hell.

and now for the rant against my job (you had to know this was coming as I work for heartless assholes)

so friday, H (the daughter) was off and called in. N (the father and actual owner of the store) told her what had happened to my dad. Did she offer me her condolences? Nope, she had her father ask me if I still wanted to take my New Year's Holiday vacation on Wednesday, since I might need it to go down. Because of course the new year hasn't started and I don't have any vacation names. Oh, wait.... I have plenty of vacation days that just started up again, plus my personal days, plus ALL the holidays that I won't get to take off, so I think I'm going to drag my poor, tired ass home for 3 days in a row. Bite me. And then on sunday, talks to me and totally blows off the severity of my father's situation. "Well he made it out of surgery, so everything is great" Her exact words, I swear.

and then yesterday, the store was closing early and as always, lunch is provided by the store. So I sat down in the kitchen (rather than at my desk) for 5 minutes to just chat with a friend and eat some food.

N comes looking for a list of specials I had said I would get for him. Now, mea culpa, I had forgotten to do them earlier. He'd thrown a few other requests at me that morning and it had slipped my mind. So i went back to my desk to do it for him. And he had the nerve to come to me and say that "because of the circumstances" the prior day hadn't been that productive and because the NYE workday was shorter, he really needed me to concentrate on my work.

I was insulted, because, you know, normally I'm SUCH a slacker...NOT! I work my ass off in that place. E, the head buyer has a crazy daughter and sick parents, spends half her day on the phone yelling at them, and he would NEVER say that to her. So, because I am an absolute bitch, I did the stupid project he wanted me to do (took all of 2 minutes) did the sales report for the week, dealt with all the crazy customers in the web file, researched some internet articles that should, but won't, influence him to put more money into improving the e-commerce infrastructure and closed the store in record time.

Bastard really needs to be careful about calling me a slacker.

I think my interview on Friday went well. If it did, he can go find someone else to torture. New Year's resolution number one is to get the fuck out of that place....

backdated b/c I don't want my first postof 06 to be a bitchy one

the money situation, the new toy, all the great retail therapy (I even found a great pair of black loafers for $30!). even an ex-whatever-the-hell-he-was saying that I had one of the best bodies he'd ever seen.

And then last night at 9:30ish, my dad called. He's had a heart attack and is undergoing triple bypass this morning. Its a 7 hour surgery and I don't care how many times this surgery is done every day, I'm a fucking wreak.

Doesn't help that I can't go down to Miami either. Not just the money problem (and the driving problem), but the family issue. My father's wife doesn't like me (and trust me, the feeling is mutual) and while we could at least try to be civil, my dad would be stressed about the entire situation (he's always tried to be a buffer between us) and the last thing this man needs is stress. My father is thin a rail (probably weighs less than I do) but the smoking and the stress is what got him.

My aunt (his sister) and I spoke last night and she agreed with me that right now would not be the best time to go down there. Maybe in a month when he is a little stronger and able to get out of bed, I can go down for the weekend. But while he is still recovering, my going down wouldn't make the situation any better.

This so sucks. Having a screwed up family is just too hard.

if anyone is reading my LJ at all, you'll know that yesterday I did a bit of whining. it had been a disappointing Christmas, not because I didn't get the gifts I wanted, but rather that the gifts I got made me feel that my family, even my mother, didn't really know me and it made me feel very sad. I'm not saying that I know every like/dislike of every member of my family, but I do try.

so I woke up in my own bed which was great on one hand (a good night's sleep!) but bad on the other (do I really have to get up?). Knitting on the train was nice as it gave me some additional time to myself.

And then I got to work. Within 30 minutes of getting there, the stockroom/ inventory/ wholesale person (who has been with the company for almost 20 years), told me he was surprised that we hadn't gotten bonuses (I wasn't there on XMas eve when they used to be given out). And that's when the shit hit the fan.

We didn't get bonuses last year because business was down and even though it picked up, this is a company run by very stingy people who don't understand that in retail, you have to pay for employee loyalty, because they aren't there because they love getting yelled at by customers. Even though business was a lot better this year, the fact that he even expected a bonus shows just how DELUSIONAL these people are. The store could make 10 Million in one year and we won't get bonuses again. This is not a company that rewards hard work, we've seen it time and time again when its review time and people don't even get raises. It angered me that he still expected them to be generous after so much proof that they are not.

But then something happened.
( Long and rambling, but happy... )

So that was my very strange day.

I can only hope tomorrow is just as strange...

ps I will be posting pixs of X-mas food and fireplace as soon as I find my card reader. I realy have no clue what I did with it, but I know its in this apartment somewhere...

well, we've reached a milestone in this holiday season.

christmas dinner was dispatched with panache (if I do say so myself, it was incredible, pictures to come as soon as I find my card reader).

gifts opened. no gift receipts, so one I will try to exchange (cute sweater wayyyyyy too big on me) and the other I'm sure I'm stuck with (black purse that would be ok-despite the pebble textured leather- if it wasn't for the big honking ugly silver clasp-thingy) if my mom threw out the regular receipt.

No, what makes today a milestone is this:

I GOT MY BED BACK!!!!!!

Mom is off to a friend's for a visit and will more than likely stay there the rest of her trip (she leaves in 9 days). Which means I am off the Aero mattress with the slow leak, NPR to wake me up again, a room with blackout shades so that I can actually sleep through most of the night, and room for both me and the space-hogging furball on said bed. The sheets have been changed to my yummy flannels and I am anxiously awaiting 10pm so that I can go to sleep. I thought about reading in bed, but that's a huge no-no for us insomniacs and will probably cause me to wake up at 3am, which will make me sad.

( Slightly selfish and depressing ramble )

Now that I'm done being an ungrateful bitch, I'm going to go hide in my bed. And not feel guilty about that at all.

oh god.

i'm watching the rerun of "The Ticket".

"if you want out, you're going to have to drum up another heart attack"

*sniff*

and now my godmother thinks that John Spencer knew he was sick and that this episode was a warning.

i feel like sitting her down and making her watch the other 9 episodes so far where John Spencer is obviously going forward. its really not a conspiracy, just a horrible coincidence

total food coma. i'm sure not helped by the fact that I've been cooking for the past 2 days.

v. tired. but the food came out spectacular. I made too much, but I have no problem with leftovers.

so now i just have to figure out when i can politely kick them out of my apartment so that I can take a nap.

Christmas haul absolutley sucked this year. It gets worse every year. Oh well. I just wish my family would give me money and then I could buy the stuff I needed/wanted rather than having to feign enthusiasm over bad gifts. But I know they mean well.

So i'll find out on Tuesday if we got bonuses at work this year. If so, I can get my cell phone and a new TV. If not, i'll use my paid out vacation days for my cell phone, because its seriously on its last leg.

I am sooooooooo tired. Apple tart and egg nog ice cream and then I'm taking a nap.

OMG I have 3 days off in a row. I almost don't know what to do with myself.

Transit strike is over and I'm a VERY happy person. I got to the city by 7:55 am, was in and out of Whole Foods in about 20 minutes (pays to go when they are just opening), bought way too many apples at the Farmer's Market and got to work at 8:45 am

and did not leave until 9:15 pm. Yes folks, that's over 12 hours later. One 30 minute break to go be Santa. Otherwise, got dragged out to the floor to ring (and occassionally deal with long winded customers- ITS CHRISTMAS, HURRY THE FUCK UP!) And then stayed to help my friend close, b/c its really mean to make someone deal with all that paperwork alone the week of Christmas.

Good thing I stayed too, b/c there were more fuck-ups in the paperwork than I've seen in a long time. Hence the not leaving until 9:15.

Got the Yarn Harlot book for Christmas from a friend. Immediately started reading it and laughing my head off. We are really a group of sick fucks in need of serious therapy. I especially identified with the emptying of the closets of clothes so as to fit more yarn. Sad really.


Today will be spent cooking and a little bit of cleaning (bathroom and kitchen need a good mopping. MOM!!!!) And listening to Xmas music.

And then later, its off to get my Xmas tree. Our family tradition is to get our tree on Xmas eve when the tree vendors are so desparate to get rid of theirs that they'll see it for anything. I haven't paid more than $10 for a 7 foot tree in years!

Ok, must go wake up Mom and head to the grocery store. I refuse to get there any later than 8am. Mainly because some one will get hurt.

Yep, this is the season of peace and joy.

"In the face of an unprecedented media assault, the average New Yorker supported the TWU and blamed the MTA for the strike," the union said in a statement.

are you INSANE!!!????

hell, the strike is over, I'm back to work tomorrow and buying my new cell phone.

so today I'm taking a vacation day. screw it, i'm not dealing with that commute home. tomorrow I may be able to get a ride in and back, but trying to rely on the one bus line that is working in Brooklyn is stupid. its a 3 hour wait to get on it in Brooklyn and, based on a recent post from dianora2 its about another 3 hours just to get a bus, to get me over the bridge, to start the 6 mile walk to my house from downtown brooklyn.

not going to happen.

so i'm giving up the money I would have like to used for a new cell phone (*sniff*), 2 people won't get gift b/c I can't get into the city, and I'm going to have to get sub-standard groceries for Christmas dinner. Assuming this stike is over by then, or my guests won't be able to get here. Mom was all excited that they could take Metro-North, forgetting that Metro-North DOESN"T COME IN TO BROOKLYN!!!!

I'm going to work on home projects now. That will make me happy.

so my lovely 20 minute commute into the city yesterday? well, karma came and bit me in the ass on the commute home.

no cab to be found, so I WALKED! From Soho, over the Brooklyn Bridge, through downtown Brooklyn, and into Park Slope. At that point, my body started demanding food, so I found the fish and chips place, called mom and she said to bring it home. I was all set to go through the horror of trying to get a cab to Bay Ridge, but then a very nice man (a clinical pharmacologist, as I found out) was very kind and offered me a ride home.

So it only took 2.5 hours to get home. 2 hours of that spent walking over.

Needless to say, today I am working from home.

oh, this is so annoying...

but silver lining, i'm still in my PJs and slippers!

"The working conditions are more physically onerous, the treatment by managers more disrespectful, and the abuse from the public more hurtful, than any other group of public workers in the city experiences," Dr. [Marian] Swerdlow said, a sociologist and the author of "Underground Woman," a memoir of her four years as a subway conductor.


In comparison to, say, police officers? Who get shot at (physically onerous, and shows hurtful abuse from the public), spit on, have to pursue people through buildings? Or maybe firefighters, who get yelled at when coming into burning buildings? Oh, yeah, and the burning buildings themselves? Maybe school teachers, who work in buildings with broken windows and don’t have enough books for the students who are packed like sardines in too small classrooms and school?

The transit workers need to shut up. I understand they have a tough job. So do I. I get yelled at by customers all the time, mainly because they choose to spend their money at this store and so they feel its ok to take all their frustrations out on us (sounds like a lot of subway riders, too?).

But they make a hell of a lot more money than a lot of New Yorkers do (that includes me). And to whine about having to put money towards their health insurance and retirement? At least they don’t pay over $100 per PAYCHECK for health insurance. Many New Yorkers don’t have pension plans because their companies don’t offer them and they may not have enough money to put away in an IRA.

This is the way the world works now. Nothing is a free ride. You’ve got to give a little to get a little.

All the clichés may sound trite, but it’s the truth. And to hear Toussiant “ portray the action as part of a broader effort for social justice” is a bunch of bull. It’s a money grab and everyone knows it .

The MTA isn’t blameless in this, but if the reports are true, they are at least trying. I would KILL for a minimum 3% pay increase every year. But there are people here who haven’t had a pay increase in 3 years. Why? Because times are tight.

How much worse will it be for “future workers” if the Transit Authority has no money and stops hiring people. They’ll just wait for attrition to take its toll, and as everyone retires, just replace the people with machines. Machines don’t ask for retirement plans.

And on the vindictive side, I hope they freeze their balls/boobs off, get pelted with rotton eggs (that smell stays with you) and then get locked out of their apartments by pissed off relatives.

But that’s just me retreating from logic and being a bitch…

still sad and depressed. can't bring myself to watch The West Wing, mainly b/c i have to be at work and can't afford to be here with swollen eyes. And it will be a cry-fest when i watch "Noel" and "Bartlet for America"

But updates on other fun things

1) The bad manager is gone! Yesterday was her last day and bitch that I am, I waved goodbye from across the room as I walked out the door. I'm not pretending to be sad to see her go. I'm not that good an actress. Went home and backed gingersnaps in celebration.

2) By this time Monday, the worst of my Christmas hell will be over. Mostly due to the fact that as of 11:59pm tomorrow, the web business is going to drop off like lemmings on a cliff.

There will be another post today about something weird going on right now, but I'm pretty sure its going to piss some of my friends off, but I have to write, if only to get it out.

but later, still mulling over it now.

its really weird how upset I am over John Spencer's death. I feel like a friend has died

But I think this is the first time that someone famous that I admire has died. I was certainly upset when Princess Di and Mother Teresa died, but not like this. And I think its because they both seemed so far from the ordinary.

And in the best way possible, John Spencer seemed like "everyman". A great actor who believed in the art and made you believe in the people he played. He seemed to be a wonderful person to be around, and that's really one of the best compliments that I ever give. He was the type of man I would have like to have met and had coffee with at an all night diner.

And sadly, I'm reminded of all the pictures I've seen of him with one hand usually hidden from view of the camera. In so many candid shots, you could tell he was smoking and I'm reminded again of how much damage it can do to the body.

But, he will be very missed.

And as for the show, I'm absolutely terrified. There are so many ways they could go now, and I'm just hoping that TPTB don't stop the show and use this as a bad excuse for cancelling it now.

John worked hard on that show for over 6 years. give him the dignity of a fitting goodbye and the cast a chance to say goodbye to Leo.

For some reason, I keep remembering the look on Leo's face when Josh told him he was the choice for VP (as well as the good shock that all of us felt). Possibly one of my all time favorite Leo moments, and only John Spencer could have made it happen so effortlessly.

You will be very missed.

Fox News is reporting that John Spencer has died of a heart attack!

so far, so good...

i'm at work, seeing as the really stupid transit workers have decided not to strick just yet. it just boggles the mind that these people are willing to give raise concessions (instead of 8% raises a year, down to 3% raises a year), in exchange for less disciplinary actions.

If you've ever had to deal with a NYC Transit worker, you'll know that they need more disciplinary actions against some of these yahoos, not less.

They are crying about cuts to pensions and health insurance. Welcome to the real world. I currently have no pension plan and i pay almost $100 a PAYCHECK towards health insurance

Note to transit workers:

You work in the public sector. You knew that going in. Yeah, the MTA is a bunch of slimy weasels, but they're a bunch of slimy weasels trying to keep the city running the week before X-mas. Think about how much money the city will lose in retail taxes and then think about what your future paychecks will look like.

No tax revenue= no money to pay you. And as you'll be the people to blame, you'll be the first place where the budget gets cut.

As much as the city (myself included) is made up of mostly bleeding heart liberals, you do not have the support of the people of this city. To hear you whine about how "bad" you have it just pisses us off and in your selfishness, you are screwing over more than 7 million people.

at least its not freezing out today...