29%

And I finished knitting Clapotis. The two may be related, it's hard to tell.

It took me nearly 6 months, but I'm done. Now I just have to wait for a hot day when my partner is working or we're both out in the afternoon and I can block it on the loungeroom floor without fear of serious pin-in-foot incidents. Pictures will follow.

The last couple of weeks haven't been good. Work has been slightly more fucked than usual, and some of my favourite people have resigned and left. I am becoming less and less enthusiastic about the prospect of transferring to the Australian office when we go home in February. Maybe it's time to move on.

That moment

I've been knitting Clapotis for nearly 6 months now, and I seem to have been on the decreasing rows for a while because I haven't done much knitting recently. Today on the train home, I had that moment of realisation: I knitted twice as many rows on that journey as I have on any previous journey. I still knit at the pace of an arthritic snail, but all that decreasing, one stitch per row, has finally resulted in significantly fewer stitches. I knew it had to happen one day... (actually, to be honest, I just hoped it would happen one day).

Mmmmmm... Cherries

I've been in Boston for another week and a half, and I've got most of another week to go. I'm homesick and miss my partner. Too many weeks in this hotel in the past year, too many weeks not at home.
It's been a difficult couple of weeks, working too much overtime and worrying about things. I'm working today, on a Sunday, and went into the office only to find that my access card doesn't work on the weekend. So I'm trying to work from the hotel, where the connection is slower and the VPN keeps on dropping out.
I did get out of the hotel yesterday and went to Cambridge - I found out that there is a bus which goes directly from downtown Waltham to Cabridge and runs 3 or 4 times an hour. If only I'd known that a year ago. Not that I mind the commuter train, but services aren't exactly frequent.
I went to Urban Outfitters, which I love but can never buy anything I want to because I can't justify taking cushions and homewares home, and went to Woolcott and Company, which I am very fond of, but I didn't find anything I wanted. Well, I did, but again nothing I could actually justify buying.
I love Malabrigo, I really do, but I don't like most of the colours that seem to be available in stores at the moment. They had a sample of the chunky version in the most beautiful green... but of course they didn't have any left!
I did manage to find the most beautiful cherries in Whole Foods. Cherries are my favourite food, surpassing even chocolate. So I bought lots of them. Maybe they will make me feel better.
I haven't managed to get any knitting done at all since last weekend... maybe I can get Clapotis onto the plane home and knit if I can't sleep.

Wilting in the heat

I'm back in Boston for 15 days, hopefully the last time I'll need to do this for a while. Not that I dislike Boston, but I'd really like to spend some time and home with my other half.
Yesterday was muggy and revolting: I don't like heat and I don't like humidity. Anyone with any sense would have stayed inside in the airconditioning. Not me, no, I had to go on a yarn shop hunt.
I've been wanting to visit Circles for some time, but have never made it out there. A commuter train and a T ride and there I was. Stunning collection of yarn and patterns, extremely friendly staff and a place to knit. I knitted and talked to the staff member on duty for over an hour - so nice to be able to take refuge from the heat in such serene surroundings.
I bought Elsebeth Lavold's The Embraceable You Collection here. Now that is a lovely, lovely book. I may never knit anything from it directly, but it's certainly given me some ideas. Mmmmm. Welting...
A colleague and good fried of mine is here with me until Tuesday, so I met up with her for dinner at Prezza. We'd been there once before and were craving the flourless chocolate cake. I also had the tomato, mozarella and basil plate, plus the figs in proscuitto. Superb...
Clapotis decreases slowly.