Claudzilla

I’ve been reading Guns, Germs and Steel for a book club with some friends.  I’m only a little way in, reading about human evolution (always awesome), and about Cro-Magnon Man’s cave paintings.

I don’t know if you know this about me, but I love cave paintings. I think they are one of the most incredibly beautiful things I’ve ever seen. 

The thing that I can’t believe is that there is something in people that just makes us do this.

The strangest things has happened to me lately… I finished a pair of socks (I grafted! Pictures very soon!), put the needles away*, and realized that I have nothing to knit.  Nothing.  No half-done projects to work on, nothing I’m aching to start. 

It is so weird. 

I mean, I’ve got some ideas, some things I’m interested in.  A pattern here, a color there, a texture or technique, but nothing’s really grabbed me.  My solution is to knit for someone else for a change.  One of my old professors is having a baby, and so I’m going to make some baby things.  And maybe while I’m at it I’ll make something for JW.  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg; there’s billions of people I could knit for.  Where have I been?  I think I’ve worn out my inspiration with thinking and planning for myself, and that the cure will be to think about what someone else might like.

At least for now.

*Actually, I threw them out.  They were old bamboo DPN’s and they’d gotten sticky-feeling.  All of my sock needles feel the same way and need to be replaced. 

I know St. Patrick’s Day is supposed to be about drinking (and who says it isn’t?), but more important than the beer is the people you drink it with.  So gather your friends and loved ones and raise a glass to love, long life, and no more snakes!

This weekend was given over entirely to spring cleaning. It was really nice; we vacuumed, dusted and organized, tidied, polished and scoured until we could scour no more. The little piles that seemed permanent are vanquished, a layer of crap has been removed, and new efforts are being made to keep surfaces clear and floors free of clothing. It looks and feels great; I think Marge Simpson might be on to something.

One of the other things I did this weekend was to take an old table of JW’s and completely revamp it. I took pictures of the entire process, just so that I could share it with you. Here’s what we started with:

This is the ‘before’ shot. When I met JW, this table held his stereo off of his dorm-room floor. It’s a nice piece of kit, with the cut-to-match glass and all.

This is where the fun begins.

Benjamin Moore 2002-10, ‘Vermilion’, with the highest-gloss finish I could get. I love it. It’s even better than I’d hoped.

Anyone else think that Vermilion sounds like the name of the mysterious count who tries to seduce the ingenue before she finds true love with the boy next door?

JW and I have long been in the habit of collecting postcards in our travels. Between the two of us we’ve got hundreds, and this seemed like a great use for a few of them. In the midst of Casablanca we sorted and arranged until we came up with this. A little Elmer’s, an over night dry, and…

…a simple turn with the old X-Acto were all it took to transform this piece into a brand new table!

Can you find: Baudelaire, Alfred Hitchcock, Vivian Leigh, James Joyce, Francis Bacon, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, and the London library after an air raid?

My eyes are so much bigger than my stomach. Or perhaps “my eyes are bigger than my needles” is more accurate. I don’t even have a copy of the new Interweave Knits yet, and already I’m lining up projects in my head, planning colors and yarn substitutions. I’m not even to the sleeves of my striped raglan, but I’ve got too many ideas to keep them all in.

The first favorite is the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan.

Talk about your useful garments. This is one of those sweaters that could be worn everywhere: work, home, out at night. I’m thinking it would be nice worked up in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, maybe in a nice purpley-blue. I also have my eye on a murky olive-brown shade (not too dark) that would go with lots of other things.

The other thing that I’m really excited about is the Dovetail Pullover.

I know that the pattern is intended to be made in cotton, but I think this would take to Lamb’s Pride like a duck to water. I’ve been hankering lately to make something in a neutral color, like oatmeal or brown heather. In wool it would be super toasty, and I like the structured shape. I also think that the fit and shoulders would be a good compliment to a natural-looking shade.

So those are the two main contenders for my knitting attention. I’m thinking that if I get my raglan done pretty quickly (which I ought to… pictures coming soon!), I’ll have time to make the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan for spring, and can work on the Dovetail Pullover over summer. After all, that is my favorite season for cabling. But we’ll see. I can never predict when another project is going to catch my eye. The title of this post was no joke - thinking that I can plan two projects ahead and get everything done in the time and way I like it is a big dream.

Brooklyn Lager at half-mast, folding another Tuesday in on itself.

This is the view from my wonderful uncles’ new apartment. Traffic comes down 7th avenue; the vanishing point is Times Square. The official Fire colors (red, orange, pink) appear in little touches and the reflection of the city lights that turns the clouds orange-purple. I love this town.