Wool & Words

I sit here a 9 p.m., another weekend over, another fall break ended. At least we beat Florida...and I got to have 4 great days!

On Thursday, the first day of the break, I chilled. Just hung out until about 2 p.m. at which time I went to the Apple Store at the Mall of Georgia with Ruth so that she could get her Iphone repaired/replaced. That was an experience--I'd never been in an Apple store at that point, and I didn't expect to feel so un-hip. But I did.

On Friday I went to a symposium in Atlanta for work. It was great--I learned a lot and thought about a lot and generally enjoyed thinking about my work. It was a long day, though; I had to leave home at 6 a.m. and returned that evening exhausted. Ruth and Tricia talked me into going to the yarn shop for card night, though, so I got to bed later than I planned.

So, where's the fiber? Well, Saturday was the beginning of my fiber weekend. Steve and I (joined this year by Melanie)  made our annual pilgrimage to North Carolina in search of fiber and Frog jam. We returned with a healthy amount of both.

I love SAFF. It's fun to just wander around and look at everything and see what other folks have done. There was a knitblogger /raveler meetup in one of the barns that afternoon, which afforded many a meeting with new and old SAFF acquaintances and the definitive visual definition of concupiscence:

So, what did I get? My shopping was limited, but good. I got a pair of square knitting needles (jury's still out on their utility), a pattern for the Almaza I bought last year, and this lusciousness from Brooks Farm:

These 4 skeins, plus one I purchased last year in a near-colorway, will join with a pattern for a diamond mitered vest to become a cool piece of knitting. On size 3 needles. Cause that's how I roll.

And yes, we did get the frog jam. Delicious.

Sunday's fiber? Well, let's just say that I've spun on a wheel now. I love it and can't wait to get some more.

Posted by KnitNut at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks for the thoughtful comments about wedding planning; I'm pretty laid back (at least, that's what I'd like to think) and I find I constantly have to bring these "expected" activities to the forefront of my mind to inspect them and determine whether they are or aren't worthwhile. The website/invitation/photography thing is of interest, too, because it plays into my interest in rhetoric. Thanks for reading along.

In other news, nothing to report. I've scheduled a viewing of two films for one of my classes this evening and I brought my knitting, so that's what I'll be doing until about 8:30 tonight. With any luck, I'll finish the pocket on the sweater and get some significant work done on the baby bunting that I don't think I've told you about yet.

No, it's not for me.

Enjoy your day, my lovelies. I'll be back.

Posted by KnitNut at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm almost done with the main knitting on my vest; I'm working on the last pocket, and then it's just a spot of seaming, a mad wrestle with the button band (not looking forward to that), and the traditional whining at The Weaving-In of Ends. Good times will be had by all; photographs will be had soon.

Miss Manners and Wedding Websites:

So I was reading my local paper (AJC) and found today's Miss Manners' column thought-provoking. The reader question is about wedding websites; the reader describes what sounds like a typical wedding website, comments on the slick, overly-produced nature of it (in his/her view), and asks

Is this a new trend? Is the romance gone from weddings in the name of slick merchandising of the couple hoping to take in a truckload of gifts? Does one assume there will be a prenuptial agreement, too? It is all so showbizzy. I'd enjoy knowing what you think about it.

The unlimited space on the Internet seems to have turned everyone into the person no one wants to sit next to on the airplane. And beyond the widespread general desire to pour out their lives and thoughts to all and sundry, lovers are notoriously susceptible to believing that they are the center of the universe and the envy of all.

Of course, they are influenced by show business. Do you think the couple has spent that long engagement gazing at each other? They have been working on the set, the costumes, the make-up, the props and the extras (that's you, the wedding guests).

So they not only create the promo but include a sort of illustrated fan magazine story about themselves.

Thoughts? When I read this, I felt that she had articulated a problem I've been unable to put my finger on as I go through this process, a sense that the material, keepable pieces of wedding representation today (the invitation, the photography, the website) feel to slick to me, too staged (even as the "journalistic" style of photography wants to be unstaged). But then I consider that we have an unprecedented amount of control in the process today that we couldn't have had even 10 years ago; we can create invitations and other paper-elements with our computers and easily print them on high-quality photo printers. We can set up a website specifically about our wedding, giving our guests an easy access point for wedding information, with links to hotels, registries, and other services they may need to access to attend the event successfully. We can share components of our special day with relatives who are living in different places with ease, and the assistance of vendors (like photographers who offer web access to photos--and ordering) makes it possible for Aunt Petunia to purchase (if she chooses) and entire set of photos to remember the special day.

And it just makes me feel so dirty. It's too slick, too plastic, too produced. I look at photographer's websites and the magazine-ready photos of real weddings make them seem unreal to me. They feel like so much style over substance, but I'm sure to the participants they feel like a real representation of their weddings and themselves--don't they?

cross-posted at my lj

Posted by KnitNut at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

My knitting--oh, my knitting! It's been pretty dull actually; I've finished knitting the vest pieces and I'm now putting in the pockets. I decided to put in 2 little waist pockets (big enough for keys and my library card), but I wasn't sure about what yarn I wanted to use. I knew, however, that I wanted the pockets to be knit into the sweater and not sewn on later. My solution? I put in a piece of waste yarn as a place holder in each pocket spot and am now knitting the first pocket into the garment. I'm using a fingering weight wool in lieu of the Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed for the pocket innards; I wanted less bulk, tighter gauge. It's fun.

Other things? I'm averaging a job application out the door a day, which I've got to step up in the next week; many jobs begin their review Nov. 1. I'm actually enjoying it. There's so much to coordinate and organize!

Posted by KnitNut at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I went dress shopping today. My friend, karen-the-great, came with me to offer moral support and a keen eye. We left Athens at 8 a.m., drove to New Natalie's Bridal in Atlanta (our first scheduled stop), and went in for my 10 a.m. appointment. At 11 a.m., we walked out with my dress (!!!!) and headed to the Mall of Georgia to do a bit of celebratory shopping.

Yes, I walked into a bridal salon and purchased a gown off the rack within 1 hour. It was the third gown I tried on and I knew right away that it was the one. Since it was a floor sample, it needs some (minor) fixin', and since I bought it off the rack, it's a little too big, but that's all OK--with a few simple alterations, the gown will be perfect.

Now to figure out what to do for a veil. I've got my Barbara Abbey lace book out...

Posted by KnitNut at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

...but I've decided not to whine about it. Sufficient to say, I've edited out the pity-party that was this post. Everything will work out fine; Steve and I will get married and the date/time/place really doesn't matter. With any luck, we'll be keeping the same day and switching the time. It's going to be good.

Heck, it'll be better than good.

Posted by KnitNut at 01:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)