The Patchwork Butterfly

Sorry about my absence from blog-land this past week. Last week really was just totally god awful. I was frazzled over starting a new job and trying to get into the swing of things, REALLY frazzled over working 40 hours a week for the first time, and on top of that, things just kept going wrong. Mark and I were at each others' throats all last week. We just couldn't get along for some reason. We're fine now though. I know part of it was my anxiety over the new job, but part of it was definitely him! And it also seemed like every little thing that could go wrong, did! To top it all off, I got next to nothing done all week fiber-wise. But I made up for it this week! First, one of the pics from the 31st that didn't come through: (at least I hope you'll get to see it this time!)

Here's my swatch all nice and blocked next to my whopping 240 yard less-than-half-ounce skein. It's now all neatly wound into a ball thanks to my handy-dandy yarn winder and some day I'll start the scarf. But first, I have other projects on my mind. First off, Bob! I really want to get this sweater kick started again. It sat for more than a week untouched, but I worked on it today and tomorrow and I see noticeable progress. I'd say I've done about a third of the second ball:

I'm going to make a committment to knit on it for at least fifteen minutes a day until it's done. I know it doesn't seem like much, but it's more than I've done on it lately and I'll probably end up doing more than 15 once I sit down and get started. So, there's Bob. Not real fancy or exciting, but plugging along and vaguely resembling a sweater. It's going so slow, that although she swears up and down I'll finish first, I think Lori may win the race :-)

And onto other current projects. I've currently abandoned the Sockotta socks until I can come back to them at a calm time. They just keep getting holes in the one toe seam and I don't know why. The short row stitches just stretch on the one side for no reason I can figure out. Extremely frustrating. So, they're on the shelf for the moment, especially considering they were my bus knitting and I've found an extremely cheap parking lot and I'm now driving to work (yea! I started really searching intensively after being forced to sit next to a man who smelled like alcohol, cigarettes, and feces. what a combination... bar and dirty diaper. Ugh!!!) I also took a break from Box Office to spin something completely different. I'm already through the first of three batts that make up four ounces. It's Tammany's Pride from Crosspatch Creations and Three Bags Full, and I'm loving it!

I'm spinning it much thicker than Box Office, so it really seems to be flying by (heck, human hair is much thicker than Box Office! J/K!). I spun this whole bobbin just on Saturday and Sunday. I'm going back to Box Office now, but I'll do the other two batts whenever I need a break from Box Office. I figure every half ounce I'll take a break from spinning what my friend Arlene calls "frog hair" and go back to this lovely stuff. It's so textured and fun! I love the colors, too. I was originally going to make socks, but I don't think it would make comfortable socks (at least for me... I hate footwear unless frostbite threatens, so if I wear socks they have to be barely noticeable and I'd really feel these!) So now I'm thinking hat. There's definitely enough there for a stocking cap for me, like I made for Mark. Or I may spin up two other coordinating colorways and make a striped scarf. We'll see. It was just nice to spin up something different for awhile, and now I'm eager to get back to Box Office, so Tammany's Pride served it's purpose. Whatever I end up making out of it will be a bonus! Now, I'm off to get re-started on Box Office, and hopefully I'll be un-frazzled enough to write again tomorrow :-)

# posted by Jenni @ 4/07/2003 09:24:00 PM