conclusions, beginnings, and a yarn bribe.

Things have been in a shameful state recently here chez Looking Glass. One semester ended, a new one began, and ALL kinds of work did not get done. That Chaucer paper about which I jauntily wrote a few weeks ago is still incomplete, and I've got a big stack of papers to grade that are so late that my students have started joking around about their status as historical documents. I've been whiny and neurotic and just generally a loser, and I'm downright peeved at myself.

Ergo, very little knitting to speak of. I have only knit about 2 more pattern repeats on my mitten, mostly during the episodes of Lost I've taken time out to watch. These will be awesome mittens if I can ever finish them before winter ends! Just trying them on for size, they are very warm.



Only two things are providing hope: my darling, funny boyfriend and a shipment of new Knitpicks Felici I bought myself as a yarn bribe. What gorgeous, jewel-like colors! But I can't knit it until that paper is in.


Now, Jennifer K., get your act together and finish your $@&%ing paper!!

That's right, I'm the queen.

Of the Middle Ages, that is. I just got a little shout-out from one of the medievalist blogs I frequent. How cool is that?

January morasse

I was looking forward to turning to projects for myself in January, now that Christmas knitting was all done. But unfortunately, grad school pressures and other daily responsibilities have elbowed out most of my knitting time.


I have just one project I'm working on at the moment: some stranded knitting therapy in the form of another Latvian mitten adaptation. I have some lovely leftover sock yarn from my various socks and berets that was just begging to be combined in gorgeous jewel-toned patterns. It's mostly Dream in Color Smooshy in "Good Luck Jade" and Arucania Ranco in rust, with additional pattern bands of Dream in Color Smooshy in "Gothic Rose" and some scraps of Koigu KPPPM in shades of navy blue and only the yellow stripes from my leftover Knitpicks Felici in "Patina." I'm particularly pleased with the way the Good Luck Jade and rust colors work together; both are semi-solid or mildly variegated, and the combined effect is like an antique piece of fabric.


As with my previous Latvian-style mittens, these have patterns adapted from the mittens on the Riga Summit website. They have a non-traditional thumb gusset, just because I really don't like peasant thumbs; this one is adapted from the Komi mittens in Knitting Marvelous Mittens. Colorwork mittens go so quickly! I had this one knitted up to the thumb, then had to rip it back and make it bigger, and it's still almost finished a week later. Watching those bands of pattern stack up just makes you want to knit one more row... then one more...

It's been freakin' cold here in New York City, so I wish I had more free time to finish these up! Alas, Chaucer and the First Crusade and Literary Theory take priority in the next few weeks...

New Year Update

All the Christmas knitting did in fact get finished (though I did end up giving my sister only one of the Jaywalker socks and furiously finishing the second on Christmas Day). My cousin seemed a bit ambivalent about her beret, but my grandmother loved her bed jacket. The February Lady Sweater is a great pattern -- quick knit, finishes beautifully. I'd totally recommend it.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of any of the FOs, because they were all gifted away. The only finished piece I can show you is this beret, a duplicate of my cousin's, which is going to be bestowed upon my friend Suzanne today:


She sang the praises of mine, so I think she deserves one of her own. I think this combination turned out really well: it's Arucanio Ranco in a warm rust color and Jojoland Melody in "Merry."

I'm totally smitten with this pattern and have so far knit five of these berets -- it's La Parisienne Beret by Sockpixie. Quick, satisfying, and totally gorgeous!

Happy New Year, everyone!