Okay, so I still haven't put new batteries in the digital camera. Procrastination. Right after my last post, a parcel arrived in the mail from the UK, containing two garments' worth of Colinette yarn! Very exciting! I've wound all of the Lasso into balls and dove into a new project, the "Athena" camisole. Apparently, there are buttons in the back, but they never show you the back of the sweater in the pattern book or specify the size buttons needed. An unusual oversight. Working with the yarn has given me insight on the "morish" description, but it does not inspire me to make more garments with Lasso. It's not terrible, but my hands don't love pushing all those stitches around my old circs. Also, impossible on bamboo needles because it's snaggy. That said, I think I will really like the finished garment.
I'm going on a yarn diet. I have an obscene amount of yarn. Sure, every knitter thinks that about her own stash, but I really don't need any more. Also, I'm trying to funnel the discretionary fund in a new direction: a trip to Canada. The proprietor of a trendy Chicago LYS (like that narrows it down) told me that my favorite band is going to be playing Chicago in the fall. I went to their website and saw that they're playing a show in Montreal in September. I've wanted to go to Montreal for a long time. I used to think that it would be a good warm up for Paris, what with my self-consciousness about my Francophony. Well, I've been to Paris twice now and never to Quebec. So, I did some research online and found a way to do it on the cheap. That's how I travel. So Lewis and I are going to Montreal in September. All of the arrangements are made (again, the internet and Skype) and now all we have to do is go. That part of the trip, oddly, scares me. I don't know why. It'll be nice to go on a trip with Lewis, since our roadtrip to New York fell through last year. I can't even remember why. We're going to travel like a couple of crazy college students: a bus to a bus to a train, then back again. Not that I love spending hours on end on buses, but the going rate to fly to Montreal from my fair city is more than I've ever paid to fly to Europe. I'll bring some knitting and take another crack at Swann's Way.
In other news, I have a faint tan. Well, it seems dramatic to me since I'm naturally pale. I had lunch with Dawn on Tuesday, not thinking about the sun and proximity to noon as we overlooked the river. I got a little sunburn. I have more freckles now. My skin seems to belong to a redhead, the way that it wants to freckle. Maybe it'll die down in a week or two. At least I won't have to waste my time with that ridiculous self-tanner for a while.
The tomato top down cardigan is almost finished. I even found an excellent horn button to compliment its granola side. Well, I shouldn't say almost. I still have to knit the collar, which seems like it could be an undertaking. It's got clever short-row shaping, but I know that I'll need to sit down and really read the pattern before proceeding. When I'll have time to do that is unclear. But I'd like to have it finished soon, so I can get cracking on a bunch of other projects.

New Threads

Yay! The dress that I ordered from Urban Outfitters arrived today! It cost $20 and was a pig in a poke, since I couldn't try it on first. Here's a picture of it on a skinny, sad looking model. It doesn't look like that on me! For starters, I have an *ample* bosom, so I fill that thing out! I may have to consider a discreet safety pin in the neckline to make it work friendly. And it's less drapey on me. What you can't tell from their pic is that the dress is made of natural fiber (!), so it's perfect for warm weather. And it will look great with my A/C cardigan, the same color as same of the stripes. That is, when I make said sweater. I'd have a pic of me posing in the dress, except the batteries in my camera died and I still haven't figured out how to get pictures from my phone to my computer. And I'm an A/V professsional! Shameless.
Things are really moving along on A/C cardigan #1, the Blue Sky Cotton sweater. That stuff sheds like crazy, and I've found a few more knots than I'd care to in the skeins. Still, I love it. It will probably be perfect after a visit from the sweater stone. The pattern, by the ever fabulous Wendy at Knit and Tonic has very clever waist shaping. It's knit from the top down, which seems to be her fave construction, so there are well hidden increases in the ribbing at the waist. She seems to be a very clever lady, a word that can seem as demeaning as crafty when used by the wrong person.
What else have I been up to lately? Well, I spoke French at work today, which felt very exciting and cosmopolitan. One of the people I called was Belgian and answered the phone in French. I followed suit long enough to ask for the person I wanted and inquier whether or not he spoke English. He seemed surprised. He also spoke English, thank god, since I'm not sure my French is up to a description of ten ballets! I should practice more. I say that as I am IMing a friend who lives in the French countryside and speaks little English. Asked and answered.
Thanks to Skype, I had a satisfying gossip session with my cousin Stephen. He's always good for that sort of thing. He metes out a fair balance of kind and unkind things about people we know and those we don't. Skype is pretty darn cool. I know I've said that before, but it's true.
I got an email from my Colinette dealers (because let's face it, it's an addictive fiber) saying that the long awaited Giotto will be on its way soon. They're even going to ship the things I added to my order for free. It shouldn't be the case, but I find that sort of customer service refreshing.
This week, I get to rock my glasses all the time because I was exposed to conjunctivitis. Or l'oeil rose, to make it more poetic. The son of one of my friends, whom I just saw over the weekend, just came down with pinkeye. It's highly contagious, so she called to warn me. Very considerate, no? I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, so you can imagine the effect of this warning. It's so hard to tell this time of year, with all the pollen in the air and my neighbor's nightly bonfires of things that shouldn't be burned (trash, chemically treated lumber, a surprising quantity of leaves). So, I'm on the alert for unusual amounts of redness in my general eye area, and suffering sartorially with the specs. No, they're not so bad, but I'm used to wearing my contacts. Also, the combination of the glasses and non-ergonomic phone at work for hours on end can be a bit much. Oh, and that's an old pic, so don't squint at it for a long time trying to discern signs of redness and fatigue. That's just the ordinary amount of fatigue there. It's also Lewis's CDR. I wore mine today and think that it needs the weight of the hood in the back to keep it from being too low cut in the front. And it's too warm for a wool sweater.
I've also starting reading a couple of blogs with high addiction potential. Pink is the New Blog (sorry, too lazy to link, besides, do you really think they'd swap link with me?) is lots of scurrilous gossip, but like you'd hear from some fantastic queen working the coat check at Studio 54 back in the day. Not in 70s lingo. Fabulous! Also, this laugh out loud site, You Knit What?!. Because even knitters are horrified by some of the knitwear out there.