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ravelympics 2010 -- collar collared

The Lace Panel Cardi is officially one button band from completion. However, I'm thinking of ripping out the first one and redoing it first. An irritating prospect, but it's not sitting right. Also, for someone with as many buttons as I have, I can't seem to find any buttons at all that will suit it. Arg.

Still, the collar is looking delightful and I'm pretty pleased with it in general. The collar is tall and broad and nestles satisfyingly just under my chin. (Oddly enough, I grew up despising turtlenecks with a passion, and yet more and more I find myself drawn to high collars. I think it must have been the constriction that I was so opposed to.) Perfect for pulling round my ears, too, while trying to conceal moments of gid that so frequently hit while researching at the British Library. Punching ones fist in the air when chancing upon corroborating evidence or literary support is generally considered disruptive and thus bad form.

I've been studenting like a fiend of late. I managed to convince myself that spending even a couple of hours at the British Library is worthwhile, which is excellent seeing as I have a tendency to believe that if my day hasn't started properly by 10 o'clock I shan't achieve anything anyway.

ravelympics 2010 - the sleeves are set

Not long ago I realised that the only way I was ever going to finish the goddamn Lace Panel Cardigan was if I had a deadline. I work better to deadlines set by other people, so the Ravelympics seemed like the logical way to go.

Last night, I set in the sleeves. Score 1 to me!

Tonight I plan to seam the sleeves. Arianna asked me why I hadn't just knit them in the round, like any sensible person would do. I have no answer to this, other than a misguided determination to follow the pattern though. This was clearly a ridiculous plan. I don't mind seaming, but the prospect of it does make me lazy.

I have two other cardigans that need finishing -- one being Matthew's Skinny Boy Cardigan, the other being my poor lamented Bridie -- if I can get Lace Panel done by this weekend, I'm going to move on to the next. If I can manage a hat trick, I will consider this whole Ravelympics thing a wild success.

Of course, it doesn't help that people keep adding patterns to Ravelry. Or maybe I just need to stop looking at the Pattern page...

Love Bugs are admittedly a little twee, with all those hearts, but they look like they'd be both interesting to knit and fun to wear -- plus, there's something about that colour that I adore.

 

The Chandelier Fingerless Gloves, on the other hand, are both delicious intricate and wonderfully practical. I could use a pair of these while out good-studenting. 

fangirl revealed

It's only taken me two and a half years, but I've finally started up a fan group for the Forgotten Classics podcast on Ravelry. I've never understood why there wasn't a group dedicated to it before, as it's one of my favourite podcasts and I know heaps of knitterly folks who love it, too.

I'm super excited about this as I love this podcast and find myself every week getting into blistering one-sided debates over plot, characterisation and supposition. I'm very much looking forward to meeting other FC fans.

The group is called Forgotten Yarns -- come join us!!

woolliness

One of my very favourite descriptions in all of literature is Agatha Christie's one of Miss Marple being at 'her woolliest'. Isn't that a divine way of describing the dithering facade of such a cool brain? 

My brain is not cool at all at the moment. It is decidedly hot. And not hot the way Paris Hilton might have declared Miss Marple, in one of her facetious moods. Hot and stuffy. And very woolly.

Matthew is as covered in wool as I am. But he made pancakes this morning. Pancakes, I am certain, are the only reason I am still cognizant.

On my way to my weekly seminar series Thursday night, I could feel a keeping chill run up my spine. By Friday evening I had an itch in my right ear that could not be scratched. Yesterday was spent in bed. Today I awoke convinced I was well but by 2 o'clock it became annoyingly clear that my cold has merely moved from one sinus cavity to the other.

To cheer myself up I wrote up an Etsy Sunday review of felt necklaces over at Loumms. I can't smell anything and I feel like someone pebble-dashed my eyeballs, but the thought of all that lovely wool makes my head feel less woolly.

the best in classroom defence

I know, technically my arm would do just as well. But how ingenius is the X-7 Defender CLP - Paper Airplane Launcher? Unfortunately it is sold. Probably to the very asshat who'd start the war across the British Library (damn you, Humanities Roomers! Up Rare Books and Music!) and not to the poor, beleaguered and defenceless scholars (semi-, pseudo- and real alike) who just want to get on with trying not to breath on ancient pages.*

Fortunately, the Mirco is still for sale. There is hope for us yet.

*Speaking of trying not to breath on ancient pages, I spent all yesterday doing just that! For months I've been trying to get my hands on even paperback copies of William Le Queux and it turns out he is just as hopelessly out-of-print as I suspected. Hurrah for the British Library!

I think I may have unnerved the person behind the desk, because I got very bouncy and excited when I saw it was wrapped up in fine muslin to protect it and then carefully kept in a cardboard box for extra safe keeping. It's very hard to be bouncy and excited when you're also trying to be respectful and quiet so as not to disrupt the rest of the library. I'm certain she thought I was dangerously close to running for it, book in hand, or that I really, really needed to pee. 

Unfortunately, the book itself turned out to be a bit of a stinker. The text, I mean. The book smelled lovely and bookish. No, the text was hilarious, unfathomable and disappointing, but never quite at the right intervals. I'm in the process of writing it up on The Spy Project now.