Break is over

I guess I'm ready to get back to school. Break seemed too short, what with coming and working a half-day Thursday and Friday each, and also coming in for an hour or two yesterday, to quick put together an exam for the middle of this week. (I have a Meeting of Doom tomorrow so I can't plan on having the time to do it then).


I did get a good bit more done on the back of the Hagrid sweater. It's very satisfying to do a cabled/fancy stitch sweater, to watch it grow under your fingers. And this one grows faster than some as it's done in a "heavy worsted" (I think in the UK, that would be called Aran weight. One thing I've learned from reading some of the UK magazines is that our terminologies are very different. (And with crocheting, you have to REALLY be sure if they're using British or US terminology, because "their" double crochet is "our" single crochet, and so on....)

The new Jane Austen Knits issue is out. I pre-ordered it when it was first possible to, so I got mine Saturday. There are a number of nice things in there. Some that are perhaps a bit costumey (there's a bonnet for an adult woman, and also a hat styled on the old top-hat-like riding hats women wore) but there are others that would not look too out of place in a modern wardrobe. I especially liked the "bosom friend" (a shawl that crosses over your collarbone) and the hap shawl. I might make one of the "bosom friend" shawls not necessarily to wear out of the house, but to keep around for evenings when it gets chilly and I want something over my shoulders. It's done in 600 yards of worsted weight yarn, so I'll have to look in my stash and see if I've got something that I want to use for it....or maybe get new yarn for it at some point.

I also liked one of the men's patterns. (It seems more often than not, I'm attracted to the sweater patterns designed for men, rather than some of the ones designed for women. Oh, I may add a few waist decreases or pick a more feminine color, so I don't look like I'm in drag....) The vest called "A vest for Charles" (you can see it here. I think it was for a character out of Emma? One of the novels I have not read yet, at any rate. (I think Emma is going to be the Austen I read next. I do want to read all of her novels eventually....)

One reason I admit I like it is it uses the so-called King Charles brocade pattern, which was on a "vest" (really, more like a loose shirt) that Charles I wore to his execution. Yes, it's a little creepy, maybe, to wear a vest knit in a stitch pattern that a historical figure wore when he was beheaded....but again, I find that kind of historical connection interesting.

Then again, I have yarn set aside for the Pocketses vest (non Ravelry link, for those not on Ravelry). It's a Hobbit-inspired vest...I have some nice sort of bluish green Paton's Classic Wool that I got super cheap at the JoAnn's (they had it on sale, plus I had a "15% off your entire purchase" coupon). When I get around to knitting that up, I'm going to find some nice brass or pewter buttons (depending on which looks best with the yarn) for it....it's the kind of sweater that needs nice buttons.

(I never got through "Lord of the Rings" - bogged down in the battle scenes - but I do love The Hobbit and have read it probably 15 times since I first read it at 8 or 10 or so. I have a certain amount of affinity for the hobbits....the idea of their cozy houses, that they tend to be peace-loving unless something very dire happens, and then some of them (at least) can go and do something about it, their love of green and yellow, their second breakfasts.....)

AND I have the yarn now for the Heliopath vest, so I have two future vests planned....both of them cardigan-type vests (which really, tend to be more practical, easier to take off if the room I wind up in turns out to be overheated)