White Russians are not usually my drink of choice. My vegan years have left me with the lingering sentiment that milk is sort of icky, so I usually just use it in things like pancakes. But I’m trying to use up the contents of my refrigerator in the next four days, and there’s this pesky carton of milk that just isn’t going away very fast, and last night was too hot and sticky for me to want to make much of a dent in the solid food. So I dusted off the bottle of Kahlua that’s been languishing on top of the dish cabinet and mixed myself a little drinky. And hey! It matches my knitting!

Apricot Jacket got cozy with her new Russian friend right away, and I’ve finished the armhole shaping. My perfectionist tendencies have severely limited progress on this sweater: I’ve ripped back the eyelet section three times after noticing mistakes. I believe some people actually took pictures of me doing this at the Teva Durham event. But now I’m finally comfortable enough with the pattern to whiz onward.

For all you taskmasters (taskmistresses?) out there, I’m making excellent progress on the wedding stole. The ovation it received from all the wonderful ladies gathered at The Point yesterday evening inspired both of us (me to get down to work; it to submit willingly), and I’m only four rows short of the final repeat. I had intended to do those four rows last night, but just the thought of mohair was enough to give me prickly heat rash all over my chest. (No pictures. You’re welcome.) Calmer was the only yarn I could stand to touch. Tonight I’ll have to suck it up – the weather is supposed to stay like this all week, and the stole must be finished!

I’m also four inches into my first sock. Pictures to come when I attack the dreaded heel…

Getting married is great. It’s great for a lot of reasons, of which the presents are really a pretty minor component, but I will say that we have some astoundingly generous friends and relations who have given us some very lovely and useful things. And yet, when I see the pink post office slip in our mailbox, my first thought is inevitably this: “Maybe it’s yarn!” I should have known Mia wouldn’t let me down. Today it really was yarn. Score!

Observe the nearly exponential growth of my sock yarn stash. It started innocently enough with the Cherry Tree Hill a couple of weeks ago. But now I’ve added Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in “Sand Ridge”, and Mia has contributed this rangi-changi* Knit Picks Sock Memories in – what else? – “Hawaii”! (This is our honeymoon destination, for anyone who isn’t in on the joke.) The other little fluff-dumpling-from-heaven you see here is 100% angora, which was in my gift bag at the Teva Durham event on Wednesday. So what am I going to do with all this sock yarn? Well, I’d better start knitting socks! And where better to make my first attempts than at The Point on Sunday, in the company of Michelle and Jackie and other talented ladies who can steer me in the right direction if I go astray? Perhaps I’ll try to work one up to the heel in advance in case Michelle needs to explain the finer points of short rows again.

And no, I haven’t forgotten that I have only thirteen days left to complete, finish and block my wedding stole. I’m working on it, I swear.

*rangi-changi is a fun Nepali adjective that means very colorful, in the gaudiest and most garish sense.

Yep, I knit a big chunk of the Apricot Jacket back this weekend. In fact, it would probably be finished by now if I hadn’t foolishly gone and followed the pattern. See those little eyelets marching up above the ribbing? It’s more complicated than you want to read about here, but basically the directions, as I interpreted them, said to position each new yarnover two stitches in from the last. After I’d done about thirty-five rows, I decided it was looking somewhat wonky and went back and had a good stare at the little picture in the magazine. Had I been at home with internet access, I could have quickly nipped into Blogland and peeked at someone else’s Apricot Jacket and figured it all out in a trice, but I was at my grandmother’s in Connecticut and there wasn’t even television reception or a radio to call for knitting back-up. Anyway, the eyelets are meant to be placed one stitch in from the last, and everything looks loverly now that I frogged it and started over. The Calmer is so nice I didn’t even mind.

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

Okay, in the interest of complete honesty, I’m a little bit of a yarn snob. Who doesn’t appreciate higher quality and natural fibers? But I’d probably knit with dental floss or baling twine if it were the only yarn available.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

Not yet…

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

No.

4. How long have you been knitting?

Nine months.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

No.

6. What’s your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Linden, herbals like mint and rosemary or fresh grasses, pear, citruses, ocean-y scents, spices…all kinds of things, apparently.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Absolutely. Dark chocolate…mmm.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

Quilting, woodworking, and basic ’round-the-house carpentry. I expect I’ll also need to put together a wedding album soon, so as much as I dislike the term “scrapbooking”, I’ll probably need to learn some of those skills.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Jazz, big band swing, folk, bluegrass and classical mostly, but my tastes are eclectic and I love hearing new artists. And I’m marrying Gadget Guy – I’ve lost track of the number of computers in our apartment, and I’m pretty confident he can make them play just about anything.

10. What’s your favorite color? Or–do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can’t stand?

Sarah, Plain and Tall loved blue, green, and gray – the colors of the ocean – and I’m much the same. But I like all kinds of rich natural colors and have been appreciating deep reds, pumpkin and gold, and even some pinks lately. I avoid neons, raucous multicolor combinations, and overly cutesy pastels.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I’m about to be married, and we have one very naughty cat. When I live in the country again someday, I want at least one dog.

12. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

I’m a hardcore Rowan addict, if we’re talking brands. In terms of fibers, I lust most passionately after merino, but I’m delighted to knit pretty much any natural fiber.

13. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Anything that feels really synthetic – I’m not opposed to a little well-concealed acrylic or nylon content, as evidenced by my swooning over Rowan Calmer and Plaid and Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, but if it feels like the bedspreads in cheap motels I probably won’t want to snuggle up with it.

14. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Calmer, baby. Kim Hargreaves. (Well, that’s an ongoing obsession…) And socks, although I never thought I’d say that and I haven’t knit one yet.

15. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I seem to gravitate toward sweaters. And I was absurdly pleased by the pair of mittens I made this winter. I suspect that once I start on socks I’ll have to add them to this list.

16. What are you knitting right now?

My wedding stole and three or four sweaters.

17. What do you think about ponchos?

I think they’re over, contrary to the beliefs of the staff at Interweave. But capelets are the new ponchos.

18. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Depends on the project. I use them equally.

19. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Depends on the fiber. I find aluminum and bamboo cover the bases pretty nicely. I don’t actually own any plastic needles.

20. Are you a sock knitter?

I very much want to be.

21. How did you learn to knit?

From books, with help from the internet.

22. How old is your oldest UFO?

Five months.

23. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

Wallace & Gromit. That episode where they get Shorn the sheep and he eats everything in their house? Awwww. No contest. I wish I owned them on DVD – I’d watch them all the time.

24. What is your favorite holiday?

Probably Christmas, because it’s when I most reliably get to spend time with my family, but right now I’m looking forward to the 4th of July – not because I’m particularly patriotic, but because I’m ready for picnics, watermelon, fireworks, swimming, cute babies in sunhats…that kind of thing.

25. Is there anything that you collect?

You mean besides yarn? Not really.

26. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Interweave Knits (if they ever send me my first issue).

27. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?

Rowan Vintage Style, Calmer Collection, Barbara Walker’s stitch treasuries, the Ann Budd sweater book…oh, did you mean regular book books? I edit them all day long at a big publishing house and know people at most of the other big publishing houses, so it’s usually pretty easy for me to get my hands on new stuff.