Ever since Bess mentioned doing her own knitting almanac I’ve been thinking about it a lot and am even planning my own. Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac is such a classic and an inspiration. I feel that I should plan the entire year out now so that I can try to stick to it, “try” being the key word here, but I know how I can be when something more interesting comes along. There is SK’s sock-knitting machine that I’m going to try out on Saturday, and Project Spectrum 2.0, which can inspire something completely different than I ever expected. Hopefully, my projects planned for the month can fit into Project Spectrum, too.

Here’s what I have so far. A few of the months correspond with the classes I’ll be teaching. I’m also not going to be strict and make myself work on the theme of the month exclusively since there are some gifts that need to be made that I won’t fit into any particular month.

January: Sweater month.
* Finish up Bryan’s Cider House Rules vest, which is very close to being finished. I’ve already finished sewing on two armhole bands and am on my third attempt at the buttonhole band. Darn those evenly spaced buttonholes and making them match up to the vest. I had to restart the buttonband last night after being more than 40% finished. Oh well, now it will fit perfectly.
* Start and complete the Bianca Jacket from the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits. If Bianca Jacket is completed before end of month, then start the Martha sweater from Rowan Magazine 28 in deep red Felted Tweed.

February: Sock month.
* Finish the Go with the Flow socks from Interweave Knits, Summer 2005. I’m 1/2 way through the cuff on the second sock.
* Knit the second sock for the Watercolor socks. One is a display at the store but by summer I hope to have another sock knit for the store’s display.

March: Lace month.
I’m teaching a lace class and hopefully, will be knitting some lace of my own. I don’t know what I’ll knit for this month, something to keep me sane while I wait for my letter for library school.

April: Shawl month.
Start one of the many shawls that I’ve planned to make. The three that I’ve been planning for awhile are the Summer in Kansas shawl, the Flower Basket Shawl and the Diamond Fantasy Shawl.

May: Afghan square month.
I’ve been working on the Great American Aran Afghan from Knitters since May 2002. For the last several years, I’ve been knitting two squares in a year and then skipping the next year. This isn’t a year I plan to skip. I’ve completed 10 of the possible 24 squares, I may not make all 24 I haven’t decided yet. If I could finish 4 more squares this year, I would be happy. Heck, if I worked on one a month, which was the original plan I could be finished by February next year. If you know of a store that carries Anny Blatt’s No. 4 let me know.

October: Socks for Socktoberfest 2007, if Lolly hosts it again.

That’s all I have so far. I would like to “learn” something new this year but at the moment I’m not that into challenging myself too much. Some things I’d like to do this year:

• More felting, but our current washing machine situation doesn’t lend itself to felting. Sharing two machines with 20 other apartments isn’t completely ideal.
• Learn how to do the Cat Bordi mobius cast-on.
• Knit a vest from my own hand-spun yarn. Maybe I’ll designate a month entirely to knitting with my own hand-spun.
• Attempt to swatch and start the Garter Stitch Jacket from Norsk Strikkedesign. I love this sweater but I’m wondering if it’s even my style anymore.
• Since I’m using Elizabeth Zimmermann’s idea for a yearly almanac, I have to knit something from an Elizabeth Zimmermann book. I might try the Baby Surprise jacket or one of her EPS sweaters.
• Work with the lovely Blue Sky Alpaca yarn that I have for a cable-knit sweater.

First of all, holy cow! I don’t think I’ve ever had 8 comments for one post! Thank you all. (Btw, the title means absolutely nothing. It’s just the post number and I just felt like keeping it just to be interesting.)

I haven’t heard about the Acquisitions job yet, but then again I don’t expect to hear anything until after I leave for Maryland. It could be a very interesting week, in addition to all of the Maryland Sheep & Wool excitement.

The last few days have been really great. I can’t remember why they just feel great. The Archives reading project where I was reading and organizing the shelves is finished. It took me almost 20 hours to read the entire Archives department but it’s done and I’m very relieved. Now I can leave town without thinking about what I have to do when I get back. I also got my hair cut on Thursday, which always puts a bit of a new spring in my step. She cut almost an inch an a half off and my new spring do feels fabulous. The best part is that even when I let my hair air dry it looks cute - always a huge plus in my book! Another plus is I don’t have to lug my hairdryer to Maryland. :)

Wednesday at my knitting group, I finished another afghan square and started the 11th square. I haven’t gotten very far on the 11th square because I’ve been busy working, baking, knitting the new sock and making Project Spectrum postcards. The sock is coming along nicely, slowly but nicely. I think once I get the pattern down a bit more it will go a bit faster. I’m using the “Go With the Flow” socks pattern from Interweave Knits, Summer 2005.

My latest baking adventure was into whole wheat bread, oooh. It’s a recipe from one of my favorite bread books, the same book that we use for pizza crust with few additions and baguettes. The bread turned out very nicely and we used it for tomato/basil sandwiches on Friday for lunch.

I talked to Amie yesterday to finalize some of our plans for my trip to Maryland. And somehow we got onto the subject of how I feel like my knitting has become a bit stagnant. I don’t mean that I’m not knitting, more as in the projects I have planned that I have yarn for just aren’t that challenging. Sometimes I don’t think I want challenging because I want to relax and knit but other times I want something that won’t only wow my husband but also wow me. Sort of the same feeling that I had after I finished the Barbara shawl. I’m sure I’ll feel that way after I finish the Hobo sweater that I’m sure you’re all sick of hearing about. Amie seems to think that Maryland will change that. I hope she’s right. Not that I don’t love a good pair of socks but I feel like that’s the one place I’m making myself try new things. The afghan squares are definitely challenging but they are so small and by the time I’m almost finished with one, I’m tired of the pattern anyway. Granted I have two sweaters that really need to be finished and I’m trying to keep myself to no more than five projects on the needles at any one time. I think back to when I was living in the city and knitting as much as I am now and I knitted a lot of sweaters. I also had friends that encouraged me and were knitting things more complex than I was, which made me want to challenge myself even more. And I had the money to do that back then (or so I thought). I also haven’t felt much like spinning either, it just seems like my hands don’t want to work the way they are supposed to. When I try spinning, my drafting is bulky and then I have a hard time getting the fiber to do what I want. Maybe this trip to Maryland is exactly what I need. Or I’ve just reached a bit of a knitting plateau and a spinning lull.

And finally, Chloe is so perfect at the strangest sleeping poses that I just can’t resist.

Have a great week. After I leave for Chicago on Wednesday to fly to Maryland on Thursday, I won’t blog until I get back on Tuesday next week. I’ll try to post one last time before I leave.

The interview yesterday for the Acquisitions position went well. I had to work yesterday morning, came home for some lunch with the dear husband, took a nap and then went back to the library for the interview. It went quite well and I felt pretty confident about it. All morning to pump myself up, I had a mantra going through my head “I’m the best person for the job.” I think it worked, now it’s just a matter of waiting to see if the Acquisitions manager agrees, I truly hope she does.

Monday wasn’t a great day for me, I worked a double shift and I was just plain tired. But even on my worst days at the library, it’s still the best job I’ve ever had (even if the pay is about 1/4 of what I used to make) and the bad days are better than my good days at some previous jobs. To make my day better, I brought home Party Girl with Parker Posey. It’s one of my favorite movies and always reminds me why I truly love working in a library. My attempt at cheering myself up worked. I also managed to knit 1/3 of my tenth square for the great american aran afghan. (I upgraded the afghan page just in case you’d all visit it.) When I’m working on the squares I remember why I loved this afghan so much in the first place. It’s so fun to try out all of these different cable patterns, even when I’m frustrated because I twisted a cable the wrong way 10 rows back. I’m nearly out of yarn, so I’ll only be able to do one more square before I have to buy more yarn, which might be a while. I’ll post a photo of the square when it’s finished.

I keep forgetting to mention this. S from work, who is moving and can’t take all of her yarn, was so kind to give me 8 balls of fingering weight sock yarn that she bought in Germany. She said she’ll never use it and figured I could use it. To thank her and repay her for her generosity, I’ve decided to make her a pair of socks out of the yarn. I’ll still have six balls of yarn for my own use. I started the socks on Sunday but have become obsessed with the current afghan square.

Tomorrow my mom leaves on a quite long trip. She’s going to a conference then on to a multi-country foreign trip with my aunt. I hope they have safe travels, especially when they will be gone for three weeks.

And next Wednesday, I begin my travels to Maryland for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. I can’t wait to finally meet Amie (my hostess, thank you ahead of time!), Bess (my library school cheerleader), Martha, Clara, Jennifer of Spirit Trail and others. I’m sure I’ll meet so many others that I’ve only known through the Knitters Review forums for years. Since I’m traveling so far, I also signed up for a Novelty Yarns class on Sunday and Amie is dear enough to loan me her Lendrum wheel for the class.

This was going to be such a short post, it just keeps growing and growing. Lolly mentioned the other day on her blog something about being a process knitter vs. progress knitter. I’ve been thinking about it the last day or so. How many of us with blogs are progress knitters just to have something to post on the blog? I know there are days that I have nothing to post just because I haven’t made a lot of progress on a particular project. I might also stay focused on one project longer if I thought that it would be interesting blog material, but unfortunately the long projects just aren’t that interesting when you’ve added one inch to a 21.5 inch body. Maybe I shouldn’t focus so much on the photos of knitting and what I actually have to say, Martha and Bess are good examples of this.

Finally, just to clear up any confusion (Brandi) regarding the new nephew. Bryan’s sister is pregnant and is due in August.

It’s been such a busy week that I’m truly enjoying having a day off. Of course on my day off I can’t stay away from the library. I went in to do my volunteer work for my homebound patrons. Sometimes it’s hard to get myself to go in for volunteer work, but once I’m there I always remember why I like volunteering so much. There are millions of books that I would love to read (okay, maybe several thousand) and a lot of them that sound good, but I know I’ll never get around to reading, I send to my patrons. There are also a lot that I send that I know I would never read (mainly Regency and Harlequin romances) but as long as the patron enjoys it that’s all that matters. That’s what I love about books, there are so many that everyone can find something they like. It’s hard for me to understand those that say they don’t like to read books, possibly since I’ve been reading books since I first learned to read. Just like with knitting where I’m always wanting to start something new, I’m the same way with books.

I’m taking a bit of a break from socks for a few weeks. Instead I’m working on afghan squares for the Great American Aran Afghan that I’ve been working on for almost four years. Nine squares are now complete, including this one that I just finished and I’m working on the tenth square now.

It’s about that time of year to start thinking about Christmas gifts and I already have several planned. So just to let you know since several people that I’m making gifts for read this blog, the projects won’t be mentioned or even photographed until after the gifts have been received. I’ll just mention that I’ve been working on Secret Project Number __. With a new nephew on the way, I’m also getting ready to start that project, which I’ll have photos for.

I have an interview on Tuesday for another position in the library. I’ll still be a shelver, if I get this other position it will be another part-time job. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I hope everyone had a safe happy New Year’s Eve and Day. Bryan and I had a quiet New Year’s Eve, we went out to dinner and then came home and welcomed in the new year with a small toast in our lovely wedding toasting glasses. I love these glasses, they are Waterford Crystal’s Celebration Dreams glasses. I thought they were appropriate for the wedding and are certainly appropriate for the new year because you always have a list of dreams for the year (aka goals). I don’t do resolutions because then it’s bad if I fail, if I set goals, then I consider them to a a short of path or journey that I am working towards.

New Year’s Day, Bryan and I spent a fair amount of it on the couch. We decided we were going to be very lazy all day and we were! I made out my list of goals for the year. We also watched two movies - 21 Grams and Garden State. The most productive thing we did all day was balance our checkbook.

I was very productive in the knitting department this past weekend. I had Thursday afternoon off and worked on the Barbara Selesnick square for the Great American Aran Afghan. My 7th square finished! I realized after I finished the square that I had been previously referring to it as the Vicki Sever square, which was incorrect. I did start and finish the Vicki Sever square on Thursday and Friday. I was obsessed with getting the square finished. It was a fun square to do. Now I’m taking a little break from afghan squares and concentrating on Michael’s scarf.
(Photos to be posted soon)

This was a quite productive weekend for me. Unfortuately, I didn’t work on the giraffe blanket. I think I’m just a bit tired of working on it and need a break.

The biggest news is I finally after 2 years, I finished a pair of socks!! They started out as the second pair I had ever knit and now after all this time, they are the fourth adult pair I’ve finished! I can’t wait to wear them to my class tomorrow evening. They’re the Regia Ringel pair with the green, purple, pink and orange stripes.

Yeah, they are finally finished. According to my knitting journal - I started the first sock on February 4, 2001 and finished it on April 20, 2002. The second sock I started on April 20, 2002. I have no idea when I finished it. This pair of socks was really three socks. The first sock I knit - the leg part of the sock was way too big and I had to knit the foot of the sock on size 1 needles. Then when I knit the second sock, it was a different size in the leg and the foot. I ripped out the first sock and reknit it. So the sock I just finished is really the reworked first sock. I’m just glad that I finally have a pair of my very own to wear!

I finished the Lang cardigan. I sewed all of the seams and realized that one of the sleeves didn’t look right at the shoulder seam, so I took it out. I have a sweater nearly completed but without a left sleeve. I also ripped out the button bands because I didn’t like the way they looked. I’ll do all this later when I have some time to really devote to it. It’s not a lot of work, just time consuming.

Also this weekend, I started another Charm scarf for my mom. It’s in the Trendsetter yarn called Charm in a black, white and grey. I found it while going through my yarn stash looking for some other yarn. When I found this, I figured, I need to get it out, make it now before I forget I have it and while I’m motivated to knit it. I knit about 10″ of it. So I’m about 1/4 of the way through.

And as if that wasn’t enough, I also started another square from the Great American Aran Afghan from Knitter’s magazine. I started the Vicki Sever square that was published in Spring 2001. It’s the one with the heart-looking cables going up the middle.

Going through my stash was a bit inspiring. It made me realize how much yarn I really have and how many projects I either have in planning or have already started.

I also managed to do about 6 more rows on the Hobo sweater, too. So I wasn’t short of knitting time this weekend, more like I just made the time to do it.

I have a new job. I applied for the job on May 15, received a call for an interview on May 16, went to the interview on May 20 and was offered the job on May 23. My last day at my current position is tomorrow and my first day at my new position is Monday. WHIRLWIND!

I finished the Maggie sweater and am wearing it today. I must show it off at Knit Night.

The sweater that Meredith requested was finished on May 24 (last Friday). It took me exactly 7 days with a few minor snafu’s, such as running out of white yarn and having to borrow more from Mary (a knitting friend - THANK YOU MARY!) and having to rip out the button bands because I made them for a girl instead of a boy. I had even sewn on the buttons. :) But it all worked out and Amanda (the girl who is having the baby) loved it. I loved the buttons, they were little VW Beetle cars. :)

Our whole Knit Night crew decided to do the Great American Aran Afghan from the Knitter’s Magazine. It started out with Mary and I doing it and blossomed into a whole group project with each woman making her own afghan. I went nuts once I got the yarn and got started on it. I now have almost two finished and the “rule” that Mary and I established is that we would only do two a month because I thought she could just whip them up in no time and I would be left in her dust. Well, it’s not working out that way. I’m so excited about them that I’ve finished almost two in one week. I need to slow down or my afghan is going to be finished in about four months instead of the year that we have agreed on. The squares go really quickly and will be perfect to work on on vacation this summer because they are so portable. Must pace myself!

Hopefully will keep this up better!