UrbanGypZ Blog

Sorry more bitching than stitching.
Okay this holiday meltdown thing is really cramping my daily life right now. I am operating on very little sleep. Have cut out the caffine to keep me from killing someone. I am not in the mood to knit anything. I know that things will be okay no matter what. And talking to a friend about my concerns helped. We ended up laughing about the whole thing. No can’t get out of it at this point and don’t want to–I have a very old grandparent that I need to see. Scheduled a massage this afternoon.
The knitting book is way behind and the big dog has made some changes that will put it further behind. I see some catchup happening over the holidays after I get back (we have off from Christmas eve thru New Years Day). So I doubt I will be able to blog again until after the first of the year. Happy holidays everyone, hope Santa is good to your stash.

Hooray for Stitich and Bitch!
I have been in a bit of a funk this week. Really just the typical holiday stress: running around like crazy getting last minute presents, getting ready to leave town, anxious over uncomfortable family dynamic that I will be facing. I was not going to go to stitch and bitch today at lunch because I had to hunt down a couple of gifts. Ended up making a couple of phone calls and did have my lunch free. No one was really stitching but we were hanging out. I felt much better after being around my knitting girlfriends. No real bitching. But just being with my low maintenance friends was nice.
Yesterday, the project designer was cleaning out his workroom. He left 3 back issues of Interweave Knits that I did not have in my mailbox. I am in knitting pattern heaven. There were several sweaters I want to make from them. I am trying to finish he back of the purple sweater before I leave. I really do not have that far to go, 20 rows maybe. I was able to get 12 rows cranked out in the staff meeting on Monday. You gottta love it, a company that encourages me to knit during staff meetings.

I really wish I knew where my digital camera was and I could set up my computer. I have been cranking on some knitting and would like to show it off. I have gotten really fast and I am sure I will be able to finish my purple color patterned sweater by the end of the holidays. I plan on spending a lot of time knitting while visiting the relatives. Especially Christmas day. I am in a much better mood. I took a Tox Away bath Friday night and have had a lot more energy. Amazing. I should be really PMSish right now. Spun up some wild wool I got at the SAFF. The yarn is beautiful. DAMN Where is that camera…

Not only do I need to set up my computer at home find my digital camera and post pictures of the sweet dog sweater that I finished for L’s dog Gypsy. I tmakes her look like an ice skater. Another crazy book deadline. I am waiting for my style sheets to be approved. It is going on 2 weeks. Right now I am proofing and tweeking color on the knitting charts. Not much to blog. I am not in a good mood and I am ready to strangle my editor.

Today is my one year anniversary as an Ashevillager. Yep The moving truck arrived at 10 pm in the pouring rain, me in tow. Feeling a little nostalgic and contemplative. My My how things can change in a year. No regrets. But I do miss the heck out of my friends. A lot of them have visited. Hope to make it back to Birmingham early next year to visit the buddies who can’t get to the hills to see me.

Not much to blog today. I have become addicted to knitting dog sweaters. It is all that acrylic yarn I got at the thrift store. As soon as I find my camera (it is in a box somewhere, d***it) I will take a picture of the big moosie in his new duds. I am working on a nordic turtle neck for him. Have given up on half thhe hand made Christmas presents I was hoping to complete. I will have a head start on next year. Correcting knitting charts for a book I am designing. Tedious but a nice break from the norm, got the latte, headphones I am good to go.

Snow on the weather pixie this morning.
Being the Southern girl that I am, I do not drive my 10 year old beach-trip car in this stuff. On patch of ice and it would roll. So I took the bus from my new digs for the first time. I was truly on the party bus. What fun. I will do it more often. Like Betsy I love having the 45 minutes knitting time. Worked on the Rowan wool socks for my cousin’s husband. Last night at Stitch and Bitch I helped L with Gypsy’s dog sweater. It is now a pink and yellow skirted sweater with flowers on it. She will loook like an ice skater. Evidently she and I made the local paper as we left a second hand store with our mother-load of cheap yarn. They were doing an article on how hip my new neighborhood is.
Waiting for the office manger to send those of us that showed up home. My firewood is calling me.

Today I am wearing a sweater my mom bought for me last year from Colorado. It is made with Colinette Point 5. It is one of my favorites. It came with a matching scarf, but the scarf is too thick. I am thinking I will unravel it and do something else with the yarn.
Thanksgiving was great. I left a day early to avoid the bad weather. Mom and I went to the yarn store
Got the last years Rowan magazine. Refrained from adding to the stash, although they had some great yarn on sale and lots of stuff I have never seen before. Mom decided to tackel the Age of Aquarius sweater from The Knitter’s Stash. I have made little progress on gift socks, knit a lot of dishcloths and knit past the collor pattern on my purple sweater. Itching to spin, but will not unpack my wheel until I get my livingroom in place. Maybe this weekend. I have got some yarn to spin for my stitch and bitch girls for Christmas!!

Hooray I am back in the ring!! Thanks Ivete.
It is cold an d snowing ever so slightly. I have a brand new pile of firewood and have big plans to burn a whole bunch of it this weekend. For 30 years My family has been eating Thanksgiving dinner with a close family of friends. I call it my 30th Annual stitch and bitch. The mom and now grown girls cross stitch and I have either knit or rolled bees wax candles. I am looking forward to that solid day of knitting time. Especially since I am down to the wire on the Christmas gifts. YIKES!!!!
I will definitly give my 2? on the books I have examined for work. Got to get the home computer plugged in!!!! I am in serious internet withdrawls.

What gives?
My blog has fallen off the knitting ring. Still getting 40+ hits per day so someone other than Mom has been stopping through regardless of not being in the que.
Started design of a new knitting book today. It is due out Fall 2003. It seems the big dogs are listening when I tell them there is a new generation of knitters. They have bought a lot of the compititions books for us to look at. I am in pattern heaven. Of course it helps that my lunch time stitch and bitch has grown.
It is exciting to see how everyone has moved on to their own projects. Three of the ladies are working together on a baby blanket they designed themselves. One lady picked some beautiful yarn anfor a great scarf. A friend from another group I host has taken to lace knitting and is experimenting with patterns she finds on the internet.
Been itching to spin, but really need to get the house settled a little more before I make more of a mess. Besides I have too many Christmas presents to finish before I start a new project.