I'd tell you...but...

I have so many projects going right now...HOLY COW...but I love it.

Gotta do something when you aren't working, right?

I finished mom's sunflower purse. I like the way it looks now, without felting and I am kinda afraid she won't like it when it is felted, so I am going to give it to her unfelted and we will decide if it should be felted. I am almost done with another project I am knitting for mom, but I can't discuss it here. I have one more project to get done before mom shows up on December 18th. These Christmas Projects are top priority right now and I can't tell you about it until after Christmas!

But I have actually organized my ongoing projects on my kitchen table...there is no uncovered surface and I still have projects that aren't on the table...craziness.

Did I tell you all I finished the Slytherin scarf and I have begun the Ravenclaw scarf? I have band practice tomorrow night, so I will probably bring the scarf to work on.

I am also still working on the 8" squares for the San Diego Wildfire blanket squares and the 9" squares that go to the blankets my Local Yarn Store is connected to.

Even without a job...is there ever enough time to knit?

Good Weekend

I would just like to thank everyone who has posted, e-mailed, called me. Bless you all. I had planned a weekend out of town and I decided to go ahead and go on my mini trip. It was a real life savor and I was able to get hugs, sympathy and advice. I actually had a lot of fun, and it kept me from stewing in my own juices this weekend. Depeche Mode fans rock, FOREVER!

My relatives that read this blog said I should clarify WHY this lay off seems like such a disaster for me. I have been laid off 3 times in the past three years. I have also moved three times because those lays offs and new jobs. I moved all the way from Kentucky to California for this last job and I get kicked to the curb after one year. It is a very difficult thing for me. My identity has always been wrapped up in my job, and the lack of stability has really been hard for me.

But enough about non-knitting life...this blog is for knitting.

I had a fab weekend of knittingness. I went to my knitting group on Friday and they gave me lots of hugs and encouragement. One of the ladies invited me to spend Thanksgiving with her family. She is such a sweetie...how can I say no? My local yarn store is a part of another blanket making drive for the San Diego wildfire victims. Apparently a number of companies donated yarn, so I grabbed four balls and am now knitting 9" squares in that yarn. But can I say, this is the FUGLIEST yarn I have ever knit with? I am calling it "yak yarn" because there are these chucnks of different color bloopies in the yarn...it looks like vomit chunks strung in a yarn. I think I can get 6 squares out of what I have.

I have also been continuing to knit the 8" squares for the other San Diego wildfire blanket group. I finished the Slytherin school scarf and I have begun the Ravenclaw scarf. I really cranked on my mom's sunflower purse this weekend while I was visiting my friends...everything is done now except piecing together...this purse is cute as a button!

And...I taught my friend J_ how to knit while I was staying with her for the weekend. I was just going to take her to Micheal's and we'd buy her some crap yarn. But I thought, what the hell, we should at least GO to a yarn store. We found one online called "The Yarn Deli" in Redlands. It was a really nice store, I was impressed. GREAT selection of Malabrigo, Lamb's Pride and sock yarns. And the prices were FABULOUS!! I hooked J_ up with some worsted weight Lamb's Pride in a lavendar heather and some size 9 circular needles. The owner of the store was VERY nice and I think it will be a nice connection for J_ when I am not around to help.

We settled in to teach her to cast on and do the knit stitch. I taught her the long tail cast on, which probably isn't the easiest to learn, but it is very forgiving and she caught on by the time she had cast on her 24 stitches. ONe bad thing is that J_ is left handed...not an easy thing to teach a left handed person to knit when you are right handed. But when I taught J_ how to cross-stitch, she was working with her right hand. She told me she isn't very left hand dominate. I hope I did the right thing in the way I taught her. I decided to teach her the continential method which is still right hand dominate, but the left hand is doing some work. I watched her every stitch for about 4 rows and she was cooking with gas. We knitted for hours and she did SO well...I was proud of my student! I hope she will take to knitting and continue the learning process.

I really did have a good weekend...and after Thursday...that is saying a lot!

Life's a piece of shit, when you look at it...

I had kinda made a promise to myself that this would stay a knitting only blog, but I am devistated by today's events, so I am cross posting what is in my regular blog. Skip this now if you only want to read about knitting:

Ya know, I have noticed that I only seem to blog when something pisses me off, or I have a bad day. I tried so hard with my last blog entry to be positive...yeah, I am a complete loser that has to spend Thanksgiving on her own, but I was trying to be positive, I thought I did a good job.

WELL FUCK THAT...I just got laid off today...isn't that wonderful?! I know I am so thrilled I could throw up...and I nearly did in my car on the way home. I have tried twice to just curl up in bed and sleep it off for just a few hours of oblivion...no my mind is racing...what the fuck am I going to do?

I moved all the way out to California to get laid off after a year? Why the FUCK am I an archaeologist? I swear to God (who I am not sure even exists) I am the BIGGEST waste of human skin EVER to walk the earth. I SERVE NO PURPOSE other than to drain my mother's bank account everytime I am out of a job.

You want brutal, and total reality?! If it were not for my mother and what it would do to her, I would end this. I really do not know of any thing keeping me here. I know I have questioned the existance of God and the afterlife...I don't care anymore...I just want to be done and if that means no more existance, well all the better...I absolutely, positively can NOT live like this anymore. I benefit NO ONE...I am just a burden on my love ones. When I do have a job, what am I really doing....in the grand scheme of things. None of it matters.

I am so tired of the pain, I am so tired of the stress, I am so tired of the effort that it takes to live what passes for my life.

NOw I have to decide do I even want to stay in archaeology? If I wanted to start a new career, I will have to go to school...more bills I can't afford. Do I want to stay in California? My mom flat out told me she would pay to move me back to Georgia. I just don't know. I have really enjoyed my personal life out here in San Diego. I'll never get a job here in my field though, so I will have to move somewhere if I stay in archaeology. I can't even fathom moving, AGAIN no matter where it is.

I absolutey can not deal with what is going on in my life, YET AGAIN I can not deal with this. I hate this crazy ass uncertianty, I hate taking money from my mom, AGAIN. I hate the fact that my life is in turmoil, AGAIN

Why the FUCK can I not catch one break? Even if I do get another job in archaeology...at this point I am going to be so shell shocked from being laid off I'll probably give myself ulscers the whole time I am working there, living in fear of the next round of lay offs

All I have ever wanted to do is be an archaeologist...so now what do I do when archaeology obviously does not want me? I have totally wasted my life...wasted it. I spent years on an education and job that I am not meant to have. I am morbidly obese...I mean I have just given up on the weight thing. I wasted my chance at a good life in college when I was thinner and had such promise. How the hell did I get here? I just want a do-over, because I can not live the life my path is on right now.

loser loser loser LOSER loser loser loser loser L-O-S-E-R

An Afghan!

As you may or may not have read, I had gotten a wild hair up my butt about wanting to knit an afghan for my couch (it is cream colored...it NEEDS to be covered). I had given up all hope of being able to justify buying the yarn versus a store bought afghan...price wise.

So Micheal's and Jo-Ann's both had some sales on yarn this past holiday weekend. And I finally found yarn cheap enough to justify knitting an afghan for my couch! I found this at Jo-Ann's...Sensations Rainbow Classic. The skein has 615 yards!!! And I needed two for my afghan (at a total of about $11), I found a simple garter stitch afghan using that yarn on Jo-Ann's website. Garter stitch=BORING.

I basically ended up creating my own afghan pattern. I needed it to be wider and shorter for my couch, so I used the gauge to figure out how many to cast on. Some how I managed to find my "The Step-by-Step Needlecraft Encyclopedia" by Judy Brittain in my crafts closet. I found a nice ridge pattern and decided to make it a seed stitch border. I am liking the results so far.

The yarn is just a cheap 100% acrylic, and I am hoping it won't pil too badly. It kinda has a fluff to it I can see piling. Here is a picture from Jo-Ann's of the yarn type:



I was hoping to get that colorway at the store, but they were out. I did find a green/gray colorway that will match my chair so I hope it looks good.

Now the above yarn skein looks normal...right? But that picture has no scale...that skein is about a foot long and at least 6 inches high...NO JOKE...the skein is massive!

I will probably work on this on my nights after work. I am going out of town this weekend and will bring a bag full of my left over acrylic to make squares for the wildfire victims.

Multi-Directional Scarf done!

I finished the Muti-directional scarf I made from the last knitting class I took.

Here is the finished product with the pom=poms attached (not in original pattern, but on example in the store)



It looks FABULOUS and the ladies at the yarn store went crazy for it. Sadly, in my picture you can't really the multi-directional part like you can in the example picture below.



I am still knitting squares for the San Diego wildfire victims. You can get an update here http://www.sandiegowildfireblankets.blogspot.com/ AMAZING stuff is happening!