Focus

Took Friday for myself. Focused on small things.

Made sure I was eating foods I picked up at the Farmer's market as well as pantry/freezer food on hand. Made lovely avgolemono soup for lunch. Prepared a nice salad for supper and a quick pasta sauce of young onions, cilantro, and some lemon zest from the soup making to go with some local cheese ravioli in the freezer.

Decided my day off needed to focus on some knitting in progress. Finished the cowl I'd started on Wednesday.




I've been itching to tackle some yet-to-decide projects, and the patterns have been out and about. Put away patterns that could stand to return to their file drawer and figured I'd focus on other knitting in progress. Attacked the Pomatomus only to find I didn't have that pattern with the knitting. Must have migrated to work. Got as far as I could. Will look for the pattern a few days before printing it up again.


Picked up the spring striped socks which had already been cast on. Made fair progress. Paused at this point to tackle the other, as I'd decided these socks might manage to match, and if I tackle the same stretch twice, I'll retain the progress & choices more easily.

I have commencement duties this weekend. Decided not to go to the farmer's market today as I would have little cooking opportunity this weekend. Besides, there's enough at home. I can focus.

This is the weekend I flip my summer-to-summer list of finished knitting. Really want to cast on for something sizeable, and I don't know if my weekend will have enough time to finish much else that's currently on the needles. Still, for now I'll just stick with the focus plan.

Spring, if we squint

I made it to our first farmer's market day - a limited market, naturally. With a little Memorial Day domesticity, I found I had a nice little spring collection on my counter. The maple syrup is from Trader Joe's - the "lesser grade" deemed good for cooking is just the thing, I think. I rather like it as a standard table syrup. Reminds me of homemade: my uncle has a tradition of making his own maple syrup when the spring works for him. (He has quite the setup. I wish I lived near enough or were flexible with my schedule enough to go up and do the maple thing with him.)


At the farmer's market I picked up rhubarb and made a crumble straight away. This is now an ex crumble. It was particularly good. The 3 bunches of asparagus are now down to one. It's cool, today, and I think I'll be using up the rest in a small batch of asparagus avgolemono from the Moosewood Simple Suppers. I think that's the book in which I saw the recipe.

Spring cooking is a good break from reading mountains of papers.


So is startitis.


Dishcloths from yarn remnants.

Not sexy knitting, but I really needed breaks.


Yes, that many papers.

Elizabeth at Sable will soon despair of endless blog images of cowls, the next ubiquitous fingerless mitt. I promise to tackle something challenging soon.

This is Nova Seal's Birthday Cowl.

The yarn has more blue than I captured. I didn't permit myself time for better photography during my breaks from paper reading.

And on that note, with grades in, I go home to unplug for a day.
I hear it may rain - a perfect spring stay-in-and-knit day.
(Perhaps not a good day for more squinty photography.)

I may have the key to a warmer spring -

-- as I have just finished the at-home shawl for better desk-sitting comfort. You know how this goes. It's bound to turn warm, too warm for sitting around with a shawl. I'll get one night of use all the same: I do believe it will still be pretty cool here tonight.

Pattern was from Knitty - Spanish Dancer. I inadvertently skipped the first row of knitting after picking up stitches from the provisional cast off. Turns out to have been a fine thing after all.

RAN OUT of the Schoeller & Stahl Hobby Kids yarn in the last stretch of the ruffle. This is not any sort of a problem for a project that was supposed to be a stash buster. 10 skeins, zip, done. Used a strand of leftover Lanett red and a strand of Baby Ull pink to finish the last row, and then I cast off with just the pink. Both of these were conveniently also in the stash, so I'm feeling fairly smug about some successful use of yarn that's been sitting at home.



Never did get a photo of the Dream Swatch done back in March. Here it is, although the photo is perhaps a little darker. Clouds kept coming and going this morning - witness the two tones of pink above.

Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.

I'm busy reading papers and exams.

In the spirit of these, I cheerfully cut and paste from the Internet, The Source of All Knowledge Inaccurately Quoted and Frequently Uncredited, a few quotes attributed to a notable playwright, poet, and wit.

The fact that several quotes appear in multiple versions either indicates that the man liked his material enough to use it often, or that we are soon to be subject to nothing but the vaguest degrees of accuracy in anything verbal.

To that end, I give you, without checking my sources:
Thoughts Suited For the End of a Term
- out of context -
from
Oscar Wilde.

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.
````````
I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.
````````
I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.
````````
I am not young enough to know everything.
````````
A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.
````````
All that I desire to point out is the general principle that life imitates art far more than art imitates life.
````````
Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
````````
Everybody who is incapable of learning has taken to teaching.
````````
Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.
````````
I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.
````````
I am not young enough to know everything.
````````
I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.
````````
I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.
````````
I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.
````````
It is always the unreadable that occurs.
````````
The truth is rarely pure and never simple.

(Knitting progress shall resurface when I give myself permission to sneak knitting, photography, AND blogging into my breaks from reading papers.)

Suburban Park Cowl

It was still a little cold.
I had a day off.
I wanted a quick knit.
I don't live in Dolores Park.

Tuscany blocked, at last..............

This sat for months awaiting blocking.

Had to wait for other projects to be done so I could have a clear and guilt-free cutting table.

Conjoined Pastimes Soy silk:


The dress form shot:


The recipient was delighted.

What was I thinking?

I thought the yarn was red, in the packaging, in the late evening, in the shop.


In the light of day, this yarn is clearly pink.

I have a sock in progress and two other socks cast on ready to knit.


Clearly, I have the startitis.

I had barely a moment to catch a photo.


Clearly a call for the photographer's little helper.



However you look at it, one thing is clear:



Resistance Is Futile.

Creeping Startitis

I've been infected.

Spitting Yarn pondered giving the credit or blame to the season.

I stayed up late (and I got home LATE) casting on 401 provisional stitches for a shawl snuggle to wear at home. Naturally I had to do a couple rows.

And there are two pairs of socks underway. And I wanted to start something else, but maybe this is enough.

I'm always happy when really skilled knitters like Elizabeth include garter in their inventories of ongoing projects. Validation, you know. Because yarn knows I don't always give myself enough credit to know that I know my own knitting mind and really DO want garter stitch or stockinette for soothing knitting, little projects for travel, projects to think about and projects to puzzle out....

P.S. I'm a dork

Thought about adding that last night:
P.S. I am just a big dork.
Naive.
Pollyanna.
Big old donkey girl scout.
(a phrase that is not my own but I remember hearing it and identifying...)

And the news anchor phrase is right: that's the way it is.

P.S. Also dork worthy:
I've been staying up too, too late so that I can get more day in my day. For example, P.S. - the Pomatomus Sock.



This is my third Cookie A pattern. Enjoying.
Wonder if there's a book on the horizon.

A Thank You Note

I don't have enough time to catch up on all the reading, but, oh, my, Magknits.

My heart goes out to the designers and site developers of Knitty and Magknits and Ravelry -- and to the independent bloggers who post their patterns at home. And here I've been sloppy, and just when exactly was the last time I said thank you! So.

I'm always a little amazed by those who put their patterns forward in the first place.

I'm duly impressed by the time it takes to put together the texts and the photos and sizes and what have you, errata or no -- just as my friends and family who don't knit are occasionally impressed by what I knit at all (or that I knit as much as I manage to do).

I'm in awe of those who capably wrestle with computer publishing and forum building and deft digital photography. I am happy bumbling along with my modest computer use. (See how I blog so as to pretend I'm computer savvy?)

I'm astounded by the knit designers who've deftly and generously made gifts of their patterns in new surroundings or in wonderful variations.

I have nothing but sympathy for and empathy with those who don't have access to their original digital information. I'm not going to think about what I've lost on occasion - and what can get lost on our many computers.

I'm fully in support of those who will move their patterns into other formats, forums, or media and will have a new opportunity to be reimbursed for a fragment of their time and efforts.

Whatever degree of business and income and love and business-building is part of these processes, I've had at the ready some WONDERFUL creativity to access, to change, to make my own, and to bring into my life.

I'm not going to mourn the things that go missing. Paper can age. Tastes can change. Art can be ephemeral.

I'll just be thankful.


I want to be the kind of person that sends everyone a thank you note every time I think it ought to be done. As it is, I don't take all the action I should, and I'm woefully behind. Perhaps this will be serve as one thank you note, done.

Not the worst thing

These are my February challenge socks. I finished them in April. It's chilly enough to wear them.



It could be worse. We didn't have 25 inches of snow in one snowfall.
(I'll shut up now. It might snow this weekend.)

Still ticking

Life is very busy. I'm regretting my plan to get regular amounts of sleep. I'm still not getting things done, and I still got zapped by some kind of crazy thing yesterday. (Lost a whole day to bedroom and bathroom, nothing beyond.)

I can afford myself very little time to knit, but I'm trying to take it when I can. Almost ALMOST finished with the Petrified Wood socks. Started a Pomatomus for my 15 minutes of knitting in the morning and evening. Also cast on some plain jane ribbed socks to replace the Petrified socks in my to-go knitting bag as soon as that last sock is finished.

Zipped up a dream swatch one Saturday for the next day's little bit of Easter flair.

I thought I had a picture of it in the camera, but I guess not. Seems all I captured were these bits of very vintage yarn.




I keep considering a nice dye project for them. That, too will have to keep.

I may be still ticking, but so's the clock. I can't stay to play today.

Knitting. Really.

This is the start of the second sock in a proof-of-progress photo I took a while ago.

The other night I progressed to within an inch of starting the gusset. Using Wendyknits toe-up gusset pattern, sport weight, since this yarn is a medium weight STR.

This is the end of the sweater. The one button looks like it's hanging funny. Part of that's the bad angle. The other part is that I find after a day of wearing and a little wearer's viewpoint that I did actually misalign the middle button.

I'd get right on that, but I'm wearing the sweater again today.

I really am liking this sweater.

Gone and Done

Gone but not forgotten forgetful.

I've barely been able to knit, much less have I been able to blog.
AFK. Gone.
SOL. Busy with life.

I have still been mindful of my self-imposed goals to move the knitting onward and to prevent knitting and yarn inertia. There is some progress.

1. Yesterday's business included tales straight out of No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Land, as I was held captive at a volunteer gig by means of misunderstanding, held captive through a three hour block of rehearsal (for which I was officially not needed) and more than an hour of rehearsal notes when I MIGHT have been elsewhere actually doing some sewing for this volunteer gig. They have no workspace, no evidence of a machine. Seriously couldn't even do any more handsewing, as the joint didn't even have basic black or white thread. 6 spools of red, they had, sure. I also cleaned out their sewing box. It's much tidier now. While captive, I managed to knit most of a foot of my second February sock. There's always some progress if you carry some knitting.

2. I'm finding my way through a few appropriate and specific connections for freeing up some yarn to better homes. Package 3 is now ready to go.

3. I finished up the Drops cardigan. Seams, ends, buttons, all done. Will wear it this evening. Even took a photograph.

So I am getting a few things done.

Meanwhile, I appear to you photo-less. There's one in the camera. I just can't think where I put the cable for the camera after I loaned it to someone for a project.

Forgetful with a dose of being mindful.

Done with more to do.

Gone but still here.

A knitter stumbles

I sent an email this evening:

This is impossibly silly, but you do have the context, as it was discussed at large at ____________.

I gave myself a 12 month knitting challenge. I am two days away from the end of my second month deadline, and I won't meet it. The rules of the "challenge" were that I must somehow dispose of the project, a thing I doubt I could ever do. I altered the rule for myself to mean that I must give away an equivalency of yarn.

I just can't face pretending that I'll do nothing but knit an entire sock in the next two days. That'd be fine for a weekend, but not these next two days nor even this particular weekend ahead. A self-driven challenge is a challenge all the same.

You mentioned that you were learning to knit. Would you like to be the somewhat random recipient of some yarn? What colors are your preferred colors? Would wools be okay? Should it be sock yarn or can it be any yarn?

Sometimes you have to be clear about deadlines. I don't need two days of self-imposed knitting anxiety. The challenge was to move the yarn along, one way or another. I'll move the sock along, but as Elizabeth pointed out in the comments some time back, I couldn't just abandon a project I was enjoying just because of a silly challenge deadline. The real stash challenges for me were to get yarn moving and to try to perhaps move a few things out.

Meanwhile, I sent along a little mohair with sparkle to another knitty. The zip bag fell on my head from its shelf, so I looked around Ravelry until I found someone who'd liked using the yarn and had commented that it was no longer available. I decided the yarn had just made itself available to her, so off it has gone in the post.

There are extra reasons (beyond life & work) why I haven't made it into the second sock. I'm at the last stitching for the Drops sweater. I've also been making headway on the afghan my grandmother had been making for my aunt and uncle. My mother asked me if I'd mind finishing it on behalf of my grandmother.

It's a family thing.
I don't mind at all.

Business - Trips and Usual

Business as Usual:
I've been very productive, but not the sort that lends for blog interest.

Business Trips:
I went to Boston and met up with Batty, from Knittyboard, who met me for a nice little walk to the nearest local yarn shop. Very kind of her, that was. I bought just a little bit of yarn. Very restrained.


Usual Knitting for Trips:


More Business as Usual:
I bought one little extra bit of sock yarn.

One domestic Saturday

From a pair of cotton pants summer that were happily worn in grad school, pants that would pass for great pajamas these days, pants in which the elastic was shot and I just couldn't pitch them because I'd enjoyed the print so, faded as it is now, and it would make such lousy rags, tight and crisp a cotton as it was, why finally, some progress was made.
(Phew. Withstand that sentence, did you?)

I made a bag for bags. Even though I'm doing better with every passing day to shop less and to carry a bag, once in awhile there are some plastic bags. I save them for my trash bags. I have not purchased plastic garbage bags for years.

I also made a clothespin bag. It was a fitting set of little moments in a very productive, very domestic Saturday.

When is Stash Busting not actually Stash Busting?

Stash Busting:

I started out with a batch of sale yarn (Misti Alpaca Chunky, as it happens), determined to make a sweater out of the exact amount I happened to pick up.

Stash:

I became nervous and picked up a skein of charcoal heather, same yarn, to coordinate as backup for collar, cuffs, whatever.

Stash Busting:

The sweater moves along swimmingly, and I've made it through all but the seaming and the collar. It may be possible that the grey may never appear as contrast on the sweater. Or I may have left over, and then what?

Stash:

I need some needle replacement, and I ogle some yarn while in the shop. Same type of yarn. It comes home, as it would be just the thing with that leftover (or not exactly leftover) grey.

Stash busting:

I really like the swatch in moss stitch, so a modified-for-yardage-&-gauge Le Slouch, only less slouchy is the plan.


Note the grey. I expected I'd run out of the multi before I finished at the top of the crown. Not so.

STILL STASH:
In fact there is a multi oddball, and there's still the bulk of the grey. I'll see what remains when I'm done with the sweater. There may have to be mittens, but I swear it can ONLY be from stash, no matter how they look!

Progress!

A GIFT!

I finished up the baby hat from stash. There is still leftover. It hasn't been put away. I think I can eke out some booties - or make it part of another hat.

A KEEPER!

I've selected my choice of button for the Drops cardigan. I picked up these vintage buttons some time ago in a small town Minnesota antique shop. I filled small paper bags of them actually: most of the buttons were very large, so some have made their way onto costumes. These I kept, at least for the moment.

Had to go back and re-do the front because I forgot to make buttonhole room. Thought about loops, but it wasn't too painful to go back. Watched an installment of Pride & Prejudice and delighted in how painfully and heart-tuggingly awkward was Colin's Mr. Darcy. Zoom, unknit and reknit.

Also finished up a hat I zipped up for myself this week, but this is all the blog time I can afford today.

Having Fun

I wish I could help with that. I'm not helping the couple of people who've strolled past here have any blog reading fun.

Life is moving effectively here, even if the snows and the potholes and the black ice and the communities that run out of road salt and moneys for plowing seem to throw us into less effective moving.

There's been knitting. I finished a gift baby hat. I've started a hat for myself. I'm making progress on the sock. I've done all the pieces of the Drops sweater, except for some backtracking now because I overlooked buttonholes. I'm even rehearsing button options, and I've yet to block, stitch, and tackle the collar.

Work and its projects move apace. I'm even having a little fun. I'm enjoying some collegial team work. I'm enjoying the projects we're working on. I'm even enjoying getting a bit of regular sleep.

There's just not time for the blog fun of sharing.

Hope to catch up. Thought I'd pop by for good manners and say hello. I've been impressed with the work and the weathering and the writing others are doing with their winters (or summers, dependent upon your hemisphere).

Have some fun, however you measure it.