Saturday, August 25, 2007

General Ramblings

Fibrey stuff first.
Because I am sometimes a brain-dead moron, I joined another thing that forces me to make stuff on a deadline. Lucky for me, this time it's just socks.


These are my August socks for SAM4. My usual plain 56 stitch sock with a lark's eye heel just to keep me from slipping into a coma. They're Sweet Georgia in a yarn and colourway I can't remember and the label has long since disappeared into that strange void where all the stolen dryer socks reside.
There's also new spindley goodness.


It's a KCL made out of maple with the whorl and finial dyed a greenish colour. Customs had it so long that I thought they were gonna keep it. Almost a month and they opened it. I'd love to know what they thought it was for. Maybe that's why they kept it so long.
You may have noticed the poll in the sidebar. If it seems a little pointed this time, that's 'cause it hits pretty close to home. One of our next door neighbors is a complete and utter idiot. He works shift-work and, I suppose, that makes it hard for him to sleep some nights. At least once a week, on a weeknight, he's out in his backyard chopping wood at about 1 am.
He does this on a concrete block patio in a (mostly) quiet residential neighborhood. We don't live in the back and beyond here, it's not quite city, but it's definitely not wilderness.
The noise is loud. Very loud. It is sometimes accompanied by drunken hoots and laughter. As he enjoys weekday wee hours of the morning partying. I lie in bed some nights waiting for him to chop of a toe, or something more necessary, and try to decide if I would help him or not. I know I'd feel guilty if I didn't help him, but maybe it would fade quickly with the quality sleep I would be getting in his absense.
Tough call.
Despite a distinct lack of sleep, things are going reasonably well around here on almost all fronts.
The designing thing is really revving up. Things are happening at a pretty break-neck speed. To say I wasn't prepared for this would be a gross understatement. But this seems to be the way my life has always gone along. I haven't ever really had a career as such. I went to university for a couple of years taking Kinesiology, went to college for a few years learning to build instruments and now the courses in knitting and spinning I've been taking seem to be leading me in another direction.
This road has never been dull. I've met athletes, musicians and creative geniuses. I've always been in the background, but it's still been pretty bloody cool. I wouldn't trade it for a stable desk job that paid me buckets. No way. I do wonder though, how these things always seem to just "happen" to me. I never go looking for it, it just lands on my plate and I have to decide whether to go for it or let it go by.
I'm not a "let it go by" kinda gal. I usually give it a good kick at the very least.
Right now, designing is getting a good kick. I've been getting great feedback and amazing support. Who would have thought there'd almost be more test-knitters than patterns?! WTF? And the ideas just keep coming.
Very cool.
I never would have guessed this was the next phase.

6 comments:

Jacqui said...

that spindle is lovely- like a jolly elven mushroom! perhaps they were afraid you were trying to import food?


don't forget- you have untapped testknitter resources here in Tennessee!

Anonymous said...

Cool spindle, tell me about the bird.

Melanie said...

Very cool spindle! I hope your neighbour gets a brain for Christmas. I'm glad to hear the designing thing is gaining momentum.

What's the story behind the bird?

Vicki said...

KCL? I like it, but what's it all mean?

Denise said...

Cool spindle!

What's the story behind the cool crow (raven?) photo?

Having experienced your neighbor in person I think that you are a very patient neighbor. Can't you call the police when he's noisy late at night? Surely there must be noise ordinances?

Also having 'met' him, it was very hard to make a selection in the blog poll!

Lorena said...

Dang, the poll was closed by the time I got my lazy blog-checking ass over here. I would totally vote for going for the camera. Heh.