Oceane 2.0
The boucle yarn is holding the pattern in place much better than the ribbon alone. At first I wasn't sure I liked the two yarns together, but they are growing on me. What do you think?
The picot camisole has been frogged back to the border, and I added two scallops to it to better accomodate the stitches I'll need to pick up. Once I have some progress to show, I'll post a photo of this. The yarn for the Caroline sweater from Louet is on back order, so hopefully Oceane will be finished before I start that.
Do you go through knitting phases? After making several shawls and stoles, I am really anxious to start making sweaters again. The new Knitty has two patterns I'm considering, Mr. Greenjeans and Cherie Amour. I also saw this booklet advertised in a magazine, and when I found it in a local shop, I had to have it. It's one of those rare times when I like most every pattern in the booklet -- and they're all made with mohair which is probably my very favorite yarn.
After I finished the pie wedge shawl on Labor Day weekend, I wanted to finish my so-called summer reading too, before the autumnal equinox this week. Both books are in the "On the Nightstand" column at left.
The Case of the Murdered Muckracker by Carola Dunn is another edition in the Daisy Dalrymple mystery series. Daisy is a freelance writer in 1920s Britain who gets mixed up in murders, and at one point in the series, marries the policeman usually sent to solve them. In this volume, they travel to the U.S. so she can meet her publisher and he can assist the federal government on a police matter. I found this to be one of the weakest volumes in the series, as there was really only one choice for the possible murderer, and the adventure was more in chasing him across country via airplane than in identifying him. In addition, the author does not hide her dislike for the U.S. police [at least the 1920s versions she created] -- the authority figures are depicted as biased, incompetent, or cowardly, compared to the British characters who eventually locate the murderer. Despite these flaws, it was a fun, quick read, and I'll keep on with the next volumes.
Positively False is the biography of Floyd Landis, the winner of the 2006 Tour de France accused of doping. Landis relates to Loren Mooney, his co-author, his early years in a Mennonite family in Pennsylvania, his move to California, training regime and cycling on various teams, including U.S. Postal [aka Discovery Channel], Lance Armstrong's former team. He talks about the accident that necessitated his new hip, winning the 2006 Tour, and being caught off guard by the news of a positive test for an elevated testosterone/epitestosterone ratio shortly thereafter. His subsequent fight to clear his name, and an epilogue including the summary of his arbitration hearing in May, are told in detail . You know that FL is my favorite cyclist, and from the transcripts of the hearing, it is clear to me that the lab performing the tests made some sloppy errors (what do you make of a lab that uses software from the 80s on their testing machine, and has no copy of the manual present? Of a scientist that testifies of interpreting test results, "it is because we say it is," and of the creator of the testing machine, testifying for the defense, that the lab used his machine with incorrect settings?). The decision of the hearing -- whether FL will remain as Tour winner, or be banned from cycling for two years -- will be announced within the week. No matter what the decision, the bureaucracy in cycling needs to clean up its act. In the meantime, I remain hopeful for a fair result.
Speaking of cycling, Chris and I did the 40-mile Folks on Spokes charity ride again this past weekend. With my new lighter bike, I was able to cut my total time from last year nearly in half, and make it back in time for the lunch! The hills are still monsters, but they didn't seem quite as bad. This coming weekend is the event I've been dreading highly anticipating, the Tri-State Seacoast Century. That's 100 miles, a little more than half of what I normally ride. Because of the move, I haven't trained as I should, so I'm going to just do the best I can. As with the FOS, there's always next year. More photos of the FOS ride can be found here.
Last but not least, a note from Charlie:
Thank you all for your concerns and well-wishes. After my first round of chemotherapy pills, I'm beginning to gain a little weight. My blood test results look good so far, so I'll start another round of chemotherapy in a week or two. I feel pretty good, talk more often to my persons and am spending more time with them. But I'm still making Timmy eat the cat food they give out in the mornings, so I can have the tunafish instead. I don't want them to think I'm too well just yet!
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