Spring Term

It always strikes me as funny that the spring term begins in early January, often with snow on the ground. We used to be on a quarter system, which meant we'd be starting our more aptly named winter quarter this week, but we switched to semesters a few years back. Which means we have a fall term (starting quite sensibly in September), a winter break (a few all-too-short weeks barely stretching over the holidays), a spring term, which starts tomorrow, and two short-but-intense summer sessions. (Summer 1 starts at the beginning of May, though, so that doesn't really make sense, either.)

This year, the winter break didn't even stretch far enough to include Orthodox Christmas, which we celebrate, and which occurs on Jan. 7. My first class is on Tuesday--I'm on a Tuesday/Friday schedule again this term, hooray--so the plan is for me to drive from NJ to MA tomorrow, teach on Tuesday, and head back down for Christmas Eve festivities after classes. G will stay here--no sense in both of us missing all the fun.

Of course, we'll have to be back in Boston on Thursday, so it will be a short trip, but certainly better than not coming back down.

I'm looking forward to my classes this term--two upper-class writing courses, and one first-year. I didn't have any first-years this fall, and I missed them--there's more notable progress with the upper classmen, since what I want them to accomplish is on a lot of levels more measurable. But first-year students--especially in the fall--have a sort of bright-and-shiny joy to them which is lovely. They love being in college--the freedom, the new experiences, the chance to reinvent themselves--and it shows. And their enthusiasm for classes* is catching.

The upper-class courses should be good, too--I had three sections in the fall, which was too much. But two sections should be fine--enough to keep my on my toes, but not so much I run out of steam before the end of the day. Since the first-year class and the upper-level class require totally different kinds of energy, I find that the change in pace is enough to make the day less tiring.**

And I have a new knitting project to look forward to--I cast on for the Cambridge Jacket for G on Dec. 28. In a feverish burst of knitting, I've already finished the back, the left front, and about a quarter of the right front. (Saying this will probably doom me to sleeve-island hell, but I'll take my chances.) I want to finish the knitting by 12/15, so I can block the pieces, seam them, and have at least a week to deal with putting in the zipper. The whole thing needs to be done by Jan. 31, which is when G leaves for the next leg of his research trip. I want to send him off (this time to Kiev) wrapped in a new sweater!

*Granted, not all freshmen are enthusiastic. And not all freshmen want to be in college. But I got super-lucky last spring, and had an amazing bunch; I'm being optimistic about this new group.
**Maybe not less tired, but at least a different kind of tired--I'm not nearly as walleyed with fatigue at the end of it.

Longwood weekend

I teach on a Tuesday Friday schedule, which means that normally, holidays don't affect my schedule. President's Day, Memorial Day, Patriot's Day--classes canceled on a Monday mean my week goes on as normal.

But this year, Veteran's Day fell on a Tuesday, which means that I had six days in a row with no classes. Since da honey is in Poland, I went down to NJ to hang with the parents. We took a trip, starting with a visit to my great aunt and uncle (she'll be 90 next month, he'll be 91 in January, they'll celebrate 70 years of marriage in May, and they're both totally together and even spry! I want to be them when I get old.) And then we went down to one of my favorite places: Longwood Gardens.

Where they have a new exhibit of very cool treehouses:
Beautiful chrysanthemum displays:
Purty glass gourds:
A single mum plant with 484 blooms (which is a Longwood record, although not a world record; they're using a Japanese technique called "thousand bloom," and sometimes they manage to get that many!):

The orchid room (my favorite permanent part of the conservatory):

And a new children's garden, filled with whimsical statues and water fountains:

We also hit several outlets, and I managed to get a shirt from Banana Republic, a polo for the hubby, a pair of socks, and a pair of pants, all for less than $20 total. I love shopping with my mom--she totally rocks the coupons.

There was knitting, as well--I finished a pair of socks for nephew the elder, finished the cowl, and started another pair of Fetchings. But no photos of them (and probably none of the socks, period, as I left them in NJ on the theory that he should wear them before he outgrows them, and at the rate he's growing I'm worried that will be soon) yet.

Christmas knitting

The first Christmas knit, done:

Hemlock Ring Blanket, Eco-Wool (1.25 skeins), size 10 needles. I really like it, and it was a fast knit--about 10 days from cast-on to blocking. I'm thinking about making a few more as Christmas presents for other people, as well.

Not too much knitting around here. My semester started 2 weeks ago--crazy in the beginning, but it's settling down nicely. I really like my classes--I've got a nice bunch of kids. About half of them are international, which has been making for interesting conversations.

I was down in NJ this weekend, visiting family--I gave T his latest pair of socks, which he was willing to take off for bath time, but insisted on sleeping in. He's so much fun to knit for--I love his response to hand-knit socks. (My brother said that it's good he's now got several pairs; initially it was tough to get them off him long enough to wash. You've got to love that in a recipient!) T & I also had a most excellent water fight. There's nothing like a four-year old to cheer you up.

And I needed cheering up, because the reason we were down in NJ was to put G on a plane to Poland, where he'll be for the next three months. doing research. in Poland. 6 time zones ahead. 4084 miles away. I've put up countdown clocks--one until I go there for Thanksgiving, and one until he comes home for Christmas. (The clocks are too big, though--the seconds don't show up. Eventually either figure out how to fix it, or find new ones that actually fit.)

So it will be a long semester, and I will be knitting up a storm, I think. First up is a new hat for G (it's cold in Poland!)--I managed to shrink his We Call Them Pirates hat (I was in fact trying to shrink it just a little bit, since it had stretched, but managed to go a bit overboard) and he wants a new one.

Non-lace knitting

Finished: One pair of knee socks for my four-year-old nephew (with one of my socks, for scale):

Plymouth yarn Happy Feet sock yarn, in color #10--blues and greens and a little maroon, magic looped on size 1.5 needles. The colors are very J-Crew/Gap, which my SIL will love. The yarn is very squishy, which T will love--good for sliding around the kitchen floor, his standard test for new socks. I put one of my size 9 socks in for scale--T likes long socks ("up to my knees!" he says). I cast on 48 stitches and use a 2x2 ribbing all down the leg and on the top of the foot, which is pretty much what I've done with all his socks so they stay up. The yarn, which I bought on sale a while ago, is nice to knit with, and I like the way the colors came out. No pooling; the color repeats are very short, which I think helps. I have enough left over from the skeins that I'm going to see if I can find a nice fat-legged baby sock for T's six-month-old brother, so they can have matching brother socks. (I feel like I've ignored G in favor of knitting socks for T, since G is, at not-quite six months, a bit less enthusiastic about hand-knits than T is. And I have this sneaking suspicion that, in a few years, G will love the hand knits and T will start be be very blase' about the whole thing, so I'm getting the knitting-auntie love while I can.)

I've also started (and almost finished) another Elefante, this time in blue:

All that's left is some sewing up--I was too tired last night, and afraid of getting a crooked elephant. I'm planning on making another one as soon as I'm finished--one for G (the aunt guilt is getting to me!), and one for the son of a family friend, who's expecting his first baby soon. My mom is going to the shower in a few weeks; I thought I would stick it in with her package.

I still need to frog and re-start Cleo; I really like the pattern & yarn, so I think I'm going to try going down a few needle sizes and see what that gets me.

Beyond that, I've been a little blah--my inability to start a big project in knitting seems to be par for the course, lately. My summer class is done, and has been for a couple of weeks; my fall syllabus are done (and have been for a couple of months--I like to be prepared!), and I'm working on some course proposals for next year. G's going to be gone for a lot of the school year, though--he's off to do some major dissertation research--and while I'm glad he's getting the chance to go (and that he's got grants that will pay for it!), I'm miserable at the thought of him being gone. He leaves in a little less than three weeks; we're trying to make the most of the time we have, but he needs to get ready to go, too, so--blah. And blah, and blah, and blah. I'll be better once my classes start next week, and I'm busy. I'll also be better once he's actually gone--then I'll start counting the days until I see him again, instead of counting the days until he leaves.

I fought the law (and the law won)

The law in question? Gravity. Our dispute regarded the speed with which I was descending the stairs--too slow, it seems, for gravity's liking, and so gravity gave me a bit of a push.

My ankle didn't like that much at all, though. I've always sort of thought that it might be nice to be laid up with something like a twisted ankle--too swollen to put any weight on, but not much pain, as long as I stay put--which would allow me to sit and knit all day with no guilt.

Of course, I managed to do this while at my MIL's, just before we left for my parents'. We were down in NJ for a nephew christening, and so rather than having a lovely peaceful knitting day? I had to hop around on one foot, or sit in the car.

I did get a little knitting done--I'm on the 31st repeat of Madli's shawl (no picture, as it looks exactly the same as it did last time, only longer), and I've turned the heel on my second sock.

The christening was lovely, though, and my older nephew (he's 4) found my hopping hilariously entertaining.

Better late than never: the vacation edition

One day, I will blog things on time.

One day, I will remember to take pictures when I'm out doing interesting things, like visiting my first sheep festival.

One day, I will post actual knitting content.

Today is not that day.

The first week of June, DH and I went on vacation. With his mom. Which was actually way more fun that it sounds like, since I really like my mother-in-law. Although the cottage we rented was, indeed, rather small, it did have two bedrooms, so we could all close the doors and have a little privacy. And it was right on the water--the bay side of Cape Cod, in Truro.

We drove out on Saturday, and while my MIL left Wednesday morning, DH and I extended our trip by an extra night, and were there until the following Sunday.

On the first Sunday, we went to a sheep festival (my first!) at Taylor-Bray Farm, in Yarmouth Port. In a fit of camnesia, Sunday was the first of eight days that I neglected to bring the camera and take any pictures. Suffice to say, sheep are cute, as are goats and llama. The sheep dogs were the highlight. And there was yarn:

40z of lace-weight mohair, 2-ply. Incredibly evenly spun, from Knot-a-Thot Farms in West Barnstable. No idea on yardage, or what to do with it. A scarf, I suppose, in a nice repeating pattern so I can make it as long/short as I have yarn for.

And also this:
Hand spun and hand dyed, with natural dye (coreopsis flowers).

156 yards of . . . heavy worsted? maybe bulky? No idea what to do with it, but it was pretty and the DH insisted--insisted!--I needed more yarn. And the woman who dyed & spun it was very nice, and spent a lot of time talking to me about how she dyed the yarns.

Other unphotographed highlights included excellent barbecue, incredible seafood, and a trip to Truro Vineyards with my MIL for a wine tasting. Which we've done before, but which was a highlight of this trip because my MIL was highly resistant at first, and then enjoyed herself far more than she was expecting to.

Other than yarn, shopping included a trip to the Atlantic Spice Co., which I highly recommend if you're ever out on the tip of Cape Cod, window shopping in Provincetown, and a wander through Chatham. I wanted to go to Chatham because we have a set of fish salt-and-pepper shakers that I love, and which I was pretty certain we'd bought in Chatham. Memory did in fact prove correct, and we found these:



At Yankee-Ingenuity, the same store where we'd bought the other set of shakers.

I'd better get cracking on actual work, though, as my Summer 2 class starts in two weeks, and I have yet to finish my course calendar!

K is for . . .

Knitting. Of course. :)
This is my first finished project--a scarf for my dad. When my mom taught me how to knit in 2002 (okay. when she taught me again how to knit, and it finally stuck), I was hooked. It took a while to get the hang of the purl stitch (I kept holding the yarn wrong and winding up with all these extra stitches from the yarn-overs I was creating), but once I did, I searched for a nice, easy scarf and found a basket-weave pattern I liked. I bought a skein of Wool-Ease, and off I went.

I cast on the correct number of stitches, and fell under the spell of knit and purl. And when I got to the end of the skein, I decided it wasn't long enough, so I bought another one and kept going.

By the time I got to the end of that skein, I'd forgotten how to cast off.

But I was having a good time, and was going to visit my parents in the near future, so I did the only logical thing.

I bought a third skein.

By the time I ran out of yarn, I was on my way to NJ to visit my mom, who showed me how to bind off the scarf. Which was then almost 9 feet long.

My dad can wrap it around his neck many, many times. But he wears it a lot, and claims he doesn't want a new one. So my first FO gets worn every year, and every year he teases me about how long it is. Secretly, though, I think I'd have to fight him to get it back.

Seuss-ical Socks

Yarn: Regia Silk Color, 1 skein with only a very few inches left over. Purchased at Webs.
Pattern: My own; 48 stitches in 2x2 rib for the leg with an afterthought heel to keep the stripes striping.
Gauge: 17 stitches = 2 inches
Needle: 1.5 (2.5mm) KnitPicks circular, knit using magic loop.
For: Big Nephew (a designation that strikes me as entertaining, as my "big" nephew, T, is three and weighs somewhere around thirty-three pounds. Compared to his unborn brother, G, due in April, though--he's definitely the big one.)
Verdict: I think he'll like them. He wants blue ones next. I like the silly orangey striping; he asked for orange socks last time; this was the best orange I could find.

Now that the doctors have said that the little nephew is far enough along that even if he comes early, he should be okay, I can cast on for a cabled baby blanket for him. So blue travel socks for T, and a yellow cabled blanket for little G (as per his mother's request) are next up!

Merry (belated) Christmas

I have finally finished the Christmas knitting, as well as a few other things. And I've started working on a new sweater for me--Ramona from Sensual Knits--which I'm very excited about and deserves its own post. It's been on hold for a couple of days; I've been using it as a carrot to finish up my brother's sweater. Now that I'm done with that, though, Ramona it is!

I've also started a new pair of nephew socks. After the success of the red-socks-that-come-up-to-his knees (one of the bind-offs is a little tight, but he won't let them out of his sight long enough to mail them to me so I can fix it--how cute is that?) The nephew has requested orange socks next. Orange is a surprisingly hard color to find--maybe it would be easier in October? Or in a city where team colors include orange, maybe. But I found some funky Regia silk yarn at Webs, and have made it down to the start of the foot on the first sock. I've knit in some scrap yarn to mark an afterthought heel, which will both keep the funky striping going nicely as well as make sure that the socks are as long as possible. I can always make the heels and toes a different color if I need to. Next time I'm going to try toe-up socks with an afterthought heel--the toe-up heel is what's really been giving me pause.

I knit about 2 inches of the ribbing during my first day of classes yesterday--I needed writing samples from everyone, making a portable project important.

Also done recently: basic socks in Claudia Handpainted, blue terra cotta color:

I was a little "meh" about this pair; the yarn is fine (although weirdly thick-and-thin in a few places, as if it weren't spun/plied/twisted tightly enough), but a little splitty and I had some trouble with dropped stitches. I think that I'm going to send them to my bff, who likes hand knit socks almost as much as the nephew. (I've also got some peppermint marshmallows for her--we've been big hot chocolate buddies since college--yum!)

And, most importantly, I've finished my not-so-little-brother's (who shall be, from now on, the NSLB) Christmas present:


It was too big to get the whole thing in. The details: a seamless hybrid sweater, based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's percentages formula, using Plymouth Encore in a heathery green with contrasting tan hems, knit on KnitPicks Harmony interchangables size 6. I bought what I thought was an extra skein of yarn but wound up unpicking my gage swatch so I could sew down the collar hem. 47" chest. Lessons learned: 1) NSLB sweaters take a lot more yarn than I would imagine, and 2) NSLB sweaters need to be started at least two months before they're due to be gifted. Also, count everything. Frequently. And then have someone else count for you, just to be sure.

I started using a Russian join on this one--the yarn is superwash, and has some acrylic in it, so spit-splicing didn't seem like a good option. I really liked doing this--way fewer ends to weave in at the end, which made finishing pretty easy. And I like this sweater recipe a lot--I don't think this will be the last one I make. I'll have to wait for a report on how it fits, though, for a final decision.

In which the knitting gods kick my ass

Only a few days ago, I was feeling quite optimistic about the state of my Christmas knitting.

The SIL shawl was done, the ends were woven in, and--with amazing ease, courtesy of my new blocking wires--it was pinned out to dry:

One major present: done and checked off the list. The only thing left was the wrapping.

The socks-that-come-up-to-his-knees socks for the nephew were well underway; the first one is completely done and clocks in at 9.25 inches, total. And we've got a car ride to NJ--a good four hours of knitting time--for finishing. His knees are about 10" about the ground, so they should be plenty long. I'm making the toes blue (he picked the yarn) so that when his feet grow, which they inevitably will, I can cut them out and make the feet a little longer without any hassle.

Second Christmas knitting project: well underway.


The green blob that was to be the Brother sweater was actually starting to look like a sweater. Both sleeves were attached, and I had knit about 5 inches of the decreases along the shoulders when I realized

(cue scary Jaws music indicating that makes you want to yell: don't go in the water!)

Something was wrong.

(music swells ominously)

I recounted the number of stitches on each sleeve. An EPS sweater is decreased 8 stitches every third round--two on each sleeve, and four on the body. I'd be blithely knitting along, counting the stitches on one of the sleeves, to make sure I was staying on track, but never bothering to check the other sleeve.

(music tempo increases)

I had 54 on one side.

And 64 on the other.

A two-inch difference.

(music stops, screaming begins)

I cannot, it seems, count to 82 with any reliability, even though I checked my counts on both sleeves repeatedly.

Christmas knitting project the third, and my brother's major present: disaster. There's no possible way I can rip back the five inches of the chest, remove the problem sleeve, rip it back six inches, finish the increases, reattach it, redo the chest decreases, finish the chest decreases, and knit the shoulder saddles in the 46 or so hours left until my brother opens his present.

Which, at this point, will be an empty box with a funny note in it. And a story that he'll be able to hold over my head for years to come, which may be more precious than a hand-knit sweater.

The knitting gods are definitely kicking my ass this year.

Christmas Knitting Countdown

The SIL shawl: Almost done. 95% done. Less than half a border repeat left. So why is it languishing in the basket?

The nephew socks: Not even started. These weren't really planned as Christmas knitting, but it looks like it will be Christmas before he gets them. The yarn is darker red than the photo suggests.
I need to learn how to knit socks toe-up so I can make them as long as possible, which is why they're not started yet.

The Brother Sweater: the body (all 238 stitches of it) is up to the underarms--18 inches. He's tall, and G tells me the husband sweater would be even better with a couple of extra inches of length. I started the hem of the first sleeve last night.
Right now it looks like a big green blob.

The kicker? As I was taking the points off, and putting the end caps on, I pulled one of my size 6 tips out of the collar. Knitpicks is sending me a new set--they do have excellent customer service--but in the meantime? I'm going to try some fishing glue, and see if I can manage to keep going.

There's nothing like a little pressure to make the Christmas Knitting more enjoyable!

He likes them!

He really, really likes them!

No picture, alas. But I finished the nephew socks and mailed them off on Saturday--the arrived in New Jersey yesterday.

My parents picked T up from daycare, and told him there was a package for him at home. To which he replied: "my socks!"

My spies tell me that he tore open the package, put them on, and slid merrily around the kitchen in them. And wore them to sleep in.

He's requested another pair, also in red, but "that come up to my knees." Knee socks for three-year-olds. A three-year-old who climbs into my lap and says "My Duzan" and snuggles. So knee socks it is.

I went out and bought the yarn this morning. Now I need to learn how to knit toe-up socks, so I can make them as long as possible. Maybe I'll start with a silly color for the toes, so they're really, really long.

December Goals

It's been a busy month--too much time spent grading and not enough knitting or blogging. My last day of classes is this Tuesday; I've had several rounds of papers to grade this month. All of my classes are writing classes and on the last day I ask my students to give me a portfolio with all their work, along with a (new) reflective essay--which is nice, because it means most of the grading is done before the end of the semester, but it also means a lot of grading around Thanksgiving.

Teaching would be so much more fun if it weren't for all the grading. :)

I've also got a cold that won't go away--I lost my voice for a few days (much to the amusement of my nephew over Thanksgiving!) and now just have a persistent cough.

I have been doing some knitting, though--no sweater for November, but the pressure to finish my brother's Christmas present in time for Christmas will just add to the fun.

The goals round up:

November goals:

1. Finish the Stripes and Torchon scarf--or at least, finish up all the yarn I have and, if I run out, work on finding more. almost there--stay on target! I've got about a repeat of the border left; Somehow (even though I've followed the pattern!) the border has wound up not working out exactly, and--since there are 34 rows--it's a little harder to fudge and make it wind up looking even than I'd have imagined. But I should be done with it today or tomorrow, and then I'll cast on for
   
2. Start and finish the Brother sweater. Not even close. So not even close I haven't even finished the maths for it, although I swatched. Two months ago, so maybe I should swatch again?
   
3. Knit socks for T, who saw me knitting them and said he'd like a pair. Of course, he's three, so he may not remember, but I do. And he's got little feet, so they shouldn't take too long. Done, mailed, but not photographed. I was working on another pair of socks over Thanksgiving, and he asked me again about his socks; I showed him the yarn I had with me and he decided he liked the leftovers from my red Aracaunia Ranco socks and wanted red socks. He kept bringing me the yarn and asking about them--a totally adorable, if somewhat unrealistic, expectation of how long it would take to knit a pair of socks. The enthusiasm was nice, though! I didn't have enough yarn, even though I made the cuffs fairly short--he got red socks with blue toes.
   
4. Start a chevron scarf and see if the colors I have will work. I'm saving this as a treat, since I can't wait to use the yarn. Done, here, but not successfully. I"m rethinking the colors, and what to do with my lovely Posh yarn.
   
5. Learn a new technique. I'm not sure what--maybe cabling without a cable needle, since I'd also like to No new techniques, but I'm getting better with the magic loop.
   
6. Knit at least one pair of Fetching mitts. One down, one to go--does the thumb gusset count as a new technique?

Stash acquisitions: Blocking wires from Joann.com, which I would link to, but they don't seem to have them in stock right now. But with a 50% off coupon, they wound up being around $20 including shipping. I haven't used them yet--the Stripes and Torchon scarf will be my first project using them. I also bought some Claudia's handpainted in Blue Terra Cotta in a Ravelry Swap, along with the Sundara sock yarn.

Actual November knitting:

1. Most of the Stripes and Torchon scarf
2. Socks for the nephew
3. Red socks for me
4. Cast on for Waving lace socks from IK's Favorite Socks; they're too big, though, and I need to start over with a smaller needle size
5. Cast on for a pair of basic socks with the Claudia's handpainted

December Goals:

1. Finish Stripes and Torchon
2. Start and finish the Brother sweater--third time's a charm? And, damn it, if I don't, I have to come up with another present idea.
   
3. Finish the second Fetching mitt--they're a present for my aunt for Christmas
   

I'm limiting myself to those three. I'm sure that at least the basic socks will get a fair amount of knitting, as well--the more I knit, the more I like to have a mindless portable project that travels well.

Since the semester is almost over, and the bulk of my grading is already done, I think I can manage those three. If I get them done early, I may aim for a hat or two, and rethink the scarf for myself, as my new winter coat is a basic black wool coat that comes down to my knees, so a new colorful scarf to go with it would be great

2922 days ago

I married my best friend! And I love him more now than I did then. I like him more, too.

I actually married him 2923 days ago, too. Once in his church, once in mine. (We thought about going the Vegas route, instead, but realized we'd wind up getting married there twice, too, since he wanted the Shaft wedding and I wanted the Elvis one. So we figured we'd at least make our families happy!)

8 years went by pretty darn fast!

Fits and Starts

Fits and starts. That seems to sum up my whole life, lately, including blogging.

Work-wise, I'm in grading jail. I should be grading right now--I'm already behind on where I want to be--but can't motivate myself to read papers.

Students are fighting me on their new paper topics--it needs to be directed at a specific, focused audience with whom the students have credibility; they keep wanting to write to Port Authority or iTunes instead of student groups or companies they've worked for. I don't understand their resistance to listen to my suggestions, since my pushing them to focus is in their best interest. You'd think that upperclassmen, at least, would have learned that if the person grading the paper suggests they tweak their topic a bit, they'd listen. But instead, they're fighting me on it. I'm tempted to give in, let them write what they want, and then suffer the consequences when grades roll around.

On the bright side, I'm teaching a course I really want to teach this summer; I'm having a ball requesting exam copies of texts so I can decide which ones to use. I want to spend all my time on that syllabus, which I won't need until July, instead of grading the papers I need to turn back tomorrow.

School-wise, I sent my committee what is (I hope) my penultimate draft, but it's taken almost 7 weeks of me emailing, asking if we could set up a time to get anything like a concrete response. My adviser said they needed about a month to read through, since they have other commitments. So now I've emailed back with a "how about this date" suggestion; I suspect it will take a month of emails asking them to confirm before my adviser gets back to me about it. Which means we'll need another date, and that puts us up to Christmas and winter break, so I'm afraid we're looking at January to talk about a draft I sent in August. I hate it that I continually have to bug for responses--it makes for a weird power dynamic.

Home-wise, G is crazy, crazy busy--he's teaching an overload, and taking a Polish class, and trying to carve out some time to work on his own stuff. His days are longer than mine--he's in class until 8:00 tonight. I might spend all day grading and prepping, but at least I'm home today, and can distract myself with other stuff. He's so busy he missed an important lunch the other day, with a visiting scholar. I've set up google calendars for both of us; maybe daily email reminders will help. I feel like I never see him anymore, and he's so stressed that I don't want to add to it.

The apartment is a mess; most of it is G's stuff (fishing lures and reels and articles for papers, classes he's teaching, the dissertation) and he's not home enough to get organized. Or when he's home, he's frantically trying to finish prepping for a class. I can't organize for him, because then he can't find anything. I'm trying to get him to take a few minutes every day to at least organize his office enough to make it usable; currently it's not and he's slowly taking over mine as well. I'm thinking about leaving yarn everywhere to discourage this practice.

Knitting-wise, I'm done with 22 out of 40 repeats on the Stripes and Torchon Shawl for my SIL. It's going to be huge when it's done; I don't know if I should block it or not. If I do block it, I'll probably spritz it with water and pin it out, rather than soaking it. But I've slowed down on that, in part because I'm afraid I might run short of yarn on the edging. I weighed what I have left, and tried to guesstimate how many grams I'm using per repeat, but I didn't weigh how much I had before I started the border (or even before I joined this current ball of yarn), so I can only guess. And that guess looks to be a couple of grams short. I should just power through the edging, get to the end and know for certain--that way I can decide how to deal with it, and if I need more yarn have a shot at getting it before Christmas.

G's worn his seamless hybrid sweater a couple of times; he really likes it. So much that he wants one in a sort of rust color (we'll see how long it takes to find a color that matches his description--it took a long time for him to find a green he liked). I'm not even going to look for yarn until at least January, though.

I swatched for the Brat's sweater, and even washed the swatch. But that was weeks ago, and I probably should re-swatch before starting anything. I may not cast on this month; maybe I'll call it a plan, since November is National Knit a Sweater Month.

I have been knitting socks, though. I learned how to do a Magic Loop and love it. I learned to knit holding a long straight needle under my right arm, which makes for lovely even tension, but isn't at all useful when learning how to use circular or double-pointed needles. DPN, in particular, have always felt extremely awkward, and I sometimes get laddering where I change needles. With Magic Loop, no ladders. And no DPN to lose, making portable sock knitting more appealing. I finished a plain sock using the Jitterbug I bought at Knit Purl and I'm working on the second sock. (The Snicket sock, though--definitely SSS. It's odd how the thought of knitting another basic stockinette sock sounds just dandy, but following an actual pattern again brings out a strong desire to start something else.)

Stash-wise, I'm going strong. I bought the Namaste Executive bag from Webs; I was going to get it in rust, but they were sold out and it was on back order. So I asked them to send a black one, instead. So far, I really like it, although my tendency to overload my bags could be a problem--the bag is quite large. The inside is black, too, making it a little hard to see, and it doesn't have enough interior pockets for pens, etc, so I bought a couple of bright travel toiletries bags ($0.99 at Target) to keep odds and ends in.

I've also bought another skien of Socks that Rock, lightweight, in Carbon Dating (which seems to be a retired color; I can't find a picture to link to)--it should be here soon--and a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Merino Lace, in Wild Cherry--also should arrive within a few days. I bought both of them off of Ravelry, which is an evil, evil, enabling place that I cannot resist. Someone posted a link to JoAnn's last night--they have Namaste bags and a 50% off any one item coupon. The bags aren't label Namaste, but if you zoom in you can see the logo. I'm tempted to buy a messenger bag, as well. G (who is also an evil, evil enabler) suggested that I buy it, then I can say I got two bags that were 25% off each.

So fits and starts. I have a ton of things I should be doing--grading, first and foremost; laundry, dishes, reading, lesson prep, figuring out dinner--but I'm online instead. And no pictures in this post, since the light is bad--very overcast--and I can't muster up the enthusiasm to take a picture of the-border-that-will-not-end, or of one finished sock.

Finished!

A few details:The collar, because I spent much time looking for and at collar close-ups before knitting this one three times:

And the whole shebang:

Once we're out of the 90 degree forecast, I'll try and take some action shots, if I can get the DH to stand still for long enough.

I spent the weekend in NJ at my parent's house--I went down solo, as DH had too much to do. And besides, that way I could laze around and not feel guilty. :) My aunt's in the hospital, so the main purpose was to go down and visit her. I also got to go to Champions of the Grill at the Sussex County Fair Grounds, right down the street from my folks, and a pig roast. Other weekend highlights included a flea market, where my dad scored 2400 baseball cards for $3--I have fond memories of opening and organizing baseball cards with my dad. It's even more fun with a vodka tonic in hand! I also got to play with the nephew, who was (as always) a charmer, and to hang out with my brother and SIL for a bit.

I got some knitting done, too--a small hat (unphotographed) for a woman my mom knows--done in less than 3 hours--and I've turned the heel and finished the gussets on the SIP (sock-in-progress). No photos of that, either, but since that's still in my possession, there will be some eventually. ETA: The hat was for a baby--a week old--which is why the hat was small. I made an umbilical cord hat from the first Stitch 'n Bitch book.) And knittable in less than 3 hours. (I just re-read this through bloglines and realized that "a small hat" was fairly unclear and lacking in detail.)

All-in-all, a pretty good weekend. I could have done without the 5-hours-each-way drive, though!

100 Things About Me

1. I knew I would marry my DH within weeks of meeting him.
2. It took him a little longer, but not too much.
3. My mom knew it was for real when I went fishing with him on January first.
4. Even with neoprene waders, I was cold. But I was also in love.
5. We dated for almost seven months before we got engaged.
6. He proposed to me on a fishing trip in NYC harbor.
7. Fish & fishing are constant themes in our lives.
8. At least, I thought it was a fishing trip--for stripers. I was dressed in pretty crappy clothing. But instead of tackle in the box, there was a ring. And instead of bait in the cooler, champagne.
9. Both sets of parents knew and helped him plan the proposal.
10. I was totally floored—he’d convinced me he wasn’t going to ask for another couple of weeks.
11. The engagement also lasted about seven months.
12. We got married twice—once on Friday and once on Saturday—in two churches (his parents and mine) to make both sets of the family happy.
13. In between weddings we had a rehearsal and a rehearsal dinner for almost 80 people. And we went to Wendy's before the rehearsal, dressed in our wedding regalia.
    
14. I had two dresses. And two bouquets. Only the one groom, though. J
15. I like to tease that he’s my second husband.
16. We got married during the school year.
17. I did cancel my Friday classes that week.
18. Our honeymoon was postponed until Thanksgiving because we both had to go back to school on Monday.
19. We went to Longwood Gardens for our honeymoon. It’s one of my favorite places to go, and their Christmas display is fantastic.
20. My DH’s first language is Russian, although he was born in NJ.
21. I have learned enough Russian to have conversations with four-year-olds.
22. My accent is good enough to make grown-ups think I’m being modest when I say (in Russian) that I can’t speak much Russian. I’m not, but they keep speaking at me anyway.
23. I speak French reasonably well, and lived there for eight months after I graduated from college.
24. I speak no Spanish, but managed to pass a language test in it anyway.
25. I feel this proves that I know how to use a dictionary really, really well. And really, really quickly.
26. I grew up in rural NJ. (And no, that’s not an oxymoron!)
27. I have one sibling, a brother. He’s four years younger than me, but six inches taller. I still refer to him as my little brother.
28. I also call him “Brat.” To which he actually answers.
29. The Russian word for brother is “brat,” which cracks me up.
30. He’s one of my best friends.
31. My nephew was born prematurely, at 29 weeks. That was seriously scary.
32. It was also when I started knitting more—he was in the NICU and needed hats made by his aunt.
33. That was more than three years ago, in 2004. He’s doing great now. I totally adore him and the way he calls me “Duzan” ‘cause he can’t get the “s” sound quite right.
34. I love chocolate. Dark chocolate, in particular.
35. Once, when we had a layover in Switzerland, I made my husband go to a café for what the guide books called “the best hot chocolate in the world.” It was good.
36. I think the hot chocolate from L.A. Burdicks is better.
37. I think the hot chocolate from Jacque Torres is better still.
38. I’ve always been an avid reader. When I was little, my mom would tell me to put the book down and go outside. I’d take the book with me and climb up into a tree to read.
39. I read very quickly—the last Harry Potter novel took about seven hours, start to finish.
40. When I was in junior high, my favorite book was Gone with the Wind. I’ve read it at least a dozen times.
41. My favorite poet is Alfred, Lord Tennyson. I fell for him when I was 14 and haven’t looked back since.
42. That’s probably why I’m working on a dissertation on Victorian poetry.
43. My dissertation is on women poets, though, and the way they use dramatic monologues. Tennyson only makes a brief cameo.
44. I love reading bad novels. I can’t stand bad writing, but I love cheesy romances and crazy mystery / thrillers.
45. I'm a bit of a grammar freak. I think sentences are fun. And that you can do cool things with hyphens. And semicolons. I'm very fond of semicolons.
    
46. I reread all of Jane Austen most years, just ‘cause. I reading about that period. Some of the more modern authors I like in that same vein are Georgette Heyer and Lauren Willig.
    
47. I also like audiobooks. They’re good for knitting, and I don’t feel guilty about “reading” popular fiction that’s unrelated to my job or dissertation. I've listened to all of Jasper Fforde's novels on audiobook.
    
48. I teach writing at a local university.
49. This is the start of my tenth year teaching at a college. I still get comments about looking too young, though.
50. I helped develop a new version of our business writing course last year. It’s been pretty successful.
51. I swam in high school and in college. Breast stroke, mainly.
52. I still hold the record at my high school in the 100 yard breast stroke.
53. I didn’t study abroad in college because I didn’t want to miss a semester of swimming.
54. I was co-captain my senior year, when I also blew my shoulder out and had to have surgery.
    
55. All-in-all, it’s not a great way to spend your last college spring break.
56. I loved college, though.
57. I went to a very small liberal arts school, in a lovely setting.
58. My best friend was also my roommate for three years in college.
59. She’s my favorite person to knit for. Even though she doesn’t knit herself, she appreciates handknits and actually wears them.
60. One of my favorite projects to date is a hat with fish on it. I made it for my husband’s best friend, because he asked (after seeing a “We call them pirates” hat) if I could.
61. He wears it a lot, but I still don’t have a picture.
62. My mother taught me how to knit. She knits mainly baby blankets and buntings, even when she doesn’t know anyone who’s pregnant. She figures that they’ll come in use, eventually.
63. My friends started having kids, and that’s why I bugged my mom to teach me to knit.
64. My SIL felted the blanket I made for my nephew. I still love her.
65. I even still knit for her. Machine wash and dryable only, though. (That was the problem with the blanket: machine wash, lay flat to dry.) Although for Christmas I'm making her a shawl. In Malabrigo laceweight. But she shouldn't need to wash it (and I may insist she give it back to me to wash!)
    
66. After college, I spend a year living in France. I taught English in a local high school.
67. “Taught” is a bit on an exaggeration. Really what I did was run conversation classes. And teach them how to play baseball.
68. I’ve traveled to France, Holland, Italy, and England by myself.
69. I’ve traveled to England, Ireland, Poland, Belarus, Russia (twice), Mongolia, China, Canada, Bermuda, and Barbados with my husband.
70. I’d recommend all of them except for Belarus. Pretty country, nice people, archaic rules about who can go where and when.
71. We had to drive 200 miles north to cross the border of Belarus in order to drive 200 miles south to visit the place we wanted to go, which was less the 6 miles from where we’d started.
72. We had to reverse the process on the way home.
73. We also had to pay a tax on the picnic lunch we brought in with us.
74. We've been married for almost 8 years (since November 1999). We’ve moved our stuff seven times and lived in five different apartments. We also had everything in storage for two summers while we were in Russia.
75. I hate moving.
76. Especially in August, which is mainly when we move, since we’re both academics.
77. My husband has three masters’ degrees. I only have one.
    
78. He’s working on a dissertation, too. His is in Eastern Europoean politics. We’re trying to cover an entire wall with framed degrees.
79. We met when he was working as the director of graduate admissions at my graduate school. He didn’t admit me, though.
80. He’s taught me how to fish.
81. I will even take the fish off the hook. Not all fish (some have scarier teeth than others), but I’m working on it.
82. I’ll put worms on, too, but only for my nephew.
83. I’d like to go tuna fishing one day. And salmon fishing in Alaska.
    
84. I don’t drink coffee. I never have. I don’t like the taste of it.
85. I don’t even like the taste of coffee ice cream.
86. I do like tea, though, and drink several cups a day.
87. Even when it’s hot outside.
88. Although then I generally switch to iced tea after my first cup.
89. My favorite type of alcohol is champagne.
90. My favorite champagne (technically, sparkling wine) is Domaine Carnaros, which is Taittinger’s American venture.
91. We went to San Francesco, Napa Valley, and Sonoma Valley on a trip shortly after we got engaged, and visited the vineyard. I think that’s partly why I like it so much.
92. All of our wineglasses are from vineyards we’ve visited. And all of our drinking glasses are pints from brew pubs.
93. We’ve gone bobsledding in Lake Placid.
94. We like to drive up to Maine for lobster.
95. Our traditional New Year’s Eve involves bad movies, Trader Joe’s hors d’oeuvres, and Domaine Carnaros.
96. I love B-movies involving oversized animals, particularly those involving water. (A totally different invocation of Lake Placid!)
97. I love flowers and plants, but have not had much success with growing things. I’ve managed to kill both mint and bamboo.
98. I’ve also had an orchid that’s been flowering continuously for the last year. I’ve put it down to Divine intervention.
99. My father is a wonderful gardener. He rescued my Christmas cactus last year after I thought I’d killed it.
100. I like both of my parents a great deal, and wish we lived closer and could hang out more. I wish my brother and his family were closer, too, but that's all about the nephew.
     

Proof that there has been knitting

Even though there hasn't been any blogging:

Exhibit 1:

One finished Snicket Sock. I ran out of yarn on the toe, so I used some leftover blue. I've started the second one, but I've only got about 10 rows done, so it's not very interesting to look at.













Exhibit 2:


Progress has been made on the Stripes & Torchon lace shawl. The border is a 34 row, 20-30 stitch repeat, filled with double yo's and slip one, knit 2tog, psso's, which is making it hard to memorize. Also making it hard to memorize is the fact that I work a repeat and then put it down for four days, 'cause I'd rather be working on something else. I'm not lovin' the lace at the moment--I want nice, easy knitting. I'm done with 8 border repeats so far. I'm a little afraid to count how many are left!


The change in color is strange, since it's from the same skein of Malabrigo laceweight. There was a knot in the skein, so when I was making balls out of the yarn, I started a new ball when I found the knot. I couldn't believe how different the colors are! But I've decided that such is the way of handknits, and that I'm not going to worry about it.

Exibit 3:

Not actual knitting, but proof of another trip to Webs. Last weekend my DH told me to pick a destination, so I picked Quabbin Reservoir. Which was absolutely gorgeous; I think another trip out when the leaves are turning is in order.

And since we were so close to Northampton, we made a short stop at Webs, where I got some sock yarn in appropriately manly colors for husband socks, yarn for a sweater for him (pictured below), and the 25th Anniversary edition of Vogue Knitting. I don't normally get VK--I like the patterns in IK better--but I bought it for the articles, I swear. :)






Exhibit 4:

Cascade 220 in a loverly heathery green, called lichen, and approved of by DH before purchase. When we started talking about a sweater for him, he said he wanted green--a lichen or moss green. We picked this out, and when I looked it up online later, I realized that even the name was perfect! He liked Webs--they have a nice lounge area with magazines and comfy chairs, suitable for knitting or for waiting for spouses.

I've started an EPS sweater with it--I haven't decided on a style yet, although I'm leaning toward a seamless hybrid. As I've only turned the hem and knit about 4 inches of the body, I've got some time to decide, though.

There is no Exhibit 5, because I'm too lazy to get the camera, but my parents came up for a visit, and bought me a ball winder for my birthday. We went to Fabric Place--my mom wanted to get some Patons Canadiana for a baby blanket, and I had a 25% off total purchase coupon. They also had ball winders (and I had a 40% off a single item coupon, too!)--I've never seen them there before--and so it came home with me. And my birthday's not for another month!

I also had a chance to visit with a cousin I rarely see--he grew up in Colorado to my NJ, and lives in the midwest, but was out for a professional conference. So he, DH and I went to Jasper White's Summer Shack for dinner on Monday night (must take out-of-towners for seafood! and we love Summer Shack), and then picked him up for dinner chez nous Thursday with my parents, whom he also rarely sees.

On top of everything else, my summer class ended on August 16, and grades were due on August 23. Right now I'm trying to get a few of my own things done before the fall semester starts after Labor Day, including coming up with course calendars! Fortunately, both classes I'm teaching I've done before, so I'll probably go with readings that I've used in the past, which makes it a little quicker to put together.

Christmas in July

My mom has a thing for Santas. (No, not that kind of a thing. A collecting kind of a thing.)

She must have 300 of them, and every year at Christmas, they come out. And every January, they get wrapped back up and put away until the following year.

At least, that was the routine until G and I took our first trip to Russia 6 years ago, when we came back with a carved St. Nicholas statue--maybe 6 inches high. It stayed on the mantel year-round.

Since then, we've been back to Russia once (and brought back 2 more St. Nicks), and G found one in Poland. So she had 3 tall-ish (10 inches, maybe?) and 1 shorter statue. They reside in a place of honor on the mantel, all year round.

But she kept telling me that they didn't balance--3 tall and 1 short, there was no way to arrange them on the mantel.

When a friend of ours went to Russia last month, you can guess what we asked her to bring back:


Two more St. Nicholas statues--one tall, one short.

I was going to wait, and give them to her in December, but I couldn't wait.

She was absolutely delighted--and now the mantel balances perfectly.

I am, however, waiting to hear her next reason for why we should go to Russian and buy more St. Nicks. :)

The Week in Review

I know that I've been MIA for the last week, but that doesn't mean no knitting. In fact:


A finished, albeit sideways, blocking large rectangle. It's been out in public, although the day (Saturday, for my nephew's birthday party) turned out too hot to really wear it.

I went down to visit some family last week; on Monday, I took the Limoliner down to NYC, where I met w/my best friend. The Limoliner was fun; for $79 one way you get wireless internet, decent cell phone coverage, comfy leather seats, CNN followed by a movie, and a turkey sandwich. On my way down, I emailed L and told her I was on my way; she replied to say she had forgotten about her book club, which met that night. Fortunately, they were reading Hedda Gabler, which was short enough to download (yeah internet!) and read on the way down. Last month they read Moby Dick, which I never would have finished. The Limoliner leaves from Back Bay and goes to midtown Manhattan (from the Hilton on both ends), which put me only a few blocks from where L lives. So we met up and I gave her her birthday lace, which she liked.

On my way to Penn Station, we hit School Products (what? it's not that far!--only a few blocks, and the nice man at the store let us put the luggage in a corner) and I bought some more lace-weight yarn:

100% baby camel yarn. 3 skeins in a warm cream color. Which, at 463 yards a skein, gives me loads to play with. I'm thinking of a shawl for my MIL, who also knits. She knits continentally, which makes sense since she moved here from Poland almost 45 years ago.

From Penn Station I went to NJ, where I spent the night with my MIL. We went shopping, which she needed to do because she's lost a lot of weight since my FIL passed away in February, and she doesn't really like to go by herself. I also astounded her with the information that pizza parlors will sell individual slices, much to her delight.

Wednesday I went out to my parents' house, which is located on a small lake--cool and comfortable, and lots of fun. Part of the reason for my trip was my nephew's birthday. He turned three on Saturday:

He's so flippin' adorable I can't stand it. And completely adores my brother and father (pooh-pa, he calls my dad). "My daddy can do that" "My daddy help me do that" "My pooh-pa play with me". So frickin' cute.

A little overstimulated at the party, but he didn't have a nap. And he did have two pieces of cake.

L and her boyfriend came out (with the dog, much to T's three-year-old delight) for the party, and stayed overnight at my parents'. My parents adore L ("this is our other daughter" is how they introduce her)


Uncle George and I gave him a fishing rod and a bed tent-thingy (he loves the tent he has right now, and told his dad he wanted to go fishing this summer. Uncle George was happy to oblige with the fishing part).

So on Sunday we all gathered again at my folks', and Uncle George took T fishing. He had a great time (they both did, I think!) and caught 4 fish! I was surprised by how long his attention lasted--over half an hour, and then a break, and then back to fishing. "No touch" on the worms or the fish, but the actually casting and reeling parts were hits.

I've also been working on my new shawl:
















Stripes and Torchon Lace, also from Victorian Lace Today. Clearly, the book was an excellent investment. When L and I were deciding on a pattern for her shawl, my SIL kept looking at the Stripes and Torchon pattern, saying how much she liked it. I can take a hint, so I'm using the Malabrigo lace yarn I bought at Webs. The yarn is really nice--very soft--and generally I like it. When I wound the first skein, however, I found a knot, and made two balls. The huge, honking line of demarcation is the result. I'm not going to worry about it, though; it's actually less noticeable in real life, and I think once I add the border--it's a fairly wide one--it will be even less so.

Yesterday we came back to MA, and I'm now trying to get myself back on track, despite having caught an ugly cold. Hopefully this lovely weather will knock it out of my pretty quickly.