I know, it’s been ages yet again. I’ve come very close to just shutting this blog down - after 6+ years I’m just blogged out and energy is low to keep it going. But something keeps me from taking it down. So I might as well babble when I can.

Things have basically been pretty sucky lately. A loss of a major client (on site part time, with benefits) thrust me unexpectedly into job hunting for the first time in over 7 years. After some interviews and a lot of contemplation about going back full time and leaving Ty alone, etc. I decided instead to keep going freelance for now. Another really good gig fell into my lap. This one is sans benefits but pays a lot more so I can pay for those benefits. I still have freedom. I will get good experience working for a print magazine. All is well in that area at least for now. But it doesn’t help that other things have been going on and have thrust me deeper into a frustrating depression. I know my depression isn’t clinical. It’s without a doubt circumstantial but I have been unable lately to figure out how to change those circumstances. And that is more personal that I have ever gotten here - or plan to again.

There has been knitting though. Staying at home a lot lately has given me time to work on some projects. A friend had a baby girl, so I started the Ribbon Tied baby dress from Debbie Bliss’ Special Knits, but I thought it a bit boring, so gave it a lacy top. I lifted the lace from the ubiquitous February baby/lady sweater. Here’s the back - the front is in progress.

Then I have a birthday thing coming up for another friend, and a lot of time at night watching the Olympics, so I dug out some old Andean Treasure alpaca and started whipping up a Forest Canopy shawl. Will I finish this by tonight so I can block tomorrow? Who knows. Here it is unblocked, looking like an alpaca blob.

And speaking of alpaca - were we? I have been wanting to knit this since the Fall Vogue arrived a few weeks ago. I love this sweater, it’s very me.

So some friends and I went up to Flying Fingers on the Yarn Bus last weekend and I looked for the Blue Sky Melange there. First of all, not that impressed with the place at all. It’s much smaller than I thought and the selection not so impressive. They had only one color of the Blue Sky that I liked, a vivid orange, but not enough for the sweater. And the more I thought about it, and the more I worked with the Andean Treasure from Knitpicks, the more I knew I should just get that, in a shade of green of course, and so I did.

This is more like it.

Posted by jackie blue on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 3:02 pm.