Sigh of Relief

Good evening!  Lest you all think my blog has been shut off by authorities, let me clarify.

I've had a busy and stressful couple of months, so I dialed down the column and blog in favor of a few other ventures.  The big time investment went to the Knitty.com design contest.  I can't share a photo just yet because I assume it would disqualify me (if that's not the case and I get approval to the positive, I'll share), but I'm actually proud of myself for stretching my creative legs a bit.  I like one-hit wonders...scarves, hats, blankies...and then just reserve the garment-making for myself by following a pattern.

But I designed a garment.  With heavenly yarn.  And I finished it and entered with an ENTIRE DAY TO SPARE BEFORE THE DEADLINE!  Life is good.

There was a huge weight lifted off of me the day I closed on my condo.  This process made me question the short-sale culture; it was nobody's fault, but MAN what a pain in the arse.  The bank was slow, the lawyers were slow, the mortgage guy was slow, I was slow, the seller was slow, the agents were slow...okay, so nobody was actually "slow," but the process took seven months.  Then, on the last day of my rotation (when I am so over-tired that everything makes me cry), the closing is scheduled and I'm sitting at the title company, knitting the contest garment.

It's okay...it was sixty miles of an easy stitch pattern so I could do that while over-tired.

Anyway, we waited for hours in order to close because a glitch in a computer system was preventing some documents from being printed.  We were so bored, we friended each other on facebook.  Finally, with literally five minutes to go and no other day for the closing to happen, all went well and I went to work and then to Canada to teach a lace class.  Poof.

Ooh, and I filed my taxes with...if you can believe it...a MONTH to spare.

So the contest and the taxes were actually completed on the same day.  I had that feeling of "I don't need to do another thing for days!" feeling.  Even better, though...if any of you have ever test-knit something for someone, you know there's always the discussion of what was wrong with the pattern, what was decidedly RIGHT with the pattern, what may need to be worded differently and the like.  Well, I wrote this pattern out, drew the schematic, started knitting, and did not have a test-knitter besides myself.  In the moments I was sewing the last seam, I literally felt my heart start beating faster...I was nervous.  If it didn't work out, too bad...I was too close to the deadline to rip it out and do it again.

But it worked.  And it more than worked...it was cute and a half, it was so cute.  It's the same feeling, I think, that a groom feels when he sees his bride for the first time on his wedding day, but without the lifetime-overwhelm that comes with it.  Done.  Happy.

Other than that, working overnight is taking a lot out of me; I'll fire the column back up after my rotation for the next four days, and I have some great stuff lined up (that is, if you're a knitter or care at all about helping people).  For now, I am continuing trying to find new and different ways to sleep so my life has some balance to it, but my lack of a thyroid is getting in my way.  I've been having extreme headaches, and after having my blood drawn yet again I was told to keep my current dose of my meds because I'm "sensitive to higher thyroid doses."  A true statement.

I'm excited to pick up a project I put down in favor of the contest.  Hmm...the Zauerball socks, the cat bed, the sleeves for the kimono sweater that won't die...