post-submission

i have not really had anything to talk about after the manuscript went in, there was a quick trip to the uni bar followed by jo's birthday dinner in sydney, but i didnt drink so my fuzziness is more to do with the complete shock of not having this thing on my mind 24/7. all weekend i kept feeling like i had a big hole in my brain, that surely i had forgotten something! i did forget things, like dog leads etc when we went flyballing on sunday, and ingredients for the picnic lunch. im pretty sure my brain was fried. i am not sure i can get it moving again, although at least i have a slight break for a week marking first year politics essays. it doesnt take a lot of energy to write repeatedly 'you have not really answered the question'.

and this weekend we are off to the fabulous kioloa beach for the 'surf and turf' flyball comp, its a yearly event and heaps of fun, cant wait! even better to be running my own dog this year instead of just 'helping out'.

and when we get back, its back-to-thesis time, and i must admit this experience of working so hard and actually getting things done on the manuscript has given me some faith that i can get the thesis finished by november.

in the meantime, i have not done a lot of knitting, but i did frog and restart trents bendi-patonyle socks, the rib part went all weird but is better now:



the bendi is slightly thicker than the patonyle and not as soft but its good and sturdy for bands, heels and toes so i think it will work nicely. the contrast looks good too.

so have a good weekend, catch you on the other side of monday.
kxx

the manuscript has wings

just so we can all rest easy, the manuscript for the following tome:

Howson, R. and Smith, K. (eds.). (2008). Hegemony: Studies in Consensus and Coercion. Routledge. New York

today put itself in a brown padded envelope and took flight to the big apple. i think i shed a tear as all 365 pages, 101 000 words (about 20, 000 of which are mine), got put to bed. finally.
or until some pedantic copy editor writes me an email asking me to clarify my concept of the symbolic order.

i nearly lost the plot yesterday when i discovered that i had copied the old version of chapter thirteen over the new version of chapter thirteen and had to get up at 5am to redo it this morning.

but now its done. lets hope the thesis follows suit soon.

the celebrating
k xx

a more comprehensive analyis

first, i got tagged!


thanks georgie :) however, i do not think my work is complete as i do believe you are yet to knit a sock, n'est pas?

which leads me to my next point, my tagees, and what better place to start than the queen of socks herself, ms spider. because of this gorgeous girl, i am a mad knitter of socks, wearer of knitted socks, and evangelist for the continued knitting of socks. in fact, i think if everyone just knitted socks we'd have world peace.

homage must be paid to the person responsible for the fact that the wrap got started, let alone finished, taphophile.

and then i want to tag caffeine fairie because shes a fellow phd sufferer and reads blake for fun and hes my favourite poet.

and i dont know if she already got tagged but i love olma's blog not least because she makes cute pots and has post titles that are works of art in themselves.

and last but not least, my favourite aussie-overseas, the fabulous fernicle. she just rocks.

i would have tagged georgie if she didnt get tagged first, as well as bells and jejune but they already got done too :)

so, i have taken some more photos of the wrap and thought i would let you know what i did or didnt like about doing it.

here is the back of it:


specs - pattern: lift and separate (big girl knits) yarn: bendigo rustic agate 8ply. needles: 3.75 for the most part.

pattern: easily the hardest thing ive tried because the pattern assumes a fair amount of knitting knowledge and there are many pieces with multiple things happening 'at the same time' (beware of patterns that have 'at the same time' in them somewhere). so the pattern corrupting fairy had some fun with this one.

design: really, its terrific. the sizing and fit are spot on, although the sleeves are a tad long. also, it could have been me, but i would have the sloping part along the front edges be a bit longer:


so that the tie comes up to the waist more, at the moment it sits on my hips really. i guess this is the problem with big girl patterns. they forget you can be SHORT!! (like 5ft2 short).

also the pattern said the ties should be 14 inches long from the join but i dont see how thats supposed to get AROUND to tie together. the pictures make it look like it ties on one hip, so thats one short piece and one long? i made them both much longer than that so i could tie it at the back, i think it fits better and gives a bit of distraction away from the largeness of the rear end!

finishing: problematic. firstly, i plan to never knit 1x1 rib again. because i wanted the ties longer that part took about 3 weeks, and you have to knit them, then sew them on. too much sewing by half!!! this was also the case with the neck:


this had to be knitted in two separate bits, sewn together and then sewn to the wrap, so it doesnt sit down properly.

and the sleeves! aaagh! i had to sew the sleeve seams then sew the whole sleeve into the closed armhole. i couldnt use mattress stitch for this, it was too awkward, and of course my armholes were a bit too big, so some puckering ensued:


i have contemplated taking this sleeve off and sewing it again but i might wait and see how it washes up after a few wears.

wearability: majorly comfortable. its a bit unusual for me, as its a close fit and i am wary of that, but the design is so good it does what its supposed to do, ie, hide bits. i have been complimented on both the fit and slimming factor. its fashionable without being trendy, and i think would work in a variety of yarns and colours. only thing is with the bendigo being a bit scratchy you really have to wear something under it, so its a winter-only garment. i think i might knit a lighter weight black one for next year.

in other news, i have one and a bit chapters to go on the book and will be finished this arvo.

if i ever stop blogging.

later
k xx

its a wrap!

oh what a bad blogger i am! in my defence i have been very busy and have, at least, a Finished Object to show.

yes, thats right, the wrap is done. ta da:



i hoped to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the entire project but the batteries in the camera died right after i took this picture, so i will save the detail for another day.

suffice to say it was difficult and has not finished perfectly but it looks good on. i was even complimented on it yesterday when i wore it out in public, it being blissfully cold here at the moment. not canberra cold, but its all relative. i am hoping to wear it out again on friday night so i will get someone to take a pic of me in it.

i have today and tomorrow to finish off the manuscript for the book and it will be done on time, even though this is already an extended deadline. who knew that something so seemingly easy as editing a collection of other people's work would be so damn difficult! my own chapter needs some tweaking and the intro needs to be finished but other than that we're almost there.

i cant believe how much of my time and headspace it has consumed. i said to trent the other night, i was thinking that it would be good to finish i could have a bit of a break, only i realised i couldnt because i had to go back to work on my thesis, which i now have only a few months to complete, so i'll be pretty much working like this the rest of the year. aaagh!

so now i turn again to sock knitting, and my other new obsession which is flyball. i have been a tag along for a few years but now i have my own dog to race (even though trent trained her - all hail trent the wonder-trainer), the whole flyball thing has taken on a new dimension. because i was racing i didnt get any pics of her but some other people did. here is a link to one, there are some other good ones at this site.

thank god for flyball and knitting otherwise id be seriously stressed out. or crazy.
k xx
ps Lola the baby-jacket recipient arrived safe and sound on the 8th of august. shes soooo cute. she does not yet, however, have a pair of pants to match the jacket. sorry lola, im working on it.....

something more interesting...

we spent most of this weekend just gone in sydney because we are doing some very intensive flyball training so that possum is ready to race with the team in a competition happening next weekend. i have to run her as trent is running jem and i think i am getting a better (or is it worse?) work out than when i go to the gym, but its going well and should be fun this coming saturday!

in between training sessions, one of our team mates, joanne, and i, headed off into the city to try out the lindt chocolate cafe and some other things. you can read about the chocolate here.

but one of the other things, was of course, a visit to tapestry craft. just in case you havent been there lately, i took dorky pictures:



the last time i was there was a few years ago and i cant believe how much their range has expanded. i also cant believe i didnt leave with the entire display of jo sharp silk road that i want to make beanies with, but considering i have so many socks to make before christmas i held off and came home with exactly what i went there for, knitpicks dpns of various sizes for afore-mentioned socks:


i also managed to put back some of the knitpicks circulars i had in my hand as i am hoping someone gets the hints i keep making and gets me a kit for my bday in october.

so here are some WIPs, firstly the bendigo/patonyle contrast socks for trent:


(i am hoping these two yarns go together ok, the bendigo is nowhere near as soft as the patonyle) using the new dpns which i adore. they are very smooth and somehow they are making my tension much better, so there are, surprise, no ladders! perhaps this is because they are much smaller, so theres less moving of stitches around, the smallness of them (ie, length), is taking a bit of getting used to, but i do seriously love them.

the baby pants are on hold (tho the baby is not, shes due this week, eeeeck!) because i really need to finish the wrap before it gets too warm to wear it. i am very proud of how i have managed to make sense of the pattern for once, and have knitted and sewn on the band along the left front, joining it up with the band from the left front neckline:



i have continued on from here with 14 inches of rib for the tie, and am starting the right front in the same manner today, then i make sure the ties are long enough, and sew in the sleeves and ends and we're done. maybe i will get to wear it next week sometime.

perhaps in celebration for finishing the editing of the book, which is still happening but due wed week when we have a meeting to sign the papers and hand over the ms etc. fingers crossed.

still being a blog lurker sorry, but glad to hear everyone is well and productive.
k xx