The Patchwork Butterfly

Okay, knitting stuff first, everything else after :-) I've been working my way through the Wool Peddler's shawl and I'm a quarter of the way through the eighth repeat of the lace. Only the rest of the eighth, the full ninth and the eight row border to go! Whoopeeeeee! Here's what it's looking like so far

I blocked it out with a few pins so you could get a good look at the lace. I'm really happy with how it's turning out. I'm mad with myself about getting my yarn sizes mixed up and having to do more repeats of the lace, because I could be done by now, but I still think it's a beautiful pattern and I also think that I've done really well with it (if I do say so myself. I'm a good knitter... and humble too! Just kidding!) Anyway, once this is all done, it's time for fuzzy feet! That's assuming I have the yarn by then, of course. I know myself well enough to know that I NEED to finish this shawl before I start another project or I'll lose my passion for it and it may be quite awhile before I come back to it. And I definitely don't want to stop with the end so close. I'm not a big one for finishing projects. I'm much more of a starter than a finisher. But I've been doing pretty well lately. I finished a hat for my boyfriend (I even spun the yarn for it myself!) And more importantly I finished it on time. It was to be a Christmas present and I'm notorious for my late handmade Christmas presents, so he was REALLY surprised, even though he knew about the hat. I also finished my first sock (but have hardly any progress on the second, since I started the shawl). And now the shawl is reaching completion. Maybe I'm a changed woman! Anyway, when the shawl is done it's on to at least one pair of fuzzy feet, then the bag "My Constant Companion" so that I have something I made myself to carry my knitting in. And after that, who knows? I want a pair of socks for myself, and I've bought sock yarn for Mark and my mom, so I want to make their socks too. I bought Mom's last Thursday when we were yarn hunting. She isn't a big fan of wool, so I got her so Cascade Fixation. It's a really pretty color way of white, lime green, turquoise, and purple. Very springy. And I hear that this yarn makes nice, thick socks. But, I also really want to make a sweater. I feel like I've learned so much from each project I've done lately that if I make a sweater I think I'll be able to start designing some nice things for myself. I don't understand yet how sweater shaping works because I haven't done one yet and really experienced the process, but I think one will be enough. I'm a difficult size and shape. The biggest clothes in "normal" stores are too small for me, but the smallest clothes in "plus size" shops are too big for me. So, being able to make my own sweaters would be fabulous. Anyway, there are a lot of ideas purcolating, I'm sure one will start screaming for my attention before I get done with everything I have planned. Actually, the kimono shawl from Folk Shawls is starting to call my name, so maybe it will be that. I got three small cones of Zephyr for Christmas, so I'm thinking of making one of those into the kimono. Or maybe I'll make it from that silver 30/2 silk yarn. Hmmmmm.

Anyway, in non-knitting news, I got a call back for an interview from one of the companies I sent my resume to. My interview isn't until next Wednesday, so I have a whole week to be nervous. It's for an administrative position with a downtown law firm, so I'm debating over whether I should wear slacks or a skirt. I'm much more comfortable in slacks, but maybe a skirt would be more professional. Before I decide, I'll go look at skirts and see if there's anything that strikes me, because believe it or not, I currently dont' have any skirts. I'm really excited about this job, it sounds great on a lot of fronts (one of the big plusses is that it's not a temp job, so I feel like it will be more secure. Of course, with the job market, who knows?) One of the major down sides for me about it right now is that it's full time. Right now I only work 28 hours a week and I still feel crunched for time. What will I do when I work 40? And I'll hardly ever see Mark. I'll work week days and he works nights and weekends. We'll see each other three nights a week and weekend mornings only. That may sound to heaven to some people, like my cousin who goes to school five hours away from her boyfriend and sees him every other week, but it seems like so little. And I don't want to ask if I could work a weekend day instead of a week day and have that time with him, because I've gotten used to spending the weekend nights and afternoons with my mom, and working on the weekend would cut into my time with her. I know that having a full time job will have its benefits (literally - I'll have benefits! Health, paid vacation, holidays, sick time, etc) And making more money would be nice. My car will be ten years old next year, I know I'll have to start looking for a new car sometime. I won't be able to afford another car on what I get paid now. And I can save for a house and the shop. And I always expected to work full time. But now that it's here it just seems like so much! I know that after the transition period, I'll probably be okay, but it still seems like so much of my time. It's just something I'll have to really think about. I'll have a lot of questions for them. You'll probably be reading a lot about this the next week. I'm very nervous, and talking it out helps. But, I'll try to keep the knitting news towards the beginning of the posts and you can skip the work stuff if you want. That way everybody wins. Have a great night everyone, and hopefully I'll be closer to the end of the shawl tomorrow.

# posted by Jenni @ 2/05/2003 09:49:00 PM