Weekend round up!

Saturday:


Lunch at the Gloucester House (chowdah and lobstah)

and a walk on Crane Beach:





And a stop at Russell Orchards:


Followed by birthday cake for dinner!

It's not easy being green

Kristi at Fiber Fool is doing a very cool series on how color works. She's also doing some research on colors:

1. What is your current favorite color?

Green. No, wait, Blue. No, wait. Dark Red.

2. Had your favorite color changed over the years?

Yes. In fact, sometimes it changes day-to-day. Or even minute-to-minute. When I was younger, I loved yellow--bright and sunny. Now, I tend to favor richer jewel tones.

3. Is your current favorite color one that is currently trendy? (Do you see it in the fashion rags or on the clothes rack or in the linen aisle right now? How about 5 years ago?)

According to Fashion Trendsetter, I won't be trendy for Fall 2007. Next summer looks a little better, though.

4. What is your favorite color combination?

That depends on what I'm doing, I suppose. I've got a necklace that has blue topaz and peridot in it; lately that's been my favorite.

5. Is that combination a popular one? (Is it use in prints you see in the stores and catalogs and magazines now? How about 5 years ago?)

Somewhat. I think it's a little more retro than trendy.

6. What is your favorite way of using color in your knitting? (Are you a stranded knitter? Do you prefer simple stripes? Do you prefer just accents at the hems/collars?)

I don't use a lot of color changes--mainly just for accents. Lately for the insides of hems and collars.

7. What colors look good on you?

Most shades of green, dark reds, most shades of blue.

8. What colors look bad on you?

Yellows and oranges--they make me look pale and sickly. Most pastels aren't so great, either.

9. Do you wear colors that don’t look good on you just because you like them?

Not as a main color, but maybe as an accent.

10. What is your favorite neutral color? black/white/ivory/tan/brown/gray – if brown or gray do you prefer cool or warm versions of those or does it matter? And, how dark?

Warm shades of brown, not too dark.

11. Is there a sweater pattern that uses more than one color that you’d like to make, but you wish to change the colors from what is published? If yes, which one? What do you not like about the published colors?

Most of the sweaters I like, and the ones I'm planning on knitting, are one color (or have contrasting hems but no other color change). I've done some color work--hats, mainly--and I'm not against knitting a sweater with multiple color changes (although I like stranded better than intarsia), I haven't really seen any that jump out and shout "knit me!" I do like Eunny Jang's Venezia pullover, but I'm not sure I like it enough to invest the time. And I would change the colors, probably so that it had more green and less yellow in the middle, and maybe a richer brown for the collar.

Procrastinating . . .

with online quizzes. I'm a sucker for online quizzes. And this one's about books!

You're Watership Down!

by Richard Adams

Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're
actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their
assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they
build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd
be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

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.
     

Sensible results

Take the Quiz here!

Grammar Geek

I just joined SPOGG--the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar.

And found out that I am a semi-colon (which does, in fact, happen to be my favorite punctuation mark. The fact that I have a favorite punctuation mark isn't something we need to talk about.).

Your Score: Semicolon

You scored 30% Sociability and 76% Sophistication!

Congratulations! You are the semicolon! You are the highest expression of punctuation; no one has more of a right to be proud. In the hands of a master, you will purr, sneering at commas, dismissing periods as beneath your contempt. You separate and connect at the same time, and no one does it better. The novice will find you difficult to come to terms with, but you need no one. You are secure in your elegance, knowing that you, and only you, have the power to mark the skill or incompetence of the craftsman.

You have no natural enemies; all fear you.

And never, NEVER let anyone tell you that you cannot appear in dialogue!

Link: The Which Punctuation Mark Are You Test written by Gazda on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

a writing meme

The Paper Chase has this done on her website, altered from a fiction writer’s meme to one for academic writers. I thought it might be interesting to do, as I’m making little-to-no progress on my dissertation revisions at the moment. It has, in fact, made me look at my own process and come up with some strategies for improving it.


1. Do you outline? Some, although it rarely looks like a typical outline—I tend to use bubble charts. I do like to outline once I've got a draft done--it gives me a good snapshot of the project and organization. Even in grade school, I was terrible at outlines. I used to get "A"s on my outlines, because I'd write the paper first, outline it, and then be told I'd done an excellent job following my outline.

2. Do you write straight through a article/project, or do you sometimes tackle the chapters out of order? Out of order—I rarely write the intro until I’m almost done with the rest of it.

3. Do you know how a project is going to end when you start it? Not precisely, although I have a general idea.

4. Where do you write? At the library, at my desk, at my dining room table, at Panera. Actually, I get more grading than writing done at Panera. A library (any library—what I need is the quiet & the sense that someone will see me if I start goofing off, even if it’s not true) is the most productive.

5. What do you do when you get writer's block? Play minesweeper? (Lately, this has been "Play on Ravelry" instead.) I try to move to a different part of the piece—if I’m stuck on the intro, I work on the conclusion, etc.


6. What size increments do you write in (either in terms of wordcount, or as a percentage of the project as a whole)? I never really thought about it in those terms. I tend to spend chunks of time working; this question is making me wonder if I’d be better off to set word goals, instead of spending x amount of time. I can spend a lot of time working on the same sentence or paragraph; in draft stage, particularly, setting a word goal might help me stop obsessing on a micro level.


7. How many different drafts did you write for your last project? I revise recursively as I write. So by the time I send a draft in it’s at a reasonable stage, although I generally write and rewrite that draft multiple times in the process of arriving at the end.


8. Do you let anyone read your project while you're working on it, or do you wait until you've completed a draft before letting someone else see it? I discuss it with my husband, who is also an academic, albeit in a different field. I also talk to one of my close friends from grad school, who’s terrific for bouncing ideas. G sometimes reads things, but he's not in my field, so it's hard for him to be really critical. Plus, he loves me and thinks I'm great. :)

9. What do you do to celebrate when you finish a draft? Watch bad television. Knit. Have a glass of wine.

10. One project at a time, or multiple projects at once? Generally, one or two.

11. Do your projects grow or shrink in revision? Both. Add some, take some out. Add some, take some out. And then, just for variety, take some out, add some. Grow more than shrink, on the whole.

12. Do you have any writing or critique partners? Critiquing, yes—my friend from grad school. The DH is also willing to read & offer comments, but as our areas are so different, his comments are not always what I need.

13 Do you prefer drafting or revising? Drafting, when the ideas are new and fresh and love is in the air.

14. What are your favorite writing books? Strunk & White. I also like books like Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, which I find highly entertaining.

15. Morning writer, evening writer, or doesn't matter? I am better off if I get started first thing in the morning—if I wait until the afternoon to get started, I tend to keep finding other things to do.

16. How do you handle reviews? Open 'em up and brave 'em, or wait? I open them. The worst thing they can do is reject me. . .

17. How do you handle rejection? And I can handle that. I prefer it when they don’t, or, if they do, if they at least tell me why they’re rejecting it—concrete feedback makes rejection easier to deal with. Wine and chocolate help, too.

18. Do you prefer to work on writing by yourself? Or do you prefer collaborating? I’ve never tried collaborating with anyone, so I can’t really comment. I do like working with students on their writing, though.

19. Able to work on airplanes? No, not really. Hotels are good, though.

20. Have you ever abandoned a book or an article that you had finished? When? Why? Not yet. But it’s still early days.

21. What writing advice do you really believe in? Ernest Hemingway’s “First drafts are sh*t.” Unfortunately, the advice—or at least bon mot—that I seem to follow the most closely is Oscar Wilde’s “I have spent all morning putting in a comma, and all afternoon taking it out.”

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.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

A knitting MEME

I saw this on Fiber Dreams and thought it would be interesting to try. It's my first meme! (Meme? MEME?)

Mark with bold the things you have knit at least once, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.

I added a * next to things that I think that maybe, someday, I'd like to try, but don't have any real plans for.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn*
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan*
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting*
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting*
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors*
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars*
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac*
Knitting and purling backwards*
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern*
Gloves
Intarsia*
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

I tried to only italicize the things I think I have a reasonable chance at doing in the near future--I have plans for a pair or two of fingerless mitts, and for felted slippers for my dad. He's got huge feet (12 EEE), making socks seem a bit crazier than I can handle. They also make finding slippers that fit difficult. But I have patterns printed out already for both of those entries.

Someday I'd like to try Fair Isle, and steeking, and entrelac, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Right now, I'm on a bit of a lace kick--two shawls on the needles, and plans for a third (also from VLT) as soon as I find some good yarn for it. I'm hoping to get out to Webs sometime this month, during their annual sale. If I do, it's on my list of things to look for!