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Friday, December 29, 2006
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I'm back in Somerville (SO HAPPY). I did not take a picture of a single one of the 6 pairs of socks I knit for my family (though I do have to reknit one pair, and you may get a picture yet). This is because my digital camera died on Christmas Eve... but fear not! I got a new one for Christmas (thanks, Santa, and I'm so glad I thought to put it on the list, even though at the time I didn't think I needed one).
Other Christmas goodies included lots of DVDs, clothes, gift certificates, a leather coat (yay - I'd been plotting to get this for more than 2 years), and, the big gift, a trip ($1,500, anywhere I want, for me and a friend).
There was a trip to the yarn store out in the middle of farm land, a trip to Chicago (same day, no less), lunch with my friend who is having a baby (and I'm so excited about knitting for), and way too much family time. I'm glad to be back, let me tell you, and even happier that I have 3 days until I go back to work!
I may post more details later, but for now I'm just happy to relax in my apartment!
- Lizzardie, at 9:14 PM
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Sunday, December 24, 2006
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In case anyone was wondering, I finished the Christmas knitting! I knit my last stitch sometime after 11pm last night, but left the grafting and weaving until this morning. That was all done before noon, and then there was blocking. The little gifts are now drying on my dining room table, and should be all ready for the place ride to Chicago tomorrow morning. Thank goodness!
Of course, what did I start today so that I'd have something for the place tomorrow? Birthday knitting. It just never ends.
Too tired to really say anything else, but hopefully I will have lots of pictures to post of things later this week (what else am I going to do while at my parents' house), since I will have gifted many of my knitted objects.
Merry Christmas! :-)
- Lizzardie, at 12:13 AM
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Tuesday, December 19, 2006
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How I resolved the Great Needle Disaster of December 2006:
Monday night: Place order online at Knit Picks for new US 1 circulars (2 sets). Also purchase US 0 circular (just in case). Add some yarn to purchase to make me feel better. Pay $14 in expedited shipping so that the package will arrive before I leave for Chicago.
Tuesday morning: Purchase yarn from Sunshine Yarns in Harry Potter dragon colors (also to make me feel better).
Tuesday noon: Walk with Corinne to Windsor Button in Downtown Crossing. They have Susan Bates US 1 circulars and Clover double points, but they are the wrong size (there's a weird sizing issue with the 1's - mine are 2.5mm, some are 2.25mm which won't work for me right now).
Tuesday afternoon: Call Knit & Needlepoint on Newbury Street to find they have the same needles as Windsor Button. Call Newbury Yarns (also on Newbury Street) - they have Addi Turbos! I'm saved!
Tuesday afternoon, 10 minutes later: Walk to Newbury Yarns to purchase new needles. Have a much more relaxed work day (though I wish I'd put on my walking shoes for the quick jaunt).
Tuesday night: Work on part 12 of 12 of the Christmas project. Feel good about the fact that there are not one but THREE yarn/knitting stores within walking distance of work. Try not to think about the money I spent on needles and "sympathy" yarn. Eat one oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, and think both that I wish I had made me some and that I can't wait to get these out of my apartment tomorrow night.
:-)
- Lizzardie, at 11:13 PM
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Monday, December 18, 2006
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Ahh, the Holidays. When everything starts to go wrong!
Okay, I might be exaggerating. But the events of the past few days have not been good to me. Or maybe just part of Saturday and part of today. Saturday I managed to lock myself out of my apartment, and it was more than 7 hours until I got back in (my roommate's phone was off and the landlords were not home). Of course, I do have good friends, and Jeff and Kristen took me in for the afternoon - we went to the mall, had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory (turns out their food is better than their cheesecake), did some shopping and had coffee at Borders. It was a nice time, I just wish it had been under better circumstances. Not being home meant that there was less knitting done on Saturday (and I'm now on a pretty tight deadline, what with Christmas in one week) and the cookies I wanted to make did not materialize (I had left my apartment to gather ingredients, actually). I did, however, make it to Corinne's cocktail party, where I got to see Scott and Julie and Anubhav, among others.
Sunday was much better - I went over to Jeff and Kristen's again, this time with knitting bag and cookie ingredients in hand - where I baked more than thirteen dozen oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Surprisingly, it only took 4 hours, and I had the company of Jeff, Kristen, Kim and Patrick, as well as the football game. Jeff was even reading off the plays of the Chicago game to me while I was finishing the last of the cookies! Plus, I managed to finish #10 and #11 of the 12-part Christmas project through the weekend.
Today, though... the day started just fine. I went to work, knitting on the T (more about that some other time). After work, Corinne and I headed to Harvard Square, where we planned to do some holiday shopping and get some dinner. On the way there, I pulled out the knitting, where the worst thing happened - my knitting needle broke. This is BAD. I cannot even describe how bad this is for the Christmas project. It's only the one I have in that size (if you're thinking, but don't you use TWO knitting needles at a time? It's a big circular needle). Finding a replacement that size in a store will be incredibly difficult (I already know Spark doesn't have it, I will probably try and go to Windsor Button tomorrow at lunch). Shipping is a little slow on the site where I bought the needle in the first place, but I did place an order with expedited shipping. I cannot use a different size needle, because I am already pretty far into this part of the project. And maybe, if it was for my mom or dad or one of the older sisters, giving a halfway-done Christmas present would be understandable. But no, I left Emilee's present for last. I can't give a 9-year-old a half-knitted present! Grrr....
Now, there is still finishing work to be done on the other presents. And should the new needles arrive on Thursday (and I paid more than I normally do for expedited shipping in hopes that they will), I should still be able to finish on time, albiet under a TON of stress. But did this really need to happen?
I guess I might as well get some sleep, it's not like there's knitting to be done.
- Lizzardie, at 11:02 PM
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Tuesday, December 12, 2006
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I forgot the most important news when I posted yesterday! I found out last week that my friend Jaime is having a baby! She was the first of my friends to get married, and now she's the first to be expecting (she's due in May). I'm so excited for her and Jeremy, and I can't wait to see her when I go back to Illinois later this month.
Also, I updated my Upcoming Events, over to the right, and I realized I have next to no events left! I'm not so sorry about this, because no events means less money spent, and also I get stressed when my weekends are all planned and I have no possible down time. I wouldn't have been sorry to get Red Sox tickets, though - at least Corinne got some, and there will be others on sale, so I'm sure I'll get to go to a few games this season.
- Lizzardie, at 10:39 PM
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I've been negligent. It's not that I haven't thought about posting. It's that I've been so busy and so tired in the last few weeks that it just hasn't happened. I've stayed up tonight to watch the Bears beat St. Louis, and need to go to bed, but here's a brief "review" of the last two weeks:
- I put up my Christmas tree and decorations, including my Nativity.
- I placed third in my work's Texas Hold'em Tournament to benefit the United Way (yeah, definitely should have done better, given that we played with my chips and I helped with the rules, but it was for a good cause!)
- I went on an off-site retreat to Bretton Woods (which is where the Mt. Washington Hotel is, where the Bretton Woods Agreements, establishing the World Bank, among other things, were signed in 1944) with my coworkers. We stayed in a lovely condo, and spent most of the time drinking.
- My first project for work finished! And I was immediately placed on a new project - this one involves modeling in Excel, which I'm enjoying more than I thought I would.
- I won at poker this past Wednesday (making up for losing the work tournament, and then losing $29 more on the off-site)!
- Dan came to visit! We had a wine & cheese Friday night (where Jeff threatened my Nativity), saw Body Worlds 2 on Saturday, and had a Champagne brunch and did some exploring in Providence on Sunday. We are now officially over Body Worlds.
- I went to my work holiday party Saturday night at Brasserie Jo (which also has a location in Chicago!). Delicious French red wine (offered to me as red wine, which you all know I'm skeptical of), yummy appetizers, loafs in French bread in paper bags, and a four course meal (with one of the best steaks I've had in a long time) made for a surprising fun night (said only because I've spent A LOT of time with my coworkers lately).
- Enough Christmas knitting to make me want to kill myself.
And that's the short summary. The Christmas knitting has really been taking up all of my spare time, but I should make the deadline in 2 weeks and then hopefully I can slow down a little (and, I don't know, clean my apartment maybe? spend more time with friends? sleep?). But for now, I'm not allowed to think about that, and need to focus on the task at hand! More knitting (and I can't wait until I can show pictures again)!
- Lizzardie, at 12:22 AM
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