alisonknits

One measly photo

Here is a picture of my poncho:

I took time away from my (not very) busy workday to upload this photo, because those bastards at Verizon still haven't granted us a DSL connection. Now they're saying we'll have it the 29th, getting close to a month after it was supposed to be hooked up. Good news is, they finally agreed to give us a lower introductory rate for the first 3 months... whenever we actually get it. At this point I'm not holding my breath.

The Art of Doing Nothing

Last night I found myself in the (for me) highly unusual circumstance of having nothing to occupy me on the subway. I had finished both the scarf I was knitting and the book I was reading. Typically, I have more than one knitting project on me at any given time to guard against such eventualities, but I'm short on portable knitting these days. (This is a lie. There's still Scott's sweater, and the leaf lace shawl, and the long-forgotten feather and fan shawl.) But what's so bad about doing nothing while I commute? It seems I always require either my hands or my mind (or both) to be active. And I know I'm not alone in this - the other day Scott was waiting for me to finish something at the office before we left, and he couldn't sit still for 3 minutes doing nothing. I believe that sometimes it's good to just stop and do nothing, but it's much easier said than done in our overstimulated world.

The book I just finished reading was Lucky, Alice Sebold's account of being raped her freshman year of college and its aftermath. It was a short book, and I could barely put it down; I devoured it so quickly that it never even made it to my sidebar list of what I'm reading. Yesterday when I was almost done, I recommended it to a friend who I often discuss books with. She refused it, and had also declined to read one of my favorite books, I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. Her reasoning is that when you read a book, it takes up so much time and psychic energy, you really live in the world of the book, and she doesn't want to live in a world that is so upsetting. I can understand that logic, but I disagree with it for myself. For me, there's something about reading a book in which horrible things happen that I can gain the lessons of surviving something awful while still being removed from it. You get to experience it without actually experiencing it; go to that place while still be safe.

Obligatory Knitting Content

Rogue is almost up to the hood! I love love love it still. I haven't touched Hank8 (why?), but I'm going to see my dad this weekend, so it would be cool to finish it this week and give it to him. Or should I just wait until Father's Day at this point? Too late to wear it this year anyway...

I've been wearing my poncho a lot since it's been so friggin' cold lately. While admiring it in the mirror yesterday I got a cool idea for a top-down yoke sweater with a similar design to the way I did the poncho (I adapted a store pattern, using different cables). I'm thinking of submitting it somewhere, but I have to find the right yarn to do it in. Since I rarely work with bulky yarn, I don't know so much what's out there. Suggestions for something soft at about 3.5 sts per inch that looks nice in cables?

In other designing news, my job situation is changing in the fall in such a way as to give me more designing time - and more money! I'm a fortunate girl.

Still no pictures!

I am still DSL-less, and even worse, in order to put the DSL order in, Verizon had to discontinue the free dialup connection they had given us! I guess I should have uploaded pictures while I could, slow as it would have been. The good news is, they tell us that we should be online today or Thursday. They messed up our order so badly, they actually referred my husband to the "customer advocate" department, which apparently is what they do when they've completely screwed you over. It's the end of the road for the seriously pissed. I find it simultaneously reassuring and sad that they have such a department.

The other day I started reading Annie's book, Confessions of a Knitting Heretic. Part of why I wanted the book (besides knowing that Annie is smart, funny, and an excellent designer and teacher) is that I've got a couple of students in my beginning knitting class who knit using the Combined method, and I wanted to learn more details about it in order to teach them better. The book has been enormously helpful in that regard, and last night I lent the book to one of the students. Hopefully she'll buy her own copy after perusing it. Anyway, it's a wonderful book, chock full of insights, information, and some lovely projects. I've been wanting to try one of Annie's lace hats, one of which is in the book. If you haven't bought it yet, you should!

I was particularly moved by an essay about Annie's knitting heritage. She tells the story of discovering something knit by a great-aunt, a piece crafted with great skill, and thereby finding where her own innate knitting talent came from. As I read this essay, I was actually jealous. I also am a mostly self-taught knitter, and have found that it comes so naturally to me that sometime I wonder if I knit in a previous life. (I don't necessarily believe in past lives, but sometimes it feels like a logical explanation for these things.) I have no idea if any of my forbears were knitters, and probably never will find out. But you never know. Maybe this is something I should try to research. I have very little knowledge of my family's history, so this could be a good motivation to learn more.

Belly Time
Stacy is hosting a fabulous knit-a-long that's all about celebrating our bellies, and I've decided to join. I tend not to take part in these things (probably because I'm so fickle about what I'm working on), but this one I just have to join for ideological reasons. The sweater I'll be working on is one that I designed and knit last summer, but have deemed it unwearable because I don't like the way the top half looks. So I'm ripping out half of it and starting from the middle. But first I have to re-design the top. It's a lacy sleeveless pullover. I'll post a picture of the current version before I rip.

Other Knitting
Rogue is going beautifully! I've finished both sleeves, and am now working on the body. I'm in the middle of the kangaroo pocket.

But I've been so smitten with Rogue that I haven't worked anymore on Hank8. Maybe I really don't want to finish it. Ever.

Rogue-ing Along

After finishing the front of my husband's sweater this weekend, I convinced myself that that was enough progress to warrant starting Rogue. This probably means that the back and sleeves of his sweater will be a long time coming, but it's not like he'd wear the thing anytime soon, right? I am a master of self-justification.

Like Allana, I started with a sleeve. I was planning to work on it on the train yesterday on my way to visiting relatives in CT for Easter, but I hit a snag early on when I didn't like the way the pattern called for doing the beginning of the cable. I futzed with it for a while, but put it aside until I could consult St*rmore's Aran Knitting. Fortunately I had other knitting with me. Last night I did check the book and finished the sleeve chart, only to discover that I'd misinterpreted an instruction and had been omitting increases all along. Ripped out and re-started from Row 3. But I don't really mind because it's going pretty fast and the pattern is enjoyable. Besides, once I finish the sleeve chart (again), it's straight stockinette until the end of the sleeve.

Thanks to all who made book suggestions! I'm going to make a list and head to my favorite bookstore (Shakespeare & Co., an independant bookstore that has managed to stay in business despite the Barnes & Noble juggernaut) to check out some of the titles. Lots of great ideas.

Still no DSL at home, but I may soon muster up the patience to upload some photos via dial-up because...

I'm a couple inches of currugated ribbing away from finishing Hank8! Imagine that!

What's Next?

I've finished attaching fringe to my poncho, and now it only needs to be washed to soften up the yarn. (Many of the yarns from School Products become much softer after washing). I'm going to try to do that tonight. Hooray!

Of course, now it's almost too warm for the poncho. But having lived in the Northeast all my life, I know that could change any moment.

The poncho was a good diversion, and now I'm faced with the question of what to focus my knitting energy on. Alanna has started Rogue, and I'm very tempted to start my Rogue cardi as well. But I probably should finish my husband's sweater first. Not to mention the weary Hank8.

Having just finished reading Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, which I liked a lot more than Maguire's previous novel Wicked, I'm also faced with what to read next. Any suggestions? Here are some of my favorite novels of the last few years, in no particular order: I Know This Much Is True, Bee Season, Ahab's Wife... okay that's all I can think of at the moment. What books have you read lately that made you feel and think?

Slowly Settling

We're finally moved into the new apartment completely, and totally out of the old apartment, and out of the "transitional" apartment. We've unpacked enough that we can move around and live in the new place, but there's still A LOT to do.

We have cable now! For someone who watches the obscene amount of TV that I do, it's pretty ridiculous that we didn't have cable before. My theory was that if I didn't have cable, I would watch less TV. Turns out I would watch just as much TV without cable as with it. Now that we have cable I can watch better TV. (Or so my new theory goes - but I spent 4 hours on Saturday watching "Best of the 80s Strikes Back" on VH1. It's probably a good thing I didn't start watching until the 1986 hour - I could have spent the whole day revisiting the world of Duran Duran, Steve Gutenberg, Chia pets, Rainbow Brite, Dallas, and Boy George instead of getting done the significant amount of unpacking I did earlier in the day.)

The cable hookup was painless, as was getting my phone service moved but switching my DSL to my new apartment has proved a big headache. When I switched my phone service, I did the whole thing on the Verizon website, which was easy and pleasant. (I hate the telephone.) But through the whole process there was no information about switching my Verizon DSL, so I called a few days later. After being transferred to several different offices I was told that my DSL would be switched automatically with my phone service (like magic!). Alas, that was not the case, and when Scott called to find out what gives, he was told that I was misinformed, they're very sorry, but they can't even put in the order for the DSL until a week after the line was switched. They are supposedly giving us free dial-up service in the meantime, but we are having a password problem and haven't gotten it to work yet.

The upshot is, my blog posts will continue to be infrequent and pictureless until the DSL is back.

Which is a real shame because my multidirectional Silk Garden scarf is turning out beautifully, and my poncho is finished except for the fringe and washing it to fluff up and soften the yarn a bit.

I was working diligently on Hank8 for a few days there, but was then distracted by the poncho, which quickly grew too large for a commuting project. As soon as I attach fringe to my poncho (which I'm anxious to wear in the current blustery weather), I'll get back to my dad's sweater. Really I will! And I'll finish it this time!