Tricotomania and more

I have recently become unemployed. I was on a term contract that ended on April 1 (end of the fiscal year). I knew it would happen and although I was somewhat frustrated at the seeming lack of appreciation for my skills and talents in the organization, I was kind of ready to go. The analysis phase of the project was pretty well done and while there was other work to do, I could see how our little team weren’t necessarily going to get to do it.

Now, I had an interview for another job on March 11. That interview went really well. How often do people say ‘Wow that was an excellent answer’ in job interviews. Not often. But they did. Anyway, they took a while to get back to me. The director went on holiday before they made a decision. yadda yadda So yesterday I receive one of those HR regrets letters. There are only so many versions of that letter. You must have received one of them.

As Cate says, I can thank them later for launching my fabulous consulting career. Which I have been working on due to the length of time it took them to make a decision. As of today, I’m trying to work out whether I can earn enough money from this to make it my only thing. That will involve determining what ‘enough money’ is. My partner reminds me that it includes the cost of wool, fibrefestivals, and associated stuff.

So far, this thing is working out well. I might be really busy in May. We’re working on dates. And those further away are working on getting me some more work near them so they can pay a smaller proportion of my travel expenses. I’m feeling quite confident. Keep your fingers crossed.

Of course there is a more boring side to all of this. I’m going to a seminar for people starting a small business that the Canada Revenue Agency runs. I need to learn about GST (goods and services tax). I should really do a business plan. I really need a better office chair, with arms, so I don’t do myself a major injury typing… I must see my graphic designer buddy and get some business cards and stuff done.

So far, partly because I was still thinking this might be an ‘on the side’ business rather than my main occupation, I’ve been striking a pretty good balance between trying to set up some work and doing lots of knitting. My digital camera doesn’t like OS-X so no photos, I’m afraid (I’m really not cut out for this blogging thing, am I?).

I’ve made substantial progress on the peacock feathers shawl. (pattern on the fiddlesticks site if you want to see what I’m aiming for) I’m about to start the edging pattern. I have 446 stitches in a row (having finished row 224). There are 250 rows in the whole shawl and it will end up with 495 stitches. It is looking mighty impressive and I still have 3 balls of wool left so I think I’m okay with that.

I’ve also designed and started a cotton shell for Freya. Designing involved measuring a top she has in the drawer that fits her well (adding length, that kid is long in the body) and finding a colourwork pattern I liked out of a Dale pattern book I had lying around. I swatched that pattern twice (on one swatch with a purl turning row and moss stitch bands and then made it into a little purse for her since otherwise I think swatches seem like a horrible waste) and then did a third arrangement of the colours on the final thing. I probably should have done that colourwork band on slightly larger needles to mitigate the tendency to pull in but I’m not ripping it back now. It’s looking good. The yarn is Sock It To Me Esprit cotton with elastic from Elann. It is sport weight, stretchy, comes in nice colours and won’t droop like cotton often does. It is also really soft. I’m liking it. But then I like knitting with cotton.

I’ve also started a stripy sock using stash yarn. it is turning out well. I’m doing the Stashbuster Spirals which are cool but I started before I knew how long the foot was (they’re for a friend’s GF) and had to rip back. That is a bit tricky but I managed.

Now if I could work out how to knit a business plan, I’d be away.

Well, I went to see the Yarn Harlot at my LYS last week. It was fun. Her book is fun too, though my partner complains that it is hard to get to sleep while I’m chortling in bed.

I realize that I have a completely insignificant stash. I have tried to explain to my partner that I have an embarrassingly small stash by the standards of the knitters I hang out with in cyberspace. Embarrassing. It fits in a Holst box from IKEA (a size they don’t seem to stock any more or here but it is a cube about 2 feet on all dimensions not the more rectangular one). Well, it isn’t quite true to say it fits in this box. Some of my stash spills out on the floor around the box (which doubles as an end table so it is easy access to the sofa). But not enough so you’d notice (my partner notices but you wouldn’t because you would be focused on how embarrassingly small the stash is).

I’m thinking of starting a new kind of stash. A gift stash. I do not suffer from the Xmas pressure difficulties of many other knitters. This is mainly because I can’t see the point of buying gifts for the sake of buying gifts. Particularly for an occasion which has no significance to me other than we have celebrated it all my life. I left the church when I was 19. I’m now over 40. I contemplate theological questions from time to time but I’m not religious. I also think that most of my friends are very well off comparatively speaking. We don’t need to accumulate more stuff. We need to appreciate what we have.

I’m all for meaningful gifts though. And I sometimes resent the fact that I can’t just give them when I see something I think someone would love. I do sometimes. Close friends understand that I may not send a birthday card (much less a gift) but they might get something really nice at a random time of year.

There are also occasions I think worthy of making an effort. A friend had brain surgery in November. It wasn’t emergency surgery so there was time to prepare (emotionally and otherwise). I knit hats. And a shawl. She appreciated them greatly. I loved knitting them. I have even forgiven her for washing the shawl after a later hospital stay (one that involved vomit, so I understand about the washing) and shrinking it into a very fetching felted capelet.

So the gift stash. I’ve recently knit a pair of Natalya wristers (google them or check Norma’s blog for a link; the pattern is nice). I was thinking of a particular recipient though I might change my mind. But I knit them now as a kind of pseudo-swatch for an aran sweater. I’ve also been making beaded stitch markers. I’ve been enjoying making them but have no idea what to do with them. Some have already gone to a friend but other friends might also like them.

And I often need to think of a project when I see yarn I like. And I buy a colour for a particular person, usually me which means a lot of purple would get purchased. Except that I realize I can’t only buy purple and then a bunch of navy blue gets in there. My stash has a lot of navy blue in it right now mainly because I actually knit with the purple. So if I think about buying yarn that someone else will like I get sidetracked into what occasion I might knit them something for and whether I want to knit it badly enough to get it done by then. You can see where that is going.

And then there is the desire to knit particular kinds of thing. Like lace. Often as shawls or scarves. But I’m not much of a lacy person, really. So I feel like I need to think of someone to knit it for before I can begin. I’m getting better at just knitting but you can see the problem.

The gift stash seems to give me a way to do these things without a particular person or occasion in mind. The added bonus is that when an occasion comes up, there will be stuff around that I can give. However, I think launching the gift stash will actually have the effect of increasing my yarn stash. I’m going to need more boxes that double as end tables. Or at least more boxes. The upside of this is that I won’t need to be embarrassed about my stash.

I will need a job though.

Update Tuesday morning:

I’ve now realized that apparently I should have another kind of stash. The list I’m on had a discussion about a stash of needles after one of our members lent some to her grandma and was having trouble getting them back. Luckily, one can enhance this stash cheaply, apparently, by hanging out in thrift shops. Who knew?

So, maybe somebody other than Cate is reading this now but I’m tempted to give her an enabler of the year award. Or maybe just enabler of the month. She very kindly sent me an invitation of blog on a piece of her site since she’s been after me to blog for a while now. And she’s been VERY VERY encouraging about the whole consulting thing. I’m scared to tell her that I’m quite fascinated by the fair isle sweater. Oh, I did that.

I don’t think that will happen soon though. I’m one of those odd folks that actually likes to knit with cotton. And I have quite a bit in the stash. And the weather is warming up. So fairisle will be put on hold (for ever, possibly) and I will concentrate on the numerous cotton projects-in-waiting. That pile is now bigger as a bought a bunch of that stretchy cotton from Elann (Sock it to me, Esprit) recently thinking tops for my daughter and maybe even for me (though the african violet isn’t really the colour I was thinking of), and possibly some socks…

But now I’m wondering if maybe Stephanie (of Yarn Harlot; I still haven’t worked out how to get links in here but I’m sure you know where to find her) is in contention. I went to see her and get her to sign a copy of her book in my LYS today. She arrived in town around noon, apparently, and the local book sales rep picked her up. I saw her and the rep at 6 p.m and the rep was knitting. Apparently, she had started in the other store at 2 ish. Hell, getting someone knitting for the first time within 2 hours of meeting them. THAT is enabling.

She was nice, BTW. both the rep and Stephanie.

I did some mattress stitch on that aran. And am now knitting the collar (1×1 ribbing for ages) which I can do while watching CSI. Sorry no photos. My digital doesn’t like OSX and I don’t have and AC adaptor (purchased in the UK, now in Canada) so that is a bit of a PITA. I’ll take pictures sometime. Just not today.

Cate has been bugging me to start blogging and is such a good enabler that she has even kindly set me up a guest account. It would be rude to turn her down. So I’m trying this for a bit.

I’ve recently become unemployed which gives me time for this. I was on a term contract which came to an end. I’m not that upset about it, really. I was a bit upset about the lack of concern senior managers seemed to have for the continuity of the important work I was doing. But in the end, at least my own manager acknowledged that my work was excellent and he thought the decision not to put resources into continuing this work was not something he fully supported.

Now I did have an interview back on 11 March for another very interesting job. The interview went really well. Twice, the interviewers made comments like ‘that was an excellent answer’. But their communication skills are seriously lacking. Because I’m an assertive type (or try to be), I have contacted them a couple of times enquiring on their timetable. So I now know that the senior person to whom I would be reporting is on holiday for 3 weeks and they have delayed a decision until she comes back. So no news expected there until the end of the month.

In the meantime I am exploring consulting opportunities. I’ve been busy writing up a flyer and contacting people to arrange to go out for coffee and see what is going on in their organizations. The big secret about networking is that it is all about drinking coffee (or beer), and eating lunch. All you folks who routinely eat lunch at your desk are missing potential networking opportunities. Even apparently little things like how fast finance processes your invoices can be improved by the fact that the folk in that office know who you are because they see you in the coffee room.

I am actually pretty excited about these consulting opportunities and this is pissing me off a bit. Because my plan was to treat this week as a bit of a holiday and spend lots of time knitting. So I’m trying to balance that. I’ve started the Peacock Feathers shawl from Fiddlesticks Knitting (you’ll have to google that until I work out how to add HTML to this thing). It is remarkably calming. I think I must be crazy. Knitting complicated lace is calming. It is also inspiring me to make beaded stitch markers. As one of my friends would probably say “Isn’t that a bit too drag queen for you?” but apparently not. the lace and the fibre (baby alpaca and silk from Elann) is just too nice for icky plastic stitch markers. Luckily I have a 7 year old with beading supplies.

In other knitting news, the aran sweater I’m knitting for the 7 year old (I’m almost 8 MOM.) is almost done. I am uninspired by the mattress stitch required to take it to the next stage but basically, it needs a sleeve sewn on (including a saddle shoulder) and then I can pick up stitches for the shawl collar, then I need to sew the underarms and she can wear it. I should prioritize that for this week. The weather is about right for that.

Nothing else on the needles. This mulling in my head: a pair of stashbuster spiral socks in blues and greens that I have in the stash; a stripey cardigan in Mission Falls 18/24 Cotton, requiring substantial swatching of stitch patterns and stripe sequences and then planning as a top down raglan (possibly with steeked centre for a zipper closing); summer tops for the little one in some sport weight cotton with a bit of lycra that I got from Elann (also possible socks); Ribby Tank (from chicknits.com) for me in navy Jo Sharpe Soho cotton; and there is some linen in the stash to make that cabled sweater (pattern not here but there was some discussion over at feral knits the other day).

Enough of this. I will try to have better thoughts next time. And work out the hyperlinks and photos and whatnot.