Hemlock Ring Blanket

My camera has been sitting upstairs, but all the knitting is going on downstairs. I have a few finished objects I need to photograph- including the one from last night!

I finished my Hemlock Ring Blanket. Took just about a month (if I am figuring correctly). The bind-off took three entire evenings of Tour de France coverage- in fact, I was a bit perturbed to realize if I had just crocheted it instead of knitting it, I could have saved half the time. Oh well. I think it turned out beautifully. It's incredibly soft and warm, and I love the Cascade Eco Wool. It's amazingly cuddly, and when I draped it over G once I finished the bind off, I had trouble getting it back to weave in the ends.

It still needs a serious blocking, but I pronounce the blanket functionally complete. It matches our sofas quite well, and it was a perfect gift for my fiance. He is not much for wearing knitwear, doesn't do hats or mittens or scarves, and doesn't want hand-knit socks. So finally I found a project that he would enjoy snuggling with, and I get to feel like a real knitter. The best moment was his look of surprise that it really is soft and warm, and in his words "smells like sheep." I told him that he better not break up with me now, though.

Do you think the sweater curse is in effect when you're getting married in four months? Holy crap. We really are coming up on just four months. Maybe I should have started the blanket a bit later- but it's so nice to have that yarn out of my stash, and in cozy blanket-form in our living room.

Of course as soon as I finished it, I popped upstairs to get a few things. Size 6 Addi Turbo lace needles (yes, they're tarnished, from that old batch of needles that apparently all turned gold... but I've decided I don't know that I care). Two skeins of an alpaca-wool blend laceweight. And the Estonian Lace book by Nancy Bush. Any guesses what I'm working on? I finished the first row of the first lace pattern before bed.

G asked why I had to continue to knit so obsessively right after finishing a project. For one... well... because that's what I do. But it's also because of another superstition. You have to cast on for a new project as soon as you finish one, to avoid bad luck! I'm not sure the superstition really applies to me- I always have a half dozen things on the needles. But no matter. The WIP pile has shrunk recently- I frogged a whole bunch of projects a few weeks ago to reclaim the yarn for new and more suitable purposes. There are still plenty of things sitting in my craft room upstairs, waiting to be knitted- it's just not their time.

Toreador, don't spit on the floor

OK, OK, I know those aren't the words. I have seasons tickets to the Washington National Opera this year, through Generation O. It's their club for the under-35 set- they figure if they can get us young, we'll be patrons of the arts when we're older. The tickets are about half price, so it's totally worth it. I missed La Traviata due to work (don't even get me started), but I saw the last two major productions- Lucrezia Borgia two weeks ago, and Carmen tonight. Generation O tickets tend to be available for dates when the alternate cast is singing. For La Borgia, that worked in my favor- the main soprano got panned a bit by DCist but I found the production top-notch and the alternate soprano was superb. The romance between the trouser mezzo and the tenor was a bit overemphasized, but the dude was in love with his mother, too. Who am I to judge. Unfortunately, I missed out on the DC-native Denyce Graves in the title role in Carmen, and the alternate mezzo soprano was ... subpar. She scooped to the notes, missed them fairly often, and worst of all I could barely hear her. The production was fairly banal as well. The sets were uninspired, costumes seemed VERY been there done that, even to a girl who technically has never seen this opera staged before. On the plus side, it really is one of the most entertaining operas, musically, and the orchestra was in fine fettle for most of the night. I adored the soprano, singing the role of the good woman foil for evil little Carmen. And frankly, the tenor Don Jose was pretty stellar also. It's just a bit of a pity when the title role is one of the worst performances I've heard at the Kennedy Center. Period.
I'm skipping out on Peter Grimes (didn't I see that in its first performance at IU?), but I will be sure to let you know how the next operas after that go!

In more craft-related news, I placed an Amazon order last week and I picked it up from the front desk tonight on my way back from the opera, humming Toreador all the way. I'm very pleased with my haul. First up is Jelly Roll Quilts, an excellent book of tips and tricks and patterns for those gorgeous jelly rolls of pre-cut fabric strips. I don't actually own any yet, but I'm thinking the Moda sale going on at my Mom's local quilt store Wish Upon a Quilt might be the kick in the pants I need. I'm thinking of doing a fairly simple nine patch quilt in the Nest by Moda line. It's all little bird eggs, bird tracks, and adorable art deco style birds. Adorable!

Also in my shipment is my favorite new knitting book. It's the long awaited Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush. There is one scarf in this book that I don't really care for. Every other project? I want. I want to knit them. I want to wear them. I want to drape them all over my apartment. I want to hang them from the windows, and on my mirror, and the backs of chairs. I want to give them away as presents to everyone I've ever known. In short, this is the best compilation of knitted lace that I've seen outside Ravelry.

And soon after NaKniSweMo, I'll cast on. OH yes. And it will be all lacey gorgeousness for quite some time around here. It's too bad about that holiday gift thing- everyone's just going to have to make do with store bought (or Etsy bought). I can't bring myself to stop knitting myself sweaters and shawls long enough to be a good gifter this year.