In Which I Reveal My Inner Geek

I'm blissed out.

Why? The Olympics project is still on the needles, the sink is full of dishes, I don't have enough quarters to do the laundry (for the love of wool I want a house! with my own laundry machines!). So whence came this bliss?

I have rearranged the books.

Last July, when Nick moved in, we combined our resources in many ways including books. I had more books (occupational hazard... when the Library gets rid of old books or passes on donations, I get first dibs) but for some reason I caved and allowed his organizational system to prevail (some call it "compromise" or "picking one's battles," I think I was possibly high on the endorphins of newly-cohabiting). His organizational system was ALPHA BY AUTHOR. Which worked for his twenty books but didn't really work for my 400+ books. But, as I said, I was all high and stuff and let the ALPHA BY AUTHOR menace remain.

When we decided that we'd stay here at least another year (because having our moving day and wedding day occupy the same temporal framework seemed somehow less than fun) I decided that I wanted to make myself a knitting corner apart from the TV area. I have my spot on the couch--perfect for mindless knitting while watching something--but I wanted an elsewhere spot. We have a cozy chair next to the bookshelves and I wanted to put the knitting/crochet books next to that chair, the better to solve a problem with, my dear.

Of course, that would throw off the whole ALPHA BY AUTHOR scheme. I announced to the Beloved that I was reverting the whole collection into genre-based organization--his system be damned! He blinked and said "Okay." I really expected more of a fight, but I wasn't going to wait around for one. After work last night I dove right in and started flinging books off shelves and sorting them into better order. (click to bigginate)



I'm not a cataloger, and I don't particularly like Dewey, so I created my own system in which Nick points out I am the only person who can locate a volume. Neener neener, bud. They're my books.

After much hard work and sneezing (I am not the best housekeeper and my shelves house more than books) (sorry Mom!), I am just so goddammed tickled to have the books in groups again! I don't know authors' names in most cases, but I sure as hell know what the book is about. No more will I search fruitlessly for that one book on the sociology of mental disorder (I was a psych major) -- now I know exactly where it is! Huzzah!

And more importantly, I have my knitting corner all set up.


This is my cozy chair, with bag and quilt. The quilt was given to me by my grandmother and made by my great-grandmother out of old neckties. It's a wee bit gaudy, but hell if I'm going to put it away.


The chair and the easily-reached knitting shelf (the middle one).


A close-up of my pattern binders, crochet books, knit books, calendars and wedding bullshit. There's even a space for a drink.


This is the top of the bookcase, with an old apple crate to hold my current projects. On the far right, outside the apple crate, are two ceramic thingies that hold my bigger notions and a ball of recycled rayon, because it looks pretty there.

Now my world is rotating a bit more smoothly. Bliss.

Oh, perhaps you stopped by for Actual Knitting Content? I'm telling you, it's a bit boring just now. The hat is on circular needles now and has reached the point at which I'm creating the hem by stitching the cast-on edge together with the current round. It is purple, it is stockinette, and I have only seven days left. Enjoy the coming days of madness, my dears.