February 2009 Archives

It's come to my attention that the technogoblins who run this blog have decided to engage in a bit of comment privateering. The goblins have been telling you, dear readers, that the comments are being held "for moderator approval," then turning around and hiding said comments away from my prying eyes, not in my "pending comments" folder, but deep in the bowels of "spam." I have no idea why the pesky devils have suddenly taken this notion; I never changed the comment settings, or told the blog to require approval for comments. Not only that, but this has apparently been going on for most of this MONTH, and comments held in the Spam folder for longer than 14 days are deleted with no mercy. I went through and approved all the languishing comment-prisoners, but the thought of slightly older ones getting the axe kind of makes me want to cry.

So. I'm not sure how to fix this technical glitch, but please know that if you commented in the last few weeks and didn't see your comment appear, I really want to hear what you have to say, and I in no way intended to bar you from the site. I love you guys! Please don't stop commenting. At least now I'll be checking the spam folder on a regular basis. (And a big thanks to Constance and the Lady for alerting me to this issue in the first place.)

Ahem.

So, let's all take a deep breath and relax with some nice blanket-square photos, shall we?

It makes sense to relax with photos of blanket squares, since knitting them has become my standard way to unwind for a day or two between projects, when I've done the edging on my last thing but haven't yet cranked up the spreadsheet for my new thing. They're also great for times when I am sick, exhausted, or otherwise unable to cope.

Like so many knitters, I've got zillion tiny balls of sock yarn leftovers rolling around, and it's soothing to grab a few and have instant mindless knitting. I haven't even been thinking about the eventual blanket that may come of these, so I was surprised the other day to find that I already have thirteen of them.

So, I'm well on my way, although still nowhere near the finish line. I'm thinking of a final number somewhere around 72, as I dearly love a good-sized blanket, and hate having to yank on it to get it to cover my toes. Sometime in the distant future, I believe I'll be quite warm and cozy.

Maxine is done, and I am quite pleased with her.

But I'm not quite ready for modeled shots. For one thing, the weather here is dismal. For another, my hair has become downright shaggy, very gauche for a period photoshoot. I'm remedying the situation tomorrow, and planning to tell my stylist to go "extra 20's."

Sadly, there is no easy time of departure for the constant drizzle. Unless by "time of departure" you mean "August."

Rest assured, though, there will be modeled shots as soon as we can wrangle it. In the meantime, the pattern sizing is pretty much done already! Hopefully a few test-knitters later, and it will be on its way to you.

Just a quick note to point out a couple of exciting developments.

Firstly, if you haven't heard about Jacqueline's amazing raffle over at Serendipity to benefit the Australian Red Cross and the victims of the horrendous bushfires in Victoria, please go check it out! This is a super-fun way for the whole knitting/crafting world to help out people in a nightmare situation. There are a couple of Family Trunk patterns up for raffle, along with gorgeous, high-profile yarn (needless to say, I'm drooling over that Sundara Fingering Silky Merino), accessories, and other goodies.

In less earth-shattering, but still personally exciting news, I did an interview with local craft podcaster Diane, and it's up over at her CraftyPod blog. Take a listen! We talk about process, my family's reactions to my stuff, how the project has altered my view of my relatives, plans for the future, my sources for research...lots of things that are more big-picture, about which I tend to forget to blog. I, of course, think I sound funny on tape, but this is a universal complaint that should be ignored. Diane did a lovely editing job, and a big thanks to her for inviting me on the show!

Geez Louise! How is February almost halfway over? So much has been going on, and I'm afraid I've fallen down on the blogging job. The lovely Mary-Catharine nominated me for an award (thanks, Mary-Catharine!), David celebrated his 30th birthday (congratulations, Sweetie!), and I have progressed toward several knitting-related goals, some of which I can even share. This one, for example:

So far, this project has been absolutely lovely to design and to knit. These pictures don't show it, but I'm almost done with the back already, after which only the seaming and crochet-finishing will remain. (I decided against sleeves. I think it will be more wearable by modern ladies as a vest over a button-down shirt, and worn alone a sleeveless look is also truer to the 1920's period.)

Maxine's my "reward" knitting at the moment, so I've been knocking out a row here and a row there after meeting other deadlines. I feel good, overall, about my productivity during the past two weeks, and Maxine is certainly an effective motivator. Soft, peachy silk yarn, sparkly champagne beads, and an intuitive design that stays interesting without requiring much concentration.

I'm excited - and a bit apprehensive - about seaming this up and putting it on for the first time. Eventually, I'm sure, the excitement will prevail.