Knitting This Week

Woot! I've got two more finished objects!

Fingerless gloves for Missouri

Another gifty-item. Yes, it was made
from the leftover yarn above.

(For now, that's all you get, since it's a present for someone who might be reading this.)

 Originally, I was going to crochet the gloves so that they would get done faster, but that plan failed. It's been so long since I crocheted with any regularity that I was not even remotely happy with the results. The fit was wrong, the fabric was too dense, and my gauge changed from one to the next so while one mitt was almost too tight, the other was far too big. So I tore them out and put them on a circular needle. Anymore, if I have to make two of something I always make it two at a time on a circular needle, just to make sure they're identical.

Now that I've got those off of the needles, it's time to get back to the samples I'm making for CENSORED. I picked up some great yarn a couple of weeks ago when there was a Nano write in held just a few doors down from my favorite yarn shop, but once I got home I realized that it was far too thin. Once I have the funds, I'll go back and grab a second skein of each color so that I can hold it double.

Since most of the CENSORED projects aren't great for taking to and from work, I also pulled some socks out of hibernation. These have been languishing for a couple of weeks while I tried to knock out a few other small projects:

These are made from the toe up, using Serenity Garden--it's actually the same yarn as the fingerless gloves, but a different colorway. I've also got this yarn in pinks and browns; I love working with it.

I made these as a tube, then marked where I wanted the heel to be. Using DPNs, I tore out the provisional stitches and put in an afterthought heel. Now I'm just going to keep knitting until I run out of yarn, and I should have some nice high socks--I'm hoping for knee high, but we'll see.

The downside to all of this productivity is that I had to put the London Calling cardigan back on hold, and after I finally got the new circular needles that I needed for it! Very frustrating. But, it'll still be there after the holidays when I hope to get back to it. Since it's mostly small pieces left now, those will become my knitting to-go once the socks are done.

Just a heads up: after fighting with Blogger for the past two weeks, I've made the decision to change my host. Sometime either this week or next, I'll be moving the whole thing over to Wordpress. URLs will change, and things will look a bit different. I'm not sure how or if the archives will be effected, but I'll let you know so that you can update your bookmarks. Please be patient with me and cross your fingers that I don't accidentally bring the whole thing crashing down!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Normally, I’m a solid-color knitting kind of gal. I like simple things that go easily into my wardrobe. 

If I’m feeling feisty, then I whip out two-color knitting, or knit with a variegated and solid. 

Sometimes I use variegated or tonal yarns, but usually those projects end up being gifts for other people. If it tells you anything, most days at work I wear a solid, plain color tee shirt, and slacks.

 I’m very boring in real life.

But lately, I’ve got three projects that just have me giddy about color. Especially since I don’t have to do anything special to them to achieve the effect:

That’s right. I’m all about the rainbows right now.

I can’t divulge too many details about, since the two sweater bits pictured above are gifts for someone who may or may not read this blog.

The third project is also a gift.

For me.

It’s not technically a rainbow since it doesn’t follow the ROY G BIV color progression (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet for non-artist/science geeks)but you get the gist. It looks rainbow-y to me.

I have not taken photos of those yet, but will for next week now that they are actually starting to look like something.

These have been my bright spots in the midst of a very stressful week. I would say that I'm glad it's over, but I work all weekend so it isn't, really. Hopefully things will start looking up next week.

And since I just love the song (and the movie): 

UFO Sightings

I made a few small dents in the UnFinished Object bin over the weekend. On Friday, I cast off the dish mat that I started just before we moved into our current house--back in November, I think. It's been languishing for a while. First because lack of yarn, and then because I just plain forgot about it.

When that was done, I had some scraps leftover. Not enough for a new project, but enough that I felt bad about throwing them away. I remembered seeing several small balls the other day when I was organizing the stash, so I laid them all out on my bed, grabbed a couple of crochet hooks, and started work on some more squares for my scrapghan (afghan made of scraps). It's been well over a year since I made any progress at all on it; partially because of my wrists (the main reason that I don't really crochet anymore) and the fact that I've been concentrating on other things.

I finished Missouri's socks, too. No pictures, since they are currently wadded in a ball under her desk. :/

I've got about six inches and then the trim left on the work shrug. Hoping to finish that up today or tomorrow.

Lastly, my first batch of yarn for the book came in last week. One of the blends is a superwash merino/cashmere blend that is DIVINE. More details once I get the rest of the yarn and can really start to play around with it.

Odds and Ends

I've done a little bit of shuffling around on my projects this week. I usually try to keep no more than 3 active knitting projects going at any one time, since that seems to be the limit of my attention span.

My nook cover--which you'll hear a lot more about once it's done--is on hold at the moment. I need something stiff, sturdier than cardboard, to use as an insert, and so far haven't been able to come up with anything. Book board would be ideal, or perhaps a really heavy matte board, but I'd rather not buy a full size sheet when I only need two 6x6" squares. I'm hoping that among my many artist friends, I can find someone with some scraps lying around that they'll let me take. If not, I may break down and get a full sheet once I've knocked a few other projects off of my list. In the mean time, it's hibernating in a storage bin on my new yarn shelf:

Last weekend for Pride and the Raverly meetup, I decided that I needed a new project. I've been tripping over the same hole in my wardrobe for the past couple of weeks, so I pulled some really old yarn out of my stash (it's been marinating since spring of 2008) and cast on for a really simple shrug to wear over tank tops at work. We're not supposed to wear tank tops, but I don't have any sleeveless tops (basically, a tank top with a 4" strap) so at least this way I can be a little cooler and not show my shoulders.The yarn matches about 75% of my work clothes.

Another need that I've discovered--or rather, rediscovered--is for another dish drying mat for the kitchen. I started one just before we moved into this place, but never got around to finishing it. I fished it out of storage while my hand was bothering me, since it's plain stockinette and uses much larger needles than all of my other projects. It's moving right along and I'll probably finish it tonight or tomorrow, provided I don't run out of yarn first.

My last project is the socks I'm working on for Missouri. No pictures of those just yet, but they should be off the needles this week and I will post pictures then.

I know it's a little early but for those in the US--Happy 4th!

Bad Photography Friday

...also known as "Work in Progress Day."

Project the First: 

Missouri informed me a few weeks (months) ago that she felt neglected because I'd never made her a pair of socks. So I bought some yarn (which she picked out)...and it sat in storage for a while as I tried to finish samples and The Socks That Never End.

I finally cast on a week or two ago. Mostly I've been knitting them at work, but then for a little while they were my only project (I know, right?) so they got knit on all the time...sort of. My hands have been a little sore from knitting so many socks lately. They really don't like the smaller needles.

Believe it or not, both of these are done using the same yarn, same colorway, same dyelot. The spacing of the colors, however, looks drastically different.

I'm working to get these off of the needles ASAP. Luckly, she only wanted ankle socks, so they're about halfway done. Which is good, since I've got two other projects on the needles, plus another sample.

Project the Second:

A nook cover. I'm playing around with the construction on this one, and I'm not sure how it will turn out. If it works, there will be a post on it. If it doesn't, I'll just rip it out and rethink it, and there will be a post about it...later.

Honestly, this is the project most likely to go on hiatus in favor of....



Project the Third: 

Nope! Not telling!

All I'll tell you right now is that 1) it's a surprise, 2) This piece is about halfway done and it's part 1 of 2, 3) it's illusion, and 4) there's no profanity or text at all involved in it.

It will go up as a free chart (sorry, no written for this one) sometime this month.

So what are you working on this weekend?

Finally Finished!

Some knitters can knock out  a pair of socks in a week or two.

According to Ravelry, these socks have been on the needles for about two months.

I like to knit socks. I really do. But I only make about two pair a year because they take me forever.

I might be faster, except that lately it seems I have lost my sock mojo. I ripped this pair back to the toe once, then tore out the heel twice. Even then, it wasn't until I started the leg that I was convinced the fit would work.

I love the design, though. That's a slipped stitch cable with a seed stitch interior. It was fun to do and I think it looks really great on that yarn.

Stats
Yarn:Premier Yarns Serenity Garden (from the Deborah Norville Collection) in "Roses"
Needles: Chiao Goo 2.75mm circular
Knit using the two-at-a-time method (toe up).

I'm still not 100% happy with these, mostly because of the fit. I used the same method I normally do for ribbed socks, but the slipped/seed/stockinette combination reduces the amount of give in the material. They fit, they're just not completely right.

But they're off the needles, and they're on my feet, and that's the important thing for me right now. I don't think I could have tolerated ripping back and re-knitting them again.

 Hope you had a good holiday weekend, if you're in the states.

Knitting Status and the Manicure of the Week

It seems that I've spent the bulk of the past two months waiting on people to get back with me about various things, mostly job related, which has lead to a lot of anxiety knitting. Mostly, this has been on the livingroom afghan, which has had several rows added this week as Missouri and I work our way through season two of The Murdoch Mysteries. Of course, being that it is a massive project done almost entirely in stockinette, you can't really tell.

I've also been attempting to finish the Christmas socks, but have hit that point of knitting purgatory where they don't seem to be getting any longer, no matter how much I knit on them. I've decided that they have until April 1 to reach the desired length, and then regardless I'm doing the cuff, casting off, and then going back for the afterthought heel. Really, four months for a single pair of socks is far, far too long.

Since I've been concentrating on the socks, I haven't been working as much on the cardigan as I would like. I did start over, and have finished the three-ish inches of ribbing around the hem (I actually don't remember how much ribbing the pattern calls for, but it was in that neighborhood) as well as the first cable repeat. I'm staring at it right now, fighting the desire to work on it some more before I have to leave for my day job.

The Mario nails seem to have gotten me hooked. I've been giving myself decorative manicures every couple of days. Currently, it's a deck of cards inspired by watching Missouri play Alice: The Madness Returns. I did these a couple of days ago, so they're not as fresh and clean as they could be (my sock needles rubbed off part of the thumb). I also discovered that my clear coat seems to cause the other colors to bleed. It's not as noticeable on a darker base color, but you can really tell on the white. I do have a typewriter themed manicure planned in the future, but I'm sure I can do lettering with my left hand. I might try a stencil of some kind. Maybe contact paper would work.

____
Anyone know anything about Photoshop? I keep getting an error message every time I try to save, and it's the only software I have that will let me resize images.

Life Keeps Getting in the way of My Life

I have things I want to make, do, and see. Places I would like to visit, chores that need done, books that should be written (more that need read), groceries that need bought and bills that need paid. But as of late, it seems I mostly have knits that need designed.

This is the current work-in-progress pile, or the PhD pile (Projects Half Done). I am ashamed to admit how long most of these items have been on the needles, though in my defense I have lost two of the last six months to tendonitis, and then there were the holidays, too. So it's not all my fault.

Though come to think of it, maybe having a little focus in my work would be beneficial...

Let's examine the damage, shall we?

In excavating the layers of my knitting basket, the first striation we come across is a basic stockinette afghan, cast on at the start of the winter months as much for variety of knitting material (i.e. size of needle; see tendonitis above) as for warmth, since the moron who built our apartment complex obviously did not know what insulation, double pane windows, or general weather sealing are. What could be better than a blanket that keeps you warm as you knit it?

I don't remember the name of the yarn for this, but it's a generic aran weight I picked up at Michael's for $9.

Progress: 20%

The next level is The Socks. I started these around December 7, having had to wait for funds to clear before I could order the supplies, and then as soon as I cast on the brand new needle I'd ordered for the project broke. When the replacement came in, I discovered that the join between the needle and the cable was sub-par, and ended up switching to one I already had. These were supposed to be done for Christmas. Right now, I'd be pleased to finish by Easter. (When is that again?) These are toe-up knee highs knit on one long circular needle, with an afterthought heel (to be added) out of KnitPicks Comfy.

(note: these look a little funny because when I'm knitting from the toe up, I keep the yarn inside the foot of the sock. Keeps it clean, neat, and out of the kitten's mouth.)

Progress: 40%

As we dig deeper into the project bin, we find the Evie shell, so named because it is based on the main character of my novel Threadbare, which is currently making the rounds to various potential publishers. Also made of KnitPicks Comfy, this is the project that brought my knitting to a halt last fall.

This is my first time delving into the world of actual lace, rather than the Cheater's Lace I usually do, which mostly involves using really big needles and doing yarn over, knit 2 together over and over again with no real pattern in mind.

This project has been on hold since Christmas, because I can't seem to work on two major projects on size one or two needles at the same time without risking my limbs, and really, those socks are more important at this point. Though it's disappointing, because I found a magazine that this pattern would be perfect for submission. Too bad there's no way I'm finishing before the deadline.

Progress: 10%

We have now reached the point were it becomes embarrassing to look at things.

For example: This is not a pair of socks. This is just a sock. Just one. One sock, which has been in roughly this same state since...uh...September? What's worse, the pair was supposed to be finished in time for Missouri's book release. With photos. And completed pattern.

Part of the problem with this sock is that I'm bored of the pattern. The prototypes were knit, ripped, and re-knit about five times. Then I had to make a second pair because I discovered an extra set of ribs in one of the socks, and the sizing wasn't quite right. I corrected that problem in the pattern, but simply can't get up the motivation to finish this pair.

Other reasons/excuses why it isn't finished: I'm not over fond of the yarn. It's okay, it's just...meh. Really nothing exciting. I would tell you what it is, but again, can't find the ball band (I swear they are all around here somewhere). I do know it was el cheapo sock yarn from Michaels, which kind of explains the problem right there. I'm a yarn snob when it comes to socks. I should have remembered that when buying this.

Additionally, this is one of those smaller-gauge projects that risks mobility and limb for me, so it's been on hold while I try to finish other things.

Progress: 25%

When I pulled out my TKGA binder for this photo, I thought I had three or four of my Master Handknitting swatches complete. Turns out, it's just two. I'm also behind on my questions.

When I got my packet back in July, I thought, "Knitting! Tiny swatches! Writing about Knitting! I'll be done by Christmas!" In this case, life happened. Other projects took precedence, and once again, I had to put this on hold because of physical challenges. See, I knit...weird. Not like a lot of other knitters. It's a side effect of being mostly self taught.

Then there's the carpel tunnel/tendonitis issue. I normally knit much looser than most instructions call for. Doesn't really bother me, but to meet the standards of the program, my stitches have to look a certain way. So instead of using a size 8 needle as the yarn recommends, I have to use a size 5 and knit as tightly as humanly possible.

But I still don't think that's a good excuse. I should be further with this. Especially since my 1 year deadline is in July.

Progress: 15%

Forming the bedrock of our dig site, we have the London Calling Cabled Cardigan, from Vogue Knitting...Fall 2010. Yes, this sweater has been on the needles for about a year and a half now.

When I pulled out this piece (which is only one of the fronts; there is more done), I had a brief moment of panic because the panel that was actually in progress was missing. I didn't panic because I'd lost all that work. I paniced because I thought briefly, "Oh, I'll just start over. I've been thinking it would be better seamless." Yes, you read that correctly. I considered ripping the whole thing out and starting over again, even though at about 50%, this project is the furthest along of them all.

I've kind of been avoiding this project. I like the pattern. I like the sweater. I even kind of like the yarn (even if it is just some basic Red Heart). My problem is that I am concerned about the shoulders and the sleeves. I'm afraid they won't fit. Part of the temptation to start over is not just to create a seamless body (knitting the fronts and backs together as one long flat piece, then separating at the underarm to finish the rest) but also because I'm considering going up a size. My stitch count is for the small, though my measurements actually match the large (like I said, loose knitter). When I whip stitched the completed pieces together to give it a test thought, it just didn't have the ease I'm looking for, especially in the bust and shoulders.

I think I just talked myself into starting over. ¬_¬

See, this is what happens when I try to get things done.

ETA: I was going to finish the last few inches on the cardigan. I started knitting, and working on the decreases, and realized that for some reason, it didn't look like the other front. And then I held all three pieces up together, and realized that somewhere along the lines, I'd made an error in the cable pattern and none of those cables lined up. If I were to finish it as is and wear it, I would look lopsided because the fronts are offset by half a repeat.

So. Starting over it is.

Off the Needles

Currently Reading: Of Darkness, Light, and Fire
Currently Watching: Blood Ties

Since my camera cord finally made an appearance last week, I figured it was high time I post pictures of my most recent knitting projects...though I must admit, I'm starting to get a little fed up with my camera. Unless I'm outdoors, it gives everything a red cast that even Photoshop can't correct. I've tried every setting in it's repertoire, and it actually has me so frustrated that when I finished a hat over the weekend I tried using my webcam to take the pictures for Ravelry. You can see the results for yourself and be the judge:



The pattern for that hat should be available on Ravelry later this week. It's called "Northman," after Eric in the TrueBlood series, which I've been watching on Netflix. (Speaking of tv, anyone know where I can watch season 8 of Charmed online? I still haven't seen it yet and Youtube let me down at episode 4.) I'm making a few tweaks to the measurements. I actually like it so well that I'm knitting it a second time to double check that everything is correct. Normally I need a break before knitting the same thing twice, but this time I'm just diving right in. I sense a colorwork kick in my future, but we'll see.

Haven't had time for much else lately. Work is keeping me pretty busy, and in my spare time I'm trying to power through a stack of reading material, and finishing up some edits on my novel. Which needs a new title. I had to change some mythology after an epiphany this week, and now the original title doesn't make any sense. Eh, it can wait until the morning.

Knit Knit Knit

In the DVD Player: Burlesque
Currently Reading: Blood Rites

The socks are going well. I'm about an inch away from starting the gusset increases for the heel, which is great because I haven't read the little math section for figuring out the number of increases to do yet. Will work on that tonight or tomorrow morning most likely. Once I'm done with these I'm going to use the top-down two at a time method to re-do the test knit for the Wedding Ring Socks. They must be identical, dammit! I can't believe I screwed them up like that...

Yesterday I went to teach Missouri how to cable, and for demonstration purposes I brought the London Calling sweater with me, since it has an example of pretty much every type of cable out there on it. When I measured the side I'm working on against what has already been done, I discovered that I still have at least six inches before I have to fiddle with the decreases for the shoulder, so I really don't remember why this project ended up in the bin for so long. Since I managed to do a repeat and a half yesterday, I'm hoping to have the right front done in the next week or two, so that I can start the sleeves. In the mean time, I need to take out that horrible seam connecting the left front and the back. Mostly, I was trying to make sure that all of my cables lined up and that I didn't have massive gauge failure or something, but that's a pretty ugly seam. Question: how do you seam two pieces in reverse stockinette? I have directions for regular stockinette, which I could conceivably use, but they all say to keep the work right side up, and since the knit side is actually the wrong side in this case, I'm not sure what to do with it.

Well, it can wait. I believe the directions actually call for seaming the shoulders and the sleeves first, and I think those will be a bit easier since I won't have to worry about mimicking stitches.

I might even get this baby done in time for cooler weather.

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P.S. I updated the blog list on the left hand column to reflect all of the new blogs I've started reading in the last few weeks. We've got knitting, we've got typewriters; sewing/steampunk/design, and some that are just plain funny. So if you're looking for something interesting to discover, or just something to read, check out that list.

Dipping My Toes In

Edited for clarity
Currently Reading: Blood Rites
Currently Watching: Charmed, Season 3

I've decided to learn a new skill: two-at-a-time socks. I've seen these books around and they've always intrigued me. Silly me, though, I always thought they were the same volume. I guess the local Michaels only carries the toe-up version, while the library only has the top down book, hence the confusion.

I did a bit of a practice run, but got bored around the gusset, primarily because it was practice. This is not my first time knitting toe up socks, and the construction seems to be about the same, except that there are two socks on the needle and I normally use DPNs. Also, I hate swatching. I know, I know, a thousand lashes with a limp circular needle, but I do. Especially in this case, since I was using a different color for each sock--that meant I'd be doing one "pair" for the test run, and then I'd have to do another set to get mates for them (and since I was using leftover balls, there really wasn't enough. Not to mention the fact that I don't have any use for child-sized socks and most of my donation items go to nursing homes rather than NICUs). Thus, I made the decision to dive right in.

The yarn is a Bernat Baby Jacquards in the color berries and cream. I don't know about you, but if I pulled cream that shade of yellow (lemon yellow) out of the fridge, I'd be tossing it right in the garbage. It looks really good in yarn, though. To save myself some hassle, I'm knitting one sock from one end of the ball and the other from the opposite, and I'll cast off when I run out of yarn. I believe the needles are a size 1 or 2, maybe a 2.5.

The patterns in this book don't really light my fire. Sure, there are two or three that I might one day knit, but I don't HAVE to knit them RIGHT NOW. I bought the book primarily for technique anyway. Thus, the socks I am working on are plain vanilla, which for me means 1x1 or 2x2 ribbing up the foot and leg (haven't decided which it will be yet).

For the last few weeks (since the first tournament of Nerd Wars ended) I've had a bad case of knitting enui, to quote Jasmine Knitmore. But since I now have a 40 minute drive each way to work, I've had a lot of time to catch up on my podcasts and that has gotten me in the mood to knit more (by the way, are there any typewriter podcasts out there?). The combination of socks, podcasts, and a new way of doing things has jogged the mojo a bit. It even has me thinking abou the London Calling sweater that has been languishing in my PHD (Projects Half Done; again, see the KnitMore Girls, episode 150ish I think) bin for the last few months. I'm at the "hard part" as I keep calling it. Basically, the instructions say for the right front that you should do everything you did for the left front, but in reverse. Which for me, requires math and drawing a diagram, both of which I've been too lazy to do. I also need to rip out the seam I put in to test the left front and the back together; it looks awful. Finishing is not my forté, but I do have this book by Vogue knitting that has several really good instructions on methods of doing seams, so I might refer to that once I'm actually ready to construct the sweater. I've read several of the history essays and regularly use the instructions on kitchner stitch/grafting; it's a bit bulky but very handy to have around.

Anyone else tried this technique? What do you think of it? Do you prefer top down or toe up?

Back Again

Currently Reading: Ghost Moon
On the Netflix: Love and Other Disasters

Between a week of vacation and a week and a half of being sick, I've let a lot of good habits slide in the last month, among them blogging. However, since I've spent the majority of the last two weeks in bed or camped out in front of the TV so there hasn't been lot to blog about to begin with. Trust me, you haven't missed much.

Once I was feeling better and my eyes stopped watering long enough to read more than two or three sentences, I finished Karen Chance's Midnight's Daughter, which is the first book in her Dorina Basarab series. It runs alongside her Cassie Palmer books (reviews found here). At this point I'm not planning on reviewing the series, but I will say Dorina certainly lives up to her forerunner and I can't wait to start reading book 2. (Are you keeping up with the summer releases? I've got a list of my top picks at the end of this post)

In addition to the reading, I managed to finally finish the second sock of the pair I've had on the needles since March. That was an Event, since it started with a massive kitchner fail on the toe and ended with me realizing there was a rather massive error in the pattern that resulted in a-symmetrical socks. They fit fine, they just don't match. So once my fragile knitting ego has recovered, I'll have to rework them. At the moment, however, I can't fathom the idea of knitting those socks again. It's not that I dislike the pattern, it just took so long to work out the cables around the cuff and there was a lot of ripping back. Either way, it will have to wait about two weeks since I've got some deadline knitting on the needles right now. I need to finish a baby sweater for a coworker before A) she goes on leave; B) she goes into labor; or C) I leave for my new job.

That's right, I'll be starting a new job later this month. Same company, different location, different position. And since I like to keep my work life as separate from my online presence as possible, that's all I'm going to say on the matter.

If I fall off the blogosphere again, someone poke me. Why is it that good habits are so hard to start and bad habits are so hard to break?
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(Recent and) Summer Book Releases (For the United States)
Spirit Dances by C.E. Murphy (Okay, so this one is already out, but it was just released so it counts)
Hunt the Moon by Karen Chance (Also newly released)
Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs (So May/June was an exciting time for some of my favorite authors. So sue me)
Fallen by Karin Slaughter (June 21)
Heartless by Gail Carriger (June 28, but already released in some areas)
Ghost Story by Jim Butcher (July 26)
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (October 4)

If you're part of C.E. Murphy's latest crowdfunding project, she's also released three of the promised short stories thus far as well as a novella called Right Angles to Fairyland. Thus far, these are only available to her crowdfunding sponsors, but cross your fingers that they're released mass market soon!

Treking through the lost month, burried in work. Please send knitting and novels.

I think I lost October. And my camera. So I can't take any pictures for you of my beautiful sweater back that is now about three inches from finished, or of the stack of dishclothes I'm crocheting, or the socks I'm knitting. I also can't coerce mom into modeling her sweater for the camera, though I don't think she'd let me post it online even if she did. It shall have to wait until the weather warms up again, since I finished it just in time to start scraping frost off my windows.

I've been working like crazy on the CFM for the past week, but it's about to go on the back burner for a few days because I have 4 chapters (roughly 100 pages) of reading, plus 12 quizzes for my anthropology class due this week, on top of a bunch of make up work for French (I swear I did my homework. The website ate it. I can show you the teeth marks and everything!) and two quizzes next week...well, let's just say I might camp out at the library and just save myself the trouble. (By the way, if you are interested in contributing to the Steampunk issue of the CFM, we are still looking for 2 works of fiction. Deadline is December 15. You can find the details over here.

I have not had any more time for reading or writing, and it's starting to make me crazy. I've had so much reading to do for school that I just haven't wanted to sit down and read a novel, and I'm sort of ADD right now which makes writing hard. Harder than usual. Since it is November now, and I'm not taking part in NaNo, I'm going to set my own writing goal for myself: I want to have all of the edits for Fortune's Fight done by December 1. So far I think I've added about 3,000 words to the original draft, and it's only going to get longer since I'm condensing two novellas into a single volume. I'm hoping that once I do that it will hit 80,000 words (I'm a hair's breadth away from 50k at the moment.

My one bit of non-knitting recreation has been watching Star Trek (the original one, which I'd never seen). I am LOVING it. I got the boxed set from the library, and managed to get through four disks before I had to return them. I have the next six waiting in my Netflix queue. I remember coming across a few random episodes when I was little and trying to watch them, and they were just too far over my head at the time. I have so much more appreciation for them now, especially after the anthropology classes I've taken.

And Spock rocks my socks. Seriously.

Linked

I posted the first chapter of the new Cassie Tanner novel on Fiction Press this morning. If you would like to read it, you can do so from here (you may need to make an account to read it, but it's free, and will allow you to leave comments and sign up for notifications when new chapters are posted).

I haven't been doing as much "fun" (i.e. not school related) writing as I want to, but I did edit four chapters yesterday and since I've got a nice chunk of the thesis done, I feel like I can take a little time to work on other things.

Mostly though, I've been working on this:


Which will eventually look like this, only at a smaller gauge (and pink):


Which is based on this:


Which is a close up of these.

All of this is for my thesis, which is about the conservation of knits, and you can't talk about the conservation of knits without talking about their history, and you can't talk about the history without mentioning those stockings which, according to Richard Rutt's History of Handknitting, the only accurate source on the history of knitting to my knowledge, are the first examples of purl stitches as decorative elements, and are very possibly our earliest example of flat knitting.

I find these stockings fascinating for several reasons, not the least of which is the woman who owned them, but I want to know more about how they were made, so I'm reconstructing them with modern materials. So far I've got everything charted out and I'm about halfway through knitting the lattice pattern on the cuff (still need to update the pictures, though). I'm keeping a journal of everything I'm doing for my thesis, and I'll be posting some of the info on my Ravelry page. They're being knit on size 2 mm (US 0) needles, which is really, really hard on my hands. I can get about ten rows a day in, max. I suppose that's respectable, but I need to have them as finished as possible by April 3. I'm still fiddling with the pattern. Once I'm done with my thesis and everything, I'd like to adapt the pattern for a slightly thicker yarn and make them in the round, which I feel would solve a lot of the problems I'm having with the math.

But for now, I've still got 20 pages to write and at least 12 inches of knitting to do.