Wool & Words

Well, sort of anyway. I've complete the last exam and now face 1 week of anxious waiting to find out whether I get to move on to the oral grilling section. This was a truly terrifying exam--I had to answer 3-4 of 6 questions in the space of 3 hours. I'm wiped out, and so while I proctor an early final for one of my comp students (who is going to Spain for a track competion--wahoo!), I'm going to knit.

Thanks to all of you for the kind words of support! It's nice to have folks pulling for you. I hope to have a little more to say when I'm rested.

Posted by KnitNut at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Test number one, British Romanticism, is done. I managed to weave 15 texts into my two answers (7 pages total in 3 hours time), but somehow managed to totally leave out Keats. I hope that my reviewers don't take this as evidence of incompetence; my Romantics questioner should know that Keats is someone I'm familiar with as I wrote a seminar paper on him for her a couple of semesters ago. I just didn't have time to work him in to one of the answers.

Test 2, British Modernism, is Wednesday. Tonight I'm visiting with Wystan (or Auden, if you prefer). Ta ta!

Posted by KnitNut at 06:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Less than 24 hours to go before examination number one. Thanks to all of you who've sent me kind words and good wishes! I love that I've met fellow knitters who are also in grad school; it's a great blend of passions!

I'm so very tired and my brain feels, well, empty yet full. I've been jotting down connections between texts in this steno pad that I carry in my purse while I review the two literary periods I'm testing in (British Romanticism and Modernism). Unfortunately, I can't quite reset my brain fast enough to include jottings from my third area, Humanities Computing, as it's a bit more theoretical in nature. I'm taking that exam on Friday (the others are Monday and Wednesday, respectively), and the plan is to totally shift gears Wednesday afternoon and try to quickly become a techno-dweeb.

I know now why everyone has told me that you never feel ready for your exams. I feel so underprepared. I haven't completed all the texts on my lists, but I've tried to focus on the major ones, the ones that are anthologized and that I would be expected to teach in survey and undergraduate majors courses. The written exams are all essay, 3 hours each, and I'll have to write 2 essays for each exam. How much can you reasonably say in an hour and a half? My committee members keep telling me, "It's not what you know, but what you do with what you know" so I'm hoping that holds true and that I can do what I think I'm strongest at: making connections between texts on a variety of thematic issues.

So, I'm off to Borders for the last go round of review. I'm looking at the "lesser lights" of the Romantic period--Felicia Hemans, Letitia Landon, Thomas deQuincey, Charlotte Smith, and Elizabeth Inchabald--so that I can make sure I've got their "thing" down pat. Have a great day, happy knitting, and I'll try to keep posting as I go through this week. I'll likely just be kvetching about each exam or fretting about the oral (which is scheduled for May 10), but I promise it'll all be over soon. I'm still knitting away (all stress knitting--round stockinette), and will post pics of projects completed.

Posted by KnitNut at 01:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Less than a week to go before I take my exams. I am mainlining poetry and prose. Posting will be sporadic at best until May 1.

Posted by KnitNut at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

But before we get to the yarn goodness, I must apologize for Thursday.

I planned to finish the Haiku sweater that I started (shamefaced) last fall. The pieces have been languishing in my finishing basket. Steve has chastized me I don't know how many times. There's a baby who went through the winter (including a trip to Seattle) without her warm sweater. I made it in the largest size, so she should get at least 2 years of wear out of it. Assuming, of course, that I get it finished.

I meant to finish it off last night, to seam the shoulders, sew in the sleeves and tie up any loose ends. Instead, while watching The Apprentice finale, I made diaper covers for a baby shower I'm throwing on Sunday. So my knitting was still altruistic. And perhaps a bit more in season.

I promise to be better in the future. Please forgive me.

Today, I'm featuring this lovely cone of Jaggerspun wool I purchased from Elann last fall.

1.14 lbs or approx. 1600 yds. of DK weight softness. The color is muted, but lovely. I took this photo in (gasp) my bathroom, which appears to be a great backdrop for yarn photos. Bloggers take note!

I have no plans for this. I truly bought this yarn with no real solid idea in mind for it; the price was right, and it was so pretty, how could I say no?

Thoughts? Ideas?

Posted by KnitNut at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I hate Tax Day. If you hate it too, this may be of interest.

Be careful driving to the post office.

Posted by KnitNut at 05:41 PM | Permalink

I'm not dead...just reading and knitting. I've finished the sleeves on the EZ Pullover, attached them, and am now doing the raglan decreases while reading Charlotte Smith's The Young Philosopher. My fingers are cramped, my brain is tired (I finished Women in Love this morning and read A Room of One's Own this afternoon), but I'm feeling pretty darn good.

More later--I haven't even done an Easter update yet!

Posted by KnitNut at 10:20 PM | Permalink

In the mail today I got my TKGA Level 1 kit. Ay carumba! All those swatches, all those instructions! What an absolutely wacky packet. It comes in this unassuming little blue folder. When you open it, you find a couple of stapled sheets of paper. Then you read them and realize that your knitting life is about to become way more organized and less "by the seat of your pants"-ish.

I'm going to have a great summer, swatching away while knitting lots and lots of shawls for Xmas gifts. Just two more weeks to go before my comprehensive exams, then final grading for the semester's classes--and then I'm free, baby!

Well, as free as my summer job will let me be. *heavy sigh* It's hard to be perpetually busy.

Hope you all have a great night!

Posted by KnitNut at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Lammikins wishes you the happiest of Easter Weeks!

Posted by KnitNut at 10:11 PM | Permalink

"Cause there are other things to do on Friday

1. What do you do for a living?

I am a graduate student. I read and teach for my bread and butter (or margerine, if butter's too expensive).

2. What do you like most about your job?

I love teaching students to think and learning new things from them. I love reading things that I haven't read and making connections between other things.

3. What do you like least about your job?

Grading papers.

4. When you have a bad day at work it's usually because _____...

I'm underprepared or I've failed to anticipate some obvious problem with a lesson plan.

5. What other career(s) are you interested in?

Webby things, writing nonfiction editorial bits. But my really big dream is to open a knitting cafe, where folks can come to craft, listen to great books being read to them and enjoying yummy treats.

Source for the questions? Check out Friday 5.

Posted by KnitNut at 12:01 PM | Permalink

In the interest of building some structure into my blogging (cause Lord knows I need it), I've decided that on Fridays I'll feature a yarn languishing in my stash and request assistance in determining its future use.

Regular readers may be concerned, however, that Fridays will offer nothing more than an endless listing of uninteresting, acrylicy yarns, given the fact that most of my WIPs are made with materials one can get from the local Wal-Mart.

And so, we come to the real motive behind the Friday Feature: I feel the need to open up my stash to the world, to prove that my yarn vistas extend far beyond the offerings of the local discount store. I'm just hoarding the goodies for special projects.

So, without further ado, I give to you the first offering for your dream-knitting pleasure. Ladies and gents, behold the lucious softness that is Peruvian Baby Cashmere:

I have four plump balls of this deliciousness from Elann. Knitting up at 6.5 stitches to the inch on size 3 needles, the ~440 yards of this in my home was destined to become a pair of lovely lacey socks. Now, I'm not saying I've totally ruled out the socks, but I'd like some ideas/thoughts about other uses for this yumminess. Ideas?

Other Knitting News

Last night, in a show of solidarity with my LiveJournal Knitting Brethren, I applied myself to the task of finally finishing the BuzzClogs. With grim determination, I cast on the 67 stitches to start the final sole. I knit away, counting out the knits, wrap-and-turns, and generally all the hell (but good hell) that is short row shaping, and I suceeded in completing the task at hand with minimal aggravation and no errors. Whew!

So now, all that remained was to:

1. Sew up the sole on the slipper.
2. Pick up the stitches on the slipper to which the outer sole will be attached.
3. Attach the sole.
4. Do the final row or so of knitting, bind 'er off, and tie up the loose ends.

I, of course, did none of this, not because I have a lack of desire to see my sweetie smartly attired in his GA Tech foot finery, but because I am averse, horribly averse, to finishing. And I now understand my LJ sisters and the wisdom of the Thursday Night UFO plan. I hereby pledge, therefore, to treat all Thursdays as UFO days, so that I may complete those pesky projects that sap my knitting strength. The stash is currently 3 plastic boxes and 1 cedar trunk strong (I won't mention the sweet little shopping bags from my LYS that are strewn about the house), so I've got to get things finished so that I can begin to knit up the rest.

Knit on, my sisters and brothers, knit on. Steve and I are off to see The Passion of the Christ tonight and to attend Good Friday services. I hope that you all enjoy a blessed Easter weekend.

Posted by KnitNut at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

No matter what you think about her political connections, you've got to love Condi Rice.

image from Stanford

Posted by KnitNut at 05:48 PM | Permalink

What a weekend! It's Wednesday, I know, so I'm headed toward the next one, but I haven't yet recovered from the joys of the last. Not to harp too much on this one, but that Daylight Savings Time is still whomping on me. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel more human.

I was unable to get to the Police Station to pick up a copy of the report regarding Monday's adventure. I'll update as soon as I have any news. Thanks for the support--it was really nothing, but the frustration was just so unnecessary.

Knitting News

Last night I finished something. Behold the glory of the Prayer Shawl.

It now goes into a box to be sent to the intended recipient. I can't decide if I'd like to do another. It was not very challenging and while I certainly don't mind low intensity projects, this one just really didn't do it for me. It's very soft and cozy, though, and I hope that my aunt will enjoy it.

Of course, there hasn't been a link in the sidebar for a page for this one, so I'm feeling particularly silly because I can't tick this off of the list. But I'm soooo close to finishing the Spiral Blankie (still looks like a big cream bag) that I'll soon have something to remove. The second sleeve of the EZ Homespun Pullover is on the needles and 1/3 done, so I should be joining those pieces all together soon and then making the tough decision between raglan and saddle shoulder shaping. I think the raglan will win.

The clogs are coming along. I finished one while watching the Final Four game between GA Tech and Oklahoma State.

While I don't go in for superstition, I have to wonder if GA Tech's heartbreaking loss in the finals to U Conn wasn't due to my non-Tech knitting project during the game (I was working on the shawl). The last clog (that I'll make ever!) is patiently awaiting completion.

I am no longer, however, knitting alone. Witness the awesome power of love and knitting obsession.

What a sweetie! There he is, working diligently on his first project, a version of Wendy's Kitty Bed in Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool. He made the dpn's to start the project from dowel rods. I'd say he did a good job!

The plan is to dye the bed after the knitting is finished...we'll see how that works. I'm skeptical, but he seems to think it will work. How quickly they leave the nest.

Other News

This weekend is, as I'm sure you all know, Easter. I absolutely LOVE Easter, for spiritual as well as secular reasons. I particularly love all the fun goodies you can get. Like these:

I'll be filling these up with chocolatey goodies for Steve's nieces and nephews. We're doing the family gathering thing Saturday, and while time is limited for me, I'm really looking forward to seeing them.

Posted by KnitNut at 05:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had these great plans for today's blog. I was going to give you an update of my knitting projects, wax philosophical about D.H. Lawrence, and share my ire with Daylight Savings Time. But all of that will have to wait until I'm feeling a bit more focused. For now, I'm in a bit of a rage.

Someone hit my car today and then drove off.

There I was, waiting patiently for the person in front of me to turn so that I could pull up next to the mail drop outside of the Post Office. As I sat there, musing on the weather and wondering how quickly I'd be able to finish the 18 essays that still need to be graded, I noticed a car backing out next to me and headed straight for my passenger side doors. I immediately honked the horn, but I was too late. The car hit mine.

Now, the options were simple for the driver of the car. All she had to do was pull back into the space she was backing out of, get out of her car, and wait for me to find a parking space so that we could chat/check out the damage. Or she could drive off. You can guess which option she took.

But I am a fast thinker and I got her license plate number. After I parked the car, I called the cops to report the incident.

My car is barely damaged; just a smoosh on the paint, a few scratches, and some red paint from her car. And if she had stopped to talk to me, I probably wouldn't have called the police. But she didn't, so I did.

Be careful in parking lots, folks. They can be dangerous places.

Posted by KnitNut at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Reading. And knitting. And grading. Can't forget the grading.

I'm almost done with the first sleeve of the EZ Homespun Pullover. I cast on for it in the last third of Howards End, a delightful Forster novel that I had not read before. I'm now working on finishing the sleeve and starting the next one as I zip (hahaha) through Women In Love. Steve is visiting me here, so no fresh kitty pics, I'm afraid. I promise some, perhaps with bunny ears, when I go to visit him next weekend.

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead tomorrow night. Gosh, I miss that hour already!

Posted by KnitNut at 08:48 PM | Permalink

Thanks to Ann for this link!

You are a GRAMMAR GOD!


If your mission in life is not already to
preserve the English tongue, it should be.
Congratulations and thank you!


How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Posted by KnitNut at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)