April, come she will

I haven't actually posted progress reports or goals yet this year. So--checking in on my end-of-the-year posting:

Goals from 2007 for 2008:

• Finish brother sweater (Jan) Done!
  
• Lengthen husband sweater (Jan) Done!
  
• Lengthen perfect sweater #1 (Jan) Not even looked at.
  
• Ramona (Jan) Done, and I love, love, love this sweater. The yarn (Classic AL) pills like mad, which is to be expected out of a merino/alpaca blend, but I love it anyway.

• Husband sweater #2 (Feb/Mar) Swatched, but that's it.
  
• Tangled yoke cardigan hmm. . . I may use the yarn I had earmarked for this for a different sweater. Still in the imagining stages.
  
• Baby nephew blanket w/cables (Feb/Mar—he’s due in April, and while we’re worried he’ll come early, like his big brother, I don’t want him to not have a blanket. I’m aiming for done in mid-March, which will put him at 35 or 36 weeks) Well, he came early (March 8), and his blanket's still not done. But I"m getting there--I've done 28 out of 30 repeats, so--two more repeats and the border, so I need about 3 more hours to finish the knitting part.
  
• Orange socks for T (done soon, but maybe given to him when his baby brother gets his blanket) Done, gifted, and frequently worn.
  
• Honeybee stole or another large lace project, w/camel yarn Still in the imagining stage, but I have finished some lace this year.

Other things accomplished so far this year:

• Flowerbasket Shawl
• Swallowtail Shawl
• Malabrigo scarf, neither blogged nor Raveled. It was for the third, and only male member, of my committee.
  
• Blue socks, also for T
• 1 sock in Lorna's Laces Georgetown, a little too long for me (I got distracted and forget to start the toe), so once the second one is done I'll mail them to L.

Not too too much knitting, although I've done a fair amount on the cabled nephew blanket, as well. And, considering that I finished and defended my dissertation--my largest FO to date, and my longest-lasting WIP--I'm going to say the first three months have been pretty successful!

Which raises the question: What do I want to accomplish in April? April will be a month of grading; next week I have a lot of papers coming in and a short time to turn them around before I have more papers coming in that I'll need to turn around quickly, because then it will be the end of the semester and I'll have final portfolios to grade. Teaching would be so much more fun if it weren't for grading jail. My goals, in other words, need to be reasonable.

• Finish the cable blanket and mail it to little nephew. (totally reasonable; even with 35 papers to grade this weekend, I think I should be able to mail it by the time he turns 1 month old.)
• Finish the second G'town sock so I can bring them with me when I go visit L the first weekend in May. (mindless and portable knitting is good, especially with papers to grade)
• Swallowtail shawl #2 in Posh yarn: I need to decide which yarn. The Posh Knitters group on Ravelry is having a KAL and I thought I'd play along.
• Work on green socks for T, which I started and then frogged, since I wasn't happy with them.
• Wash the swatches for the husband sweater and get started. We have made a pattern decision (hence the swatching): Cambridge Jacket by Ann Budd, from IK Summer 2006.

That seems like a reasonable amount to try and accomplish. I have a million plans in my head, but I know this month will be crazy, work-wise. May will be lighter work-wise, but crazy with graduations and birthdays and conferences; June will be much lighter, though (and then July and August crazy again with a summer class!).

I haven't really been buying yarn, or notions, or anything, really, but instead mostly knitting from my stash. I think I'll be tempted, though, as Webs' anniversary sale is coming up in April, and they always have such amazing prices!

F is for

FishFishing equipment abounds, including this very cool hand-painted plug--one of many that G has stashed. But our fish are more than just edible, or equipment-related. Oh, no. There is, dare I say, a bit of a fish fetish around here:


A fish stapler


a fish wine stopper


fish salt-and-paper shakers


a fish plate
another fish plate
and another fish plate




a fish print
and another fish print (this one's my favorite--hand colored by the artist!)

E is for . . .

Exhausted.

No pictures; I'm too tired.

Spring break is over; we drove over 1000 miles (Boston to MIL's, NJ, to Grad School, NJ, to NYC, to Parent's, NJ, to NYC, to Parent's, to Hospital, NJ (to see the new nephew) to MIL, to Parent's, to MIL, to Boston. It makes me tired just thinking about it.)

The defense, while nerve-wracking, was a success; I now need to clean up the dissertation and submit the final copy. But I've got well over a month before that's due.

The new nephew, although a month early, was almost 7lb when he was born on Saturday (having kindly and politely waited until after Aunt Susan's party on Friday). He's back in the NICU right now, for jaundice, but seems to be getting less yellow by the minute and they expect him home in a couple of days.

Stupid annoying medical things are making me feel generally crummy and run-down, so the driving and excitement took more of a toll than it normally would. (This has resulted in a complete stoppage of all grading around here, but since we're going to a museum for class tomorrow, I don't think it's so awful. I'll have their papers done for Tuesday.)

I have a job application due tomorrow and I'm having the worst time articulating a teaching philosophy.

A more cheerful post (with knitting!) coming soon. And my F will definitely have pictures--lots of pictures.

Finish-itis

Blue knee socks for a three-year-old, done and mailed:


Swallowtail, done:
(details on Ravelry)

Flowerbasket shawl, started, blocked, and done:
(details on Ravelry)

Both shawls were knit using Fearless Fiber sock yarn (Brick House, the red yarn, was a gift from my sockapalooza pal; Hudson, the blue yarn, was purchased through the Ravelry ISO/Destash board)--the colors are amazing. Perfect for lace--enough color variegation to be interesting, but not so much that it's overwhelming.

D is for . . .

Dissertation*

*I know this is late. But I've been torn between wanting to post, and stick with the schedule, and fear that posting would jinx my defense, which is set for this coming Thursday.