All Souls' Night

At this point, all I need to do to finish the coat (besides putting together the ribbon clasps) is to finish binding the right sleeve and to find someone willing to measure the hem for me. Anyone interested? All it consists of is putting pins in the fabric at a consistent height from the floor as measured by my ruler while I wear it - which is why I can't do it myself. I can't just pull someone to wear it either, since I want it to be a consistent height on me. I've already made an attempt at making it even, but it would be nice to know for sure.

It actually looks disappointingly like a Hogwarts robe, but fortunately it is closed at one side and not in the middle - and the fabric, which I've turned to the inside, is like a cross between fake fur and chenille. Very nice, very warm. Which is the point, since I'm going to want it once I'm back in a state that isn't a desert.

Damn those fluffies flying everywhere, though.

+ a little over 17 yards of "Lamb's Pride", bulky single-ply black wool
+ 41 yards of similar purple/blue/violet (cotton?) yarn, not entirely in one piece
+ 27.3 yards of peach-red cotton tape

+ one complete good-looking (if rainbow) scarf in one yarn, with fringe
+ one baby scarf with ends I can't be bothered with, with fringe
+ one jumbled scarf of mostly green and white that I don't care for at all, without fringe

I've known for a while that I don't have the patience to knit complicated things, and I think I know now why.

See, I'm working on a moderately difficult pattern for a scarf: ribbed diagonal, which means I have not only to keep track of when I should be knitting and when I should be purling, but I also have to drop a stitch and add one every other row. While I could have just gone for garter stitch, I actually like the way this particular yarn, which is a wide ribbon, looks when it's not done up like that (I did some experimenting at the beginning of today towards that end), so therefore the ribbing. Also, it's easier to keep track of stitches that way.

Anyway, despite the constantly changing pattern that I have to do sixteen rows to repeat, my mind wanders sufficiently for me to read while knitting. And aside from one situation where I added and dropped going the wrong direction and had to back up nearly an entire row, I haven't had any problems. I just don't have the patience...

... to pay attention to what I'm doing. The repetitive motion of knitting itself gets on my nerves, unless I do something else at the same time. Thus, I will never graduate to something more difficult and time-consuming, because I'd have to pay attention again.

That said, the scarf is reaching completion. As the yarn itself is an obnoxiously bright rainbow, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it.

I am... not so busy, so I finally got my comp out again. Love love, and all that.

I... just can't imagine being quite this bored through the rest of the break. I mean, yeah, there's the two conventions, and I get to be a little busy at least to prepare for them, but the first one just needed three costumes, and I've already made four. My costumes just happen to be mostly plain ol' regular clothes that I make to suit me. Apparently I am some sort of cross between Gothloli and punk. murasaki_kaze, be proud of me.

Today I get to be reminded how to use a serger. I'm pretty sure I know already, and I have definite memories of learning, but that was a couple years ago. Best get the help while I can, yeah?

Aside from that, let's have a yay for the lovely coat that now closes, and another one for inserts.

I started to do this before, and stopped. But I want to, and it's been another hour, so why the heck not? I got up an hour ago, prox. I woke up two and a half hours ago, even more prox. And I have a new tunic-thing (that I made) that looks like a dress at first and that takes forever to get into because of the lacing. Wheee!