When A Pair of Mittens Is More Than Two

No, I don't have three hands -- although I frequently wish I did.

I've finally finished the second Spruce Tree Mitten and have begun frogging the first one. I need to pull out more because the problem is that the thumb needs to be lower. Knitting a pair of mittens in worsted weight should not takes months and months -- but I have made SO many mistakes. I hope that I'll be able to move ahead more smoothly

I do want to knit more stranded mittens, but I definitely need a change so I won't make a second pair of these -- at least not for a while.  Also, I'm won't know how I'll like the flared cuff until I have a chance to wear these in the cold.

I decided not be so dogged with the book I was reading, the popular Dietland by Sarai Walker. I know a number of people who liked it, but the premise of a group of weight-loss guerillas just didn't work for me.  Instead, I found myself drawn to a little-know George Orwell novel, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, which is about the lure of money to a failed poet who has renounced the material world.

It's rather slow in the Victorian vein, which is fitting as the Aspidistra is a plant that was popular among the Victorian middle class. I am liking it. Orwell choses words with care and crafts charming sentences, but I am hoping the pace picks up!

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Not As Good As It Looks

I finished the first Spruce Tree Norwegian Mitten and it looks pretty darn good.

However, it doesn't feel good. EZ's pattern tells the knitter to decide where to start the thumb. As a result I have a mitten that would fit someone with very, very short fingers. In short, I waited too long! So, I have started the second mitten and I'll see if I can get it right. Then I'll have to frog the entire hand of mitten #1 and do it over. Sigh. Because it's made with worsted-weight yarn, it won't take forever.

Which is good because time is in short supply. My students start school tomorrow and it looks like a rambunctious bunch. We are seeing a lot of families moving to Madison from Milwaukee and Chicago. Today's New York Times reports that murder rates are up sharply in both cities, so I have to wonder if there is a connection.

As for reading, I'm finishing up 1913 by Florian Illies. It's a very odd little social/cultural history of Europe on the brink of World War I. It's told in short vignettes that follow the lives of such figures as Freud, Rilke, Picasso, and others I'm less familiar with. I am liking it, but I think it's a book for history buffs. I'm looking forward to reading Shocking Paris, another cultural history, only this one focuses on artists in Paris between the wars.

Just in time for school, summer is reminding us that it ain't over yet. Temps are in the high 80's and the 90's this week. Our school isn't air-conditioned, nor is my house. I've become addicted to Starbuck's Instant Via Very Berry Hibiscus. It's kind of like a Kool-Aid for adults. I highly recommend it!

I'll be joining Nicole at Keep Calm Craft On.

Here's Where It Gets Hard

I have made enough progress on my Spruce Tree Norwegian Mittens that it's time to employ EZ's "mitten trick." I am nervous about this. I thought about using the thumb gusset method that I'm comfortable with, but I couldn't figure out how to mesh that with the pattern. So here I am:

I'm determined to do it today, before my first full week of work.

Am I the only one who finds thumbs challenging? The hardest part for me is the very last piece, where you pick up stitches in one form or another to knit the thumb. I am especially nervous about doing it on this new type (to me) of thumb.

Speaking of the end of summer vacation, The New York Times had an interesting column about vacations last week. Studies find that people get the most pleasure out of planning a trip, but that trips that have jam-packed itineraries do not give people happiness.

The shoreline at Ephraim, Wis., in Door County.

However, people do feel happy after slow-paced, relaxing trips. I have to say that I do not like feeling rushed ever, especially on vacation! No wonder Keith and I love our trips to Door County, where we just do what we feel like doing.

You can read the whole column here.

I hope you have have whatever kind of weekend you like best!

EZ Doesn't Necessarily Mean Easy

I realize that I have not blogged yet about this project: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Spruce Tree Norwegian Mittens. Campers at Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp this summer received this pattern as part of our handouts.  There was also a sample, knit by EZ herself (!), and that's what hooked me.

I'm using the yarn that Meg recommends, Briggs and Little Regal, which I picked up at Knitting Camp in July. She used green and white; I opted for blue and white to give it my own spin. The cuff was easy, but the decreases and increases for the wrist and thumb, respectively, require great concentration. I have to admit that I am loving knitting something that links back to Camp.

I knew I had to get these started before school started and my brain was taxed by 5 to 6 hours a day of 8th-graders! Even though there are two weeks before the students showed up, I have meetings and/or trainings every day. I have an amazing team of teachers this year, so I'm looking forward to getting rolling.

Loved Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. If you have any beach time left, I think this would be a great choice. Tried to start this last night, but I nodded off. I haven't read Mary Gordon for a long time, and something about a book of novellas appeals to me at the beginning of the school year.

My daughter flew back to Miami yesterday. Warning: She was in line for security at O'Hare for 50 minutes! The house is too quiet and feels empty. She is in the second year of her graduate program in sociology at the University of Miami. I'm not sure how I raised such an amazing woman!

I am joining with Keep Calm Craft On and Yarn Along.