Wednesday - August 20, 2008

 Slow but steady?


 I'm hoping that that will win the Chaise.  I'm on the neck ruffle now, so I just have the ruffle to finish, sleeves to set, the sleeves and sides to sew, and the ends to weave in.  


I also got my KnitPicks order to knit the AfA sweater I want to do and Caleb's winter hat.  


Posted at 08:10 PM     Read More  

Saturday - August 02, 2008

 Off sleeve island!


I finally finished the sleeves of Chaise.  I've fallen a little behind on the MP2008, but am hoping to finish the finishing this week.  

I love when the universe shows a sense of humor.  I was getting up from my desk to go to the kitchen, and I stopped to ask Caleb if he wanted anything.  As soon as I stopped talking, there was a big thunderclap.  Caleb made a comment about the grim timing, and as soon as he finished talking, a bell tolled in a game that was running on my computer.  


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Tuesday - July 22, 2008

Much better.


 IMG_3960.png

And there's peach cake for dessert.  


Posted at 09:40 PM     Read More  

Monday - July 21, 2008

 Stymied for the moment.


This,  by the way, is why I hate, loathe, and despise yarn in the doughnut style put-up:  IMG_3959.png


I'd actually untangled it some at this point.  

As for yesterday's entry, the prevalence of air conditioning and the general readiness makes a difference.  It's sort of like when I was in grad school and it would snow two inches, bringing everything to a screeching halt.  Heat like this is generally rare, so I'm not in the right mental place for it.  Also, AC is less common than one might think; a few days ago, Caleb and I were looking for a while for a restaurant with AC and had a really hard time finding one.  (And the on we did find had the AC over the door, which may not have been the best place to have put it...)  

I'm getting back into my routine of tutoring at an air-conditioned coffee shop, exercising in the air-conditioned gym when it's really hot, and taking afternoon showers, so it's much better than it was at the start of this latest heat wave.  We also have optimal fan positioning going.  


Posted at 09:19 PM     Read More  

Tuesday - July 15, 2008

 Classical Knitting


  With the Harlot's recent post, it seems to be the perfect time to blog about the knitting that I did at the CANE Summer Institute.  For some reason, Classics seems to attract a lot of knitters.  

During the Institutes, I took these sleeves from the top edge of the ruffle to their current spot, at the beginning of the sleeve cap shaping:


IMG_3955.png

The yarn really is lovely, but it splits very easily.  I think the cardigan is going to be really cute once it's done.  


Also in Classics, having read excerpts from the Pharsalia while I was at the Institute, and now reading the Aeneid, I feel that Lucan might appeal to the teenage demographic a bit more.  He wrote about javelin snakes shooting through the air.  His poetry was not as polished, but I can see high school students eating it up with a spoon.


Posted at 04:54 PM     Read More  

Wednesday - July 09, 2008

 Chaise


 Well, I'm at the Classical Association of New England, melting in the heat.  I'm also getting some knitting done; I'm over halfway through the first set of decreases on Chaise's sleeves.  

Aside from the heat, the Institute is great.  There are two lectures every morning, then classes, then reading group.  It's like being back at college, but with less stress and noise.  


I thought that New England was supposed to be cold...


Posted at 10:29 PM     Read More  

Wednesday - July 02, 2008

Keeping going 


 Well, I finished the back of Chaise this morning.  I'm hoping to get the ruffles/cuffs at the bottoms of the sleeves finished before I go to CSI so that I can just bring that one pair of needles.  

The secret project is also coming along; it's starting to be really recognizable.  

It's really beginning to feel like summer vacation now, which is nice.  Since I'm a month ahead on the MP 2008, I'm toying with the idea of the Tour de Fleece.  


Posted at 05:18 PM     Read More  

Thursday - June 26, 2008

Front!


 Well, the front of Chaise is finished:



IMG_3947.png


I'm trying to get all of the various yarns I've gotten for my birthday knit up by then.  The HGW was the first, and then this is from a couple of years ago.  I've really been wanting this sweater, so I'm hoping to get it done soon.  

It's finally starting to feel like summer vacation, which is nice.  I baked blueberry pies yesterday, as well as making chocolate brioche, apricot chicken, bok choy with prosciutto, and snake rolls.  We get a new CSA (community supported agriculture) bag tomorrow, and this is an egg week.  Last egg week, we made the best egg salad I've ever had.  

Now, off to prep for my conference and work on the Aeneid.  


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Wednesday - June 11, 2008

 Red


 Well, Chaise is back in the rotation.  I got rid of the needles it had been on, since I'd forced a drawer shut on one of them and bent it at an extreme angle.  

IMG_3895.png


Over the weekend, we watched a movie that talked about penguins going insane and heading off to the mountains, where they die.  Caleb thinks it's because of their limited brainpower, but I wonder if they're seeing themselves as great explorers, going off to conquer the unknown.  

(By the way, I have the secret project up on Ravelry.)


Posted at 09:20 PM     Read More  

Monday - June 26, 2006

Actual progress!


I've been doing a lot of knitting over the past week. Part of it was on a present that I later ripped out; it didn't so much have the 'made by loving hands at home' look as the 'made by crazy monkeys at home' look. The pattern was different from the schematic and it just wasn't right. I think I may try again in a bit, with a different pattern and yarn.

I got the front of Chaise to the arm shaping (errata for the next bit are here, with Alison's commentary on modifications here ), finished the knitting on the first Spirit Trail Sock (although I still need to bind off), and got to a bit shy of two thirds through the center medallion of Tina. I'd hoped to have the center all done by Wednesday, but it looks as if it's good that that didn't work out; the yarn store was out of the circular needles in the size and length I need.

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Thursday - June 01, 2006

Still here; not knitting much


The year is wrapping up, and I'm working on my last show of the year. I haven't gotten to do much knitting.

My Tina pattern was mailed on Tuesday by normal mail. I'm waiting for it, a cool fountain pen that was mailed Tuesday by priority mail, and some fabric swatches mailed that same day by what seems to be normal mail as well. Caleb is waiting for books (he got over 25 pounds of books by media mail on Tuesday), so it's like having a mail race every day.

If all goes well, I should have some Chaise pictures and progress tomorrow or Friday.

Posted at 09:17 AM     Read More  

Saturday - May 27, 2006

When I said I wanted to finish one project before I started another, I was speaking in general terms.


Well, I'd ordered the Moriah and the Tina pattern. I told myself that it would be The Right Thing To Do not to start Tina until I'd finished Chaise.

I think that I meant this as a general goal, a guideline, something that would take place in a perfect world.

The yarn arrived today, but the pattern is backordered.

I did end up getting a good-sized chunk of Chaise done today. The pattern should be here in two weeks (I ordered it from a different place, where it was in stock). If I can keep up at this rate, Chaise might well be done by then.

Posted at 01:32 AM     Read More  

Tuesday - May 23, 2006

Grumble, grumble...


I like knitting the back of a sweater first, so I can make mistakes there. I vaguely remembered Alison's having said something about not being able to do the back first, but put it out of my mind.



Then, I hit the armhole shaping and understood. The shaping for the neck is given in terms of the front shaping. I can't do it until I know how deep the front neck is.

Aggh!

I'm casting on for the front now; what I've knit is on a holder so I can still use it for the back. I'm being rebellious that way.

Posted at 05:36 PM     Read More  

Saturday - May 06, 2006

The week without a cute name.


Well, I'm not at MDSW. It's the week before show week for the show I'm costuming, and we have an all afternoon and early evening rehearsal tonight. (Last night we rehearsed from the end of school to about 9:30 at night.) I did get a good chunk of knitting done; I was watching the show and taking notes on which guys needed belts, which girls needed their shorts hemmed, and so on.



One young lady asked what I was doing, and I told her I was knitting a sweater, showing her the picture. She looked at what I'd knit, looked at the picture, and asked how big it would be and how fast I was knitting. I told her it would be about the same size as the shirt I was wearing, and she asked how I was going to get it finished by the time it would be needed for the show. She was reassured when I told her it wasn't for the show.

Since I won't be at MDSW, I think I'm going to buy a bunch of sock yarn and some plain natural cotton yarn to make a summer sweater from Elann. I've been good; I haven't bought any yarn since November, if I remember correctly. I've finished things up and am working on a bunch of stuff out of stash.

Posted at 10:48 AM     Read More  

Tuesday - April 25, 2006

Not really albatross feathers (but it might as well be)


Another unbloggable thing has happened, and it looks like it turned out rather well.

I should explain about the albatross yarn.

Back in the Summer of Ought-Three, I really wanted to knit a particular cardigan that I'd seen in the Patternworks catalog. (I've had a hard time finding a picture of it online, except in this blog entry. Hmm. Maybe everyone else realized?)

I got some money that was not associated with the happiest of memories, and it was just about the perfect amount to buy the pattern and yarn, so I did. I thought I'd turn the less than pleasant memory into something nice.

I got the yarn and dutifully worked on it. Then, in early June of 2004, I realized I'd made a mistake way, way back. I ripped it all out, and realized that the pattern is made for someone rather more serpentine in form than I am. I stuck the yarn into my stash to marinate.

I pulled it out recently, planning to make another start on it and make a sweater for this summer. It was all in its sealed plastic bag, and when I looked at it through the plastic, I saw the shed of a moth and the dead body of another moth. I tossed it in the freezer, and started thinking of it as the yarny albatross around my neck. (And, by the way, I bet the sweater would look smashing on old Life-in-Death.) I posted then about it as the yarn spun from the feathers of an albatross, and pulled it out of the freezer and put it back in for a second round.

What should I do with this? It's definitely got bad pudu. I don't really want to use it, but it cost enough I feel bad throwing it out. The moths (even though I've done the two freezing cycles) leave me unsure about its future prospects.

So, I pulled out some more well-aged yarn on Friday and cast on for Chaise. I had to go down a needle size, but it seems to be spot on so far.



Posted at 10:55 PM     Read More