fluff and stuff

So, I did reread Time Enough for Love, and I did find it satisfying. And it made me want to re-read certain bits of To Sail Beyond the Sunset, which I did, and The Number of the Beast, which I'm waiting for at the library. And once that's done, I'm pretty sure I will have had enough Heinlein for the year.

Over the weekend, I read Karma Girl by Jennifer Estep. This is kind of the chick lit version of Soon I Will Be Invincible. It was not as clever, funny, or touching as the other, which is probably why only one of them is a best-seller. Still, it was fun. Three stars. A good book to have at the airport - it was engagin but not stressful.

I read the graphic novel Stardust by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess, after seeing movie twice. I'd read the version of Stardust that is longer and has fewer pictures. This one was better, I thought. It was neat to see a lot of the sources of the movie images. Four stars.

Wendy Knits: the book!

I read Wendy Knits: My Never-Ending Adventures In Yarn by Wendy Johnson. Wendy is the creator of my favorite-ever sock pattern, and I thought I'd enjoy her book. I was right! It almost made me want to read her blog, but boy, does that woman post. Maybe if I had a corporate job. Heh.

I liked the essays in this book. The patterns, except for the sock pattern which I already had, were mostly for sweaters. One thing I liked about them was they didn't assume the people wearing them would be a size 0.

Another thing that struck me about the book was a comment the author made about how it's really hard to knit lace with cotton, because cotton is slippery. Hey! That makes a lot of sense. So, I'm going to have to come up with a different pattern to use for the cotton-tencel I bought to make myself a shawl with. I could still use it, but I think I might try to do it with crochet - I don't have a problem crocheting with cotton. I would give the book four stars, but don't recommend it as a book for beginners to knitting. It's way more fun when you've already had most of the problems she describes happen to you.

This book inspired me to pick up my knitting again. More specifically, it inspired me to FINISH THE VEST that I have been working on for 7j for the past few months. That's right, kids, it's done! Sorry, you'll have to wait on pictures, but she's happy with it, and so am I.

Now I am a person who has Made a Sweater. That's cool. :)

Here are some things I learned:

- A new project takes at least twice as long as you think it will.
- Making a mini version for my bear was a great idea. I learned two things just from that, though - you should make the mini using the same yarn that the large project will be out of, and anything that is a problem with the mini will be a problem with the large project too. You shouldn't just assume that it will make sense when you get there. My problem was with the neckline. I eventually resolved it but it took quite a while.
- I used the yarn from a sweater I had frogged from Goodwill (just for the purpose of making this vest). I thought that turning a very large cabled sweater into a small vest would mean that a ton of yarn was left over. I was right, but it used more than I thought. So that's good to know.
- It helps a lot to have patient and understanding recipients for one's knitted gifts.
- Yes, they really really mean it that you should block before you start finishing. I'm so glad the pattern I used kind of hit you over the head repeatedly with that clue bat, because otherwise I wouldn't have listened, and it really did make a difference.

It was a pretty manageable project. I'd like to make some more vests and sweaters, and I hope also that my skills will continue to improve over time. I swear, I picked up the stitches for the neckband AT LEAST five times, and maybe it was closer to ten.