And....We're Back!

Back from a training course in Orlando and back to blogging (it's a little easier to do when you have internet access).

Hotel Pickiness
I know I've been whining a lot about travel annoyances...and I really appreciated some of the comments from readers telling me to just let that shit go. I found I had built up my repertoire of pet-peeves to such a degree, that I was finding myself constantly aggravated.

I've decided to stop that.

One part of the travel industry that makes it easy to accumulate annoyances is the constant focus on trying to provide a "perfect stay" with them. Every time they fall short of their goal, it provides me another opportunity to add some other minor annoyance to my growing list.

As a recent example, I was staying at a very large hotel across the street from the Orlando Conference Center this week and their wireless internet access was overloaded by our group of about 1,200 guests trying to connect. Well, they clearly must have had larger groups of tech-savvy users in their hotel before, so this clearly can't be a new issue. Other than that, it was a beautiful hotel, fantastic fitness center and an extremely nice (and relatively competent) staff.

If I hadn't started my new attitude about letting go of irritations, the whole stay could have easily been ruined for me.

Thanks again for the feedback from readers...especially how much of the advice was "suggested" as opposed to critiquing how I do it.

Current Crocheting/Knitting
As I noted yesterday, I did finish the crochet scarf, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

I would make a few changes to the design on future scarfs, such as reducing the solid block sections a bit...I think a 1:1 ratio of open lattice to blocks is a bit boring. I also wouldn't use alpaca the next time...it's a bit heavier in crochet than I would have expected.

I think I will probably do another one of these scarfs and publish the pattern.

If anyone can suggest a good lofty DK/Sport weight yarn that comes in an interesting selections of colors and is also soft enough to wear against the skin, I'd be open to suggestions.

I also started a new project.

This is the start of a zippered cardigan (I think).

The yarn is Rowan Felted Tweed, and in a gorgeous gray/green that is very rich looking...not sure how it shows on your monitor. I'm doing a simple 5x1 broken rib (K5, P1 on right side and Purl all stitches on wrong side).

Another question for readers...especially the ones that sew a lot....what's the easiest way of finding a complimentary colored, lightweight, open-bottom zipper for a garment like this? I'm thinking that I'll need to knit the length of the front so that it matches a standard zipper lenghth...yes?...no?

Readers' Comments/Questions
Regarding letting go of petty annoyances, Kiki writes, "May I suggest (she ducks) yoga?"

I started to dabble a bit in Yoga, and I have to say it's a lot harder than it looks. While aerobically, I'm in decent shape, a 20 minute beginner's Yoga class just about kicked my ass. I will try it a few more times to see if I adjust and start getting the calm of it.