YO, K PSSO?

Sweater Grrrl

Thursday!

My boss leaves through the first of the year starting tomorrow. I think I am going to have a sanity countdown on here until she comes back.

Well, I went to my first Knitting Meetup group last night- it was a lot of fun. There were 6 of us in Starbucks, just right for a cozy environment- and 5 of us were new, so our “charter member” got a lot of questions and we had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, my poor buddy Angela has pneumonia and couldn't attend.

We addressed some lively topics: reality TV, making fun of Celine Dion, sightings of insane Christmas sweaters with reindeer and snowman intarsia and holiday greetings spelled out in sequins and little bells, an article entitled “friends don’t let friends wear ponchos” (I’m still wearing them anyway), Madame Stink-Eye at the "scary knitting store", guys who have haircuts that make them look like electrocuted woodchucks, those people who read in bookstores, never buy anything, and then put the books back in the wrong place, the Communications Dept. at CSUF… and we explored the fact that three of us (50%!) had attended Clovis West High School. Actually, one of the three is still in attendance- she was there with her mom.

So I’d estimate the age range of those present at about every decade from the teens on up! Scarves were definitely the order of the day. We’d been there for two hours before I looked at the clock. And I suspect that we made the evenings of some older gentlemen in Starbucks, who were eavesdropping on our conversations and who seemed to get a huge kick out of us, because they just could not stop grinning whenever they looked in our direction.

I also got my first e-mail from the SN’B website-which was exciting! And I got to pass out some flyers in the meeting. One of the girls who works at Borders (Hi Nicole!) said she would put a flyer up over there, and it seems like there’s a lot of interest. So I am thrilled.

Also, in the land of knitting: I am almost done with the scarf for my sister- I just need to get another ball of yarn from Ancient Pathways. I know I have another skein of it in my stash, but I cannot find it to save my life. I am beginning to wonder if the cat ate it or something. In the meantime, I decided to finally work on mastering the lace stitch for the yoga bag.

So I have about 10 rows done, and I am beginning to realize that this isn’t going to be a “quickie” project. I am going to be working like a demon on this right up until Christmas Eve. But I am enjoying it, having figured out last night what YO, Sl, K2tg, SSK, and the infamous PSSO all mean. I also concede that bamboo needles would be soooooooo much easier for this! I am using a cotton/viscose blend, and my aluminums are really way too slippery for this kind of deal. When you’re doing lacework and you drop stitches- aieeeee! I think I am going to employ stitch markers in the next sets of rows, in case that happens again.

And- when I was in the Dr.’s office yesterday, one of the women behind the counter asked me to make her a ribbon poncho, like the one I have. So I am doing my first paid project! I have until after the first of the year, which will be pretty easy. She’s a teensy little thing, so I am taking out both length and width, and am sewing up the neckline more, so it doesn’t totally overpower her. Otherwise, the fringe goes down past her knees.

Hrm. Now down to the serious stuff (you wouldn’t know it was me unless I did some b*tching…; )

Alan wants me to quit my job. Admittedly, this is like the answer to a prayer- unfortunately, I don’t see how we can afford to be a one-income household, particularly if I am unwilling to give up my car and a certain amount of financial freedom. Then he dangled some degree of temptation before me- the opportunity to finish up my degree, get my design studies going, write my book…

Of course, all these things take money- school would be the most expensive, but the most potentially lucrative, in the long run. If I was home, with the amount we’d save on gas, clothing, restaurants….it might just be feasible for me to do. Once we have kids and I would have to factor in the cost of childcare, it would be a no-brainer. But I can’t justify doing it right now. And of course, Alan argues that it’s not worth my sanity, etc. But if I can just hold out a little longer, I think it would be better for all concerned.