The striped scarf

I have a new favorite of the scarves I've knitted.

This striped scarf turned out fantastic. I know it wasn't that complicated to make, but it matches what I envisioned. Seeing it finished wasn't the perfect capper to Monday, but it made me feel somewhat better.

I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons why I almost knitted the whole thing on Sunday was because I was stressing out over everything this week and what I hadn't finished last week. There was also the added bonus of conflict with my neighbors, which I'm hoping doesn't turn into an all-out war.

I live in a building with four apartments. The walls are relatively thin, so noise can be an issue from time to time. I like it to be quieter, but I accept that I can't expect perfect silence. Until last year no college students lived here. Four moved into the apartment below me last year, and two moved in the available space next to me. My downstairs neighbors were loud on a regular basis, and I didn't miss them at all when they moved out, even if they were replaced by three college guys who can generate a fair amount of noise. My upstairs neighbors were fine, save for a couple occasions when they were ridiculously loud into the early hours.

That's changed. One of the tenants moved out. The new roommate must have brought a stereo system because it's been a regular occurrence for me to hear and feel what they're listening to. There's also the bonus of hearing them yell and sing along...often past 2 a.m. Weeknights, weekends, doesn't matter.

The last thing I want to do at home is play RA, especially with an apartment full of drunk and/or high college students, one or two of whom I have worked with in the past. After holding off on saying anything for a long time, I mentioned the noise to my landlord, who's been good about addressing this sort of thing. He dropped off a note on Sunday. Apparently it didn't sit too well with these students because last night they would periodically yell something to the effect of "I hope this isn't too loud", an obvious attempt at provoking me. I also heard a lot of late night door slamming and other bumps. I'm hoping they got it out of their system, but I must say that it really put me on edge.

I was already on the verge of cracking. The last week, if not the last month, may be catching up with me. I felt physically and mentally exhausted and just wanted to lay down and watch some television. Adding my neighbors' hostility to the mix was about more than I could handle.

The girl stomped out and left for awhile, which meant it was quiet while I finished knitting the striped scarf. It helped ease my nerves, but their reaction and behavior bothers me. It shouldn't. I've done nothing wrong and showed a lot more patience before "tattling" than I think a lot of people would. (Hearing the noise every night for a week straight was the last straw, and this was after putting up with it a couple nights a week for a few months.)

So knitting was a refuge, even if I felt worn out. I wasn't pleased to encounter a knotted clump of yarn as I was halfway through my last white stripe. I was in no mood to try to untangle it, so I cut it, pulled out what I thought would be enough for what I needed, and knitted on.

With my basketweave scarf Kristin noticed that I was binding off too tightly. I tried to do it more loosely on this scarf. I can see the difference it makes.

I'm down to two projects to complete before Christmas. One is for Kristin, and one is for me. I've made some changes to what I was going to knit for Kristin. I'm excited to see how it will look. I know what I want to make for myself, but I have to narrow down the options from Knit Picks and get an order placed.

Sorry to go on and on about my immature, inconsiderate neighbors. Knitting has made me feel more generous and relaxed, so I hate it when these kids make me feel as thin-skinned and misanthropic as I did last night.

Next...to be determined.