Not dead yet!

Hola, amigos... been a while since I rapped at ya...

Mostly because I haven't done a darn thing since I finished Icarus. Partially for good reason, but I'm also still in a bit of a knitting funk.

(To give you an idea of how long I've been percolating, this post was started on July 25th.)

First things first: the shawl, she is lurvely. I've never actually blocked anything like that; I blocked my Branching Out scarf by casually manipulating a sopping puddle of yarn into a straight line on three towels. Not so easy on Icarus. There was much gnashing of teeth and bending of pins and continual repinning-until-good-enough-for-government-work. I used the Yarn Harlot's method of stringing the sraight edge on a separate length of string/yarn and pulling it to either side, but it sagged dreadfully, even when I added a few more pins to stabilize it. So I'd continue to pin out the spikes, and then the other side would get too low, so I'd repin THOSE... lather, rinse, repeat for about two hours during some episode or other (I think it was the one with the pups) of Project Runway.

Happily, though, everything worked out. Not a moment too soon, either, for reasons to be explained below. Pictures to come. (I actually took some.)

IN THE INTERIM

Rehearsals quickly moved from "sitting around waiting for my turn to sing while seated" to "Let's polka around the stage and hang off of ladders!" Not very knitting-conducive, though I suppose I could have done some backstage. (That's all we needed on top of a wheeled cow and a giant creaking chariot... another strand of something on which to trip.) Shows went well, but I found myself pining away for a project, especially since the boring part of Icarus was nonetheless a good rhythm to work with.

The big news is that we magically decided on a whim that we wanted to move.

Oh, it's nothing drastic; we only moved up four flights in our building. But after I *cough* won a little money on tee-vee, our landlord joked that we'd be finding a bigger place. We laughed him off, since my winnings would be a lump sum and dedicated to grad school tuition, but we also found ourselves thinking, "You know, we've paid off some other stuff, so we can afford a little more, and it'd be nice to not live in the basement anymore." So we called him on Thursday, saw the apartment that afternoon, and as of now we've been there for about a week and a half.

We got rid of a CRAPLOAD of stuff, including furniture, and as soon as the giant cardboard check arrives we'll probably buy a couch -- something we haven't really owned. Of course, until that time I don't have much of a knitting spot.

So that's the main reason I've been slackin' something fierce. (Also why I actually had floor space on which to block Icarus :P)

WHAT I'M DOING NOW, WHICH ISN'T MUCH...

My current project (and the first one I've worked on in forever) is a blanket made out of eggplant-colored Cascade 220 Superwash for our hairdresser/neighbor's Baby Of Indeterminate Gender, due in a month or two, and two inches in it looks like crap. Needles (9s, I think) are too big, and even if the pattern were tighter it'd still look old and fusty. I wanted something relatively quick to knit, and I looked around in all of my books and sites for inspiration, but sadly this won't cut the mustard. But i wanted something simple but with a little more flair than just a moss stitch, basketweave or Big Bad Baby Blanket (which I can't find anyway since I think I lent my snB book to someone), so we'll see. Debbie Bliss's alphabet blanket is simultaneously calling to me and screaming, "You're crazy! You want a TV-watching project, not something requiring constant staring!"

Maybe I'll use the herringbone pattern from the poncho in Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Use that with a moss stitch border or some such. That'd be kinda cool.

ADVENTURES IN CRAFTING...

I also made myself a PVC niddy-noddy last weekend and felt very capable indeed, but the T-connector on one end popped after only a couple hours of use, so I guess I was too much woman for it. Le sigh. And here I was looking forward to actually winding and using the remnants of a sweater we unwound approximately three years ago.

IN THE FUTURE...

Thinking about doing the Lucky wrap cardigan from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation. Considering KnitPicks Shine or Dale Baby Ull. The sleeves are a bit too short and belled for my taste, but otherwise I think it could be good. Comparing it to the similar Arisaig from Knitty, I like Arisaig's slightly closer silhouette, but not so much the ribbing. (Okay... not at all.) The tighter knit of Lucky is also a bit more appealing. Worth investigating...

Annnnnd... I'm spent.