I Just Flew In From New York...

...and boy are my arms tired!

No, I didn't go anywhere, but I was thinking about that joke earlier as I was working out. I'm embarrassed to admit that I had to have that joke explained to me the first time I heard it...but I was just a child, so don't jump to conclusions about my intelligence. I am an intellectual GIANT, I swear.

Haha. :-P

Thank you to those of you who indulged me and my rant in the last post. I was feeling a little bad about it, but the reality is that nothing I said is untrue, so I'll let it be. I have more to say on the matter, but I stuck it at the end of the post so you can find it there if you're interested. If not, fair enough: read on.

In actual knitting content: Look! Lots of birds! I finished the body up to the armholes on Saturday and started the first sleeve yesterday. I am pleasantly surprised by how quickly this is moving. I'm happy about that because I'm expecting the first Year of Lace shipment at the end of the week (can't. wait.) and I don't want this to fall by the wayside. I'm also excited to have it finished in time to wear in the skin-boiling weather this summer. (Kidding! This thing is a long-sleeved wool sweater. In San Diego. Yes, I am a huge dork.)

I was also the excited recipient this morning of the first yarn I earned from J. Knits. I'm not lying (or getting paid) when I tell you that they have some very lovely yarn. Plus, they have been super cool to work with, and I can't stress enough how fantastic that has been. First up: I ordered two skeins of their Lace-a-licious 100% alpaca lace yarn in the Minneapolis and Vermont colorways. I was expecting the Minneapolis color to be a darker, murkier teal like it is on their website, but it is a deep and vibrant teal instead. Not exactly my color, but since I never end up keeping any of the lace I knit (again, I am a huge dork), I don't mind too much.

I also got two skeins of their Superwash Me - Light Sock yarn in the Michigan and AC-136 colorways. I ordered these specifically to make Tempest, but I have to admit that I am disappointed with the AC-136. The color photo on their website makes it look like it has variegated grays along with the purples. But the skein I got has no grays at all, and instead looks like a flat natural color. The two do not go together at all, especially since the Michigan is less variegated than I was expecting (but still quite beautiful--I like it a lot).

So now I'm left with a conundrum, and maybe an opportunity? I like the yarn itself. I like the black skein. I want the purple/natural skein to work with it. Dare I overdye the skein? I have never dyed yarn before, so this would take a little experimenting. If I ordered some black dye and a skein of bare yarn (for practice) from Knit Picks, would I be able to acheive the desired results? I know the purple would get darker too, but I'm fine with that. I would hate to have this purple skein sitting around because it is very nice yarn and I can't imagine what else I would do with it. I'm not a huge variegated fan and I don't knit socks. So...any opinions? Pointers? Leann, you dye lovely stuff: do you have any expertise to offer me?

Wow, this post is much longer than I expected it to be. Sorry for that, and thanks for sticking with it! :)

The Rant (cont'd)

If I have to admit it, I am a bit bitter about the job situation at present. Every couple of months, a job comes along for which I match the requirements perfectly, would fit in line with my career goals, and which sounds interesting to me. I apply, but then I never hear anything. I was hoping to hear last Friday about a job that I am well-suited for, but Friday came and went and today came and went, and I never heard anything. I'm actually toying with the idea of putting my money where my mouth is and opening my own online yarn shop, since I seem to have some pretty strong ideas about how things should be run! ;-) (Any and all thoughts about that crazy idea are appreciated.)