I had yarn left over from my mom’s shawl so I decided to make myself a hat. I have the hardest time knitting things for myself because I am so picky. I had actually knit another hat with this yarn but decided that I didn’t like it… so I ripped it all out and gave this pattern a go.

This hat was such a pleasure to knit! The pattern was written really well and I loved that the cable decreased into the crown. (I couldn’t believe that this was a free pattern, actually, because of the clever construction.) The only modification I made was to knit the brim in 1×1 rib for 1.5″ instead of 1″ because of my own preference for longer brims.

I think it turned out really well (albeit slightly too slouchy) and I hope to get a lot of use out of it. I haven’t really worn hats this winter yet because the weather has been so unpredictable: it’s 30°F one day and 60°F the next! Overall, though, this winter has been very temperate — but I’m not complaining! It’s great biking weather so I don’t have to bundle up too much when commuting to work.

I wanted to make something for my mother but she’s notoriously difficult to shop for. Both my parents are like that, actually. It’s hard to get gifts for people who have everything they want and/or need. So I thought a shawl would be a good idea. She talks about how cold it is in her office (year-round, not just in the winter) so I figure it’d be nice to have an extra layer to bring to work.

The pattern makes a long scarf but I wanted more of a shawl. (My mom is very specific about the kinds of clothes and accessories she wears.) So I used a heavier weight of wool and slightly larger needles and went to town. Since it’s not going to be worn wrapped around the neck, I made it slightly shorter. When I finished knitting it, I wasn’t thrilled with the width so I really blocked the you-know-what out of this scarf. I got an extra 3 inches of width and maybe 2 inches of length. Its final measurements are 13″×70″. Because I blocked so aggressively, though, the yarn lost most of its sproinginess and squishiness. It really looks like a lace shawl now. Hopefully it’s retained some of its warm so my mom can get lots of use out of it.

This is Alex knitting a cowl for himself last night. He used some of my leftover yarn to create a multi-colored (brown and cream) cowl. I only helped him by joining to knit it in the round and binding it off for him, he did most of the knitting himself.

We were at Purl Soho today and he came thisclose to buying some fancy-pants yarn to knit an infinity scarf for himself. In the end, he decided against it. I was in there to look for yarn for a shawl I want to knit for my mother… but I couldn’t find anything I liked. (Besides, the yarn is so expensive in that store!) So we both walked away empty-handed.

This scarf is so hard to photograph! Especially as a non-scarf (in-progress, that is) and indoors at night. I should be finished with it pretty soon and I’ll have the opportunity to take better photos before giving it away to its intended recipient. I’m making this infinity scarf for my sister, who asked me for leg- and arm-warmers last year but never got them. So I’m making her an infinity scarf this year, which will hopefully make up for my tardiness. It’s a soothingly repetitive pattern that’s great for TV knitting. I’ve managed to watch all 14 episodes of Firefly, the movie Serenity, and several episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer while knitting this weekend.

…Why, yes, I have been on a Joss Whedon kick. Why do you ask?

Watching TV, knitting a sweater I started back in July, and blowing my nose. At least I didn’t buy anything, right?

This was an easy and fun knit. Despite my earlier troubles with it, this cowl actually turned out to be the ideal project to have with me on the subway or in front of the TV. It kept me on my toes without being too complicated. The only real trouble I had with it was keeping track of the asymmetrical cables: one cable pattern was knit over 16 rows while the other cable pattern was knit over 12 rows. I had to have pen & paper with me at all times so I would know on which row I was working.

I haven’t seamed the cowl together so it’s currently in a traditional scarf form. As soon as I finished knitting, I soaked it in Eucalan wool wash for 30 minutes. It’s currently drying on a beach towel on my living room floor. The wool wash made it soft and sqooshy so I can’t wait to seam it and wear it! But, first, I must wait for the temperatures to drop. It’s been in the 60s lately! But it’s only November, I guess there’s still plenty of time left.

This project started off badly. I spent about 4 hours knitting and unknitting the darn thing because I couldn’t follow the instructions. As soon as I rewrote the directions to suit my needs, though, it started flying. I took it with me on my commute up to the Bronx … and found out that this project doesn’t travel well. I couldn’t keep track of the cables so I had to unknit and reknit again. Very frustrating. And very unfortunate because I am enjoying working with this yarn and can’t wait for the finished cowl/scarf. It looks so cozy! Doesn’t it?

OK, that may not be the best photo to prove my point… but it’s a thick, plushy infinity scarf that I can wrap around my neck and not have to worry about any loose ends (like on a regular scarf). It’d be great to wear while biking, too.

Since receiving two e-readers* over the winter holiday season, I’ve been reading a lot more lately. This is good, since one of my yearly goals is to read more books. So far, I’ve consumed 11 books in two months. I get a lot of the reading done on my commute, which consists of an hour-long trip on a crowded subway twice a day. I used to try to knit on the train but that became cumbersome, what with the suicidal double-pointed needles and all. Some projects are also less than portable, given their size. If I have small project that allows me to use circular needles, though, I bring it with me and load an audiobook onto my iPod. So I’m still “reading” while not technically reading.

I’ve only ever purchased one audiobook — and that was before I remembered that libraries lend digital audiobooks. (Bad librarian!) I hold 3 library cards, one for each public library system in New York City: New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and Queens Library. All three have e-books and e-audiobooks. However, because this past Christmas season was so successful for e-readers, all the good e-books are always checked out! So I’ve been buying books from the Google eBookstore.

However, not everyone can afford the luxury of buying e-books whenever their local library has no interesting e-books to be borrowed. For this reason, e-books — just like print books — have waiting lists, sometimes in the hundreds. So imagine everyone’s outrage at HarperCollins’s recent decision (and OverDrive’s compliance with the publisher) to limit their e-books to 26 uses per copy. That is, after an e-book has been checked out 26 times from a library, it self-destructs. Understandably, everyone is pissed. What’s really upsetting — especially from my librarian POV — is the fact that publishers are starting to sell licenses rather than goods. So when a library pays for an e-book collection, it doesn’t necessarily own it. So if the publisher decides to pull the content (1984, anyone?), the library is left several thousand dollars poorer with nothing to show for it.

Everyone should be outraged by this, not just librarians. Public & school libraries are funded by taxpayers. Academic libraries are funded by student tuition (and sometimes by taxpayers, too, if it’s a public institution). This affects everyone. For this reason, an e-book user’s bill of rights now exists. Read it and spread the word.

The eBook User’s Bill of Rights

Every eBook user should have the following rights:

• the right to use eBooks under guidelines that favor access over proprietary limitations
• the right to access eBooks on any technological platform, including the hardware and software the user chooses
• the right to annotate, quote passages, print, and share eBook content within the spirit of fair use and copyright
• the right of the first-sale doctrine extended to digital content, allowing the eBook owner the right to retain, archive, share, and re-sell purchased eBooks

I believe in the free market of information and ideas.

I believe that authors, writers, and publishers can flourish when their works are readily available on the widest range of media. I believe that authors, writers, and publishers can thrive when readers are given the maximum amount of freedom to access, annotate, and share with other readers, helping this content find new audiences and markets. I believe that eBook purchasers should enjoy the rights of the first-sale doctrine because eBooks are part of the greater cultural cornerstone of literacy, education, and information access.

Digital Rights Management (DRM), like a tariff, acts as a mechanism to inhibit this free exchange of ideas, literature, and information. Likewise, the current licensing arrangements mean that readers never possess ultimate control over their own personal reading material. These are not acceptable conditions for eBooks.

I am a reader. As a customer, I am entitled to be treated with respect and not as a potential criminal. As a consumer, I am entitled to make my own decisions about the eBooks that I buy or borrow.

I am concerned about the future of access to literature and information in eBooks. I ask readers, authors, publishers, retailers, librarians, software developers, and device manufacturers to support these eBook users’ rights.

These rights are yours. Now it is your turn to take a stand. To help spread the word, copy this entire post, add your own comments, remix it, and distribute it to others. Blog it, Tweet it (#ebookrights), Facebook it, email it, and post it on a telephone pole.

This bill of rights is similar to the one drawn up by librarian (and my colleague) Alycia Sellie and technologist Matthew Goins: Readers’ Bill of Rights for Digital Books. It actually predates the one quoted above so it is definitely worth a read.

* Yes, I have two e-readers. It’s not that I’m greedy (although that’s partially true), it’s just that I got one as a gift (B&N Nook) right around the same time I purchased one for myself (BeBook Neo). I like them both and I can’t choose the one I want to keep! I did just lend the Neo to a colleague of mine who’s doing research on e-books, e-readers, and readers’ rights, though. I guess I’ll see how the Nook fares while the other one is in her possession.

This sweater was so much fun to knit!  Because of the super bulky yarn, it knit up fairly quickly. The cables (on the back, fronts, and arms) kept it interesting without making it too challenging. The only real modifications I made to the pattern were fixing the trellis cables on the back (so they’re all overy-undery) and knitting the sleeves in the round (so I wouldn’t have to seam them shut). The instructions were clear and easy to follow. The only thing I would have liked to be different is explicit instructions for shaping the right front piece. (The designer expects me to write my own instructions for that part. It’s not rocket science but it would have been nice to just have it written out.)

The day after I seamed all five pieces (1 back, 2 fronts, 2 sleeves) together, I wore the sweater to work. I couldn’t help but show off to some folks who oohed and aahed over it. It’s pretty awe-worthy, I must admit. And I love it when I get compliments on it! I then get to tell them that I made the sweater. It’s a pretty fantastic feeling.

Next project to go on my needles? Treads, a fingerless glove pattern, for a coworker. I’ve finished one glove and I’ve started on the second. I’ve never knit gloves before (fingerless or not). I have 1 mitten that I made last month for another coworker. It’s kinda similar but slightly different. If it weren’t for all those pesky double-pointed needles, I would take this project on the subway with me and finish it on my commute but I hate fiddling with suicidal needles on a moving train packed to the brim with commuters. Ah, well. It’ll be finished soon and I hope the recipient loves them!

Dixon comes over and naps in my lap, taking up all my knitting space.  (I started a sweater vest last night that’s 15% finished already!  It’d be farther along if the purr monster kept away from my lap.  It would also help if he kept my yarn out of his mouth.)

He’s also the reason I got the apartment in Brooklyn.  When I found out that my prospective landlord rescues animals (and because she asked about him when I told her I have a cat), I sent a photo of Dixon with my rental application.  When the landlord called to say that I’m in, she said my move was “shameless, shameless!”  Then when I went to sign the lease, she again said how that was a shrewd maneuver.  I pimped out my cat to get an apartment and I’m not ashamed!  If you had a cat as lovable and huggable as Dixon, you’d do the same.