Too much

I have too much to do. For one thing, I've got two days to finish a really dynamic final paper on that eternal question, "What is Revolution?" Ok, you have to read that with a really profound-sounding voice.

For another thing, the Powers That Be in the Administration Building have decided that we college students have become spoiled and lazy by the one-month winter break, and they need to break us of this attachment before we enter the "real world." We get two and a half weeks off. At the school where I did my undergrad we had *at least* 4.5 weeks off. I want to kick these guys, seriously. Also, I've decided that when I get a job in a university (note: *not* the "real world") I'm going to get something signed that the break will be 1 month long and will stay 1 month long until I retire.

I have two and a half weeks to a) celebrate my holidays, b) see my family, c) clean out the closet in my old bedroom so that its transformation to Dad's Music Room can be complete, d) spend a week in Oklahoma with my boyfriend's family, e) visit with various other friends while they're in town and f) write a whole nother paper. Sounds like a real great vacation, doesn't it?

For a third thing, I have all these great ideas for blog posts I want to do before the end of the year, like a year in review where I talk about stuff I've learned and stuff I want to learn next year, and I want to do something on "historians who knit" like I mentioned before. Maybe that will wait till next year. I can invite my historian knitting friends over for a stitch-n-bitch and then corner them and interview them. Muahahahaha!

And Fourth, I have 6 finished objects that haven't made it onto the blog yet. Four will have to wait till later-- two are Christmas presents I haven't given yet, and I don't have a picture of the third. I thought I had a picture of the fourth, but apparently I am a moron and shipped it off without taking a picture. Mom has a picture of the recipient modeling it, if we all bat our eyes at her maybe she'll send it to me ;-)

Here's the big one:


Mary Charles' Wardrobe Staple Sweater, otherwise known as "Blocking is Magic. Sometimes." This pic does a great job of showing off the sheen of the alpaca, but you'll have to fill in the halo yourself.

When we last left this sweater it had been completely knit as a set-in-sleeve v-neck, but the armholes were enormous. I ripped out the top of the sweater to where I'd divided for the armholes, and ripped out more than half the sleeve caps, then joined it all up to knit it as a raglan in the round.

The pattern itself worked out better than I could have imagined it in my wildest dreams. Pure luck got the v-neck to meet up with the raglan seam at exactly the right place. I swear I didn't even plan it. There was one problem, though. When you wet-block and then frog alpaca, it curls up more than my frizzy hair on a rainy day.

Click for big, so you can appreciate the difference. But! A gentle washing in the sink, five or six times, soothed out almost every kink, and now the difference is invisible to the untrained eye!

I am such a bad blogger because I totally didn't get a picture of Mary Charles modeling the sweater. But it fit her perfectly. She's about the same size as I am, but she's a good bit shorter. I knew the sweater would fit her width-wise, but I did get a bit nervous about the sleeves because they hit me *at* the elbow. But all is well, and she loves it, and that makes me pleased as punch. She wants me to write up the pattern to make it available for her customers. Add that to the list of stuff to do.


This is the other one. This little guy was knit with some leftover yarn. A 16-stitch sock, actually kind of challenging but very quick. He's on his way to my boyfriends' mom's Christmas tree.

Browsing blogland, it feels like I'm one of the few people left who actually likes Christmas. So here's my manifesto: I LOVE Christmas. I love the decorations, I love picking out (or making) the perfect gift for my nearest and dearest, I love the excitement of looking at wrapped presents and trying not to cheat by looking at my Amazon wishlist. I love stuffing my brother's gifts into really weird-shaped boxes so he can't guess what I got him. I love how people try a little harder to get in touch with old friends. I love the way my heart beats a little faster every time I see my little tree with its white lights sparkling like starlight. I love tying a big red bow on the wooden drawing dummy who lives on my TV. I love Mexican Wedding cookies. I love nativity scenes. I love the Coca-Cola Santa Claus. I love Christmas carols and the candlelight service on Christmas Eve.

There are plenty of things not to like about Christmas, but there are so many wonderful things about Christmas too. If you need a little Christmas cheer check out Joyeux Noël, a movie about the spontaneous cease-fire in the trenches in December 1914. Or just drink some eggnog.