One for Ann

Here is my Just One More item for Ann.

Patons SWS, cast on 60 stitches, 2×2 ribbing for a couple of inches, round and round for 8 0r 9 inches, three needles bind off in three sections. This also looks really cute if you put a pompom on each point. I suck at pompoms so it will have to be as it is. You could also put wee tassels on each point.

Hubby loves these, he keeps asking for one for himself. I’m pretty sure he’s going to want to have the pompoms too. Kind of an outgoing guy when he wants to be!

Finished my week of training on the new job on Friday and got moved into a desk. Very nice. So far it’s been really great. The people are very nice and the place is great so all is good. I did get a call to go for another interview on Wednesday though. It’s in the afternoon so I’m going to go and see what they have to say and what’s on offer.

I’m still plodding along on the body to Poppy. I’d show it to you but it’s the same as it was, only longer! The drop spindling continues as well. When there are no dogs around! Man, they just love to sniff/touch/grab dangling spinning objects.

That’s about all I’ve got for today. Oh wait, I forgot, I have some cool pattern links. Some free, some for a nominal fee! Just some things that have caught my eye lately:

Licorice Whip

Gift of Friendship

Peasant Sweater

Bellocq Stockings/socks

Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl

See, this is why I never get anything finished. If all designers would stop making such pretty new things I could finish some pretty old things!

Happy Monday y’all!

Thursday, right?

I’m having some difficulties keeping track of time now that I’m on nights. So far the job is great. Last night we got far enough in our training to actually be doing the work. That’s when I thought I might be severely learning disabled. I simply could not wrap my brain around all the different bits of information. So, I sucked it up, took a chance and just did what I thought was right. Got back my first 40 bits o’ work and no errors! Can I get an amen? Phew, right?

It’s really strange to be learning something so very new and different from what I’ve done for so long. So far though, the place is great and the people are really nice too. I’m very pleased with my situation right now. On Friday we move out of our training room and up to our actual desks and then it go girl go.

One really nice thing, before I go to work I have all this quiet time that I can knit or read or just about anything I want. I get some laundry done, maybe a bit of vacuuming, clean the birds, you know, detail work right? By the time Friday comes all the chores should be done and I can just hang out with my baby and Nessa. All good I tell you.

The downside though, I really miss the amount of time I had with my baby, and everyone else! Hubby has to go to bed pretty much right after he picks me up from work. Saturday and Sunday will become whirlwinds of activity I’m sure. He did the grocery shopping yesterday though so that’s one time wasting task out of the way. I guess if we both do all our chores throughout the week we can just relax on the weekends.

I’ve been playing with the spindolyn and with a drop spindle that hubby had made me years ago. I think I’m sort of getting the hang of it. I hope so, cause I joined the Hello Yarn fiber club! Bahahahaha

Okay, I need to have some lunch and get some knitting done before work. See y’all soon.

Oh, one last plus to working nights, I didn’t have to watch my Canucks get beaten like an old rug last night! Yikes.

I should have bought a lottery ticket

Yesterday, April 23, 2007? Going down as one of the best days of my life.

I started my new job and it was brilliant. I’m so happy I could just plotz. The people were soooo nice and the place is great. I’m so happy I made this decision. This week will be all training then next Monday it’s go go go.

The Canucks beat the Stars in game seven!

I did miss the Canucks game but, as I’ve said before, Trevor Linden is the best player ever to wear a Canucks jersey. Gets the go ahead goal and we are on to the second round! Whoot whoot!

Days like that don’t come around all the time. Which makes you appreciate them all the more.

I love it when it all works out

Here is my sweater and I am deeply in love. I was going to do a reverse crochet around the neck but I think I might just leave it as is.

Nerves

I start my new job tomorrow afternoon and I’m feeling just a touch nervous. Actually, when I stop and fully think about it I kind of almost throw up a little bit. I’m sure that’s perfectly normal. Oh well, at least I finally took the leap and moved out of that comfort circle.

On Friday there was cake at work and then Lisa and Vanessa had a wee song prepared. They revamped the So Long, Farewell song from The Sound of Music to be all about where we work. It was awesome! Then some time in the pub where some shooters were shot. It’s been so long since I did tequila shots that I forgot the order one is supposed to do the salt/lime/tequila in. How sad is that!

Yesterday Vanessa and I went to Macleod’s Books. WOW! It was fantastic. When you walk in there is that old old old book smell. Inside the front cover of a collection of Thomas Moore’s poems was a gift inscription from 1902. It was wonderful. We wandered around and drooled for two hours and didn’t even feel like any time had passed. We didn’t even make it to the basement! Next time. We also hid Grand & Toy and bought blank notebooks. It was brilliant to go with someone who gets that same look in there eye for pens, paper, and books.

After our shopping foray we had grilled panini sandwiches in a little cafe and drooled over our books some more. It was an awesome day.

I washed and blocked my Glampyre raglan and I should be sewing up the hem today. If I do I’ll post a pici later on. It washed up so soft, I’m sure it will be one of my staple sweaters come next winter. Actually, the way the clouds are rolling in maybe I’ll get to wear it today before I fold it up and store it away for winter.

And finally, I’m very sad to report that my Canucks have lost two straight. Both of them shutouts. They have to win tomorrow night or they are eliminated from the playoffs. Soooooo, if everyone out there could send a wee happy hockey thought to Vancouver at about seven pm pacific time, that would be great! Thanks.

Look! Look! Look!

I got my Spindolyn! I’m so excited. I also got an extra top bit?!?!?!?! for plying. Very excited. It’s resting on my Poppy body. The colours aren’t quite true there though, it’s richer in person, more greeny/brown. I’m quite liking it. Patons SWS for the stripey bits and some Adriafil Valentino for the main body. I think that’s what the Adriafil is called, Valentino, I’m afraid I don’t have the ball band close at hand.

And now, some Sun Run pictures:

Masses of people

The obligatory pici of the drift of cups at a watering station

One of the bands along the route. Love men in kilts!

It’s so cool to see these places that are normally full of traffic with only people. Most excellent!

Keep in mind, I did not get the best picture of the day. Picture it if you will, Sunday morning, about 9:20 am. 54,000 people along Georgia Street. My particular group of purple runners (not quite the slowest but pretty frickin’ close) are all bunched up under the Four Seasons Hotel. A nice elderly couple on the 17 or 18th floor are waving at us, we’re all waving back. THOUSANDS OF US, that part is important. Then, two floors up, chubby naked man throws open his curtains notices the THOUSANDS of people looking up at the building and almost frantically tries to throw himself back into his room. The whole purple section, all at once “WHOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

It was brilliant. Of course, I didn’t have my camera at the ready. Never fails, you always miss those perfect blogging opportunities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I present to you, the greatest Canuck ever.

Thank you very much, I now return you to your regularly scheduled day.

I know why you’re here!

You wanna know if you won something! Without further ado, the winners of the Knit for Dulaan contest

1. Lucy wins the Stitch markers!

2. CeCe wins the Regia Cotton!

3. No Blog Rachel wins the Lana Gatto!

4. Pat wins the Scarves & Shawls book!

Send me your snail mail address and I will visit Mr. Post Office this Saturday. Rachel, I think I lost your snail mail addy. I’m so addled lately it’s just embarassing.

Thank you so much for knitting for Dulaan and for entering the contest. I love that we are all helping with such a worthwhile cause. And, I really love seeing what everyone is working on and stealing er getting new ideas for future knitting projects for Dulaan. You guys are really great, I’m so proud to know you. Okay, must stop now, getting mushy and stuff.

I’ll post up some Sun Run picis tomorrow night, after the hockey game of course! Duh. My boys won last night, in overtime. I don’t think my nerves can take all this overtime. Oh, I almost forgot, I got a new job today. I start on Monday. How’s that for fast turnaround? Now I feel even more addled than normal.

I’m so weak…

But, I don’t think it’s all my fault. I went to Birkeland Brothers today. Oh my. I was just going to get a bit of fibre for spinning for when my Spindolyn arrives. Um yeah, let’s just say that my yarn diet was seriously if not mortally wounded. First there was the Pima Cotton/silk blend, and the Drops Alpaca, and then the Mellenweit sock yarn. I’m so weak. But I did get a lovely little back of fibre for spinning. 100 grams worth, in addition to the 800 grams of lovely lovely yarn I bought.

Worthless and weak I tell you! Worthless and weak. Phe, whatever. Live hard, buy yarn.

Next month Rabbitch is going to be doing up one of the display windows at Birkeland Bros in style. Make sure you stop by and have a look at her goodies. She loves it when folks do that. Snort.

Tomorrow is the Vancouver Sun Run. Think of me out there forcing my rather largesh frame along the 10km course. The weather is supposed to be very good though, which is nice. I’ll try to get some good picis for y’all. Vancouver is a beautiful city so the scenery along the course is good for distracting you from thinking about your aching feet & calves.

Tomorrow is also the last day to send me in your entries for the Dulaan contest. Cutoff is midnight tomorrow night. So far, not as many entries as in last fall’s contest so those of you already in there, much better odds of winning! Those of you who have been waiting until the last minute, time is almost up.

My beloved Canucks lost last night too. I was most sad. They just didn’t seem to have it together, I think that super long game on Wednesday must have ground them up a bit. Plus, they were missing three players due to injury. Not good, not good at all. Have to make sure I’m wearing my lucking underwear tomorrow night. Whatever works baby, whatever works.

Go Canucks Go

Game two tonight! Here’s hoping that the boys just wipe the floor with the Stars within 3 periods of play. Please, I’m too old to be watching quadruple overtime games. My heart can’t take it.

And, we’re getting down to the last few days of the Knit for Dulaan contest. You have until midnight pacific time on Sunday night to enter. Just send me a pici or a link to a pici to the email address in the sidebar to be entered. One entry for each item you’ve made between Mar 1 and Apr 15. Hubby will be doing the draw on Monday night after work and I’ll post and contact the winners then.

There’s still plenty of time to whip up one more hat or maybe a scarf to enter. Can’t wait to hear from you.

Now, if everyone out there could send some very winning vibes to my Canucks tonight the would be great! Thanks.