Lies we tell ourselves

I've been busy lately. (I haven't.)

I wanted to keep a regular blog but every time I thought, "I should do a blog post," something came up. (It didn't.)

I have been working on things though. (It's actually true!) I've been working on finishing up my first pattern. I have about half of it typed up and formatted, I just need to finish typing it up and take some pictures for it before I can send it out to my test knitters.

I like this pattern a lot. I like how it looks and how it feels on my feet but I hate knitting it. At this point I am knitting the 5th sock I've knit in this pattern. I rarely knit the same sock twice let alone five times. So many things have changed though and I want to make sure that people will feel like they spent their money well if/when they buy the pattern instead of feeling ripped off.

I don't expect to become rich off of selling sock patterns but I would like to be able to make some money so maybe I can eventually start chipping away at the mountain of student loan debt I have. One can hope. (It's hard to though.)

The next week I hope to get the pattern sent out to test knitters. I hope to finish a swatch of another pattern or two and maybe even start a new sock. That would be nice.

I honestly don't know how other designers do it.

Malaise (Finished Friday of sorts)

Malaise probably isn't the right word but I haven't found a good enough synonym to replace it.

I haven't felt...right this week. Not sick or depressed really just...off. Okay I did feel sick that I have reached that age where if I don't get a good night sleep, I feel sick the next day. I've also had a couple of head aches this week but I blame that on the constantly changing pressure systems here in Florida. Sure, it's all sunshine and rainbows most of the time but talk to any Floridian and they will tell you that it rains every day. It might not rain a lot or for very long but it rains every day.

If you can name the show I was watching, you get 50 Internet Points

This malaise, for lack of a better word, hasn't stopped my knitting though which makes me believe further that I'm not sick or depressed. I knit a sock (but not the one that I needed to work on), I've worked on a blanket to donate to charity along with some baby booties that took me less than two hours to knit, and I've been working on my Inheritance shawl/scarflette thinger. I've also found another scrap blanket that I want to work on but I'm forcing myself to finish at least one other blanket, preferably one to donate to charity, before I start it. See, I'm showing restraint on making another scrap blanket. Possibly only because I don't know if I actually have enough scraps to dedicate to another blanket. I have a lot of scrap blankets in the works...I am definitely not a monogamous knitter. Being a monogamous knitter is boring.

I did learn some new techniques this week. I learned how to do an afterthought heel with was really fun. I paired that with a crochet provisional cast on and this might be my new favorite way to make socks. It was fun and easy. The afterthought heel did make it difficult trying the sock on though, especially since I am constantly worried that somehow my count gets off or I accidentally change needles or something and the fit gets all messed up.

There hasn't really been much excitement here really. I think the cat is trying to kill me but I haven't discovered her secret plans yet so I can't confirm it. Once I can confirm it, I'll let you know, mainly so I have witnesses if I happen to go missing.

You'd do that for me, right?

Inheritance

Boy, that last post sure was a bummer!

As you may recall, I recently inherited a lot of yarn from a family friend. A lot of the yarn was baby yarn that is designated to make baby blankets with for someone or to donate. But included was a box of yarn that our family friend's daughter had given her. And it was good stuff. Completely untouched. Included were three skeins of Hello Yarn's Fat Sock.

I don't get to knit with nice yarn often or ever. I'm a frugal person by nature and even more so when I don't have any extra spending money, like the past six or so years. The few times I allowed myself to splurge on things that I didn't need but I had money for, I was always on vacation which was really just a conference that I was calling a vacation. I don't think I've ever been on a vacation. I've gone on family trips but those are sometimes more stressful than regular life. 

This yarn has been sitting on my desk since I unpacked it. I've wanted to make SOMETHING out of it but I didn't know what. I was dead-set on making socks even though I now live in Florida where sock, especially thick ones, are not really ever needed (so I'm told.) And then I realized I had enough for a small shawl/scarflette thingy. So that's what I did. I found a cute French pattern that I had to translate (I only had to translate three words. It's a simple pattern). So far it sorta feels like knitting a washcloth. A bit at least. Not a whole lot. I'm hoping to get something to wear when it gets chilly, because again, I'm told it doesn't really get "cold" here.  

I'm hoping one day that I'll have the ability to buy myself nice yarn. Not all the time, but every once in a while as a little present to me. Gotta get me a job first though. 

In an attempt to end on a lighter note than last time, I just accidentally elbowed the cat in the face. She more of jumped into my elbow as I was moving my arm. I didn't do it on purpose and she seems fine, although she is now giving me a death glare...

The Hot, Hot Heat

I'm now in Florida!

And it's hot.

My boyfriend and I are slowly settling into our new surroundings. We've had fun exploring the various local restaurants and Florida-only chains. Our new local grocery store is very GF friendly so I am extremely happy. The move itself was uneventful. I got a little teary as I crossed the Indiana/Kentucky border, I won't lie, but I am excited about what's ahead for us.

So far, lots of knitting. It's hard to find a job when you don't know the area, you don't know anyone, you don't have a car and the public transportation system in the city you live in is laughable. My boyfriend and I were driving to meet his parents at a restaurant near the beach (I can say things like that now) before they had gone home from helping us with the move. I saw the first bus I had seen since moving to Florida and it was stopped. We stopped at a light near the bus and I tried to figure out why the bus was stopped for so long. The driver then stepped out of a convenience store close to where he had parked the bus. He stopped the bus, in the middle of his route, to get a drink. Laughable.

So I'm knitting. A lot.

I've already finished two socks and started a third multiple times now. I want to do a self challenge sometime where I knit a whole pair of socks in two days. I think I could. Both of the socks didn't take too long and the second one could've been finished in a day if I hadn't taken a nap during the F1 race. Maybe sometime soon.

I'm trying to find some sort of job but so far it's not going well. It would also help if I knew what the heck I wanted to do. Sure, I'd love to knit all day but so far I haven't found a test knitter position open, or at least not one that pays. I have been working on my own patterns for eventual publication and hopefully to make a little bit of money but it's slow going. I don't know how other designers do it. It seems like every one of them pumps out a new pattern daily (I'm sure this is hyperbole) and I don't even have one finished pattern yet.

It doesn't help my mood with the fact that everyone I talk to about my move then instantly asks me how my job search is going or what I plan to do now that I'm down here. Each time I'm asked that, I want to crawl into a hole even more and the self pity spiral starts up.

On the plus side, the cat and I are getting along much better than I thought we were going to. She has a history of swiping at me and generally being mean to me so I was expecting the worse but she has been my companion the past two days as I clean up and finish unpacking while my boyfriend is at work. It's been a little nice if not completely suspicious.

This sure was a bummer of a post.