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.