Yay! and then Boo!

1. Handing in my comps (Yay!)
Three copies of my synthesis paper meant printing a hundred single-sided pages. I kind of sucked at Earth Day.


2. Celebrating! (Yay!)
To the grad pub up the hill for a pint with friends; I was there first, so I worked on a Narragansett Bay sock while I waited.


3. Wiping out on the pavement (Boo!)
You know I was planning to knit today. First I went out and did some grocery shopping and some thrifting (more about that another time); when I got home I made several trips from the car to the house with bags (reusable bags, of course) and somehow I managed to trip going up two (concrete) steps and fall down.


Mah handz! So no knitting today -- I scraped the palm of my left hand and the back of my right, and they're oozy, and I'm not getting scrapey ooze anywhere near my sweet, sweet laceweight. Damn it!!

Submit

1. (transitive verb) to present or propose to another for review, consideration, or decision; to deliver formally
2. (intransitive verb) to yield oneself to the authority or will of another (syn. surrender); to permit oneself to be subjected to something

On Tuesday afternoon, I will submit (def. 1) my written comps to the department office. Only then can I submit (def. 2) to the temptation from all treats that have been showing up on my doorstep this past week, the results of the previous week's stress shopping. But I am weak! And that's why Bill is hiding a book of Evelyn Clark's shawl patterns and all the yarn for the Butterscotch Cardigan in his office. It's for my own good.

I did, however, allow myself to open two packages last week, on the condition that I only look and not touch (well, not fondle excessively).


(880 yards of laceweight merino Buttercream by Yarn Chef)


(3 350-yard skeins of silk/wool laceweight by Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill)

Hubba hubba. OK, back to ideology. And so, like the '80s new wave band, 'til Tuesday!

On the eve of Week 4

Current mood
Less miserable than last week, possibly even approaching cautious optimism.

Latest obsession
The Butterscotch Cardigan from the current issue of Interweave Crochet. That's right -- I said Interweave Crochet.* It's just an awesome looking cardi, and I love that it's made with thin yarn. For me, eight skeins of LL Shepherd Sock is a pretty pricey purchase, but I'm going to treat myself once I finish writing. (The laceweight purchases were to ease the pain of the process; the Shepherd Sock will be the reward. Totally different!)

Recent discovery
The pattern for the Ernie Sweater is reproduced in this month's Bust magazine -- cheaper than buying the book if you just want a simple raglan sweater pattern.

* I know, I know -- you just read it for the articles...

Misery loves ... yarn

Writing comps sucks. I'll spare you the gory details. But I just found myself wanting to look at every single lace shawl on Ravelry instead of writing about the political implications of representation, so it seemed like a good time to pop in and say hello.

I've been knitting a bit. I'm about halfway through the second repeat of Chart 3 on Ene's Scarf, and I finished one Narragansett Bay Sock (from A Fine Fleece). Astute readers may wonder if I'm using the same yarn for these socks as I did for Clessidra, and the answer is yes. And no, it's not just the same colour of the same brand of yarn; it's actually the same yarn. Yep, that sock you see there used to be Clessidra. I enjoyed knitting cabled knee-highs, but I didn't wear them and just wasn't going to, and that to me is just a waste of perfectly good sock yarn. So last week I ripped out Clessidra, washed the yarn, wound it into balls, and cast on for Narragansett Bay. Shocking, I know, but it was the right thing to do and I'm happy with the decision. Happy with my new sock, too.

Other than a bit of knitting, I'm basically shopping my way through the pain of comps. On their way to me through the mail are one skein of merino laceweight yarn from Yarn Chef and three skeins of Blackberry Ridge silk/wool laceweight, as well as a copy of Knitting Lace Triangles by Evelyn Clark. (Any guesses as to what I plan to knit this summer?) Online shopping: it's the desperate activity of a person miserably chained to her computer all day long for four weeks. (Two and a half weeks down, a week and a half to go.)

And the Tweed goes to...

Seanna Lea! Wow, lots of you like tweed; based on the comments, these are the top reasons for tweed-love: it adds visual interest and depth to an otherwise plain knit; it hides pet hair; and boys will wear it. Good to know! :)

Two books and a give-away

1. The keeper: A Fine Fleece by Lisa Lloyd

Every time I look at this book I love it more. My first impression was that it is beautifully designed and includes lots of nice cabled sweaters; after spending a little more time between its covers, I'm now ready to queue at least four projects the minute they show up on Ravelry.

I don't spin, and I almost passed on this book because of its subtitle -- "Knitting with Handspun Yarns" -- but for each pattern (and there are 26 in total), there are photos of and instructions for that project in both a handspun yarn and a commercial yarn. Most of the projects are intricately cabled sweaters (pullovers, cardigans, and vests), but there are also socks, scarves, and a hat. This book will be available April 8; by April 9, I hope, I'll be queueing the Portland pullover, the Harriet cardigan, the Twilight scarf, and the Narragansett Bay socks. (No photos because I seriously am on my way to the library, but trust me: it's a beautiful book filled with some beautiful stuff.)

2. The give-away: Tweed by Nancy J. Thomas

Some knitters have a thing for tweed yarns, but I don't have any particular feelings about them one way or the other. The 20-odd projects in this book are perfectly fine (in fact, there's a Central Park Hoodie-type jacket that I think will tempt more than a few knitters), but nothing really jumps out at me as something I'm going to knit, so I'm going to send this book to a good home. Of course, you don't have to knit these projects in tweed yarns, but for the knitter who is interested, there's lots of info about the history of these yarns and how they are made, so I'd prefer to send the book to someone who really appreciates tweediness. If you want this book, please leave a comment about why I should care more about tweed yarns, or about your favourite tweed, or about something tweedy you've knit or someone else's tweedy knits that you've admired. I'll pick a winner sometime next week.