Entries tagged with “socks” from LJL Spins and Knits

Yes, I know this is a bit fuzzy and too dark, but hey, I gotta show y'all that I'm alive and knitting. Pattern is Dawn Brocco's Cable Clog sock and it's one of my favorite pattern. A good amount of twisted knit pattern, and yet enough sockinette knitting not to bore you to tears. I'm using Cestari Sock yarn - my first time with it. Appearance is on the rustic side. I'm eager to see how well it holds up under hard wear. I think I might have enough to make a triplet set, but we'll see.

I decided to go ahead and get the Schacht Ladybug Wheel because I want one that is portable, and besides, the church bazaar is coming up in just a few months and I need time to get familiar with it so I can be more at ease with demonstrating and answering questions. And I think I've finally found a nice home for the Majacraft Little Gem. I'll have to thank Knitting Banter in part for changing the think process regarding the MJ Little Gem. Now I need to apply this to my job search . . .

So. Yes, I'm still alive. Just being quiet at the moment. But I'm looking forward to Friday, because this will be the start of my freedom from The Nursery. The season's winding down, they're starting to cut hours, and I gave my week's notice. It felt liberating to be able to do that. Especially after what happened to me in my last full-time job, when I got unceremoniously dumped because of mucked-up contract politics that rippled down to us Dilbert twins. (You sound just a tiny bit bitter. - Ed. Yes, I am. But I'm over it - really.)

I've unofficially joined the Summer of Socks knitalog. I knew about it, but took my time signing up because I didn't want to feel pressured and when I looked again, the deadline had passed for adding yourself to the list. Oh, well. It's the spirit that counts. Right now I'm working on cabled socks to replace a favorite pair that has a nice, big hole on the heel of one of the socks and is too big to be darned up. I'm using the Crestari sock yarn that I got at MDSW. It's really nice yarn, and at a firm gauge, the fabric feels like it will hold up well under the abuse of daily wear. pics coming son . . .

In other matters, I've been trying to put my craft room to orders, so I can get back in there and sew again. My next sewing project is going to be a handbag to use as my daily purse. I picked up some really nice tapestry fabric at JoAnn's during one of their huge discount sales. This tapestry fabric has really lovely rose bouquets and is on the dark side, which should hide dirt more easily than my current handbag (which I'd originally intended for my knitting). This is the pattern that I'll be using - it's such a versatile pattern. I love it so much that I've copied it onto reusable tracing papers so I can save the originals.

In other matters, thanks to the generosity of Justice from IRC #coldfusion channel, I've got a ColdFusion sandbox to muck around in at KnitGal! I'm already thinking of some knitting-related applications, perhaps even a little dyeing and spinning, in the form of online calculators. I've already got some of the formulas documented; it's just a matter of writing the code and getting these to output usable results. This is also partly an effort to get my butt off the chair and actually do something productive . . .

Oh, I should explain that "KnitGal" is my IRC moniker, hence, my other domain's name . . .

Still working on the Green Raglan Sweater, so no pics to show you yet. However, I'm in the mood for learning new sock patterns. In particular, Bordhi's twist on socks. I'm literally taking baby steps by working up the baby sock patterns so I can see how these shape up to be. I really like the shaping and can see as to how this could break up the monotony of knitting with variegated yarn.

For reading items on my Blogline account, I use NetNewsWire, which has now been made free for all. I like it because you can read offline, and there's lots of things you can do with it.

NetNewsWire and other desktop apps: your RSS router
One of my favorite features of NetNewsWire is how it works with a bunch of other desktop apps.

The idea is this: news comes in to NetNewsWire, and then you route stuff to wherever it should go

[From inessential.com: Weblog: 'NetNewsWire and other desktop apps: your RSS router']

There's a lot of really good tips on how to make the best out of this nifty application. How do I use it with Bloglines? Simple - I just go into New Special Subscription > Bloglines and add the new blogs that I've subscribed to.

So . . . what's up with my job search? Well, I've learned that job fairs are not a good place if you expect to get a real, honest-to-god interview on the spot. It's just to gather information on you (the job hunter), and them (to see if the company has anything worth considering). Of course, the companies I'd have liked to speak with were inaccessible to me because I don't have any clearance at any level. If you live in the Washington, DC area, this is a very coveted resume enhancement and it's a catch-22 situation - jobs you qualify for require it but they won't take you without any clearance. And you can't just go around asking for security clearance. I guess that's my job tip for the week . . .