An overnight success

Wow, after two years of constant applications, innumerable tests, unbelievably boring interviews, and gosh knows what else, I have been offered not one but two loverly jobs.  One is at the RCMP headquarters and one is with Transport Canada.  I could just plotz I’m so excited.  Then I had to decide which one.  Thanks, I love huge life changing decisions and all the possibilities of failure and mistakes that they bring along!  LOL. Anyway, I’m going to take the Transport Canada position.  I’m just waiting for my security clearance to be finalized and I’m in like Flynn.

In knitting news, thank you so much for all your suggestions about my Poppy sleeve issue!  Love that you can just quest out for knitting help and bang, it’s right there for you.  Using a melding of ideas I’ve put the current sleeve on hold on a bit o’ yarn and cast on a second sleeve.  I’m going to try Leanne’s suggestion of knitting from two skeins and alternate every few rows.  I will then compare the two sleeves and see which I like better.  If the new one doesn’t work out I’m going to do as Kmkat, Jenny, and Elan say and just plunge ahead with the original sleeve and make it a mate and call it a day.  Essentially, I will be knitting three sleeves to ensure that I like two of them.  My mother is right, I am a difficult child.    Hi mom!  I know you’re reading this!

I also forgot to say what the pattern my sock-pal used for my Sockapalooza socks was.  The are Go With the Flow Socks from Evelyn Clark’s book Favorite Socks.  Here is the link for Amazon.com for those of you in the US.  They are lovely and I really like them a lot.  I keep squooshing them just for fun.

My Kauni is stalled while I wait for new needles to be delivered.  My gauge was too far off to ignore and I had to order some new bamboos from Elann.   And one final thing, go read Earthchick’s blog entry for July 15.  Then go kiss your loved ones and tell them you love them.  Wow.

Mom, Dad, I love you guys, and I know we just never say it enough.  Maybe we should get tattoos of it or something?  Just a thought.  Mom would never go for that.

OMG

You know how I’ve been posting picis of my around the world postcards from my Sockimus Palimus? I kept thinking, wow, great sense of humour here, very creative, can’t wait to meet them! Well, today I received my wonderful bundle from my Sockimus Palimus and I can add fabulous knitter and incredibly generous to that description.

I am, for lack of a better term, gobsmacked. I’m so knocked over that I took a tonne of picis and uploaded to Flickr as a set because I simply don’t have words for all that is wonderful here. You’ve gotta see it for yourself. I’ve put notes all over the place too. Sorry, couldn’t wait, loooookkkkkkk!  If you click though you can see all the cool notes I put on everything.  (Why yes, I am just learning how to use Flickr and just noticed the note function yesterday.  Be forewarned, I’m like a kid with a label maker now, everything will have little notes.)

First off, introductions are in order, readers, this is Danielle. Danielle, this is everyone else. We are both West Coast babies, just with the 49th parallel between us. She’s also got an Etsy shop and in that Etsy shop are the most amazing wee sock bags and gorgeous stitch markers. Go look, I’ll wait. You’ll be blown away, I promise! And look, the sock bags come with a set of stitch markers, and a basic sock pattern, kitchener instructions, and a needle to weave in the toe & ends. How cunning is that? The bags are reversible too. So you can be all cool and collected or sock monkey mad depending on your mood. I love it.

The socks that she made me are amazing and beautiful and fit my big ol’ feet perfectly. Fleece Artist Sea Wool in the most amazing shades of copper and chocolate. All the colours of fall. And there’s spinning fiber from Aurelia Wool. It has glittery bits in it too. And Jasmine Pearl green tea and fruity candies. I feel like the queen of the world I tell you. So much wonderfulness I don’t even know how to express my thanks properly. This has been a wonderful Sockapalooza Danielle! You are so creative and funny and I’m so glad that this sock exchange has let me meet you.  Thank you thank you thank you.  I’ll be stalking your blog you know! 

All blocked up and ready to go

These little guys will be winging their way to Florida tomorrow along with a ball of Regia Cotton Surf Colour and some other little yummy somethings.  Love the yummy little somethings.

I had a final interview for one job that I’m really liking the looks of and then I get my final interview on Tuesday for the other job I’m totally jonesing for.  Is that creepy?  To be jonesing for a job?  Hmmmm, I gotta learn to cut loose and relax a bit.

I cast on a bunch ‘o stitches in the Kauni last night on a 16 inch circular.  For this, I will do a gauge swatch.  I’m notorious for never bothering but this strikes me as a project that really wants a gauge swatch.

As an aside, coming home from the interview on Skytrain today (yes, we really did name it that.  There was a contest and everything) I say a man in nothing but his Y fronts walking along the sidewalk with a Slurpee.  My first thought…well…where does he keep his money for Slurpees if he’s only in his underwear?  Hmmmm.  Happy Tuesday everyone.

Done like Dinner

My sockapalooza socks that is.    Here they are drying on my incredibly hitech sock blockers:

 Overall I’m really pleased with them.  I do wish they were more identical and less fraternal but there just isn’t much I can do about handpainted yarn now is there!  The colours in the top photo are truer, at least on my monitor.  Anyone else done their Socakapaloozas?

Bring on the Kauni!  Whoot whoot!

Yarn safari

Kauni is not seen often seen in the wild, which is why this was such a lucky incident.  We spotted it from afar, and began to work our way closer in hopes of learning more about his rare and beautiful creature.

We believe that it was drawn out of hiding for a little sunbathing.  Here is our first glance:

We slowly work our way closer.  Carefully trying not to alarm it:

The warmth of the sun must have caused it to doze off.  This last closeup shot is inprecedented:

Okay, that’s enough Wild Kingdom for the day.    I’ve made a deal with myself, this is as much as I’m allowed to touch it until the Sockapalooza socks are finished.  I’m not even going to put it on the swift and wind it up until those socks are washed and blocking.  I plan on finishing them this weekend, there is no way I can keep my hands off this yarn for any longer than that.  But hey, want to get some Kauni for yourself?  Astrid was fabulous to work with and the shipping was amazingly fast.  I think you will have to wait until the end of July for some colours as they are on back order.

In other news, I had 3 interviews and testing sessions last week for various jobs and on Friday I got calls from 4 more for next week.  One of them is with the RCMP civilian staff.  Dress uniforms!  Swoon.  Don’t even get me started about the musical ride.  Uniforms and horses?  I’m almost unconscious here.

I’m getting a feeling that I will have to make a job choice in the next week or two.  That’s going to be the hard part.

What I did on my mini summer vacation v 1.0

Day one:
Finished a Poppy body:

Received asssistance with above from dedicated dog:

Where I spent my day, also with a helpful dog:

The view from where I spent my day:

First sockpal sock post turning of the heel:

Note: There is no stronger magic than the turning of the heel. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s mathematical magic and just tickles me everytime!

Then, this morning I was reading Mac’s blog and she posted her summer reading list. After I posted mine in her comments it seemed only logical to post it over here too:

• The Meaning of Wife – Anne Kingston
• Lost Cosmonaut – Daniel Kalder
• Summer of My Amazing Luck – Miriam Toews
• Round Ireland with a Fridge – Tony Hawks
• Poor Things – Alasdair Gray
• The Sleep of Reason – Derek Jarrett
• The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid – Bill Bryson
• Arthur & George – Julian Barnes (Whom I seem to have developed a bit of a crush on!)

Sorry, I’m not working today, you’ll have to look up your own links! What’s everyone else reading?

That is all. You may return to your regularly scheduled day.

Monday? Seriously?

Wow, time does fly when you’re spending it all on Ravelry! Love it. Sign up, wait patiently, you will be invited. I think it took about 3 or 4 weeks from when I signed up until I got my invite. I’m getting all my stuff so very much more organized. I love it.

There was another Sockimus Palimus postcard. Look how pretty!

It’s all fishy and shiny. And the best part…it’s from Seattle. My sockpal is all over the place! East coast, west coast, England. I’m amazed. Do you think they are a pilot? Then, 3 or 4 hours into a long overseas flight they just put that bit ol’ plane into autopilot and knit some socks? That thought appeals to me on so many different levels.

Here’s the back. Bit of a philosopher is my Sockimus Palimus.

Here is my current progress on my sockpal sock. One more pattern repeat and I’m doing the heel flap. My pal likes her socks not so long.

Sorry for the overexposure. Okay, I’m off. I have to make some bird food and bird bread and get a few things done before work. Happy Monday y’all!

My sock pal gets around

Okay, I’ve told you about the stalking socking pal I have. There has been another postcard. The first ones were posted from Manchester NH and Pittsburgh PA, respectively. Then I got this one:

Ummmm, it was posted in Greerford/Windsor, in England! Seriously, this is a getting around kind of sock pal. I am utterly amazed and touched by how cool this is. This must truly be the most traveled sock pal in the world. Every day I can’t wait to check the mail. It is hilarious! I’m looking so forward to “meeting” this person, you can’t imagine.

Friday was Vanessa’s birthday so we took a little trip. We did a very touristy Vancouver thing and caught the seabus over to North Vancouver for a day of shopping, sightseeing, and FOOD. So much food. There was lattes and cakes, stuffed olives, handmade chocolates, fish and chips, stuffed mushroom caps, a little libation (teehee), and then fresh fruit before we headed home. Here are some random images from the day:

This is not the seabus. Just in case you’re wondering.

This is the seabus. What did you expect for $2.25?

The ride over.

The Lonsdale Quay/market.

A former fishing boat that now seems to be used for tourists and stuff, I’m guessing, based on the fact that it had a hot tub on the back deck.

Vanessa actually went up and touched one of these, we are still not sure if they were real or not. Bleah!
This was a very dapper gentleman we spotted. I have never seen shinier shoes in my life.

We bought this tea at the Blue Teapot shop. Look what it can do:

Kind of amazing, no? Go check out the Blue Teapot website, they have some other images of it. The tea itself was really mild and ever so slightly aromatic. It is supposed to make me young, have a great liver, and be beautiful. That’s a lot for one little cup of tea, right?

Not really going to discuss this. Let’s just say that the new public toilet at Main Street might not be the greatest success in the world. Bleach!

Have a great day everyone. I’m off to play on Ravelry. I got my invite! Then I want to knit for an hour before work. No overtime today. Yay!

I have a stalker…

and I kind of like it! My sock pal, sorry, Sockimus Palimus, has been sending me little missives through the mail. First there was this one:

Then there was this one:

This was the most wonderful thing to come home to after a 12 hour shift. I laughed so hard that snorting was heard. It was brilliant! I love my Sockimus Palimus.

The other thing I came how to was this:

A puffy from the Sweet Sheep. So nicely packaged and there is this awesome little pin with the sheepy logo. Very cute! So yeah, yarn diet, that was sooooo yesterday.

Here you see some Fleece Artist Sea Wool (squishability factor of 13), Shelridge Farms Handpaint (squishability factor of 12), and Mama C*EYE*BER Fiber (colour factor 1,000,000 – it’s called blood orange, swoon).

Okay, shower and back to work. Thanks for coming out kids!

Spring

Yep, it’s finally here,

ETA: For Kat – these are Chinese Tree Peonies. You can find out more here. This one is huge, almost 12 inches across.

and here,

and here,

Ah springtime, when a young man’s fancy may turn to love but an older man’s fancy starts thinking about summer. Then he starts the prep work for a pool. ‘Cause he can’t handle the heat like her could when he was young!

And he has a helper,

Since the new neighbours moved in behind us this is all you see of the dogs:

She has cookies and kids. All you see is three bums and three wagging tails poking out of the shrubs in the back of the yard. If the dogs are sleeping in the living room they know when the neigbours come home. It’s like their pagers all go off at once and boom, they fly out the back door.

And then you have the beautiful Jane, taking a moment to smell the dandelions.

And a nice shiny Stella:

And, finally, a little scrappy dog, all tired out and sleeping on last years pool in the sun. p.s.
Sock 76.a.1 – yeah, that didn’t work out. Back to the drawing board!