Breaking my Silence

For some reason, keeping up with computer stuff was not something I did while on vacation. Maybe it was because I was too busy winding yarn balls (or cakes, as they're called on Ravelry. Too bad I don't have the little icon that pops up for "cake".)  Ennnyway--that was a whooooole bunch of yarn-winding, and I at least can see what I have waiting to be knitted.

That, however, huge pile that it is, did not stop me from just ordering more sock yarn. It was just one skein, I swear! And I haven't ordered anything online for more than two weeks! Well, not counting a couple of things I got on ebay. They don't count, because they weren't knitting related. (I love my rationalizations, don't you?) But I needed  the Wendy Knits "Ribbon Candy" pattern for the pink yarn that came in the "Boobie" sock kit because I don't like the "Boobie" pattern that came with the yarn, and while I was at The Loopy Ewe site, I thought I might as well get some of that great Dream in Color Smooshy yarn everyone else seems to love. I would have ordered some Woolmeise, but it goes out of stock exactly 73.2 seconds after it's listed, apparently. I need to get on the advance notice list or something!

I still haven't taken pictures of the things I've been working on. Not the ball-winding part. That would be just too dull. No, I mean the socks that I've still been half-heartedly knitting for SOS08, and the other project that I mentioned. I might as well admit it here and now. I joined the lemmings and made a Clapotis scarf.

If you haven't heard of that, where the heck have you been? Not on Ravelry, that's for sure! The pattern is from knitty.com, from sometime in 2005, and it's the most downloaded pattern they've ever featured. In fact, the latest Interweave Knits magazine has an article about the designer and the impact the Clapotis had on knitty.com and the knitworld in general.

When I first saw it, I thought, "Meh. What's the big deal?" But the more I looked at it, the more I liked it, and I kept reading that other people felt the same way until they saw a finished scarf, then they fell in love. Well. I had three skeins of Noro Kureyon sock yarn, and the more I petted it, the less I thought I would like it as socks. It is kind of wiry and rough. But three skeins is more than enough to make a cool scarf, so I started looking through my patterns and books for just the right thing, and that turned out to be the Clapotis. (BTW, it's pronounced something like, "Clah-poh-tee" in some Frenchy manner. Accent on the last syllable, I think. That makes it sound a little less like some weird STD.)

So that's what I worked on between socks, while listening to "Persuasion" on the iPod. It's an easy pattern, once you get the rhythm of it, so it didn't take long and was fairly mindless. I haven't washed it yet, so it still feels a bit wiry, but it drapes nicely now and I think it will be even better once it's washed and laid flat to dry. The general consensus seems to be that you don't want to block it hard, like you would a lace shawl. I really will get before-and-after pictures, but the resident expert photographer is mortally ill (i.e. he has a cold) so I won't bother him today.

In other not-so-exciting news...well...that's about it. Except that I did finally get to my violin lesson, and I've been practicing a lot. I've loved all my teachers, but this one and I communicate so well, and she spots immediately what I need to work on and explains it perfectly. It's encouraging, because we agree that I am making progress, yay!! Violin is tough at any age, and when you start at the age of 46, you've really got your work cut out for you. Part of it is the simple fact that holding and bowing the instrument are new motions, and if you haven't been doing it since you were four or five years old, your body rebels a little. I got a new shoulder rest, after test-driving about nine of them, and that's made a tremendous difference.

So I'm loving my music more and more. One of my favorite pieces is "The Lark Ascending" as played by Hilary Hahn. (Go buy the CD. Even if you don't like classical music, you'll LOVE this. I promise.) I bought the sheet music, even though it's way beyond my skills, and can actually play snippets. That makes me so happy and keeps my enthusiasm up for continuing to slog through the Suzuki books. I have my own pet names for the pieces in Book One: "The Not-So-Happy Farmer" and "The Stinkin' Gavotte" are a couple of them. And, yes Virginia, playing your scales does improve your overall playing.

I've been trying to resist starting a shawl, but my Plurkbuds tell me resistance is futile. So, if I can find that cashmere-blend lace yarn somewhere around here...