Tweedy Crafty Skirty

Yay! I made something today!

I pulled something in my neck a day or so ago, and therefore am taking off from the gym, but I was feeling pretty lazy today so I decided to make a skirt. I bought this amazing orange tweedy wool fabric from Mood a while ago and never did anything with it. I fully intended to make a skirt one day with it, and as the fates had it, today was the day. The pattern is my own, made during my patternmaking class at Make. Sorry for the non-linkage, but I'm using Mike's Mac, and Safari and Blogger don't play so well together. Any ideas for making this easier?



There she is, resting on my bed. Isn't she a doll? She's got front and back darts, an invisible side zipper (I'm still perfecting the art of the top of the zipper, so any suggestions here are most welcome) and is a true A-line.



I did this awesome thing with the waistband that I'm super proud of. I took the idea from a dress I made from a different class at Make. I put bias tape on the right side of the skirt, and then turned it inward and secured it to the inside of the skirt to form a stable waist.

And now the portrait shots. Mike is out today so its me and the mirror. Um, both big mirrors chez moi are filthy, so I am sorry for the grime. The skirt is clean, I assure you. I even ironed it, and if you know anything about me, you know that is a huge deal.



This is my glamour shot, designed to make it look like I actually have hips that are a different width from my waist.



Hip hip hooray for my lovely skirt! I can't wait to wear her out!

Sexy Hair

Yesterday I got the sexiest haircut ever. I went to a new salon, reco'd by my friend Julie, and this gal was just amazing. First of all, she was supercute. I love when hair girls are supercute, as it makes me feel like I, by mere proximity, can become supercute too. Secondly, she was attentive and did exactly what I wanted. I even asked her what she would do if I gave her carte blanche, and she said she would do the same thing, as she wants to grow out some of my layers and give me length overall. Just what I wanted, by the way.



You may never see it straight like this ever again. I haven't had it straight in a number of years. Three, probably. Last night, Mike walked right by me at the bar. He didn't even recognize me! How cool is that. Mind you, this photo is after a night of boozing, and sleeping on it. And you can't tell (I hope) but I'm still just in my bra. No shirt yet for me! But what's the deal with my nose? Its looking rather bumpy and icky in this pic, but the hair looks fabu, so I'll let it slide.

Gotta run for a lunch date. But enjoy the hair! And pray for a return to knitting content soon!

Holy Crap

Oh, Internets. What's going on with my life?

I filed a formal complaint against my boss for her physical attack. I realized that I couldn't just let it slide and that an apology would be useless, as I am so afraid of what she might do next. So, formal complaint it is. And now I'm on a paid leave of absence while an Investigation takes place.

This is seriously weird. I haven't been to work all week. And I'm totally in limbo, though I realize that in all likelihood, I will not be returning to my job unless they fire the President. Unlikely, for sure.

I'm taking care of errands. i returned one of the three winter coats I bought. I went to the library. I visited a friend's new apartment. I paid some bills. I made a trip to the mailbox. I've gone to the gym. I've even showered. And today I'm getting a haircut. But it still feels so weird. I know I'm doing the right thing by standing up for myself but I partly feel like I'm making a big deal out of this. But, I do think that feeling comes directly from how my boss has browbeaten me in the past, making me feel like an idiot for sitting in the wrong chair. Its like she's brainwashed me into feeling like a complete moron with no smarts and no voice. And I know for sure that ain't me. So booya Madame President. Screw you for putting your hands on me. I doubt you'll learn a lesson, but I'll be damned if I don't try to teach you one.

Big Wool Hat

I made a hat today. Actually, I made a hat today, twice. I usually wind up making hats twice.



I love it. But of course, there's a back story. I made this hat before (so I guess that means I've made this hat 3 times). It was the very first hat I ever made, way back when I learned to knit in around 2002. It was made out of a coral-orangey color Rowan Big Wool and I was so excited. So very very very excited. I wore this hat for three winters, loving its warmth and plush-ness and everything about it. But, it was a llittle big. And this was before I knew that you could fudge patterns to make them how you want them.

But here's the bad news. I lost the hat. Last winter, while I was taking the M21 from my office to Make workshop for a sewing class, it must have fallen out of my pocket on the bus. I had been carrying a ton of stuff - my regular handbag, a bag with my sewing class stuff, a bag of stuff to stay at Mike's for the night (this was before move-in #2) and a roll of patternmaking paper. After walking from my office to the bus stop, I was so hot that I took the hat off and jammed it into my coat pocket. I arrived at Make only to realize that my hat was no longer in the pocket. It was a sad, sad day.

But that brings us to today. I didn't lose any time hatless last winter and I was determined not to do so this winter. Sure, I have other hats, but I loved this pattern and loved that hat.



Its "Madge" from Rowan's Bigger Picture. The color is shade 25, a very eggplant looking purple. Of course, it will match the scarf that I just can't seem to finish. I did some mods - The pattern calls for a garter stitch border before going into the seed stitch for the crown, but I wanted all seed stitch, all the time. I took out two rows to account for the slightly smaller size I was looking for from the last hat, and I made the hat. This is what I came out with:



It was big. So big that it covered my eyebrows. So big that it was dragging at my neck. And what did I do? Instead of being sensible and just ripping back to before the shaping and removing a few rows, I ripped back the whole darned thing. And started totally over. I think I have a fear of picking up stitches. And then I removed three more rows, for about an inch lost in length from the first run, and probably about an inch and a half from the pattern itself. And I think its perfect.

Mike thinks so too. He said, "It looks like a raspberry. I kind of want to eat it". Success!

Chester Copperpot

I have spent the day so far searching for and applying to jobs. I have had enough. Seriously. Fuck this place, and fuck the boss. Crazy fucking bitch.

Yesterday, at a work function, my boss, the president of this esteemed organization, put her hands on my neck and shoulders and shook a little. Aggressively. And then laughed it off.

I was stunned, to say the least. I just looked at her, looked at a coworker who was standing with us, looked back to her, and walked away. What I should have done was walk out, never to return. Or, at least, said quite loudly, "Take your hands off me. That is inappropriate." And then walked out. But no. I just walked around the corner to another hallway and collected myself, and then rejoined the meeting. This all occurred because I asked her where she would like me to sit for the meeting. Because, yes, I have to ask permission from my boss about which seat to take during a meeting. Because yes, she is totally fucking off her rocker.

The really shitty part about this is that she has already fired all of the HR staff, so there isn't anyone I can talk to about it except for her. There aren't any other senior staff members that I can talk to either, because they run their own programs and have very little to do with the core work that the President's office runs and are therefore useless. I can grin and bear it, or I can walk away.

I am ready to walk away. This is just ridiculous.

And hence, Chester Copperpot. If only I had that treasure map and could pay for my rent and health insurance without this crazy animal of a boss riding down my neck. I think I'll start calling in sick every day until I find a new job. This is just ridiculous.

Not a Good Sign?

My interview with the high-salary place was a week ago last Friday. So, two weeks tomorrow. A week ago Monday I sent in the requested references and writing samples. Yesterday I called the woman to follow up (left a VM. hate that!). And nothing. Is that or is that not a bad sign? I think its a not-so-good sign. I think that if she was totally gaga over me, she would have gotten back to me in response to my materials, or at least, you know, ever. And now I wait. Or do I wait? Of course I wait. But I guess what I thinking about is, do I wait with anticipation or hope for an offer? Or do I just put it out of my mind and know that I did all that I could, following all the right steps, etc.?

I don't know if I want the job. And I'm not just saying that becuase I don't think I'm going to get it. If she called me right now and said she's got a great offer for me, I don't know what I would do. I have so much freedom here, and so many liberties with regards to time, wardrobe, attitude, etc. There's no real incentive to switch places other than the fact that my boss is a power-hungry megalomaniacal psychopathic narcissistic depressive with abandonnment issues. But I know that and I can try to limit my interaction with her as best I can. Oy. Oy vey is what I have to say today.

Knit one more diamond on the scarfy scarf. Sloooooooooow. But I think I would like to try to finish this weekend. Just because. And I'm going to make myself a coordinating hat this weekend, too. I think I'll pick up the yarn tonight on my way to the bar after work. Yay! Bar after work!

The knitting on this scarf isn't going as quickly as I had hoped. I figured I would be totally done by this weekend that just passed, but no dice. I am about 8 diamonds into it, and not quite finished with the first skein of Kersti. But I like it. Its fun. I just find it hard to work two repeats in a row because the counting is a little tedious and I'm sorta dumb with numbers.



Here is another photo if you just can't handle that one.

And I think I decided what sweater I want to make, as my first real sweater project. Its from the Winter 2004 IK, and its the Mohair Cowl Pullover. It seems kinda cool, and an easy thing to do. From there I want to try a top-down raglan with an open neck. But I fear I am getting ahead of myself.

The cool thing I wanted to share is this:



They are handknit, from Turkey. A woman I work with is from Turkey, and goes each summer to do archaeology stuff. Last week she learned that I knit, and told me about these old women in her hometown who sit there in the streets and knit these slippers, and how they chat away and knit without looking at their work and make these beautiful things. Then, yesterday when we were on our way to a site visit, she presented me with this pair of slippers. Aren't they amazing? I just love them. The fit is very snug, and so totally warm and comfortable. I thought they would be itchy, but they are so smooth on the inside. I put them on as soon as I got home from the gym and didn't take them off until it was time for bed. Sigh. Warm feet make me happy.

Here, you can sort of see the construction. It seems like its two rectangles that are assembled together to make the part around the foot itself and the part that goes around the heel. Both are attached to a footbed, and then the toe is folded into itself.



I also love how you can see my whiter than white legs in this photo. Go Pale!