Family Portrait
Now that I live in an earthquaky part of the country, my kids need Comfort Kits at school. They contain a bit of food, a letter, and a family photo. Well, I could manage the rest, but we didn't have a family photo. Lots of pictures of just the girls, many of Tim and the girls, a few of me and the girls. Not a one of the four of us together. So I finally had to break down and learn how the timer on the camera works. Smile everyone! (That's my Ribby Cardie, by the way.)

Oh, and I got the job with Big Firm! I will be signing and returning the offer shortly. It's subject to a background check, but I'm a very good girl, so that shouldn't be a problem. Now I'm off to find buttons for the Floral Cardie. It's otherwise finished.

 Hooray! Sleeves!

I'm on to the front bands now - should have done these before the three-needle bind-off joined the shoulders, but I'm managing without having to flip the whole thing around. Time to think about buttons.

For those who still care about the job situation, I'm still waiting to hear. Supposed to be early this week, which I'm taking to mean today or tomorrow. Now time to get out the house, and stop waiting for the phone or the doorbell to ring.

 I've uploaded my fleece poncho pattern, finally. It's inspired by Jen's Poncho, from Sally Melville's The Knit Stitch. I didn't want to knit those big rectangles, and I had some fleece to use up. These are really quick - I did each of them in under two hours, including cutting. Check out the pattern here.

The ballet bags are coming, too. I had to buy some fabric, and between the torrential rain and the interviews I only got the the store on Friday. My fabric is waiting for its wash as I type this. Later today I'll start cutting. Each bag requires about a fat quarter of the main outer fabric (the bottom part), and about ½ yard/0.5 metres of the lining/strap/top fabric. (Maybe a little more of this one if you want to cut your bags so the lengthwise grain is vertical on your finished bag.)

 And then there were two... I've been to the Big Firm's satellite office (I applied to this office in the first place, but the recruiting is all done through the Vancouver office.) for another office visit. They've narrowed it down to someone else and me. The someone else visits tomorrow. Only one offer will be made. They said they wanted me to meet the people in the office so I can make a better decision. But it's still if an offer is made, not when. And there was sort-of an interview with another partner. Their decision will be made early next week. Then I'll either be employed or hoping Small Firm comes through. I'm applying chocolate in large doses. Well, actually in small but frequent doses (we've bought our hallowe'en candy already and I'm depleting the stash).

Floral cardie is nearly done - I've started the second sleeve. I should be knitting, not eating chocolate, I know, but I can't seem to sit for anything during the day lately.

 Wow, it's been a busy week, but in a good way. The Big Firm (of Interview #2) called me for a second interview. When the big firms say "second interview" they mean "day long office visit and information sessions and lunch so you can see what a great place this is to work, and oh by the way we'll sneak in an interview with a partner while you're here." So that's what I did on Friday, but first I had to go find something to wear. They said business casual, but business dress was fine. I didn't want to show up in my suit again, like I don't know how to dress myself independently, so I was off to the malls. I am somewhat height-challenged short, so I was looking for petites. They must grow people tall in BC, because the petites selection I saw was pretty limited. Fortunately I found a nice pantsuit at Cleo, and I was good to go.

It was a long and exhausting day. I'm hopeful, and expect to hear early this week. See Sarah jump each time the phone rings. See her race to answer in a calm and professional voice. See her scratch her arm incessantly. (Job stress makes my arms itch.)

We're also having record rainfall this week in the lower mainland. Zowie! Can it rain here! Fortunately I'm on high ground, far away from rivers and coastlines. And my crawlspace is bone dry. For me it's meant just slippery driving and slow traffic, but for some it's been an incredible disaster.

And amid all this fun, we had a big housewarming party on Saturday. Mostly people Tim works with - we had sort of an open house-barbecue-bring the kids and stay as long as you like. It was lots of fun, but I was crazy busy for most of it because Friday was going to be my day to get ready ahead of time. I gave Friday to the Big Firm (happily, I must say), so Saturday was crazy. I finally felt in control at 10:45, when the kitchen was clean and the dishes washed. Up to then, it was pretty much chaos.

So I had a quiet day yesterday, watched Saskatchewan beat up on Calgary, and worked my way up the first sleeve of the Floral Cardigan. Now I need to start the laundry, and tonight I have a date. One of the gifts we received on Satruday was a pair of tickets to tonight's Canucks game. As I have no particular hockey allegiance, I will happily adopt the Canucks as my team. (Can't say as much for the BC Lions, though. Go Riders!)

 Live long and prosper...

 The best thing about cooking the turkey myself has to be the leftovers for sandwiches the next day. Turkey with butter, salt & pepper, and cranberry sauce (homemade only, thank you). Served with a cold beer, it's a perfect lunch. If you can sneak a piece of pumpkin pie without the kids catching you (I did), it's practically Nirvana. (Can you tell I'm a Taurus? We do love the sensual pleasures in life, particularly good food.)

And here's the floral cardigan. I am the intarsia queen. But here's a little secret: That motif in the bottom centre of the back is duplicate-stitched. The pattern places just the two motifs on the sides, and when I had the back done nearly to the shoulders I spread it out, and there was this great expanse of white there, looking like I'd forgotten something. So I added it in. The most annoying part is that the duplicate stitching looks beautiful - perfect and even. I have to fiddle and fuss with the intarsia colourwork to get the stiches to look even, and they still don't come out as well as the duplicate stitching. Sigh. But the cardigan is so pretty I don't mind the fuss.

 I must say, I make a mean turkey. I missed my family yesterday - we usually do the big thanksgiving get-together on the Sunday, so as not to interfere with school-night bedtimes. So we had our own Thanksgiving dinner here. Just the four of us, but I set the dining room table with the china (had to pull it out of a box; it hadn't been unpacked yet), added a tablecloth and candles, and cooked turkey dinner with all the trimmings, from mashed potatoes to pumkin pie. We went to bed stuffed, so it must have been a successful meal.

We did manage a nice long call home to talk with my sisters and parents. Maggie just arrived home on Saturday. I haven't seen her in 2½ years, and I moved away just six weeks before she came home. I wish I could have flown out to welcome her back. Well, I'll try to get out there, or get her out here, so I can see those killer quads in person. First at least one of us needs to find a job. Welcome home, Mag.

 Hey, Maggie, Papa Bear needs a nose job.

 Carolyn asked for a pattern for the ballet bags. I tried just writing it up, but I think it will need a few photos to illustrate certain steps. Clearly, I need to make myself one of these little bags, if only to photograph it in process for Carolyn. Aren't I generous and accomodating? (It may take a few days, as most of tomorrow will be taken up with travelling into and out of Vancouver for interview #2.)

Meanwhile, I'm suffering a serious case of Startitis. Must. Start. Something. Soon. (Yes, Sarah, but you're already working on three projects. Whoops, four, there's that sock on your needles, too.) I know, I know, but there are so many lovely patterns out there. I am currently quite enamoured of the sweater Alison calls Leigh's Sweater. I hope to order the pattern soon. I'm debating whether to frog a cotton sweater which I don't ever wear - it's not very flattering. I'm getting gauge (with leftover yarn) for a sweater from the latest VK, but I'm not sure the yarn is right for the sweater. And I'm itching to buy new yarn. There's a lovely brown wool-blend at my LYS, with flecks of purple. So soft, and lovely colours. I may have to stop off this afternoon and buy just a ball to play with, to pacify myself until I finish something else and can justify a new project.

Finally, here's Amy getting ready to blow out her candles on Sunday. We delayed her party a bit, because she's the new kid, and didn't know who she would like to invite until we were a few weeks into the school year. By a couple of weeks ago, she could name five girls she wanted to invite, so we invited them. Since the party was in October, she wanted a Hallowe'en party. (The cake is supposed to look like a tombstone.) She made all the invitations herself, and we had a good time, with bobbing for apples, pin the nose on the pumpkin, and a very silly mummy-wrap game which involved rolls of toilet paper. 8-year-old girls are very screamy. They are also really too young for make-your-own-pizza. We had a few huge piles of cheese, which became quite stuck when the pizzas were cooked, and no-one likes anything other than pepperoni on top. What else did I learn from the experience? Make sure there is beer in your fridge before the party. You will desperately need one after it's done.

 Inspired by these, I whipped up these little bags last week. (Link found via Nake-id Knits.) They will hold the girls' ballet slippers for transport to and from ballet lessons. They were great fun to make - the most fun was pulling out most of my quilting stash and spreading it around the floor so I could choose the fabrics. The toughest part was finding pieces of the top/strap/lining fabrics to make each bag (the bottom part can be made with less than a fat quarter - the rest needs closer to a 1/2 yard). The last ballet-slipper-bags I made have been taken over by GameBoys (bought to keep the girls amused on our drive out west). So we needed something new, and I thought they should be a bit more fanciful than the old drawstring twill ones. If I were to make them again, I would put a layer of interfacing in between the fabrics. Since it's just quilting cotton, the bags don't have as much body or structure as I would like. I thought one of these would make a nice little bag for my sock-in-progress (minus the irridescent hearts). I had the main fabric all picked out, but not enough of the lining fabric I wanted, so I didn't make one for myself. I'll have to dig in again and see what I can find. One of these would definitely be an improvement on the old gift bag I'm using now. (Perhaps a trip to Fanny's is in order.)

 Interview #1 was this morning, and I think it went pretty well, but I'll have to wait about 3 weeks before a decision is made. This was with a tiny firm - just 5 employees. Interview #2 (on Thursday) is with one of the Big Four firms. The person who interviewed me today was the owner of the firm, about 40, with 4 kids, so he knew where I was coming from, that family was important, and why I would choose to not work for several years. Hopefully on Thursday I'll have a similarly sympathetic interviewer.

Ribby is done. I took a photo of myself in the bathroom mirror, but I looked all frowny and double-chinned, so I'll stick with another flat photo. I also made this zipper pull, just for fun. (Must either learn how to set the timer, or get Tim to take a picture. It's so much nicer to see photos of people wearing their finished sweaters.)

Technical stuff: Yarn is Blue Heather 2-ply from Belle Vallee Wools, bought at the Creative Sewing and Needlework Festival a few years ago. I shortened the body - it measures just 13" to the armholes, instead of the 15 called for in the pattern. The folded collar was made following the directions for the one on Accordion, and with a tubular cast-off. I also added a bit to the width (2 stitches to each front stockinette panel, and 4 stitches to the back), and knit the body in one piece, and the sleeves in the round. Finishing was a snap - a few ends to weave in, and graft the underarms.

Now I've moved Bob back up to the Active list, as I started working on him again. I got a few inches done at a knitting group I've signed up for at my LYS. I actually signed up for a Christmas club - some simple ideas and patterns for Christmas - but since I was only the third person to do so, they've combined it with the Knitter's Journal club. Knit a new swatch each week, to be recorded in a journal, or sewn into an afghan. Or just do your own thing, and never mind the swatches. I haven't decided which to do yet, and all I had along with me on Wednesday was Bob, so I just knit that and drank my tea and talked knitting. I'm more advanced than any of the other students, but not everyone was there, so there may be some more experienced knitters next time. I'm more interested in the social aspect than anything else, anyway. I have two weeks to figure out what to do, but whatever I decide, I have to bring a pattern for next time.

Active
Floral Cardigan

Bob (Rowan #17)


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Ribby Cardie


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Shapely Tank


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Ruffled Tank
Felted Bag
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