We're Engaged!!

Yes, its’ official. We’re engaged! She proposed on her birthday. It was a warm fall afternoon on Mt Skinner overlooking the valley. We felt totally insulated from the outside world: quiet, calm and clear.

As happy as it may be, queer engagements are a trepidatious matter. Our crowd isn’t exactly traditional, so they certainly didn’t get too excited. We were pleased that we got a ‘congrats’ rather than a lecture. And our families run the gamut as far as acceptance. Overall it’s been a quiet affair, no one has really seemed to notice the ring, believe it or not. Our families seem happy, and if they aren’t I don’t think they would tell us which, I suppose, is the real blessing. But it’s hard to not share in the joy with those you love.

It feels particularly bittersweet in light of recent legislation, and notable admissions by politicians about gay marriage. I’d almost forgotten, living in Northampton (our liberal bubble), that queer marriage is still radical. Here, it’s largely considered passé.

But, we were sure about each other from the moment we came together, so for us it doesn’t seem so sudden or subversive. So, for now, we’ll patiently wait for the rest of the world to catch up.

a condensed timeline

Okay, so my promises haven’t exactly come to fruition… in regards to posting more often anyway. So much has been happening lately. My weekends have been booked solid between work and, well, work. No, there have been some other things…

My family came to visit from VA the weekend before last which was wonderful and exhausting. I actually cried outside their hotel room after saying goodbye. It’s becoming more and more difficult to live so far away the older I get. Not only was it great to see them but their visit was very constructive in regards to Xmas. It’s not so easy to observe casual admissions for gift ideas when you live so far away. And as a crafter you must know that September is never too early to start for Xmas.

I’m also glad to announce that I’ve been able to resurrect tuesdays craft night. Dara and I have been trying for a long time to get this off the ground, but have been forced to postpone for one reason or another. Most recently its been because of the poor puppy (10 year old puppy, actually). She tore her ACL when she was jumping up to greet me…absolutely heartbreaking. Alyx and I were afraid if we had company she would get too excited and re-injure herself. Despite our grave reservations it looks like surgery is in Lexy’s future. Her spirit, however, is very much intact and we are unable to keep her from her usual movements.

I’ve been working overtime trying to finish projects for webs to work up store credit but seem to be spending it before it accumulates too much. Oh, the yarn. I turned in my first garment, the Malabrigo Vergara vest, today. I’ll post pictures as soon as they’re on my computer.

Last weekend I was lucky enough to participate in a staff only rigid hettle weaving course. We made a scarf out of Sheep Shop 3 variegated yarn. The results are so lovely, but now I’m a little fixated on obtaining a loom. Sigh. Pics of that coming up too.

Speaking of overloading the craft wagon….Alyx and I went to the Garlic and Arts Festival in Orange, MA this weekend. I’m elated from the experience if only because I discovered some lovely roving to begin my first spinning experience. I’m eager to start immediately since I know the same woman, from Winter Berry Farm, will have a stand at the Franklin Fiber Twist and I’d like to get some more.

My next post, it seems, will be purely pictoral…

procrastination

okay, okay...i hereby promise to be less, ahem, tardy with my blog posting. or, at least i'll try. when last we spoke i announced my employment at webs, which has been my great preoccupation as of late. I literally dream yarn day and night. i work with yarn, i come home to search Ravelry for yarn and patterns and dream at night about stocking and stashing. if before i could not be verifiably obsessed it is now very noticeable to the outside world. i may as well be branded, wear a scarlet Y, it's official and damning.
as far as knitting goes i've been tangled up in work for webs: swatches and now a full vest. all for the glory of store credit. it will likely be followed by hours of hand wringing and circling about the store stroking yarn and mumbling to myself. it won't be pretty. my indecision is boundless in the name of books and yarn.
about a month ago i signed up for the ravelympics hastily and without great foresight to the consequence. for those who are not familiar with such an endeavor i will explain. ravelry, the great online community, hosted a contest of sorts to finish "events" or various fiber related projects for the duration of the olympics. i signed up to make an intricate tweed sweater for my girlfriend (i know, i know, curse be damned), despite my aching wrists. thankfully my joint pain has abated, but only after the time of the contest has passed. sigh. i gave it a good try.
pictures of projects will follow, i promise.

drumroll please...

....I am, starting next week, a new employee at Webs (otherwise known as yarn.com)!!!
I didn't want to say anything, as I didn't want to jinx the end result.
I'm not sure what else to say. I'm bursting with anticipation. Who needs a grown up job when you have yarn??

back to life

I haven't written in so long I'm not sure where to begin. There hasn't been a huge rash of knitting projects so I've hesitated posting. However, I have been cooking up a storm and finishing some projects that were lying around. I've picked up more hours at my part time job in order to make rent. Which is, you know, nice. But it doesn’t leave much crafty time.

The two main projects that I've finally bucked up to do finishing work on are my first ever sweater, The Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knits and Berroco's Brea Bag. Both are knit in Berroco Ultra Alpaca, which is seemingly my new yarn obsession. I have yet to get a photo I am satisfied with on either project but I will post them none-the-less.

This sweater is super warm (although this is July) and surprisingly bulky for its claims to be fitted and feminine. I suppose I'll have to move to a lighter weight yarn to achieve a more svelte result. (Sigh.) I also did not realize until completion of this sweater that this is the famed Elizabeth Zimmerman technique of no-seam sweater knitting. My introduction to knitting sweaters was energizing and exciting, I finished it in a matter of days. Then I realized that most every sweater is knit in pieces! What a rookie discovery that was. Next I ran to the library to check out sweater design books and anything that hinted towards knitting sweaters with no seaming. I will report back on my findings (this post is already too long). The upside is that I'm becoming more aware of the design of every project I touch which is opening up a whole world of self-designed knitting.

The Brea Bag knitted up in no time. But seaming is my least favorite activity by far. My early projects all involved seaming, as I was knitting flat on straight needles. But they all look jagged and Frankenstein-ey. Not my favorite look. This doesn’t look too bad though, I must be progressing after all.

My friend brought by some produce so I experimented cooking with beets, which is completely foreign to me. One batch is cooked with butter and nutmeg and the other with oil, lemon and balsamic vinaigrette. I seasoned lightly so the taste is subtle at best. I've never had fresh beets so I wasn't interested in masking the flavor.

I also invented a recipe: Orzo and Lentil Salad. Which I'm mighty proud of. I've made it a total of 3 times in the last month. It’s a hit with the girlfriend.

I eyeballed all the portions, but this is the basic recipe: equal parts lentil and orzo, 14oz canned tomatoes (half 28oz can), garlic and onion sautéed in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh basil, dab of pesto if you have it, and salt and pepper to taste. I soaked the tomatoes in balsamic for a couple minutes first just for some added flavor.

Other things I haven't taken pictures of have been various incarnations of soup, curries and pumpkin walnut cookies (vegan variety from Vegan with a Vengeance). And one more shared produce recipe: Zucchini Delight, (the recipe is from How it all Vegan).

So this is what I do when I'm not knitting. As you can see, strategizing to use every scrap of grocery items to save money has blossomed into such creativity.

My next project this week is the Razor Cami by ohmystars in Ella Rae Silkience. This yarn is amazingly soft. More details later, this post is already obnoxiously long.

desperately seeking inspiration

I hesitate to begin this blog during such a slump. What began as a convenient amount of time off after quitting my previous *draining* job has become a period of anxiety as my prospective job pool seems to be shrinking, rapidly. My expected time off was to be the month of June, which has not yet ended, but I am terrified. I have never allowed myself the luxury of "time off" and I fear the worst.

But I was supposed to be talking about knitting, right? right... So...This time off began with high hopes of productivity and relaxation...and it has been, but without new prospects I'm hitting a wall. This has unfortunately bled into my world of knitting, which is usually my solace.

I tore through my first sweater project, the Hourglass Sweater, in a week's time. To be followed by the Brea bag, which disappeared in subsequent record time, only to be followed by...nothing. I keep picking up yarn and changing my mind, settling on a project only to lose my needles or to have the incorrect yarn or to fail to find the pattern. I am genuinely lost.

For example: I bought the long coveted hand painted Misti Alpaca lace yarn only to realize the project i began would not serve it well and tore to the library to find the Interweave Knits Fall 04 for my second choice pattern only to find it missing. I began socks and realized I'd lost my dpns of appropriate size. What next? I am surrounded by knitting books, yarn and needles and can find nothing to knit!?

Sadly I am too broke to visit Webs, my eternal knitting mecca. I suspect I am left to the dreaded finishing work of my later projects, as i scour the paper/craigslist/etc for adequate employment. Wish me luck..