Keeping it simple

Dang! I really intended to post this weekend, but then the Baudelaires were so close to being finished, and there were chores, and well, it's Thursday again. Sigh.

On the upside, the Baudelaires are done, and I love them:

Pattern: Baudelaire by Cookie A, in medium with large instep modifications
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Navy
Needles: my handy bamboo dpns in US size 2

I love the socks, but I especially love learning a new technique, as I did with the toe-up heel flap. I'm sure I'll be trying all the alternative toe-up heel flaps now, but I do like this one: it looks and feels great:
Also finished, my mom's Hidcote Garden Shawl for her trip to China this fall:

I'm sorry that I don't have any good pictures of the whole thing - I wanted to get it sent off to my mom, so I couldn't wait for the BikeJerk to get home. I hope my mom will send me some of her wearing it that I can post. Trust me, it's gorgeous. ;)

Pattern: Hidcote Garden Shawl by Miriam Felton
Yarn: HandMaiden Seasilk in Forest
Needles: AddiTurbo LACE (yes!!!) needles, size 3.

I loved the pattern and the yarn. I haven't seen anyone else knit it in a variegated yarn, but I think it worked out nicely. It's not distracting in the body, and makes a neat wavy pattern in the final section.

Finally - handspun merino singles that I dyed myself:

It's on its way to being something gorgeous, I'm sure. I love how vivid the colors are. They remind me of the beach, or a meadow, or something natural anyway.

This is your brain on...

...I don't know quite what, but it's crazy!

I know it's no excuse for not posting for a week, but last week was a real bummer for me, and it took me a while to snap out of it. Last Tuesday the water main going into our house burst, which was stressful, but ultimately not too big a problem, since the city's lead pipe replacement program fixed it for pretty cheap.

Then it was jury duty for three days. Which was both good and scarring. It was good because our deliberations gave me the tiniest speck of hope for humanity - I truly was amazed and pleased that 12 people of such different backgrounds, biases, and (let's be honest) intelligence levels, could manage not only to talk their way through some vague and complicated evidence and law, but do it in a polite and respectful manner. Still, it was scarring. Not only because of the long days and lengthy periods of enforced boredom where we had to be attentive but had nothing to be attentive to - that was painful, but in a familiar way that I can deal with. But the burden that comes with taking someone's fate in your hands, even as one of 12, is a heavy one. Our deliberations took as long as all the rest of the trial because, I think, we were aware both that the evidence was meagre to be making any sort of decision on and that our decision would affect the life of a young man who really did just seem to have made a mistake, and one that didn't hurt anyone in the end. We did eventually declare him guilty, which was the right outcome, but it still felt bad to be responsible for someone else's punishment. It wasn't such a huge case, but I still think about it. I feel a little silly about that, but there it is.

Oh, and I almost forgot: then, on Saturday, the basement half flooded because the guys doing the waterpipe repairs randomly and for no reason disconnected the washing machine discharge, so that soapy water poured everywhere. Awesome!

Things are better now (how could they not be?!), but my knitting/spinning life is still reflecting the madness that was last week. I just couldn't stop. First, a laceweight yarn I just finished plying up a few days ago:

This is the merino/tencel singles that I spun a while back (from The Sheep Shed at Mountain View Farm, Midnight colorway), which I plied with some tussah silk that I died a light blue. I was afraid I was going to be really disappointed because I really loved the merino/tencel singles, but had some trouble getting used to the silk, but I think it actually turned out pretty well. It came out at about 520 yards, so there's definitely enough for a lace scarf.

Here's my finished Shedir (pdf!) (sorry for not modelling it!):

It's for my mom's boyfriend, as I mentioned before. Which is a little weird, since I've never met him (they live 1000 miles away!), but my mom seems to like him, and hey - I'm a knitter! I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to knit a pattern I'm interested in just because I don't know the person who's getting it! Sheesh.

You might be thinking by now: this doesn't seem that crazy. Sure, she knit a hat in a week - who doesn't do that?
And the Baudelaire is progressing - no surprise, right? Btw, Cookie A isn't kidding - that lace isn't very stretchy! Mine is worked with the modifications she provides for the 'high instep', and it fits totally fine (and looks lovely, no?), but I could not have made it even one repeat longer, it just would have been too tight. Btw2, I love this heel for toe-up socks - it may be the new standby. A few more steps than the short-row heel, but it makes a real heel flap and fits great (pictures next time).

For whatever reason, the Charade socks are progressing slowly:

I think they look good - and feel good too, but this is as far as I've gotten on the whole pair. Why, you might ask?

Because I felt compelled, out of sheer perversity, to cast on for the River Rapid sock. Obviously. It was the yarn that made me do it! Anyone know what it is? This isn't a contest, I'll tell you next time...

And that's not all! I also cast on for this:

Which seemingly doesn't photograph at all well. It's from the Elizabeth 1 collection by JoLene M. Treace (which I think I got through KnitPicks, but heck if I can remember). I'm using the laceweight merino I got from Spunky Eclectic in the colorway Soylent. I haven't gotten to use my 'it's people line' but I will. I know it in my heart. I never was made consciously aware of how given to bad puns I am until I started blogging. Sigh.

Of course, on top of all this I'm working on my mom's shawl AND designing what may be an octopus for Claire AND spinning some really pretty roving I dyed myself (pictures later this week!). Oh, and now I'm obsessed with Jodi Picoult - whose Simple Truth I bought during the trial because I remembered a certain knit-blogger raved about her - so even though it's reading, I still say it counts as part of my knitting spree!

So, sorry for the long post...

[edited: The Jodi Picoult book is _Plain_ Truth, not Simple Truth. Sometimes you just need to look at the bookshelf!]

A cry for help, the beach, etc.

No, this isn't a plea for a yarn-buying intervention, or advice on something to knit other than socks. I like socks! I need some input on this Baudelaire beginning. This is how it looks in a plain yarn, as intended by the designer, and here's mine:

I know mine looks different, and that it sort of obscures the lace pattern, but is it good or bad? I keep asking the BikeJerk, who says it looks 'fine', but I'm not entirely convinced. Opinions please!

To keep from thinking about it, I took the Parashoot when we went to Singing Beach on Friday (yes, I _am_ copying Claudia with this photo!):

I was a little embarrassed at first, sitting on the beach with sock knitting, my grad school tote bag (emblazoned with the school crest), and my New Yorker magazine, but then I looked around the beach and realized that a Massachusetts beach on a weekday is not the same as, say, a California beach on a weekend. I felt right at home, in fact - a guy nearby had a serious, thick, scholastic-looking book on his lap and was taking notes!

And finally - the Eleanoras are done, and they're fabulous!

The Louet Gems Merino worked really well with the pattern, I think, and I used my usual, trusty 2.75/us size 2 needles, despite being told to use a size 1 (my only act of disobedience, I swear!). I hope all will forgive me for wishing it were cool enough out to wear them!