I thought I was kidding, too...

The Rebecca wrap is speeding along, and I'm nearly finished with the main knitting. Since I'm the last person on the planet to knit this particular item, and because it was originally intended for spring/summer wear, but I'm going to be wearing it in the autumn/winter, I have lengthened the sleeves from quite short to 3/4's length. That also means there will be more of the Haze in direct contact with my skin, which is a concept that sends me into rapturous exaltations. You can see my progress for yourself. Isn't it all too exciting.
As far as other excitement in my life goes, well, there hasn't been much. The search for a new abode continues, and my patience wears thinner and thinner. I really hate waiting for other people to make decisions that affect my life. Boo hoo hoo. I'm also having to move at my work... I'm going into my fourth year of my PhD, and once you reach that point, the group that I work with takes you from your lovely airy office and shoves you in a dark, windowless hole with the rest of the fourth years. I guess the reasoning is if you have nothing to do and no one to talk to, that you will write. I think it's just another way they are trying to remove our 'will to live'.
So, I'll quit whinging, but I won't stop talking about the Haze. So, today, when I sat down in my usual knittin' place, I looked out the window and this is what I saw:


I'd like to think it has something to do with the Haze, and the comment I made about it a few posts ago. See, sometimes, knitting does make magic happen.

Therapy Knitting and some nostalgia

The Rebecca wrap is coming along really well, I really love knitting it and it's such a break from all those cables and moss stitch and cotton from the other cardi. I truly cannot put into words my affection for the Haze (as those in the know call it). The little eyelet pattern is dead simple to memorise, the shaping is very simple, and from what I can tell from photos of everyone else, it's lovely when it's finished. I'm thinking I may alter the way it's tied together, as I'm not crazy about the big ol' knot it makes. I might just knit on a strip about 8 stitches wide (like the closure of the Lucky Clover wrap). We'll see.
Also, I forgot to mention it earlier, but I had a friend stopover in London on her way to Turkey last Friday, and I met up with her at the airport to visit for a while. She, being awesomeness incarnate, brought me loads of Tex-Mex goodies from Arizona, plus about 20 packets of Kool-Aid in loads of different colours!!! Since I have loads of cream wool leftover from the cable jumper I knit last, and I'm not really crazy about it in it's current state, I can't wait to put the two together and make some exciting variegated something. It was also just fun to see Kool-aid again, as it's probably been something like 10+ years since I've even held a packet in my hand. It made me remember how we used to store them like trading cards, and I would alphabetize mine. It was always such a big decision choosing which colour we wanted to make. Also, even though they are named by flavours, everyone always discussed them in terms of their colour, like 'Can I have some Red Kool-aid?' 'Sorry, no, all we have is purple.'
The boiler is now fixed, I'm still looking for a place to live, and that's about it.

The Big Issue

Our little Indian summer seems to have made its way back home now... It's a real shame because most of the summer here was non-existent until late August and early September, so I was just getting in the spirit of it. I had stopped carrying extra layers of clothing and an umbrella everywhere I went. Then I got smacked down by the rain and cold that's letting me know that, yeah, it's September, so deal with it. Our boiler isn't working today, either, so I'm sitting inside wearing as much clothing as comfortably possible. Ugh.
Now for some comic relief... Want to see the progress I've made on the anthropomorphic cardigan? Yeah, I thought so. Here ya go. Notice anything wrong? Yeah, I did the armhole and neck shaping the same as the other half of the cardigan, and it has been ripped back. Usually I'm pretty good about dealing with mistakes immediately, but this time I did just throw the whole thing into the bottom of my knitting bag.
To soothe my aggravation, I busted out the Kid Silk Haze and cast on for the Rebecca wrap with eyelets (thanks Tracy!!!! see her version here). I love Kid Silk Haze so much, I was thinking of writing an ode to it. I know detractors go on about how hard it is to rip back, and how slippery and tangly it can be, but I don't care. It feels like the underbelly of a freshly washed kitten that lives in a rainbow. I was making myself wait until I finished the second half of the front of the anthropomorphic deal, but after my massive goof-up, I knew KSH could make me feel better. I would probably be able to knit it more quickly if I could stop petting it.
Other than that, the guitar playing is going okay (read: I'm still rubbish), and also I will be moving at the beginning of next month. I'm a bit sad because I really really love my current flat, it's location is perfect, it's gorgeous, etc, etc, but recently I've also discovered that I like to be able to buy food, too, and to have friends that don't resent me for always making them pay for stuff. So, I'm moving to a cheaper place, and I've already found one shared house that's very close to where I live now that seems cool. I have to wait until early next week to find out if the people there would like to have me as a housemate, so we'll see. The house is VERY studenty, and if I decide to go there I'll go more into it, but it should be funny anyway.

Typical.

Okay, to end the suspense and to keep the guesses from getting any more sordid (C'mon Luca, you know I put down the crack pipe for good!), I will reveal the source of the blisters........ Playing guitar! So, the first guess was correct, good eye, Mary. I used to play ages and ages ago, but obviously my callouses have disappeared, and I have to develop new ones. I don't mind it too much actually, now that the pain has subsided somewhat. The hardest part was actually forcing myself to trim down my nails, as I always ALWAYS have long nails that I usually keep painted, and am quite protective of. We all have to make sacrifices for our art, though right? I went along for a while believing that I could play with long nails, but when I read that Dolly Parton couldn't do it, I gave up hope.
(ps - knitting-wise, there is very little excitement... still trying to force myself to knit the other half of the front of my cardi, and making very little headway.)

Still Boring...

There has been some knitting, but it looks an awful lot like the first half of the front of the anthropomorphic cardigan, just reflected, and less complete. So, I'll let you use your imaginations on this one. Knitting has been a bit slower than usual (shut it, I know, I know, how can something be slower than stopped?) and slightly more painful due to some self-inflicted blisters on my fingers. If anyone can guess the cause of them, you get a gold star. Just to be morbid, and to provide some photographic content, here they are, with the focus on the most bulbous....

More excitingly, the Knitters' Disaster Relief Fund has raised (as of this moment) $77,676.43!!! Isn't that unbelievable! So, go check out their website, and if you can't be motivated by charity alone, look at all the great prizes that can be won if you donate!

Hmmmm...

Okay, so work's been cranked up a notch and there is no knitting to speak of lately. There has been staying in a lab until midnight, etc though, but that doesn't make for good content. So, now that that's out of the way...
I don't usually write too much about current events, etc, but I have to say my bit about what's going on in the Gulf of Mexico. I haven't been watching, reading, or listening to the news, because I don't think I can bear to see places only a few hundred miles (which is not much in Texas terms) away from where I grew up devastated. Places I would visit on holiday when I was younger, and that I only have fantastic memories of. In what is supposed to be one of the most developed countries in the world. A country that knew this was coming.
I've gotten in contact with the people that I can who live in the area, and made sure everyone's okay. So, I know I'm not the first person to make this suggestion, but if you have some spare cash kicking around, it couldn't be put to better use than helping out with this. Here's the link for the American Red Cross, where you can donate online, by phone, mail, etc. Keep in mind that most of the areas being hit the hardest were already some of the poorest areas in the states, so a lot of the people affected were probably already living hand-to-mouth and don't have massive savings to help them recover from any sort of disaster. Also, if you're in the UK, your one pound sterling is worth almost 2 American dollars, so whatever you are thinking of giving, don't forget to factor in the exchange rate. Thanks for reading.

(Added on 03/09 : The ladies of I'm Knitting as Fast as I Can and Zeneedle have organised a Knitters' disaster relief fund, which can be found here . If you donate, and then send in the amount you have donated with your name, you get entered to win loads of cool knitting stuff, too!
If you're having trouble with the American Red Cross website, or would like to donate your money to another orgainsation, check out Go Fug Yourself for an exhaustive list of different groups that can do some good with jo money. Then scroll down and partake of the snark.)