Bitter Purl/Better Purl

I've been back at work four days now after having a week off. (It was supposed to be a longer break, but the last couple of days of the fiscal year were harrowing so I had to cancel my vacation on those two days. Being in charge is very glamorous. And, yes, bitterness did enter the picture just a little bit.) It was a working vacation anyway, spent cleaning, organizing, meeting with an architect, therefore I had to carve out the fun where I could. So, I made myself feel better with this:

I now feel more relevant. (Now, if the TiVo would leap out of its box and hook itself up, life would be great. It's only been hanging out here for about four months.) I am SO addicted to podcasts--at least for the moment. I sought out and downloaded every knitting-related podcast out there. Whoa. Then I immediately unsubscribed to some of them as quickly as I found them--eek. The one that I am truly taken by is Cast On by Brenda Dayne. She's knowledgeable, quirky, opinionated, self-deprecating, and has a very soothing voice. I went back and downloaded every episode--more than 27 hours worth!!--and am making my way through. The great thing is that I can be doing other things (cooking, cleaning--the most loathsome of all tasks, walking on the treadmill) and I can still feel like I am enjoying knitting in some fashion while I do those things that I must do. (I discovered today that Tim Gunn has a Project Runway podcast--more audio crack for me!)

I also treated myself to these:

Glass knitting needles. They are really gorgeous, especially the large ones with the swirls inside. Yes, they were an unnecessary purchase, but I got them on eBay so they weren't out-of-control expensive. Yeah, okay, I know I NEVER knit on straights anymore but I could...

I have been working on a tank from on of the Yarn Girls books using Sonata from Elann.



Lots and lots of around and around since I adapted it to be done in the round instead of front and back. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I'm working on 5s because I thought the fabric was too loose using 6s, but now I'm wondering if it is too dense. I guess we'll see. I'm really trying to go from being product-oriented to being process-oriented, so ripping out should not bother me, right?

So, I am feeling a little better about re-entry. I'm going to take those two days off in a couple of weeks. And I do have Stitches to look forward to in a month!

Thanks to my June Project Spectrum postcard swap-mate. She sent a lovely card as well as some blue goodies for my enjoyment. It was a lovely package which is pictured here on her blog. (I was having indoor picture-taking issues and did not get a usable shot of my own.)