The Bog of Lost Scholars

12 March 2008

Craft Update: Recent Episodes

Filed under: Crafts — Castiron @ 23:41

In a recent episode of completion, I finished the following:

  • The Fiber Trends Clogs. Finished and felted the afternoon that the recipients arrived. I didn’t start the child’s slippers I’d wanted to make to match, but there’s enough yarn left that I can do that for another occasion.
  • The Vera socks. More precisely, finished, found to be too long, cut apart and had 26 rows ripped out of each, and grafted back together. They’re now in the mail, hurrah!
  • The green woven towel. I’ve got the warp for a few more, but I need to take a break and adjust the loom a bit; it’s taking me about twice as long to weave as it should due to tension issues.

In a recent episode of startitis, I began the following:

  • KnitPicks Dancing socks in Hula. Not my favorite colorway, but it’s bright and cheery; I’m just making a generic pair of socks, so it’s good mindless knitting.
  • Fat-Bottomed Bag. I’d already bought the yarn for it, so I figured I’d go ahead and chain up. It’s about a third of the way through, and it’s nice mindless crochet at this point.
  • Piano Felted Bag. I’d already bought the yarn for it, so I figured I’d go ahead and cast on. I haven’t gotten beyond the handle, but it’s going to be a nice mostly mindless pattern except for the stranded section.
  • Baby Surprise Jacket. I’ve never made the pattern, and it occurred to me that it’d be a good use for three skeins of random cotton yarn that’ve been in the stash for nearly ten years. So far I’ve only got a few rows and am not feeling the fascination, but hey, it’s stash-busting. It’s also not quite mindless.

In a recent episode of self-discipline, I made progress on the following:

  • Flower Basket Shawl. It’s further along than I’d thought; I’m on the last repeat if I want to do it as written, but I almost certainly have enough yarn for an extra repeat, so I’ll probably do that.
  • Flutter Cardigan. It’s actually good bus knitting; the pattern is easy, and I just have to remember the increases on the sleeves. (I should check whether the sleeves are fixing to turn out way too long, but we’ll see.)
  • Aran Sweater — not much progress, granted, but I’ve knit a few rows.
  • Latch hook rug. A few more tufts added.
  • Ivy socks. Two rows, but it’s progress.

In a recent episode of apathy, I completely ignored the following:

  • Every cross-stitch UFO.
  • That damn crane that I should just unload on some unsuspecting person.
  • The Turkish sweater.
  • The Microsock.
  • The moth-attacked Fair Isle hat.
  • The black lineny shirt and skirt.

In a recent episode of restraint (or at least of counting the current UFOs) I did not yet start the following, in spite of having materials on hand:

  • The big bobbin lace doily.
  • Three more pairs of socks, even though I have needles free.
  • Heere Be Dragone.
  • Ice Queen.
  • Several dishcloths.
  • A blue jumper.
  • Andean Treasure Vest.

11 March 2008

Not-so-recent Reading

Filed under: The Castiron Reading Journal — Castiron @ 22:57

A bunch of stuff I read back in November/December, wrote up, and never posted:

Jennifer Crusie, Fast Women. When Nell takes a job as a secretary with Gabe, both their lives get upended. Eh. It was a fun read, but I don’t have the urge to reread it on a regular basis (i.e. I decided against buying a copy for 50 cents).

E. M. Forster, A Room with a View. Lucy Honeychurch goes to Italy, meets an unsuitable young man, and tries to deny that she’s in love with him. Eh. It gives me a greater appreciation of the movie Stiff Upper Lips, which draws a lot from Forster novels (and presumably the movie versions thereof), and Charlotte Bartlett is a brilliant portrait of a passive-aggressive jerk, but I found much of the story tedious.

Diana Wynne Jones, The Pinhoe Egg. Marianne Pinhoe tries to find out why her family is hiding from Chrestomanci, who’s ticking off the rival family, and where her grandmother’s cat Nutcase keeps vanishing. Cat Chant tries to figure out how to ride a horse, why the nearby forest seems so odd, and what’s in the mysterious egg he finds in Marianne’s grandmother’s attic. It’s an interesting story, and it doesn’t have the “you’re not just responsible for things you did inadvertently or out of ignorance; you’re guilty of them” attitude that really annoys me in many of her other books. If I get the urge to reread it, I’ll buy a copy.

Alexander Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo. Still fabulous airplane/travel reading.

Linda Wynstead Jones, The Sun Witch. I made it partway through the prologue and decided I’m not interested enough to continue; the background feels like Extruded Fantasy Product, and while I enjoy a good sex scene, the very beginning of the story is not where I expect it (plus, assuming it’s the same guy who appeared earlier in the prologue, he should be too badly injured to get it up).

3 March 2008

A Random Thought

Filed under: Random Ramblings — Castiron @ 00:34

The world badly needs Jane Austen’s novels as performed by Cirque du Soleil.

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