Wipe out!
G'day all!
Things are pretty stressy around here. Nathan is having regular hissy fits and I am taking them all too seriously, which is not good for me (or him).
Can you believe that the photographer has already been here taking shots of the house? We only found out on Wednesday like two days ago that the place is for sale. And the poor photographer was whinging cos he couldn't get a good picture, particularly of the inside. Quelle surprise! This ain't Changing Rooms or Queer Eye or a place that has been being dolled up for six months for the photographs and the sale. This is a dumpyish old house that needs a lot of care - it hasn't been painted in at least 7.5 years inside or out (except for two rooms), the inside is mostly APRICOT (which the landlord thinks is lovely), the previous owner used softwoods on twiddly external bits that are out in the rain and they have rotted. Its contents tend to be hand me downs or bits of Ikea furniture. It ain't classy and they only told Nathan about the photographs - he didn't tell me and there is little I could do in an hour anyway. Plus do I really care? Two developers have already looked at it and will not offer $440K cos they can't make that much out of it since it is only big enough for two townhouses. The landlord might have to suck on getting less than he hoped for. And he has fractured the relationship he had with his good, long term tenants.
I *still* haven't taken any pics of the stuff I've spun recently. I reckon that I should get some socks on the needles properly cos with the stress level as it is, I'd whiz straight through them in about 10 minutes (I have two toes cast on but I am using the needles for the second handwarmer so the socks are on hold, literally). I knit fast when I am stressed, but I don't knit neatly. Liesel continues apace on the train, except for yesterday when I didn't do a yarn over six rows down and couldn't figure out what I had done wrong until I ripped her back. So on the train yesterday, I did 4 rows, ripped two, did two, ripped four, and then ended up knitting just two rows all up for about 10 rows input! Today was much better - being awake helps! (Surprised?) I reckon I got four repeats done. I also think I'll have to use a bit of a second skein of L&L to make the scarf what I call a good length - currently it is a little shorter than I need and I am getting close to the end of the ball.
Today's recommendation
If you are reading a chart and you suddenly freak and think you've been doing it all wrong, check the chart. Is it upside down? Upside down suddenly changes a lot of things, including the direction of the decreases, etc. Not that I would do anything silly like that, not me! NEVER! (Maybe a little bit.)
Why do I still need the chart after about 17 repeats? Cos I only usually get to do one repeat per train journey and that isn't enough practice to set the pattern in stone. Plus I only usually get about 20 minutes knitting time in, alongside daydreaming out the window. But today I flew! Four repeats!
But it is a very nice pattern, MJ. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Tomorrow should be good. I am going to the Geelong Fibre Fest for the morning. I am going to be good, though if they have any fibre there that is a high percentage silk mixed with something else, I am likely to get some. I love spinning it and other people love it too. They might even buy it from me, if I ever get my act together and get it online.
However, my act is going to be based on sorting stuff and packing stuff over the next month or so. I am going to hold off on packing yarn and fleece for as long as possible, since they are my favourite toys, alongside the computer. We have plenty o books and lots of stuff we have both been hanging onto cos "it might come in handy one day" (and usually does after you throw it out, having not used it in five years).
So my blogging might be a little irregular for the next while until we get some certainty back in our lives.
anon!
Things are pretty stressy around here. Nathan is having regular hissy fits and I am taking them all too seriously, which is not good for me (or him).
Can you believe that the photographer has already been here taking shots of the house? We only found out on Wednesday like two days ago that the place is for sale. And the poor photographer was whinging cos he couldn't get a good picture, particularly of the inside. Quelle surprise! This ain't Changing Rooms or Queer Eye or a place that has been being dolled up for six months for the photographs and the sale. This is a dumpyish old house that needs a lot of care - it hasn't been painted in at least 7.5 years inside or out (except for two rooms), the inside is mostly APRICOT (which the landlord thinks is lovely), the previous owner used softwoods on twiddly external bits that are out in the rain and they have rotted. Its contents tend to be hand me downs or bits of Ikea furniture. It ain't classy and they only told Nathan about the photographs - he didn't tell me and there is little I could do in an hour anyway. Plus do I really care? Two developers have already looked at it and will not offer $440K cos they can't make that much out of it since it is only big enough for two townhouses. The landlord might have to suck on getting less than he hoped for. And he has fractured the relationship he had with his good, long term tenants.
I *still* haven't taken any pics of the stuff I've spun recently. I reckon that I should get some socks on the needles properly cos with the stress level as it is, I'd whiz straight through them in about 10 minutes (I have two toes cast on but I am using the needles for the second handwarmer so the socks are on hold, literally). I knit fast when I am stressed, but I don't knit neatly. Liesel continues apace on the train, except for yesterday when I didn't do a yarn over six rows down and couldn't figure out what I had done wrong until I ripped her back. So on the train yesterday, I did 4 rows, ripped two, did two, ripped four, and then ended up knitting just two rows all up for about 10 rows input! Today was much better - being awake helps! (Surprised?) I reckon I got four repeats done. I also think I'll have to use a bit of a second skein of L&L to make the scarf what I call a good length - currently it is a little shorter than I need and I am getting close to the end of the ball.
Today's recommendation
If you are reading a chart and you suddenly freak and think you've been doing it all wrong, check the chart. Is it upside down? Upside down suddenly changes a lot of things, including the direction of the decreases, etc. Not that I would do anything silly like that, not me! NEVER! (Maybe a little bit.)
Why do I still need the chart after about 17 repeats? Cos I only usually get to do one repeat per train journey and that isn't enough practice to set the pattern in stone. Plus I only usually get about 20 minutes knitting time in, alongside daydreaming out the window. But today I flew! Four repeats!
But it is a very nice pattern, MJ. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Tomorrow should be good. I am going to the Geelong Fibre Fest for the morning. I am going to be good, though if they have any fibre there that is a high percentage silk mixed with something else, I am likely to get some. I love spinning it and other people love it too. They might even buy it from me, if I ever get my act together and get it online.
However, my act is going to be based on sorting stuff and packing stuff over the next month or so. I am going to hold off on packing yarn and fleece for as long as possible, since they are my favourite toys, alongside the computer. We have plenty o books and lots of stuff we have both been hanging onto cos "it might come in handy one day" (and usually does after you throw it out, having not used it in five years).
So my blogging might be a little irregular for the next while until we get some certainty back in our lives.
anon!
Landlords can be a pain!!! I bet you'll land somewhere better in the end, just look at it as an opportunity. I am having the same experience with the Liesel. I just do a pattern repeat here and there, and haven't memorized it.
ReplyDeletei know exactly how you feel (except i wans't there 5 years). the bad part for us was that the landlord decided HE wanted to use it as an apartment when he was working late (it was an apartment above a legal office, the owner was the lawyer in the office). and i was 5 months pregnant when we moved (why do i always end up moving while pregnant? i think i moved pregnant with all but one, and he was 5 days old!). think of it as a vertical move. find a nicer place! better yet, see if you can find a land contract, or a rent-to-own! good luck hon.
ReplyDeleteYou'll find a better place, don't worry too much about it!
ReplyDeleteThe pattern needs attention because the wrong side is not just straight purl. I didn't memorize it but I did use a post-it to mark my rows!
- MJ