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well, my extended blogging absence can't be attributed to anything like nuttnbunny's triathlon training or vampirebee's studying for a scary chemistry placement test. what i have been doing, however, is wasting lots of mental energy trying to make a decision about an out-of-the-blue job offer, a paper airplane gliding in from my previous life. a company i worked with in a consulting capacity a few years ago is re-structuring, and they've offered me a 20-hour position at the exact same salary as my very first (full-time) job in the business. i made my decision, choosing (yet again) academics over advertising. i said no, that i didn't feel that the position was right for me. they called me back and have said i can structure my own position and do only the part that i enjoy...of course, the money would be great! i could quit my shitty receptionist job and we could afford 1) my hearing aid and 2) pay down debt. but we're planning on doing that stuff anyway--it will just take us longer. i spent a really lovely morning doing research at the library, and it underscored for me that i love my life the way it is--i like the way i spend my time. for example, digging up old articles and discovering fascinating side-stories (most recent find: in 1951 a florida museum mounted an exhibition of abstract paintings in the homes of their members: a pollock ended up in a trailer home, a dali above the mantle of a shag-carpeted ranch home. brilliant!). it's just so hard to pass up opportunities!in knitting news, the body of forecast is complete, and i'm working on the sleeves. with all of the cables, bobbles, and ribs--as well as the really beautiful shaping--it's one impressive-looking piece of work (even before blocking):
the dashing fingerless gloves need only the ends woven in.
i liked the concept of the thumb construction, but was unimpressed with the final results. perhaps i picked up stitches incorrectly? i also couldn't get the ribbing pattern to match both the glove "body" ribbing and the pattern on the thumb itself. i ripped and knit multiple times and couldn't get it to work... ended up matching the main ribs of the hand and forgetting about following the pattern on the thumb itself. not sure if this is a pattern glitch or a problem with the way i knit the palm (although the palm ribbing looks exactly the same on the photo). overall, i like them and think they'll be useful, but i find them a bit puffy around the wrists. this is due to the lack of shaping at the wrists: the cables are further down the arm and create a nice tension that holds them up. we'll see when fall comes around...i'm excited to begin my next project: jarrett for mr. boot, in a lovely grey-brown! i gave him the yarn for his birthday last week: peace fleece from an amazing farm in maine:
their tagline is "warm fleece for a cold war": the family started out in the 1980s working with soviet farmers in an attempt to humanize russians and alleviate cold war tensions. now they continue to work in russia but also have projects with sheep farmers in a jointly-founded israeli/palestinian community on the west bank. not only that, but the farm in main is horse-powered. mr. boot was beside himself. mr. boot chose the jarrett pattern. i think it's rather old-man-ish and was leaning toward the urban aran cardigan, but jarrett is very professorial, with the elbow and shoulder patches. maybe mr. boot will take up pipe-smoking, too.here's a terrible photo of my completed ester. i like wearing it off the shoulder--otherwise it looks dumpy from the back.
and, fianlly, plums for tea this afternoon... 
here are the results of my exciting big-city day with vampirebee...not only did we eat at pret-a-manger (a guilty habit i picked up from the incomparable sophie in london several years ago) but we went to purl soho and to various trim, bead, and ribbon stores. clockwise: rose-colored o-wool (organic wool and cotton) on the needles as in-progress dashing fingerless gloves (more on that in a moment); peacock and brown matte beads for two beaded knitted scarves; coconut wood buttons for a gift knit; embroidered trim and vintage buckle for a belt; and purple-pearly buttons for forecast:
the rest of my time away from home was spent in the attic of an artist's studio in upstate new york. it was , though hot, extremely productive. much dissertation chapter writing has ensued. here's a shot of the studio rug(s), a really lovely color combination, though the stains may give you some indication of the overall condition of the space:
dashing began as a slow knit: i cast on in my upstate NY hotel room (ahem, motel room), and through the pattern should be super easy, i was so engrossed in the top chef marathon (oh, cable!) that i kept ending up with ribs that were one stitch off, too many rounds here and there, etc. i frogged and re-cast-on on the airplane back. since then, i've finished one glove and the other is half-knit. i still need to insert the thumb--i'm looking forward to trying the pattern's technique of knitting with waste yarn, then later pulling out and casting on a few stitches. i'll post photos when i get there. the yarn is not so springy due to the cotton content, so i'm concerned that the gloves won't keep their shape...i finished ester and the garter stitch bolero but the photo attempts have been dismal. will work on that and post soon!
although i really should be finishing projects rather than beginning new ones, forecast has reeled me in. the pattern is so elegantly written that it's a joy to knit. it's definitely a knitter's sweater, with clever techniques, unusual constructions, and enough to think about to be interesting while maintaining a good rhythm to each row. an intellectual sweater, you might say. it's convinced me that fitted knits will be a necessary purchase in the near future.ester is stalled due to blocking barriers. last weekend we moved furniture, finally ditching the lumpy bachelor sofa that mr. boot bought at goodwill several years ago for $15. while this was a much-anticipated event for me, the way that we rearranged furniture means that the only real option for blocking--the futon--is now in the main room, where it's not so convenient for a wet wooly mass to remain for several days. so, i'm considering making one out of homosote.in the meantime, the brown "crispy rice" treats and the strawberry kanten from this macrobiotic cookbook have fulfilled my no-sugar sweet-treat cravings. and, to echo a nuttnbunny image (without the three-year-old fingers), the chickens have been quite productive:
booties for a friend's new baby:
i found the "suede" and "plush" yarns really bizarre to work with --i think i'm used to natural fibers and these felt too squishy. also, they turned out rather large for 3-6 mos, despite getting the right gauge. overall, though, i think they'll be a cute gift.
yesterday, at the university surplus store’s tent sale, we found the coolest blue vinyl retro chairs and a file cabinet. having struggled last year with fitting a four-drawer file cabinet into the back of the volvo, with much damage to the car, the file cabinet, and ourselves, we decided to go in with a friend for a few hours of a u-haul van. so this morning we get up early, pick up our friend, and move our stuff and hers with no trouble. however. as we are unloading the chairs into the house, i catch a glimpse, through the windshield of the van, of our friends d. and h. what are they doing here? i wonder to myself, and then…i remember that in fact, we invited them to come over for brunch this morning. they are 45 minutes late—not unusual, but quite fortunate this time, as we have only just arrived back at the house and would have been out if they come on time. much embarrassed smiling and stuttering ensues, but resourceful mr. boot saves the moment by enlisting poor d., only recently recovered from being hit by a dump truck (really), to help carry the file cabinet into the house, which he limpingly but good-naturedly does. now, forgetting guests is not the worst of my dinner-party faux pas. it’s not nearly as bad as my very first dinner party, in which i poisoned my guests with a not-quite-cooked hambone in the red beans. or the time the gourd-candles set fire to the mantelpiece during an autumn-themed buffet dinner (i failed to follow martha stewart’s final instruction: peel away the gourds' flesh after hollowing them out and filling them with wax. evidently it’s a fire hazard). this wasn’t even as stressful as the time my unflappable roommate the ruminating slav burned the salmon during her first dinner party (i’m really not sure why this was so stressful for me, since it was her party. but still.). anyway, this wasn’t so bad: d. and h. went with us to return the van and we went out to brunch. it turned out to be a rather fun day. we showed our support for the seeds fundraiser festival (a local organic gardening program for inner-city kids), where we were quite impressed with displays of double dutch skill; and mr. boot ate a hot dog. kind of departing from our (my) new experiments with macrobiotics, and not nearly as…exciting…as fairly odd mother's hot dog experience, but nevertheless much enjoyed.
the dashing fingerless gloves need only the ends woven in.
their tagline is "warm fleece for a cold war": the family started out in the 1980s working with soviet farmers in an attempt to humanize russians and alleviate cold war tensions. now they continue to work in russia but also have projects with sheep farmers in a jointly-founded israeli/palestinian community on the west bank. not only that, but the farm in main is horse-powered. mr. boot was beside himself. mr. boot chose the jarrett pattern. i think it's rather old-man-ish and was leaning toward the urban aran cardigan, but jarrett is very professorial, with the elbow and shoulder patches. maybe mr. boot will take up pipe-smoking, too.
