Knit Once, Purl Forever

Mayday May Day!

I'm having a little trouble concentrating today. Especially in regards to posting a blog entry tonight. I've started out a half dozen times on a half dozen different topics...I think I have the spring fever or something. Or maybe there are just too many distractions in my midsts with the lovely weather and all of the Must See television tonight: Survivor, Grey's Anatomy, and LOST are all on tonight.

That's way too much must see TV for a good blog entry, but I just wanted to say something quick about May Day. Until I moved to the Midwest in the early '90s, I had never really thought much about May Day and had never celebrated it. When the boys were little, they would bring home from daycare little May Day baskets filled with candy. We've never done anything to celebrate it at home though. And I've never seen a Maypole.

How about you? Is May Day something you celebrate?

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Thanks for the advice in the last entry. Right now I'm on the avoidance plan. I figure if I dodge 'em for a while, I don't have to make any difficult or rash decisions so I can figure this out in my mind. I'm a slow thinker like that...And it's always nice to hear feedback from others. Thanks! You guys rock!

A Little Advice Needed

If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you probably know that I'm pretty much a straight shooter. I call it like I see it. There aren't a lot of lines to read between when I'm involved. What you see is pretty much what you get.

Call it simple. Call it a simple upbringing from a simple and very small town. Whatever. I don't care. It is what it is.

When it's knitting related you know that I'm honest about my madd, crazy, and not always on the up and up skillz. I'm okay with my mistakes and knitting issues. In fact, I relish the fact that I make mistakes. That's how I freakin' learn...

My professional life is an entirely different thing. I do not so much relish the mistakes there. I strive to be and do the best that my abilities will allow and provide. And I am generally respected for that and I am well networked. To the other end of that, I'm a pretty tough cookie at work and I don't mess around with those who are less than competent. Recently; however, I have found that I have been met with a force with whom should be reckoned. Someone who likes to play the games and act like a fake @ss. Someone who reeks of incompetence and self-proclaimed superiority, but tries to act like your best friend.

Lately, I have been the targeted "best friend." And I'm not quite sure how to handle this as this person is one of the big cheeses. And this is totally outside of my "it is what it is" comfort zone. Any advice? Have any of you ever been in this situation?

Any advice you can offer is deeply appreciated. And then some!!!!

Tickin' Away

This is why I don't have a tattoo. And why you probably wouldn't want to go clothes shopping with me...

I thought it would be fun to create a cute ticker like the one Lorette has. First, I spied this lovely.

Then I had to try out the cute lily pads.

And OMG! Check out the sleeping kitties...

This one makes me think of summer and being warm...

Of course it really doesn't matter which image I select for my ticker. This is hardly a critical decision. So just image the FUN when it is something critical. My poor Hubby!

Quiet and Busy

A friend of mine scored free tickets to the Billy Joel concert last week and shared with her closest friends. It was a fun and crazy time, even if we aren't the biggest Billy Joel fans ever. In retrospect I guess that was a good thing since Billy Joel's dad played in his place--he said Billy couldn't make it to the concert because he was too busy messing with his hair. In any event, I was able to take some cool photos of Billy Joel's "dad."

In other news, work and life have been good and busy. The only down side to this is that it's been pretty quiet on the knitting front. I've managed to knit one sock since my last blog update. And I've knit just a tiny bit of the second sock. There aren't any photos because it's just a sock, dude. Nothing exciting.

Maybe I'll have something interesting to show/tell next time. If I'm lucky..

How Ravelry Stole My Knitting Mojo

Okay, I can hear the protests as I type this. Ravelry is the bomb. It is great. On most days, it is a wonderful source of inspiration. And to be perfectly clear, I should say that Ravelry did not directly steal my mojo. Not directly. Indirectly, though, it did.

A couple of months ago, a fellow Raveler invited me to join a knit along group. I'm not naming names as I do not wish to hurt anyone's feelings, but it involved socks, knitting a specific pattern, and the Olympics. Yeah, just typing those words makes me realize that I should have known this would be a crazy mix for me. I should have respectfully declined the invitation.

I've mentioned before that I do not knit well with others in a class or group setting and this apparently applies to knit alongs where you have to knit an assigned project within an established period of time and as a group. I just can't get into it. The pattern is perfectly lovely and the instructions are well written, but it just doesn't do it for me. I would probably never knit these socks on my own and I've found that I resist knitting them as a group too. So much so, that I haven't knit a stitch in weeks.

When I mentioned the need for a beautiful distraction in my last blog post, I really meant it. I haven't found what IT is just yet, but I know that the first step is to rip that sock that I'm just not feeling and remove myself from the Ravelry group.

Then I need to reclaim my knitting mojo.

It sounds so simple, yo.

Self Hell

I've been beating myself up over a stupid decision I made a month ago. It's one of those things that is over and done with and can't be changed. It's not life-threatening and there shouldn't be any fallout from it, but it was stupid and I regret it.

It's made me realize that I must not have a lot of regrets as a rule, as I have really been obsessing about this and generally feeling bad. Even though I know that worrying about it won't change it. I know that I have a clear understanding of where I went wrong. I know that I will not repeat this mistake in the future. I know I just have to get over my feelings of stupidity and move on.

Thing is, that's really difficult for someone as introspective as I happen to be. It's hard to stop thinking and analyzing every little thing. It's so difficult that I actually swung by the Self Hell isle recently for some therapy in the form of a book. And I think it has helped.

According to my self hell book, the answer to my habit of worrying is to find distractions. I'm thinking I need a beautiful distraction in the form of a new and challenging project. So, what to knit???

The Name is Mud

As far as the Knit Once blog is concerned, my name is mud. What with my lack of any kind of attention to the blog and all. And I know I deserve that name, but I just haven't been into the blogging lately and there are some things that just can't be forced. Writing on the blog is definitely one of them as far as I'm concerned.

Since I still don't really have much to say, I'll settle for a cool meme I saw over at Norma's* of all places.

What My Name Means

You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous. You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things. Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

*Norma doesn't normally do memes.

Finished Fair Isle Yoke Sweater

It's finished!

Pattern: The Fair Isle Yoke Pullover from Bernat #530164.

Yarn:  Bernat Cashmere Natural Blends in Earth, Barley, and Ocean.

Needles: Size US 8

Other: I love this sweater. Great pattern and great yarn. It is so soft, I never want to take it off!

Sick

I'm sick. Too sick to talk, blog, or even knit very much.

I do have a new project on the needles. Here's a couple photos I took  prior to coming down with the creeping crud:

More information available via Ravelry (must log in).

Seven Random Things About My Knitting

I was tagged by Erin for the seven random things meme. I think I've done this one before, but I'm too lazy to check. So, to be safe I decided to make my random things all knitting related. That is, if I can think of seven random knitting related things.

We'll see if I can come up with seven; here goes:

1. I've had the Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques on my bookshelf for years now and I just recently cracked it open and followed the guidelines for seams and picking up stitches for the Wheat Cable Vest. To say that it made a difference would be a serious understatement.

2. The Wheat Cable Vest is the only project I feel 100 percent happy about. I wouldn't change anything about the knitting; however, I might knit another someday, but use less sheddy/less itchy yarn next time.

3. I always use the backward loop method for casting on. I know there are other cast on methods, but this one is such a habit to me that it is second nature. I think I've perfected it so that it doesn't affect my finished item. Or so I think anyway.

4. For once, I do not have any knitting goals or objectives. It's kind of nice; however, upon completing the vest I have been a little lost as to what to knit next.

5. While not exactly a goal, I have been trying to finish a project before casting on for the next. I'm also trying to use up all of my stash.

6. I haven't bought new yarn in months. I've been to the yarn store and I've looked at the yarn. The problem is that I find that I already  have in my stash most of the new yarn I would like to buy.

7. My blog is ranked #5 when Googling "knitting mistakes" and this doesn't surprise me in the least.