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That about sums up my week. It started off beautifully, I sorted out my anti-social self and made it to the Williamsburg SnB group. It was an extra meeting, so there were only four other people there. (This was probably a good way for me to introduce myself. Social anxiety much?) It was a great time, and it was a good time for Sylvia and James too. I called home at a quarter till ten to warn him that I was going to have to stop for gas and then I'd be home. No answer. As this was the first time that James was alone with her at bedtime, I simply assumed he was too busy to answer the phone.
I got home to find the two of them zonked out on the couch, snoring contentedly.
So, coffee and socializing. Home to happily sleeping husband and child. Schweet.

And then this child:

(Thankfully she isn't as keen on picking her nose anymore. I had to force myself to stop laughing when she did it.)
She's morphed into a demon. Every night it's taken two hours or more to get her asleep. James is lucky if he gets home by seven. We're lucky if she's in bed by nine. James, even when he forces himself to stay awake, will be unconscious by ten thirty. Last night was the worst. And he's got duty Saturday and they're working through Sunday. Yah.

I have been threatening to sell her to a band of travelling gypsies. Now I'm thinking zombies.

Seriously though. I discovered THREE new teeth in her mouth today, so I think that teething+transitioning to the big girl bed=HELL ON EARTH. So tonite we're going to go out for a while and have a little fun. Pick up some dinner someplace and come home and play some video games.

And on the knit-front? Still in the ribbing on Thalia, the test knit. Nearing the end of the ribbing though, and I'm getting excited. And now, since this is prime holiday knitting season, it is time that I order my Ravelry queue. After I get it organized I'm going to order a little yarn. FOR A SPECIFIC PROJECT HAHAHA. I never do that, but I need to start. And now that the tiny tyrant is asleep I'm going to have my lunch and do some knitting.

Big doin's...

Well, not exactly.
I've been on Livejournal, in some form or another, since somewhere in the neighborhood of 2000. I've had tons of different accounts and usernames, some I only used for a month or two. The most recent account is one I've used since before James and I got married.
And it's done. I put up some contact information for anyone who was interested, and in a week I'll be deleting the account. I'm going to inhabit this space, Ravelry, and use Myspace and email to keep in touch with people. I have precious few free moments throughout the day and I want to devote them to what matters: creative outlets and GENUINE interactions. Letters and phonecalls and emails. On Lj, all I ever really did was read. And it was addictive. I could zone out reading my friendslist and not have any clue how I killed that much time.
So no more.
Anyway. Time for the fun stuff. :)
Knit Things:
Plugging away on Thalia. As an aspiring designer, it's genuinely educational to be involved with a project at this level. I'm finding myself going: "Oh, that's why!" as I'm working, and I'm taking mental notes. Example: It is so cool to me to watch the "pleating" effect take shape. I'm nearly done with the decrease rounds and it's super cool how the decrease rounds seem to serve the dual purpose of decreasing and making the "pleats" look a bit more organic. (Intentional or not, I think it's neat.)

The current state of things. I'm liking the yarn more as I go along, and I ADORE the color. It isn't anything I have in my wardrobe, and it's a welcome change.
I'm hoping to get a little more done on my Belle cardigan tonite, and then cast on a hat for Sylvia tomorrow. I've got some Paton's SWS that would look beyond adorable on her.
Tomorrow, after James gets home from duty, we're all taking a big batch of donations to the local DAV Thrift, and then we're going out shopping for replacements. Sylvia and James are just in need of regular seasonal replacements, mine was a dire situation.
How dire?
My husband went out and bought me a copy of Tim Gunn's "Guide to Style".

Yeah.

So I purged my closet and dresser. And I purged. And I purged. Four large garbage bags full of clothes and one full bag of shoes. I currently own four outfits and four pairs of shoes. I'm wearing James' clothes today because I'm having to do laundry so that I'll have clothing to shop in.
I'm really looking for basically EVERYTHING, but the main things I'll be looking for:
Dark wash, straight-leg jeans.
Pencil skirt.
A camisole or two.
Some non-ugly tees.
A trench coat.
A great pair of heels.

And my darling husband is nearly as excited about this as I am. I think I'm beyond due for an overhaul. I'm going in a completely different direction style-wise now. I was always kind of vintage-y, a little fussy. Now my intent is something a little sleeker and more modern. Clean lines, spare on the patterns, bold colors. Relying more on accessories than the clothes themselves.
Whoo. And now the tiny tyrant wakes.

Ha! Life, I sneer at your getting in the way of my knitting.

Well, I try to anyway. Still need to finish James' boot socks. Or he will cry.
Finally cast on for Thalia, my test-knit. I decided since I have so much on my plate right now and I am a notoriously slow knitter, to go ahead and do the alternative ribbing pattern. The slightly more casual look will suit my needs in the end more than the arrow rib, gorgeous as it may be.
So I'm in the thick of the ribbing. The pattern so far is pretty simple, I find myself liking the way it's written. Reads a little different than most commercial patterns I've used, but it's a very common-sense way of writing. Dig that.
The yarn? Picked the Hempathy and I'm not so sure what I think of it now. It knits up beautifully but it doesn't feel so nice as you're working with it. Kinda scratchy in places.
And the transfer news came in yesterday. Wasn't what we were hoping for. We were both pulling really hard for Washington, which would have put us right outside the Seattle area. Someone else got the position. Monday there will be new requesitions in, but we're not getting our hopes up. If nothing comes in worth sitting around another month to hear about, he's going to put in for the instructor position in upstate New York. Which would have us moving to upstate New York in December/January.
Sweaters. Hats. Mittens. Gloves. As soon as I have some free needles, it's time for some practical knitting.
Ugh. And with all the toy recalls, time for some toy knitting too. I'm queueing up all the toy patterns I can find on Ravelry. Any crochet ones will be sent to my mother along with yarn and stuffing. I'm done with worrying about lead painted toys. Seriously.