8.31.2002

My job has reached new lows in terms of drudgery. We've just moved our offices, so most of my tasks have been related to that. Like packing (and predictably, unpacking) my boss's desk. For this, I got a degree? My boss proudly told me on Friday that he put me in speed dial on his cell phone. We're a cell-heavy office. I suspect this is to blame for the fact that I went over my 600 minute calling plan last month. 600 minutes is ten hours .
I went to the International Center for Photography last night. The exhibits were dull, but the space is gorgeous. I sat through most of a series of "short" multichannel video art pieces, causing great boredom for my companion. One of them was beautiful, featuring a woman in a paisley broomstick skirt twisting about underwater. Afterwards, I went home and watched silent super 8 movies with my hosts. They could easily convert to a video art piece; film looks sp much better than video.
I am still knitting the blue and green vareigated socka socks that I was working on while standing in line at TKTS. Now, I am on the second sock. Knitting in the round attracts a lot of curiosity/attention when done in public places. I am eagerly awaiting a second skein of peace fleece so that I can finish the scarf that has been sitting on a pair of needles for too long. Since the recipient of the scarf said that he doesn't want to see it until it is finished, so that it will be a surprise, I can only work on it after he has gone to bed. I feel like a reverse Penelope.

8.22.2002

I got a letter from my father today, in which he mentioned reading my blog. So it's not the ultimate vanity publishing affair. Since my last posting, I have finished and worn the Jaeger socks. I had forgotten what it feels like to wear handmade socks (in DK, thick). I quickly tired of the colorwork in the Rebecca shell and stowed it in a hatbox. Now, I'm working on a bias knit scarf out of hand-dyed variegated yarn from Peace Fleece. It is so beautiful and soft, due to the mohair content. I highly recommend them. Their yarns are tweedy and gorgeous, with unusual names like Volgassippi Blue.
I went to the Jersey Shore and took photographs of the ocean. So that's out of my system now.
I played hooky from work yesterday and hit the TKTS booth. The line moved pretty quickly, which is good as the person directly behind me had nooo concept of personal space. And she loudly chewed gum. I went to Urinetown, which I'd wanted to see ever since I heard an essay about it on NPR. The show was very clever, but in a self-conscious manner.
I went to the photography exhibition at the Jewish Museum tonight, which is far outside my usual wanderings. The exhibition was so-so. I should have listened to the review in the New Yorker. That is something that I am discovering: being able to evaluate the accuracy of the critics when I've seen the item in question. The NY'er was pretty cruel to Harlem Song. The show only needs a plot and an intermission.
I've been playing with my new minidisc. I've used the racks before, but never the portable unit. Picked up five discs at a large a/v store that I won't name and discovered when I got home that the reason why the price was low was that they were grey market discs. All of the labels were in japanese. One of my friends tells me that minidiscs are very big in Japan, but that may not prevent them from being the eight track of the nineties...I bought mine to do field recording, as the price of a decent DAT is prohibitive, but I also like using it to listen to a little bossa nova on the A train.

8.10.2002

Things are moving very quickly on my Jaeger sock. Maybe I will work in DK more often! I've been putting off working on my Rebecca pattern shell, since I've gotten to the point that I must begin the color work. It isn't shown with color work in Rebecca, but I've decided to knit the ribbing at the color and armholes in a contrasting grey. This would be much easier had I chosen a pattern where the ribbing is knitted later than the body of the garment. Instead, I must reinvent the wheel. Knitting with four letter words.
I took a photo of the Hudson the other day, an entire frame of waves. I don't see the Hudson everyday, even though I go through the Lincoln Tunnel five times a week. The ideal image would have had a 2/3 water composition, but there were too many distracting details on the horizon like New Jersey. I've yet to complete the twelve exposure roll of film that I began when I first arrived in this fair city. That's a depressing thought.

8.09.2002

I started knitting a pair (well, one at the moment) of socks from the basic Ann Norling pattern from beautiful variegated merino Jaeger DK. It is lovely shades of blue, with some color blocks appearing. They're not large enough to bother me. It's been so long since I knit a pair of socks in DK that I am amazed at how fast they are knitting up. Of course, that is the difference between 00 needles and 6s!

8.08.2002

Again, it has been a long time since my last update. Months, even. I've been quite busy with my new job, at a dance organization in New York (so I've relocated as well; I have lots of excuses). I can't remember the last time I worked 40 hours a week consistently. Consequently, I have not had a lot of time to work on my wips. My wips are in Chicago and I am here, so they are unlikely to be finished in the next few months. For some reason that I do not recall, I left my yarn stash in Chicago, so I am exploring the yarn shops of New York. So far, I have visited Purl, in SoHo, Gotta Knit, on 6th Ave., and The Yarn Co., on Broadway. None of them are a replacement for my favorite yarn stores in Chicago, but I will have to make do until my mother sends a care package with some of my stash in it.
So what have I been doing all this time, if not knitting? I've seen three shows and attended two concerts in Central Park. I'd like to take advantage of all of the cultural opportunities in the city, but I am often dead tired after work. Still, I hope to hit the free days of all of the major museums and see more theatre and dance before I leave.
I've done very little photography lately, which is a shame. It's just a question of carrying one of my cameras with me, which I don't. I dread being mistaken for a tourist. I'm working on a series of things that I see everyday to send to one of my friends who has never been to NY. I'm shooting Fujichrome MS100/1000 at ISO 400 with my trusty Holga. Ideally, I will have another Holga in the near future, so that I can keep one loaded with black and white and the other with color.
I'm knitting myself a sweater, from an adapted pattern in the summer issue of Rebecca. They show it with a wide welt of fisherman's ribbing at the hem, but that is not flattering on anyone but the tiniest of knittters! I'm making it up in Gedifra New Age. It looks like I'm knitting a muppet. Since it's gotten too large to carry on the subway everyday, I've decided to start knitting socks again. I've also got a big wish list of future projects, from Rebecca, my Rowan book, and the anniversary edition of VK. Soon...
Will update soon with more tales of the city.

 
Blogger design by suckmylolly.com