Jo Knits!

Oh boy...

Tomorrow starts the seventh day of my second internship, then there will be eight days left before my program is officially over. I met with someone from school yesterday and after talking way too much, she A) said I had a really cute belt! B) said that perhaps optics is not for me... C) to call her tomorrow to decide what I should do next.

I haven't said much about this internship as I don't know how to say that basically it sucks. Here I am stuck in a place where I know people would do just about anything to get into the company and I just want to run away. Actually I feel like I haven't had a fair chance compared to the six other interns from my class in the same place. I have been used as a Gofor (go for this, go for that), today I used a machine that engraves the company name onto the lenses. Anyone can use that machine but I was just so happy to be away having to clean 300 lenses with acetone. I used the fog machine (you slightly see the logo when you fogthe lens, it's proof that you get what you pay for when buying lenses from this company), so I was on that machine for an hour then it was back to cleaning lenses.

For the past two days, I have been wiping clean lens after lens standing on this 3'X6' rubber mat. That's it! Frankly I'm not sure I went to school for 5 months just to learn how to clean lenses but oh well, sadly I have been in three departments and none have appealed to me. Basically everyone's been treating me like dirt and sadly, I believe I am more worth than what they are treating me like. On the 1st floor there's three guys from my class and they are all given more tasks than I in the same places I was in. Maybe I have a face that says that I am just not apt to do 'real' work or something. It's tough though to see others getting to use machines and have chores that really do mean something in production. I am feel like I'm filling in places that usually no one is working at. Ugh!

This is all coming out weird but if I wrote what's in my mind in french, barely anyone would understand. LOL! ;) Tomorrow I will go in at 7am, clean lenses, not stress over trying to be the fastest lenses wiper in the world and call school. Then..... maybe, just maybe my first internship workplace would accept to see me again for the rest of my internship. At least, I'd actually be happy to wake up in the morning. I sure don't feel worth-less there, they always thanked me at the end of the day, saying how much they appreciated my help.

I did learn a lot about myself since starting school, one VERY surprising thing that keeps coming back is that I am told I am a perfectionist!!! Oh my goodness, I was floored hearing that for the 1st time, I consider myself the total opposite though it is true I want to be good at everything the 1st time I try. LOL!

Now, if only I really knew what I wanted to be when I 'grow' up. It would make my future so much easier...

hugs,

Treatments!

Does this look like a proud new owner of a hat or what? Lucas loves receiving handknits, he can't wait to wear the hat outside tomorrow. :) At first I wasn't sure this project would ever make it past the cast on step, I kept ripping it out but I stuck with it. This is also all knit in continental style, I am really proud of myself about knitting with my left hand. It's not always fast but I am getting faster and my left wrist is getting used to being used more. At first it hurt more to knit continental or combination than in english style.

The hat has a simple slip stitch pattern and only one color is knit per row. Why is this important? Because I am still afraid of knitting 2 colors at a time, I know it's not so scary once you start but I'm just not there yet. ;)

I haven't blogged much these days as once I come home from my internship, I am BEAT! I have been doing all sorts of things and most of them had nothing to do with the 5 months course I just completed. Tomorrow though, things are going to change!!! If you wear glasses, you most likely know about treatments are offered to make your lenses scratch resistant, easer to clean, non-glare to help a better vision. Well, I am going to be working in an laboratory bigger that my house where all sorts of treaments are being made. I am very excited to learn about all of this, hopefully I won't ruin too much lenses. OYE!

On sunday, the kids were invited at a kids birthday party, we don't really participate in those usually but this one was different. The party was held at l'Atelier Toutou (aka the Plush Workshop). Each child made their own stuffed animal and boy did my kids enjoy their time there. They recently opened a store in Montreal, we had been at their store in Mont Tremblant last december. After the party and still on their sugar rush from eating cake, the kids joined me and other knitters for a little meeting of fun knitting. Lucas adores going to see the 'tricoteuses' at the cafe. :)

Off to sleep, I have to leave the house at 6AM!!! Oh boy...

Stress...

Victory can be bittersweet! I went to my interview yesterday and waited 30 minutes before meeting someone, then I learned she never received my resume. Oye! Still we spend 35 minutes talking and I start today! Well learning at least, there is a promise of 3 months of work though so that will help us until february. Once I learned this though, I went to my 1st internship place to tell them I wasn't coming in today. It was SO hard as I really would prefer to be with the guys instead but sadly they couldn't promise me anything. My heart ached so much while I was there, the people are just SO nice, I truely enjoyed my time with them. Each one told me to go where the money was and good luck, to please come back once in a while to see them again. Of course I will go see them, they have changed me for a better person and they don't even know it.

When I left, I cried, I was really stressed out over many things yesterday and it was just such an emotional day. Our class had lunch together and we went out to play pool, which I haven't played in too long. This is the last time I was seeing several of my classmates, it was tough.

I finally re-started the hat for Lucas for a third time and hopefully this will be the right gauge. LOL! I am still knitting combination and it is going faster than I expected.

At this exact moment, I believe I am happy in all aspects of my life, could this be?

hugs,

Almost over,

It's officially my last day of school, then again, it is not. Today is the last day we go to school and it's to meet up together to go out for lunch. Our 2nd internship starts on thursday and in three weeks, school will be over for good. Then it is off into the wonderful world of working for a living. This morning I have a verrry nerve-wracking interview with one of the two biggest eyewear companies in the whole province, if not the country. Let me tell you that I am feeling quite stressed out over this, it's also taking place in an odd sort of events. Basically I don't know what to expect nor what this interview is for... While I have an internship at lab.A (where I've been going too and know that people are happy to see me), I am still looking for a place that actually wants to hire me. This interview is about a job but also if I get an internship offer, I will be jumping on the chance. That would mean I will have to call lab A and cancel with them. This is all happening today though, so I need a great interview and then I have to go announce to people that I won't come in tomorrow. Argh! Ain't that awful? This course though was to get a job in the end and not having an offer right now is very stressful. At least Carl seems to be on the safe side with two job offers so I am not worried for him.

So if you feel like it, please think happy thoughts and send all the calming vibes my way. LOL!

hugs,

New online knitting mag,

Gauge is not my friend, never was and never will be. Four inches into this new project I hit an oh-oh moment, you know the kind that makes you want to re-check gauge just in case... I shouldn't have but I guess it's best that I did. Sigh! Zoe's been wearing the same fall hat for two years now, so Lucas is insisting he needs his own. I am using the pattern from the 2005 Knitting pattern-a-day calender, it's the february 11 date. Back to cast on but first I have to get back to my homework before school.

Had a lovely sunday, the weather was so-so but we still spent the afternoon outside walking around town with the kids. Stopped by a yarn shop with a BIG dog (that kept Lucas busy!) and had the surprise of getting great customer service. The first time I entered the store I almost came out crying and giving up knitting, now I enjoy the service I get and almost prefer this store to others. LOL! Zara yarn was bought for Lucas and the colors match his winter coat perfectly. I still have this hat design in mind but perhaps I'll knit it for Carl, he'd enjoy it I'm sure. :)

Have you seen the new online knitting mag? It's called Men Knit and for a first issue it is pretty neat! :) Check out the last page, that crossword kept me busy for quite a while and still, I have only found half of the words. Very nifty, I want to see more crosswords in the future! Great job Men Knit, maybe Carl can design and knit a project for a future issue. ;)

hugs,

Sigh...

Disappointing... monday, I ordered online a knitting kit from a somewhat big company. When I still haven't had news from them by friday, I called to see what was up with my order. Their reply was not too surprising but still I was disappointed. They were busy preparing for the BIG Rhinebeck show for this weekend. If I could contact them again on monday, then they'd check if on my order.

Now I am not going to Rhinebeck this weekend but know people that are. If I knew that they couldn't process my order this week, I could have emailed a friend to simply pick up the kit I wanted. Sadly, by the time I learned and finally cancelled my order, everyone was gone for the weekend.

I am disappointed, all week I was hoping to start knitting on this project this weekend but then to learn that my order (however small it is) was not a priority, just didn't make me feel good. I didn't want to wait until monday to then learn they sold out the colorway I wanted and to please wait a few days to give them time to dye more yarn. Ugh!

Ya, I'm not going to Rhinebeck I KNOW! Does it mean, I am not worth having my order processed? I am sad, not mad but a bit peeved, they could have simply indicated on their website that all orders would be processed after the yarn show. Oh wait, there was the fact that they had computer problems and couldn't exactly locate my order but oh well. I was so excited... now instead I need to find a yarn substitution locally. Ha! It'll be hard to read about all the people that bought from them at Rhinebeck. Sigh...

Four more days,

Only four more days of school, friday is a day off and next wednesday is our day out to celebrate. WOW! It's pretty scary, exciting, crazy that we are almost done!!! Technically, we finish school November 9th but we won't be going back to school after tuesday so for me it's done with it. I am ready for it to be over, though I will miss the other students a lot, especially the day I sat next too. He was SO fun to joke with, we always laughed and I call him Killer Frank (he is the most quiet and sweetest person around LOL!).

I am just about to start the 2nd ball on the scarf (the color in this pic is WAY off!), I am having great fun knitting with the combination style. I usually don't persevere more when trying something new but this is going pretty well. The speed is great too, I am suprised to be knitting so quickly. My english teacher asked me to write up the pattern for the scarf. LOL! I thought that was hilarious, I have no clue how I did it after re-starting it some many times. ;)

hugs,

Combined,

A designer I am not, so when I get the brilliant idea to try and knit a scarf based on the picture above, let's just say it involves a lot of ripping. I starting this scarf 3 times but I think this time is the good one. I am not totally satisfied but hey, it's just a scarf. LOL! It's knit in my favorite yarn: Lamb's Pride (which is not available in Quebec) and the color is persian peacock.

I always get panic attacks when I go meet knitters, what project to bring? Who knew I was going to end up meeting THE Clapotis and it's creator that day too. ;)

This scarf has been knit using a new knitting method for me called Combination Knitting. I have tried it in the past but it was on a circular knit piece which didn't work out. This time though it is going very well! Continental knitting hurts my left wrist so it's not useful and combination doesn't, so for this project at least, I am keeping at it. :)

Only 6 more days of school!!!

Fall is here

The leaves are turning colors and fall has finally hit us with it's charm and cool weather.

The socks are slowly moving along, I still haven't found my way back into knitting much yet. It's getting old too but right now I am mostly fed up with everything so knitting takes it's toll too. I hope to start knitting a sweater but I have so many projects lying around it's embarrassing to start something new. I also would like to try and start knitting continental (holding yarn in left hand) again but each time it hurts my wrist which english style does not do.

Lucas did ask if I could knit a hat in a day, he'd really like one to wear right now and of course Zoe already has one... We have tons of hats around hear but they are mostly for winter, guess I should knit a few for fall weather. LOL! There's a newsboy hat in the SNB Nation book, I wonder if I could fudge it to fit Lucas, I bet he'd love that. Then there's the fact and I want to knit myself some mittens, not sure what kind of yarn yet but it has to be red. LOL!

I forgot to upload my entry this week so please take the time to read the entry just below too.

Lucky number eight?

Eight years since the first day I met Carl. It's odd as the day went by and we didn't say a word about it. It sure has been one pretty bumpy ride for us. We've had better days so at this moment it would be hard to celebrate.

Today was my last day of on-the-job learning for school, the next time I go back will be for my last internship. As much as I ADORE this workplace, I don't know if I will go back. It's hurtful to think like this but frankly they can't promise me a job at the end and this was the goal all along. It's hard to believe that I might not work with these guys again, I have had the time of my life there. My supervisor was funny and I could almost call him a great friend if we had met under other circumstances, he was genuinely nice and very encouraging while I was learning there. I wish I could stay there and get paid though. LOL!

It's like the end of a dream in some sort, I have known since day one that a job there would be hard to come by. Still, I went in at every scheduled shift I had and even went in a for more extra days too. I love it there, the people are nice and I actually feel like a person there, not just a mom or girlfriend but an actual human being.

So back to school I go, tomorrow morning is computers... we are learning wordperfect.... which I have known for the past ten years... then it will be an afternoon of english. Why did the lab training have to end? Ugh! Only 10 more days of school until my 2nd internship, then it is OVER!!! WOW!!! It'll be a tough ride 'til the end though.

Heel problems

After knitting both socks up to the heel, I noticed I did something wrong once more. I am supposed to change needles when I knit the garter stitch short rows, I just saw that. Argh! I am knitting the socks anyways and we'll see how it ends up in the end.

Monday it is back to school for me, I am starting to hate it. Being so well at my work place makes it harder each time to go sit in a classroom where I don't feel like I am myself. Carl and I are not doing good at all, so my work place is about the only good thing right now. I even went in a day more than I was scheduled too just too have a good day, instead of being miserable at home.

Someone that is of good influence on me has been having many health troubles and his birthday is coming up. He has hinted wanting a handknit scarf, I don't like to knit for others but I think he would really enjoy the scarf and it would lift his spirits a bit.

Any ideas on easy to care for yarn/wool to use (wool-ease is not available locally, please recommend something else too!), manly stitch patterns and yes I know it's silly to be asking for a scarf pattern. LOL! I really want to please this guy, he has been of great support for me recently. He likes the maltese cross so I would like to incorporate it in the scarf, this would be a single color design too.