It’s funny how, the minute you say, “Thank goodness we’re entering the quiet time of the year,” the work just begins to pile up. People who’ve had those back-burner projects floating around in the recesses of their mind start popping out of the woodwork like mushrooms after a summer rain. It’s supposed to be the slow period at work - the lull between tradeshows. The big spring shows are over, and our next show isn’t until late October, and yet… My to-do list seems to grow exponentially every day, and they all seem to be large-scale projects.

On the plus side, at least it’s keeping me busy, which makes it easy to defend the necessity of my position. Not that I’ve had to do that yet, but one does start to get a little twitchy and antsy when you see numerous positions being terminated week after week. I’m contenting myself with the knowledge that the work I do is essential, our team is extremely small for the amount of work we’re required to do, and, all modesty aside, I’m pretty damn good at it and learning more every day. At least if push comes to shove, I ought to be fairly marketable. I think. (I hope.) Maybe someone at Interweave will snatch me up, and I’ll get to work on magazine production and layout. Best of both worlds - print production and fibery goodness! Well, a girl can dream, anyway. For now, though, I’ll stick with where I am.

I’ve been thinking about things to post about for well over a week now. Every night I come home, and I think to myself, “I’m going to write about ___ tonight.” But the thought of getting out the camera, taking pictures, turning on the computer, editing the photos, and then sitting down to write all about said photos… It’s just too much. I usually end up just sitting down, turning on my audio book (I’m currently listening to American Gods by Neil Gaiman - a re-read of sorts, though a first for the audio version, which I am very much enjoying), and spinning or knitting til it’s time to go to bed. I mostly try not to think about the growing pile of laundry that needs washing, the furniture that needs dusting, the carpet that needs vacuuming, and the refrigerator that needs restocking, much less the blog that needs updating.

So tonight I’ve finally decided to write. Sadly, I waited until it was too dark to take photos to make this decision, so there will be no accompanying pictures, but maybe I’ll get around to that later in the week. These have been the highlights of the last week or so:

• Knitting - I’m keeping to my pact (so far), and I’ve been working somewhat diligently on my Nantucket Jacket. I’ll be starting the armhole and neck shaping of the first front piece tonight, so I’m probably, what? 2/3 finished with that piece? Still lots more to do - the other front piece and the two sleeves - but it’s coming along nicely, and it’s getting far easier to work on without glancing at the pattern every other row. Always a good thing - it means I can socialize while I work on it instead of holing away in a quiet corner to concentrate.
• Spinning - I’m working on consistency of thread size with my newest spinning project. I’m currently spinning up some Louet Northern Lights in the colorway 18 Icy Winter. My goal is to spin it very, very finely (and evenly) and then double-ply it together for a laceweight or light fingering weight. I’ve got 1/2 lb. of the stuff, so I think if I can spin it finely enough, I might have enough for a shawl. So far, I’m loving the way it’s turning out. (Pictures forthcoming in the next post, I promise.)
• WWKIP Day - Saturday, June 14th was, of course, World-Wide Knit In Public Day, and I celebrated by joining up with some lovely knitters from the area down at the mall behind my house. I had never met any of them before, as most of the knitterly meet-ups in this area are held on weekday evenings, and that just usually doesn’t work too well with my schedule. So it was really nice to meet these people, and several of them seemed interested in starting a bi-weekly Saturday group. I’m so there! Now the difficult part is finding an appropriate location and organizing the thing.
• Parents’ Visit! - My parents are coming to visit this weekend. They’re taking a few days in Asheville, NC this week, and then coming down here on Friday. I’m thinking of setting up an appointment on Saturday to visit the new fiber store in the Triangle, The Bull City Fiber Loft. (Mom will love it, and I can make it up to Dad somehow… not that he’s not completely used to being forced to visit yarn stores at this stage in his life, married to mom, the LYSO.) I’m rather excited about this new shop, as it’s a local resource for fibery goodness, and if I can get my spinning supplies and support a new local business in the process, I’m all for it. The only down-side is that they’re currently only open on weekdays during normal business hours and on weekends by appointment, but maybe that will change as they establish themselves a bit more. They’ve only been open a few weeks.
• Oregon Trail! - Ok, cheezy heading for that one. But it’s true - I’m headed to Oregon this summer, and I confirmed it this week by plunking down the money for a plane ticket. Well, Washington by way of Portland, OR, as the friend I’m visiting lives right across the state border in Vancouver, WA, only about 15 miles from the Portland airport. I’ve been wanting to take this trip for ages. On one level, I’ve wanted to visit the Pacific Northwest for nearly as long as I can remember. Everything I hear about it makes me fall in love. On another level, my long-time pen-pal lives there. She and I met at Christmas 1996 on a cruise both of our families went on. We were both bored teenagers and bonded immediately, along with a small group of like-minded teenagers. We were inseparable for those ten days. We all vowed to keep in touch, but Christy and I actually have. In the 12-1/2 years since that vacation, we’ve continued to write to one another, even through all those obnoxious address changes in college and post-college life. And always pen-and-paper snail-mail writing - never email. Well, almost never. Some of this trip planning has required a bit of email correspondence. At any rate, neither of us have seen each other since we were 15, and now I’ve purchased a $400 airplane ticket to fly out there this August to visit for a week. Exciting! I’ll also be catching up with a college friend, Missy, a knitter who will be moving up to Portland next month, and will have surely scouted out all the best yarn stores within a 50-mile radius by the time I arrive. Words cannot express how excited I am about this trip!

Guess that’s it for now. I’m sure there’s more to say, and maybe by the end of the week, I’ll figure out what it is. Til then, happy knitting!