this heart’s (thumb’s?) on fire.

Posted on January 5, 2011 by barefootrooster

Do you know that song? Seems like song lyrics are all that pop into my head when I’m sitting down to write a blog post. Anyway, this is a great (upbeat, yet sweet) song by Wolf Parade. Unfortunately, it came to mind today because of a minor kitchen disaster that occurred yesterday.

I was making this squash pasta. And somehow, in the process of beginning to move the roasted veggies into the big pan on the stove, I knocked the large roasting pan and it began to fall. I should have backed away and let my dinner make its own mess. But I am a silly rooster, and I just couldn’t. Instinctively, I grabbed the (very hot) roasting pan. Everything still fell, but I managed to acquire a blistering burn on my thumb in the process. Now, I’m no stranger to kitchen burns, having worked for a few summers as a cook for backpacking expeditions, but this one is photo-worthy. Avert your eyes if pictures of blisters gross you out. (Sorry.)

Owch. The thing is, what I was most worried about was whether I’d be able to knit. You see, I worked all day with the idea that I’d give myself an hour to keep knitting on idlewood. (I salvaged about half the squash from the floor, mixed it with the pasta, as in the above photo, and ate it anyway. It was delicious.)

Good news. That blister, while a little tender, did not get in the way of more idlewood progress. I knitted the last few rows of the body and bound off this morning. I love the cowl. Swoon.

This fits perfectly (over my pajamas). I’m still not sure about the pockets — I have a pretty straight/boyish shape, and I’m not sure I want to add more to the hips. What do you think? I’m going to aim to finish the sleeves so that this is wearable (maybe tomorrow?), and if I can do that, I’ll probably wait to block it and decide about the pockets until I get back from my weekend adventures.

Another great line from that song?

sometimes we rock and roll / i’d rather stay at home in real life

this heart’s on fire

the lights go on.

Posted on January 3, 2011 by barefootrooster

The pull of the couch, knitting on idlewood, snuggling Boh, and watching Dollhouse was too great yesterday.

Luckily, I recognized this early, and, after a little bit of yoga, marched myself down to a coffee shop to at least start the day by getting some work done.

(Also, I took extra care to be wearing handknit socks to start the new year. This pair, with the gusset heel, might be the best-fitting pair of socks I own.)

Anyway, back to the coffee shop. I was the only person there. And heard a beautiful song that sounded like Beirut. When the coffee shop is empty, you can ask the barista about the music. Check out “Scenic World,” from a 2006 LP, Lon Gisland. This is now the first track on my January 2011 mix. (And this post’s title is the first line of the song.)

After a few hours of good work, I might have come home, taken Boh for a walk, done some laundry, and indulged in the morning’s temptations. As soon as I finish my coffee, though, here’s where I’ll be:

Good luck settling into 2011! More soon.

on the walls of the day.

Posted on January 1, 2011 by barefootrooster

I made my list, and hung it on the fridge. It’s a mixture of goals and reminders, things to work on this semester. (And yes, that does say “finish sweaters on the needles.”) A favorite song from a few years ago, when I was driving east to start grad school, came up on shuffle yesterday — “Challengers,” by The New Pornographers:

on the walls of the day

in the shade of the sun we wrote down

another vision of us

we were the challengers of the unknown

A good song for the start of a new year, no?

felicity, more faking it.

Posted on December 17, 2010 by barefootrooster

A crappy picture, I know, but it highlights the super cool backlit keys of my new toy. Also, it helps me to demonstrate just how quickly this is knitting up. I snapped that photo on Thursday afternoon.

I took these a few hours ago. I’m finally knitting a felicity hat– or, perhaps more accurately, I’m self-soothing with stockinette. I finished my grading on Wednesday afternoon, and I jumped right back into my own work yesterday. Today? Well, let’s just say that the semester caught up to me. I’ve done some reading, and a bunch of little things, but mostly I’ve been watching The Good Wife and working on this hat.

I had decided that I wasn’t going to knit any holiday gifts this year, but then I remembered that my brother’s girlfriend will be joining us for Christmas morning…and while everyone else in my immediate family has already received a handknit accessory (or several), she hasn’t. And her hair isn’t as big as mine, so I think this hat will suit her. (And I’ll get to try it on. I’m not convinced that these snug at the forehead, slouchier in the back hats are ideal for someone with a head full of curls.)

hello, gorgeous.

Posted on December 12, 2010 by barefootrooster

Meet my new MacBook Pro. I’ve been agonizing over this decision ever since my MacBook battery began dying a slow death (thus sending my much-loved, well-used, and let’s face it, increasingly cranky laptop hurtling towards retirement), and last night I went to the Apple Store and walked out with this super pretty piece of technology.

There is much to be excited about, but the best part of this computer is the peace of mind it brings. (My comprehensive exams are around the corner, and the idea that my laptop might not make it through the ordeal was beginning to worry me.)

In conclusion, yay!

sweetness, a soaker, and first sweaters.

Posted on December 10, 2010 by barefootrooster

This dog has been such a comfort to me this week — a mixture of silly and sweet. Last night when I got home from a reading group, we played a game where I told him to sit, walked five paces, turned around and said, “Come on!” and he raced towards me. I think I got tired before he did. Dogs know when you’re having a hard time, and I am so thankful for Boh’s company right now.

I’m almost embarrassed to show you this — the beginning of a soaker that I started six weeks ago. It has succumbed to the curse of my in-the-bag knitting. It seems like I never actually work on the project I take everywhere. I can’t explain it. I started this alongside my dear friend T, who is expecting. (Yay!) We began them together, with the idea that I could help with troubleshooting if anything came up. T. has already made close to half a dozen of these sweet soakers, while I’m still knitting the ribbing of my first. (For shame.) At least I still have a few months before she’s going to need this!

I was talking with my friend P. yesterday about sweater-knitting — she called me on the way home from a yarn shop, her first sweater’s worth in the backseat. And as I bundled up to head out for a reading group last night, I grabbed my first sweater. The seaming is completely wonky, the ends are woven in weirdly, the size isn’t quite right…but I LOVE this sweater. Together with thrift-store boy jeans over long-underwear and a couple of long-sleeve layers, it was the answer to single-digit December temps — and to the transition I’m coping with right now. Handknits are magical like that.

chocolate ice cream.

Posted on December 4, 2010 by barefootrooster

In a mug.

Yesterday it was cold enough for my 28thirty cardigan — this sweater is almost too warm to wear inside. Dug out my purl scarf to go with it.

Off to continue my packed week of social activities– tonight it is drinks with friends and then a movie. Soon I’m going to have to get back to work. These papers aren’t going to grade themselves…

the end of november.

Posted on December 1, 2010 by barefootrooster

This pretty much captures how I feel this morning. B left yesterday. He’s headed home to begin his dissertation research, and he’ll be away indefinitely. Yesterday marked the end of a wonderful eight months together. I’ve never done this before — the bracing for the end you know is coming — and it is really hard. We had a sad, sweet, weepy week, filled with reflection on what this has meant for us.

I took B to the bus station early in the morning, and when I got home, I busied myself with a deep cleaning of the apartment. Time to marvel at the neatness of my knitting corner:

All (okay, most) of my WIPs are in that bag, and I intend to spend some quality time on that part of the couch today. My friends have been pretty wonderful about filling my date-book with hang-out time, and I’ve got a whole list of things to keep me busy in the short term. Topping that list? Being good to myself, knitting on Terra, cuddling Boh. (Well, and making progress on that pile of grading I’ve neglected…)

Welcome to December.

cold enough.

Posted on November 19, 2010 by barefootrooster

It’s cold enough for clapotis. Each fall I wrap it around myself prematurely, only to take it off moments later because I am way too warm. But with temperatures still in the 30s at 9 am, and precipitation that just might be flurries of snowflakes, I’m declaring it cold enough. Time to bundle up and head to campus. TGIF, and thank goodness for handknits.

boh knows best.

Posted on November 4, 2010 by barefootrooster

I left off yesterday by saying that I owed Boh a good, long walk. All this reading, writing, and grading has meant a slew of shorter-than-they-should-be walks for my favorite four-legged companion. I was thinking about it as something for him — but really, it was exactly what I needed, too. (Funny how that works.)