Because knitting is haaaard

I've come to the realization that I just really don't understand the basic mechanics of knitting.  I don't understand how you would make fabric as big as you want given the limited length of knitting needles (and those circular ones look scary).  I just don't get it.  I'm used to the mechanics of crochet, where you work a single loop at a time...ah, simplicity.  I am still working on the scarf I talked about yesterday, but I'm a little daunted about what to do when I want to make something wider than the needles.  My answer will come in time.

But again, I keep seeing knitted items that are absolutely gorgeous.  Today I looked at a book about Estonian shawls--sheer, lacy, complicated perfection.  I found a few crochet shawl patterns to occupy my time until I become a knitting genius....or become an Estonian grandmother.

Oliver tells me my tastes lie on the border of old lady as it is.  Today when I drove to work in my Mustang I had the music cranked up loud, the bass was booming.  I would have been cool, except that I was swaying to the Squirrel Nut Zippers and the bass was coming from the tunes of tuba and string bass.  Squirrel Nut Zippers are a swing/1930s nostalgia band that I'm OBSESSED with.  Plus I crochet, occasionally quilt and prefer classic literature over contemporary.  Perhaps this is not old lady-ish, because all the old ladies at the library seem to prefer cheesy romance novels over anything else...

Workaday

I worked today.  The first thing we do at the library each morning is to pull items from the shelf which patrons have requested to be sent to other branch locations to pick up.  I was looking for Pride and Prejudice on the shelf, only to sadly realize that it must have been stolen.  I have lost a sliver of faith in my fellow Jane Austenites.  People who are cultured enough to appreciate the subtleties of Miss Elizabeth Bennet's wit should not resort to the base act of stealing.

So, I'm playing with my size 17 knitting needles.  I have nearly mastered the knit stitch, but haven't made it to purl.  I am creating the Go Go Garter Stitch Scarf via Stitch 'N Bitch.

It's not that pretty, but I friggin' knitted it.  I think I have more fascination with knitting than with crochet because I learned to crochet when I was 10, and that became very natural for me.  Knitting twists my hands in very unusual ways, and I still can't figure out how to hold the yarn in my hand comfortably.

My hex quilt has been put on vacation because I ran out of dark green yarn.  I had not planned on using that color when I began the quilt, it was left over from my Maui Shrug.  But I do have forty-five middles in three different colors ready to made into little baby hexes.  My cat things they are loads of fun!

I read about sheep all day today--It was pretty blissful.  Especially since the book contained such paragraphs which described ram testicles in glorious, horrifying detail. 

Home-envy

I am trying desperately hard not to be envious of my many acquaintances who are buying homes.  Too bad Oliver and I cannot support ourselves.  I really need a full-time job...and a homestead with a ewe on it.  We are both FINALLY graduating next December, so with any luck we can buy a house some time soon.

I have started looking into the art of hand-spun wool, I think it's something I could really get into!  I have raided the library for books, and watched a few videos on Youtube.  At the moment I can not even afford to spend $5 due to last month's irresponsibility...but seeing as how I get paid on Friday I believe I can muster up a decent drop spindle with a dowel rod and a wooden wheel.  Getting the wool will be another challenge, as I have no clue where to find any.  I read about a fantastic yarn shop in San Antonio, and I believe it is the place to start.  They even rent out spinning wheels if that mood ever strikes me.

Another aspiration is to learn how to knit.  Once again, I cannot afford any knitting needles until Friday.  I've already checked out Knitting and Crochet for Dummies and Stitchin' Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook.  I should be headed in the right direction soon!

I am seriously truckin' on my hex quilt.  I've got eight, as in ocho hexes, but tonight I sat down and cranked out thirty middles as Oliver and I watched Paper Moon (which was very good, by the way).

Chicken kitsch

I am dangerously close to becoming one of those women who put up kitschy chicken decorations in their house.

I was thinking today about crocheting, which led to thoughts of knitting, which led to thoughts of hand-spinning, which led to thoughts of Alpaca herds and sheep in verdant pastures.  This is my idea of paradise:  living in the country with a herd of sheep whom I shear to obtain wool to card, spin and dye my own wool.  We'd have a few chickens in a coop and make lots of egg dishes.

A friend of mine recently moved with her husband to another state bereft of friends and family to live with (she says) hostile locals.  The couple moved so that her husband could pursue his doctorate degree and ultimately land a job making a six-figure salary.  She told me that she was so miserable that she had contemplated divorce, but that in the end, "I think I deserve to be rich."  Although some may believe that money is worth the misery it takes to get it, I have always believed old quip that money doesn't buy happiness.

I am sure I would be absolutely thrilled if I got rich doing a job I love, but let's face it, I'm headed to work in the public library, an institution funded by grants and taxes.  I have nothing more to hope for than to be healthy, happy, comfortable and content.  Another blog-writer put it best when she described this ideal as an "abundant life."  I am seeking my abundant life.  A life in which I could revel in family bliss, eat good homemade food, have the freedom to pursue a few harmless hobbies, thrive in the company of plentiful growing things, laugh often and have a warm cat on my lap and in my bed.
 

Seven Hexes

I started on the hexagon quilt yesterday.  I made eight hexes, frogged five and started again.  I now have seven.  I scrapped those five because I was not liking the color combinations--I decided that I did not like the pink and the dark blue so I got rid of those hexes that contained those two colors.  One of them became a Christmas ornament.  My table is chaos at the moment, which isn't altogether unsettling...but still.

You can see the staples of my existence:  books, yarn, crochet hooks, dog leash.  I WILL be cleaning house on Tuesday.

Sty

There is a sad wrinkle under my right eye due to my humongous sty pushing down the skin there. Hmm...

I am currently working on the Maui Shrug.  I'm going to the theater tomorrow and would like to wear it, but I'm only about half done at this point.  We'll see.  So far it has been medium easy, although it was difficult at first to follow the instructions without concentrating heavily.  But I'm sleepy, but I'd like to do a few more lines tonight.

Oliver is laying on his stomach chattering to me like a happy little chipmunk.  I just want to pinch his little cheeks.

Resolution

Yeah, I've made this resolution before.  But still, I resolve to blog about my crafting enterprises. 

-R