Knittings!

I finished the socks! I will take and post pictures soon.

Now I'm starting on Rosie's Star Cluster shawl. The problem is, it involves things like knitting or purling into the back of the stitch, which I've never done before. I tried to start the pattern a few times last night and kept messing up. The Knitting Help website has a video of how to knit into the front and back of a stitch, but not just how to do it into the back of the stitch (although I suppose I can figure that out).

I might go to Rosie's this evening, or possibly just Sophie's on 4th Street, to ask for help.

Oh, and I did something silly - I got cotton yarn, but I also got bamboo needles to knit it. Very dumb. The yarn was impossible to work with. I finally wised up and tried knitting on a pair of slightly smaller-gauge coated needles, which made things easier. Using the smaller gauge is all right - it's still larger than the pattern calls for, which is what I want because I'm aiming for a loose knit. But maybe I should exchange those bamboo needles...

Aaaaackpbth!

Well, colorwhirl just cleared out. I will have to get a new garbage can for the kitchen and a new shower curtain, and find something to do with the mattresses she left in her room.

I'm having the back bedroom and hallway carpets replaced, too. The landlord agreed that they needed a change. Two guys came here to take the old carpet out and discovered a problem: there is a serious water leak in the utility closet that is spreading in the hallway. The leak has been there for a while but until they took the carpets up, I didn't realize how bad it was. I called the landlord, who seemed rather alarmed, and he will be sending someone to fix it. Until the problem is resolved, there will be no carpet in the hallway.

I have one other thing to do: I asked the landlord about the cleaning service (or person) he hires when necessary. I'm going to see if I can get them to go over the apartment on Saturday after the new carpet is in or on Sunday, since Ciani, my new roommate, is coming on Monday, and the place is a mess, which is partly my fault.

Hm. I also need to put in my new router. I have written instructions from my boss and a PDF of the device's manual to help me. I can probably figure it out, but if I hit a snag, one of you geeks (and you know who you are) may be getting a phone call.