Started something new

So, I finished the second Hitchhiker scarf (the one that is to be a gift) over the weekend.

And then I realized, yesterday afternoon - I give an exam Wednesday. And I don't have anything sufficiently simple to knit on (woecakes!). I could haul along the Hagrid sweater, but that requires row-by-row reminders of what I'm doing where, and I can't walk around the room and intimidate people out of thinking about cheating (I really think it's that, more than catching cheaters, in my classes) if I have to refer to the pattern every row.

Same thing with Basketweave - long time back I tried to knit on it while invigilating and wound up having to rip back a couple rows because I messed up the stitch pattern.

And so forth.

So I thought about the sweaters I had been contemplating as "next" sweaters, and came up with the British School Slipover from Folk Vests and the Pocketses Vest (from an e-book called Hobbit Knits - I bought it through Ravelry).

Both had certain virtues but in the end I went with Pocketses, because the pieces are smaller (it's knitted as a back and two separate fronts, the slipover is knitted in the round and either steeked or divided at the armholes, which means more weight to carry around). Also, if I get a decent amount done on it, sometime in the near future (Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays), when I am up visiting family, I can run to Sewing Studio and get nice brass or silver-colored buttons (I have not decided yet) for the vest (it takes 10; it is a double-breasted vest)

I'm using a Paton's Classic Wool for this, in (say it with me) a blue-green color (I have several sweaters in that same shade. I don't know. I like the color; it tends to be one I'm drawn to when shopping for yarn).

I also give two exams next week (on the same day, and one of my goals for today - my day without teaching classes - is to get both of those written), so I can also work on it then.

***

also, courtesy of my Twitter feed, your feel-good, "all knitters good people," "some faith in humanity has been restored" story of the day: Woman  who lost shawl in Toronto hospital receives replacement as a gift


I will say, though, I bet that Colorado knitter is walking around feeling happy today, knowing what she did. Kind acts, especially ones that maybe are a little wrenching to do (giving away something that you've made that's beautiful) have a way of buoying you up and making you feel like you did something to make one tiny corner of the world better.