Fidgety Knitting

socks, Socks, SOCKS!!!

So it seems that the universe would like to inform me that I haven’t been giving socks the attention that I should. But right before I left for Barcelona this weekend… the socks struck back! (more on Barcelona in a bit)

First up we have the finished photos for the Jaywalker. I have one done and one to go if I am going to make the contest deadline. We shall see if I can cast my own ass on this week for the second one. I am a bit distracted by the back for Salina…

Then despite having the shit all scared out of me for the third time last week… I got mail. No not some Sleepless in Seattle AOL email, I got real actual mail. This blogging thing NEVER ceases to amaze me. I am astounded to think that people read what I write. Most of the time while I like it, I figure it is pish. Sure I can make myself laugh but well…that doesn’t take much! But Terry she reads. And then she does nice things, which takes the non comprehension up a notch.

Back in March when I had to make the emergency visa run after living on the couscous diet for months, she gave me a gift certificate to Imagiknit. I probably wouldn’t have come home with any yarn from that trip if not cause the capital it took to fuck things up when I started this job left Jack Sprat with no fat looking like Big Mama! And you know what… that yarn is turning into the Jaywalkers. So when I mentioned Socks that Rock… she offered to send me some. BLOWN AWAY people. And now… I have Socks that Rock in Ruby Slippers. I don’t know what I will do with that, but for now petting will suffice.

After that I came home on Thursday to the best package ever! See I was a part of Sockapaltwoza. I enjoyed it and even though I was late (I think I MORE than made up for that by letting the person know and also sending a jam packed goodie package!) all went mostly well. I dont believe in holding strings on these things expecting others to gush over your package or to be exorbitant. But I never heard from my pal. I know how the pal things work and I figure it is just one big karmic circle jerk. I will do my thing, put out what I can and then get back what is up (yes I have signed up for the third go round).

So when I told Alison that I was running late but that I had emailed my pal about it, I also told her I hadn’t received anything. Seems I had a flunky for my first sock partner. Alison goddess she is, went and got me a sock saviour. And damn she did good! My sock saviour ROCKS. I don’t know who she is (the package jsut had the socks in them with her real address on the outside)... but I just sent an email to try and find out. But I got the package. And it had the most gorgeous socks in it!

I am hoping I will be able to find out what pattern and what yarn she used as I would LOVE to try and copy the heel. I wore these socks while in Barcelona (I bought the tickets counting on Palm Trees, not expecting there to be effing SNOW on the palm fronds!!) and they felted a bit, but the warm toesies are still in love!

And that my friends is all for now as life is screeching at me. But for the record, I am going to get the internet in the flat. I will do it quicker than it took me to get the independent URL, even though it is kind of a painful one (and you know a "trust in a dead dog that I won’t immediately and permanently plant my ass to the sofa and moreover that I wont cop out and watch only English television" kind of thing). And then I will hopefully clean house a bit more round here :)

Memo to Another Co-Worker

Dear Lady from my Work Floor:

When I am sitting on the toilet having profound thoughts which rival the writings of Plato and Aristotle and completing the necessary bodily functions that even a camel must attend to, I would appreciate it if you would not give me a heart attack, and make me cross my knees and grab my ankles whilst scaring the SHIT out of me by trying to storm my stall (serious no shit left- you scared it all out). The force you exert to attempt to open my door (which I am now ever so paranoid to ensure is LOCKED) is quite compelling. Storm Troopers look like wussies in comparison to you. Both of these facts I find to be utterly astounding. As is the lack of hearing any sentiment expressed such as “Oops” or an ever appreciated “Sorry”. Arguably you could be trying to do me a favor, and I will extend you the benefit of the doubt on that one. But really you needn't.

Me, I would think if the door is closed that well… someone might be occupying the stall. And unless you are one of a select group for the given person- usually anything that happens in a toilet stall is slightly private and I am not quite sure why you would wish to intrude. Acknowledgedly, I have a low privacy threshold, but until we are better acquainted I would prefer to keep a wall between us when my clothes could prove to trip me should I need to move or make a run for it. Nor do I wish to continue this charade at our average 3 times a week rate.

Courtesy in my book would indicate at the least that you might wait to see if the door opens (I really am quite quick about this business, you know) cause… well do you really want to be known as the lady who caused a co-worker to have a coronary whilst sitting on the loo. Really who wants their obituary to say: “she was a lovely person, left behind a lovely shit and died ass planted on a porcelain god”?? Karma will be a bitch and your obituary will be worse- I promise. However if you are one of those people who doesn’t care what is said about you after you die as you won't be here I guess that won't be as persuasive an argument as I had hoped.

And I would like to bring it to your attention that should you be trying to test my modesty rating, I can assure you it is at a base level. I have very few virtues and neither patience nor modesty factor into the equation there. All you have to do is ask, and I’ll show. I have references from my pre-school teacher to verify how well I play at Show-and-Tell. There really is no need to throw terror into the survey format here.

Furthermore, while I do understand that the purpose of a toilet is to get the shit out, I prefer doing this function on my own terms and at my own pace. If this ever changes and I need help, I promise that I will ask you. Should I ever find out who you are. Because I don’t know if it embarrasses you that you are trying to storm the stall or not, but you scurry away as you are never in the restroom when I am done.

So ummm merci bien en avance for well letting me take care of my business all by myself in our very private stalls and know that next time you storm my stall I will not be quiet... I may try to scare the shit out of you (and you will not have the benefit of having your pants down already) by immediately exiting the toilet and talking with you. Please reference the paragraph on my modesty should you doubt my intentions...

Bisous,
Tink

The Technological Generation

This past weekend I did something unusual. I didn’t watch television. Sounds odd but it is a bit of the revelation Chez Tink. I occasionally listened to IPod music on the speakers Mama Mao also got me for Christmas (yup you see them in that photo dontcha!) and watched an episode or two from DVD (oh how I love thee Father Ted! And how I am saving up for Are You Being Served!!). But otherwise there was no technology sucking me in and challenging me to see if that ass sized indent could meld into one with my sofa/bed.

And you know what Monday night when I got home from the homicidal tendencies day I didn’t turn the TV on either. I knit and watched 2 episodes of Father Ted and then read a book. And I really liked that. (Goes against my cracking trend to not actually put the internets in the flat nor put in the cable TVs either- as part of me really wants them so that I dont stay late at work, and so that I can watch TV in English, which may or may not be a good thing either...)

So now I am thinking I might want to (once I whip ITunes technology around and shout at it how… It’s my bitch) download some books and listen to them on the speakers while I knit at night. I did just win a Blingo $10 ITunes gift-certificate after all!

But after I had this brilliant stroke of light in the head... I couldn’t really think of books off the top of my head. Most of the time I pick my books by going into the store looking around and taking home what interests me. I try to swirl some classics in there, I want to get some enrich the grey matter books on the shelves too, I have a particular weakness for Royal biographies (and other biographies too actually), I can be known to crack over a "popular" pop book, and every once in a while I bring home some smut books too.

So I am really all over the boat. Somewhere a year or so ago there was a classics book list that shuffled around, but I can't remember a thing off of it for my life. ITunes- not helping so much actually. And Audible.com last time I checked didn’t have that great of a selection, and I am not sure I am that interested in a membership deal as this idea might not be so brilliant. Cause really... smart it resideth not here!

So I am turning to the wealth of intelligence that is out there in the internets. This is for anyone out there who might be doing the audio books route- have you and suggestions? And for the rest of you that read… any non knitting book suggestions? (I already splurged the yarn money and then some to get IK books (hurt ones actually) and bought me the Vogue Reference book- which Amazon.fr says will be delivered some time around the END OF MARCH. GAH!!!)

What sayeth thee for my first guinea pig on this technological experiment: a book James??

Black Monday

I am GRUMPY today, and I dont think I will be able to hold it in much longer than the beginning of the post- consider that your warning. I shouldn’t be this crabby crab… I had a lovely weekend. I got lots of things done, I finished all of the tasks on my list people- that is accomplishment, and it feels good. I relaxed too! Hell I even KNIT!! I prettied the flat up… well the weekend was lovely today not so much.

So let's start with some photos of the weekend cause I am loosing it!

I thought since I am behind on blog fodder and trying to do administrative set up stuff (along with on the side with, you know, real life) I would chime in on the photos of my knitting spot.

Now since I live in a tiny flat… I pretty much have to show you my whole flat. But since I had two girlfriends over to teach them how to knit (thus instigating the cleaning and getting things done part of the weekend and also in fun the relaxing part too) it is in a reasonable state. Let’s talk in a week or two :)

View To

And View From

It is tiny. I have a boudoir, library, living room, dining room and salon all in one. But it is my place, I like it. I have a GREAT location and there is enough space to have one or two people sleep over. You just get up close and personal :)

Ok I tried... that fake it till you make it, not working today. I can't pretend no more: here comes the gripefest. *precursor- I know this is small shit and mostly irrelevant but fuck it... I am grumpy and out it comes* My black mood has more to do with my day. First of all, it is Monday and Monday started with a morning. Alliteration with the letter M- not a happy thing today!

I get off the metro and some guy from work whom I don't know who the hell is gets all Chatty Cathy with me. I have Ipod ear buds in to avoid this shit, I am not interested, I want to listen to "It's Raining Men" shout Hallelujah and pretend I am Bridget Jones. GAH.

Then there is work stuff that I walked into piled on my desk. I hate the formatting some pratty lady forced the previous forms of one of the 5 documents I had on the desk. It triples (and that is being stingy on time considerations) the time my work takes to complete. DIE Lady DIE. Now, I am currently battling the demon spawn document. Each time you delete a page sectioning... its baaaaaaaack. Chuckie of the MS Word formatting needs to go play in the corner.

But even worse were the ANNOYING AS ALL FUCKING HELL French banks. First of all, I can't have any transactions from my checking to my savings effected over a weekend- but you can effect charges. LOVELY. Then I make a transaction and you say it will be done on Monday at 8am... At 5pm still not done. Make call freaking out. It has been effected, but will not be reflected in your internet read outs for 2-3 days... WHAT THE FUCK IS THE PURPOSE OF THE INTERNET THEN??? Then I say, that I am annoyed as I cant trust my bank. Bank man says yes I may. I tell him he is full of shit as I am loosing it at this stage. And cake topper... I give you all my personal information and you still can't give me the actual balance of my account over the phone. DIE FUCKER DIE. Societe Generale... I hope you die in the hells possessing a heat of many hot fiery suns and did I say HOT hells!

This was compounded by stupid HRM people who when you ask for what your paycheck is going to be and if they paid out certain things tells you yes- but you can see your details on the payslip when we mail them Wednesday. HELLO you have the fucker in front of you how god damned hard would it be to type the numbers??? Then finding out my wire back to the states is processed at an exchange rate from not the pay date but some other monthly arbitrary date that in this instance has a lower exchange rate (45$ poof bye-bye) and isn't even a set date... And oh yeah I am not supposed to ask monthly what date was used... Yeah think again.

Then I realised how I forgot to bring my lunch. SHIT! I had clementines from the Market. I love my market on Sunday mornings. My Fruit and Veg stand is always packed and run by funny little Asian men who get in some of the coolest options, and ALWAYS have the best.

Marche Monge

And yet today is workout day. I have been doing good, and usually this picks my day up. I have been swimming at least once a week and I can tell. Yoga once a week starting February! Anyways I am swimming and the lifeguard grates my nerves, cause I used to be one. He is doing nothing, except tell me that now for some reason I can't use my fins. It was OK earlier, and there is no regulation or crowding to justify it... Just "not any more". But it is ok to let the guy who thought it was his inalienable right to try and plow over people (backstroking erratically with paddles and maul trauling right over you cause he is on his back and isn't responsible for you know... the people in front of him.) go with not a single word. I swear to the good dead gods that if I knew when he was coming I would KICK UP A FLUTTER to smack him in the head as retaliation for the WHACK I got with one of his paddles. Cause really Grandpa hit 4 people in the 45 minutes I was at the pool and hit me 2 times on top of that... DIE GRANDPA DIE.

Yeah ummm did I say black mood?? Yeah BLACK mood wishing most other sentient beings (yourselves not included of course) would just DIE, I SAID DIE.

Ok must combat these homicidal tendancies. So I am going to break into the ration stashes of Reeses Mini Peanutbutter Cups to get me some chocolate. I am going home earlier than normal. I have to fast after 8pm tonight for a blood test tomorrow- great way to start a Tuesday: wake up early and go get poked not in that fun flirty-flirty way but with a ouchy-ouchy needle), so I need to eat and eat SOON. And I am going to try and forget today... maybe even finish up half of a knit in progress

Jaywalker

And possibly prep a post about my knitting ADD and it's latest victim, I mean project...

Late to the Party

Happy Friday the 13th!

So by now you all should know that I have decided to go public before it is all pretty. I was going to wait until I could get things under "control." But who am I kidding I am never under control so let's just jump with two feet. International Delurker week did me in actually. Especially when I saw that others were playing the "extension" game. So... I will leave this post hanging until next Wednesday or Thursday (when I will have a knitting related post that I am hoping will involve this picture, this view, and maybe this sock)

So here I am... the .com url will work soon I hope and the archives will be proofed through with pictures soon too. For now I have flickr galleries and a plainjane place.

But welcome to the digs... and now since I can respond, pretty please:

Woo Hoo

This is the technical update (knitting one below)

2005 was the technoligcal year where in all roads to hell were paved with good intentions. And if I had my way it would have been with shattered Dell computers and the remnants of my "friends" in Bangalore whom I wish ever so poignantly to dismember such that even Henry VIII would blush at the brutality... What?? Like you don’t think about those kinds of things when you have been on hold for 44 minutes over an international phone line…

2006 has started off on a bit better tone (after a few phone calls with Dell which lead to self-commentaries like "Don’t they say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result? Yeah, Hi my name is Little Latin Lupe and I think White Jackets are going to be the newest fashion trend. Hell I think that might just be my first design pattern!"). I have gotten things upgraded on the computer to the point that I think it might just function and even better it picked up WiFi this morning at my flat so I can crib for a while and work on this from home!

What does this mean? It means the blog move will probably go a bit faster. I have the MT installed, now to figure out the set up (Holy Shit Batman that is making my head swim). Have no clue on design but so goes- anyone with Photoshop skills or ideas/suggestions especially for a banner... feel free to speak up. All archived posts have been sent over and I am working on republishing them (inserting the photos etc). I am testing out Flickr for photo storage and posting capabilities- if anyone has suggestions on how to post to an MT blog with more than one photo at at time that is stored on Flickr- lemme know! And I THINK that in about 2 weeks I should have things tidy (though probably not pretty) enough that I can direct you all there and delete out over here!

So bring it on new year!

Penance

Time to fess up. Yes, I have a confession Mother Yarn…I have sinned by omission (and owe the blog a backlog of posts). My sin by omission has been 2 fold.

First I haven’t told people yet… but I have my blog up on another corner of the algoreinternetwebosphere- bless him every day for creating it! It isn’t pretty or done but it is getting there (you can find me in fully unadulterated form at www.fidgetyknitting.com). And secondly I have been silent about my new knitting project. I intend to rectify this with 10 Hail Marys (or is that Bloody Marys…) and this post.

Considering that I scare the ever-loving shit out of people with the way I jaywalk, I should probably admit what I have been up to... (Lived in Rome- you will understand that really I am tame, traveled to Cairo and you will think I cross the road like granny. Live in virtual frogger places long enough and really your whole perspective changes. I can stop Parisian cars with a single LOOK people).

Yes Cara… I too have been Jaywalking.

Not with STR (it is hard to get it here in on the other side of the pond- but one day some will be mine!!) but another yarn. I had some Lorna’s Laces I got last March when wonder commenter extraordinaire Terry gave me a gift certificate to a Imagiknit in SF (and super reader Liz sent me Koigu!! My first time to get my hands on either of these yarns and first time I got to play with handpainted yarns! I am forever indebted to their kindness!). I saw Wendy use the same colorway for a lace shawl and I loved it. But these handpainted yarns always confound me as to what to knit them up into.

As part of Sockapaltwoza (and avid reader of hers anyways) I watched Grumperina knit up the now infamous Jaywalkers. And this time I am trying to cash in on the trend as it happens, no knit behind for me when there are prizes thrown into the equation (and really Cara has totally outdone herself- she ROCKS the yarn too!!).

After a false start on the plane to Seattle for Christmas and some ignorance of the project while in Seattle (not to mention no knitting on the way back as I slept the whole way) I decided on January 1 to pick the sucker back up. I had no large project in hand and no small one either so on the plate jump Jaywalkers. I have had fits and starts with them due to all the swirling in my head. But swirling zig zags or no… I have gotten through the cuff, the leg, the heel, and most of the gussets of one sock to date!

I have to say this is a pretty simple pattern that makes the most of striping/handpainted yarns.

It would be great for a beginner to sock knitting too as the construction is your basic sock, and despite the fancy look there are only basic knitting skills deployed (knit, purl, kfb, ssk, k2tog, slipping stitches, and passing stitches over)

Now to go and atone in the name of needles, fiber, and notions. Oh yeah and unknit all of my gusset...

2006

My hairdresser and psychiatrist back home told me over the holidays that this coming year would be about stability and change for me. Yeah cause those two words are supposed to go together. But maybe, just maybe… that is if I don’t hyperventilate about it all first.

With the New Year I feel this urge to make resolutions, goals, and other things that will only serve as a measure to mark my level of failure. Fact stands that I can disappoint myself New Year or not, thankyouverymuch. As one smart lady quoted Yoda saying… "Do or not do. There is no try."

I never feel a desire to do it as much as an obligation and well I do this kind of shit year round anyways. Hi! Listmakers anonymous, I have 2 skips full of lists- does that mean I need to got to a meeting again?? In reality I feel like this desire to purge feeling is moreorless attached to the seasons for me. I am about wanting to shed my skin and try to recreate at least 4 times a year (oh how I wish I could be a Phoenix some days…)

So on January 1, as I have stated many a times before, I am NOT about resolving- except that I resolve to continue to disavow myself of the concept surrounding that resolution word. But here Chez Tink, that don’t mean I can't be about lists like Crazy Aunt Purl or about moving and shaking. And moving and shaking is what has my goat currently!

Unfortunately for now I don’t have time to make lists, I barely have time for this post. I am buried under all sorts of shit I am trying to ignore. And since I am going to start this one off right, I am about seeing if I can get up off my tuckus and get shit DONE. You know getting past my “get that ass back in the saddle” hump that has been doing the neener-neener-neener dance in front of me.

All that is warning: if you hear a bit more white noise and a lot less loud noise around here, know it is for the best and that well it too shall pass (like my freaking holidays- vortex suck me up Scotty!). Never you fear though- in all this chaos, I am working on bringing it to you bigger (yes that means more and BIGGER FONTS- just for you Claudia :) and hopefully better as we speak. If I can learn about a bunch of stuff and make it all my bitch it will be done before the end of the month.

And for all 3 of you interested… I will be back posting some of the updates when I recover from all this wizardry I am taking part of right now.

Happy New Year Every One