Cave-In

Respite from Fair Isle madness in the form of a string bag

Fair Isle knitting overdose. Result? Cast on for a string bag. Yes, I caved in. I am THIS close to finishing the blasted Malthese, but I just couldn't take it anymore (for a little while, at least). Zig is sorely in need of replacement grocery bags, and an entire box of cotton/linen yarn sits just behind the couch. As we left the house for a bike ride yesterday afternoon, I found myself grabbing yarn and needles to begin the "Clementine" bag (Clementine being a trendy name for pale orange). The base of the bag is almost complete.

Spring

By Edna St. Vincent Millay

To what purpose, April, do you return again?

Beauty is not enough.

You can no longer quiet me with the redness

Of little leaves opening stickily.

I know what I know.

The sun is hot on my neck as I observe

The spikes of the crocus.

The smell of the earth is good.

It is apparent that there is no death.

But what does that signify?

Not only under ground are the brains of men

Eaten by maggots.

Life in itself

Is nothing,

An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.

It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,

April

Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.

...and March fades away

(excerpted from The Waste Land, by T. S. Eliot) APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

(excerpted from The Waste Land, by T. S. Eliot)
APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding

 

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

 

Memory and desire, stirring

 

Dull roots with spring rain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Malthese Shawl - first half of the top border - the second half will fold backwards onto the first half, wrong sides together.

My lack of posts is criminal. My dear college friend Carol gave me a very gentle kick in the pants via Facebook yesterday. Thanks to her, I'm back. All I can say in my defense is that the Malthese Flowers shawl has taken over my non-professional life. I work on it and work on it and work on it and work on it ad nauseum yet never seem closer to the top of the piece. I was taken unawares by the fact that the border on all three sides has to be knit twice so that the second one is the facing of the first one. That added a solid week and more to the project. It's not looking good for Paris. But maybe it's just too BRIGHT for Paris - I would stand out like a double dahlia amongst all the sober, chic BLACK.

Speaking of black, I did purchase yarn and a new pattern booklet for a simple, shaped tank. That's the first yarn purchased this year, I do believe. Marji had a model on display in her shop, and my resolve vanished.

DeGraw tank pattern with black "Ripple" yarn - Tahki Stacy Charles

The only other yarn purchase was a carton full of Knit Picks Cotlin - 20 skeins in all. These will be used to knit up a new armada of string bags for Zig, as the ones he currently has are much the worse for wear, with runs and breaks and all kinds of knitterly havoc. It pains me to knit an entire new set in BEIGE, so I ran wild with color selection:

Knit Picks Cotlin for string bags

I justify this purchase by filing it under "Household Expenses".

No progress AT ALL on handspun - the photos here are probably the same as in the last post but it's Thursday night and I'm tired and too lazy to go check:

First half of Tartan

Wimpy start on second half of Tartan

As regards diet and weight loss, I'm stubbornly hanging in there with diet and exercise, but not seeing much reduction. I do, however, feel really good, and it seems as though my clothes fit me better, so I count that as progress toward the desired goal.