Well, after blowing off my beloved blog for two weeks, I am now back! I'm at the tail end of my term here, and things have been hectic, but I finished my Sanskrit exam this morning, and have two papers due before I fly to my family on the 12th. Race to the finish!
Sanskrit was fun. My professor is fantastic, probably the best person alive capable of teaching such a delightfully, detail-orientated language. We translated several Sanskrit sentences into English. One of them was "Wherever Rama and Laksman see demons, they cut off their limbs."
The second half of the exam was translating English into Sanskrit, and one of the sentences was, "The women of this region do not know the bliss of marriage." I didn't know the words for region, bliss, or marriage, and the sentence pissed me off, so I changed it to, "Here, when women see Rama or Laksman, they cut off their limbs."
Maybe I'll get points for creativity :)
In knitting news, my INSANE number of holiday works-in-progress are going very well, but no one is allowed to see those until the recipients have seen them first. However, I certainly recommend this:
Advent Calender Scarf 2011
Kristin Benecken has designed a mystery KAL (Knit-A-Long)- beginning December 1st, for 24 days, she posts a piece of the pattern, and anyone who is interested can follow along.
Mystery KALs are fairly common- the idea being you receive a pattern, usually all at once, but occasionally spaced out like this one, without a photo or image to predict what the finished product will look like. Designers specify what the product is, which type of yarn and needle size is recommended, and gauge, but that's all you know. Most mystery knits are part of a KAL so that there is a forum in which knitters can compare results, ask questions, help each other out, and just have a good time.
This pattern is particularly exciting because
Perhaps the coolest thing about this pattern, is how many people are doing it. As of the first week, there are 663 project pages on Ravelry, of people who are working on the Advent Scarf, and who knows how many people are doing it on there own. It's pretty cool to be a part of something that so many people, all over the globe, are doing.
I'm using Bristol Yarn Gallery's Lyndon Hill in red, a 85% cotton/15% silk fingering-weight, 218 yards/50 grams. I've got 5 skeins.
I think this is a totally awesome idea. I'm way behind but I love it! I will do this every year, and hopefully Kristin will be interested in doing an interview with us, because she sounds like one cool lady.
I'll post regular updates. Last night, I blew off Sanskrit studying to complete Day 1, and this afternoon I celebrated the end of my exam by completing Day 2. Each day's pattern is separated by an 8 row spacer pattern where you have the option of putting beads. So far, my scarf looks like this:
Sanskrit was fun. My professor is fantastic, probably the best person alive capable of teaching such a delightfully, detail-orientated language. We translated several Sanskrit sentences into English. One of them was "Wherever Rama and Laksman see demons, they cut off their limbs."
The second half of the exam was translating English into Sanskrit, and one of the sentences was, "The women of this region do not know the bliss of marriage." I didn't know the words for region, bliss, or marriage, and the sentence pissed me off, so I changed it to, "Here, when women see Rama or Laksman, they cut off their limbs."
Maybe I'll get points for creativity :)
In knitting news, my INSANE number of holiday works-in-progress are going very well, but no one is allowed to see those until the recipients have seen them first. However, I certainly recommend this:
Advent Calender Scarf 2011
Mystery KALs are fairly common- the idea being you receive a pattern, usually all at once, but occasionally spaced out like this one, without a photo or image to predict what the finished product will look like. Designers specify what the product is, which type of yarn and needle size is recommended, and gauge, but that's all you know. Most mystery knits are part of a KAL so that there is a forum in which knitters can compare results, ask questions, help each other out, and just have a good time.
This pattern is particularly exciting because
- it's free
- it's bilingual (practice your Deutsch!)
- you don't need to be a member of Ravelry to join in (although, if you're not a member yet, you totally should be)- just go to her website above and download the pdfs for each day
- check out last year's Advent Scarf to get an idea of what you'll be making- plus, the patterns are not taken down, so there's no pressure to "keep up" with each day's new pattern
- the daily portions are small-usually a 12 row repeat that is doubled, so you don't feel overwhelmed
- each daily part of the pattern is different, and all incorporate a variety of lace and cable, plus other techniques- if you're an experienced knitter, this prevents you from getting bored, and it's a great way to "swatch" stitch patterns you are thinking of incorporating in your own designs, and if you're less experienced, it's a fantastic way to learn new techniques, try different styles, and get a feel for a wide variety of textures, patterns, and designs
Perhaps the coolest thing about this pattern, is how many people are doing it. As of the first week, there are 663 project pages on Ravelry, of people who are working on the Advent Scarf, and who knows how many people are doing it on there own. It's pretty cool to be a part of something that so many people, all over the globe, are doing.
I'm using Bristol Yarn Gallery's Lyndon Hill in red, a 85% cotton/15% silk fingering-weight, 218 yards/50 grams. I've got 5 skeins.
I think this is a totally awesome idea. I'm way behind but I love it! I will do this every year, and hopefully Kristin will be interested in doing an interview with us, because she sounds like one cool lady.
I'll post regular updates. Last night, I blew off Sanskrit studying to complete Day 1, and this afternoon I celebrated the end of my exam by completing Day 2. Each day's pattern is separated by an 8 row spacer pattern where you have the option of putting beads. So far, my scarf looks like this:
 |
| Day 1 is the bottom row, the lovely scallops along the bottom, the garter stitch ("lines") along the middle are the spacer row, and the top portion is Day 2. I particularly like Day 2- I love lace and I love cables, so the combination is fantastic. |
Gorgeous looking yarn. I'm on Day 3 and loved looking at the map. It appears I'm the only one in Winnipeg, Canada on this project.
ReplyDeleteYour scarf looks great so far! Love your Sanskrit translating story, too. See you in the Knit Along!
ReplyDelete