Knitting in the Slow Lane: July 2005

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Miss me?

Sorry I've been AWOL on the blog lately, I've been busy... :D

First two weeks of the job have been great! I love the job, such a cool industry, and great people to work with. Here's what I got on my first day:

Yup! A RED SWINGLINE stapler!! Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler... I love my new employee, Melanie, who gave it to me! :)

Yarn store job is also good, but tiring. Not used to being on my feet all day. I've cut out Saturdays from my schedule so now I'm only working Wed and Thurs nights after work, so like 2 1/2 hours each day. Add to that Peninsula Knitters on Tuesdays, and I'm only home Monday and Friday nights.

We got a special treat today though, Michelle Pheiffer came into the store, with her daughter and sister/friend person (we don't know who she was). At first we were each thinking, looks like her, sounds like her, wonder... nah. maybe? But then I rang her up and her credit card said Michelle Kelley and I'm thinking.. wait a minute, she's married to David E. Kelley - it is her! She bought about $150 worth of needles and yarn, I guess for her daughter who's about 12. WE talked about a seed stitch pattern for a scarf and she LOVED the one we had in the store... Michelle Pheiffer asking me for advice on knitting!! :D Then they all hung out at the kintter's table and worked on projects for awhile before leaving. She was very mellow and low-key, and everyone in the store played it cool, just another knitter. When she left though... we were all pretty thrilled! I guess that made up for working on a Saturday.

I have lots more to catch up on - my second felted bag, the baptism/birthday party for Little Brother, all my new started projects (I have start-itis)... but I also have a strained tendon in my wrist so I shouldn't be knitting (shhh, don't tell TK I've been knitting), and need to take it easy with the computer work, so I'll be back with lots of smaller posts soon.

Thursday, July 07, 2005

When it rains it pours

I'm exhausted, so here's the short story:

Friday, 7/1: Interview at The Knitter's Studio, get sales job. On the way home get a call from a recruiter for a cool-sounding job as Events Director at iGames, to run tournaments for video gamers. Recruiter emails me job req, I send him Word resume. He emails at 8pm saying he'll get all info to hiring manager.

Saturday, 7/2: Recruiter emails, asks when I'm available for interviews next week. I say Tues, Thurs, Fri because Wed I start at TKS.

Sunday, 7/3: TK and I enjoy fireworks over Stanford on top of the parking structure by the hospital because we couldn't hike to the Dish since it closes at 8. Bummer, but still cool fireworks.

Monday, 7/4: See Howl's Moving Castle (awesome, by the way) in SF with friends, then catch fireworks at Ghiradelli Square and dinner in North Beach. Best friggin' fireworks I've ever seen, and dinner at Calzone's, sitting outside watching people head home from the fireworks, was awesome! Randomly check email via cell phone browser - Recruiter asks if I'm available Tuesday for interviews, and to call hiring manager directly. Leave midnight call for hiring manager that I'm available Tues pm and will call back during business hours

Tuesday, 7/5: Hiring manager calls me first, sets interview for 1-3:30 pm. I meet with 6 people, including 3 via phone. I will hear back from hiring manager early next week. Go to Peninsula Knitters, fill them in on details and worked out the mistakes in my Cosy (this is a knitting blog, after all.)

Wednesday, 7/6: I'm about to leave for TKS when the hiring manager calls. They've already met, they like me, can I send her references and she'll send job app? I quickly send out references, don't have time to warn my references, and head to TKS by 11. I love working in a yarn shop! I still need to learn the inventory but it's nice to pet yarn all day (sorry, I mean arrange and straighten) and help customers with their projects. I stayed for the workshop (swatching) and left at 8. Exhausted.

Thursday, 7/7: I stop by iGames to drop off the app on my way to TKS. Hiring manager asks me to wait a couple minutes, comes back saying they want to make an offer! Salary within my range, I accept.

I HAVE A JOB!!

Pay is very good, decent benefits for a small company, I manage 2 people (yikes!) and the location is great for both our current house and the (crossfingers) condo we can start thinking about again.
Make it through the day at TKS without freaking out about my new job too much, calling people on my breaks to share the news, then head to the mall to celebrate a little by getting a couple new tops for work. Have dinner at my very good friend PK's, who I haven't seen in months. He just got a new job too, so lots of celebrating.Watched documentary on Burning Man. Interesting.

I'm going to try to take one of my references/former colleagues out to lunch tomorrow to celebrate - she's got a new job too - then get my life organized. Saturday I work 10-5 (COME VISIT!), Sunday I gear up for the week, and then I start my new job Monday morning! I still have to tell TKS tho - they knew I was looking but I was not expecting it to happen this quickly!! I'll try to stay on part-time but with my new schedule, who knows.

Now I'm going to go crash. What a week.

Monday, July 04, 2005

Photo gallery of updates

I haven't posted much in the last week, but I've been busy knitting. The weather's so beautiful today I took my knitting outside:

This is Knitty's Cosy. It's supposed to be 6' long when it's done (of course it will stretch out when blocked, it's all shrunk up right now) but I'm just going to follow the simple 8-row lace pattern until I run out of the kool-aid dyed yarn, then turn it into a shrug. I started with a provisional cast-on in case I want to use some of the cotton for lacy sleeves or something.

Progress on the sleeves for Big Brother Rugby. I think they're about halfway done, but I keep forgetting the increases. I'll be glad when this project is over, it's a LOT of stockinette with cotton on straight needles.

This is a Baptismal Bonnet for A, SIL's second son. He'll be baptised and celebrate his first birthday sometime in mid-July. I figured since he's a year old, he probably wouldn't fit into his brother's bonnet.

This was an easy pattern, but rather than all the binding off and sewing together, I did short rows in the back like it was a giant sock heel and kept the back stitches on the needle for the tie.

I don't know if you can see any stitch detail in this photo, it has a scalloped edge and two different lace patterns - a line of twisted "stars" and a line of triangular eyelets - repeating on the whole bonnet. I considered the booties but it's more pieces sewn together, and I don't have enough yarn for the jacket. I used less than a skein of Caron CuddleSoft, which I got on deep discount at Michael's some time back. Cheap, easy, cute project!