Thursday, February 28, 2008

Want and Need

I've got a mild case of startitis. I think my susceptibility to startitis is directly proportional to stress multiplied by project faithfulness. Since I've only had two projects for the entire month and I'm coming up on midterms, my startitis susceptibility quotient is particularly high. Fortunately my sticktoitiveness constant is still constant. Given the above, I propose the following equation:
σ=(2S*f*[β])/Ω*Ζ
where σ= startitis susceptibility, S = stress, f = project faithfulness, β = boredom. Ω = sticktoitiveness and Ζ = zen nature. When Ζ approaches maximum value, # of projects on the needles = buddha, at which point you rub your own belly and just knit to be knitting.

Okay, back to want and need. What I want is to start a pair of mittens, but what I need is to study for midterms. February is almost over, so I'll be able to start something with the knowledge that I've been faithful to the two projects I'm working on now. I'm at the 1st sleeve of the man-sweater and in the middle of the 2nd of the meadow socks. Any other February, I'd have already finished and cast on something new, but my schedule is tight - really tight. Tighter than a really tight thing. I'm a fairly fast and faithful knitter, so I'm fantastic at finishing, so the fact that I've been working on these two things for the whole month and haven't finished should tell you something. This Friday, I think some chocolate and red wine is in order. I need midterms to be over. I need to sleep 'til I wake up. I want to knit instead of study.

I'll get through this. This will pass. I feel like poo now, but I'll be okay. Happy thoughts for sanity and mental acuity would not be taken amiss.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Quickie update:
In the spirit of February is for Finishing, I won't be casting on anything new this month. That is, I won't be casting on anything new unless I finish everything, which is a distinct possibility for me this year. I've started on the Right Front of the Cambridge Jacket (aka Man-Sweater) and I'm several rows into the leg of the sooper sekrit meadow socks. The latter I've been working on between classes and sometimes during class if I'm not taking notes or staining for the presence of starches in corn. The endosperm has lots of starch, the cotyledon has a little bit, and the embryo has none at all. It's very cool to look at.
Anyhow, I may further reduce the number of woven squares I'm doing to 15, considering the weight of the fabric. It'll be more like a chlamys than a himation, but I think I'm comfortable with that. I do live in the South, after all. I just don't see me wearing three yards of 60" wide heavy wool.