Knit cravings and me

It seems I've developed a habit of starting several winter sweaters at once when it's cold out and finishing them much, much later. This spring, I wanted a cotton cardi for summer but was too busy making baby gifts to get started, and when I did, oh boy. It's a long, ugly story that I'll save for later, but the point is that I've started a summer sweater that I predict won't be finished until a few seasons from now, so I'm really developing a tricky habit here. According to my schedule, I'm ahead now though. I've picked up another sweater I started last winter and, after doing some blocking, I'll sew it up and be ready for fall--if it fits: I seem to be having issues lately. My solution? Buy some Big Wool and knit something fast! Look forward to my purchase very soon.

Meanwhile, I'm supposed to tell you about myself. Here's a picture of me at my day job one night in a sweater I started in December '04 and finished in early '06.



My "day job" is in public television, and I love it (in spite of my grouchiness from time to time -- hey, that's just part of the package). So this was during a pledge drive, not my favorite thing about public broadcasting, but these pledge nights can be fun. The sweater pictured is Deborah by Laura Long from Rowan 36. This isn't exactly what I'm known for at Hilltop; I am looked at for small needle/lace work/anything fussy, let's say. Funnily enough, Ms Vellumblue has a lot in common with me on these things, but there's just something about the colors I pick that reinforce this theory.

What else can I tell you about me? I started knitting from a borrowed book with a pencil and a chopstick and a piece of random floss. I was so thrilled that it turned out to be so easy--I'd wanted to learn since I was a little kid and the other kids in the second grade were finger knitting and crocheting long "scarves" at recess, but always thought it was unattainable. I'd try making loops over loops and they'd just fall apart without a cast on or needles to hold them. College was just behind me and I was trying new things; luckily, knitting stuck and some of the other, um, experiments fell by the wayside with time. This makes eight years of knitting, and though I was a natural, I didn't know what I didn't know until I got the opportunity to work at Hilltop. I can't begin to enumerate what I've learned from not only my coworkers and the teachers, but also from customers! I also think the explosion in knitting blogs has helped a lot, so I'm thrilled we have a Hilltop blog now.

Next time, I'll see if I can dig up *all* my UFOs (horrors) and/or discuss my wish list! Now I'm off to see if there's something fresh around here that I can cast on...