It's Friday!!!

I have no progress to report. So I am going to share another friday five

You have just won one million dollars:

1. Who do you call first? I'm not sure who I'd call first. Depends on where I found out.
2. What is the first thing you buy for yourself? A new apartment. Well maybe not right away, but that would be on my short list.
3. What is the first thing you buy for someone else? That depends on my mood. It also depends on how far I can make a million dollars last in Manhattan.
4. Do you give any away? If yes, to whom? Well, the government would get some, whether I like it or not. I think I would probably pass on some to my family to help with their finances.
5. Do you invest any? If so, how?" I would probably put a big chunk of it in the stock market or some other investment. Might as well have my money working for me for a while.

Now don't you feel that much closer to me?

Guess Who Has A Sleeve!

Can you tell that I am anxious to get this sweater off the needles? I finished the sleeve last night and pinned it on this morning as I was getting ready for work. I don't think I'll be able to do much more on it tonight since I am grudgingly going to the going away party for Ayelet. I am not grudgingly going becasue I don't want to go, but because I have not yet accepted that she is leaving.

For all of you who were curious, or not, I took my Myers Briggs test the other day and found out that I am an ISTJ. What does that mean, you ask. Well I am:

I - Introverted - like to have my own space (has nothing to do with being chatty)
s - Sensing - fact and detail oriented
T - Thinking - use logic more than emotions
J - Judging - very punctual and deadline focused

So what does it mean as a blogger? Or what career should I have? In the grand scheme of things, does it really make that much of a difference? I am still on the fence about these questions. I'll leave that up to the interpreter.

Snowy Weather

At the last minute, I found out that I didn't have to work at the theatre last night, so I jumped at the chance to go to S-n-B for the first time in I don't know how long. It is now in a new location, Knit New York. I hadn't been there before, as it only opened a few weeks ago. It's a cute place, combination knitting shop and cafe. It's not very big, but if there isn't a huge group for S-n-B, I'm sure it would be the Barnes & Noble of Yarn shops in that you can hang for as long as you want, eat or drink, shop for yarn and patterns and be a part of the greater knitting community.

On top of that, there was a camera crew from CNN taping the gathering. I don't know when it's supposed to be on.

I also showed off the sleeve that I have been diligently working on to my fellow knitters. The conclusion is I am totally insane for doing this project.

The interesting thing about last night was as I got to S-n-B, the sidewalks were clear, no precipitation at all. Almost as soon as I took my coat off, gigantic snow flakes started falling and instantly sticking to the already frozen sidewalk. By the time I left, about 2 hours later, there was easily 2 inches already.



This is the view from the block around the corner from my apartment last night, about 2 hours into the snow storm.

What is your personality?

This morning, our entire office is being required to sit in a presentation on Myers Briggs personality tests. I think some of the people here have already done the testing. When I first started, it was brought up to me as a possibility. I have a sneaky suspicion that there is a "higher-up" who is really keen on knowing what personality each of us is.

Well, if I get any insight into myself, I'll let you know.

PIcture Time

I thought I would show you what kind of materials I was working with. Well, here is a picture of an unadulterated hank of the alpaca that I am using for the sweater.



If you take a close look, you can see just how big this puppy is - 665 yards.



For another perspective, here is a wound ball of it.



Or for another way of putting it, two hanks of this yarn got me this far on size 0s:

+

So I am now more than half through the first sleeve and just started on the third hank. Are my grandiose dreams of getting this thing finished soon merely that, dreams? I was way too much of a non-knitter this weekend, thanks to my uncontrollable urge to go shopping on Saturday afternoon, winning at poker Saturday night (woo hoo!) and being a total bum yesterday. How can I get through this endless project if I don't pick it up one the weekends?

No Time

Although I have been very diligently working on my sleeve, I feel like I haven't gotten very far. Why is it that this project feels like it is going on FOREVER? Probably because it is.

To make things more fun, I have a ton of stuff to do at the office that is keping me late. So I must get back to the grind and only dream about when I can get back to my nearly half finished sleeve.

More Progress for Me, Less Progress for Us

If I have the beginning of a sleeve

then I must have finished the neckline


Marney has been a very busy knitter. Last night at the theatre as it was taking me all of the second act to bind off the roll neck (and then some), a fellow knitter, who happened to be renting out the Assisted Hearing Devices, came up to me and started chatting about knitting. Strangely enough, she was looking to find a stretchy bind off for the neck line on her sweater. Timing is everything. Being a bit nostalgic about the S-n-B that I haven't been able to attend in many months, I took the opportunity to have a mini S-n-B at the theatre.

In any case, I am happy to have most of the sweater finished. One side is even sewn up. I think it could be a finished project within about a week or two. That is my current goal.

I was going to make some big political statement regarding the State Of The Union speech last night. But I can't. I'm too angry about it. I'm too upset about the insanity that we are being fed as a nation. And mostly, I am furious that so many people are still taking it. This is why there are cults and mass suicide following a crazy person. Maybe this could just be a case for improving critical thinking skills taught in our schools.

I am going to sit over here and stew about this, and wonder just what needs to happen to insure that we have a new president, soon.

While I was in complete avoidance of the entire world this weekend, I spent some quality time on the alpaca sweater. Look hat I finished.


That's right, the front is finished. In fact, that picture was taken on Sunday. I spent a good chunk of yesterday stitching up the shoulders and working on the neck band. So right now, I almost have a completed roll neck neckline.

If you look closely in the picture, you will see 2 stranded stitch markers living on the stripe. Again, that stripe is already gone. It was for measuring purposes (and for frogging purposes, as well). Anyway, as I was threading the yarn through the stitches, I managed to catch both of my markers on the line by accident. So they really were just stranded there for a while, watching from a distance.

Tonight, after I finish the roll neck, I will start in on the sleeves. I'm really winging those. So far my inspiration has led to some success. I had to make a few adjustments to my original calculations, but all in all, I am pretty much on track. It is possible, if the weather continues on it's chilly trend, that I could finish this sweater within a week or two. No promises, but I am ready for it to be finished. And if I have any more bright ideas to make a sweater on size 0 needles, please feel free to remind me just how long that takes.

How Cold is it Outside?

Shall we go by layers alone? I think I have on at least three layers over any part of my body for indoors, and an additional 2 for going outside. Last night as I was walking from the subway to my apartment (three blocks), my toes started to get numb. That is not a good sign. Today we are supposed to get up to the double digits at some point. Of course, the wind (up to 30 MPH) adds to the coldness, bringing our temperature to below 0 degrees. In fact, that wind has managed to find somewhere in my windows that will let it into my apartment. I am planning on doing some window sealing this weekend.

Not much to talk about today. I haven't gotten much further on the alpaca sweater. It's not for lack of trying. I spent a couple of hours on it last night and I still am not yet up to the arm hole shaping for the front. What was I thinking?

Last week, while I was at the theatre, I was down at the counter that doesn't get a lot of traffic during the 30 minutes of walk-in. So, I had my sweater in a drawer and was knitting away. After one row, I thought it might not be a good idea, so instead, I plotted out my pattern. The only paper I had on had was the receipt paper from our credit card machine. So I have a couple of receipts with my pattern on them. I also took a picture of the finished back, that I have not yet posted. Keep in mind the stripe is not going to stay. It was for measuring purposes.



Not much planned for this weekend. Mostly, I just want to stay in my cozy, warm bed and knit. What better way to get through the freezing weather? Wouldn't I love to be there right now!

No time for me

I'm sorry if I have been a bit lax in my posts. I have been very busy the past few days, here at the office. Not only am I trying to learn about web design, I am also a major part of the process of hiring a webmaster. So, all I can say is HI.

Alpaca back was finished (again) on Thursday. I haven't had a whole lot of time to do much more. Hopefully I will get a few more rows of the front done at the theatre tomorrow.

Gotta get back to the web!

New Innovations

You will all be happy to know that my heat and hot water were back on when I got home last night. I'm sure you all lost sleep over that one.

Not much going on over here. I am attempting to set up my own domain and website. So in the near future, you may have to change my blog address. of course, I'll give you a bit of warning before making the move. I have been thinking baout it for quite a while, and I came across an offer that I really couldn't refuse; 3 years of free webhosting and domain registration for $5.99 per year. Call me crazy, but for a beginner like me, I don't really want to be spending hundreds of dollars for something that is a bit of a hobby. Maybe after the three years is up, I will need more than what I have, but I think it's a good place to start.

For anyone else that is interested, the 1and1.com offer is only good until January 21, 2004.

I feel bad about not posting on my knitting progress lately. Although I have been working diligently, I still haven't finished the new back of the Alpaca sweater again. It should be done today, and I can get back to the front. Talk about slow going!

Oh the Weather Inside is Frightful

On Monday, I got a message from my landlord saying that the boiler would be turned off on Wednesday (today) for maintenance, so there would be no heat or hot water during that time. And it should only take a day. I, being the prgmatic sort that I am, looked at the weather report for Wednesday (today) only to find out that we would be looking at a high temperature of 28° and wind aound 20 MPH. No heat, no hot water, sub-freezing weather and wind whipping through the buildings. Wow, don't I feel like I have been transported through time to the Middle Ages. Granted, I am not too affected by this situation as I am at work all day, but the complaint remains. My one thought is, "What the [insert expletive of your choice] were they thinking to schedule boiler maintenance on the coldest day thus far of the season?" I hope this means the boiler was about to explode and they are saving us all from near death.

This morning I woke up to a VERY cold apartment and tepid water (good thing I planned ahead with a shower last night). I hope this maintenance doesn't get too out of control and disable us for more than the day. Someone on the news said it was too cold to snow right now. I don't know if I believe that, but again, the point remains.

I'm finished grumbling now.

Happy New Year!

Well, it is another year, and things don't seem too different. Maybe after the weekend, when everyone recovers from a mid-week celebration.

I spent the turn of the new year at a shin-dig hosted by Nolan. I have to give props to him for making enough fabulous food for an army (or many New Year's revelers). It was a lovely, civilized event, just as he wanted it. Well, until I got into a bit of a disagreement with a friend about the attributes of Macs vs. PCs. Nevertheless, I think it was a very lovely affair.

I spent much of the first day of the new year in the frog pond. With all of my concerns about the width of this alpaca sweater, I thought it would be good to check the width of the upper body after blocking. Low and behold, it was a bit on the narrow side. So, a-frogging I will go! That makes for a bit of a disapointment, since that part of the sweater took me about a week to do. But at least I figured it out before I got to the front and had to frog that too.

Now I am back in the wonderful world of reality. At least it is only one day before the weekend. I think I can manage that.

Here is a birthday shout out:

Grandma Dolly - Happy Belated Birthday (January 1st)
Aaron and Ardra - Happy Birthday (January 2nd)
Elaine - Happy Early Birthday (January 3rd)

I wish all of the best in the new year and very warm birthday wishes. To everyone else, happy and healthy New year!