I finished Airy this evening. (it's from Spring 2008 Interweave Knits)

At first I kind of debated photographing it - I had showered and washed my hair, and was in pajamas and had no make-up on.

But I decided I had more time this evening than I would tomorrow morning (or tomorrow evening, for that matter: evening meeting). So I got dressed again, and combed my hair (as much as it will stay combed in the humidity we currently have) and put on make-up and photographed myself in it.

I'm going to refrain from commenting on how I feel like I look in the pictures. I recognize I'm going through a mildly body-dysmorphic period, and when I look at all these pictures I feel like they don't look like me for various reasons. So I'm not going to comment on how I feel like I look. (Also bulky yarn = bulkier appearance on body).

This actually feels a bit anti-climactic, I suppose it's because I've been working on it for so long. And because I'm kind of tired right now. And because it's HOT and I will not be able to wear this for at least two and a half more months.

So here it is, open, which is how I would ordinarily wear it:



(This is also the photo that I feel "looks most like 'me'")

And here it is closed. The sweater is shorter than I anticipated it would be; I think it will look better over a dress (but darnit, I don't think I currently have any dresses it really matches) than over slacks and a top.



This one is kind of dark but it was an attempt to show the buttons on the sweater. They are vintage Czech glass buttons (not sure how old; I'm guessing 1930s at the oldest and perhaps 1950s at the latest) that I bought at an antiques shop:



I think this is the best use of them because the sweater, when it is washed (infrequently) will be handwashed, so the buttons will be more protected.

I think I'm also going to include an "outtake" photo (I nearly deleted it from Flickr) here, because I have to admit even though I cringe a bit at how I look, it makes me laugh, because this is the kind of look I start to get when a student comes and says something like, "I forgot my paper can I e-mail it to you later today and oh I have to leave early because I have to take my kid to the doctor and I'm going on vacation in two weeks so I will be out of class, will I miss anything, kthx" and I am trying to avoid going all angry with them but am also no longer able to smile amiably. Call it the Cognitive Dissonance look. (Just as "stress" is "the thwarted desire to choke the living daylights out of some jerk who desperately deserves it," Cognitive Dissonance is "I don't want to totally screw up my chance at getting decent teaching evals but I am beginning to feel my left eyelid twitching like Chief Inspector Dreyfus' as this student continues to ask for things I do not want to give")

Bird's Nest Shawl is DONE!

I finished it last night - knit the last few rows, wove in the ends (and there were EXTRA ends to weave in, seeing as a couple of the balls of yarn had knots in them that I had to untie and then start the end anew), soaked it in lavender-water, and then set it out to block:



I'll post "action" shots of it being worn as soon as it's all dried - possibly this evening.

This was a fairly nice knit to do - not tiny little yarn, and a pattern that wasn't so complex you needed a whole bunch of tools to keep track of it. (I just used a row-counter and a post-it note on the pattern showing which row I was doing). It is also one where the patterns are "separate" (where they don't flow into each other) so I could set off each segment with a stitch marker to keep from making mistakes.

The yarn is Elann's "Far East Collection" pure camel hair yarn. The original shawl in the pattern was made using cashmere, but there's no way I could afford/was paying for cashmere. The camel seems like a reasonable compromise.

The shawl will be very warm; I could tell that when I had it spread out on my lap to tie in all the ends.

It was a good break. (And the train going up was very nearly on time, and the train coming back WAS on time. Perhaps the freights are being nicer to Amtrak? Perhaps the economic slowdown has one tiny upside in that there are fewer freight trains?)

I did get to see my brother and sister-in-law after they had dinner at her brother's house. And on Friday. And we did some furniture-moving my mom wanted done (my dad, because of his bum knees, really shouldn't try moving furniture any more). And I helped get the outdoor lights put out.

Coming back after Thanksgiving break is always the easiest return; I know I will be making the trip again (and for a longer time) in a short time (in fact, two weeks from tomorrow I leave again, this time for Christmas break).

Everyone was doing well except my sister in law got what we think must be the flu (the respiratory kind; she and my brother are oddly anti-vaccination) and they decided to leave a little early.

The (remaining) old cat is still plugging away and seems to still be doing well despite her arthritis. She seems pretty content; she purrs and eats and begs for attention and everything and although she limps when she moves (which is as infrequently as she can manage), she still seems to be enjoying life.

I finished a pair of socks - one of those simple self-striping yarn ones.


These are from one of the older Trekking yarns. They don't match but that doesn't seem to matter with these colors. (I got four pink stripes on the second sock. My only complaint with the yarn was that the pink stripes were too infrequent.)

I also made a pair of mittens, reprising the old original pattern I used for the first mittens I ever made - the project that got me hooked on knitting. It's an old pattern from one of those Treasuries of Needlework that used to be common (I think it was from the '55 edition of the McCall's Treasury). My mother owns several of those - the McCall's, a Good Housekeeping, a couple of British-published books that probably came from a used-book store in Ann Arbor when she was first married.

I knew it was the same pattern because I found my notes from 1997 or so stuck in the page where the pattern was. The mittens knit up faster this time (I knit faster now) but it's still a fun pattern and very functional.

You don't often need mittens where I live, but when you need them, it's nice to have them:

They are knit of Lanaloft, one of the Brown Sheep yarns. It's a "singles" type yarn, meaning it's not plied, it's like one big "rope" of lightly spun wool.

I also got some more done on the "Little Child's Sock." They look kind of strange and bunchy when not stretched out (because the ribbing contracts but the knit/purl panel stays wide); they look a lot better on.



I'm just up to the point where I start decreasing for the ankle. This is a pretty fun pattern to do as well - all knit/purl patterning.

So now I guess I'm ready for the Onslaught of Papers to grade next week - 22 ecology papers, 11 GIS papers, one research-student paper, and, at the end of the week, 16 biostats papers. Yipes.

Something else to be thankful for:

I finished the TARDIS.



This is part of my brother's Christmas present. It turned out HUGE - it is nearly 20" tall including the "light" on the top (and if I had been really clever, I could have used some of the white "glow in the dark" yarn that I got really cheap the last time I was at Micheal's for it. Oh well.)

The colorwork pulls in a little bit, especially around the "windows," but meh. It was a pretty big thing to knit. It's also a challenge to stuff and keep roughly square - if I had really wanted to be perfectionistic about it, I would have either made panels of quilt batting to go right inside the sides, or ironed iron-on interfacing to stiffen the sides, or, best of all, made a "pillow form" out of muslin in the proper shape and just used the knit part as a "slip cover." But I was mainly interested in getting this done, when I realized how huge it was going to be - there would be no flippin' way I'd be able to carry that up with me at Christmas time; it will take up almost as much room as a rolled up sweater in the suitcase. So I'm glad it's done, and I can take it with me when I go for this break.

Here's another shot, for scale. I added in a measuring tape (in inches) and the Little Emo doll so you can maybe get a better idea of just how large it is.



I hope my brother appreciates it.

And no, I won't knit you one. I hope that's the last I see of colorwork for a while. If I were making another TARDIS? I'd do it of cloth and applique on all the various bits using machine-stitched satin stitch. (And use the satin stitch for the "lines" that denote the door panels).

****

And here's another episode of Cute Overload in Amigurumi Form:



Rules of Cuteness fulfilled:

If your tail curls up, it's cute.
If your ears are small, it's cute.

There's also Beady Eye Factor, which is supposedly an anti-cute thing, but in this case, I find it cute.

It's a little mouse, crocheted off the pattern ("Mighty Little Mouse" in Elisabeth Doherty's amigurumi book). I used Vanna's Choice in "Tangerine Print" (which actually looks more brownish to me).

It's actually very similar to mouse-toys that were common when I was a girl - just little round balls of fluff, no feet or legs, with ears and a long narrow tail and a pair of shiny beady eyes. I had several toy mice like this as a child.

It's a finished object!



Yup, I managed to get the current SitCom Chic done this weekend - the only thing that I might want to do yet is get some grosgrain ribbon to sew to the insides of the front bands, because they're curling a little bit.


Okay, another shot where I didn't manage to cut the top of my head off.



I made this out of K1C2 "Second Time Cotton," which is partially recycled cotton (pre-consumer waste...it's the leftovers from industrial processing). It's a nice yarn, perhaps a bit splitty on tight parts like the picking-up-neckline stitches.

One hint...for binding off the neckline and front bands, I found it EXTREMELY helpful to use a needle a size larger. I used a size 6 (4.0 mm) to knit the front bands and neckline, and then bound them off with a 7 (4.5 mm). I found this because I had to rip off the first front band after binding it off - it was way too tight and pulled the front out of shape.

I also altered the pattern to have long sleeves. They are perhaps a tad long on me, but not bad enough that I would take the thing to bits and redo it. And I think the full length sleeves look better on me than the 3/4 length in the original pattern.

I really love the color. I think it's also a flattering color on me, which is a bonus.

Here's why I'm glad my camera has a timer function:



This is the Obligatory Mirror Photo like some people do. Not so good.

Oh, and I wound up using neither of the buttons I was talking about using.



I found this Norwegian sweater clasp in my sewing kit. I think it probably came from a little Scandinavian shop in Champaign, Illinois, that was in the same shopping area where the seamstress who made the bridesmaid's gown I wore to my brother's wedding was. (If that's correct - and I think it must be, that's the only Scandinavian shop I've been to - I've had this stashed away for nearly 10 years. High time to use it, and I think it looks very nice on the sweater.)

I only had one clasp, so it seemed ideal for something like this where you only NEED one.

I'm really happy with the sweater. I think it looks great and I think technically, it turned out very well. (And as I said: I love the color.)

Fortunately, later this coming week it may actually get cool enough to wear a cotton cardigan.

I finished the Landscape Shawl last night.



I haven't blocked it; I'm not entirely sure that I'm going to, because it looks OK unblocked.



(These pictures came out darker than I thought they had. It's kind of hard to see the detail of the shawl).



You can kind of see some of the stitch patterning here.



And here it is on. I'm actually wearing it today. (Today is one of my rare non-messy work days.) It's nice and warm, all that merino wool. For something so lightweight, it's kind of surprising how warm it is. (We're having cool weather again today, after a high in the low 80s yesterday).



And finally, the obligatory, Cheryl-Oberle-style shot showing the back of the shawl (and as I said before: it would take 2 to 2 1/2 of Cheryl Oberle to make one of me...)

I generally love Norah Gaughan's patterns.

This one is no exception:


Yes, it's Kenobi! All finished, all put together. It took just over 10 balls of the Berroco Ultra Alpaca for the whole thing (it's knit with worsted-weight yarn held doubled).

And another view:



It's very warm and is quite heavy (well, you'd expect that - all that alpaca and knit at essentially a bulky gauge). I love the idea of the "strips" of different textures on it; that took what would have been a very plain sweater and made it a lot more special.

Here's the back:



And of course, the REAL reason I wanted to knit it?

So it might confer upon me Jedi mind-powers for when difficult or demanding people come around, expecting me to do things for them I cannot do.

"This is not the professor you are looking for. You can go about your business...Move along."

Oh, my friends, rejoice with me.

Hiawatha is done.



(The photos aren't the greatest but I grabbed them quickly this afternoon - I have to leave in about 1/2 hour for a baby shower).

Here's a Cheryl-Oberle-style shot from the back



And three shots showing detail:







I'm always surprised at how much lace CHANGES when you block it - this kind of crumpled up thing opens up, relaxes, even the texture of the yarn changes.

It's kind of like, when you come home at the end of the day, and you're all tense and stuff, you're all knotted up, and you take some time to do yoga, including the recommended 10 to 15 minutes in "Savasana" at the very end, and when you get up, you're like a different person, because the yoga relaxed you so much.

It's kind of like that.

I'm not wearing the shawl tonight - it's rather warm out and we are also having lasagne (I've never been to a baby shower that was a FULL MEAL before). So I don't want to risk getting tomato sauce on it (and then having to re-wash and re-block it. Believe me, I want to go though blocking this thing as few times as I can manage).

Guess who's blocking?






Hiawatha!


Yes, I finished it last night. I wet it down and pinned it out across my bed (Diagonally, and I had to make an "outrigger" from two pillows - this is a very long shawl. I didn't feel up to building the lath frame they suggest using to block it, and I didn't want to go buy a couple of styrofoam pieces and then have to store them.)

I left a fan blowing on it because it is on MY bed (I didn't feel like unloading the guest bed; I have some books stacked on there) and it needs to be dry by bedtime tonight. It's been deucedly humid here which is good for the plants (and the fungi; I have all kinds of crazy mushrooms coming up in my lawn) but it makes it hard to dry anything.

I still can't quite believe it's done. Longtime readers might remember that I started this in September, 2004 - so that makes it just under 2 years 8 months. This is the most complex thing I've ever knit, and in some ways the most difficult.

It does feel not unlike having a thesis or dissertation done and defended, or a major journal article published - it's like, "What....I don't have to work on this any more?"

****

Oh, and dragonknitter: in 2009 analog broadcasting is going to go away and be replaced with entirely digital broadcasting. I think the reason is, some of the frequencies used by analog can then be re-assigned to emergency service providers. Older sets will no longer work UNLESS you buy a converter box (so you will still be able to use your older sets, just with an add-on). In fact, if you have DirectTV, you may already be able to get the conversion right from the satellite.

I do want to get a new television, though. The one I have now has a 13" screen and when I watch movies that are letterboxed, I wind up either having to squint from across the room or move a chair right in front of the tv.

I finished the first of the Lichen Ribbed Socks:



The yarn feels very nice and the sock is generally a good fit (it's a bit loose in the ankle, but that may be because I used a mostly cotton yarn).

In addition to using a heel turn I'd never used before, it also has a different type of toe:



This is called a Star Toe of Three Points (there are three decrease points which converge near the tip). The decreases are done as a p2tog so they are more obvious than on some kinds of socks.

I rather like that toe.

I also finished a very long-term project, the Art Mohair stole I've been working on for a little over two years (I think). Not that it was such a difficult project but it tended to get pushed aside in favor of other things:



I'm glad it's done.

Here's a detail of the "feather lace stitch." The pattern for the stole came from the Lark Press book "Exquisite Little Knits."



(You can also see my little fluorescent gro-light set up in that picture.)

I also finished the back of the Kenobi jacket (no photo). I've begun the left front of it as well.

It was a good weekend for finishing things.

First of all: thank you for sharing your thoughts on my recent essay. Grace, I'm happy your daughter recovered. And thank you to the anonymous person who said I reminded them a bit of Thoreau. No Thoreau am I, really - I couldn't live in a cottage in the forest (for one thing, I'm far too fond of indoor plumbing) - but I do appreciate that the things I write strike a chord and seem to be thoughtful.

Secondly:
Happiness is a new sweater.



I finished the Central Park Hoodie.

Here's the back:


My "wingspan" is a bit wider than the camera's field of view.

Here's how I'll probably wear it most of the time:



(The junk in front of me is my kitchen step-stool, set up with automatic waterers for my houseplants. I'm bad enough at remembering to water them that the automatic waterers help.)

The color of the yarn (100% Alpaca from Elann) is called Thistle - it is grey with faint overtones of pink, blue, and purple. But actually what it makes me think of is this:

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
--Carl Sandburg

I remember memorizing that poem as a grade-school student.

It's interesting to me how many of the bits and pieces of poems I've read or learned over my life come to me at odd moments. While working on the sweater, I kept thinking of "The fog comes on little cat feet."

The other day, I was thinking of: "All things counter, original, spare, strange" which comes from:

GLORY be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

--Gerard Manley Hopkins

If that's not been set to music and sung as a hymn, it should be.

How different my life would be if my teachers (and my parents, for that matter), didn't make an effort to expose me to poetry. I think my life would be a lot poorer. I know there are a lot of people who don't care for poetry, and that's fine, but I do think schoolchildren should be exposed to it, and then they can decide as adults whether or not it's something they need in their lives.

As for me? It's something I need.