My second surprise project is almost finished, and I am getting closer and closer to finished on Yathrib. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me, because I am a month behind, and eating into my extra time I gave myself. With one project behind me, my weekends will be freer to finish the baptismal gown, and my weekdays will be left to start on the next sweater in this collection.

Because I am foolish, I have added another project to start. This year, I decided to try Sock Madness again. I qualified as a cheerleader one year, then didn't qualify at all the next, then again as a cheerleader the year after that. However, the designer of the qualifier that last year was so sarcsatic and mean to people who asked legitimate questions (not toward me, this wasn't personal), that it took almost all the fun out of it. I still haven't finished that pair of socks, even though they were beautiful, and I learned a couple techniques while making the first. It just left a sour taste in my mouth, and I didn't participate the rest of the competition, and I didn't participate at all last year. This year, it appears that designer is not so active, so I thought I would try again. Well, the qualifying pattern was delivered today, and I have less than 14 days to finish at least one intarsia in the round sock. It is a pretty cool sock, and this is a technique that I have wanted to master, but I am not sure I can do it in less than two weeks!

Plus finish the sweater and the baptismal gown. I'm not sure I will qualify this year.

I think I have only read about two more pages in The Diary of a Country Priest. The kids and I are more than half way through Cheaper by the Dozen, and I finished The Tsar of Love and Techno. I enjoyed the writing, though I found the author unnecessarily included some obscene parts. I do not mean that there are sexual references or sexual imagery, but that there are some disgusting scenes, and as far as I can tell, they were added so they could be part of the story, rather than being part of the story that made sense. The book is a series of short stories, and while they do not form "chapters" of the same story, each story is linked to one or more of the other stories. Some of them end in such a way as to leave questions and unresolved issues. I don't mind that, but you might. Of all of the chapters, the last one was my least favorite. It didn't follow the rules of all the other chapters, and was too weak to break the rules well, in my opinion. The entire set of stories could have been written without that last chapter, and it would have been at least as good, if not better. A few more things would have been unresolved, but I think that would have been better than turning it from a somewhat ambiguous and intriguing set of historical fiction pieces to an almost sci-fi thing. If it were done more cleverly and elegantly, perhaps it could have been pulled off, but it wrung you from the story as it was written, and took you outside of it in a way that made you a spectator as yourself, rather than as part of the story or a shadow of it.

The #SpringSweaterStitchalong begins Monday! Please join in the fun on my Facebook or Ravelry groups. If you want to ask questions or start chatting, please feel free to do so. If you follow that hashtag on Instagram, or share your pictures using that hashtag, then other knitters participating will see your work, too. Both Amira and Imbat will be options to knit during the KAL, and if you are especially speedy, you might be able to make both! I will be available for help, to answer questions, and you will have others to encourage and assist you, too. Please take a look at the patterns and your stash (or go shopping for appropriate yarn) now so you can be ready to cast on for February 20.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday.

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Labels: Books, Design, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, Sock Madness, Spring Sweater Stitchalong, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 10:31 AM