Jiminy Christmas, I actually finished the other sock. Now to get back to chugging away at Venezia.
I work at a very small company, and being small things take on a much more personal nature than they might at a corporation, and I have a lot of hats I wear and responsibility so more often than not, I take my work home with me, at least in my head. The last several months in particular have been a whirlwind of added job responsibilities, culminating last week in my being promoted to head of my department, the first person other than the owner of the company to actually be a "boss" in the truest sense of the word to anyone else at my company. Add to that some really crappy, unlucky circumstances this past year, and I am Stressed Out.
On evenings when I come home and I'm on my last nerve and I'm completely worn out, nothing is as relaxing as picking up something simple - a plain sock, even a plain sweater, and just mindlessly knit, knit, knit. It quiets my brain. Venezia? Is beautiful, and will be something to be proud of, but it doesn't quiet my brain. So I've stalled out a little. I'm about to start the increases at the waist, though.
After Christmas, I went to the LYS and bought a large quantity of Malabrigo, then I went to see my mom and asked her if she wanted to see what $200 of yarn looked like. I guess I started something, because she mentioned something about dog sweaters and the next time I talked to her, she'd bought a pamphlet and some Wool-Ease and was calling me about leg openings. My mother and I are pretty alike in most areas of life, and crafts are no exception - I grew up with my mom's various project beginnings, usually abandoned a third of the way through, because the idea of crafting is great but the actual time involved can get overwhelming. So I really did think that after the leg opening debacle (the pattern was really, really confusing), that would be the last I heard about the knitting.
My mom has a pretty stressful job too, and what's more, she works out of a home office most of the time. And it turns out, knitting those dog sweaters, she had the same reaction I do - knitting is a good way to quiet your brain. And, if you work from home, a good way to leave your work at work. Now she's got the knitting bug too - for her birthday, I gifted her a Fiber Trends felted clogs kit I made up! The last two years have been me carting my knitting around while family members looked on curiously, and now I'm starting some kind of relaxation trend...