Ah, Youth

For the last few days I've been doing lots of freelance writing and editing. Usually it's not always the most adrenaline-inspiring work (maybe qualitative research trade magazines get some folks' blood pumping, but not mine), but this weekend I had the fun task of writing little bio blurbs for some high-school soccer players.

I was commissioned to write and design a little booklet for the graduating seniors that will be distributed on Saturday as part of a little recognition event the school does. I was working from a stack of questionnaires the players filled out so I could have ideas about what to say about them. I've never met any of these players nor do I know anything about soccer, so I'm a perfect choice for the task, eh?

Well, clearly some of these fellas don't know who they're dealing with, because I pride myself on my fact-checking. So when I saw the name "Peter North" appear as several of the players' personal heroes, I started wondering. A Google search later, and I discovered that Mr. North was none other than a rising star in the adult film industry. Ha ha, boys.n (I realize that all my talk of adult films, etc. could bring some interesting folks to my blog. Welcome!)

When all is said and done, I had a delightful time writing sincere, yet also slightly mocking blurbs about some of these guys. I mean, they're just so pompous they need to be made fun of! And when a couple of the parents reviewed my first draft of the booklet today, it not only passed muster, but they liked what I did.

Gee, this all sounds boastful. But really I just had so much fun with it, that it's still in the forefront of my mind.

Well, I'm outta here. I've got 17 minutes to get to my weekly knitting class.

Cheap Thrills

I got my fall Patternworks catalog early this week. I don't know about other yarn lovers, but anytime I get a new yarn catalog, I simply can't let it go.

Usually for the first two weeks I have it, it sits on the kitchen table within easy reach so that I can browse every morning as I eat my bowl of cereal. And even though I may have already thumbed through the pages 20 times, I still find something new and fascinating to capture my attention.

It's not good for my Must-Have-o-Meter, however, since these days tight budget restraints limit our household spending to just the essentials. So while my heart yearns for new fabulousness, the moths hanging out around my wallet keep me realistic.

I'm sure anyone who has eyes has noticed the shopping malls bursting with ponchos this year, and Patternworks shares it own offering of patterns for the armless pull-overs. But it was the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk book that most captured my attention. I love the jacket, named Lara, I show today.

Though I've not yet had the pleasure of handling the Baby Alpaca Silk yarn, I have been really wanting to try a garment using alpaca yarn, so maybe this will be it.

I Hope This Isn't Becoming Habitual

I've been a blog slacker lately, it would seem. I won't feel too bad about it, though, since I'm putting in so many hours at work I miss my husband and I miss my dog, who get top priority these days.

Anyway, what do you think of the new color scheme for my house? The old tan palette was never my favorite, and I'm such a color girl that I wanted to leave the beiges behind as much as I could. So, green and cream it is. Both sets of next-door neighbors have given us their sign of approval (which was appreciated, but not a requirement), so now we just have to finish painting the sides and the back of the house, and the entire garage.

In knitting news, I went to my first knitting class of the season. It's not really a class, but more of a two-hour knitting social with some friendly and fiber-loving kindred spirits from around town. I'm continuing to work on my blue-and-white ChicKami, which is feeling really satisfying right now.

A Week Come and Gone

Whew! How the time does fly.

I spent the last week prepping for a wedding shower I held for my friend at my humble abode. Scott and I were painting the exterior of the front our house like fiends so that it wouldn't be a crazy mess of new and old colors. I'm really sold on the new look: We traded in tan-and-tan for green-and-cream.

The shower went just beautifully. I made some yummy treats, which I was very proud of. But mostly, it was a great day spent honoring my friend and her big next step.

This is the big news for today, though: I've decided that me and the November 11 craft sale just aren't meant to be. When I sat down and did the math, I figured I'd have to complete 2.5 scarves or more a week to build up enough inventory to make it worth my while. Otherwise, I'd look Miss Dork sitting at a table with two finished scarves.

I'll also take it as a sign that the day after I made my decision, the non-profit organization within my company sent out a call to all knitters and crocheters for donated yarn, finished handmade scarves, or time to make new ones to be sold at the craft fair. All proceeds would benefit the foundation, which in turn supports other employees who find themselves in need of a helping hand.

I'll probably help out in some way with that. I also wondered if it wouldn't appear selfish of me to have my own table selling the same wares as the foundation, but for profit.

Scarf-o-Rama

So I wanted to post pictures of the plethora of scarves I'm knitting up for the craft sale, but due to some system difficulties, it's a no-go today.

Even if I decide that I won't be able to have enough scarves knitted in time for the craft fair, and therefore can't participate, this whole experience is suiting me just fine. It's allowing me to start a bunch of projects at once, switch between them at will, and experiment with lots of different techniques and patterns.

I'm liking most of what I'm creating, though there is one scarf that could challenge my ability to love it. I wanted to get wild and crazy and stripe one, but the colors I chose just aren't meshing as well as I hoped they would. (That may be the last time I buy yarn for striping purposes online because of the iffy color accuracy through my monitor.)

I'm working three scarves on one needle right now, which seemed like a good idea at first. But since they're made from an Eros-type railroad yarn, the strands just keep gnarling up. I'm spending more time on detangle duty than knitting.

I started another scarf out of a thin cotton-rayon blend in an extraordinary variegation of earth tones. I may have a hard time giving that one up. I'll try to post the photos soon.