swiftly tilting

For Christmas, when I was ten, someone gave me a set of books: tradepaper editions of Madeleine L'Engle's trilogy consisting of A Wrinkle In Time,A Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. I only remember that it must have been when I was ten for two reasons. The first of which: I read the final book on a camping trip with my friend Mary and her family. We went to Exotic Canada, exotic mostly because it was the Other Side of Lake Huron and the sun, incredibly, did not rise but SET on the lake, and I spent the whole trip trying to sneak a few more pages of reading time, because I LOVED this book. The second reason being: I didn't really care much for reading during elementary school. Something happened the summer I turned eleven, and I suspect That Something was this set of books I was given. I wish I knew who gave them to me. Was it a teacher? My mom? Who can say? My parents are both readers, more so than most people I've met, but neither of them are of the "literary fiction" type.

Every year I stop by local bookseller Quail Ridge Books and hunt down two sets of things: first, all their copies of A Wrinkle in Time, and then a ten-year-old girl for each copy. You see, QRB has an "Angel Tree" each year, an actual Christmas tree set up in amongst the shelves, and as ornaments there are small pieces of paper with the name and age of a child who would like to receive a book for Christmas. Each child is associated with some local organization, like the YMCA or a women's shelter or what have you. A shopper can either select a book for the child or ask the booksellers to choose one that would be appropriate. I have a secret mission, though: I want all these ten-year-old girls to read this awesome book, and perhaps instead of being sometime-readers, they will become avid readers.

Tonight, all I wanted to do was read. I was feeling TERRIBLE, all kinds of unnamed stress and whatnot, so I wanted to lose myself in a good book and be done with it. Intead, I had to do Knitting Chores.



Some of you may never have to rip anything out, but I do on occasion. The other day I wrote out a list of things that needed ripping, because if I never got around to ripping and rewinding the yarn, then I could never get around to doing anything else with it. (I admit, some things I wanted to rip and am glad I hesitated; Holiday Halter from Hell being tops on that list.) So I decided that in order to feel Accomplished I would start at the top of the list and work my way down. I was in such a ripping frenzy that my swift, onto which I ripped, turning it as the yarn unravelled, came flying right off its perch. Alack! So the Cable8 Top, so ill-fitting, is no more, and I am at a loss to decide what to do with the yarn now. It is nice yarn, but I don't really wear off-white tops. They are the kind that BEG me to spill my coffee, and let's face it, I'm always drinking coffee. If not wine.

The list also included lots of finishing, mostly boring stuff, but I got it all done!! The secret is locking one's self in the bedroom with a darning needle, a pot of tea, and some good CDs. I now have a pile of Christmas FOs!

My mum kindly sent me a memo last week regarding the scarves I was knitting for my grandmother and her sister. ... what? Scarves? I said I was making them scarves? Anyway, if wishes were horses, then knitters would stay up all night trying to figure out how to knit for them. Or something. Anyway, Emergency Holiday Knitting.



I swiped the idea from The Yarn Harlot's recent post about the last-minute gift knitting, specifically the sideways-garter scarf. I must admit, I actually gave this same scarf last year to the aforementioned mum, only it wasn't bulky yarn and it was not a quick knit (the final product was like 7'x1'). But sideways garter is totally easy and comforting, and even though I complain about how icky garter stitch is, I realise it does have its uses. The fingerless mitts from Weekend Knitting Porn are a good example. So I grabbed a few skeins of Auracania wool from AC Moore and got to work.



A few hours later, SCARVES!! I liked the project so much that I decided to use my Kool-Aid dyed wool for a scarfy for ME. That's the more brightly colored, just-cast-on squiggle you see in the upper left. The other two more demurely pink scarves are for the Ladies to whom I owe much Christmas happiness. My grandmother and her sister have made my Christmases so special for years, it really is the least I could do to put down my for-me knitting and make them something for a change.

For-me knitting? Okay, I have done some of that too. Solid socks, anyone?



Waving Lace and I are getting along just fine. The trouble with black lace knitting is that you can't take it along just anywhere, because it requires all sorts of good light and attention, especially since the yarn is splitty and the needles are US0. Otherwise, I look forward to wearing my new work socks. I wore the red cabley ones on Friday and everyone oohed and ahhed. If I had to spend the rest of my life knitting socks and only socks, I think I could be happy.