So another day and another missed posting. I realize I’m only trying to show myself that I can type into a box once every twenty-four hours (which is a different goal than writing). All of yesterday felt off.

It started with a four a.m. dog walk for a suddenly not well puppy. (I’ve deleted the details.) She slept through last night very well, but the day was full of worry, out-of-character personality, and enough bodily fluids to consider whether taking her to the ER was wiser than waiting until today. (We opted for today. She does not appear to be in any discomfort.) I know I am abnormally attached to my dogs, but I understand life is finite and unexpected things can happen. This seems like a passing thing, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

The second not typical thing about yesterday was my working from home and a work field trip to Stitches West. I was showing a knitting newbie the overwhelming-ness of a trade show cum massive yarny pop-up in Santa Clara. It was great to see Kristine and Adrienne (and mom Michelle) from A Verb For Keeping Warm. Of course I hung out (always too briefly) with Debbi at the BMFA booth (my stomping ground for a year). And I got to meet Jeanne and Julie from CreativeBug and hear how the sock knitting flash mob we put on was included in their investor presentations. It’s impossible to do a quick drive-by at Stitches, but we had to rush back to the City because work email and network servers were going to be shut off at 4pm. So much for working from home through the night.

Discombobulated is a better description of me and time yesterday. The unsettled anxiety about a four-legged friend haunted me. The rampant consumerism combined with the joyful gathering of kindred spirits is dizzying. (I could write at length on my ethical conflicts of stash hoarding.) The ever-present stress of work and the whispering (oft-neglected) call of personal passion projects tore me from being present.

There’s no easy fix, but I can’t help but think this could be helped with a simple scamper. I’ve fallen completely off my training plan for the past two weeks, save last Saturday. It’s more fuel for my head’s nagging negative fire. (See, you still can’t train properly! You’re lazy.) An hour or two pounding myself out of my brain and into my body could be a step toward the grounding that was missing yesterday.

But now it’s Saturday. An new day. A vet visit. A return to Stitches for after-hours communion with a few friends. And maybe a run.

Planning something with steeks in the near future. Wish me luck.

Here’s what I’m studying for steeks.

In lieu of my own writing, here’s Clara Parkes’ Valentine’s Day List of 14 Knitterly Things to Love from this week’s Knitter’s Review.

It’s enough to my my heart go pitter-pat. I need to get my swatch on soon. (And I’m not talking about the wristwatch.)

No post yesterday, as I was doing this last night—celebrating a smarty pants, neato knitter, mighty huntress, rigid coach, flexible athlete, hungry eater and close friend.

I haven’t really updated the look of this site much since I launched the domain. Tweaked the words in the sidebar, here and there, but that’s it.

Back in 2009, while watching a documentary about the font Helvetica, the idea for a hizknits logo came to me. I sketched it out for a friend and designer at work, and within less than an hour, I had my own visual identity! Mark is responsible for adding in the “bathroom” guy and making the whole thing look amazing.

Just as my knitting has progressed from my first 2×2 chunky hat back in 2004, it was time to remove the old photo-based banner (which was a detail of that first hat). I’ve finally changed the header to “my” logo. If you view the non-mobile version of this site (not in an RSS feed), you can see what I’m talking about in the upper right corner.

Never would I have predicted where knitting has taken me, who it’s brought into my life and whether I’d be still doing it after starting in 2004. But I’m sure glad it done all that and more.

Here’s to at least eight more years!

I am very fortunate to be friends with this action hero—the one, the only, Ms. Clara Parkes. Follow along on her adventures with the Great White Bale.

After 6+ years, the f.u. mittens originally drawn by MiHi have been completed and given to their rightful owner.

Her idea, my execution. This unfinished object (U.F.O.) is now finished (or an F.O.). It was one of the last things I completed in 2012.

Stayed home from work today and did a lot of couch time with this lady. Got a little bit of knitting done too.

A day of rest and tea? I need to remember to take more of these more often. Plan to be all better tomorrow.

But it’s difficult when you cast on 230+ stitches because the long-tail is too short for the last 10 stitches. Did I mention it was tubular? And it’s twisted? And it’s 2:30am? So I’ll have to rip it out and try again tomorrow.

Above my phone there’s’s a piece of art by Lisa Congdon. It’s an old photograph of two girls, and she’s drawn and painted neon lopapeysa-esque designs across the yokes and waists of their dresses. The image is safely sewn into a clear plastic envelope with florescent pink thread.

It makes me smile every time I look at it.

The photo is adorable. The haircuts on the girls are quirky and dated. The image makes me think of past trips to Iceland and how I want to go there again, if only by knitting with lopi and a making what would become a fourth lopapeysa. The materials balance concepts of tradition, modernity, playfulness, protection, memory. As an object, it inspires me to make more things with my own hands.

A token for 2013.