random compliments. January 28, 2010

knitting at the library.

In the past week, I’ve gotten several lovely comments about the handknit sweaters I’ve been wearing. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy… and not just because I’m wearing woolly pullovers! A few people in my class have given me such kind compliments. A woman tapped me on the shoulder randomly while I was eating at the pub today and said she and her friends were admiring my garter yoke cardigan from afar. And then she gave me a thumbs up. This is all just so lovely.

I did a short seminar presentation on homeless in the public library context for one of my classes this week, and not only am I thrilled to have it over and done with so early on in the term, but it spurred a lot of interesting discussion, which was a great bonus. I wasn’t expecting so many people to latch on to the idea of mental health issues associated with my topic, so that was interesting to hear about.

This morning I started knitting the Sabbatical cardigan. I am… intimidated. I haven’t done lace charts in awhile, so maybe I just need to get back into the groove. I’m used to lace charts where I knit across in the pattern with all the yarn overs and k2togs, then purl plain across the back, but this pattern incorporates pattern stitches on both the front and back of the work, so I’m paying a lot of attention to what I’m doing. I’m glad the back and front panels are knitted separately, to keep the stitch count down.

Heading to Oakville this weekend to visit Meghan, and we’re hanging out in Toronto for Saturday evening. Ooh, the big city!

project update. January 24, 2010

1. Recently finished a pair of mitts and a toque to keep me warm in the winter season:

saltspring winter gear.

I bought the yarn on Saltspring Island when we went camping last summer. Only now have I just found a use for them, and I couldn’t be more happy with the way they turned out. They were quick, fast, and easy knits – no fancy patterns, just simple mitts and a simple toque. The mitts actually fit my hand, which is great. I got a great pair of fleece-lined mitts from Corey’s aunt for Christmas, but those are for colder winter walks – the ones I made will be more for everyday activities.

2. I fell in love with this Sashiko pillow and knew I had to make one exactly like it. I bought two of them and I’ll be making green and blue backings. I was going to buy all the notions on the same website, but they had run out of the right colours for the thread so I drove down to Fabricland to get everything. I haven’t worked with embroidery floss in years, not since I used to make attempts at cross-stitch with my mom.

sashiko starter.

It’s very easy and simple – you just follow the colours and stitch where the lines are. When you’re finished, wash it gently in cold water and the blue lines come out, leaving just your stitches. It’s pretty mindless – I love it.

3. And for my next garment, I shall be attempting the Sabbatical cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio from Twist Collective. I bought some dark red Timiquipa yarn for this project. It’s so soft and smooshy – and it should be, as I believe it is 100% alpaca.

timiquipa.

The yarn is absolutely gorgeous. I hope the colour works well with the pattern – I love the original in the light blue, I don’t really wear light blue. I think the dark red will suit me better.

4. Corey’s Canucks sweater is pretty much finished except for a few ends to weave in. However, I will have to go back and take out the neckline because I made it a little too high. I’m not really sure how to fix it, because if I just subtract a few rows, then I think the side of the neck will stretch out too far. I’m thinking about taking it out, doing short rows on the sides rather than on the back, and then knitting it round. I hope it works.

5. As for my current small project, I’ve started Ysolda Teague’s Rose Red hat using lovely Malabrigo yarn. I will never get tired of working with Malabrigo.

6. I’ve decided to join Ravelympics on Ravelry. The idea is that you cast on during the opening ceremonies for the Olympics, and your deadline to finish is the closing ceremonies. I was originally going to do Sabbatical for this, but there is no way I will finish a long-sleeved, long back, non-portable, sport weight lace pattern in 17 days, so I’ll be starting over with the Jaywalker socks (from the top down, as it’s easier for me) and hopefully finishing up the Sugarplum Pullover… which I started over a year ago. I’ll keep you updated.

7. I am currently obssessed with the Pas de Valse sweater, also on Twist. The photo of all the different ways it can be worn was what sold me. However, I do not have the yarn for this, and as you can see, I have several other projects planned or on the go. If only I could knit faster.

back from thailand. January 6, 2010

I’m back from Thailand! I have been for about a week, but the extreme change in climate has given me a sore throat so I’ve been grumpy for the past few days. As well, I don’t have much time for posting on my blog when I could be watching Fringe instead.

family photo.

It was so nice to see my parents again after two years. Corey and I stayed at their house for about nine days, just relaxing, eating, and enjoying the city. On days they had to go in to work, Corey and I would take the scooter out and explore a bit. He drove.

ziplining.

We went ziplining in the jungle, with a company called Flight of the Gibbon (that was featured on The Amazing Race!). I had lots of fun, but if I hadn’t been strapped in to something at all times, I might have felt pretty nervous at being so high up in the trees on a tiny platform with seven other people.

selling eggs.

I took this photo at a pit stop on our way driving up to Chiang Rai with my parents. There was a geyser, some shops, and a few small hot springs pits where you can buy eggs and cook them.

wat rong khun.

This temple, built within the past ten years, is pretty fascinating. No photographs are allowed inside because of the murals by the artist/architect who constructed the temple, Chalermchai Kositpipat. The wall murals in temples usually show the life of the Buddha, but these murals show cycles of rebirth and delusion with pop culture images like Neo from The Matrix and Star Wars characters. There was a lot of symbolism, which I like.

view from the queen mother's gardens.

Finally, a scenic photo. While on our day trip in the far north, we went to the Queen Mother’s gardens in the mountains and it was really beautiful. The drive up was a bit dizzying though, as we were constantly winding back and forth on the road.

So I’m back in London, went back to work yesterday, and classes start on Monday. For my pop culture class, I get to read Watchmen and Blankets. My first three books for my Materials For Older Children class are Anne of Green Gables, Swallows and Amazons, and The Fellowship of the Ring. This is going to be a great semester.

used books. December 11, 2009

Corey brought home some loot from the used bookstore today. He chose well.

Reading material for the flight(s) to Thailand on Sunday.

mittens. not bella’s. December 9, 2009

I have a problem.

First, anyone who knows me knows that one of my favourite activities is promoting feminist literary critique of Twilight. Here’s one from Feministing.

Second, it’s getting cold in Ontario. I need real mittens – not those cheap dollar store gloves. Specifically, I like these mittens. As you may notice, they are apparently modeled after mittens from the Twilight movie.

While I am very tempted to knit them, I don’t know if I want to be associated with Twilight in any way. Either I have to hunt for more mitten patterns (which I surprisingly seem to be very picky about) or let my hands freeze.

wisteria. November 28, 2009

wisteria.

Pattern: Wisteria by Kate Gilbert, from Twist Collective
Wool: Cascade 220

How sad that November is just about over and I’ve only posted three times. Well, I’ve been working on this sweater, for one, and several projects for school. There are only two weeks left of my first semester, and they will go by pretty quickly, I think. And two weeks from tomorrow, I will be sitting in an uncomfortable airplane seat on my way to Thailand with Corey. Normally I start getting very jittery around this time before a trip, but I haven’t really had time to even think about it. It’s completely crept up and surprised us both, which is a good thing! I’m finished assignments in two of my classes, but the remaining ones are pretty significant, so I’ll be working right up to the last day of class.

A few things that will distract me from work between now and the end of the semester:

Mad Men. I am addicted and halfway through season 2. The first two episodes were kind of tough – most of the characters are morally ambiguous, doing things I don’t agree with, and I couldn’t really identify with anyone except for the awkward new employee who finds herself an unfortunate independent lady in a man’s world. After a few more episdoes, I was hooked. The show itself is not feminist, but it explores feminist concepts. Gender analyses are ripe for the taking. I love it!

Knitting. Not a surprise. I’m currently knitting Corey a Vancouver Canucks sweater and hope to be finished before we leave for Thailand, not that he’ll be able to use in Thailand, but it’ll be here nice and cosy for when we get back.

Super Mario Bros. Wii. Corey and I have been playing this game. A lot. It’s very fun and exciting.

Went and saw Fantastic Mr. Fox last night. It was like the medium of stop-motion enhanced the Wes Anderson experience. I truly enjoyed it, but I doubt some of the general movie-going population would feel the same way. I think a few people left. It’s definitely sort of unexpected, in terms of how adult and real the film is – being torn between providing for your family and never giving up the dream. I haven’t read the book, so maybe I’d better do that before I say something silly.

wisteria detail.

just about done wisteria. November 14, 2009

There’s just one thing missing…

wisteria in progress.

garter yoke cardigan. November 1, 2009

garter yoke cardigan.

Pattern: Garter Yoke Cardigan from Vogue Knitting
Yarn: Cascade 220 and Noro Silk Garden

I finished this weeks ago, maybe even months ago when we first got to London. I only just sewed the buttons on yesterday. The buttons are lovely though – I ordered them from an Etsy shop and they are the perfect shade.

This means no more mornings standing in front of the closet wishing I had a cardigan to wear instead of a hoodie.

her fearful symmetry. October 21, 2009

I went to the library yesterday and came back with one yoga dvd and three books. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger was one of them.

This is Audrey Niffenegger’s second novel but not her second work, as I think many readers have assumed. She’s previously also published a visual novel called Three Incestuous Sisters. I found a copy for sale a few years ago and have always regretted not buying it. (It was probably because of the size. It’s rather huge!)

There seem to be many mixed reviews about Her Fearful Symmetry. The Time Traveler’s Wife was such a big hit, recently made into a movie, that people seem to have had a lot of high hopes for this new novel, and many of them were dashed. Personally, I enjoyed it. Regarding the twins – I started off disliking Julia and liking Valentina. By the end of the novel this was completely reversed. It’s a good thing when character perceptions change like that. The novel is promoted as having quirky characters – that’s certainly true but I don’t know if this necessarily means that the quirky characters are lovable. They are all deeply flawed. Ironically, one of the only redeeming characters, for me, is the character who has OCD. I don’t really have any comments on the plot itself – the twist was a bit confusing for me, to be honest.

Reading this novel, and The Time Traveler’s Wife, I admire Audrey Niffenegger’s ability to suspend disbelief and introduce somewhat supernatural or unbelievable concepts (ghosts, time traveling), and incorporate them into normal reality. I think this is done very well in her second novel.

I learned something new in the book: there is a condition called situs inversus in which your major organs are reversed/mirrored. In the novel, Julia has a normal arrangement and her twin, Valentina, has situs inversus so the twins are, technically, reversed. They are symmetrical.

sushi and wild things. October 18, 2009

I did two great things this weekend.

First, I went out for all-you-can-eat sushi with Corey and some of my classmates. I ate all I could eat, as I believe that is what you do at all-you-can-eat sushi. It was scarily expensive but also very good. I ordered something called “sushi pizza” and had no idea what that would be. It was a sticky rice disc with some sort of fried batter on the outside, spread with spicy mayo and small salmon bits on top. It was very good.

Corey and I saw Where the Wild Things Are after sushi. I loved it. It was very uncomfortable. The movie was scary, but not in a go-home-and-quiver-under-the-blankets kind of scary. The portrayal of the wild things was so unbelievably human. That made the movie a lot more complex than I ever thought it would be. Each of the wild things seems to represent all the monsters inside of Max, or the monsters of his childhood. The scene where we meet the wild things is pretty violent in the sense of releasing emotion through physical destruction by the character who seems to represent Max himself. Throughout the entire movie the wild things provide humour and plain fun, but there’s a dark undertone that is very apparent to adults. What happens when the fun runs out? What happens when you get the point where it isn’t fun anymore, and you have to face the fears you don’t want to face? It’s very scary and emotional. (I found Judith especially difficult and extremely well-portrayed.)

I particularly enjoy io9’s review of the film.