But I've been missing you lovely people terribly (no, really!), and, given that I've a whole actual DAY OFF today that has, for a change, not been steamrollered by my need to attend some ridiculously early-in-the-morning, takes-up-most-of-the-day hospital appointment, I thought I'd start the day in style by writing a blogpost!
(Okay, so obviously the day actually started with a rather large pot of coffee, and some nommy scones and jam, but as I'm sure you'll all understand, this was just to safeguard my sunny diposition. I could not be inflicting myself on other people sans caffeine. Ooh no).
So anyway. What's been keeping me from my computer? Well, work, mostly. You understand of course that in this case, the word 'work' is more of a relative term. I get up every day, and get dressed (might be taken as a given in most households, but on my planet over the last four years, there were a LOT of days when that didn't happen!).
So actual proper clothes, not pyjamas. Then I get on the train, all the way into town, and, often making a slight detour en route to acquire muffins, I arrive in work. Where there is yarn. And coffee. And yarn. And smiley happy work colleagues. And customers who actually WANT me to foist yarn on them, and who don't get freaked out when we're all making 'oooh' noises while petting the latest yarny arrivals. Oh yeah, and there's yarn. Did I mention the yarn?
So yeah, life, while very busy, is damn good at the moment! >happy sigh!<
I have started to notice a couple of dents in this idyllic existence, though. First up, this working thing? REALLY cuts into your knitting time! (I know, I know, who'd have thought it?). Though trust me, I have been doing my bestest to compensate! There is plenty of knitting on the go here at the moment, though I only realised this morning that it seems to involve rather large quantities of just knitting, as opposed to the rather large quantities of yarn-overs-in-every-available-space items that I usually produce!
This, I have decided, is a very good thing. I loves my lace. I have whole projects set aside that are going to be my fun-for-me Christmas knitting, and they're all (well, mostly) lace. However, as a result, I had long neglected the beauty of some straightforward stockinette, and the beautiful, drapey-yet-structured fabric it can give you. I had also really missed out on good old garter stitch, and it's comforting squooshiness, and how it can showcase a yarn and it's qualities and colours like no other stitch.
So in the current WIP parade (which is becoming an even bigger-ass parade with each passing day), there is a lot of stockinette and garter... though at least the project below will eventually turn a little lacy at the edge, and in a totally different colour! The excitement!
Garter stitch AND stripes! And that's not even the best bit....
Short. Row. Shaping. A technique that I had never managed to execute effectively and that, consequently, scared the bejaysus out of me. Nothing was guaranteed to make me run screaming away from a pattern quicker than the words 'short row shaping'. Until I met Colour Affection. And started spending copious amounts of my day faced with a rather large cubby of Malabrigo Sock. Nom nom nom. Of course, I am only human, and was powerless to resist, and sure who could blame me?
To keep me sane and calm, I also started a second Cladonia. As I mentioned in my last post, I liked the first one so much that I had pretty much acquired new stash almost immediately, so's I could do a second one! More stripes (check me out with the two colours!), more stockinette, with a little lacey interest to keep me going to the edges...
Obviously this is again being knit with some nice nice nice smoooooshy Finito nom nom nom nom...
If you haven't knit with it yet, you really should. Really really. You deserve it.
And of course, speaking of yarns to which I am partial, we all know what one of my all-time favourite yarns would be... so you can just imagine how excited I got when a whole new shipment of my babies came home, and some of them even in new colourways! Whole new colourways! I can barely stand it! :oD
Of course, I would not be a very good yarn store employee if I did not make a little time to, urm, test-knit these new acquisitions, just to ensure that they are all indeed of the impeccably high standards we demand for our esteemed clientele. Aherm.
(Almost had myself convinced there. Yes, I did it all for the customer. Nothing at all to do with my reaction to the delivery box when it came into the shop (which may or may not have involved some bouncing and some high-pitched 'yay!'s. Freaked the crap out of the poor delivery guy), or the way I flung myself at it going "NO! MY BOX! I'M OPENING THIS BOX! MINE!!" Nothing at all to do with that. It's all about the customer. Epitome of professionalism, me).
Anyway, given the reaction to the last cowl I made from Botany Lace, I have decided that a second one may be required...
Obviously though, given the vast number of WIPs I currently have on the go (about 20. Ish), it may be a while before any of these are completely and utterly done. Of course, you will be the first to know when they are!
There has been other knitting, and other nommy yarns, and fun things happening, but if I save some stuff for a future blogpost, I'm hoping that that'll make me commit to actually doing another post again some time real soon!
So that just leaves the other dent I had noticed in my otherwise idyllic existence...
Remember The Plan? The Plan that involved me knitting loads of things from the pretty pretty yarn that I already owned and did not in any way shape or form involve me contributing or adding to the humongous stash I already owned over the course of 2012?
Yeah. Hahahaha. Well, let's just say that working in a yarn store is not at all conducive to cutting down on one's stash. At all. Please don't judge me though, just bear in mind that I'm doing it all for you. It is apparently my life's mission to knit all the yarns so that I may more accurately advise you in your yarny purchases.
No, really. >cough! cough!<
:o)
