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Day 20: Travel and Time

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I missed a posting day yesterday, due to not feeling well. Got me thinking about how when you travel you have this idealized sense of time in advance. For me, this meant I packed about 10 skeins of wool with me – with big ambitions for the knitting projects. I added to this horde by buying some cotton skeins here as well (5 ).
Well, with two days left here, what I did knit was:

  • one hat (finished it off here, started in Van – first hat – hooray!)
  • 1 pair baby booties
  • 1.5 dishcloths

Which means there was a bit of a disconnect between my knitting goals and the reality of the amount of time I’d have here. Partly, this was due to my continuing battle with my ear infection/cold/weirdo dizziness, partly it is due to fact that (again) I have the laptop here, and used it for client projects. I took precisely 2.5 full days off from client work (the aft of 24th to the 26th). This was dumb in retrospect. Doing work eats up a lot of time.

One project absolutely cannot wait as it has a launch date early Jan. Another (direct-mailer) was time sensitive and was completed before the 24th. But the other minor updates et al could perhaps have been left. Perhaps I could have a) sub-contracted some work out – not super realistic when it’s a relatively small amount of work or b) told clients “I am on vacation” .

So work and over-estimating how much free time I’d have to knit was a big factor in the fact that I’m taking 80% of the wool home with me:)

But I think most of us have that tendency, bringing “War and Peace” or some other lofty novel along with us to the pool, thinking – now this will be the moment I finish this book. Or, in my case, 20 mystery novels, where 2 would suffice. Or packing 3 dressy outfits, when one would do.

Travelling, whether or big adventure or a trip home, usually brings with it an element of surprise, or aspects that you couldn’t pre-plan for, and that eats up time. Might be customs, might be simply getting your bearings or getting into the time zone.

Either way, I’m not going to go home disappointed I didn’t knit 2 hats, 2 scarfs, and master turning of the heel (the baby booties used a Debbie Bliss pattern that did not turn the heel). Rather, I learned that scaling back my ambitions for time off should factor in the estimating of time the way one might estimate time for a client project: figure it out and double it! Also, sometime in the next year, I need to take a vacation without the box.

Cheers, and Happy New Year!

Day 17: Boxing Day sans box – k1, yf instead

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It is icy here. Really freaking icy. The city has put gravel on the sidewalks but that only provides about 5% improvement. Even though I grew up here, it’s been a while since I’ve had to walk on ice in winter. So I was being careful. Very careful. Mr. O was walking ahead of me, and slipped. That was super scary watching him fall, and being of the male species he tended to brush it off. I have been worrying every since.  So much I’m even annoyed by myself. I learned to worry from my aunt – both my parents are most nonchalant when it comes to their approach to life. My aunt used to rub her hands together worrying. One day I will make a great video that brings that image together. I will soften it with the image of her big arms kneading dough, making fluffy white bread.

It’s boxing day and all I bought was some vitamins on sale. This is partially due to the aforementioned ice, but also to a longing to stay away from the frenzy. Instead I am working on baby booties for a friend’s 9 month old. It is a Debbie Bliss pattern from the Cotton Knit for all seasons book. Only I am using cheapo cotton. Not super cheapo, it is some kind of enviro-friendly blend. But much less than the DB brand. Since the first pair of booties I knit turned out suitable for hooves, I’m keeping the investment small for the time being. Although you do pay a price  – the cotton has a tendency to unwind and you have to be more vigilant not to have the strands separate.
The Debbie Bliss site  is remarkably low-key compared to what I expected given the $$ of her yarns. It must be new, there’s only one newsletter under that category and only one free pattern under that section. The girl on the front is a doppleganger for my cousin’s daughter. Who knows, maybe M moonlights as a knitting model.

I’m off to decipher the bootie pattern, and look up how to say baby bootie in French.

Cheers,

Hope you had a Merry Merry if you celebrate!

Day 12: on the edge of snowmageddon

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[ On Wednesday, Environment Canada outlined predictions for a series of snowfalls in a weather bulletin, adding “could this be snow-mageddon?”] via globeandmail

Being 6 hours away from T.O., is close enough to wonder if s-m will occur here. It’s most definitely bordering on the point where Celsius crosses Farenheit with the wind chill factor. There is something to embrace about the crisp, ardently cool weather. Wait. I’m writing about the weather. Full stop.

I’ve knit 10 more rows in my hat, and am ready to cross over to working on 4 double point needles (which I’ve never done) and I just discovered I brought the wrong size set with me.  Which means I get to discover if there are any delicious wool shops in Montreal. Suggestions, mes amies?…

What I like about knitting is the same thing I like about the sharp weather. Both provide you with an intense focus and a clear and precise goal. The first is something long term, an object you can wear or use measured in years. The latter is more instant to instant. Dash indoors, quick. “If wearer if found shivering, administer hot chocolate immediately.”

It’s the same thing I like about travel. Time is suddenly restructured into a new framework, even though with the whole “mobile office” aspect of it, work is still happening. Again, in a more focused way.

I wanted to write about the Word of the Year post which may or may not appear in the fabulous Ms. Kane’s site, but I am still mulling them over.

Here’s a few rolling around my tongue:

  • grace
  • strength
  • poise
  • allow (seen on CK’s guest post)
  • courage

First I need to banish my apprehensions, or convert them into their possible French ancestors (apprendre?) and actually learn something from them.

This is an all over the map post, I’m down with it. This is about practice, not outcome.

Day 5: Knitting on the brain

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Not that I’ve gotten any further from the 2″ band I made last night, but I’ve been thinking a lot about knitting.

For one, value vs monetary value. As soon as I started knitting again, there was one wee voice in my head saying “Gee, this could be some good part-time income….set up an etsy account and let the floodgates of wealth begin”. Of course, as soon as the moment I crunched the numbers in the most basic fashion, I was quickly aware that making a profit on knitting would require either super speed, or charging a designer like fee, or getting the wool for 80% off.  In other words, thinking of it like a business. Or, work.

I asked my instructor how those Etsy girls manage to have their prices so cheap, and she said they’re mainly using really cheap wool. The price difference between Zeller’s or Walmart’s cotton and the uber fancy shop I’m taking the course is on average  $12 per skein. Quite a difference. And that’s per skein. The scarf I made cost about $18 in wool (blend alpaca wool/silk), $6 in buttons. So $24 for materials. It took me six hours to make.

So, if I took off 3 hours for the learning curve factor, I might pump one out in 3 hours. Even at 2 hours, it would be 2 hours labour and $24.  Charging a very modest $20 (when running a business that would be suicide, but just for the sake of argument) it would be a minimum of $64 for the scarf, assuming I would be able to knit it in 2 hours alone.

There flew away my Etsy dreams. But while walking the neighbours dog today in the most delirious sunshine, I thought “Well, maybe I could think of it from a different angle…” So, if I could think of it as a hobby, and make $5 /hour, I could charge $35 for the scarf, which I think folks would buy…Clearly, if $20 / hr is ludicrous, then $5 is just plain insane. But a girl can dream.
Any moves towards taking this seriously is all a long ways off, but during this “economic downturn”, I’m content that my brain continues to scheme and think about ways to make money that don’t include being married to the box, which in case I haven’t mentioned, is slowly killing me.  That should be a category “Get off the box plans“.

Cheers,

Mzd

Day 4: Knitting a toque

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Just came back from a knitting class where I learned to make a toque.  Well, so far 2″ of one. On circular needles, which will switch to 4 double points, which I’ve never done before.

A woman in the class told me the story of how when she was in university she knit her now husband, then boyfriend, a cable sweater. It took her a semester, and basically by the time she’d finished she broke up with him. But then, one day he rode by her house on his motorbike wearing the sweater, and her mother said “are you sure you want to let him go?”. And so, she didn’t and they married. She’s retired now, with kids.

The funny part of the story is that one day her husband washed the sweater (wool) in the washing machine, and presto, felted sweater, many sizes too small.  I thought it was a cute story, and although I’m still reading the Zen book, and he makes many interesting points about Quality which I think strongly relate to knitting, it’s 9:30 and I haven’t eaten yet!
I do want to write it here though, so I don’t forget, that the one thing about knitting that’s so brilliant is it’s technological finesse (mathematics really), coupled with its’ forgiving nature.

Cheers,


Day 2: Zen and the art of knitting

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It’s 9pm and even with a calendar reminder, I almost forgot about my committment to this posting gig. Sheesh! Day 2 and I’m slacking off.

I’ve spent all day on the box, except for 1 hr of walking/errands. My neck is sore, and probably angry at me. My massage therapist encourages this concept of “micro breaks”, where you get up from the box and do specific exercises to counteract the stagnation of sitting and staring. For example, neck rolls. So, at least I did that today, but to my chagrin, discovered my neck makes a lot of creaking and cricking  sounds when I roll, which is more or less revolting, and doesn’t bode well for continued enthuasiasm for said activity.

Back to the title. I’m reading the infamous “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” for my book club. It’s rather an odd bag of tricks, this book club, which I joined primarily to get back into the habit of reading material other than a) blogs and b) technical stuff. The book club list deserves its own category and series of posts.

Back to the book. First, there is some degree of zen irony that I’m finally reading this book. I had my dad’s copy of the book on my book shelf for a gadzillion years. Last year, we got into this major decluttering phase, and many books were purged.  I didn’t remember getting rid of it, but when it came up as an item for the club, I could so clearly see it’s lovely, soft blue cover, torn edges and all. But a thorough search of 3 bookshelves meant that it too found it’s way into the 50lb pile that was donated to the senior home.  How do I know it was 50 lbs? Before we joined the co-operative auto, we didn’t have a car, and we walked to the senior’s center with a suitcase full of books.  Naturally, I had to weigh it before we left.

Right, so Pirsig floats out the idea that some of us are technophobes and others aren’t afraid to get under the proverbial hood and figure out the mechanics of something. Of course, he’s referring to motorcycles directly, and life obliquely. I think I sit somewhere between a technophobe and an uber geek.  It depends on the technology:) I’m not overly keen of fixing water taps, not that I enjoy listening to the incessant drip, drip, drip of a tap – but I can convince myself it’s soothing, if need be, rather than figure out how to fix it myself.

With old-school technology – ie: knitting, which I’ve recently taken up again, I’m more of a keener. I learned how to cable knit (yey!) and make a button hole, both for a wool scarf, which is too itchy for me to wear. Even though the wool is a soft 20% silk. These two tasks required enormous concentration and yet were well worth the effort of paying attention. What was worth it was the sense of completion, of satisfaction, and, clearly, of being able to see the finished produce in such  a (relatively) short time.  Something I could hold in my hands, and if my skin wasn’t so damn sensitive I could wear.  But I equally know that in the past I’ve shied away from learning these extra skills, preferring to stick within my comfort zone, k1, p1, et al. Therefore I have great sympathy for technophobes.

More later perhaps. I promised myself to write one post a day, not to draw zen-like conclusions every day….