alisonknits

Big needles, small needles

A quick post before I head off to work.  I haven't had a lot of time at home to work on the finishing of the Swan Sweater, but hopefully I can accomplish that this week.  I'm up to the heel flap of the first Koigu stocking (sorry no photo yet), which I'm knitting on size 1's.  To break up the monotony of knitting stockinette on such tiny needles, I picked up an old project - where I'm knitting stockinette on BIG needles.  It's a sweater for Scott on size 11's in a cashmere blend from School Products.  The front of it has a beautiful cable up the front, and that part was fun, but the rest is all stockinette.  Anyway, it's a nice change to make quick progress.

I had a nice surprise last night when my sister called and said she and Augie were in New Jersey, and they could stop by for a short visit before heading back to Boston.  It was lovely seeing them, and to top it off, they were both wearing sweaters I made for them.  Here is the adorable couple modeling my handiwork.

I'm so glad they like their sweaters.

Gotta dash, to start another week of 12-hour days! (what have I gotten myself into??)

A Ship At Sea

I don't quite know what to do with myself.  For the first time in a very long time, I have no deadlines hanging over my head, no patterns I should be writing, no classes I need to prepare for (although I do have two new classes starting this week - I just don't have anything new to prepare).  It's so strange.  I feel like I should be working on something - I just don't know what!

What I really should be doing this evening, though, is relaxing and enjoying myself, because I realized recently that I have absolutely no weeknights free until sometime in late March.  Mondays and Tuesdays I teach knitting, Wednesdays I'm taking a Building Your Own Theology class at church (have I mentioned recently how cool UUs are?), and Thursdays I'm co-teaching another class at church.  So I guess I'd better take it easy on the weekends!

I've spent the majority of this weekend setting up my new MP3 player, a 40GB Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra.  You may recall that I ordered myself an iPod a few weeks ago, getting $100 off by purchasing it along with an Audible subscription.  That didn't work out so well.  When I placed the order in early January, they said it wasn't in stock but should be in by the end of the week.  Then they said probably by the 15th.  Then they said not until February 2nd, then February 15th!  At that point, I was ready to cancel the whole thing, but they recommended this Creative player as a much less expensive alternative, which they actually had in stock.

I bit.  They threw in 2-day shipping for free since I had waited so long, and I had my player on Friday.  Unfortunately, Scott & I spent most of the weekend trying to get the software to work properly (of course tech support isn't open on weekends), but it's finally working like a charm.  Hooray!

Meanwhile I already downloaded and started listening to my first book from Audible, Augustan Burroughs' hilarious Running with Scissors.  I've already listened to over an hour of it.  It's a very wacky memoir, and it's fun hearing the author read it himself.  I highly recommend it.

On the knitting front, I'm only a few easy rows away from the end of the Swan Sweater.  I've already sewed in one sleeve, so I will probably complete this very shortly.  I haven't really figured out what my next big knit will be, but I've just started a pair of Koigu stockings to keep me occupied in the meantime.  I'm thinking besides this portable project, maybe I'll work on finishing some abandoned UFOs before I pick up another complicated project.  I'm feeling rather at sea with knitting, too, I guess.  Maybe it's time I got back to designing.

Swan Sweater Update

As I mentioned a few days ago, I've made lots of progress on the Swan Sweater over the last week or so.  The body is finished, and because I thought the collar looked too small, I tried it on - without cutting the armhole steeks first.  The collar looks nice, but the sweater looks pretty silly on me without anyplace to put my arms...

To deal with the neck steeks, I was originally planning to crochet a seam before cutting, since I don't have a proper sewing machine and am rather sewing machine-phobic anyway.  But I couldn't figure out the best way to do that, so I ended up just backstitching a seam before cutting.  I was slightly nervous about whether it would work, but it appears to be plenty secure and I've had no problem.  It was sort of risky; while I thought I had read about people backstitching steeks before, I might imagined that.  Anyway, it's all fine.  (Isn't it wierd that I'm so cavalier about cutting steeks now?)

Meanwhile I've now made good headway on the first sleeve:

It's rather poofy.  But I'm enjoying making the sleeve separately, rather than with the Fair Isle sweaters I've made in the past where you pick up stitches around the armhole and knit down to the cuff.  In that case, as you work in the round you have to keep flipping the whole sweater over on your lap.  I find it rather cumbersome.  This way, I can try the it on as I go, and the sleeve is actually portable since I've got the pattern completely memorized.  It's really enjoyable.

I love this sweater!

I am weak and selfish.

A few days ago, I heard an inspiring sermon at church that made me realize that, as much as I really want an iPod, I have no moral right to buy myself one when there is such devastation in south Asia. I resolved to donate the money I had saved for an iPod to the tsunami relief effort. (Yarn Harlot also speaks of this issue in a recent entry - go read about what she's doing about.)

After making my decision, I felt very good about myself - quite morally suprerior.

But then yesterday I took a look at my finances and decided that I could donate the amount I had in mind AND still buy myself and iPod. So I ordered one, signing up for Audible and saving $100 on it, and donated money through the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

But of course now I realize: 1) I should have just donated MORE to the relief effort, because 2) I don't really NEED an iPod - I just really want one. I'm experiencing guilt.

So I will try to make amends by donating more money to humanitarian causes the next time I have some money to spare. Living in New York City, I am faced with the reality that, while I often feel financially squeezed, I'm actually very fortunate. Unlike too many in my community and around the world, I have plenty to eat, a roof over my head, a job, and people who would look out for me if something ever happened. I live in proximity to people who are truly in dire straights, and also to the most lavish excess. It's a strange place to live.

Addendum:
Check out this op-ed piece by Nicholas Kristof about the importance of relief to the millions of victims of less visible tragedies (like malaria and lack of education) around the world. I agree with him that we are usually stingy with our donations when we don't see images of horror on our TV screens.

What I Did On My Christmas Vacation

Obviously, I haven't been blogging, so what have I been up to?  Read on...

• I finished Scott's scarf in plenty of time for Christmas, and was very excited to give it to him.  He was excited to receive it on Christmas morning!  We had a lovely day with his family.

• I also finished my sister's poncho in time for her (and my dear dad's) visit on Tuesday.  Here she is modeling the poncho...

• Her boyfriend's sweater is also done, and she and dad assure me that he will love it.  She promised to send me a picture, since he wasn't here to open it in my presence.
• We had a great visit.  The original plan had been to go to the newly-reopened MOMA, but it was closed on Tuesday, and when we tried on Wednesday the line to get in was like DisneyWorld!  I overheard someone say the wait was over two hours.  I can only imagine what it must have been like inside the museum; we quickly changed our plans and went the the American Folk Art Museum next door instead.  It was great!  If you're into crafty stuff and visiting NYC, I highly recommend it.
• And look at this cool gift from my sister!  She's been collecting leaves and preserving them, and her friend had these old window frames, so she got this neat-o idea.  It's nice having such a creative family.

• Although my knitting classes are on break, I did teach someone to knit this week - my friend Greg.  He lives near the LYS/cafe Knit New York, and had been curious about it, but felt too nervous to go in alone, since he's a guy.  Turns out his anxiety was unfounded, though; there were several guys knitting there, and one of the employees was male.  He ably learned to cast on and knit, and found out that they have a "Boyz Night" on Fridays.  Woo hoo!  Meanwhile, I liked the ambiance so much, I think I have a new hangout.  (Unfortunately, I have little to say about their yarn selection... it seems unremarkable and overpriced.)
• Lots of knitting on the Swan Sweater - the body is finished, and I'm working on a sleeve.  I promise a photo soon, and some observations about the knitting, but this post is getting quite long, and I should save something for next time.
• I just got back from further holiday festivities in Connecticut with my relatives.  I think that's finally the end of my Christmas - whew!

Hopefully in 2005 I'll keep up with the blog a bit more consistantly... hm, could that be a Resolution?