Tagged, I'm It

The Christmas Rose bag is creeping along. Part of my excuse for slow progress is that I can't take it with me. I'm used to doing bags from the bottom up, which makes them perfect candidates for take along knitting since they form their own container for the yarn; this bag, lovely as it is, works top-down and is thus somewhat of a PITA to tote. So I started another Multidirectional Scarf (using some Morehouse Merino I scored at the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival back in October). In the meantime, my Knitters Review buddy Kim has tagged me for a meme! I finally feel like one of the popular kids in high school. Here goes:

Four jobs in my life [best to worst]:

1. Waitress at the Brasserie Restaurant in Bennington, Vermont circa 1974. Nothing like coming home with tired feet, free food and money in your pocket.
2. Story analyst for various film companies, circa 1983-1985. I actually got to read books for a living. The perfect work-at-home job, until I had babies and didn't have time to work at home.
3. Word Processing Operator at a NYC corporate law firm. Where, in order to be with the above-mentioned babies during the week, I worked a 35 hour work week in two days. 7am-midnight, Saturday and Sunday. No better way to spoil a weekend than spending it with abusive attornies.
4. Admissions Director at a NYC nursery school. My current job. 275 applications for 30 spots. First stop of the Harvard-Yale-Princeton express. I judge two year olds. I'm not proud.

[I should note: I'm also not complaining. I feel compelled to cite the worst job ever, held by a friend who once labored in a hearing aid factory and had to clean the ear wax and hairs off the appliances returned for repair. Shudder.]

Four movies I could watch over and over:

1. The Godfather. "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
2. Dirty Dancing. "Nobody puts baby in a corner."
3. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. "Bring in the FEMBOTS!!"
4. Mommie Dearest. "Tina! Bring me the ax!!"

Four places I have lived:

1. NYC--every place else has been a drive-by, really.
2. Bennington, VT
3. Jaffrey, NH
4. Philadelphia, PA

Four places I have been on vacation:

1. Prince Edward Island, Canada
2. Martha's Vineyard, MA
3. Ocean Grove, NJ
4. Los Angeles, CA

Four websites I visit daily:

1. Knitters Review
2. Gawker
3. Television Without Pity
4. You Knit What?

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Mmmm...Fried Chicken
2. Mmmm...John's Pizza with sausage, peppers, onions and mushrooms.
3. Mmmm...rare, fatty steak
4. Mmmm...lobster. OK--Mmmm...butter.

Four places I'd rather be right now:

1. Prince Edward Island, Canada
2. Martha's Vineyard, MA
3. Ocean Grove, NJ
4. Bruce Springsteen concert, circa 1975. Third row, center.

Four bloggers I am tagging:
(last four knitters to announce new blogs on Knitter's Review):

Jessica
latoyadenise
Prof. Knitwit
Sappmamma

Whew.

Let the Games Begin

After too much whining about my slow pace in 2006, I think I might have found the kick in the pants I need: The Knitting Olympics, organized by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee of Yarn Harlot fame. The challenge: Cast on a project during the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics (Feb 10), and finish before the Olympic flame goes out (Feb 26). I will be doing a Saranac from the Summer '05 Knitty (the scary men's issue), and I vow to smash the kneecaps of anyone who gets in the way of my needles. The thrill of victory, the agony of the twisted circular cast-on.

New Year, New Knits

The fact that this bag is called "Christmas Rose" and the fact that it's already almost Martin Luther King Day should give you an idea of the slow progress I've been making on my knitting in the New Year. Anyway, here's a beginning, being worked in Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in varying shades of pink and purple.

Gift Bags

Happy New Year to all. Between the holidays and the NYC Transit Strike and an early season flu and darling daughter breaking her finger playing volleyball and necessitating an emergency room visit and surgery and the holidays I haven't had much time to knit...actually, I have been knitting, just haven't been posting. I've been on a bag kick lately. What is it about girls and bags? The urge to carry stuff around with stuff inside it. The uterus thing seems too obvious; I'm hoping it's something cooler. Anyway, these two gift bags made it in under the wire to be the final F.O.'s of 2005. The little squat one on the right eeks out the last remnants of Noro Silk Garden to contain some stinky (in a good way) soap and candles for a friend. Based on the one that's on the cover of Last Minute Knitted Gifts, adjusted for gauge and pompon tie added. I decided I like the idea of pompons more than the execution. The one on the left is a champagne sweater, utilizing some stash Crystal Palace Tweed and the much maligned but surprisingly useful Bernat Disco. The shape is a simultaneously scaled down and elongated Christmas Rose Bag from Handknit Holidays, which I'm hoping will become my first F.O. of 2006. Stay tuned, if you're interested.