The romance and practicality of winter

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,

Snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter,

Long ago.

--Christina Rossetti

Sometimes I forget how much I adore Christina Rossetti poems. Originally I stumbled across her in a Lit Survey book--one of the works was a poem entitled Goblin Market. Not long after that I found a Dover Thrift Edition ($1.00) of an unabridged version of Goblin Market and Other Poems on a clearance table at the local bookstore.

Her work always makes me feel as if I should be curled in some hidden nook watching the world from behind leaded glass and reading. Although I have no leaded glass windows, I do have a very snowy winter Saturday before me. Knitting and listening to an audio book sounds like a great way to spend the day.

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Well, at 8 am, light has finally come across to illuminate the overcast and very snowy morning. I shoveled the driveway around 7 am for the second time in 12 hours. Luckily it wasn't soooo bad this morning (meaning I had about three inches instead of six). However, since the snow continues I think it won't be another twelve hours before I must again shovel. The best news: it is a light dry snow and very easily removed.

Moon Report: 99% of full. full moon.

Lazy Friday...

Moon Report: 33% of full. waxing crescent.

I know that the language of my passion

and the language of my art are not the same thing.

--Jeanette Winterson, Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery

So, again I am back to writing. Not writing as blog, but writing as actual pen on paper writing. I forgot how much I loved it. I forgot how much I love the story, the characters. It has been a homecoming--scratching pen on paper and inky fingers with doodles for figuring out how things work.

It's nearing three and I have yet to eat lunch (or breakfast for that matter). My tummy is rumbling. However, I think I am going to pack it down to the local grocery store where they have an enormous salad bar. Something green and leafy is what my body is screaming for. I think I've overdone it with all the squash I've eaten lately. The green beans I had yesterday just didn't cut the craving. Every once in a while I just need a gigantor salad filled with spinach and endive and garbanzos and peppers and carrots and celery and sunflower seeds and mandarin oranges and cottage cheese. Yum. [I'll be able to get most of this out of my own garden this summer!]

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Although I'd heard of it before, I stumbled on to this site a few days ago and joined: Ravelry. This is a knitting/crochet community where you get to see what patterns people have developed on their own or the projects they created with found/purchased patterns. Believe me, there is TONS of inspiration and lots of cool people to meet! It does take them a few days to add people so join the queue. I think they add a set number of people at a time as to not crash their system.

Ok, so my sweater has been postponed for a bit. I found a toe-up sock tutorial on WetCanvas! by BeeBlueFern. This is a great lesson and I'm half done with my first sock...meaning I'm about at the heel. We'll see how we get on... [Sorry about slipping into a first person plural. I may have had a Queen Elizabeth I moment.]

I've been trying to work my sweater in moss stitch, but it isn't looking right. I think I am pulling my thread too tight and it isn't leaving the "seed" visible. Although better than my first attempts at a granny square (which, by the way, looked like it was chewed by weasels), it still leaves much to be desired. I'll see if loosening my stitches will ease the problem. Or maybe it will come back after being blocked? I don't know...

knit fit

Moon Report: 14% of full. waning crescent


Ok. I figured out what my problem is with knitting: I was doing it all wrong! Apparently, when I taught myself how to knit by following bad pics from the 70s, I misunderstood something. My sister helped me figure it out and now I am finding knitting not to be a problem.

Sweater in Progress

I found the Carolyn sweater pattern free at an online magazine called Knitty. They have some amazing free patterns with each issue. Tons of socks and sweaters (among other things) to choose from. The one I am using can be found here: http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring07/PATTcarolyn.html

I chose this sweater because it is simple enough to follow and doesn't have a complicated pattern (like cables) to it. I thought I'd do this in just plain cream with no stripes, but after I finished the ribbing on the back side I realized I wouldn't like it much. So I did change to navy. I wear more blue than cream, but the sweater will be trimmed in cream edging. I'm also trying the moss stitch (or seed stitch depending on your lingo) in place of plain stockinette which I dislike.

Since I fell asleep last night about two rows into starting the navy, I have little progress to show at the moment. When I have an appreciable sweater back, I'll take a picture to post.

My goal: to manage a sweater without too many goofs so that I can begin one with real wool instead of acrylic.

middle of a book

Moon Report: waxing crescent. 3% full.

Book Note

Ok. I am in the middle of a book called The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman by Louis de Bernieres. This is a very well written book and one I think is interesting and should be great if I ever finish it. My problem--I think my attention span is shrinking. I have now checked it out of the library for the third time to see if I can manage through. There is absolutely no excuse for my lazy reading.

I originally checked this out of the library because I thought the title was amusing. After beginning I am glad I checked it out--it's magic realism/surrealism [I adore it.] But now I find that this is the middle book of a trilogy and I am wondering if I shouldn't stop and read the first one.
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Crochet v. Knit

I am ambidexterously-challenged. I can't knit to save my life. There is something about having to use a stick in each hand to knot a bunch of yarn together that is impossible. The giant problem: knitting has so many cool stitch patterns.

My sis, who writes lefty but is ambidexterous otherwise, can knit. She's not bad either when she learns a pattern. [I'm jealous].

All I can do is crochet. I am about to attempt my first afghan. I decided a good granny afghan would be nice and "homey" for this winter. I just bought a ton of very bright yarns--canary yellow, peackock turquoise, fire engine red, and spring grass green. They will make up the granny squares and then I'll crochet it all together in black. My goal is to be finished by mid-January. Luckily the granny square is very simple to do while watching TV and doesn't require too much concentration.