The Difficult Month

I can't believe that November has gone by with TeamKnit postless! Please forgive us, this has been a really hectic month for all sorts of non-knitting related business. First, I signed up for Nanowrimo. Tragically, it did not go very well- my crooked landlord, who has always been the kind of person you would typically cross the street to avoid, has been doing his best to get me to move out of my apartment (which I've only lived in for two years!) so he can raise the rent by hundreds of dollars when getting a new tenant in. In Ontario, Canada, this is completely illegal- there are fixed annual rent increases allowed, but when a tenant vacates, you are free to charge whatever you like when negotiating a new rental contract. It's been a really difficult situation, and the result was that I spent most of November looking for new digs. As I'm sure you either know first hand or can imagine, looking at the adverts, calling places up, staggering appointments with enough time apart so that I can get from one part of the city to the other, and then the amount of really awful places for rent in the city.... well, it's depressing. And time-sucking. And subsequently, not much writing or knitting has been taking place. I keep trying to remind myself that sometimes a big change feels like a crises but is actually for the better, and then when G and I signed the lease for our new place last week.... well, let's just say it makes all the nuttiness of November worth it. For one thing, I'll be moving out of a basement apartment and into a lovely second floor with big bay windows! Finally, some decent light for knitting photos. And yes, this was definitely something I was considering when checking out new places. Priorities, people! December is going to be filled with harried packing, because I actually move into the new place in the middle of the month! And of course, I have Christmas knitting to do....So, some pics of what I'm working on: first up, is the River Forest Gansey from Handknit Holidays, which I'm knitting for my dear friend Paul. And since it's absolutely huge, I've been doing a lot of reading while knitting it. Skrilla Knits suggested these handy little things, and I was happy to try my hand at them: Bookweights! Check out the great little pig fabric: I love it! it works really well, and is filled with popping corn kernels. It was a snap to make, and is now indispensable. And this, although currently nothing more than skeins of yarn, will be a bulky mini cardi for my friend Monica. She saw me wearing my black bulky cardi one night, and asked if I'd make her one. It's a pretty quick knit, so I'm hoping it'll knit itself in no time. And for reasons I can't explain, this hat is taking me forever:The pattern is a modified Marigold. I'm aiming to have a slouchy version a la Eliza's gorgeous version. And since it's been ages, since I posted, here's a shot of my darling kittens doing what they do best. Sleeping, and getting into trouble: