25 December 2008

OMGWTFFO?!??!!!

lemonegg1

See, once in a while I do actually finish something. I bet y'all forgot about the LemonEgg shrug ages ago... and honestly, so did I until I was packing for the move and trying to decide what projects to work on this month and what could go to storage for a while. This had an hour or two of work left on it, so I put it in the "work" pile and finished it in front of the fire this evening. It fits well, aside from the sleeves being about two inches shorter than I wanted them to be. Still, it keeps my arms warm, so I'll probably wear it a fair bit this winter.

Now, back to the scarf I'd planned on giving to the boy today... except it's only half-finished. Whoops. Note to self: a scarf knit on size 4 needles goes much more slowly than you think it will.

22 December 2008

Delft

I know this is going to amaze all of you (it sure as heck amazes me), but... I do still knit. Look, I have proof!

delftmitten2

Okay, I admit that I finished this at SnB a month or two ago, but the stuff I've actually been knitting is not quite so exciting or photogenic. So I'm showing off the mitten instead.

delfmitten1

Look how pretty! And I designed it with the cunning use of graph paper! Pretty spiffy, eh? Now if I can just get its mate finished before the weather gets warm again...

Oh, wait, I'm living in Vermont now. No rush. ;)

Yeah, I'm reading all of the CT blogs about how y'all got a whopping 8 or 10 or 12 inches of snow over the weekend... we got about 20 inches up here. It's up to my knees. The boy says I'm becoming a snow snob. This will not surprise some of you at all.

Off to work on mitten #2. Any interest in me writing up a pattern? If enough people want it, I'll post it for free on Ravelry as soon as I finish writing it. Let me know!

17 December 2008

Wrapped, But Not Presents

I've been living in Vermont for about two weeks now, and life has kind of been kicking my butt. I haven't been sleeping well (my body is having trouble getting used to sleeping next to the boy on work nights), my computer crapped out and had to be replaced, and this morning I crashed my beloved PT Cruiser into a tree.

Before y'all get worried, I'm okay, no physical injuries to report. My car, however... well, let me tell you the story.

I made the mistake of trying to take the hilly-and-curvy-but-usually-faster road to work this morning, thinking that Vermont snow was just like Connecticut snow and that my car could handle it with no problem. Boy, was I wrong. I was going up a hill, lost momentum, allowed the car to gently slide (sideways-like) into a downhill-facing position, gingerly made my way back down the hill... and lost control (at 15 freakin' miles an hour, mind you) around a turn. I had just enough time to think, "crap, I'm gonna hit that tree," before the crunch. It's a darned good thing the tree was there, too, 'cause if it hadn't been, I would have gone over a 10-foot embankment and landed in a stream.

There are areas totalling about half a mile along my 20-mile route where my cell phone gets reception, and I was lucky enough to be in one of them when this happened, so I placed a surprisingly non-frantic call to the boyfriend and got out to survey the damage. The plastic bumper was ruined, the grille was damaged, and there was a strong smell of antifreeze, but nothing seemed to be leaking or burning, and the hood itself wasn't bent.

One of the cool things about Vermont is that when folks see someone stuck, they pull over to see what they can do. No sooner had I stepped out of my car than a very nice woman pulled up and asked if I was okay, expressing her regret that she lacked chains with which to pull my car off the tree. Once she established that I couldn't back the car away from the tree, but that I had the boyfriend standing by at home, ready to come rescue me with his pickup truck, she wished me luck and went on her way. A moment later I got to meet one of the hardworking West Dummerston plow drivers, who put down some salt just uphill from where my car was stuck so the boy's truck would have an easier time gripping the road when he pulled me out.

Before the boy could arrive, though, another friendly local with a pickup truck stopped and offered to unwrap my car from its tree, and I decided to take him up on it. As he was hooking up the chains, yet another friendly local pulled over to see if he could assist, and between the three of us we managed to get my car back on the road. I headed downhill to a spot where I could safely pull off to the side and get a better look at what got squished, and as I began the inspection, the boy pulled up. We determined that the bumper and grille were beyond repair, and the radiator was probably in bad shape, but the car was still driveable at that point.

You know conditions are bad when not only does the little PT Cruiser lose traction going up a hill on the dirt road that leads to our house, but so does the 4WD Silverado trying to pull the PT Cruiser. We finally gave up trying to get my car home and left it in the parking area at the bottom of the road. I had noticed that the temperature gauge had shot up and the gas gauge had shot down, so I didn't really want to drive the poor car anymore. Then began the phone calls.

Work, half a dozen mechanics, Dad, insurance, work again, and finally I was able to put the phone down and try to relax. The auto body shop sent its tow truck to retrieve the car, the insurance covers all but a $200 deductible and a rental (the boy's letting me use his truck for the duration), and the snow that caused all of this trouble is bloody beautiful.

I'm going to go take pictures of the snow now. And knit. There has been a painful dearth of knitting the last few weeks, and my hands are itching for some fibery fun.

02 December 2008

Movin' On Up

A note to those looking for the Greenery Hat pattern: both my webhost and my computer crapped out at about the same time, meaning even I don't have a copy of the pattern right now. As soon as I get my new computer up and running and transfer files from the old hard drive, I'll be listing the pattern as a free Ravelry download. Thank you for being patient. If any of you who already have the pattern would like to help out the folks who need it, feel free to email a copy to me (lilithparker at gmail dot com) and I'll post it ASAP. Thanks!

Edit: Mary saved my bacon! The Greenery Hat is now a free Ravelry download here!

So yeah, this moving thing. Oof. I have five and a half days to move my entire life from Connecticut to Vermont. It's going to be interesting, for sure. A lot of clothes and books will be going to Goodwill, and a lot of yarn and fiber will be sealed up to live in a storage unit for a few months.

For the curious among you (hi, Cheryl!), I'll be living near Newfane, VT, and working in Keene, NH. The new job is full-time, pays better than my current job, and is with a cozy little company that's been around since 1932. It's also just down the road from both JoAnns and Michael's, meaning it'll be a daily struggle not to shop for cheap yarn and fabric on my lunch break.

Oh, and check out proof that I still knit:

jaynehat

Cunning, ain't it?

So yeah, this is my last night in Connecticut. Tomorrow I have a half-day at work, and then the packing and moving begins. Wish me luck.