Jon's Knit Blog

What Happened Today Was...

The only interesting story about today is that I felt crummy all day. But at some point late-ish in the day, while at work, I decided that what I really needed, after all the Advil and Dayquil and everything, was some iced coffee. And lo and behold, I felt fine for the rest of the day!

So, um, wish me luck with that whole going to sleep thing, you know...

Back in Business

I know. It was an unexcuable absence, even though I have plenty of good excuses. I simply had too much going on. My parents were in town, and I had a lot of work going on at my apartment (which is now fabulous) and worked a bit of overtime, too.

But now, I'm sitting in a comfy new chair about to go to sleep. And I actually just got through another row of Zauberflote, not to mention the couple inches I got through on a Koigu scarf that's on the proverbial back burner. And after so much time away from the wool, I have to say, it's really nice to knit again. At this point, the only challenge is that the new chair isn't exactly configured for knitting. At least not the way I knit. I probably just have to move my Ottlite to the other side of the chair but I was too lazy to get up and do that this evening. I imagine that I will one of these days. The chair also provides a slightly different angle of lap-creation, which means that there is, apparantly, less lap in which for Zauberflote to rest. And since she's continually growing, well, it's a challenge to just deal with that much volume of sweater. But I will persevere.

And the best part of this week? The dear baby for whom Rosetta was made, and her fabulous big brother will be coming to NYC on Wednesday, for five whole days, so that's just going to be a big party. And the fact that I'm going to get to go to London to visit them again in a month, well, that's just the icing on the cake!

The Peaks of Olympia

I know it's slightly cliche to jump on a bandwagon with over 800 people, but it just sounds like a great idea and a fun challenge. You're probably thinking, ooh, I wonder what wonderful complicated extravaganza Jon will make for the Knitting Olympics.

Well, I'll tell you.

It's boring and simple and it will be plain and gorgeous. There's a fabulous rich purple color of Malabrigo at Knit New York which goes perfectly with some amazing buttons I bought when I was in San Francisco (remember the buttons, Rach?). And I've really been into cardigans lately, and I'm envisioning a raglan/saddle shoulder sweater with a V-neck in plain ole stockinette stitch.

And if you think about it, those huge elaborate projects I do, like Rosetta or Zauberflote or even GGAAAA, well, they take forever. I can make a hat in a day, and I can make a baby sweater in three days. But making a Jon-sized sweater (I'm an XL right now, kids), not to mention a Jon-sized sweater that will actually fit, and doing it in 16 days, will be a challenging project. Especially since I'll be working full time and dealing with a few other personal projects the whole time. So I feel it'll be an feat on an Olympian scale.

Yay! And it gives me an excuse to buy some yarn that I really shouldn't buy. But I really have been looking for an excuse for it! Now, I just have to hope that they have enough in stock to fit me. Otherwise, I might have to use the royal purple silk/merino blend I have in my stash. But what fun is that?

Spinning, Too!

No, I haven't started spinning. (Yet?) But it has become famous - if this article in the New York Times is any clue.

I apologize for being to busy to have time to "seriously" blog. I know there was something I wanted to tell you but I'm too tired to be able to remember what it was. Don't you hate when that happens?

Boyz Night is Famous!

See!!!??!?

Too bad I couldn't be there the night the reporter came for this article. The one part I don't understand, though, is where the "Hot dog" mention comes from. I mean, it is around the corner from a Nathan's location, where I've been known to stop before Boyz Night, but I've never seen a hot dog in KNY. For whatever it's worth.

When You Come Home to TiVo

So I got home last night from my trip. Hooray. I was exhausted but I still wanted to watch "Desperate Housewives."

Only there was a tiny little problem. Which has happened before, and is a majorly annoying thing: My Cable box somehow turns itself off, and of course it had to do that at almost the beginning of my trip (not the first time this has happened, either). So when I came home, TiVo had recorded five days worth of black. I guess I should be happy it gets black rather thna fuzz, but, see, I really wanted "Desperate Housewives." So I just went to bed, and slept for 10 hours to recuperate from all the nights I was gone when I only got to sleep four hours... Yay! Now, I must find some coffee.

Anyhow, Happy Martin Luther King Day!

I Meant to Blog This

So the other day, back when I was still in the City, the local Presbyterian church not far from where I work had posted the topic of their upcoming sermon:

"Coming Out in the New Year."

Clearly, there was no way it meant what I thought it must mean...

Back to the convention! See you soon.

Wish You Were Here

Well, I promised that I'd try to get some time in on the blog while I'm here in Washington, DC. And even though I have to be up and functioning at 7:00am, here I am with a (short!) update for you.

I got here on Sunday. It was a nice flight - I slept for most of it. Luckily, I'd taken a seat on the left side of the airplane. Why luckily? Because when we were landing at National Airport, we flew right down the Potomac and had the most amazing view of all The Mall - post card picture perfect. On deplaning, I thanked the pilot profusely; he gave me a corny, "I did that just for you," which made me feel like a six-year old boy. Upon reflection, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

We had dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant in Georgetown which was fantastic. And again, like a six-year old boy - because at Ethiopian restaurants, you eat with your hands. Then I had some grown-up fun when I got back to the hotel room, watching that great episode of "Desperate Housewives." I loved that they got two gay kisses in! And I got three rows of Zauberflote in, too. Of course my knitting comes on the trips with me, even when it's a business trip!

Today, though, none of the boyish fun. Just work. And tomorrow will be more of the same.

Boyz Night Humor

Maybe it's only funny if you know New York City, but we were vastly amused last night when a guy walked into Knit New York expecting to be at The Knitting Factory. (For you know don't know, The Knitting Factory is a rock and roll club.)

There were lots of other topics, including Anderson Cooper and "Steel Magnolias." But my question is, why do I always seem to be more producitve when I am there than when I'm knitting at home? I got eight rows of Zauberflote done. I guess I knit faster when I'm not watching TV. Anyhow, I have 17 rows left before I get to the Front Neck steek. Exciting!

I leave in the morning to go to Washington DC for a week on business. It will be a light week with regard to both knitting and blogging. But hopefully I'll be able to pop online and say hello once or twice. Stay tuned to find out!

And when I get home from the trip, I promise another photo of Zauberflote. And just think, soon, you'll get to see a photo of the whole body of the sweater!

Words Fail Me

I'm not a dog person (I have allergies). But you who are dog people may get a big kick out of this article from the New York Times on Dog Sweaters. I was just sort of surprised that they didn't mention the topic of hand-knits for puppies.

Oh my.

Dewey Defeats Truman!

It was pretty horrid to be walking around the City this morning and see so many papers with "ALIVE" as banner headline even though all but one of the miners in question had died. And probably about a zillion bloggers have already commented on this but I haven't read any blogs yet today, so I feel entitled.

It is odd to see headlines like that which are just... wrong. And I hope it's a long time before we get another one.

So what's going on in my life? Well, there's no knitting going on around here. What is going on is that we're making my apartment into a nicer place. I found a great lamp today, and bought some paint, too! We're going to get things looking nice in here, and soon you won't see knitting photos taken on the striped sofa anymore, because it's going byebye!

And we're watching a bit of Television. The weird thing that happened while I was watching "Scrubs" tonight is that I discovered than an actor who I thought I had read committed suicide is actually alive and well and still acting. So that was a nice thing!

The other new thing is a new anti-depressant which is causing a few annoying side effects (vomiting at 2am, anyone?) but hopefully that will calm down soon - the doctor said it could take a few days to get used to it. Not fun, but hopefully worthwhile!

And, well, that's it for now...

Wow, It's Next Year!

Wanna hear my New Year's Resolution?

I am going to make sure that if I'm sending an email and I refer to an attached document, that I actually attach said document before I send the email.

Zauberflote is beginning the New Year with 24 rows before the start of the Front Neck steek. Thrilling, huh?

I'm exhausted, I've been working way too much, and I have much too much to do the next few days, so you'll have to pardon me that I'm beginning my 2006 blogging efforts in such a lame fashion. But I promise that things of wonder and excitement will come, and I promise more than one F.O. Seriously. Promise!