Monday, September 01, 2008

welcome, Spring!

hard to believe it's Spring already, where does time go?

It's beautiful here today; mild breeze, nice amount of sunshine, blue skies...

Makes everything seem OK, yes?

Lots happening since I last checked in - and, yeah, sorry about the absence. Days slip into weeks and before you know it, oops, nearly a month has passed without an blog entry.


so I guess I owe you a really good one now? here goes nothing
...

You may remember the little cousin-baby I was knitting for last month? Turns out s/he will be arriving a little earlier than usual, so I have dashed off a couple of teeny cardigans to the mummy-to-be, just to get her started. I know when my niece was born nearly 5 weeks early, my SIL had a lot of trouble finding wee clothes to fit, and truly, I can only imagine it's the last thing you want to be worrying about at that time.

So anyway, Elizabeth, honey, if you're reading, look away (or stay tuned if you're not so worried about surprises!)





With my hand, for scale.

The green one is size 000000, and used barely half a skein of sock wool. The big boofy red/cream one is a 00000, and looks gigantic in comparison. It too took under a full skein of wool.

I have also been working on a project for a new book, coming out Mar/Apr 2009. The lovely Pip, from meet me at mikes sent me a note asking if I would like to contribute to her book project showcasing Australian Contemporary Craft?

Naturally, I had to think for a minute..... before saying, "Hell, yeah!"


I don't want to give too much away this early, but it's all very exciting! You will recognise a lot of the names also involved, I'm sure, and I'm just thrilled to be asked to join them.

I dropped my contribution sample and pattern off last week, and now Autumn next year seems so far off. It is sure to go by in the blink of an eye, though, if these last six months are anything to go by.

I am also working on a piece that I hope to release as a download pattern very soon.

Here's a sneak peak - who can guess what it might be?



How do I manage to fit it all in, I hear you ask?

Well, turns out, because I quit my job about a fortnight ago, that's how! The role was just simply not panning out as promised, and to be frank, the culture in the office was more than a little blokey and the general behaviour of the guys was starting to over-step the line. Put that all together with the fact that the company had not paid any compulsory Superannuation for me since I had started, despite blatantly lying and telling me they had, and it was really a top place to work.

I was starting to have health issues and my insomnia was returning, and it became all too apparent one night that the underlying factor was stress.

I walked into my bosses' office the next day and handed in my resignation, and it was the Best Thing I Have Ever Done. Hugely scary, in the sense of facing unemployment and will I have enough to live off, etc? But, let me tell you, liberating. The best thing was, that very same day was when I got the note from Pip about the book, and then that night, I got a call about a freelance job for a friend of a friend. It was like my little reassuring sign that I had made the right decision, and all would be ok.

Which of course it will be :)

more knitting content soon...

8 comments:

Rose Red said...

Oh my, those baby cardis are so small! And so cute. Lovely for little baby to have a handknit cuddle!

And wow, big step on the job - it was obviously meant to be with the new work coming in - excellent!

(and is it a tea cosy? Intriguing!)

Susanne said...

Glad to see you back, looks like you've been busy!! Those baby cardis are gorgeous, so tiny.

Well done on the job too, there's nothing worse than having a job affect your health (been there, done that). Very exciting with the freelance stuff, best wishes to you.

Madge said...

Congrats on the crafty book submission! How exciting that you're now a Designer with a capital D.

(Methinks a tea cozy, too.)

Fortune cookie prize: You're destined for great things.

x.

Drewzel said...

Hooray for giving up crappy job! Life's too short.

Can't wait to see your contribution to Pip's book, how exciting! Yay!

Louise said...

So much news! Firstly, congratulations on your book plans and secondly, good for you for walking out on that work environment. I'm sure everything will turn out brilliantly for you. xo lj

Unknown said...

As an old hand at resigning, I completely understand how liberating a feeling it is to actually do it, and don't you think that the fear of having an uncertain future is much worse than actually having an uncertain future?

I was once given this advice, and it has stood me in good stead over the years of many ups and downs: and I shall share it with you now: 'so what about the job? You can lose your income, your 'stuff', but you'll still be you, getting up in the morning, doing your thing. It's not like they've taken away your birthday.'

(this advice was given to my by my eight month pregnant friend who was mortgaged up to the eyeballs, had just gone on maternity leave, and whose husband came home sacked one Thursday.)

Everything sounds peachy everywhere else, so good on you.!

the artful little minx said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
kgirlknits said...

such great advice to put it all in perspective!

I'm going to paste "it's not like they've taken away your birthday" on my bedroom mirror, just love it!