Pithy Title Goes Here

I wanted to do a quick-ish post today, with actual knitting content below! I'll hit comments first. A note: new Blogger doesn't let me reply to comments through email the same way I used to be able to. I've never been an "email reply to every comment" person, due to time constraints, but there are times I'd like to hit "reply" and give a quick answer to a question or something. For now, I'll stick with answering comments in my next post until I get email addresses saved. Kate, "sproingy" is one of my very favorite technical terms! Without it, how could I describe how much I like Lorna's Laces? Stefaneener, I've always loved to read. In fact, I was the only kid I knew who would actually get grounded from reading. It was the only punishment that actually had any impact. My little brother wasn't as into reading, but my mom got him into books about sports, even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books, and he is now a huge reader (in fact, his reading list is way more impressive than mine since he's really into history and military non-fiction, and to my knowledge never reads romance novels). My mom is now a principal, but she was an elementary teacher for years first, and she always got kids hooked on reading by finding something, anything that interested them. That's the beauty of the Harry Potter phenomenon: it's gotten millions of kids reading, and they love the Potter books so much they look for more like them and just keep going.

Thank you to everyone for the sock compliments! I'm very happy to have gotten them finished, and I like them a lot. I'll have to see if I can finish something, anything, for February as well, with the added goal of getting some writing done. I'd like to have a complete draft of my murder mystery by the end of the year. I have no idea how I will accomplish this, but I need to set some mini-goals. To finish this year is over a chapter a month, but I have several chapters in draft form, just needing some re-writing to incorporate my new ideas. So, for February, all I want is to re-write Chapter 1. It's a modest goal that I think I can achieve. I'll see how that goes, then re-evaluate and set goals for the rest of the year. My writing nook helps!

Knitting: Since I've nearly finished with ball #2 of Malabrigo (out of an expected maximum of 6 balls), I thought I'd post a progress photo of my Simple Knitted Bodice. I finally made it through the lace panel. I did a few repeats of the 4-row pattern, then measured: 2 1/2". That was great, since I was supposed to knit 3". I did another repeat, then measured again: 2 1/2". Huh. That was weird. Must have measured wrong before. Did another repeat, then measured: 2 1/2". Okay, now I was getting concerned. Would I ever finish the lace panel? Was I somehow making the lace panel go on and on because I didn't really want to do another set of purl ridges? But watching a repeat of Scrubs, I just knit and knit the lace, and at the end of the episode, I had 3". I guess I had to stop thinking I was almost done and just be in the knitting or something Zen like that. Anyway, I really wanted to have the purl ridges done before posting my photo, but I've got a busy couple of weeks going and wanted to get a photo up now in case I go a bit without posting. It's overcast today, which means the lighting in my house is horrid. I tried several spots and the kitchen counter ended up looking the best. Whatever.

I can't believe how far I've gotten. While I was working on the Waving Lace socks, I would sometimes do a row or two on the SKB if I happened to finish a section and not want to go on to the next quite yet. And suddenly, I was joining for working in the round. I like it quite a bit so far, but I doubt it'll be done in time for me to actually wear it, as it's warming up here already. I'm going to do a toe-up, short row toe and heel pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, and I think I've settled on a pair for Matt first, out of Opal's TIger colorway (also a Mission Possible goal!), since his birthday is coming up. My only concern is the possibility of running out of yarn with a single skein for a men's pair. Going toe-up will help, but I have to re-wind the skein into two equal balls to make sure. Ugh.

Reading: Nearly done with Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. I have thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think you can tell from the title if you'd be automatically offended by it or not (Moore's "opening prayer" at the beginning starts something like this (can't be bothered to look up exact wording): "If you came here to laugh, may you find humor; if you came here to be offended, may your ire rise and your blood boil." I like Moore (though he can be a bit juvenile in his scatalogical and sexual humor), and this book is just fun. It focuses on Jesus's human life from childhood until the crucifixion, about which little is known. Moore clearly did quite a lot of historical and theological research, though he's careful to point out that this is FICTION, but the historical details give it authenticity. It's very, very funny, but the story is surprisingly engaging. I found myself getting caught up in the journeys of Biff and Jesus (called here by the Hebrew version of his name, Yeshua or Joshua, instead of the Greek Jesus). I'll post a full review when I'm done.

Writing: None, but see above for goals. Think writing-ish thoughts for me.

Cooking: Hmmm. Nothing interesting, really. I made chocolate chip cookies today, though. I don't want to brag, but I do make the best chocolate chip cookies. Sometime I'll post my recipe and tips for superior cookies, but not today.