Sad: Mission Falls is closing, and 1824 Wool will be no more (1824 Cotton is already extinct). I loved the colors, but I guess there were problems in the manufacturing. I'd be a lot sadder - and a lot more inclined to go and stock up for the stash - but there are a couple of the Knit Picks yarns that are comparable, if not with the same color range.

Happy: I figured out what pattern I want to try for my beautiful, beautiful Llama-wool (it's not alpaca as I first thought; it's a fifty-fifty llama-wool blend) yarn I rediscovered this weekend. For those with the Fall Vogue Knits, it's #4 - a shawl collared jacket. I'm going to do the largest size (46") so I can wear it over turtlenecks when it's really cold. And the stated gauge on the yarn I have is the same as the gauge given for the sweater, so I'm expecting it will work. I'm going to do it of a single yarn rather than the two yarns recommended, and of course the body of the jacket will be plainer because it's a "flat" yarn rather than the Astrakhan-like yarn recommended. But I love the collar and that's sort of how I "visualized" the sweater as being. And the pattern's nipped in a little at the waist, which is good for me - things that are too boxy on me don't show off the fact that I do actually have a waist. It's mostly all stockinette so it will be a knit-and-read project.

Knitting: worked on different things, didn't accomplish a whole lot on any one thing. Mostly knit on the all-stockinette-stitch Morehouse Merino shawl while I read journal articles (including a really fascinating one on "bud banks" - suggesting that perennating organs like rhizomes are actually bigger contributors to prairie regeneration than seeds. Makes sense and I'm surprised it's not made it into the "secondary" [i.e., textbook] literature yet; most of them still talk exclusively about "seed banks"). I also turned the heel and knit most of the foot on the second of the green socks. And I'm almost done with the first of the blue armwarmers. The stitch pattern is a lot clearer and more "obvious" in a solid, light-colored yarn than the dark Kureopatora I used for the first pair.

Quilting: I've also been quilting on the quilt currently in the frame; I'm falling in love with hand-quilting again. It's a great calmer because it requires greater concentration than most of the knitting I'm currently doing. I like to stick a couple of Celtic-music cds in the cd changer and sit and quilt on it and just listen to music.

I also am thinking about new projects. In my stash root-through, I found four balls of Debbie Bliss cashmerino (which are, apparently, untouched by m*ths). Two in sort of a greyish cadet blue and two in a dark slightly tan cream color. They look marvelous together - I would have not thought to use them together but I set them side by side while sorting. I had originally planned them for critters or critter-parts (I think I was going to make a sort of Camel with Rumpled Knees out of the blue) but now I want to make a striped scarf out of them. I'm going to do it as a wide rib - perhaps k4 p1 or k5 p1. I don't "see" this as a garter stitch scarf at all - perhaps 2" stripes of color in the rib.

Even though I own more scarves now than a person SHOULD, I'm keeping this one; the blue matches beautifully with my Gloverall coat.

I also found three balls of silly green Galaxy (Artful Yarns) I bought for a silly eyelash scarf, I might start that sometime as a knit-and-read project.


One thing you must know about me is that when I'm talking about starting new projects, it means that I'm happy. When I'm down or stressed I don't spend so much time going "Well, I could do THIS with THIS...gee, that's a new idea for that yarn...here's a pattern I want to try."

I don't know but in the coming weeks I may have a bit less knitting content. There's a chance we, even here, may wind up taking some evacuees from Katrina into a shelter (possibly some of the local Christian camps) and I told my minister after church that if it comes to pass, to call me - I'm done on campus by 12:30 most days and could volunteer in the afternoons. I can help fill out paperwork, or fetch and carry, or cook, or wash pots and pans, or read books to children, or...whatever, there are a lot of things I can do. All week long, every time I turned on the tap or switched on a light or lay down in my nice soft bed, I felt really grateful for what I had but also longed to be able to do something concrete to help.