SITTIN' AND KNITTIN'
At risk of proving my mother completely right that all I do is knit and read, I am going to show my readers the results of my weekend. My goal was to recover from my giant entrelac booboo, and end the weekend back to where I was on the needles, and WITH a clear map to show me where to go next. I believe this has been accomplished. You don't need to see the actual knitting yet...it looks just like it did the last time you saw it, only longer. But if you want to refresh your memory about what that looked like, look here.
I stocked up on videos to accompany me while I knit. This weekend I have viewed Don't Say a Word (Michael Douglas...okay), Best of Show (surprisingly amusing, a spoof of the dog show world, and the entire first year of Sex and the City. (I don't have cable, so I've never seen it. I love it. I'm hooked.) In between being a marathon vidiot knitter, I've been trying to draw the map of my sweater. This is what I should have done before I ever started. Sarah did say to do this, and I did draw a sort of map to get me started, but if I had done what Sarah really meant, and then if I had checked off each row as I did it, I never would have gotten into the frogpond. Oh well. Perhaps the lesson has been learned this time, right up there with GAUGE SWATCHES. Which I did do.
Anyway, here is the map of my sweater.
There are little jogs on the sides that really shouldn't be there, but because I didn't have a detailed map to begin with, I did something not quite right when I started the armholes. It will work out fine in the end, but it added a lot of complication in completing this drawing.
Here's a closeup of what the shoulder seams will look like when I'm done. Sarah is so clever...she has us completing the shoulders by continuing to do the entrelac pattern back and forth from one row to the other, so there will be NO seam. I don't know if it's clear from this design, but the numbers show how I'm supposed to do it. Sarah, if you're reading this, can you tell if I've really got it? I won't go any further till Tuesday night's knit-in, just to be sure.
In between knitting and watching the adventures of Carrie Bradshaw, I have also been immersed in another excellent book. Surprise, it's NOT a novel! It is a riveting portrayal of life in America's middle schools, and if you are the parent of a middle-schooler, or a soon-to-be middle schooler, this is a must-read. It will probably terrify you, and make you want to home-school your children. But after you get over the horror of it all (and it really is exactly what the author describes), it will give you a great deal to think about as you travel the heavily-mined path of parenting today's teenagers. You won't come away with easy answers, but you will have greater insights and understandings about how the young adolescent mind works (and doesn't work). The book is called Nothin' Much...Just Chillin':The Hidden Lives of Middle Schoolers, and the author is Linda Perlstein. I got a copy from the public library, but I think I will buy a copy and use it as a discussion starter with kids that I work with.
It wasn't the most exciting weekend of my life, but I feel a good sense of accomplishment. I lived vicariously through video, my mind has been sharpened, and my fingers got a good workout.
Sharon,
Not quite -- I'll talk to you on Tuesday.
Posted by: Sarah | 05/03/2004 at 07:23 AM
Hi there! Finally - I'm leaving a message. (Really like your blog, by the way) Just wanted to say "thanks" for the book recommendation. My oldest is starting middle school next year. Unfortunately, I know how horrible the schools are - I can't wait to read about teenage hormones thrown in! I'll look it up at the library this week.
Oh - and my video knitting companion this weekend was "Love, Actually." Kinda cute. :)
Posted by: Bron | 05/03/2004 at 08:51 AM
"marathon vidiot knitter"
is that a freudian slip? ;o)
nothing wrong with that kind of weekend. hell - that's my weekend all the time! only i get a lot less knitting done than you do.
katie
Posted by: k8et | 05/03/2004 at 09:20 AM
Oh oh, Sarah. That sounds ominous.
No slip at all, Katie. Vidiot was intentional. I don't think I've ever spent so much concentrated time in front of a tv screen in my entire life.
Bron, welcome. Glad to "meet" you.
Posted by: Sharon | 05/03/2004 at 11:38 AM
Perfect weekend and you even have something to show for it! What a great plan and layout for the sweater. This should help make you successful!
Posted by: margene | 05/03/2004 at 12:08 PM
I love "Sex and the City" too. I am missing it every Sunday night. You must rent the rest of the seasons. You'll love them!
I also liked "Best of Show". Have you seen the rest of Christopher Guest's work? They are all satires with almost the same cast from film to film. Very funny.
Thanks for the book recommendation, I will definitely check it out.
Posted by: annie | 05/03/2004 at 01:53 PM
Great knitting videos! I've gotten hooked on Sex & the City by renting the DVDs. I like seeing a season all at once in a weekend. Another good one (but only the first season is on DVD) is Six Feet Under. Best in Show is wonderful, too!
Keep plugging away on the entrelac - it's so pretty!
Posted by: Patty | 05/03/2004 at 02:10 PM
What a beautiful sweater you'll have. I looked back at the picture. Your eye for color is amazing.
Posted by: Angi | 05/04/2004 at 12:30 AM
I heard about that book on middle-schoolers from an interview with the author on NPR. It is on my "to read" list because my daughter started middle school this year--6th grade--Oy! I must admit my reading has been lacking since I started knitting---how can I do both?
Posted by: Sandra | 05/04/2004 at 08:52 AM