Can I pay with handknits?

Becoming an actuary is expensive. I need to take at least the first exam in order to get a job, but that first exam is going to cost me nearly $300 for the study guide and the exam itself. Yet another catch-22. I've been finding a lot of those lately.

1. You can't get a job without experience, but you can't get experience without a job.
2. You can't get a job without the required exams and certifications, but you can't afford the required exams and certifications without a job.

Fail. Point 2 could work if you have another job in a different field that actually pays well enough, but I don't. Retail pharmacy is never going to pay enough unless I become a pharmacist. Pardon me while I laugh my ass off for a few moments... At my current job, it will take me 5 years to hit $10 an hour since promotions only give a maximum 5% raise and the yearly merit raise is a maximum of 2%. I was lucky this year and got both a promotion and a merit raise in a week. Fun times.

Enough of that crap. Want to see what I'm working on?

First up is the sock yarn blanket that will never end. The pattern is Barn-Raising Quilt from Knitalong. I have 1.90 squares done and another 40.10 squares to go. US2 needles... Fun. At least the squares go quickly and it's fun to see the colours swirl. Left over sock yarn, so who knows what will end up in here. The first square is Berocco Comfort. The second square is Noro Kureyon Sock.





Second, is an Icarus Shawl. Woo-woo! I have wanted to make this shawl since I started knitting, but could never find just the right colour yarn. This yarn is Alpaca Yarn Co. Suri Elegance in White House on US3 needles. The yarn was originally for a pair of stockings, but I wasn't digging the pattern+yarn combination. This shawl looks like a tangled mess right now, but it will be gorgeous when it's done. I promise.