Yes, I’m alive as much as I really, really wish I wasn’t right now. The last 3 weeks at work have been hell, pure hell. The only thing keeping me going was my manta, “I’m going on vacation on September 18, I’m going to buy a whole mountain of the finest sock yarns in the world with the overtime.” It kept me going but barely at times. I’m still not sure if the overtime money will make up for lack of sanity (not that I have loads of it to begin with). Miraculously, no dumbass co-workers, auditors or just random victims have gone missing.
Oh, and on top of losing my sanity, I gained back 3 pounds of 25 pounds I managed to lose in the last five months. The weightloss has really suffered in the last month and I’ve hit the Pepsi way harder than I want to admit. So my goal for the rest of the month is to get back on track and hopefully lose the 3 pounds I lost and lose the remaining 25 between now and my birthday in February, figuring that the holidays are going to wreck some havoc into the equation.
On the knitting front, I’ve turned into a Cookie Monster. Ever since knitting my first pair of Monkeys, I have been completely hooked on Cookie A patterns:
I casted on Cookie’s Pomatomus Socks out of Fleece Artist’s new Trail Sock in Twilight:
Unfortunately, because the socks are basically 1×1 ribbing with the clever use of decreases and increases, they are incredibly slow for me to knit. It took me over a week to knit the first sock and the second is going slower. Well, okay, that’s because I forgot my sock at work twice this week. (I told it’s been a bad couple of weeks.)
So, because no self-respecting sock knitter can ever be without a sock on the needles, I dug into the stash, pulled out a lovely skein of STR Mediumweight in Moody Blues and casted on another Cookie A pattern: Hedera.
If Pomatomus is slower than molasses, Hedera is the exact opposite. I lazily knitted this much in one evening and could probably whip out the remaining sock in weekend without trying. I love how the stitch pattern is breaking up the pooling STR is notorious for.
And now every Friday, I’ve committed myself to knitting on the Pacific Islands Stole and only the Pacific Islands Stole regardless of how much the socks try to seduce me. My dedication has paid off; the first half is done and the second half is a 1/3 done:
There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and I’m pretty sure it’s not a train!
Yay! A post!!! Ok, now I’ll go back and read it, just had to say that first.
Ouch, you know it is a really bad week when you leave the knitting somewhere it shouldn’t be, but it must have been even worse than that to have left it at work, and not just the once.
I looked at Cookie A’s sock patterns on your recommendation, so it is all YOUR fault that I have been drooling over them, and trying to find that little extra wiggle room in my budget so I can buy one of the patterns. I am wearing the first pair of sock I have finished, and they feel so heavenly. I am starting to wish I didn’t have so many projects going all at the same time, so I could concentrate on finishing up my next pair.
That stole is gorgeous, and I love the colors on the socks.
Where are you going on vacation to? Hope you are able to de-stress and relax.
Working towards vacation makes it a little more worthwhile, having to put up with the people! Love the socks and I love your Pacific Islands – I hope to finish up my first half today – it’s such a nice knit.