so much progress

And now, to sear your eyes for a good long while:



I didn't really think the picture would come out so, well, RED, but I guess that's what happens when you put a red scarf on a red bedspread. So, here's my Here+ThereCables scarf; since this picture was taken, the ball you see in the picture has been knitted on, with another one added, thus PROGRESS! The best part about this pattern, besides how cool it looks, is that six of every seven rows is ribbing. Boring ribbing? Not when there's a good book propped open in my lap. Yes, I've been reading and knitting, which means I don't have to come home from work and wonder, "Should I work on my sumptuous scarf or blaze through the book I just bought?" I can have both! It's like Netflix, but quieter. (I sometimes don't want to watch a movie simply because I do not wish to disturb my roommate with the noise. He's a busy boy these days, something about "running for Town Council.") The yarn used here is Dale of Norway's Tiur, the leftovers from my argyle vest (STILL unfinished, as I have decided to rework the shoulder seams and thus also the neck- and armbands). I was a bit worried about being slightly short of yarn, then slightly short of scarf, but found a long swath of it all knitted up for another (ill-fated) project, which I quickly ripped, washed, and rewound. Another StashBuster success!

In more StashBusting news, I've been rockin' the Backyard Leaves scarf from Scarf Style.



(More eye-injuring color-on-color! I swear that was not on purpose.) The yarn we see here is "Eco-Yarn," 100% New Zealand wool that my mummy purchased for me in Estonia a few years ago. When she and my father took their Baltic cruise I insisted that they bring me for translation purposes (my Russian is passable) and also so I could provide historic interpretation of local textiles. (At the time, I had just read some Estonian knitting stuff by Nancy Bush.) Amazingly my parents did NOT take me on this super-expensive trip but they did hunt around their Estonian port-of-call for a knitting shop, which sells, duh, NOT yarn but stuff for making yarn. Apparently the knitters there are free from the shackles of Rowan and Classic Elite, and prefer to spin from their own flocks. They did find a tiny basket in the corner with pre-made yarn and so that's what I got: three balls of this burnt orange color, and three of a nicely matching oatmeal color. The labels are printed in Cyrillic, so I guess it counts as "real Estonian yarn" even though it is from New Zealand sheep.

Here's an artistically fuzzy shot of me creatively juxtaposing a woolen scarf with a cotton print sundress:



Pretty artsy, eh? You could also say that I've discovered how much my using the flash eats up my camera's batteries, and so I have decided to forego the flash when I can. Since I don't know how to use my camera, I don't know how to make it focus better when the flash is off. I could read the manual which is literally within my reach, but that would mean Reading For Comprehension, which is not my forte on Mondays.

The scarf itself is not finished; I have completed the first half (which you see me wearing) and am working on the second half now. I should say it's a "sort-of half" because I used more yarn that I thought I would for the first half, so Half Two will probably be a few repeats shorter, which is fine, and probably in keeping with the Artistic and Serendipitous theme of the scarf. Olive Landlord correctly pointed out, while I working on this in Vermont, that I am using the Russian-made Peace Fleece needles, which I think is also in keeping with the Former Soviet Socialist Republic Theme of the scarf.

Progress continues as I bind off and block the Linen Lace Shawl during an all-nighter knitting frenzy. This article looks more appropriate with a sundress:



Hey! Now you know what my bedroom looks like! That's Kasey, my mom's dog, in the lower corner: a picture of her, at least. If I ever make that doggie sweater for her like I always say I will, then you will see more of her. I will probably get into trouble if I make a sweater for Kasey before I make anything for my dad, because he's still waiting on those socks I measured him for approximately eighty years ago.

And what am I doing wearing a sundress in October? Could it be the unseasonably cool weather? Tomorrow is supposed to be 80 degrees F, but I am tentatively scheduled for a picnic/hike date, so I have few complaints about that. And what am I doing making so much knitting progress after so many months of nothing? It's called "being dumped by the Boyfriend" which isn't so bad if it means I can utilize Retail Therapy.



A little bit of knitting pr0n and some pretty, inexpensive yarn goes a long way to mend a broken(ish) heart. I haven't thought of anything but knitting since I got back from Vermont anyway, so it's just as well.