Hamako

I only missed a week, but it feels so good to be linking up with the yarn-along again! Things have been crazy around here, but I've been knitting. In fact, the very first thing I did after finding out two weeks ago that we might not be able to get our new house was cast on a second baby blanket. It gave me something to do with my hands, and a way to prepare for these babes even as we were unsure of where we'd be bringing them home to.

Knitting has slowed down a bit since we realized we could get the house after all, but I've been plugging away, row by row. 

The pattern is Hamako, which wasn't on my shortlist for the last blanket, but I was so intrigued by the texture that I had to cast on. I am using Malabrigo Rios in Cumparista, which is a very rich, deep red. (In some lights it does take on a purplish tinge, which Keith isn't too happy about; he doesn't think it's very manly. ;) )

Reading has slowed down as well. I am still working my way through older issues of Dappled Things; I'm hoping to finish them in time to pack them up for the move.

Linking up with Ginny.

Finished x 2!

I am pleased to say that both cardigans are now finished! Sleeves, buttons, woven ends and all. I may block them, but I may not. We'll see. Today is a wee bit overcast so I went outside to chase the sunlight for photos. 

You'll notice I am not showing you the left sleeve on Hatchling. I never did get around to redoing it, and it shows. The bottom seam is very visible from the front. Sigh. I learned my lesson with Bairn and was verrry careful to make sure it was centered, but even taking the same caution with Hatchling's second sleeve produced less-than-perfect (although not horrible) results.

Right now I am catching up on a pile of partially read issues of Dappled Things. I've been meaning to do this for a while and now seemed like a good time. :) Last night Keith and I read together in bed until far too late an hour. Him because he was reading a creepy book* and had a hard time putting it down, me because I was reading an interview with Brian Jobe that was interesting and exciting and had me highlighting and making notes in the margins, which is something I seldom do. (I'd never heard of Brian Jobe, but his novel is now on my to-read list!)

Linking up with Ginny's yarn along.


*He is reading I Am Legend. You know, the book the movie with Will Smith was based on. I have seen the movie, Keith has not. Apparently in the book everyone in the world has turned into vampires. This is NOT what happened in the movie; it was much more zombie-ish, I thought, but it's been a while since I've seen it so I could be wrong.

Seven Quick Takes (11)

1. I am writing this post in a new (to me) blogging software called Windows Live Writer, thanks to a recommendation from Sheena. (Sorry for those of you who encountered a weird “test post” from me in your feeds … my husband accused me of spamming him. :-P) While so far it doesn’t strike me as amazingly better than writing the posts straight in Blogger (except for being more in control of the photos, which is a big deal!), I am glad to have a way to compose posts offline that doesn’t interact in weird ways with Blogger’s formatting. (That I know of  yet, at least. :) ) 

2. I missed the yarn along because I spent Wednesday out. It feels weird not to post about my knitting and reading! Bairn is finished except for … well, the finishing (weaving in ends, sewing the pieces together, adding the buttons). I also finished Sanditon last night—it was a quick read, since Jane Austen only wrote up to chapter 12 before she died.
 
3. Normally I wouldn’t write much about the whole Miley Cyrus thing, but I have two thoughts. 1) You could have turned off the television. In fact, you really should have. But there is a sort of deliciousness to being disgusted, isn’t there? I watched ten seconds total of her “We Can’t Stop” music video a few months ago to see what the fuss was about, and you know what? That was stupid. So I’ve been avoiding that this time around, but I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been tempted to ask people/Google, so what all EXACTLY HAPPENED???? It is so easy to condemn her. But we are the consumers of her actions. 2) What about the grown man who participated in this? Why is no one making a fuss about him? It reminds me of all the posts about modesty that inevitably crop up every summer and yes, women, we are responsible for how we dress; but men, YOU are the ones responsible for how you think about women, and ONLY YOU. (Not what you see of women—that can’t be helped sometimes, and I am sorry—but how you respond. And I am not talking about walking around with your eyes on the ground so you don’t catch a glimpse of cleavage, but rather looking on all women as made in the image of God.)

4. Tonight we went to dinner at P.F. Chang’s and then spent a little time in Barnes & Noble. Michael LOVES that store. He waves his hand around expansively and declares “Gook!” (book). And they have a table for trains in the kids’ section. We hung out there for a bit and found this:


I only flipped through it briefly, so I can’t speak to quality of the story itself, but seriously. Downton Abbey + knitted mice? It’s almost as good as the needle-felted Pride and Prejudice characters! I would buy the book just to admire their clothes. I love creativity like this; it always inspires a mixture of admiration and jealousy in me.

5. The reason we went to P.F. Chang’s was because we had a gift card. I know that gift cards often get a bad rap as less personal gifts, but they’ve been a real blessing to us lately. Because of gift cards from various people, we were able to buy birthday presents for a friend (Barnes & Noble), a MUCH needed maternity belt plus some clothes for Michael and the twins this winter (Babies’R’Us), lunch at Panera for Michael and I on the trip to Babies’R’Us, and some clothes for Keith and (again, much needed) new pajamas for me.

6. Ah yes, the maternity belt. I bought it last week, and just in time; it’s this week I’ve found myself really needing it. As I near the end of the 2nd trimester (27 weeks today), my hips have started hurting, and this belly is simply getting ridiculously heavy. I really can’t imagine what it will be like in another few weeks. I wore the belt today when we went out to dinner, and took it off in the car before we decided to walk to Barnes & Noble, and oh man, could I feel the difference.

7. Last but not least … you are reading the blog of a new assistant editor at Dappled Things! I am beyond excited about this! For a lot of reasons. I love the magazine as a reader, a writer, and someone who cares about Catholicism and the arts; working with them has been a hope of mine for a while. And I have been itching to get involved in the literary community again. It is on all accounts wonderful, and I am very grateful.

(Ok, that last take was typed in the brief moments I managed to get anything done between instances where Michael came and shut my laptop and shouted “CLOSED!” so I think it’s time to finish up.)
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Isadora Cardigan

Guess what?

I am knitting myself a sweater! Yay! (You will remember that this was one of my goals for this year. It shall be accomplished!)

The pattern is Featherweight, and the yarn is Tosh Merino Light in the Isadora colorway, which I got on sale from one of my favorite yarn stores before their annual inventory.

I had to go down two needle sizes to get gauge, which means I am using my painfully short size 4 circs (because I am too cheap/lazy to go get a longer pair). Also, last night I sliced a chunk of my left index finger off while chopping veggies, which makes the going a lot slower. (I'm a contintental knitter and hold the yarn in my left hand.) But I'm knitting the edging, and injuries aside, I'm hoping to be finished by the end of the week.


I reached a point last week when I had a dearth of reading material, but then all on the same day I received the newest issue of Dappled Things, a package with a poetry collection on loan from a friend, and a Humble Bundle of six edgy scifi novels courtesy of my husband. So I think I'm good for at least a month. ;) (One of the books was Pump Six by Paolo Bacigalupi, who is a recent favorite of mine. Yay! I finished that one in three or four days.)

Joining up with Ginny's yarn along.