Knitting in Public, and Other Surprises

Knitting in Oxford: Come September, I'll be there.

People, I am back.  I am so pleased to be back.  The deadline has passed, and spring has arrived.  Moreover, Mr. Trask and I had some exciting news last week – we’ll be moving to England in the fall.  We’ll be there for three years, probably.  I’m going to be doing a DPhil program (similar to a PhD) in 18th century poetry.  Mr. Trask and I have been hoping to have the chance to make this move for a while, but only last week did we find out that it’s really happening.  I am a bit overwhelmed, but here’s what I know so far:

• We’ll move in the fall.
• We can’t take all the yarn with us.

So, hey, my loss is your gain!  I’ll be posting a lot of yarn giveaways in the coming weeks and months (see below, in fact).

[Want to know what I’m doing in the photo to the left? Read here, here, and here.]

Meanwhile, an update on what I did in the last month: I knit on deadline. Quite a bit. Particularly since my school was on spring break for two weeks, I had time to knit and knit and knit. At the movies, on the telephone, lying in bed at night unable to sleep…you get the idea.

That's me, in my gym clothes, about to leave for workout-while-knitting. I was less excited than I look. The photo may be fuzzy because I was vibrating with stress. Also, note how messy our house got during the Knitting Deadline National Nightmare.

At one point, I brought my knitting to the gym. So ridiculous, but I needed to work out, and I also needed to keep knitting.

Usually, while suffering through my workout, I watch reruns of Grey’s Anatomy (embarrassing admission) to distract myself from the evil Cross Trainer.  For this particular workout, which was supposed to distract me from the knitting deadline, I had sticks, string, and Grey’s…and coincidentally the episode in question was the one in which Meredith decides to take up knitting as a replacement for dating. No escape, people, no escape.

[Choice quote from the episode: “You’re knitting. In a bar. You can’t knit in a bar – you’re scaring the customers.” That bartender obviously had not yet seen the brilliant Pints and Purls.]

I also knit on the way to and from a glorious opera and in various restaurants around town…including, of course, St. Elmo’s, which is across the street from a nifty craft shop that wanted to let me know that March was National Craft Month.

Tea at Elmo's; National Craft Month banner across the street.

It certainly was National Craft Month for me.  Here’s a not-so-surprising secret: as stressful as knitting on deadline is, I loved it.  An excuse to knit 24/7?  Not too shabby. What about you all? Did you know that March was National Craft Month? Did you find yourself knitting more last month, either coincidentally or on purpose?

And now – the giveaways for this week. That’s right – I said giveaways. I’m posting two – that’s how much yarn we need to get out of the house before August. And here’s something else, something I hesitate to mention.  I’m putting a Paypal donate button on the side of the blog.  A few people who received yarn suggested this, and since I’ll be sending out a lot more yarn in the next few months I’m going to try it.  Please understand that you do not have to donate; you are not paying for the yarn; etc. I am hesitant about doing this, but willing to try.  Please feel free to post your opinions about this, positive or negative, in the comments (and, hey, that will enter you in the giveaways for this week!).

Cascade Fixation: Comment on the blog by noon on April 12 for a chance to win!

First up: this beautiful Cascade Fixation, a fascinating blend of cotton and elastic.  Four balls of this lovely yarn, all purchased at WEBS, all still shrink-wrapped, are waiting for you to make ’em into something stretchy.  You can use this yarn to make some spiffy socks, or even, ahem, intimate apparel (as Kate Gilbert and Annie Modesitt have both proven). My vote would be for the fancy panties, but it’s your call.

Second in order, but not in niftiness: one skein of Natural Dye Studio Dazzle HT Sock. This sock yarn is made of Bluefaced Leicester wool, and sports the prestigious British Wool label. The green and purple blend together in a lovely colorway that sings of spring. Make this into socks or a fun shawlette – or even just a light scarf.

Natural Dye Studios Dazzle: Comment on the blog by noon on April 12 for a chance to win!

For either of these, I’m offering a sweetener.  If you donate to Shannon Okey‘s Kickstarter campaign for her brilliant Cooperative Press knitting imprint, and post in the comments letting me know you did so (honor system!), I’ll give you an extra entry into the drawing.  Cooperative Press is a very exciting publishing company for several reasons. They give a higher percentage of royalties to designers than mainstream presses to; they support indie yarn companies; and they use models who reflect the bodies of real women. Plus, their next release is called What Would Madame Defarge Knit?. What’s not to love? [So, to recap: giving me money does not result in any preferential treatment; giving CP money results in an extra entry into the drawing.]

For a chance to win either yarn, comment here by noon on April 12. Good luck!