It's Been A While...

Wow. I haven't posted since October. Shame on me, in this digital age, not blogging more often.

Well, shortly after my last post, I went into the hospital for about a week. Obviously, I was released, but I'm still ill (some days more than others) and we're not sure what's wrong. So, I'm still seeing doctor's about that. Luckily, there is little distraction from the history of medieval Venetian trading while waiting around the doctor's office. (medieval texts > Cosmo)

As for knitting, I haven't gotten as much done as I would like. I did, of course, finish the holiday knits. Hats, this year. So many plain hats for the men in the family. Blech. Give me something interesting. (Why do men never want to wear interesting knits?) And then, of course, I was sleep deprived while packing to come home and forgot to bring any knitting supplies with me.

Oh yes. I, who cannot live without my knitting, who carries needles and a bit of yarn to the dining hall and grocery store on the off chance there'll be some knitting time, forgot to bring any yarn or needles with me. And I didn't get any for Christmas.

However, I did get an absolutely delightful copy of Wrapped in Comfort: Knitted Lace Shawls by Alison Jeppson Hyde. I love it dearly. It's also wonderful to read a knitting book written by someone with a chronic illness which affects her hands, like mine do. And she makes such beautiful lace! Maybe this lace thing is possible after all....

And then, out of nowhere, my brother bought me three skeins of Noro Kureyon Sock and a set of circular needles at the local LYS on Boxing Day so that I could start the shawl of my choice from the book. That was absolutely amazing of him and might keep me from going mad until I return to Pennsylvania and my stash. I must plan a wonderful surprise for him as a thank you. Perhaps I shall cook him something fancy when he comes back from his silent retreat....

I have started (and frogged, and started) the Bigfoot Shawl from Wrapped in Comfort. In Kureyon Sock it looks delightfully different from the tan alpaca shown in the book. Mine looks like fun and summer... It really reminds me, at the moment, of going to the Maine coast as a kid, when my brother and I would have clothing and toys in every colour under the sun. The colours of S40 are almost the same, but the pattern looks simple and pretty, like the house and shops in Maine. Hmmmmm.... I should have a full skein left over after I finish the shawl (unless a make myself a monster shawl), so I might start looking around for scarf patterns...

Adamas and Computer Woes

Yesterday, my computer did a double crash - within thirteen hours of one another. So I am currently without a personal computer and most of my knitting patterns and creative writing. It says something about how electronically dependent I am.

I had just cast on for a modified Roman Hat with Earflaps (without earflaps) as a Christmas gift for my uncle, but I put that aside. (It's an awesome brim pattern though.) I have picked up my Adamas pattern and Shadow yarn that were set aside over the summer and left on a shelf because I was lacking in the chart reading skill. Since today was laundry day and I couldn't surf the internet while I waited on the clothes, I brought the chart with me and spent several hours staring at it and trying to work it out logically in my head. Around 11 a.m. it clicked. Suddenly the chart which may as well have been written in hieroglyphics for all that I could understand it made sense to my eyes. Time will tell whether I made the right logical leap or if I'm on a wild goose chase - but the stitches are matching up in the right numbers and each mark on the paper has a sensible meaning now.

Pom-poms and Lace

The two Jayne hats still sit on the table, sans pom-poms. I'm trying to figure out pom-pom making from Internet instructions and I'm not sure if I'm bad at it, pom-pom making is a slow process, I'm doing it wrong, or if it's something else entirely. It might end up being a project to do Sunday night while we watch Firefly. On the plus side, Colin is delighted with the Jayne hat and was upset that I'm not going to let him take it until it has its rightful pom-pom in place. My concerns that he would not remember Firefly or Serenity are apparently unfounded.

On the plus side, the lace scarf is done. I'm not entirely sure what did it, but by the sixth repeat of the pattern, I found a rhythm and realised why everyone keeps telling me that lace knitting is relaxing. (Yes, I realise that I'm the one who was complaining so vocally about it before - now watch me look up lace scarf patterns on the internet for myself.) Mom likes the gift, even though I had to block it after I gave it to her.

(Yes, eventually there will be pictures of everything, but only after I get my hands on a working camera.)

Fall break is nearly over, which means returning to the Philadelphia airport, medieval literature, and school food. Blech. For plane reading, I have World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and hopefully my iPod won't bite the dust again. I'll just cross my fingers and pray that there won't be another two hour delay on the flight.

Knitting, Films, and Books

I am currently sitting in front of my parents' computer, knitting a Jayne hat. It is a delight of fall colours and my parents think I'm nuts to be making one (I think I'll live). The Falk is going to be toasty warm around my ears this winter, I think. I'm making two - one for myself and one for Colin. I remember him loving Firefly two years ago when he saw it and Serenity for the first time, but I'm not sure if he remembers it.

I watched Serenity again tonight and then all of the bonus features, most of which were quite new to me. I loved it. I love Joss in general, actually, so that was no surprise. And enough people have called me a Browncoat that I suppose I'm one by default by now. I just need to figure out if Kaylee was, in fact, supposed to be played by an Asian actress originally - and how to get this from some kind of official source. (Okay, I suppose wanting to include Firefly in my thesis make me a Browncoat, wouldn't it?) I think I will watch the film with Joss' commentary tomorrow while I knit the ear flaps on the hats tomorrow. (Ear flaps. This might be interesting.) And then I will probably attempt to swallow Laurie Finke's Women's Writing, Feminist Theory whole.

Scarf

So... I ordered the doings for KnitPicks Hoopskirt Scarf as my mother has been quite ill lately and I figured a nice, warm scarf for her birthday would be the thing to cheer her up, rather than picking something up in Chicago (where I'm not going). Perhaps it is the lateness of the hour. Perhaps it is the fact that my room is poorly lit and my mother asked for a black scarf ("Not coal, not slate, black."). Perhaps it is that I am distracted by my tea and House and trying to find clotted cream in a Pennsylvania suburb while I make this. But somehow, someway, I managed to get the pattern repeat right once and never again. Purling 15 stitches into one might be the kind of torture the Marquis de Sade would have for a knitter.

The shawl and hats are currently on hold, in the hopes that I can make this for her birthday. She's told me that my skipping Chicago to go home for her birthday (and probably cook a birthday dinner and cake) is enough, but I want to make this special for her.

Super Simple Shawl

I am currently working on the Super Simple Shawl in KnitPick's Shamrock Reilly. It is living up to its name and I can knit it while reading Marco Polo's The Travels for my thesis work. However, I do not like the pattern given for the lace edging and am on a mission to find a pretty edging that can be worked in a bulky weight yarn. As I knit closer to the end, if I have not found one, I might ask around some knitting communities for advice on a suitable edging.