Castonitis

After that bout of Knitting Ennui this summer I am surprised to find that I am suddenly stricken with Castonitis. As you know, this is a disease of knitting that can be extremely dangerous. Before you know it you can find yourself with 12 projects and no needles left, which can lead to panic attacks and feelings of despair when you think about how long it's going to take to finish everything.

Right now I'm still in the honeymoon stage of Castonitis, when you think all new projects and yarn are charming and say to yourself, "I can totally finish that before September!" In the last three weeks I have Cast On:

• An Ann Norling Sweater that's going to be the model for the beginning sweater class that I'm teaching. It's been blocking for two days and is finally dry.
• Ysolda's Ishbel - a delightfully charming shawl that is knitting up very quickly and begs me to work on it.
• Some PerpenSOCKcular socks, which I ripped out after a few rows, not because I was frustrated, but for some unfathomable reason.

I have bought yarn for:

• The PerpenSOCKculars, that yarn is wound back up and sitting on the coffee table telling me how pretty it is and how I should knit it RIGHT NOW.
• A new earflap hat
• A matching pair of mittens
• A shaving kit bag (these are great, I'm going to write up a pattern for you!)
• I also have 25$ in my Paypal account and am going to buy more sock yarn. I'm tempted to get Beached or ST-1 or ST-2 Socks that Rock, but a friend of mine also recommends Hazel Knits sock yarn. Or I could get some more Old Maiden Aunt.
  

I was already working on:

• The Madison Heartwarmer (I saw working on, but really I haven't touched this since May.)
• The Dragon Socks
• Socks for my brother
• The Cabbage Leaf Baby Blanket

I absolutely need to knit a Lizard Ridge sample so people know what the class is about, and I need to knit it as soon as possible. And it's been suggested at the shop that I knit a model of my Indian Corn Scarf out of RYC Wool Tweed for a fun rustic look.

See what I mean? Castonitis. I'm also starting to get twitchy about Christmas knitting, but I am trying to firmly make up my mind that there will be no Christmas knitting. The problem is that I know so many delightfully knitworthy people. But I don't have time to knit something for everyone.

The best cure for Castonitis I find, is the pleasure of finishing something, so with that in mind I really powered through to finish the Ann Norling Sweater. It's a great pattern with lots of options and I'm really going to enjoy teaching it. Please excuse the messy pictures, it's after dark here.




Tomorrow I start Lizard Ridge! Last time I got so I could do a square in a day, so let's hope for the same speed this time!

It Never Rains But It Pours

It's been a pretty rotten summer. Jorah's been out of town since May and I've just had one health problem after another. I did have some pretty sweet vacations, but there have been issues at work because I missed so much time, and then I had to miss more time because I've been so sick. Things are starting to pull themselves back together, but I've been marveling a little at just how much can go wrong.

Things are starting to look up now though, and now that one good thing has happened (I got a promotion!) more good things are starting to follow. For one thing, look what came in the mail today:



And look what the first pattern is:



That's me! I'm Jennette Cross! That's my scarf! I'm in Knitcircus! Another short happy sentence!

And why haven't I been showing the blog knitting content? Because I've been speed-knitting the sweater for the Beginning Knitting: The Sweater class at Lakeside this fall. Yes, the fall class schedule came out and I am all over it! I'm probably going to get a few Scarf classes, which I do like to teach, but I'm glad to be mixing it up a little. Honestly, the sweater is almost finished, so I'm not going to bother photographing its pieces. The front and back are complete and I've just got about 5 inches or so left to do on the sleeves. I'll photo it after it's blocked.

Aside from the Sweater class I've got a class called Lizard Ridge, based on a beautiful afghan that was in the Fall 2006 Knitty. (Don't worry Knitty, participants have to go to knitty.com to download directions! Not like Knitty reads this blog!) Lizard Ridge is all about short rows and knitting backwards. Here's the one I knitted a few years ago for a friend's wedding:



And then in November, I'm teaching a class called Leaving Patterns Behind. It's going to be all about my way of approaching patterns, and how to alter them for size and yarn choice. The last part is going to be about writing patterns yourself. So folks, if you like the Bleeding Heart Raglan or the Henly Hoodie, come to Leaving Patterns Behind.

So you see, it never rains but it pours. Much of this summer has been about the bad, but now things are starting to look up, and oddly, just as bad things were happening one after the other, now good things are too. Example: Jorah returns on Saturday night!

Vacation Post #3

The next morning we continued our tour of beautiful Western Ireland with the Dingle Peninsula.





This was my dad's favorite part of the Ireland tour, and it was completely stunning, but for some reason, I didn't get many photos. The problem, you see, is that I keep having to dig my camera (which is a bulky Nikon D50) in and out of my purse. I can't wear it around my neck like a self-respecting tourist, because three times the strap has given up and expensive digital camera has bounced on the pavement. So now I don't have a strap. I know they have some nice ones on Etsy, and I'd like to try one of those (hint: Christmas).

We took quite a large ferry across the River Shannon (it was extremely windy, cold, and fun) and then went to the Cliffs of Moher. That was just absolutely breathtaking. They are 700 feet tall and you can just see the first of the Aran Islands in the distance.

The view to the south:


To the north you see another Martello Tower:


Looking straight out to sea with the Aran Islands in the distance:


Here are some people enjoying their vacation & the wind:



A look a the waves crashing at the base of the cliffs - even though we were 700 feet up the wind brought us a little bit of surf sometimes:


The blue people, or, as they are better known, my beloved parents and sister:


After the Cliffs of Moher, we went to Doolin to set up camp (we spent two nights in Doolin at a ridiculous hotel). The first night was the birthdy of my much esteemed brother:



and so he had the honor of picking dinner. We went to a great pub, which we liked so much we went back the next night as well. Somehow this picture of my sister is the only one I took that night:



Doolin is supposed to be the capital of Irish music, and indeed, the first night we were there a great musician came in and played all manner of songs. We were just leaving when my family's favorite came up, "The Wild Rover" and so we stayed, and out sang and stomped the Irish. I know it's anglo-phile (or irisho-phile) of us, but it really is our song. My uncle and cousins learned it and sang it at mine and Jorah's wedding reception, there were words and signs and everything, and since then, we've adopted it.

I think that's enough with photos for now. Join us for Vacation Post #4, when I detail a much less fun ferry ride and find my first yarn of the trip!

August New Year

It's August, which means . . . it's the new year! Yay! Hooray! Ticker Tape and Streamers!

Alright, now that that's over -

Seriously though, I do think of August as the new year because that is when I get a new planner. I'm very attached to my planners - in high school I made a dorked out custom binder called The Agenda of Champions - and take those little calendars very seriously. This has a bit of a different flavor this year though, because this year is likely to be our last year in Madison.

Yes, sadly (happily?) Jorah is supposed to graduate in the spring, and then we will officially be done with school. And Madison, at least for the present. It's a hard fact to face - I'm turning 26 this year, and I've lived here since I was 19. When we leave, I'll have lived here for 7 years - about a quarter of my life. We've been very happy here - and never happier than this last year in our own house on the Near East side.

In true New Years style, I've decided to come up with some Last Year's Goals - some of them are habits I want to get into, and some of them are one time kind of things I want to accomplish. I got this idea from a favorite blog of mine, my topography*. Because I'm going to be 26, I picked 26 Things to Do in the Last Year. I'm going to list them in the side bar to help remind myself.

Here they are:

1. tell people when they piss me off rather than get all angsty and hurt
2. ice skate at Tenney Park
3. submit patterns for publication
4. finish the Madison Heartwarmer using the weaving technique
5. go to the Farmer's Market whenever possible
6. get a tattoo
7. make steps to get this sleep thing sorted out
8. get back in the habit of going to the gym
9. put at least 1 pattern a month up on Ravelry
10. join/start a knitting group
11. try to get into Camp
12. get some healthy strategies for letting work go
13. update the blog frequently (at least 10 times a month) and use photos
14. go through the stash and list unloved yarn as trade on Ravelry
15. go through the house and take things to Goodwill every 3 months
16. put all music on the computer and then onto SB's old ipod
17. read NEW books, not just the same old favorites
18. no knitting patterns by other people until after dinner
19. walk the Lakeshore Path out to Picnic Point
20. go to Thursday music at the Terrace
21. go out on Lake Mendota on some form of boat
22. celebrate Jorah's graduation in style
23. visit The Fold
24. go to a Badger football game
25. don't let being nice mean I'm not tough with people who deserve it
26. call people I want to hang out with and ask to see them

Another thing I want to do at the end of this year is throw myself a graduation party. I may not have been in school, but working at Lakeside has taught me so much, and I'm wanting a little recognition too. I keep joking with Jorah that when he gets his Phd, I'm going to get my Masters in Popular Knitting from the Lakeside School of Retail. I say it jokingly, but I have considered fonts for the certificate I plan on making myself.

*(My Topography is great, by the way. She's a writer, artist, photographer, and 2nd grade teacher, and her kid is the most gorgeous kid on the internet.)

July Homework

Just wanted to show the blog this cute picture of my July Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup Homework.



Adorable, eh? They're called Korknisse, and though I saw the pattern online, I just made up my own rather than read the directions. I think they're hilarious. The goal is to make an advent calendar with the Felted Trees from Mason Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines, and then make a little forest where the Korknisse live. It's going to be great! Of course, I'm going to make many, many more Korknisse. I have tons of corks - one of the yarn store ladies saved her corks up for me for months and now I've got them coming out the ears.

As soon as I have time to knit them!

Vacation Post #2

After Malahide we went to the Botanical Gardens, but I don't have any pictures because I was too tired to go in, so I sat on a bench outside and knit. I didn't know it at the time, but I was coming down with a killer sinus infection that would stick with me for several weeks.

Anyway, while I was knitting on that bench, little kids kept coming by and being fascinated. They were super cute, but my favorite was a little boy about 3 who came running up to me and said emphatically, "We HAVE to see the ducks!" I looked at him very seriously and said, "Well, that does sound important." His mom came up behind him and laughed and said "Oh, it is important." (Except picture those two with charming Irish accents.)

The next day we left Dublin and went to Kilkenny Castle, which wasn't my fave, but there was a really cool artist studio center thing across the street that had some great textiles. My sister got a truly gorgeous handwoven blanket made in Ireland from Irish wool - super jealous. I wanted to get a handwoven blanket myself, but didn't see anything nearly as nice the rest of the trip.

Our hotel that night was the Glasha Farmhouse. I was getting really sick by this point, and so unfortunately didn't see much of anything. I pretty much ate dinner and went to bed. The food was delicious though - the porrige we had for breakfast the next morning was amazing - one of the best things we had the whole two weeks.

We visited the Cobh (say it Cove) Heritage Center the next day, which was a nifty little museum. Cobh was a shipping town, (lots of the survivors of the Lusitania were put up here and it was also the Titanic's last port of call) and there was a great emigration museum about, essentially, Leaving Ireland Through the Ages. This is Annie Moore and her two brothers, the first family to be processed at Ellis Island. They left from Cobh & apparently there's an identical statue in New York.



Next was probably the eeriest thing we did. We went to Glengariff and took a boat ride to the Italian Gardens. I say it was eerie because you get on a little boat and putt out past a couple of small islands where (sad to say) mean-looking seals are chilling (we got this close!) and then you land and walk into this imaculately kept garden-island. There were all different kinds of garden there, of varying levels of formality and theme. The Italian Garden, of course,



But there was also a Temple looking out over the water at the mountains on the other shore.



The whole time we were there Jorah kept saying he felt like he was in World of Warcraft, and I kind of agreed with him. I don't WOW myself, but it definitely had that feeling of being too romantic that you get from video games - like no place could really be this beautiful. They even had their own Martello Tower for the Orcs to hide in!



Martello Towers were all over the coast - they were originally a part of the early warning system to watch for raiders. You could just go up inside this one to the roof. None of my roof pictures are that spectacular, but it was pretty breath-taking. There was a strong cold wind blowing that just invigorated me. The whole trip I kept saying over and over, "This is my favorite thing!" Going up in this Martello Tower was definitely one of my favorite things.

The next day was one of my favorite days in Ireland - I'm not surprised that it is the most popular day tour. The Ring of Kerry. Let's check the photographic evidence, shall we?


These are mostly taken in the Gap of Dunloe, where there's an little old road and you take a jaunting cart with a jerry (one horse cart with a driver) back to see the scenery. This was also really the only time that it was foggy or rainy the whole time we were out in Ireland and Scotland - for the most part it was all bright and sunny. And hot!


All these beautiful colors made me want to knit a sweater. It's in my head, this sweater, and I'm hoping to make it this fall, possibly out of Manos of Uruguay.



You can also see the picture of me petting a lamb. When we were coming back through customs we had to go through the Agricultural line, because I patted this sheep. The customs people were a little eye-rolly at us when we told them our only contact with animals was that I patted a sheep for five minutes in a parking lot. What can I say? Jorah and I are rule followers - we can't help it!


Anyway, even after the Gap of Dunloe there was lots more driving and getting out and taking pictures and honestly, it almost felt like a completely different planet. Everything was so ethereal and spectacular, it was hard to believe that we could all exist in the same place. I felt bad because at this point of the trip I was really quite sick and would no sooner get on the bus than I would pass out.

It was good to have sickness as an excuse though, because later that night we went to the Liam O'Conner Irish Show, which was utterly ridiculous. It was making my brain pound on the outside of my skull, (never a good sign) so Jorah and I left at halftime and walked back to the hotel. We were staying in Killarney at that point, and it was much more enjoyable to just walk and take in the evening. And then go to bed.

End of Knitting Ennui

For the last couple of weeks I've been really bored with my knitting. Not exactly bored even, just not excited. I've been working on the same pair of socks and baby blanket for quite a long time now, and haven't really made much discernable progress. I was feeling like I wanted to Cast On something new, but couldn't decide what, even though I'm sort of flush with good yarn right now from the Ireland/Scotland trip.

I hate that feeling, not know what I want to knit. I have mentioned my obsessive personality - I don't do well without a project to occupy myself.

Then I went in to the yarn store this weekend. I have SEVERAL pretty sweet classes to teach this fall, (which I'm planning to post about in the next day or two). The bosslady and I were talking about my classes and the shop models I need to make so that people see what they're going to learn if they take my class. She loaded me up with about $150 worth of yarn and sent me home to get to work (that's more than one class).

As soon as I got home, did I start the shop models? Or did I cast on for a new pair of socks for my brother and finally decide what to make with that mystery alpaca I got several years ago at the Midwest Alpaca Fest?

So now I have four projects on the needles, with two more I need to cast on this week. Oh yeah, and the Heartwarmer has been stalled for several weeks too . . .

Ahhhh. That's better.