Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Hey, weird people - come talk to me, I like it....

Apparently there is a sign somewhere about my person that lets them all come to find me. That's the only explanation.

So, I'm on the train last night coming home. We had a closing today for a problem file so we were in the office late and I was on the 11:00PM train, so I suppose some weirdness was to be expected. After the station before mine I put my knitting into my bag, put on my coat and walked up to the door to wait until we pulled into the station and the doors opened. The woman in the seat behind me got up at the same time I did and walked forward as well. Nothing weird so far. Except just as we were pulling into the station this woman, who I have never laid eyes on before in my life starts playing with my hair.

Like, picking it up and running her fingers through it. When I inquired as to what the freakin' hell she thought she was doing, she said that she had been wanting to do that since I had sat down and just couldn't control herself anymore. She seemed insulted when I suggested that she try harder.

In other news, the knitting funk seems to finally be over. I think that I have Ravelry to thank. I've never understood the allure of MySpace or Facebook but I have to admit, I love Ravelry with a deep and unrivaled affection. I have found my people here. Being exposed to this large a community of other knitters is remarkably inspiring. It's also kind of nice to be able to have a conversation with people who don't give me that "we love you, but you're a little odd" look every time I mention knitting and don't think that my yarn obsession is the least bit strange.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Duty vs. Enthusiasm - I'll Take What I Can Get

Okay, so it's not what you would call a raging case of startitis, but I have been casting on a few new projects during the past week. More out of a sense of duty (and let's face it - fear of December) than out of any real joy, but still..

My mother and my grandmother are getting shawls for Christmas (my sister-in-law too, if I can find something that I like for her) (something fast). Grandma is getting the Litla Dimun Shawl from Folk Shawls and Mom is getting the cable shawl from Philosopher's Wool - Sheep to Shawl. (I don't think either of them actually reads this blog. I really hope they don't, anyway.) I don't know what to make for my brother - he doesn't wear hats or scarves and he's 6'7" so a sweater is - unthinkable.

In non-knitting funk related news - I went to see a very good play Sunday night called Humans Anonymous. Off-Broadway can be sort of hit 0r miss sometimes, but this was quite good. It was written by a Canadian playwright named Kate Hewlett, who also performed. I loved the play - it was funny and a little sad. The characters and the actors were very real and extremely engaging. I was talking to my mother about the play yesterday and I thought she would like it. The tickets weren't particularly expensive and the theater is pretty convenient to both our offices, so we're actually going to go see it together next Friday.