In case you're wondering...

For those of you who might have wondered at the disappearance of knitting posts in the past few months, I have spun off the knitting into its own blog (Knitting Professor), leaving this blog for Regency, Georgian, and writing-related posts.

I'm still knitting socks every month, and I'm still working to finish the WIPs (works in progress) I had hoped to finish during the Ravelympics. Since the semester is winding to a close---one more week of classes, then a week of final exams---I hope to actually complete those WIPs in the next month.

My next post (later today or tomorrow), which is on the subject of divorce during the Georgian and Regency eras, is an informative prelude to the next two Wrangle posts, one an infamous Georgian divorce, the other an  even more infamous (in a different way) unsuccessful Regency divorce.

Susannah

The Spencer...The Latest Fashion Statement?

Spencers became popular about 1810. These short jackets were well suited to the high-waisted styles of the Regency, and had the advantage of flattering many figures, both svelte and not-so-slender.

Over spring break, while I was searching jacket and sweater patterns to decide on my next big knitting project, I found a pattern for this knitted spencer. The Sideways Spencer, as it is called, was designed by Annie Modesitt, a costumer and clothing historian. The jacket is knit sideways---that is, from cuff to cuff---in a cable pattern that appears to add body to the garment.

I plan to knit this spencer, although it is not my next big project. I can't quite imagine myself wearing such a short jacket, and I wonder if, during the Regency, spencers were worn by not-so-svelte women on the shady side of 50. If I decide against making it for myself, I have a 30-year-old niece who looks great in just about anything. She may be the recipient of this old, yet new jacket.

What is your favorite old-yet-new fashion?

Susannah

Knitting Olympics---The Results

My knitting olympics was not as successful as I had hoped. I had hoped to knit a pair of socks for my younger sister, as well as finish three WIPs (works in progress)---a sweater-tunic for my oldest grandniece and two Adult Surprise Jackets for myself, one in Noro Silk Garden Worsted, the other in Dream in Color Classy in the Dusky Aurora colorway.

By the closing ceremony, the socks (Wendy Johnson's Nanner Socks) were two-thirds to three-quarters finished. The legs were only about three inches long, which means I knit 10 inches worth of two socks. (To put that into terms non-sock-knitters can readily understand, if I'd been knitting a strip one inch wide, it would have been 44 1/2 inches long by the closing ceremonies.) I have worked on these socks, off and on, since. When I asked my sister over the weekend how long she wanted the leg of the socks, she said she preferred knee socks. So, I still have a few inches to go.

As for the WIPs, I never touched my grandniece's sweater-tunic, which still needs sleeves and a neckband. I also never worked on the Noro Adult Surprise Jacket (a.k.a. the Coat of Many Colors). I need to pick up the buttons I ordered before I can knit the next row---the row with the buttonholes---and I still have not been to my LYS (local yarn store) to pick them up. (Recall, gentle readers, that my LYS is about 25 miles from my house and about the same distance from work, and it closes at 4 pm---a couple hours before I leave work.)

I did, however, add five inches to the other Adult Surprise Jacket, shown here at its pre-Olympics length. (Back to the hypothetical one-inch strip. If I'd been knitting it instead, I would have increased its length by more than 200 inches.) I left the much lighter colored skein of yarn in the jacket, and knit about five more inches---almost two more skeins of yarn. The two skeins after the light one are darker, but not quite as dark as the first three skeins. I'll post a photo of the jacket when it is finished. I am six rows from the part where I pick up and knit the placket, which requires that I know the size of the buttons so that I can properly size the buttonholes. A visit to my LYS is a must this week, and since this is spring break, I will go Friday and join the ladies who knit (and lunch) there. Hopefully, I won't be so busy catching up on all the news that I forget to pick up the buttons!

I have been enjoying my time off this week. So far, I haven't graded a single paper. Grading is the main reason why I didn't make more knitting progress during the Olympics. I only knit during the figure skating and speed skating, and I graded during all the other events.

While I didn't get as much knitting done during the Olympics as I hoped, I did get the better part of a pair of socks knit and made significant progress on one of my jackets. And I didn't fall behind on the ever-present grading. Not medal worthy, perhaps, but nothing to sneeze at, either.

Susannah

Knitting Progress...Slowly But Surely

I finally finished a pair of socks I started around Thanksgiving, which, although nearly complete, had not been touched since I sprained my wrist and thumb two weeks before Christmas. I call them "the Purple Socks," for obvious reasons, and I pulled them out last week and worked on them. I had two motivations for finishing them: 1) they are a birthday present for my youngest sister, who will be here next weekend to celebrate her birthday, my dad's, and my oldest niece's, and 2) I need the needle for another pair of socks, for my other sister. The pair of socks for my younger sister is my entry in the "Sock Hockey" event in the Ravelympics.

For those of you who have not, perhaps, heard of Ravelry, it is like Facebook for knitters and crocheters. The Ravelympics is a knitting Olympics, in which you are supposed to challenge yourself, the same way the athletes do when they compete.

In addition to my "Sock Hockey" entry, I have three entries in the "WIPs Dancing" event. (A WIP is a work-in-progress.) My first entry is a sweater-tunic for my oldest grandniece, which I started in November. The front and back of the sweater are finished. I knit the shoulders together on 05 January, but have not been motivated to knit the sleeves and neckband. (I also haven't had much time to knit the past month, but that's another story.)

My other WIPs Dancing entries are two variations of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Adult Surprise Jacket. The top one, which I call the Coat of Many Colors, is made of---so far---six different colorways of Noro Silk Garden Worsted; the bottom jacket is knit with Dream in Color Classy in the Dusky Aurora colorway. (Click on the photos to enlarge them.)

Why am I knitting two of these jackets at the same time? I love the mathematical basis of this pattern, and the cleverness of the design, which is knit in one piece. Even more surprising, I'm making both of these for myself. (I generally always give the things I knit to one of my loved ones, but this year I've decided to do more knitting for myself.)

The Coat of Many Colors is closer to being done. The next row is the buttonhole row on the placket, but I can't knit buttonholes until I know the exact size of the buttons. But I don't know their size because I ordered them online from my LYS (local yarn store), but said I would pick them up, which I haven't done yet. Part of the problem is that my LYS is 25 miles away from my house, and about the same distance from work. And the LYS closes at 4 pm, which is about two hours before I ever leave work. The other part of the problem is that the Dean has wanted to meet with me the past three Fridays at 12.30 or 1, which meant that I wasn't able to join the group of ladies who knit at the LYS on Fridays. (The group is known as the Friday Lunch Bunch.) The Coat of Many Colors needs the buttonhole row, then five more rows to finish the placket, plus the sleeves. The placket rows, however, have about 800 stitches, so knitting a row is not a matter of moments. Finishing the knitting before the Olympic Games end shouldn't be difficult, if I can pick up the buttons on Friday. Finishing the jacket, so that it is ready to wear, will take more effort because, with all the color changes, there are dozens of yarn ends that have to be woven into the stitches on the inside of the jacket.

The second Adult Surprise Jacket, the bottom one, has a bit of a problem that I haven't decided how to solve. The fourth skein of yarn---the one closest to the knitting needle---is noticeably lighter than the first three skeins. But since I do most of my knitting at night, in artificial light, I didn't notice how much lighter it was until about a week later, when I was nearly finished knitting that skein. The difference isn't quite as bad as it appears in that picture, but there is a very obvious difference. Since Dream in Color yarn, which is hand-dyed, doesn't have dye lots, there's no way tell what you are going to get until you get it. The remaining skeins of yarn range in color, too, and while none are quite as light as the problem skein, there are a couple of lighter ones. I may ask the Friday knitters their opinion, if I am able to join them this week.

How likely am I to knit the socks for my younger sister, finish my grandniece's sweater-tunic, and complete both Adult Surprise Jackets before the Olympics end? Not very likely, unless I don't give my students any assignments between now and then. (And, much as they might wish it, that is not going to happen.) But the Ravelympics are to challenge yourself, which is what I have done.

Stay tuned for reports on my progress.

Susannah

Happy Holidays!

Post intended for 24 December 2009.

The semester ended (for me) not with shouts of jubilation, but with a whimper of exhaustion. After staying up most of the night to finish grading Senior Design reports, I was too tired, once grades were submitted, to appreciate that the semester really had ended.

I fell on a patch of ice in front of the engineering building two weeks ago and sprained my right wrist and thumb, so doing everything has been difficult---grading included. Knitting has been impossible, until today. I am still working on a sweater-tunic for my oldest grand-niece, which I'd hoped to finish before Christmas. My oldest niece is not getting socks this Christmas; neither is my younger sister.

The photograph I wanted to use (of the church we attended when we lived in the mountains of northern Utah) is not on this computer, so this one will have to do.

My family celebrated Christmas last weekend, since that was the time my sisters and their husbands and most of their children could come, so this has been a quiet week. My husband and I and his brothers will celebrate Christmas tomorrow. Tonight, my husband (if he can stay awake) and his older brother and I will walk to church for the 11.00 pm service. It snowed earlier in the day (and week), but it is not snowing now.

If you celebrate Christmas, I wish you a merry one. If you do not, I wish you, belatedly, a happy holiday. Like the people of Bethlehem, we can all hope for peace on earth.

Susannah

November socks, and more Jane Austen

I continued my Jane Austen reading marathon, beginning Pride and Prejudice when I finished Persuasion. Mansfield Park is up next, but will have to wait a few weeks, until exams, design reports, etc. are graded and final grades have been submitted.

I am currently reading The Congress Dances by Susan Mary Alsop---a book about the Congress of Vienna and the events leading up to it. It is research (yet more research!) for A Diplomatic Alliance.

I finished my November socks, which I call my "Holiday Socks," exactly two weeks after I started them. The pattern is Wendy Johnson's Slip Stitch Heel Basic Socks, from her book Socks from the Toe Up. Although not very visible in the photograph, there is gold thread running through the yarn, which gives the socks a bit of glitter. Perfect for the holidays!

Currently, I am knitting another pair of socks (for myself), a pair for my oldest niece (for Christmas), and a sweater for my oldest grand-niece. Over Thanksgiving, my grand-niece, who is six, asked, while I was re-measuring her, if the sweater (which she has not seen) could be a tunic. I hope that extra six inches or so doesn't prevent me from finishing the sweater by Christmas. I'd also like to knit a pair of socks for my younger sister for Christmas, but I don't know if I will be able to squeeze in another project. Time will tell.

Of course, if all my students get perfect grades on their final exams, I'll zip through grading and have more time to knit. (I'm not holding my breath on that one.)

Susannah

October Socks...in November & more Jane Austen

Work has been rather hectic the past few weeks. The last week in October and the first week in November, all mechanical engineering students consulted with their academic advisor about which courses to take next semester, then registered for those courses. This week, it has been my duty to determine how to come up with an additional section of Thermodynamics I and of Mechanical Measurements Lab, and to decide which courses will not be offered. Since I'm still short one faculty member, two courses have to go so that those two extra sections can be added.

The courses on the chopping block are those that are not required for any Mechanical Engineering major, nor for any engineering minor, that have the fewest students registered. No matter what I decide, someone is going to be unhappy. (More likely, several someones.) Fortunately, my colleagues have readily agreed to the changes I've proposed.

There has been no progress on A Diplomatic Alliance these past two weeks; I have not written a word, but I've been pondering an important plot point. I did, however, complete the final two pairs of October socks. The first pair completed (on November 1st), which was the second pair started, was the socks for the Boy Child (a.k.a. Mr. Bigfoot)---Wendy Johnson's Mock Cable socks. It is difficult to see the cables in the dark blue yarn, but they are there.

The final pair completed, which was the first pair I started, was Ms. Johnson's Peace Socks. These are for my mom. They are rather funny-looking because the skein was smaller than I thought---by about 20 yards. Finding leftover yarn of the same weight which would not clash with the colors in the original yarn was a challenge, but I'm rather pleased with the result. I didn't finish these until November 7th, so I suppose they can't really be considered October socks, even though most of the knitting was done in October.

I'm pleased that I was able to complete three pairs in a month---or, to be precise, a month plus a week---despite everything else that was going on. That's a first for me!

Since my last post, I have re-read Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, and I'm currently re-reading Persuasion. Jane Austen's books never fail to please.

Susannah

Progress...or the lack thereof

Writing of A Diplomatic Alliance (a.k.a. Mission in Rome): None to speak of.

Grading: The pile never seems to get smaller, especially since I keep assigning homework in all my classes. Plus, I gave a test this week.

Knitting: Peace Socks #2 (the first pair I've completed) are done. These socks, which are one of Wendy Johnson's designs, were a fun knit. A quick knit, too, since they are made with sport-weight yarn. They are made with Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn, in color S264. This was the first time I'd used this yarn, and it probably won't be the last. : )

The Boy Child's socks are progressing, but slowly. I'm about two-thirds finished with the foot. Again this month, I'm finding that socks with plain feet are not as interesting as socks with patterned feet. And the larger diameter and longer length do not help.

Susannah

September socks

I finished my September socks, which were Wendy Johnson's Feather and Fan Socks, last night. I thought that the foot, being plain stockinette stitch, would knit faster than the past few sock feet have, but they did not seem to---because I found the plain foot boring! (Or maybe because classes had started and I had less knitting time.)

Here they are, in all their colorful splendor. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, in the Mountain Creek colorway.



Here's a close-up view of the pattern, in which, unfortunately, the colors are rather "washed out."



These socks are for my mom---who now has two pairs of colorful hand-knit socks (see my post for Saturday, 18 July to view her other pair of socks) and who may have the snazziest socks of any 75-year-old woman in northern Indiana. : )

I like both pairs of socks for next month's KAL, and I'm trying to decide which one to knit first. One pair, Ms. Johnson's Mock Cable Socks, will be for the Boy Child; one pair, Ms. Johnson's Peace Socks, either for me or for my youngest sister (for Christmas). The Boy Child's feet are not enormous, but they definitely are not small. Baby Sister's feet are an inch longer than mine, and mine are far from dainty. (In this sock knitting marathon, every pair of socks I have knit so far has been for feet 9-11 inches in length.)

At the moment, I'm inclined to knit the Peace Socks first. I still have to find yarn and needles that will give me gauge. But I have a wad of papers to grade tonight, so sock swatching may have to wait until tomorrow.

How many holiday presents have you made? I've completed one, and am about halfway through another.

Susannah

Gauge is not a constant

I can't say I've ever given the subject of gauge much thought before. I knit a swatch to determine the correct needle size to use to get the gauge stated in a pattern, but knitting the swatch hasn't ever led me to contemplate the subject of gauge.

Last month, however, when I started my second pair of socks, I (for the first time ever) did not knit a gauge swatch because I had used the same yarn, in a different colorway, for the pair of socks I made in June. (See "June, Glorious June," my post for Tuesday, 30 June 2009, to view that pair of socks.) Imagine my surprise when the same yarn and same needle (a US1) gave me ten stitches per inch, instead of the eight stitches per inch it had produced in June. (Can you spell s-t-r-e-s-s?) I ripped out the toes, started again with a needle a half size larger, and got nine stitches per inch. After ripping out the toes again, I changed to a needle a full size larger than the first one, and finally got the desired eight stitches per inch. By then, when it was too late to finish the socks that month, I'd begun contemplating the subject of gauge.

What I realized was that, between early June and mid-August, there had been a lot of changes in my life and my work, and I was under a lot more stress than I had been two months earlier.

But the "Eureka!" moment didn't come until about a week ago. This month, I'm knitting a pair of socks with the same yarn I used for the pair I made last month for my friend, Kathy. (See "Summer's End," my post for Wednesday, 19 August 2009, to see Kathy's socks in all their glory.) The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, which I bought at The Loopy Ewe.

Kathy's socks are the Rainbow colorway; this month's socks, which are for my mom, are the Mountain Creek colorway. This month's socks are Wendy Johnson's Feather and Fan socks.

I'd been contemplating gauge, enough to realize that all the changes in my life and work had occurred before I started Kathy's socks. Once again, for the second (and final!) time in my life, I did not knit a gauge swatch. (You'd think I would have learnt my lesson, but....) The very same US1 needle that had given me eight stitches per inch for this yarn in early August gave me, you guessed it, ten stitches per inch in early September. After two more sessions of ripping out the toes until I'd hit a needle that gave me gauge (a US2 again), I realized that Professor O had not yet resigned when I started Kathy's socks. And I finally learnt not to assume that the same needle and yarn I used a few weeks ago will give me the same gauge today.

But the downside of that lesson is that now I'm afraid to work on any project I started more than a few weeks ago, for fear that my now much tighter gauge will ruin it.

I guess that means I should start something new. : )

Susannah

Is it really almost August???

One day I turned around, and it was the middle of July. The next time I caught my breath and turned around, it was the last day of the month.

July has been an eventful month. Dad finally got out of Cardiac ICU, then out of the hospital...but only as far as a nursing home/rehab facility. He is doing better, but still has a ways to go. I am still driving the Great Circle Route every weekday: from Auburn to Angola, to work; then from Angola down to southwestern Fort Wayne, to see Dad and check on Mom, with whom I nearly always have dinner and spend a couple hours; then back to Auburn. It's a 108-mile loop, and some days it seems twice that long.

I have spent a lot more days at the university than usual this summer. First of all, because I taught in a two-week science camp, the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp; secondly, because the new department chair (me!) is doing her best to hire good new faculty members to replace those who have left the university or will be on leave next year. (Two down, one to go.) The third reason for my extra time at the university this summer is because, as the new department chair, I am expected to show prospective students around any day they (and their parents) want to stop by---and so far this summer, no two have chosen to stop by on the same day.

My big accomplishments the last half of this month, apart from the science camp, hiring a new faculty member, and a (slightly) cleaner office---which must move next door next week---is another pair of socks. These socks, like all the others I have knit this summer, are by designer Wendy Johnson (www.wendyknits.net). They are called Nanner Socks. (This pair is not from Wendy's new book.) I made these for my sister, although she doesn't know that she is getting them for Christmas.

I should have some time off these next two weeks. Hopefully, I can use it to unpack the boxes in my study at home---which have been piled there since we moved in last winter.

Susannah

Where did that title come from???

If you are wondering how I came up with the title of this blog, it refers to the many government and parliamentary squabbles, as well as some interesting personal squabbles, during the late Georgian and Regency eras. (Not to mention the fact that the first title I thought of was already being used.)

I had the pleasure of teaching an Honors Seminar spring semester about England during the time Jane Austen was writing her novels (1795-1817), and in my research for the course, I learnt about a number of wrangles of which I had not previously been aware. (More about the course and my research at another time.) Also, I love to knit, and I occasionally my knitting becomes a "wrangle," which invariably leads to ripping out a portion of recently knit stitches to correct the mistake. Usually the error is mine, but occasionally it is due to an incorrect pattern.

Speaking of knitting...Here's a picture of this month's socks---On-Hold Socks, from Wendy Johnson's book, Socks from the Toe Up---which I made for my mother. I finished the socks earlier today, and gave them to my mom tonight. They may end up in the "I'm saving it for a special occasion" drawer, but once she passed 70, she seems to be less inclined to save things for special occasions. I may not know for certain if the socks end up in the ISIFASO drawer, but if she wears them, I'm sure to notice. My dad is still recuperating and rehabilitating after his heart surgery, so I go down to see both of them every night, and Mom and I have dinner together.

I spent two days this past week---and will spend three days next week---teaching classes at a summer science camp for rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. It's been more than a decade since my son was that age, and I'd forgotten what motormouths kids that age can be! My ears are still ringing from their non-stop chatter Friday afternoon, but I'm looking forward to working with them on their final project next week.

Susannah

June, glorious June!

Alas, June is nearly at an end. (Where did it go???) It has been a difficult month in many ways, despite the fact that it is summer, with no classes to teach. My dad has been in the hospital twice, the second time for open heart surgery, but he is recovering, slowly but surely. My department chair announced that he was leaving at the end of July. The dean chose me as the new department chair. (Yikes!)

My big accomplishments for the month were not (regrettably) many pages of the current WIP, but two knitted garments, mostly worked in Heart Pavillion at Lutheran Hospital. The first, a Baby Surprise Jacket, is for my oldest niece's best friend's new baby.



The second knitted "garment" is a pair of socks for me. These are called Lacy Ribs Socks, and they are from Wendy Johnson's book, Socks from the Toe Up. The socks came out really well, and the lacy ribs combined with the varigated colors in the yarn proved to be a good choice. (I was not at all sure about that when I started them.)

I have another pair of socks from the book picked out to knit in July. The July socks, Ms. Johnson's On-Hold Socks, will be knit for my mom---as soon as I find a combination of needles and yarn that will give me the correct gauge.

Susannah