Yay - long weekend

Aaaah, nice long weekend, makes me SO HAPPY. I have big plans, to sleep and knit and read and go to dinner and the movies. The weather is lovely, too.

I am reading Through a Glass Darkly, and I am wondering if the damn thing will ever end. I can't remember why I thought I would like it. It's kind of stupid. Yeesh. I guess I don't hate it enough to stop reading it but still.

I broke down and bought yarn for Something Red by Wendy Bernard. It's Blue Sky Alpacas cotton - so soft! If I start it now I'll probably be finished in September (it's short sleeved - more of a spring/summer garment). And yes, I'm still slogging away at Ariann. I have ripped the sleeves out more times than I can remember. I dropped a bunch of stitches off the needle and couldn't figure out how to put them back on so I went to knit night at A Knitted Peace, but I didn't really get it put back together right to I ripped it yet again. and I had made huge progress, too. I kind of feel weird about asking for help with a project when I didn't purchase the yarn at that store.

I also bought some basic felting yarn (Ella Rae) - I want to make another felted bag like my beloved red one. I just love that thing. But I'm telling myself that I need to finish Ariann and the Lizard Ridge before I start on the bag. I might cast on for Something Red sooner. Just so I'll have time to wear it before it gets too cold. It's also knit from the top down in one piece. Yay - hate finishing, I do.

Creativity

I am not a good blogger - so much knitting, so much reading leads to very little blogging. I am realizing that a blog without photos is b.o.r.i.n.g. but since we're running dangerously low on disk space on our home computer I don't want to download many pictures because they take up so much space. We are looking into getting a new computer after that stooooopid HELOC is paid off, which, fortunately, is on the horizon. Yay - debt free (notwithstanding a $120,000 mortgage, ahem). It makes it worth the wait.

Speaking of money, I have been able to save a ton since I've been taking the bus or light rail. Love public transportation! So much reading/napping/knitting time. And I listen to the beloved This American Life on my beloved Ipod. Life is good.

I justified the purchase of a few more skeins of Noro for the Lizard Ridge since I've been so frugal. I really need to take some pictures because I am quite enchanted with my little squares and should be documenting their progress. I've been trying to stay away from the fluorescent pink/yellow colorways, which is kind of limiting, but that would not go in my house a'tall. I really like the No. 185 (orange/purple/green) that I got from Supercrafty, and also No. 178, which is a really lovely blue/grey/green.

The LR is nice to work on at lunch, and while commuting in that it's so portable. I've been saving Ariann for the evenings. Last night I progressed to the part where I did the armhole bindoffs. I also started one sleeve (I chose the long sleeved version, but am considering frogging it and making the 3/4 sleeve version - it seems a little dressier, and hello! faster). I'm not understanding how the body and the sleeves connect, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. The Ariann is at the Slog Phase right now, but I don't want to stop. I've been making pretty good time on it.

I titled this post "Creativity" because I've been thinking how I'm lacking in this arena. I can't fathom writing a knitting pattern, or even really altering an existing one very much. What's the point when there are so many lovely patterns out there. And, I've been following Cara's progress on her miters and have become increasingly interested in trying out a mitered blanket. Coming up with the color combinations is more than a little bit intimidating, though. It's funny because as much as I love Mason-Dixon Knitting, the mitered blanket is not one that caught my eye until Cara posted about it (mostly for the seaming - that might kill me dead). Hers are amazing - I especially love the Chocolate one, #20. I'm kind of plotting out my next project - I should use the Brown Sheep cotton fleece I bought for the Cutaway, and maybe use it for Wendy's Sizzle (what was I thinking buying that pattern - I'm far too modest to wear something that low cut). Alas, part of my obsession with knitting lies in the acquisition of new yarn.

The mitered blanket project is one that I could buy the yarn incrementally, though, like the Lizard Ridge. That has been a great feature of the project.

I've been doing lots of reading, currently The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton. I just love her work and for some reason it's very surprising to me that these books were written in the '40's and '50's. She has a way of just making the era come alive. I've never been particularly intrigued by the Puritans and America in the 1600's, but this book changed all that. I also have her earlier novel Avalon on the nightstand. The King Arthur legend business has kind of skeeved me so I'll be interested to see what Seton does with it.

Spring is here - we had a lovely weekend and the first of the week was nice, but it's sunny but cold and windy out today. Wind sucks. I think I'll stay in and knit at lunch today. What a surprise!

No photos, no links - I am a sad sack of a blogger.

Progress

I finished all the blocking for the Princess pulli - the fabric is so incredibly soft and wonderful. I'll definitely be using the yarn again. And I am almost finished with the zipper for Ribby. Now that it's spring I have two nice new winter sweaters. I did not plan this well at all. At least my Ariann will probably be finished in time for fall '08.

I broke down and got a subscription to Interweave Knits. I'm looking forward to it. I barely read the Self magazine that I subscribe to and I end up buying IK at the grocery store anyway.

I am loving the book that I'm reading, it's Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh. She wrote Mrs. Kimble which I read a few years ago and really enjoyed. I could actually concentrate on it while I was on the train this morning, which is rare.

Tonight is the last Lizard Ridge class. I finished a square and it looks pretty good. It's weird how the colors come together. There are mistakes - a couple of wraps that I didn't hide, and the night before last when I was working on it I got off track when I was counting, but it isn't apparent. I don't think I'll re-knit it. Hopefully I'll get better at recognizing the wrapped stitches when I'm on a purl side. Julie re-wrote the pattern to show exactly where to hide the wrapped stitches - I got a little careless towards the end.

Woo hoo

Lizard Ridge was making me c.r.a.z.y this morning - the yarn was a snarled mess and I could not figure out how to hide the short rows. I checked my books (The Knitting Answer Book had a terrible explanation unfortunately, but is otherwise a terrific little book; KnittingHelp.com was useful) and was finally able to remember what the instructor had said to best do them. Anyway, once I figured it out I was able to cruise. I love it when I finally figure something out.

Went to the library and got a bunch of books on Hawaii, and One Mississippi by Mark Childress and A Whistling Woman by A.S. Byatt. Add those to the ever-expanding queue. Crazy in Alabama is one of my favorite books so I was happy to find a new book by Childress.

It was a nice and cool, end-of-winter, rainy day. Everything is greening up and the bulbs in our yard are popping up. I can't wait for spring to get here.

More Lizard Ridge

I had to rip back the little bit of Lizard Ridge I had knitted. Waaah. I'm just not seeing how I have to knit the wrapped stitches and it's making me crazy. I might work on it tonight or I might do a little bit of Ariann. I took A to the mall last night so I didn't get much knitting in - just enough to screw up my LR.

On the Princess front, I ran out of yarn on the bus and my sleeve is so close to being finished. I think I'll use one of the gauge swatches I knit up to finish and return the extra ball of Classic Elite Princess, which was a pure delight to knit with, soft and knit up into such a lovely fabric. I wonder why I've never heard anyone rave about this yarn. Hopefully the Recycled Lamb will let me exchange it for some more Kureyon for my Lizard Ridge, which I am determined to get off the ground.

Speaking of Kureyon, I must be the only person in the knit world who does not love this yarn. I'll freely admit that I'm making the LR because I'm a follower, not because I like the yarn. I think the colors are garish and it's scratchy. I am intrigued with it, though, and I like the Noro Shrug that I saw at the Lamb Shoppe and I would most definitely put that in the knitting queue.

I have not started a new book, but I'm finishing up the Lemon Tree audio book and it is completely knocking my socks off. Love love love it. It's making me think in a whole new way. I think I should have a new This American Life podcast to listen to. I loves me some Ira Glass and TAL.

I bought four tops at Ann Taylor - I need new shirts in a big way! Very cute, if I do say so myself. And on sale, too. I will add some pics later.

It is a lovely spring-like day, I can just barely see the ground starting to green up. I didn't even wear a coat today. Yay! Maybe spring is going to come after all...