Thursday, March 13, 2008

Strange March

This has been the weirdest couple of months. Easter is March 23. Daylight Savings Time began March 9. We are all discombobulated by the wonky calendar in our house this month. No one can fall asleep at their regualr time, and getting up in the morning is even more difficult than usual. The kids can't figure out when they need coats and when they don't, so lately they have been erring on the side of non-caution. (Then they come in 45 minutes later complaining that it's too cold to play. Well, duh, I say. Did you consider wearing a coat, perhaps?)

Cat Crazy Girl has her oral biography report today. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Saint Elizabeth of Hungary:
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What did she do? She died. And people who prayed over her grave were healed. That's it. Oh, and she wore clothes that are difficult for me to duplicate. We couldn't have chosen someone with a simpler costume? Someone who actually did something? Apparently not. But C. is so excited to give her report today. It's very cute.

I am cruising along on Inishmore. Two sleeves are done, and I have started the back.
inishmore sleeves
It took one entire skein of yarn to do just the ribbing on the bottom of the sweater back--that's how yarn-greedy this twisted stitch, cable-heavy pattern is. The back should take quite a while to do. I just started the charts for the body, and the directions say to just keep going for about 25 inches. That's a long way. While I'm working on it, I will be pondering whether I can do this sweater as a cardigan. The knitted fabric is coming out so dense and warm, I think it would be much more useful to me as a cardigan than as a pullover. The question is how to do it. But, like I said, I've got plenty of time to think about it. The back should take several months, and I'll probably take a break from it over the summer.

In the meantime, I did a bad thing. I joined the clapotis club. It's my LYS's fault. I stopped in there and saw the most beautiful hand-dyed sock yarn: Kraemer silk and silver, that the shop owner had kettle-dyed in a semi-solid rust brown. I succumbed and bought it. The color was so rich and warm, and the sparkle gives the yarn a little something extra. I was kicking myself, because I thought it would have been gorgeous made into Jeanie, but I had already started Jeanie with something else and I'm not going back on that one. Then I started thinking about a clapotis, and before I knew it I had cast on and I went back to the store to join in on their clapotis knit-along.
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This project is flying along so fast! It is so easy, the stitches move so fast, the yarn is gorgeous and I am enjoying watching the shape of the project progress. It's very relaxing to knit, with a rhythm to the stitches that is almost hypnotic. BUT I don't think I am going to have enough yarn! I have to go back to the shop and see if they can dye another skein for me. I hope they can!

Meanwhile, I finished the bellamoden mitts, and Cat Crazy girl took 'em. I actually don't mind; I think I would prefer them a little looser. Mathboy asked for his own pair. I'll have to find a nice masculine yarn for him and make some simple ribbed ones.