A blog about my life, knitting, and other stuff.

January 4, 2006

Terse

I've been a bit short lately, haven't I? Well, I have been busy. Last week I worked a full five day work week for the first time since my oldest son was born. It was fun but tiring and I didn't see the kids at all (which was kind of fun in its own way). I know all you moms who work full time are having a little chuckle at me right now. It's okay. Go ahead. Now the kids are back at school (hallelujah!) and I'm back to working three days a week.

I saw three great movies over the weekend. They're all a bit heavy but all great in their own ways. I started with Hitchcock's Lifeboat which is one of only a handful of his films I have not seen. It's classic Hitchcock--dark, snappy, visually creative. And it's got Tallulah Bankhead which I just like to say a lot. Tallulah. Ah. I also got Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man. What a thought-provoking, disturbing film. I've been bursting to talk about it with people. It's the story of a self-acclaimed grizzly expert who spent 10 summers in Alaska observing (and interacting with) the bears until he and his girlfriend were eaten by the bears. Unbelievable stuff. And lastly we saw Brokeback Mountain which was stunning, heartbreaking and impeccably executed.

I finally picked up my Leaf Lace Shawl. I can still knit a full repeat in under three hours but those rows, they just keep getting longer and I still have a long, long way to go. I've used 1/6 of my yarn so far.



And last night my oldest son asked me to knit him a hat!! He has never asked for or accepted any knitting. Last night he asked me to make him a hat "just like Daddy's." Aw man. He wants the same colors and everything.

I also finally cast on for Wes's Durrow yesterday. I've been stalling because I'm still not sure about the right size to knit. I made my swatch. The pattern's stated gauge is "18 sts and 28 rows = 4" / 10cm in 4 x 2 rib, slightly stretched." Slightly stretched. Those words just set my teeth on edge. How much is slightly? I made a swatch that I could stretch to about 8 inches that was 5 inches relaxed. How the hell do you determine the gauge on that? And I couldn't decide on how much ease. Wes had me measure two shirts that had 6 and 10 inches of ease. The boy likes his clothes loose. So I bucked up my courage and started making what I hope will be the right size. I'll knit a few inches, put it on waste yarn and have him slip it on. That will work better than a stinkin' swatch.