Obsessed

I started reknitting Twisted Hourglass while waiting for my Sock Wars target Kate to send me her socks-in-progress. Until my assassin kills me, I am still in the game. However, until I receive Kate's socks to finish them (and kill the person who had been her target), I can work on something for myself.

Last year, I'd started Twisted Hourglass in a beautiful blue tencel yarn that, while gorgeous, did not have enough stretch. Once I turned the heel, I was no longer able to get the sock over my heel. Very sad. I set the project aside to be frogged. But the pattern is so beautiful, I really wanted to finish it. And so now, using yarn that I'd bought to make Dan a pair of socks with, I am starting the pattern over again.

I don't know what's wrong with me. Had been feeling relatively well, proud of making it through the holidays without a complete meltdown. Now, though, I'm unable to function properly at anything but knitting. Reading about knitting, thinking about knitting, actually knitting...it's the only thing that I want to do. I put away half my Christmas decorations, couldn't find the boxes for my Santa plates, and so left them up. When I see them, I get a sense of panic...why can't I put them away? Why can't I look harder for the box in which their boxes are stored? And then I retreat back to the bark-o-lounger to knit.

The stitches slip off the needles, one after the other, producing something beautiful. Knitting is the only thing holding me together.

Sock Wars V

Sock Wars has begun. Photo is from last night, before I went to sleep. Socks are currently double that size, but something has happened to the little memory card adapter thinger on my laptop, such that I cannot upload photos so easily. Instead, I had to use the camera in the laptop, which doesn't adjust easily.

My victim lives in New Jersey; my assassin lives in the UK. I think I can get off one kill before I am killed...maybe. Apparently some folks are having issues with the set up on Magic Loop for this particular pattern as there's an SSK at the end of a needle. Not a problem in general and especially not when using DPNs (which I'm not)...but two-at-a-time means I shall have to fiddle around a bit when I get to that point since there's a couple of points along the way where I can't slide a stitch from one needle to the next.

Which is gibberish to non-knitters :D Hahaha!

In news anyone can understand, I finished my Spot Check socks on Thursday night, weaving in the loose ends just before midnight. They're incredibly comfy and really cute! I think I shall make another pair, using a different constrast color than black. The next bits of color on the Mini-mochi yarn are cool colors of blue and green and I can't wait to use the rest of it! It was fiddly to work with, like a thin roving, but so soft.

Anyway, coffee is done and I must return to battle. Adieu!

Starting Over

I like the meditative quality of tarot; it helps me focus my thoughts and see things from a different perspective than usual. Every January, I sit down and think about what I hope to achieve in the next year and where the last year took me.

I didn't do a tarot reading at the start of 2009. Glancing through my tarot journal, I see that almost all the readings I've done in the past two years were related to Dan. Dan also does tarot, and we would read each other's tarot spreads and talk about our interpretations. In fact, the first time I was over at his apartment when we weren't dating, we talked about tarot and he mentioned that his deck was under his pillow...except that it had fallen behind the bed. When he pulled the cards up and handed the deck to me, the card on the top was The Lovers. He said later that he hadn't realized it at the time but that it was certainly a good sign. And so it was.

One thing that always, always came up in both of our readings was the fact that our entire relationship was dependent upon Dan to direct its flow. One of my journal notes shows The Sun as the card of hopes and fears. My note: "A cherub. The sun rays. A red flag. A wall." Perhaps I should have paid more attention.

Yesterday, I sat down to do a reading for 2010. I get a sense of change and renewal, and doing well at work. The overall positives outweight the outcome card for me. Ten of Swords is not a tremendously positive card, but on the other hand, it's a card of change and endings. Endings aren't all bad; when one thing ends, another begins.

That's how I see it. For me, this is a year in which I will finally accept the changes that happened in the past year and put it behind me. I'll be okay.