Still Prolific

The knitting orgy continues.

The socks from Maizy and Cascade Fixation are almost done. I have also nearly finished the knitting of a pair of Fuzzy Feet (more or less; see Knitty for the proper pattern) for DH. In fact, I'll probably finish them tonight. The felting might not take place until the weekend.

Yesterday we went antiquing and I found some more vintage needlework magazines. Not a lot of knitting in them, but there is a wonderful mittens pattern. Fair Isle Scottie dogs, a la FDR's Fala. What a great excuse to go get some fingering weight Shetland wool!

Inhumanity

I haven't posted in two weeks. Somehow it seemed either a means of revenge or (if only knitting related), frivolous.

On Friday night, February 6, a friend of mine was murdered. Not a "random act of violence"; her boyfriend shot her. And the friend she was with. And then the SOB shot himself.

Deb was a force to be reckoned with. Vibrant, pretty, strong, funny, annoying, more than opinionated. She was a successful lawyer and an actor. She also played trombone and euphonium. Her politics were nearly the polar opposite of mine; we agreed to disagree long ago. She was well-bred, generous to a fault, kind, rude, and infuriating. Human, in other words.

It's been years since we were in regular communication, but we were aware of one another. She was one of the first people in my New York crowd to make friends and she never lost sight of me.

A mutual friend e-mailed me late last week about her memorial service. That's how I found out. I took a bus in on the day it was held and came back the next afternoon.

We celebrated (yes, life is for celebrating) her life and her quirks at a good dive bar. Her movies played on a loop (bad commercials, too...she did have a great sense of humor) and we ate and drank and remembered.

I still can't believe she's actually dead, or that the bastard who shot her did so. He must have been carrying concealed. It was the Sabbath, so he'd've known where to find her, and that he'd be able to let himself in. It's all so very wrong.

Not yet...

...but there will be FO photos soon.

I've finished the first MiL sock. Zero ease, because this stuff has no memory, and I don't want them to get all stretched out.

I'm not sure what's next...maybe a cloche (for me), or the Fuzzy Feet for DH.

It's time to decide on a fine gauge pattern for another Me sweater, too, if I can find the right yarn. With luck I might dig up enough vintage yarn from the stash to make one; otherwise I'll see what fingering weight modern yarn I have around.

This weekend will be full of knitting, but we're also supposed to get a February Thaw. I'm looking forward to that; rumor has it that the temps will be in the 50s (F) on Sunday!

Deadstock

That would be a great title for a mystery involving the vintage trade.

I was nosing around to find a few Albert Campion titles (author: Margery Allingham) and stumbled over a Golden Age Mysteries forum, but it won't let me post. It got me to thinking again about writing a mystery, and of the ones I like to read.

Here are some of my favorite "golden age" authors, in no particular order.

Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey)
Christie (Tommy & Tuppence, Poirot and non-series are my favorites)
Stout (Nero Wolfe)
Allingham (Albert Campion).

There are a few present day authors who write historical mysteries set in the 20s and 30s.

Jill Churchill (Grace & Favor series)
Kerry Greenwood (Phryne Fisher)
Carola Dunn (The Hon. Daisy Dalrymple)

The later aren't on an even footing with the real thing. Hindsight can ruin a good book (!) but I enjoy them, if only because I'd like to think I could do as well.

"Deadstock", by the way, is term used to describe "old/new" items. In other words, something vintage or antique that has never been used, and might even still have the original sale tags.

Keep going!

(I'm cheering my sudden knitting output.)

The crunchy silk mitts for our receptionist's birthday are done. I'm more than half-way through the first sock for a pair to be gifted to MiL for Mother's Day, and suspect that I might have enough mojo to make another birthday present for a friend who has a birthday n March.

I would also like to make Fuzzy Feet, or a reasonable facsimile thereof for DH. They'll knit up very quickly and will be my first foray into the world of felting (or fulling, if you want to be snarky about it) now that I have my own washer & dryer.