Okay, this is really going to be my last post before January. But I have to say two things:

1. To a dental-phobic, there are few phrases nicer than "Your teeth look excellent. I'll see you again in six months." (today was checkup and cleaning day)

2. I have to brag here on my mad packing skills. Into your standard (3 1/2 foot by 2 foot by maybe 1 1/2 foot) duffel, I have fit:
two dresses
one skirt
one pair of dress shoes
orthotics (I have old tennis shoes at my folks' so I don't need to take a pair)
three pairs of slacks
seven blouses
enough underwear for a week
ditto on handknit socks
a knit vest
a patchwork vest
a slip
a pair of tights
a polar-weight cardigan
twelve 50 g skeins of dk weight yarn
four 50 g skeins of worsted weight yarn
five 50 g skeins of sockweight yarn, and two 100 g skeins of ditto
three 100 g skeins heavy worsted for chunky socks
a series of small lastminute gifts
one and one-half 50 g skeins of sportweight yarn, for gloves (well, the pattern claims that's enough. I'm skeptical).

..and there is still room!

(I will be wearing the sweatshirt I plan to take, and another pair of slacks, another blouse, and my sandals)

This is enough clothes (and well more than enough projects) for my three week vacation. It does help immensely to lay the clothes out beforehand to be sure you're only taking things that will match with other things and so you don't forget something important (like, say, brassieres).

In the backpack, so far are
the knitting patterns
my Clifford jammies

to go yet are
my traveling knitkit (needles and notions)
knitting in progress
toiletries
books
bottles of water
other personal items

oh, and for those who would be concerned about me announcing I'm leaving town:
1. you don't know where I live
2. I have people watching my house.

For those on socknitters who might wonder about the name of the shop that has good online inventory control: the one I was referring to was Equilter. I have always been very happy with their selection and customer service.

and now, I'm outta here until January! Be good and be happy everyone!

I think this will be my last post before January.

Sunday, I take off for Illinois and my parents'. I am really looking forward to it - not having to cook or drive places, and having a lot of knitting time.

I'm still trying to decide what projects to take. Purple yarn and Theresa's "Grandmother Vinson's" mitten pattern is one. The Celtic braid socks are another. I'm thinking maybe the Storebror yarn for chunky socks and maybe some variegated Socka (my handknitting.com order finally came - the socka was backordered for weeks) and a lace sock pattern for those. And I'm trying to figure out if I can either squeeze the 15 balls of Emu DK for the Lightning-Bolt sweater into my clothing duffel, or if I could possibly get away with putting it in another bag and "lashing" the bag onto my clothing duffel (you're supposed to be able to bring two 'carry on' bags; I usually take a duffel for clothes and my backpack, but there's no way I can get the yarn for the sweater into my backpack with all the books and other projects and bottles of water and whatnot that I take). I can't check bags from or to where I'm going, so that option is out.

I have seen people get on the train with like 15 bags and no one says boo to them, AND I have a compartment, so I think I'll just try the "second bag lashed onto main bag" trick.

Have a good holiday (and if your winter holiday is already past, I hope you had a good one).

And since I celebrate Christmas, here are a few links:

scroll down on this site for the words to "Nu er det jule igen", a traditional Scandinavian song for dancing around the tree.

some Irish Christmas traditions (my major heritage is Irish). More are here. And because another part of my heritage is German, here are some German Christmas traditions.

A couple of FO's:

1. My grades for the semester are done and ready to be handed in.

2. I finished the Kool Wool scarf. It took all three skeins of each color; it is close to 7 feet long (I am fairly tall and I like long, long scarves - I probably would have made it longer if I had had more of the yarn).

And: since it would cause a furor on the Knitlist, I'm going to post an "alternative" to the infamous Staples ad here:

this is how a shop - let's call it Earl's Electronics - could advertise itself without showing knitting in a bad light.

A woman comes on screen (Ideally, she would be a young woman, maybe even a Black or Hispanic woman) and says: "I'm an expert knitter" (slide show of gorgeous cabled sweater, Fair Isle sweater, lace shawl). "All of my friends love my knitting. But when I try giving it as gifts to my family, it just doesn't work out. My 16-year old sister is in a phase where she will only wear black" (shot of an angry-looking young girl wearing Industrial-style clothes) "My uncle can't wear sweaters because my aunt insists on keeping the house 80* year-round" (shot of a disappointed-looking man, looking longingly at a cabled sweater but wearing a t-shirt and shorts). "And my nephew - well, I guess he never learned how to properly wash clothes" (Shot of a bewildered looking 20-something guy holding an elaborate Fair Isle sweater he has just taken out of the dryer, which is now about 5 sizes too small for him). "So instead, I'm giving them all gift certificates to Earl's Electronics this year. And I'm knitting for myself." (final shot of woman wearing some kind of knockout gorgeous high-fashion sweater)

just a thought.

Clifford jammies!
Since I was a kid, I've been a fan of "Clifford the Big Red Dog". Even though the new PBS version is aimed at the kiddies, I still watch it occasionally (I like that Jack Ritter is the voice of Clifford; he has a good "friendly and nice" voice that he uses for him). I saw some Clifford-print flannel at the JoAnn's weeks ago and bought 3 1/2 yards. This weekend, I sewed it up into a nightshirt using a McCall's pattern (as I remember; it's at home and I'm at work, and I don't remember the number either). I did alter the pattern slightly, making 9" slits up the sides (to just above my knees), because I am an "active" sleeper and would be bothered by the constriction around my legs.

I also French-seamed it (this is where you sew a narrow seam with the wrong sides together, then turn the piece and sew another seam, right sides together, enclosing the previous seam). I like that for pajamas because it's strong and comfortable. (And flannel will ravel like a madman if you don't do something to finish the seams).

I forget how satisfying it is to make a piece of clothing in an afternoon.

I also swatched and then cast on (but didn't get very far) for the Lightning-Bolt Family sweater from the winter 02 Interweave Knits. I am using Emu DK in a sort of auburn color.

and I got exact gauge from my swatch! I rock!

I'll probably knit on this while proctoring tomorrow. I got most of my Christmas cards written (I don't send a lot) during the exam this morning.

A Saturday morning rant:
This is why "fashion" aggravates me. Taking a break from cleaning house (I'm finally getting to it!), I flipped on the tv at just the tail end of one of those little fashion dealies that the morning magazine-shows do (a sidenote: when did they take away cartoons from Saturday morning?). The commentator, referring to Pashmina shawls, remarked "Pashmina is over...you shouldn't wear it as a wrap." She did toss out the bone that you could wear it as a big scarf, and the talking head with her acknowledged that yes, she had seen that.

Pashmina, over? I'm sorry, nothing that expensive and plain in style should ever be over. In my book, "over" is reserved for the cheap and flashy stuff you might buy on a whim. But something that cost $300 or more, new? uh-uh.

I dislike being told what I should and should not wear in a given year. I have a closet full of princess-line dresses that flatter me. I don't give a damn if they are "over" and you're supposed to be wearing shirtwaist dresses now. It's totally stupid. I'm glad the hemline tyrrany of years past is over - I would not be caught dead in a skirt shorter than my kneecaps, because I don't want to be that conscious of what is and is not showing when I walk or sit.

I refuse to buy a new winter coat until the one I own wears out. (And since I have a nice thick Gloverall "Paddington Bear style" coat, I doubt that will be anytime soon).

Part of the reason I knit and sew is that my own sense of style is different - often radically different - from what is considered "ideal" for a given season. I remember years back, when I wanted a plain gray cardigan, how frustrating it was. It was a year when the "colors" were navy blue, black, white, and red. My mother and I (I was about 12 at the time) went to literally every store in the mall looking for a plain gray cardigan.

I didn't knit at that point, and it was something I wanted right then, so making my own wasn't the option it is today.
I finally found one. In the men's department at a Syms. It wasn't exactly what I wanted but I bought it.

(actually, I still have that cardigan. It's a bit tatty now but it still fits and it's still warm. I tend to get attached to my clothes and have a hard time disposing of things that may be "over").

Another thing: I got a J.Jill catalog the other day. I liked a lot of the stuff I saw, but not the prices. Catalog shopping is interesting when you sew. I looked at one of my favorite things, the "washable velvet sweatshirt" (I think it's that stretch velvet stuff) and thought, "Yeah, it's $69. I could probably make three of them for that price." In fact, I just might try making one when I'm home over break.

Another thing I want is a long, full dark brown skirt. Just a plain, solid-colored skirt, made of denim or gabardine or some other sturdy fabric. I told my folks about it (for the Christmas list) but I hope they don't waste too much time trying to find one if they're not the "thing" this year. Because that might be something else I take a whack at making over break. (I've made a lot of the skirts I own; skirts are pretty fast and easy and satisfying to sew). I sort of have a mental picture of what I want: gores, to make it full, and then narrowing at the top, maybe almost a Western or cowgirl style yoke-top on the skirt.

I'm coming to the conclusion that "fashion" is for people who lack the imagination to look at their wardrobes and go "I need an indigo-blue, wrap front top" or "a claret-colored sweater would go so well with so many things I own".

Or it could be that if you can imagine just what you want, the stores will frustrate you, because you're looking at someone else's vision of style rather than your own.

"Fashion can be bought; style one must posess" - Edna Woolman Chase

In other news, I finished the Landlord cardigan last night. It's a bit big and boxy but I gues that's ok. I do have to turn up the sleeves into cuffs, which annoys me. Not enough to take it apart and to try to unpick the sleeves and make them shorter, but it annoys me still.

Well, I didn't clean house last night. But I did work towards finishing a couple of stalled projects.

First, I finished the pillow for the AAUW gift exchange. Machine quilting is neither as easy nor as fast as it looks, and that's all I have to say about that. I do have to get a couple of big snaps this afternoon to close up the back of the pillow (I prefer to do pillows where you can take the form out to wash the top if necessary).

and second, I finally dragged out the pieces of the Landlord cardigan and started sewing it up (I finished knitting this in what, October? Shows how much I like finishing...). I was mostly intimidated by the need to crochet an edging, and what color to use (the pattern used a cream color but that seemed too bland to me). I wound up going with Wool-ease in "Grape Heather". I wanted to use some fuchsia Tapestry I had, but I've heard that the color runs in the wash, and I didn't quite feel up to delaying the project further while I did colorfastness tests. And the "grape heather" woolease does look pretty good. I have to get buttons for this one this afternoon. Well, actually, I also have to finish the neck and left front edging and sew in the sleeves, too.

There's been a lot of furor on the knitting lists about a Staples commercial featuring an inept knitter apologizing for knitting her gifts rather than buying them. I've not gotten really bent out of shape about it because:
a. the purpose of advertising is to make people think stuff that's bought is infinitely preferable to stuff that's handmade
and
b. I will not shop at Staples anyway for any reason. I used to order stuff from the Staples about 1/2 hour away from me - they would send it out by courier. Until one day, I received a duplicate shipment that I had not ordered. I called them and explained. It took 20 minutes on the phone long-distance to convince someone to take the stuff back. And at that, I had to drive to the store with the stuff. And I had to call them back later and threaten them with legal action because they didn't take the charge off my credit card. A friend of mine had a similar experience, and my father had a similar experience with a (now-closed) Staples in a different state.

so for me, it's Office Depot or Office Max.

And a couple more:

courtesy of dangerous chunky and Not Martha: Hoopla's advent calendar Excellent!

And another advent calendar, with a more outright religious theme: Beliefnet's Advent Calendar

And because Christmas is coming up, here are some seasonal links:

Swedish Christmas Chemistry (yes, you read that one right; it is a Swedish page showing some of the chemistry behind the traditions. They tell you everything about the lutefisk except why.{500 bonus points to anyone who catches the allusion there}).

an excerpt from "The Physics of Christmas", a tongue-in-cheek book about how the holidays really work.

silly but clean Christmas jokes

The Gallery of Unfortunate Christmas Cards

Dylan Thomas' great Christmas poem, A Child's Christmas in Wales I have an audio recording of Thomas reading this and I just love it.

Well, I am now on an amoxicillin derivative, and guaifenesin (prescription-strength: it's nasty capsule-shaped tablets that I have to push way back in my mouth before swallowing because they taste bad). One of the things I like about my doctor is that he listens to his patients' medication concerns. I once told him that decongestants made me jittery, and instead of saying "Oh, that was just THAT particular brand" or trying to push me to try them again, he gives me an alternate (the guaifenesin is an expectorant, it has pretty low side effects).

I know it's TMI, but I've been blowing my nose since I got up and it seems that the guaifenesin is doing its job. My head and throat are starting to clear.

My doctor did kind of gasp when he looked at my throat. He couldn't believe I was still trying to talk with it as red as it was.

Last night I finished the blueberry waffle socks. These were made of Zitron Cambridge, which I think is a discontinued yarn (I bought mine about a year ago from Elann. It's actually a bit lighter than DK weight - sort of between sport and DK. The socks are a bit tighter than most of the blueberry waffles I've made, but they still fit.

Tonight, as long as I'm feeling up to it, I must clean house. It's gotten really trashed while I was sick. And the floors are all dusty.

Something knitterly, for a change:

here is a brief recipe for a striped scarf made of Kool Wool. (Because you know you've seen it for sale and wondered what it was like...).

For a short scarf, buy two balls each of two contrasting colors. For a long scarf, buy three balls each of two contrasting colors. Each skein will make about 3 1/2 of the stripes or blocks as I have the pattern written.

I used Tomato Red and Grass Green. Kind of funky, but it works for Christmas. And it does look somewhat Gap-y.

Using 10 1/2 (US size) needles, cast on 27 stitches. (be careful - this is a cabley yarn and tends to untwist as you cast on, especially if you use the "slingshot" method like I do).

Row 1: *k3, p3* to last 3 sts, end k3
Row 2: *p3, k3* to last 3 sts, end p3.

Gauge is not crucial, but I got about 3 stitches and 4 rows to the inch.

Knit until your "stripe" is just over 3 1/2 inches to 4 inches (for me, this was about 16 rows). Cut off, leaving a tail to weave in (or to let hang loose if you're into the Knitters Winter 2002 look) and join in the next yarn. Continue in pattern for another 3 1/2 to 4 inches, then change yarns again. (I always changed on a row 2). Keep knitting stripes until the scarf is long enough or until you get sick of it.
I started with a red block and will end with a red block.

The scarf as knitted will be fairly narrow (the 3x3 rib contracts) but if you like you can block it and make it much wider. I am going to leave mine "contracted" because I like the way it looks.

as always, you can use more colors, or fewer colors, or whatever.

I am still sick darn it.

okay, other people have talked about their illnesses in their blogs, so please indulge me for a bit.

I am sick. I am so damn sick. I was up most of the night last night coughing with the tail end of this truly evil cold. My voice sounds like either an 80-year-old woman from Chicago who has smoked 2 packs a day since she was 16, or else like some kind of creature that lives in a damp mildewy cave. When I swept my kitchen floor this morning, I got winded and dizzy from the effort. I can't eat, or rather, I can't enjoy eating. Anything vaguely crunchy scares me (sore throat) so I've existed on yogurt, and Spaghettios, and macaroni for the past couple days.

I'm starving right now but have nothing to eat and the vending machines here only sell crunchy food.

I have a doctor's appointment, but the earliest they could get me in was 3:15 Wednesday. That is in case I have bronchitis (it's happened before with bad colds; I have a low level case of asthma and I have to be really careful about anything that is respiratory in nature).

The good news is I have only one more class today, at 10 am. And it's student-presentation week, so I don't even have to talk.
After the class, I am going home (cancelling office hours) and I am going to read through all the student papers I will receive at the end of class.

The other good news is that when I was too sick to do anything else yesterday, I got both my other final exams written. So except for grading this week, I'm done.

I also began a striped scarf out of Lion Brand Kool Wool. I'll post some guidelines on it later when it's clearer how much of the yarn it's going to take.

Back, but sick.

I caught a cold sometime during my travels. I totally refused to believe it was a cold until Friday morning, when I realized I really was quite uncomfortable.

There are few things worse than traveling - especially overnight - when you are sick. (But I decided that the train was unlikely to be crowded Friday, but likely to be crowded Saturday, so I didn't change my tickets).

Skipped church today (unusual for me) partly because I'm still feeling lousy (I'm at the coughing-scratchy throat-ears plugged up stage) but mainly because I don't want to pass this on to anyone.

I got most of the pair of Blueberry Waffle socks done over break, and a good start on the "Celtic Braid" socks.