Lanam Facio

My clapotis, it has three corners. Three corners has my clapotis. And had it not three corners, it would not be my clapotis!

Here Caleb is helpfully showing off the newest corner.


OK, it actually has five corners. Two of them, however, are temporary.

Each row is supposed to be getting shorter at this point, but it doesn't seem like it. I'm working on it, though, since I want to start on Juno Regina for when I got to my Classical stuff this summer.

I actually made some progress on the wedding embroidery:



My finger has mostly healed; luckily, it was such a glancing blow that the needle was never in danger. (I also have a card of extra needles, happily.)

I very much like my mother's idea that the Clapotis progress is a way of distracting from the sampler. Sadly, this is not so; I just haven't made any progress on the sampler since the last picture. I've had a bunch of stuff going on at work, and, among other things, I glancingly sewed through the tip of my left index finger with a sewing machine while putting piping on my 1859 dress. That's cut back on my guitar and embroidery.

Clapotis is coming along well, though. My in-laws and I went to a Paw Sox game last night, and I got almost three repeats done. I'm on repeat #20 now, and, once it's done, I'm starting the decreases. I think that my goal of having it finished by the end of June is in sight.

School is winding up, so I'm hoping that things will go smoothly and I'll get back in the saddle on my projects.

In the time since I last put up a picture, Clapotis has grown:



It's really coming along well. As per usual, I'm finishing it in exactly the wrong season. I may end up wearing it as soon as it's done anyway, though; the colors are lovely.

I hate "these current economic times." Not only are they causing all sorts of employment complications, but Morrison Office Supply (my source of fountain pens and fancy notebooks) and 729 Cafe (breakfasts, tutoring, and a nice place to go sit while doing work) have closed because of the economy.

In other news, I formatted over one hundred pages of a workbook today for my editing not-a-job. My eyes feel a little funny and I didn't get in the sewing or knitting or guitar I'd planned, but I can now tell the difference between a 12 pt and a 14 pt space while scrolling. (I also listened to a lot of my college music.)

Tomorrow, Clapotis. Really.

I really need to put up Clapotis as well; it's drawing within sight of the finish line. I just keep looking at it, though, and thinking that I'll blog about it after one more repeat, or when it's two-thirds done, or after I've unraveled a few more ladders. Then it's Thursday again.



You can tell I'm serious because I have three strands of floss going at once.

Well, ten weeks in, I've finally finished the interior part! I have the frame, the names, WEDDED, and the date, and it will be done!


Huzza!

Caleb, Jay, and I went to the PawSox Stitch and Pitch on Saturday. They enjoyed the eleven innings of baseball, and I enjoyed the two and change repeats of Clapotis, spending time with knitters, and the exciting conclusion of the game.

It is again a wet Thursday. I've gotten all of the motifs on the inside done except for one bell and one heart, and I just need to cross part of the stem a second time. After this, it's on to the border and the names and date. Well, the names will go on when someone gets me the preferred forms for each.

Clapotis is now almost half done. I'm starting to look beyond it for my more complicated than a sock summer knitting, and am caught in delicious angst as I waver among choices.

Go Vertical in red? Or in gray?
Golden Vintage Cardigan in red or gray?
The Invisibility Shawl in black or in the colorful Graceful Place?
Classic Lines in my normal inky hues?

Juno Regina?

It's so nice having the choices to mull over and consider as I walk home each day.

The acronym is very appropriate; things are rather damp in Providence.




Here's the latest progress on the sampler; I feel that the end of the center is legitimately in sight. Then there will just be the borders, with the names.

Clapotis has been coming along nicely; I've had a bunch of riding in a car recently, and it works very well for that.

Providence being Providence, it's gray and damp, and thus not the best for pictures, so I'm including an old one that shows the pattern more clearly.





I really like the way it's starting to roll on itself; I think this is going to look nice. I'm going to try to get it finished before my birthday; I got the yarn as a present last year, and a faster than usual turnaround to an object I can wear and enjoy would be good.

From now on, Wedding Embroidery Wednesdays are going to be on Thursday. I have a rehearsal every Wednesday night, and those usually go until ten or later. If I tutor or have a meeting on Wednesday afternoon, then I don't really have a chance to desperately make progress (strike that; read) take pictures of the embroidery.

This week, my main craft outlet has been putting together Ikea furniture and posting giveaways of things we no longer need on the grad student e-mail list.

Here is this week's embroidery:

Hopefully, now that there's the new Mythbusters, I'll be able to get more done.

Among other things, Caleb and I ran errands today. I knew that some of the errands would be less than thrilling for me, so I packed accordingly.

Caleb was shocked to see me taking Clapotis out of my bag and leaving it in the car when we arrived at our destination.



I had, however, brought errand knitting (in the form of the sock) as well as car knitting.

Clapotis is looking wonderful; I really like the yarn and the colors. The sock is coming along well too.

Here's hoping that the unbloggable things (work and so on) calm down soon and I can get more of my languishing knitting done! They're busy enough I'm thinking about just buying a sweater for the summer.

Return of motivation.



I did actually make a good chunk of progress, and it was done by Wednesday; it was just not good photography weather. It's actually sunny here today, although it's cold.

Unfortunately, my progress seems to have slowed from one motif a day to one motif a week.

My Providence socks are coming along well. I put the ball of yarn in a yarn bra, so it's staying together better. I've turned the heel and am getting close to starting the ribbing:



I tried Wendy's method of avoiding the heel hole, and it didn't work for me. She knits at a tighter gauge than I do, which may be part of it. I'll try some other tricks on the second sock as well; it seems to be an elegant solution, and I'd very much like for it to work.


Amazingly, it snowed yesterday in Providence. Still, today was a glorious Easter.

This has been a very long and unbloggable week.

In my partial defense for the delay, yesterday was Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. (We had a three day week, missing Monday and Friday.)

Here is the progress for the week, all of which I did on 'Wednesday:'

First of all, if you're anywhere near Providence, go and see the BUGS production of Iolanthe. Tolloller and Mountararat are magnificent. Phyllis has a sense of comic timing rarely found in a soprano. The director was really responsive to the script; he got a lot of the small details highlighted and used the cast very well. The whole thing is a really good show.

Caleb and I saw it last night. While I was watching, as usual, I worked on my sock:



It's almost to the heel turn, which is perfect timing; Wendy posted her method of fighting heel hole on Monday. I'll try it; I do like that method of making a heel.

In, under the wire, with a computer picture taken on a rainy night:



It's amazing how much less embroidery one gets done when one is no longer on break.