Finis

After a year and a half I have decided it's time to abandon the book blog. While I have been attempting to keep it updated, you can see by the length between previous posts I have not been successful. Partly it's because I am often too busy to blog. But mainly, it's because I haven't been reading.

That's right. I have not been reading.

I have been knitting. Obsessively. I have been listening to audio books while knitting but as I am at the mercy of the reader, I don't get through a book as quickly as I once did. Which is fine. I've been speed reading through books for nearly 30 years, it's time to take it down a notch. Or like, seven notches.
So in interest of remaining in the blogging community I am transferring my somewhat pitiful efforts to knitblogging.
You can find finished objects, knitting book reviews, my knitting progress, Ravelry squee and other tidbits with Monogirl and the Knittin' Kittens.

*Those of you who know me as ElizaB will notice I've changed my profile name to monogirl. monogirl is my user name on Ravelry and I thought a knitblog by a user of the same name would cause less confusion. ElizaB was already taken on Ravelry when I signed up. (By a set designer in Brooklyn-go figure.)

I WIN!!!

The Jaywalkers are finally finished! I am wearing them to work today. I only had one last little frog incident. I accidentally reversed the toe decreases for a couple rounds, but I quickly realized what was happening and pulled those rows out. Sirius gave his approval by helping me wash them by playing in the water and then rubbing all over them when they were dry.




Some notes on the finished product: As mentioned in a previous post I reduced the amount of stitches to achieve the correct size since I couldn't for the life of me get gauge. I removed one stitch per zig for a total of 68 cast on stitches and a pattern of Inc/knit 6/dd and so on. I also added a purl row at the beginning of the toe to deliniate the end of the zig zag pattern. I needed to add a few extra decreases on the top of the toe as the instep and back of foot stitches were not even after decreasing the gusset. After all this fussing I am extremely happy with the result.

Pillars of the Earth and World Without End

by Ken Follett

I had read Pillars of the Earth several years ago. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Ken Follett usually writes Nazi spy thrillers, so I wasn't sure about a novel from him about cathedral building in the middle ages. The audio book was just as good, being well read by John Lee. Though it's funny how things like violence and sex stand out more when the book is read aloud to you. Every plot point in an audio book is given the same weight and reading. When I read I can invest or skim at my leisure. Which I must've done when reading this book originally as I became much more invested in the characters this time. I was really rooting for Phillip to build his cathedral, and for Jack and Aliena to get together. And for something, anything to happen to William so he would stop being such an ass.
I felt the same investment with World Without End. This is the recently released (not) sequel to Pillars. World continues a few hundred years after Pillars ends. Some of the characters are descendants of the originals but the main tie is that we are still in Kingsbridge. There is another pair of star crossed lovers who have even more ups and downs, Merthin and Caris spend the majority of the book attempting to be together with fate standing in their way. The treasured cathedral is in dire need of repairs. The clergy and nobles are still as corrupt as ever, only this time the prior does not have a good heart such as Phillip. Sir Ralph the resident asshole noble is brother to Merthin which makes hating him more complicated. Because Kingsbridge is bigger there is more wealth, more people and more at stake in the various political squabbles. All levels of class are represented by major characters in the book, but everyone is threatened when the Bubonic Plague shows up.
Both books have a fair amount of technical building trivial interspersed amongst the characterizations and plot. This information is interesting and adds an extra layer of texture to the books. I felt like there was less of this in World Without End, and I felt like this wasn't a bad thing. There were times in Pillars where it bored me.
The best thing about these books is that they can stand alone. If you want something epic but don't want to invest in a series, either in any order will do.

Elizabeth vs. the Jaywalker

Ever since Ack posted a bunch of links to her favorite knitting sites I have been obsessed with making a pair of Jaywalkers.
Months went by as I finished other projects, attempted new sock knitting techniques, and plotted my yarn purchases.
I received some KnitPicks Essential in Meadow Multi

I read the pattern. I realized that 76 sts on size 2 needles would be huh-uge. I spent some time swatching and adjusting. I came up with this.
A Drunken Jaywalker sock...
Now while I do find the pooling interesting, I knew this was not quite right. I put the sock an a holder and set it aside. For two months...
Over Christmas break I purchase some Adrafil Knitcol. This, I thought, would be perfect for Jaywalkers.
I grabbed my Harmony size 1's/32"circular and cast on. I was sick in bed with a cold. So I got down to the heel rather quickly.At this point problems arise:
1. I'm at a place in my knitting career where I know the basic sock recipe. Even in my medicated haze I could see the heel flap was extraordinarily large for me. So I ripped back and tried again. Better in length, but still to wide which means the sock in general is just too...damn...big. I could rip back and put in a fiddly decrease, but that would look weird. Nothing for it but to order some 0's from Knit Picks, rip all the way out, and try again.
2. Sirius has managed to chew off the end of one of the 1's forcing me to sand it down to a somewhat serviceable point and refinish it with nail polish. The needle is still usable if I keep the stunted needle in my left hand, but I ordered a new one anyway.
3. There will not be enough yarn. I can see the amount I have left in the ball after the heel flap is not enough for the foot. I only have two balls. I need three. I head back to the LYS of purchase. No Yarn. None left in that color. We looked thoroughly, trust me.
I immediately went home and checked on WEBS. There was, and I'm not kidding, one ball left in color #45. I bought it. I don't care about the dye lot, at this point finishing the socks and making them fit is a vendetta. Color is irrelevant.

Meanwhile the Drunken Jaywalker has fallen down and landed in the frog pond. I'm still keeping the picture up on Ravelry because I really do enjoy that funky pooling.

So I wait for the three-legged mule that delivers the mail to bring me needles and yarn.

The needles and yarn arrive-on the same day no less. I cast on the size 0's. I cast on two at once thinking to expedite the process. I realize when I get to the end of the ribbing I have only 72 stitches per sock. I should have 76. This mistake is because I cast on the Jaywalkers immediately after the Secret of the Stole cast on-which is 71 inches. (I don't really get the logic either-please don't ask me.) I increase to the right amount. I knit 2 inches. I measure the socks. Even going down a needle size, even tightening my tension as much as possible, it is still 9" around. Too.. Damn... Big!
So I rip out again.
This time I swatch the zig zag pattern and I take out 1 stitch from each panel so I am casting on a total of 68 stitches instead of 76. At this point I am one with the zig zag pattern so I can comfortably adjust the amount of stitches. I cast on 34 sts for my swatch, when completed the swatch should be half the size of the sock-4 inches. I knit for 2 inches in my loose-ish style. (I am lazy about swatching and on socks at least I can adjust the length as I go.) I steam blocked the swatch. (Again-lazy. Or maybe impatient?) It is 4 inches wide.
I've cast on again. At 68 sts I am only knitting 6 sts between the decreases and increases, everything else is the same. I can proportionally adjust the rest of the pattern as I go. I'm up to 2" now and everything is going OK. So far, I will not be lulled into a false sense of security. CONSTANT VIGILANCE! People at work keep looking at me funny as they have noticed I'm always knitting yet never seem to be making any progress on these socks. That's OK, when they are finished I may wear them for the entire day at work without shoes. Including my appearance on stage for the intermission shift. The 250 people in the Yale Rep audience can admire my f-ing cool socks that took some serious blood, sweat, and tears to make.

How Doctors Think

By Jerome Groopman
I can't recall how I heard about this book. But read it, you won't be sorry. Recently, I had some health issues and came up against my usual wall of frustration with the health care system. Here's how it goes...
1. You are in excruciating pain and suspect you have a kidney stone. You drag your ass to Yale Health Services in the middle of the night. It should be noted I am not a pain wuss by any means. I lived life with a partially blocked intestine for a year and a half for Christ's sake.
2. A half-awake resident gives you no diagnosis and sends you home with some pain killers. She gives you paper work to bring to the lab the next day for blood work and tells you to stop by radiology for an ultrasound.
3. Next day (Tuesday) you go to the lab, you give some blood. You stop by radiology and make an appointment, the soonest you can get is two mornings from now. (Thursday)
4. You dutifully drink your water and have your ultrasound. You ask who you can call to get the results. The tech tells you to call your PCP. The problem here is I don't have a PCP because she left months ago to teach at the med school. (Primary Care Physician)
5. The next day (Friday) is spent calling around and getting transferred to various people while trying to track down results.
6. Someone (A nurse? Maybe?) finally calls you back and tells you everything is negative. You express that you are still having twinges of pain and should you be concerned about this? Should you in fact, see a doctor in the not too distant future? "Umm...sure?" So you get an appointment for the next week.
7. Next week (Monday) you see the doctor. He suspects that there may have been a kidney stone but of course because no tests were done at the time of the actual excruciating pain it's hard to tell. For sure you likely have arthritis in your hips from the Crohn's Disease. The doctor tells you if the pain comes back to call and he will do a CAT scan immediately, but why go through the radiation exposure if it's not necessary. You ask this man to please, please, please be your doctor. He is nice, he is smart, he listens, he knows his way around Crohn's, and he has admired your knitting you brought with you into the waiting room.
8. You still have the occasional twinges of pain but nothing major. You check out How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman and read it in three days.
9. A few days later (Friday) you are finishing up at work, untangling a ball of yarn on the couch in your office and you have a stabbing pain in your bladder and practicality pee yourself. You hobble to the bathroom, urinate and lo and behold, a stone! Maybe...wait... that could be dirt? Or maybe a stone? At any rate I am not sticking my hand into the toilet at work as I know how often it is cleaned. (Which is to say never.)
10. Upon reflection you decide not to call the doctor. He will only be disappointed you did not retrieve the maybe- stone from the toilet. Besides, other than the arthritis, you feel fine.

Now it should be said I do have really good health care. I am very lucky to work at a University with a billion-million dollar endowment and it's own internal medical system. All the health care is paid for and I don't need to worry about my insurance denying me a procedure because it costs too much. I want a CAT scan? Step right up! We've got like 8 of 'em that we own, so no waiting. If you needed a transplant, the biggest obstacle would be getting the organ. There would be a line of doctors and med students rearing to transplant. I am very, very fortunate and suspect that I could never leave this job.
However, for all the money falling out of Uncle Yale's ass the two biggest issues I have with medicine are time and the doctors themselves. I had these issues at the craptastic Salem Clinic, so I know these are equal opportunity problems.
The issue of time: Note that it took 10 steps to get from excruciating pain to passing a stone. And that it is still a-maybe I passed a stone. My biggest gripe has always been the time it takes from experiencing pain to seeing a doctor and that said pain or problem can go away in the interim.
The issue of the Doctor: or my point and do I have one? How Doctors Think brilliantly explains how doctors are trained to diagnose a patient. It also brilliantly explains what the hell to do about it when you feel like you are not getting the proper diagnosis or treatment. The main device in explaining these quandaries is the experiences that Dr. Groopman has had personally and with his patients, and even with some random people he just knows. I was particularly comforted that Dr. G had to see 5 (5!) different specialists to get the proper diagnosis and treatment for a chronic wrist pain. One of said specialists suggested an invasive exploratory surgery and that he would just "figure it out when he got in there." Excuse me? WTF?!
Dr. G's style is completely accessible, with only a few little sections of medical jargon. The fact that it is peppered with personal experiences makes it even more interesting.

From this book I learned the most important things in dealing with the Doctor are:
1. Like your Doctor. If you do not like your doctor, transfer to another immediately. Dislike breeds distrust. Twice I have had doctors criticize things about my life that are none of their business. I did not go back to see either one. First impressions with Doctors are the same as anybody else. If you don't like them immediately, chances are you won't ever like them at all. Just because they have a medical degree doesn't mean they are not an asshole.
2. Make sure your Doctor listens to you. I can't tell you the number of times I've been listing off symptoms and the doctor has been nodding aimlessly, not making eye contact, and "hmm"-ing vaguely. Said doctors usually made a diagnosis from previous charts and never really focused on what was happening in the present. This kind of attitude is how I got to a place where my intestine perforated. It is always helpful to make notes before the appointment, refer to said notes so you don't get off topic, and never leave until you are satisfied.
*It is very possible that the doctor is not listening because he/she has a legitimate issue on his/her mind. It is also perfectly OK to point this out. "You seem a little distracted. Should we reschedule for another time when you can be more focused?" Sure it would be a pain to reschedule, but I would rather have undivided attention later, than distraction now. I had an appointment once where the doctor had clearly just come from a very distressing moment. Subsequently I felt blown off because it was clear she wasn't listening. I wish I had said something then, because I just ended up making an appointment with someone else anyway.
3. Ask questions that will lead you both to the correct answer. If you feel like your appointment is giving you unsatisfactory answers, then ask more questions. "Could it be ___? If not, why?" Again, if you can make a list of questions before the appointment and refer to it.

Back in the Blogging Saddle Again

Dearest Blog,
I have not posted to this blog since Nov. 12th 2007.
Little Blog-I am sorry.
I will not bore you with the excuses, I was busy-enough said.
Won't happen again.

Love,
ElizaB

P.S I know you are jealous of Ravelry. I will make time for both of you-I promise.

I Burn, I Burn...

My past few weeks have been tied up with the usual work at the Rep, and also with my latest design project. Ellen Rosand, a Dept of Music Prof recently received a grant from the Mellon Foundation which she has used to fund the Yale Baroque Opera Project. Their inaugural piece Ardo, Ardo: Montiverdi In Motion's costumes were designed by yours truly. I ended up using the abstract paintings of the music director Richard Lalli for color inspiration, much to his delight. So over the course of two days many white clothes purchased from the Dharma Trading Co. ended up in a dye pot and here's the result...Now I'm inspired to start dyeing sock yarn. I had forgotten how much I had enjoyed dyeing until I worked on this project. The picture above is Ariadne from the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur in the Montiverdi piece Lamento L'Arianna. The Yale Schola Cantorum singers (dressed in black) created the physical labyrinth, Theseus unwound his ball of red yarn and left his end on the edge of the stage. Ariadne enters with her end and sings her aria, eventually she finds the other end with no one there, betrayed and heartbroken, she dies. I love the yarn amongst the people labyrinth.

Photos by Ethan Heard

Getting My Elizabethan On

This is a very delayed entry. I simply have not had the time to put this experience to blog as it were. Though I have gone over it in my head about a hundred times since.
During our run of Richard II at the Rep our dramaturg made arrangements for the cast to go over to the Yale Elizabethan Club for a little show and tell. Being a Shakespeare fan I tagged along and had such an amazing time. I had no idea this club even existed much less that their vault held so many fine Elizabethan treasures. It is indeed an actual vault set into a little closet space off one of the parlors. The club member in charge of our group kindly pulled out a First Folio to let us look at. (Look at, but definitely not touch.) He also showed us several original Quatros which he let us handle, which we did with great reverence. There was a copy of the sonnets with the famed dedication page. Also the plays Hamlet, Richard II, and Romeo and Juliet. The R&J actually had cuts and notes made in it by a former owner which was fascinating.
By far my favorite item was a letter they acquired at a Christie's auction written by Queen E herself. It was a letter addressed to her Good Bess (Elizabeth Throckmorton) consoling her on the death of her husband. I didn't realize the significance of this letter until I saw the movie Elizabeth The Golden Age the next day. This is not just consoling her Lady in Waiting about a death but the death of Sir Walter Raleigh. It appears to be written in her own hand and not dictated and merely signed. It was very sincere and is even more interesting now that I know the details behind it.
Inspired by this visit and the viewing of the new movie, I spent some time in the library of the Yale Center for British Art. They have a copy of the Janet Arnold book Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlocked. This is a rare book which details the clothing of Queen Elizabeth I, based on portraits, surviving inventories of the Wardrobe of Robes, and other original documents. It's amazing and of course on reference only at the library. It in turn has inspired a few knitting projects based on Elizabethan portraiture.

First, is Lord Leicester's Leg Warmers. These are inspired by the pattern on the pumpkin breeches worn by Robert Dudley in this portrait at the YCBA. The chevron striping on the beeches inspired a lace pattern of my own design. This took a couple days to work out, first the pattern then an adjustment for the scale of the leg warmers. I'm using Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in the shoreline twist colorway of brown and purple. I cast on on size 6 dpn's for the ribbing with a plan to switch to magic loop on a size 7 circ when I get to the pattern. Unfortunately I've stalled out having little time to knit with Ardo taking up all of my time. But now that Ardo is up and soon over I will have time to curl up with the kitties and knit.

Progress thus far...
I'm really liking twisting my knit stitches by knitting into the back of the stitch. It's a much firmer ribbing than I normally manage and by not twisting the purl stitch it's creating a lace effect between the 2 knit stitches.

Old Friends...And New Ones

I have recently been revisiting an old favorite book series. The original Dragonlance Chronicles by Margret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I read these rather obsessively in high school. (Me, obsessive? No!) In retrospect they are really just a rip-off of Lord of the Rings. Though they are a creative rip-off with good characters. But I equate them to old friends. You've changed, they haven't. You look at them with new eyes and while you may not feel the same affection you once did, you can appreciate them for what they are.




Even more interesting is the new Lost Chronicles series written by the same authors. These are stories that fill in the time jumps in the original tales. I have to say the plot line is expertly crafted and I have yet to find a discrepancy in that department. however the characters and their language is different. Significantly so in some cases. That being said I enjoyed both Dragons of the Dwarven Depths and Dragons of the Highlord Skies.






Dwarven Depths is the story between Autumn Twilight and Winter Night. The companions go on a quest for the mythical Hammer of Kharas while trying to protect the group of refugees from Pax Tharkas. Highlord Skies focuses on the events surrounding the recovery of the Dragon Orb. These events are counterpointed by Kitiara's quest for power amongst the Dragon Highlords and her journey to challenge the death knight Lord Soth. I found that these books gave two characters in particular a new amount of depth, Flint and Kitiara. I ended up liking both a lot more once I got some more background and traveled with them through a quest of sorts. All in all I could look past some of the clunkyness of the Lost Chronicles and enjoy these as much as the originals.

OK now we REALLY return to our regularly scheduled programming...

I mean it this time... There's even a new look to be excited about.