I do knit

In fact, there are projects currently underway that I've even worked on in the last week! I shall start with the cure for 2nd sock syndrome.



The cure, as it turns out, happens to be my niece, Madeline. She's my brother's eldest, wears a size 6 shoe, and happens to like mismatched socks. I seem to be resentful of knitting socks for anyone who has a foot bigger than this (how dare they!), so it's really nice for me that her feet are sized thusly. I am told, in fact, that her school dress code requires matching socks in boring colors. In order to encourage her subversion of this restrictive and unreasonable rule and to further establish my place as "the cool aunt," I'll be knitting her mismatched socks from leftovers. The side benefit to all of this is that it will help use up the odds and ends of sock yarn that are insufficient for making a pair. This is the ultimate win-win-win-and more win situation.



I've also been working on a sweater for the offspring's American Girl doll. Whatever possessed me to knit such a thing, I'll never know, but I'm certain that it has to do with the fact that said offspring is charming, adorable, and that a sweater for her dolly will make her happy. ::sigh:: The things we do for love. Also, this was an opportunity to use a handspun that would have otherwise gone unused (though still appreciated in yarn form). My only fear is that I'll run out of the plain red before I run out of sweater pattern. It gives me mild heart palpitations to think of how little actual yarn there is off-camera, but I suppose the worst thing that will happen is that there isn't enough yarn and I decide that a short-sleeved cardigan is sufficient for Rebecca, find something that will work, or otherwise punt. All will be well.



This project started out as me just using up leftovers, but I've decided that this thing that is very like a knitted scarf could actually be vestments in disguise. Why can't liturgical garments be knitted? There's no rule. Once, I used my DNA scarf (Ravelry link) during a ritual because it seemed like the thing to do at the time. I then realized that there is no more perfect way to celebrate the balance and unity between the masculine and feminine than with the image of DNA. No matter who you are, if you are a human person, you get half of your DNA from a male human, half of it from a female human and WHAMMO! Life happens! It's an awesome thing in the original meaning of the word. The above scarf/liturgical garment thingamy is more of a warm/cool, winter/summer, four elements kind of concept that grew out of the particular handspun yarns that were in the stash. I picked the main pattern from my 365 Knitting Stitches a Year (Amazon link) calendar and I believe it's Polperro northcott. I like to think of it as having a very "columns of the temple" thing going on.

Right very now, I'm working on some long-overdue data entry that I've been putting off. Since the offspring doesn't go back to school 'til Monday and I'm past ready to start doing science again, this is what is getting done. Well, I should be doing it anyway. Actually, I'm making quite good progress. One of my goals for 2011 is to make considerable progress toward a thesis and graduation. I know I can do this. I've started it and I can finish it.