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Giotto shawl, be-fringed:
Here's a better full shot of the length of the shawl, though the yarn comes out very dark:
I wish I'd made the fringe a bit longer, but I'm happy with the look over all.
Best of all, it goes with the dress I plan on wearing to the wedding:
Close up:
It's official: if lovin' crochet is wrong, I don't wanna be right.
Did you know I can crochet almost a whole shawl in 3 days? It's true. It's so big at the moment I can't get a whole shot of it, but here's a detail:
The yarn is Colinette Giotto, which I've had in my stash forever. I actually started this shawl in 2004, put it aside for some reason, and went back to it recently because a) I have a wedding to attend this weekend and thought it would come in handy and b) I'm making good on my resolution to finish long outstanding projects.
Trouble was, I no longer had the pattern (what there was of it) handy and couldn't find a similar pattern online, and had only an inkling of what was required. I knew it was a bottom-up shawl but I couldn't remember exactly how to increase one ring so that it was even. It took two separate nights and a lot of undoing to remember exactly, during which time I completely undid what I had begun three years ago. I'm glad I did, too, because the previous incarnation had been with bigger rings, and I like the smaller version.
And yes, for real, I worked on it this past weekend and it's almost done. I've got a little bit left of one skein of Giotto to go, and then it's fringe time.
Michael and I are both experiencing spring allergies. He's in worse shape--I have a little congestion issue while he's got the watery eyes. We're both sneezing with enough force to power the electricity in our apartment.
This week I've been working from home, which has been wonderful. It's the old academic in me: I am more productive in front of my own computer, surrounded by my own space, than I am in any office with fake walls and other people. (No offense to other people.) Today NYC is supposed to get a big storm, so I need to put a lot of work in early.
At the end of next week, Michael and I are heading to Minneapolis. My stepsister is getting married in a four-day weekend affair starting with a temple service on Friday night and ending with brunch on Monday. Michael had the brilliant idea to stay in Mpls. for the week, so we have time to breathe and really visit with friends and family. And experience pure Minnesota allergies.
UPDATE: Scout does not recognize "work from home" as any different from "at home, and hence at my bidding." At least in conference calls, no one can see him on my lap. Come to think of it, that's a bit of Blofeld right there. Hmmmmmm.
On Friday mid-morning, without warning and without cause, our cable conked out. Since we have cable modem, this means our Internets went bye-bye.
Now, I've spent entire weekends away from the computer before. Not checking email, not reading blogs or writing posts or shopping or paying bills or looking stuff up or anything that I usually use the Internet for. But when the Internet up and leaves without saying anything? That's when I get panicky. That's when I sit in the living room wondering when I should call my new bosses just in case they're trying to reach me and tell them that I am without access. That's when I say to myself, "Self, you totally need a Blackberry. How much are they? Let's look that up." And then realize that I can't. I couldn't even check the weather, online or on TV. I had to actually GO OUTSIDE. Honestly.
And then, just as mysteriously, everything came back on yesterday afternoon. The clock on the DVR box, which had been displaying the wrong time ever since my attempt to reboot the system on Friday evening, suddenly updated. An hour or so later, my Internets came back. I'm working from home today, so I'm very relieved to not have to go elsewhere for limited access.
As for the Blackberry/SmartPhone, I need to decide whether to stick with T-Mobile, a provider I am less than thrilled with due to far too many call failures and interruptions, and get the device now, or wait nine months for my contract to expire with T-Mobile so I can jump to a new provider, or jump now and bite the pricey bullet for abandoning my contract.
The first few days of the new job have gone really well. It's a lot of work, and I've put in some very long days. But I'm working on something brand new, and it's really exciting to be a part of that.
Speaking of which...I've been lucky to be invited as a beta tester for Ravelry, and I'm completely addicted. I've never wanted to be so organized before.
Oh, and the sock knitting I referred to in the post below? Yeah. You can't knit on the 4. The 4 is way too crowded. I did, however, get a chance to knit on the way to Connecticut on Wednesday, as we went to meet with web developers. I now have about three more inches of the Chevron Scarf done.
I don't have to report anywhere until 10 a.m., so of course I'm up at 5 a.m.
This past week has been incredibly relaxing. I needed more quiet down time than I realized, and it was worth it. The weather was perfect, even though I didn't always take advantage of it. I got a lot of knitting time in, which allowed me to finally--finally, two months late--finish The Neph's first hand-knit sweater, Trellis:
I used somewhere between 2-3 skeins of Lion Brand Cotton Ease, in a color they call "Violet" but is really a nice, denimy indigo. I made the largest size, 18 mos., only to find out that The Neph at 14 mos. is already wearing 18 mos. clothes, so this needs to finish drying in a hurry. Fortunately, Cotton-Ease is a teeny bit heavier than the yarn used in the pattern, so it's a wee bit roomier than a regular 18 mos. size: 28" in the chest instead of 25". And, fortunately, The Neph is in Minnesota, which means the nights and mornings will, for the next two months, be just the thing for "a little sweater."
I love the buttons to death:
I worked on a few other projects, mostly baby stuff: a sweater for a 6-month-old second cousin that's about 1/3 done, and a couple of newborn kimonos for a twins. All three are girls, which means I finally get to deplete the stash of lilac Calmer I bought years ago when I thought it would suit me (it's far too pale) and yet couldn't get rid of, because it's Calmer.
I have a bit of a subway commute this morning, which can only mean one thing: sock knitting! I have a Trekking sock in need of a mate.
Who's a kitty? My Daemon, that's who.
I took the quiz a couple days ago and got an Ocelot, but didn't save the results. So I took it again, and it changed. Will it change again?
I am so excited for this movie. Casting is brilliant: Nicole Kidman is not a favorite, but perfect for Mrs. Coulter, and Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel? Hell yeah. Sam freakin' Elliot as Lee Scoresby?! Dececmber 7 is such a long way away.
Before I became a functioning non-academic, I used to get up rather early in the morning, either naturally or Scout-assisted, and I'd make coffee and sit at the computer and read blogs, then post to my own. I had the leisure of time to take pictures and edit them, the ability to spend thirty minutes or more on writing about them, and life was good.
Do you have any idea how wonderful it is to have that back, for however short a time? So here's how I've been spending my week off thus far:
1. I continue to enjoy working on the Chevron:
This was my progress as of May 1. The more I work on it, the more I love it. Though I am dreading that halfway "black hole" mark when it will feel like I will never finish.
2. I finished the second Twist sleeve, and promptly dunked them both in some wool wash and blocked them out. Then, as usual, Scout came to help:
3. Yesterday I was craving lace, so I pulled out some Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud (Midnight Heather) and Miriam's Adamas shawl pattern and spent a frustrating hour trying to make the yarn work with my needle selection. It didn't. I wound up needing to go down to US 2s, instead of the 5s that the pattern calls for, but the only 2s I have are either too short for lace, or not sharp enough, or too slippery. My favorite lace needles are the Inox plastic-coated circulars, which are difficult to find. I wound up placing an order for 2s, 3s and 4s with Paradise Fibers. I wanted the extra security of having the other sizes for other lace projects. That and I couldn't justify placing an online order for a single needle.
4. I've been dabbling in a couple other things, which I will save for tomorrow.
Thanks for all the good wishes on the new job!
I actually finished a pair of socks the other day.
My track record for really finishing things, with the seaming and the weaving and button sewing and all, has not been great lately, so I'm particularly pleased with myself right now.
The yarn is Socks That Rock Cobalt Bloom, picked up about two years ago (Vintage STR?). I'm very pleased with the way the colors striped. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that one sock has somewhat thinner stripes on the leg, and this is because I cast on 32 stitches instead of 34 and decided not to rip out. That fewer stitches resulted in thinner stripes is still a mystery to me.
I have a number of projects I'm looking forward to finishing, or getting close to finishing, this week. I've been stealthily working on Twist--which I started over a year ago, when I was still living in the neighborhood that insists on being known as East Williamsburg. I have the back, two fronts
and a sleeve done, and I'm nearly done with the second sleeve. I'm using Peace Fleece in Ancient Fern, and it's a little darker than this picture would have you believe, with entrancing green and orange and wine flecks in it. I am determined to have this done, even though I won't be able to wear it until Fall. Button choosing should be fun.
I have quite a bit of extra knitting time because I've got the week off. I left my job on Monday, and I start a new one next Tuesday. I am still in publishing, though no longer in the craft industry (at least, not full time). The new job will entail research and quasi-academic type writing and editing, and I think it will be a good fit. I am very excited, and very happy.
