Progress!

It's ALIIIIIIVE!!!!

That's right -- I'm actually getting somewhere with something!

I started the Grumpecue last week and plugged along doggedly. "Hrm," I thought, "this'll take a while." And I'd really like to get it to her at our next haircut, but school starts soon and my husband is looking a little shaggy, so I guess we can't draw it out very long.

Then I was hit with Frogitis, forcing myself to reknit approximately 20 rows in whole or part about five times. (Note to self: watch the damn scallops WHILE you're knitting them, not AFTER.)

BAH!

Sunday morning, that thing was no match for me. My rapier points shot through those defenseless strands like a finger through Cheez Whiz. Not only did I finish the last 50 rows or so, I then took a two-hour jaunt to lakeside for color selection and returned to knit 80 more rows -- the long ones, no less. I'm no Wannietta Prescod, but given that it had taken me a week of spits and furts to do what I accomplished yesterday alone, I was feeling pretty speedy indeed. I'm now more than a quarter done with the whole thing.

This was due in no small part ot the Summer Under the Stars marathon on TCM and the aid of my beloved TiVo. Over the past weekend, I watched the following, trying to clear out the ol' queue:

--The Nun's Story is a VERY good movie, but it's dreadfully sad. Incidentally, I completely didn't recognize the guy playing Dr. Fortunati as Peter Finch, the guy who played Howard Beale (Mr. "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" in Network.
--Wait Until Dark is rather hokey. I LOVE Audrey Hepburn, but she has this pause before she does the "I'm so confused and frightened" scream that confuses and frightens me in turn -- who does that in real life? And Alan Arkin... good gracious, he was cheesy.
--Keeper of the Flame, on second viewing (fell asleep the first time), was still pretty boring despite the early Tracy/Hepburn pairing, and for some reason I could barely see it since it was filming an outdoor scene in the woods at night in black and white (or, more accurately, black and black).
--Always -- cute movie. John Goodman is always funny. Richard Dreyfuss, however... I don't think I'll ever be able to watch him without seeing the "Richard Dreyfus screen tests for C3PO" skit in my head.
--Ninotchka -- I'd never really seen Greta Garbo before, and this one was pretty cute.
--Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House -- love Cary Grant, love Myrna Loy.
--Travels With My Aunt -- again, kept falling asleep. I rewound the end twice and still couldn't follow it. Darn you, Maggie Smith; couldn't you do more than just drag the poor guy between a series of hotels that look exactly the same?

(If you're reading this with your mouth agape... yeah, I did watch a lot of movies yesterday, but I was multitasking. So nyah.)

Back to the knitting...

I was also thinking about my dad's vest again. Still trying to find a yarn with a good color depth and texture without a lot of pooling. Mountain Colors Bearfoot? (OH, the price! I love the guy, but 20 bucks a hank is just not going to cut it until I get my Jeopardy money.) Trekking XXL? (OH, all the stitches with those tiny needles!) Rowan Feted tweed is looking really good, with the perfect weight and color distribution, but my mom was very clear that I should aim for easy washing if at all possible.

Who knew making the Cosby Sweater's younger sibling would be so hard?

In pattern news, I also picked up Evening in Eden. Gorgeous, yes, especially in that color, but I don't know where I'll wear it. (Though it's a stole and not a shawl, so it's more my style, at least.) still, even though icarus was much easier to pick up/put down and plow through without looking, I still feel the twinges of a small lace jones. A small one, mind you, but present nevertheless. We shall see.