Knit a little, read a little, watch a little

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Now that my Mondays are temporarily free...

... I'm hoping to make regular blog entries on Mondays. My Monday band practice is on hiatus until August, mostly because we don't have either a place to play or a conductor. (Our backup left the band, and provided a regular alternate space.) Add to that the fact that Amanda plans to post updates on Toasty Toes on Tuesdays, and Monday's a great day to post, don't you think?

First things first, a Toasty Toes "update." (Not necessary, since regular updates will start in mid-July, but I figure it's best to start the habit now.) There's not a whole lot happening here at casa habsgirl. I'm pondering yarn and pattern options. I've bought some pattern options: Eleanora and Nautilus, Badcaul and Giotto. I really like these patterns, and will use them for my regular sock victim and myself even if I don't use them for Toasty Toes. And I keep finding stuff I want. Must resist. (At least until I make a final decision.)

On to other socks. SageRipple continues apace:

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Note the growth from the previous picture (mug present for (a) scale and (b) because I was drinking tea at the time). The first sock is now complete, and I've switched back to the Monaco socks, which are in the early part of the foot. I also ripped out the original standard bind off of the first sock, which was a little tight and done a Kitchener bind off instead. Very nice and stretchy, but a total bitch to rip back when you bugger it up.

I also finished up Womb:
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It's not flawless, but I kinda like it. I will get my friend's address and send it off (along with a quick cat toy for her cat) this week.

In other parts of my life, I did a little pastry-cheffing this weekend:
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A strawberry tart, with orange pastry cream and a digestive crust (digestives are a type of cookie.) Loved the pastry cream, but the crust crumbled badly. I should have done a sugar cookie crust instead - I don't make good crumb crusts.

I also bought music options for my brother's wedding. I was looking for something appropriate but quirky - I really don't want to play the same-old same-old.
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A little bit of everything: 2 books of standard pieces (backups), a Leonard Bernstein book (mostly West Side Story, but some other stuff), 2 Saint-Saens pieces (the Pavane from Proserpine looks promising, even if it's from an opera about a courtesan) and Serenade for Solo Flute by Phillip Glass (which is my first choice.) Now I just need to practice some of them to make some cuts and give brother and fiancee a couple of choices.