Day of the Brain Dead

It's Tuesday, it's grey and gloomy outside, and I have a headache of unknown origin. I am going to take a big blog cop-out and write a list of discrete items instead of coming up with ways to tie them all together in a big essay. The scientist in me is triumphing over the creative writer in me today, and I'm okay with that.

1. Snowfall, Early
Last Thursday, on October 12th (not even halfway through the month!) we in north central IL experienced our first snowfall of the season.

It wasn't much, but it did stick around for a good 3 hours. Threw everyone off their game, too. People didn't come into the library (battening down the hatches for the Great Blizzard of Aught-Six?), they drove all poorly (more poorly than usual), and wore mis-matched winter gear.
Delightful.

2. Friday Femiknitter
I spent 12 hours on Friday with the Femiknitter, who was in town (and by "town" I mean "my portion of the state") for various reasons. I had a superawesome time (evidence here) hanging out with her. We went to a yarn shop (of course) in ... some nearby town (all the suburbs of Chicago run together and are indistinguishable to me. Except for Evanston, because there's a big ol' university sitting in the middle of it.) called Three Bags Full. I mean, that's the name of the yarn shop, not the town. All the parentheses kind of mucked up my meaning. (I don't care. I'll write longer explanations.) Anyway. Yarn was purchased, fun was had, lunch was eaten, secrets were shared, GPS navigation systems were used,

and bottles of Diet Coke were exploded using Mentos.

A good time was had by all.

3. The Inevitable Malabrigo Purchase
I bought Malabrigo.

It is two skanks of Rojo Vivo and one skank of Glazed Carrot (they are in no way similar to the Malabrigo from which I made my Tempting. Not at all. Nothing to see here. Move along.) (Okay! So I like ORANGE! It's not a crime.). They are destined to be a scarf and hat set for MyVeryOwnSelf. I had thought about doing the My So-Called Scarf, as this yarn is way fluffy and would look faboo in that pattern. But then I realized something...

4. I can't stop ribbing!
I love it. I love the way it's cuddly and hugs whatever it surrounds. I love the vertical stripes. I love the simplicity of it. I cannot get enough of the rib. (No "for her pleasure" jokes, please. I've gone through every single one of them in my head.) I've picked out a sort of pattern, based on the scarf/bonnet in Knit 2 Together. So, the ... orange Malabrigo will find itself in a rib pattern ... where have I seen this before? That's when I realized something else...

5. I'm either a perfectionist or a fraidy cat
Because I seem to be sticking to one basic design element (the rib) on one basic piece (the scarf) (the sweater doesn't count, sort of, because it was just three tubes joined up -- no shaping). I conclude that either I am such a nit-picking perfectionist that I must completely master every aspect of knit/purl rib and scarf construction, or that I am incomprehensibly afraid of trying something new.

To be fair, I have assigned myself three scarves just now (for my bridesmaids (yes, the wedding was in July)), only two of which involve ribbing. I am broadening my knitting horizons with the lace scarf for Laura. Okay. Maybe there's a third conclusion. Maybe I just like ribbing and want to make myself a cuddly scarf, dammit.

Because there's this...

6. A Designer is Born
Or hatched. Or is still incubating. Who knows. But I drew this the other day, when I couldn't find a good bolero / cropped cardigan thing with self ties.


Obviously I have no idea how sleeves are constructed. I hope to learn at some point in the future, before I start making them. The little upside-down Vs are intended to represent the vine lace pattern I envision on this little number. I think I will use some heavier sock yarn (the stuff in blazing, retina-searing pink) for this and make it a summertime wrap / cardigan / bolero / thing.

7. On A Related Note...
(No! This was a list, and now it's got segues! Transitions! I can't be having this!) [Creative Writer stuffs Scientist into a bag and sits on it]

Anyway, I have abandoned the poorly-behaved green yarn + Hourglass Sweater combination. I'm now going with KnitPicks Swish in Copper. At least, I put in my order for it yesterday and intend to use that yarn for that project. (yes, after I said I wasn't going to order any more yarn for a hundred years)

Now, there are two things to consider: (a) I hear that Swish has a tendency to share its dye with the whole world. I am probably going to give this a big ol' vinegar rinse when it comes to my house, because I don't want my needles / couch / clothes getting full of copper-colored dye. (b) If you checked out Femiknitter's blog, you'll have noticed that she's having issues with the neckline of her Hourglass -- it's way too Jennifer Beals for her taste. I've heard a lot of people have had issues with the neckline. I want to bring the neck up tighter, maybe make it into a crewneck. So I will.

9. And In A Still More Related Note...
I ordered Jaquard acid dyes from KnitPicks to finally get to coloring my own yarn. I happen to think that this tutorial by Nicole of All Buttoned Up is pretty darn amazing, and very handy for the handpaint style that I want to use. So I'm going to use it. As soon as the order comes in. (It's "pending" right now. I don't know what that means, other than that my order is not on its way. Grrr.)

10. In An Entirely Unrelated Note...
Everyone go say hello to Heather. She had a rough day yesterday and could use a cheery comment, a virtual visit, a supportive smile (I'm sorry, the alliteration just took hold of me and wouldn't let go).