Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Hey, progress!

In little fits and starts, I've actually accomplished a couple of things lately.

First, I finished sleeve one of Pas de Valse and started sleeve two:


As you can see, I had the same problem with sleeve two that I did with sleeve one - holes in the pickup/short row area:


As soon as I'm done writing this, I'm getting back to this sleeve. I really want to finish this sweater and move on. I can't decide whether I will like this or not. I'm skeptical. The yarn is very soft, and I'm worried about pilling and stretching. But it is very pretty. The next sweater will be sturdier, I promise. I know which one I'm knitting, and what yarn I'm using. It's taking all my strength not to start swatching for it now.

In addition, I finished the first of my Virve's Stockings. I love these. They come all the way up to my knees, true knee socks. I was a bit worried about whether I'd have enough of the main blue color to finish both socks, so I did a contrast color toe, using a bit of the colorwork motif from the colorwork band to tie it all together:


It's hard to tell from the picture, but the color I used for the toe does appear in the colorwork band. I've also started the second sock, but I haven't gotten too far beyond the lace cuff. Stay tuned.

And... my vote for funniest political quote of the year goes to Marion Barry, the man with more lives than a cat, from this morning's Washington Post: "They may take my committee chair. They can't take my dignity." This is true. They can't take his dignity. He hasn't had any for years, decades, even.

I'm continuing to read Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel, the author of Wolf Hall. I'm enjoying this book, although I can't really say why. It's not a book I would really recommend to people, but it's holding my interest. Mantel is a good writer, there's not doubt about that.

I'm almost finished with the book, so I need to figure out what to read next. Recommendations, anyone? I'm not sure anyone's out there, but I'd love to hear some good book recommendations. My only request is for fiction recs.

4 comments:

Scott T. said...

Consider the Lobster -- essays by David Foster Wallace

I like the sock better than the sweater

kippi said...

Love, love, love the socks. The toe detail is perfect.

The sweater is really pretty. I don't know exactly how you are picking up those stitches, but did you see the pickup technique on Ravelry? It's shown in the context of socks, but I think the same technique and resulst would apply with the sleeves.

No good book recommendations at the moment. I'm trying to finish Elizabeth Gilbert's latest. I enjoyed her first book but read it before Oprah 'discovered' it. Why does she have to ruin everything?

Marion Barry. hahahaha. I agree with your assessment. :-)

Tracey said...

I just finished The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - the last 50 pages had me riveted. I also recently finished In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. It was ultimately depressing, but the writing is beautiful and I was sorry to see the stories end. Same thing with Edgar Sawtelle, if you haven't already read it.

Loren T said...

Thanks, Tracey! The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox was one of my favorite books this year. I just downloaded In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. Looks interesting!