Cupcake!

Crocheted this up last night, using up scraps in my yarn basket. I think it'll make a cute pin cushion. The pattern is from BitterSweet, here.


Plus, I have made some progress on the Shetland Triangle. I'm using Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in the color "Iris." I thought this colorway was more brownish originally, but now that I have given it a good look, I realize that it's much more purple. I think this is a good thing, because I'm making this for my mom and she had a brown/purple scarf that she wore for years when I was a kid.

Three Highland Triangles=Done!

That's right, I cast off on the last of my three Highland Triangle shawls this morning. Two of them need blocking, but they are so huge that I'm waiting until I visit my parents so I can block them in their huge living room. This pattern gets my hearty thumbs up for not driving me insane after knitting it three times in a year.

I promptly began a Shetland Triangle shawl for my mother this afternoon. I'm looking forward to having a different lace pattern to occupy my time!

Movie Review: Michael Clayton

I saw Michael Clayton yesterday. It is an impressive movie. Although it deals with a corrupt corporation, it's not trying to send a message about corporate America. It's just a well-crafted business/legal thriller. The leads, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and Tom Wilkinson, give understated and realistic performances that form the core of the film. If they weren't there, the movie probably wouldn't work. This is the directorial debut of Tony Gilroy, who also wrote the script. He clearly knows his way around thrillers, having written the three Bourne Movies (though I've heard that Paul Greengrass pushed a lot of improvisation during The Bourne Ultimatum). What I found most compelling about this movie was its attention to detail. They put Clayton (Clooney) in a Mercedes, a very "old money" car, but he's only leasing it. It's as if he's trying to exude classy swank, but that's not actually who he is. Clayton is also always well-dressed, but during one scene, you can see the creases in his shirt created by packing it in his luggage. He tries to look well-pressed and perfect, but he's actually living his life from day to day, out of his suitcase. There were times while I was watching the movie that I felt bored, and I wasn't sure what the movie was trying to do. But as I neared the end of the film, I realized that this bored, unattached feeling was exactly what the movie wanted to create, because it lulls you into a place of security. Then with the conclusion, that security is ripped forcefully away.

The Bind off!

Mike always tells me that "bind off" sounds like the name of a bad Steven Segal movie. As I'm knitting, I will tell Mike, "hey, I'm almost to the bind off," and he yells "THE BIND OFF!!" in reply. This has been going on for months now.

Weird stories aside, I am working on the bind off ("THE BIND OFF!!") on Highland Triangle #3. It seems like the closer I get to finishing this project, the farther away the finishing line gets. But fear not, I am persevering!

Taylor Wearing Taylor's Mitts

As promised, I now have pictures graciously provided by Taylor of her wearing the mitts I made her. The first two are of her at a reenactment at Saratoga, also showing off the beautiful wool cloak she made for herself. The last one is of her carrying firewood at a reenactment at Kingston. It's so great to see these mitts in action! Enjoy!

Where did October go?!

Thank you for your kind words about my field exams. I'm sorry I've been rather silent lately, but I've been plunging into my dissertation research. I've gotten a bit sucked into my work. But I have managed to do some fun things:

Knitting:
I've been plugging away at Highland Triangle #3. I made it to the bind-off edging this morning, so hopefully I will finish soon. I cannot believe I've managed to knit this pattern three times in a year. My plan after I finish this shawl is to try the Shetland Triangle shawl from Wrap Style. I've got some lovely Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud set aside for this project.

Reading:
I've been reading the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series by Pamela Aidan. It's a somewhat cheesy "Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's POV" trilogy. I've tried a few of these P&P reworks before, and they usually disappoint. However, Aidan has managed to capture Austen's characters well, and she adds some interesting touches to the already well-known story. I have read the first two installments and have begun the third. Unfortunately, the second book, which details Darcy's actions during the "lost year" between his time in Hertfordshire and Kent is poorly plotted. For some reason Darcy gets drawn into some crazy revenge plot involving friends from his university days. I felt like I was reading a historical mystery/thriller instead of an Austen drama. But the first book was quite good, and the third is shaping up well also.

Movies:
Bourne Ultimatum
I saw this a couple months ago, but I haven't had the time to write about it until now. This movie was awesome! The acting, the direction, the plotting . . . everything was perfect. I saw an interview with Matt Damon, in which he said they didn't really have a script while they were filming the movie. That seems utterly unbelievable to me. Paul Greengrass (the director) must really know what he's doing. Of course, I do think he deserved an Oscar for directing (and writing, for that matter) United 93. The only "bad" thing about watching this movie was that there was a rather loud lady sitting in the same row as me at the theater. She kept saying things like "who's that?!" and "wait, is he dead?!" all the time. This was amusing and slightly annoying.

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising
I went to see this with Mike, because he really likes the books this movie is based on, The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper (who, btw, is visiting Boston for a couple speaking engagements in November). This movie was okay. It did a really good job of setting up a spooky atmosphere early on, but the climatic final battle was pretty lame. The effects got murky and muddy, and the kid they had playing the lead (an actor named Alexander Ludwig) couldn't quite carry the scene. Ludwig was pretty good throughout the rest of the movie, though.

Across the Universe
This is another uneven movie. Julie Taymor (of the Broadway version of The Lion King fame) has put together a visually stunning film, but the plot is quite cliched. In that respect, it's just another movie about kids trying to deal with the trauma of being sent to fight the Vietnam war. And it doesn't have anything new to say about that topic. However, the use of the Beatles' music (in several inventive arrangements) and the creative use of puppets, masks, and visual effects is very powerful. Plus, I did think the fellow who played Jude (Jim Sturgess) was impressive. However, there were several other characters I could have done without (such as Prudence) and some songs that were superfluous (they were cool to watch in and of themselves, but they didn't further the plot at all).

Gone Baby Gone
The acting and the direction in this film are both very impressive. Ben Affleck shows amazing talent behind the camera. However, the script was not as strong (this was co-written by Affleck and Aaron Stockard). It is reasonably well plotted, and it does a good job of planting the clues that solve the final mystery without being obvious. Nevertheless, there were several voice-overs and speeches that felt stilted, especially when the performances and visuals were otherwise so realistic. There were some bits of "The Departed" deja vu, but that was probably inevitable given that these are both movies about the Boston underworld.

Good news

Last Friday, I passed my field exams. This means that I have now completed my masters degree in economics at Harvard. I'm still in a bit of shock (how could these past couple years have gone by so fast!), but I'm excited to be able to turn to my thesis research. Now, with a little luck, I'm aiming for my PhD!

Taylor's Mitts: Finished!

They're finished! I'm quite happy with the result, and I can't wait to see them on Taylor. Hopefully she will have some pictures from the Saratoga reenactment with her wearing them. For now, I have included photos of me wearing them with one of my regency dresses (sadly, I don't have a proper 18th century outfit to really show these off, but mitts similar to these were also worn during the early 19th century).

ETA: And now I have pics of them on Taylor! Here.

And of course, here is the pattern. Enjoy!

Taylor: A Pair of 18th Century Mitts

Notes: These were made for Taylor to wear to an American Revolutionary War reenactment. As such, I tried to make them historically accurate, but there are several modern modifications. (I am hoping to revise this pattern to be more accurate in the future.) First, so that I could finish these within a month, I chose to work the mitts at a corser gauge than was common during the 1700s. I chose 7 stitches to the inch, but period examples can have nearly twice as many stitches to the inch. Second, I worked a knitted hem involving a provisional cast on. I did this to give the mitts a strong edge and mimic the hem seen on these mitts at the MFA, but I'm not sure exactly how the lower edge is finished on the MFA example. My method of working a provisional cast on involves using a crochet hook, and crocheting did not become common in the West until the 19th century. You can work a knit hem without crocheting, but it would be way more annoying. Third, I sort of made up the construction of the top point. I wasn't sure how to sew on the facing. I looked at a couple period examples for clues, but I sort of improvised my solution.

Finished Size: These were made for Taylor's measurements (9" arm circumfrence right below the elbow, 6.25" wrist circumfrence, 9" length from wrist to elbow).

Materials: 2 balls of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport (184 yards per ball, 100% wool) in color 720 Ash (I used only about 1.5 balls, actually)
1 set of four US 2 DPNs
1 set of four US 3 DPNs

1 set of four US 0 DPNs

Small crochet hook

Small bit of waste yarn

Darning needle

Gauge: 7 stitches, 10 rows to the inch in stocking stitch.

Left Mitt:

Using the waste yarn, a crochet hook, and the size 2 DPNs, work a provisional cast on of 70 stitches. There is a good picture tutorial on provisional cast ons here. Distribute the stitches equally on three DPNs. Join the stitches in a round, being careful not to twist them.

Work in st stitch for 1 inch. Purl one round. Switch to size 3 DPNs. Knit for another inch. Turn your knitting inside out, so that the purl side is facing you. Carefully pull out the provisional cast on and transfer these stitches to the size 0 DPNs. Fold your work in half on the purl row, so that the purl sides are facing each other. Knit the two sets of live stitches together. You can see pictures of this process here.

Place two markers, so that you have the stitches of the round divided into two equal halves of 35 stitches each. Work one round in st stitch. On the next round, you will work the decrease round. Decrease round: knit until three stitches before the first marker, ssk, K1, slip marker, K1, K2tog, work until the next marker, ssk, K1, slip marker, K1, K2tog, finish the round.

Work for another inch in st stitch, then work the decrease round. Continue in this manner (working in st stitch for one inch, work the decrease round, repeat) until the mitt is about 8 inches long, and you have worked the decrease round 8 times. You should have 38 stitches left.

Begin thumb gusset: knit until three stitches before the first marker. M1, k1, M1, knit the rest of the round. Knit one round. On the next round, knit until you reach the first M1 of the thumb gusset, then M1, K3, M1, knit the rest of the round. Knit one round. Continue increasing in this manner (increasing for the gusset every other round such that when you get to the beginning of the gusset on an increase round, you M1, knit the previous increase stitches, M1, continue) until you have worked the increase round 11 times. Knit for 5 more rounds.

Divide for thumb: Knit until you have worked three stitches into the gusset, transfer the next 17 stitches onto a piece of waste yarn, knit the rest of the round. You will be knitting over the gap created by skipping the stitches on the waste yarn, creating a hole for the thumb. Knit for five more rounds.

Bind off for the point: On the next round, bind off loosely all the stitches between the two markers on the thumb/palm side of the mitt (this is the side that has more stitches between the markers). You should have 19 live stitches left. You will now be knitting back and forth in stocking stitch on these stitches. Knit one row, picking up a stitch from your cast off edge at the end of the row, giving 20 stitches. Purl the next row.

Decrease for the point: On the next row, ssk, knit to the last two stitches, K2tog. Purl the next row. Continue in this fashion, decreasing two stitches on every knit row, and purling the purl row, until you have 4 stitches left. Bind off. Break yarn, leaving a 5 inch tail to weave in.

Finish the thumb: Transfer the thumb stitches from the waste yarn to three size 3 DPNs. Knit one round, picking up two stitches from the body of the mitt where the thumb meets the body. This gives you 19 stitches. Work 4 rounds. On the next round, knit 8 stitches, K2tog, and knit the rest of the round. Knit one more round. Bind off loosely. Break yarn, leaving a 5 inch tail to weave in.

Knitting the facing: Cast on 20 stitches onto one of your size 3 DPNs. Do not join in the round. You will be knitting back and forth. Knit one row, then purl one row. On the next row, ssk, knit to the last two stitches, K2tog. Purl the next row. Continue in this fashion, decreasing two stitches on every knit row, and purling the purl row, until you have 4 stitches left. Bind off. Break yarn, leaving a 5 inch tail to weave in.

Finishing: Whip stitch the bottom edge of the facing to the bottom of the tip on the mitt. Then sew the other two edges of the facing using a mattress stitch. Weave in ends.

Right Mitt:

Work as for the left mitt, but begin the increases for the thumb gusset 3 stitches AFTER the SECOND marker, instead of 3 stitches before the first marker.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Making progress

I'm almost to the thumb gore on the second mitt for Taylor. I was really busy last week, so I wasn't able to get as much work done on these as I would have liked. I'm in the midst of studying for my Oral Exams, which if I pass will mean I have finished the masters degree portion of my PhD. Of course, this has meant tons of studying. When I tallied up the hours I had studied last week, it came to about 50 hours. And I still have so much more I need to do! Argh! Well, back to work....

Update on Taylor's Mitts

Thank you, yet again, for all of the kind comments on my current project! I have been hard at work on the second mitt for Taylor. I finished the knit hem last night, and now I have started into the arm shaping. I even tried to take some close-up in progress photos:

Here you can see the provisional cast on:


Here you can see the purl row I worked so that you can turn the hem under:

Here you can me pulling out the provisional cast on and putting the live stitches on another dpn:

And here you can see me knitting the two sets of live stitches together:

Mitt #1 is Finished!

Thanks for all of your comments on the mitts I'm making for Taylor. I'm really enjoying this project.

Over the weekend, I finished the first mitt. It has a point on the back of the hand, as was common on 18th century mitts. It can be folded back out of the way if you need your fingers totally free for work. I also didn't do anything special to the top bound off edge, so it does roll a bit. However, it's actually not rolling as much as I expected. I guess the 18th century habit of not using ribbing isn't that big a deal in this case. Now on to the second one!

More Mitts

I have been hard at work on Taylor's mitts. I'm through most of the thumb gusset on the first one. It's relaxing to have a project that's all stocking stitch in the round, as I don't even have to purl!

And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Highland Triangle #3. I'm about 1/4 of the way through the border on that. I just decided I needed a break from all that shawl knitting!

Knit Mitts

I'm starting in on an exciting new mini-project. Taylor, one of my friends on livejournal, mentioned that she is afraid of freezing to death at the Saratoga reenactment in October. She said she didn't have mitts to go with her outfit, which got me thinking about knitting some. Long story short, I am now making Taylor some knit mitts.

I began with some research, starting with Richard Rutt's A History of Handknitting. This book deals mostly with European knitting, but I was able to confirm from it that most knitting was done in the round in the 18th c. The book also seems to indicate that bar increases for thumb gussets were common. Then I looked at No Idle Hands: A Social History of American Knitting by Anne Macdonald. This book is more about the social meaning behind handknitting, as opposed to talking about knitting techniques. However, there is is nice picture of an 18th c mitten, which clearly shows a worked thumb gusset.

With this knowledge in mind, I looked at some pictures of mitts on the MFA website. They have some gorgeous pieces here. Looking at these examples made me realize that 18th c knitters had one major difference when compared to modern knitters. 18th c knitters didn't mind rolling edges due to the way stocking stitch curls. The MFA site is littered with mitts where the top edge and the thumb edge roll in on themselves. Us modern knitters would freak out if this happened, and would instead use ribbing to finish off these edges. But I haven't seen any garments with ribbing from before the 1830s. So I guess I will have to suck it up and deal with the slight rolling. Maybe I can do something with the bind-off to make it less noticeable. At least I've found examples of mitts with turned under hems, so I don't need to worry about rolling there.

Anywho, after looking through these sources, I came up with a plan for Taylor's mitts. I got some lovely wool, Brown Sheep Naturespun Sport, in the color "ash." It's a sort of beigeish white. The Naturespun is made from US wool and is a plied yarn, which seems to be a good modern substitute for period yarn. It's a little heavier weight than would have been the norm, but not too bad.

I have now worked out a rough pattern, and I am a few inches into the body of the first mitt.

Back from Turkey

So I went on another trip, this time to Istanbul, Turkey. One of my classmates was getting married, so Mike and I decided to use that as an excuse to take a vacation. Istanbul is fascinating, what with its rich history and culture. It's an interesting mix between Europe and the Middle East. Turkey is about 98% Muslim, which was a change from the predominantly Christan or Jewish places I have been before. The Turkish government, which is democratically elected, is quite secular compared to those in other Middle Eastern countries. Turkey has also been avidly seeking membership in the European Union and is a member of NATO. This makes Turkey a unique environment in which an American can learn about Islam. The country welcomes tourists, and there is PLENTY to see. I highly recommend visiting!

The store owners do like to target tourists with their sales pitches, though. Like Gloriana, I did get propositioned by more than a few folks asking if I would like to buy a carpet. However, I found nearly everyone I met to be quite friendly, especially when compared to the average person you would meet on the street in the United States.

And of course I have pictures:

Back from Switzerland

I'm back! It was a good trip, and I learned a lot from the class I took at the Graduate Institute of International Studies. Plus, I got a chance to do some sight seeing. Geneva is beautiful, right on the Rhone, and full of gorgeous parks. This picture is of a HUGE fountain they have on Lake Geneva. It shoots water up 132 feet in the air. I could see it from the plane! As you can see, when I took this picture the wind was blowing in such a way as to create a rainbow effect.


I also visited the Art and History Museum while I was there, and I came across this interesting painting. It's from Delft, and I believe that the woman in the picture is using a swift to wind a ball of yarn. I thought it was an interesting piece.

In addition, I managed to knit a bit on the plane to and from Switzerland, so I am now a ways into the border on Highland Triangle #3. With any luck, I will finish it soon!

Back in a Week

I'm leaving this evening for Switzerland. I'm taking a class in Geneva on the trade policy, but it's only a week long. I'm bringing along highland triangle #3, and I hope to get some good knitting time in on the plane. Back in a week!

Memories

I was looking through some pictures from college, and I came across this gem. It's a photo of me and several of my friends holding up a blanket we made. Each of us knit and/or crocheted a bunch of squares using leftover yarn, and then Michelle (who is standing in the top right corner of the picture) and I sewed it up into a blanket. The colors we used clashed horribly, but it was a great bonding experience, and we grew to love the ugliness of the blanket. We spent about two years working on this project (off and on), and then we donated it to a local women's shelter. I'm told that it got some good use there.

Highland Triangle #3!

That's right, I have started Highland Triangle #3 in earnest. This is the last one I have to make for my bridesmaids, and then I can move on to other projects. It's a testament to the pattern that I have been able to knit it three times in a year and not freak out from boredom. Cheryl Oberle did a good job designing something that is interesting to knit without being TOO challenging. I have been happy with the finished results, also. So I give the pattern a thumbs up!

I'm slightly less taken with the yarn I am using, Brown Sheep Nature Spun. It's a decent quality wool, but it gets a bit of a halo that picks up lint easily. This wouldn't be such a problem if I were using a more neutral color, but light lint shows up really easily against black. Nevertheless, this yarn is a good value, and I appreciate that it can come on a cone, making it easy to knit lace from.

Some Movie Reviews and Random Chit Chat

So I finished knitting Highland Triangle #2. I only need to block it and weave in two ends. Of course, I don't really have room to block it in my apartment, so it may be awhile before that gets done.

Also, I got my invite to Ravelry. My username is quincy134, so please friend me if you want to!

And now, onto the movie reviews. I rented a bunch of stuff last week, plus I caught a few things in the theater. Note that there are some spoilers

Spider-Man 3
This movie was pretty bad. It was too long, much of the dialogue was embarrassing, and I have no idea what they were trying to do with the Tobey Maguire dance sequence in the middle. Unlike the previous two installments, it went totally over the line from quirky to ridiculous. If I were them, I would have cut out the Sandman plot entirely.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End
Also not a great movie. It's sad, because I actually kinda enjoyed Dead Man's Chest. But this installment was a bit more perfunctory, finishing up the threads thrown down in the last movie without offering much new. The action sequences were fine, but they didn't have the interesting sight gags that were in the second movie.

The Painted Veil
This movie is beautifully shot, well acted, and nicely designed. But the script leaves something to be desired. There is cliched dialogue ("Forgive me..." "There is nothing to forgive."), and you know the entire time that one of the main characters is going to die. This is a shame, because Edward Norton and Naomi Watts have good chemistry.

History Boys
Of these movies, this is probably the most inventive and the best written. However, I'm not sure what the point of the film was. It's adapted from a Tony Award winning play, and perhaps the stage version makes more sense. One of the main characters is basically a pedophile, but the movie seems to sympathize with him. I'm not sure if it is trying to be provocative or if the author actually believes that such behavior is excusable. If nothing else, the ensemble acting is excellent.

Miss Potter
Out of these five, I probably liked this movie the most. However, it too lacks something in the script and plotting. This may be because the creators were trying to follow the time line of Beatrix Potter's life, or it just may be because the script wasn't well constructed. It's unclear, mainly because I don't know much about Beatrix Potter. Nevertheless, the acting is nice (though at first you think that Renee Zellweger is being a bit over the top), Zellweger and McGregor have good chemistry, and the way they use Potter's drawings to move the story along is visually interesting.

So close!

I'm working on the bind off on Highland Triangle #2. Of course, it's taking forever, because you have to work two rows of the pattern in order to bind off one stitch. However, I think I can finish soon.

In other news, it is HOT here in Boston. 96 degrees F yesterday. And my office is really poorly air conditioned (I have a cubicle in a room with about 30 other cubicles, and this has 4 old window units trying to cool the whole area.) Plus, some pipe in the ceiling started attracting condensation, which meant there was this giant dripping wet spot in the middle of the room. But it is supposed to drop into the low 70s tomorrow and for the weekend, so it's almost over!