Even More S**t

Out over $500 via PayPal. The toxic customer charged back the sweater fee to her credit card after she accepted the funds I returned. Isn't that stealing? This has me re-evaluating how I do the custom work. Thoughts I have about this include not accepting credit card payments, limiting my size range for custom pieces, and drawing up a contract that has to be signed by the customer not holding me responsible for mistakes they made measuring their dog.
I think it really is horrible that a person of priviledge (discovered doing a Google search that she is the wife of a successful plastic surgeon) would treat a working person in this manner. If PayPal can't resolve this for me, I'm hoping that I can proceed with criminal charges. That was stealing, right?

An Introvert's Perfect Day

In the middle (because I still have stuff to do at the old apartment this weekend!) of a hectic week, it was a nice anonymous interlude. Quiet except that I sat in the room with the television on (the other room was too crowded). No one to speak to, except for a casual exchange with a man seated in front of me at the end of the afternoon. Limited cell phone use. Just me and some knitting, and my own thoughts. Problems with work? Can't deal with them today. Sorry, I'm unavailable. Plus, a nice long 90 minute lunch break, so I had some delicious cream of mushroom soup at Pompeii, and some shopping at the State Street Macy's, and Borders. Some Chicagoans have a problem with Macy's, but I don't. I had lost my jury summons document in the chaos of the move, and was cheerfully checked in, no problems. The personnel was very nice and respectful. That's always been experience with this process--the juror is held in reverence by the officials. The whole experience was very mellow, and I ended up not being selected, so service over.
I really like using the CTA. I find the system to be most efficient. I was worried that my new stop might be under construction, so I walked to a different one this morning. I discovered later that my stop is indeed open, and a very pleasant five block walk from the new apartment.
Today, even the Man, who can get a chill when it's 70+ degrees outside, admitted that our steam heated apartment is too hot. There's something disturbing about bundling up to go out over the light sweat that I have going on when I'm in here. I think that I now have four out of seven radiators shut off.
All my furniture and most of my other possessions moved over yesterday. What was a spacious apartment is now filled with my stuff, mostly still in boxes. I'm finding things that haven't been seen in years, including some work equipment from a job I left five years ago. Like everyone else these days, I'm feeling a tremendous need to pare down. Purging needs to happen. My goal over the next few months is to take something out every day. Starting with all the clothes that I don't wear.
Of course, with all this bad karma swirling around, I had to soothe myself. I bought myself this book today for afternoon amusement. This has some really cool designs that I want to knit. We know I have the stash for it.

Gotta Summon The Strength

To get through to the end of the month. My movers come on Thursday, and I'm working all day Wednesday in the old apartment to get the last bits together. Owning all this stuff has me feeling like I'm a prisoner of it. I also might have jury duty on Friday, so that messes up the schedule more. I want my new year to start on February first. January has been a steaming pile of s**t.
I love this photo of Piccolo. She looks the way I feel.

She Still Loves Me

It's official. I've been negleting the blog.
I'm putting a really bad day to bed. It started with my suggestion of refunding a lot of money to a customer so I wouldn't have to knit a really huge sweater for the third time. Without going into a lot of detail, it was ugly, and I re-wrote my return policy so there will be no misunderstandings in the future. Note: for most dogs, the chest measurement is pretty close, or exactly the length. This is the first time this has happened with a custom piece, so I guess I've been lucky. I couldn't sell the piece as it was, so the sweater was frogged, and most of the yarn was washed for re purposing.
Then there were problems with the day job. Some toxic person complained about me in a very sneaky and underhanded way. I may have turned lemons into lemonade here, and get a reassignment that would work out better in terms of the job commute. I'll see how it shakes out. I just want to work with a minimum of controversy. Is that too much to ask?
How can I shake this bad karma that seems to have discovered me?
I'm hoping I can power through packing tomorrow, so I can make it into Quiltology on Sunday for some quilting homework!
I'm really liking that pillow top mattress.

Props to the Man

We're happy so far in the new Lucky Penny headquarters. This place is more work. More of an effort to bring things up or take them down in this walk up. No dishwasher, so I have to keep up with the hand washing of things. I have to find a decent laundromat, as the one a few blocks away was not so great. We have no common walls with anyone else, so quiet here, and the top floor, so no buffalo herds above.
The one thing that's difficult is, the radiator heat in this old building. The clanging of the pipes at 3 AM! I've lived with radiator heat before, and I don't remember it being like this. I might have this summer's heat under control. I'm planning on buying a used (one summer) air conditioner from my hairdresser when he moves to his new condo.
The thing that remains is breaking down the old apartment and moving it. I still have concerns about getting it all out without movers. I'm not finished packing, at all. There's still part of the kitchen and most of my studio to pack. The Man is determined to get this done. His method has been to borrow a truck from his brother, and move over a few pieces at a time. I've been overwhelmed by just the amount of stuff that I've purged. Then there's the stuff I have. Books are heavy, and I have a lot of them. I have a lot of vintage art pottery, even though over the fast five years, due to space limitations, I did not acquire more. Even though there's more space here, there's a limit to storage capacity. So, I need to focus on some stash reduction. I cast on today for Manon from Norah Gaughan volume 1, using yarn that was purchased at last year's Stitches. I found the misplaced sock monkey pattern, and I think I know where I packed the yarn for it, so I can work on that soon, too.
The Man came over today while I was working the kitchen packing, which is slowed down by the fact that lots of things need to be cleaned before packing. I'm not bringing old dust up here. I usually describe him as silly and goofy, but he can take charge like a drill sergeant. His nickname for himself is "Commander." He's the only one who uses it, I should add. But, when I think about it, he dispatches his work crew to different job sites every day. Within twenty minutes we had two large pieces moved out of the kitchen. I was impressed.

Don't Want To

I don't want to do any more packing. Today the Man and his brother moved over a few pieces of heavy furniture, and he's wiped out. I rested today by doing a knit a long for Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sideways Mystery Mitten, and still I'm exhausted. Part of it I'm sure is the unseasonable 60+ degree weather in January. So bizarre, or maybe not so. The nice thing is we're now sleeping at the new apartment. The cable was to come on Saturday, but some one at Comcast cancelled the entire work order after I called just to cancel the Internet. So we watch a little black and white TV with the antenna until the cable is hooked up on Tuesday. Little things. But, it's so blissfully quiet here.

There May Be Silence

There may be a longer pause in posting starting today, when I think my phone service switches over to the new Lucky Penny headquarters. I'm on a dial up for internet, and will be attempting to get my high speed set up at the new address. Piccolo and I went over today to have the new bed delivered. I had a chance to look things over, and noticed things previously over looked before. Like how our bedroom could use painting. That the kitchen needs some serious cleaning. I peeled off some contact paper from a cabinet that had some kind of toxic slime. I'm not a great housekeeper, but ick. The one lovely thing was the quiet. It's all worth it for the quiet. Over here, at the soon to be old address, the issues are, I have a lot of vintage pottery, I have a lot of books, and I have a lot of yarn. Except for the yarn, not easy to pack and transport. I'm challenged. So, after this weekend, I'll be dashing back and forth trying to get it all organized.
Here's more of the Tully sweater for a look.

I learned today that the retail venture is on hold for now. It's okay, considering everything else that's happening now. See you in a few, hopefully.

My Best of 2007

From Knit Lit and Bonne Marie, my best of 2007.
1.Your best FO of the year: I have two. One being Doggie Knits, Sweaters and Accessories for Your Best Friend, my book. I've mentioned it ad nauseum, but I've spent three years gestating that baby. The other would be that little vest that was in my last post. With those short row cables, it was really fun to knit.
2. Best FO of the year by a blog you link to: Linday Obermayer's Big Blue. She used nylon rope and big honking needles to make a sweater for our planet. I can't think of a bigger accomplishment. Lindsay made the Field Museum in Chicago a destination for knitters this summer.
3. Best yarn you tried: All flavors of Briar Rose Fibers. The colors, the fragrance! The love affair just goes on and on.
4. Best new book/mag/pattern of 2007. Norah Gaughan Volume 1. There's a whole knit wardrobe in there. I know it came out in 2006, but her Knitting Nature looks new and fresh to me every time I look at it. Norah's influence has really elevated Berroco, in my estimation.
5. Best new knitting technique or gadget you tried in 2007. It is a stretchy bind off that Bonne Marie showed me at the last KIP. My leg bands and collars for Lucky Penny were being returned for alterations because they were too tight. To the point where I was thinking my sweaters had a serious design flaw. That bind off saved Lucky Penny!
6. Top 5 inspirations--what five things inspired you the most this past year? 1-Bonne Marie--the chic style, the boundless energy. She raises the bar for knitting and design. And, I totally can't believe that she selected me as one of her five.
2-Theresa--this lady really knows what yarn will do. I find her insights into the craft so valuable. The quilts she made this past year inspired me to take up quilting again after a twenty year hiatus.
3-Chris Roosien--an artist. What she does with color and fiber is just amazing. All this artistry comes in the nicest, most adorable package.
4-the Chicago Craft Mafia. So hip, clever, and with so much integrity. I'm so happy to be a part of this group.
5-My KIP friends--I love spending Thursday nights with all of you. Laughter, cake, and fabulous knitting. You all make it fun, which is what it's supposed to be.
I can't write about inspiration without mentioning Piccolo--my little muse. She wears sweaters like no other dog. The photo is what Piccolo does when she gets in contact with knits. She's rubbing herself on my newly completed Tully, knit with Colinette Iona, purchased at Threadbear this past October.
7. Designer who most amazed and inspired you througout the year: I've yet to knit one of her designs, but whenever I see Anne Hanson's work, it takes my breath away.
8. Knitting resolutions for 2008--what's next for you and your blog? I think some of my resolutions are reruns from 2007. Things I wanted to accomplish, but just didn't get to. I still want to design more dog sweaters, and possibly start another book. I need to be more disciplined about replenishing Lucky Penny stock. 2007 was pretty much a vacation from it, and starting in February, I'll be partnering with someone in a retail space. For myself, I would like to make something ambitious--there's a few Bohus kits in my possession that I never touched this year. Knitting toys and things for the home would be fun to do, as well. Hopefully that sock monkey pattern will show up while I'm packing for my big move.
Happy knitterly 2008, everyone!