This post's title refers not to the actor, but rather to the finest album ever released by the insanely wonderful Prefab Sprout. Steve McQueen was recently re-released in a new, digitally re-mastered version that also includes acoustic versions of the album's songs. I simply must go out an get it. My beloved copy of this album has been lost for some years, so I have ample reason to spend some money on intellectual eighties pop.
I'm back in Denmark now. The weather here is ridiculously nice. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the temperature hovers around 25 degrees celsius. I have so much work to do that I intend to simply draw the curtains and not leave the house today. I have a meeting with my supervisor tomorrow, and I really want to sound like someone who knows just a little bit about their thesis topic. I'm actually quite happy to be back in Denmark because I spent way too much time socialising when I was back home in Iceland, and, sadly, not enough time working. The good thing about Copenhagen is that I don't know that many people here, so I have more time to work and can spend less time feeling guilty about neglecting my loved ones. For students, the hermit lifestyle comes highly recommended.
But back to the weather. Apparently this has been the warmest April ever here in Denmark. I was watching the news a couple of days ago, and they did a story on this unseasonably warm weather. Much to my dismay, the story was all upbeat, featuring interviews with scantily clad people eating ice cream. Needless to say, they all said they were delighted with the weather and hoped that it would stay like this, permanently. Now, I have nothing against nice weather, I enjoy it as much as the next guy. But I gotta tell you, I find this upbeat style of reporting kindof irresponsible considering that our own lifestyles are directly contributing to climate changes that, while currently delightful in Denmark, are likely to be catastrophic on a global scale. Ice cream or not, we shouldn't forget our responsibility to try to live in some kind of harmony with our environment. So, I hereby protest to upbeat weather stories on the news, and suggest that TV stations should be made to broadcast those two great films An inconvenient truth and The day after tomorrow constantly until we get the message. Cos the power of the media is awesome, you know?
Anyhoo, all this talk about the weather is really just to distract the world, and myself, from the fact that I have no knitting content to offer. I've been knitting some, but not much, and photobooth pictures will have to wait until I have the thing off the needles. It's just that kind of a thing.
The books are calling me. Ciao!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Economics
Sometimes I really wish I understood the financial world better than I do. Due to an upcoming election, all the Icelandic political parties are constantly going on and on about the economy and taxation and all these words I hardly recognize or understand. And that annoys me no end. I hate not understanding stuff. But I also think that what really gets to me is that I consider myself a fairly intelligent, educated woman. And these politicians are talking about stuff and using language that simply does not compute in my head. This leads me to the conclusion that I'm not the only member of the general public that has no idea what they're talking about. Then if I were to suggest that political discussions about economics should be put in the parlance of the people, I would be accused of advocating the dumbing down of important issues that need rigorous consideration rather than simplification. I don't want to advocate any such thing, so I guess the public, me included, just needs to get their act together and learn to understand economics in order to perform their civic responsibility.
But most of us are pretty busy people, and I can only imagine having time to familarise myself with economics and other issues of import if I give up something else, something that is not vital to democracy, something like, hmmm, knitting. Gasp! As if!
No, but seriously, I think that we all have a civic duty to try and understand what it is that makes our world go round; we all have a duty to understand what it is that those lovable politicians are talking about all the time. If that means that we have to educate ourselves, then so be it. Reading a few books never hurt anyone, and for those of us who like to spend their free time knitting or participating in some other kind of hobby where books aren't really convenient, there are audiobooks. So go out and acquire some knowledge! It makes listening to politicians way more fun.
In other news, I've heard that the cows are out and about in Cambridge. Hooray!
But most of us are pretty busy people, and I can only imagine having time to familarise myself with economics and other issues of import if I give up something else, something that is not vital to democracy, something like, hmmm, knitting. Gasp! As if!
No, but seriously, I think that we all have a civic duty to try and understand what it is that makes our world go round; we all have a duty to understand what it is that those lovable politicians are talking about all the time. If that means that we have to educate ourselves, then so be it. Reading a few books never hurt anyone, and for those of us who like to spend their free time knitting or participating in some other kind of hobby where books aren't really convenient, there are audiobooks. So go out and acquire some knowledge! It makes listening to politicians way more fun.
In other news, I've heard that the cows are out and about in Cambridge. Hooray!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Icelandic sweaters of the seventies
My new years resolution concerning the increased knitting of accessories has so far been a complete failure. But rather than beat myself up about it, I'm going to blame the media.
Because of the enomous persuasive power of Icelandic television news footage from the 1970's I have been sucked into the vortex that is knitting a Lopi cardigan. In the 1970's everyone, and I mean litterally everyone, looked the same: the men had lambchop sideburns, the women had long hair parted in the middle, they wore flyaway trousers and a traditional, yoked Lopi sweater or cardigan. I've watched so much footage from this period in the last few weeks that I've unconsciously begun to adopt this look: I constantly wear my hair down, although a middle parting has yet to develop; I've unearthed a couple of pairs of bell-bottom trousers that I haven't thought of as cool since sometime in my teens, and ultra-modern knitting projects such as wristwarmers and tube tops have had to make way for the cardigan of the seventies. Lo and behold:
There it is in all of its "in progress" glory! Stay tuned for more hits of the seventies!
Because of the enomous persuasive power of Icelandic television news footage from the 1970's I have been sucked into the vortex that is knitting a Lopi cardigan. In the 1970's everyone, and I mean litterally everyone, looked the same: the men had lambchop sideburns, the women had long hair parted in the middle, they wore flyaway trousers and a traditional, yoked Lopi sweater or cardigan. I've watched so much footage from this period in the last few weeks that I've unconsciously begun to adopt this look: I constantly wear my hair down, although a middle parting has yet to develop; I've unearthed a couple of pairs of bell-bottom trousers that I haven't thought of as cool since sometime in my teens, and ultra-modern knitting projects such as wristwarmers and tube tops have had to make way for the cardigan of the seventies. Lo and behold:
There it is in all of its "in progress" glory! Stay tuned for more hits of the seventies!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
The inevitable
It had to happen. I bought Icelandic wool. It's for a cardigan. I think I need some therapy to get out of this cardigan rut, seriously. Anyway, the Létt-Lopi cardigan I'm going to make is of the traditional kind with a patterned yoke. The body of the cardigan will be a dark gray and the pattern will be a lighter gray, white and black. I did attempt to get a picture, but the light is not my friend today, and therefore wasn't able to get one that showed the colors propely. I'll just post pictures of the work in progress. I don't have a gray cardigan, so, in theory, I really need one. To coordinate will all of my gray clothes, you know? Very Important Project.
Lately I've been knitting on a green cardigan of my own design, which I believe I've mentioned before. No pictures of that either, sorry. It's turning out pretty nicely, much better than I'd expected, and I don't have much knitting to go to finish it. Unfortunately, I'm knitting with the last skein, and if it runs out before the sweater does, well then I'm afraid that that's the end of the line for this project. I probably could make some adjustments to the design so that it would use less wool, but then it wouldn't be just the way I want it. I think that this green wool would also make a fine shawl, and that my design can be knit up again with other, more plentiful yarn. So if I have to frog I shall shed no tears. It's all just part of the circle of life.
Speaking of the circle of life, there's this new, ostentatious trend that's taking Iceland by storm right now. Wealthy Icelanders have taken to hiring world-famous entertainers to appear at their parties. Recent examples include an Icelandic bank manager who got Duran Duran to play at his new-years party, a businessman who turned fifty and got Elton John to play at his party (hence the circle of life). And today news arrives of Iceland's most beloved billionaire's fortieth birthday party where 50cent apparently drove the crowd wild. I find this trend, as well as the fact that every time someone rich moves a muscle in this country it makes the news, both hilarious and pretty offensive. Hmm, maybe I just find it offensive because I never get invited to any of these parties. They should invite me though; everyone else brings the billionaires presents made by Prada or Porsche or gold plated diamonds or rockets to the moon, but I would be the only guest who brings a present knit with love and patience. I'm sure it would be much appreciated.
Apart from hoping for a party invite, I've spent the last days watching a stupendous amount of TV news. Then I've spent alot of time reading about TV news and thinking about TV news. Funnily enough, my interest in this subject is still on the increase, and therefore leading an interesting life with friends and knitting has kind of taken the back seat. And this development seems likely to continue until August 15., which is when I hand in my thesis. Man, this makes my prospects for the next few months seem pretty dim and dull. I really have to get my hands on a billionaire's party invite, and fast!
Lately I've been knitting on a green cardigan of my own design, which I believe I've mentioned before. No pictures of that either, sorry. It's turning out pretty nicely, much better than I'd expected, and I don't have much knitting to go to finish it. Unfortunately, I'm knitting with the last skein, and if it runs out before the sweater does, well then I'm afraid that that's the end of the line for this project. I probably could make some adjustments to the design so that it would use less wool, but then it wouldn't be just the way I want it. I think that this green wool would also make a fine shawl, and that my design can be knit up again with other, more plentiful yarn. So if I have to frog I shall shed no tears. It's all just part of the circle of life.
Speaking of the circle of life, there's this new, ostentatious trend that's taking Iceland by storm right now. Wealthy Icelanders have taken to hiring world-famous entertainers to appear at their parties. Recent examples include an Icelandic bank manager who got Duran Duran to play at his new-years party, a businessman who turned fifty and got Elton John to play at his party (hence the circle of life). And today news arrives of Iceland's most beloved billionaire's fortieth birthday party where 50cent apparently drove the crowd wild. I find this trend, as well as the fact that every time someone rich moves a muscle in this country it makes the news, both hilarious and pretty offensive. Hmm, maybe I just find it offensive because I never get invited to any of these parties. They should invite me though; everyone else brings the billionaires presents made by Prada or Porsche or gold plated diamonds or rockets to the moon, but I would be the only guest who brings a present knit with love and patience. I'm sure it would be much appreciated.
Apart from hoping for a party invite, I've spent the last days watching a stupendous amount of TV news. Then I've spent alot of time reading about TV news and thinking about TV news. Funnily enough, my interest in this subject is still on the increase, and therefore leading an interesting life with friends and knitting has kind of taken the back seat. And this development seems likely to continue until August 15., which is when I hand in my thesis. Man, this makes my prospects for the next few months seem pretty dim and dull. I really have to get my hands on a billionaire's party invite, and fast!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Hi! Lovely day isn't it? It is here in Reykjavik: the sun is shining and the temperature is probably just a little bit below freezing. I just got back from another grueling day at the broadcasting archives to find the family computer pleasantly vacant. My own beloved laptop is with a repair guy who doesn't seem to want to give me any kind of estimate concerning how long it will take him to fix it. So right now I share computer time with my mom and my brother, who are both, incidentally, graduate students. As you can imagine this can lead to some heated discussions whose need for computer time is the most urgent. But right now no one seems to be home, so I'm able to blog in peace.
Anyways, I've been spending eight hours a day watching old TV news and most nights catching up with my friends so I haven't been super productive. But I did manage to finish a languishing UFO recently and wanted to share it with the world:
It's quite a sight, isn't it? Yes, I'm very pleased with no longer owning just the one store-bought scarf. I can now strut my stuff in this freezing weather without knitterly humility. Hooray! I also knit that sweater I'm wearing there, by the way, but it belongs to my life before blogging, and therefore I see no reason to present it especially. This blog is all about progress, not dredging up the sordid past!
I have another knitting date with my wool-obsessed friend tonight. It's her birthday next Monday and she's invited me over for coffee and cake. I have no idea what to get her. I was thinking about some nice sock yarn, so I stopped by this yarn place on my way home today, and holy rate of inflation! One ball of Regia sock yarn costs 549 ISK. I'm a little too dense to figure out how much that is in terms that makes sense to anyone else than Icelanders, but believe you me, it's a lot of money for one stinking ball of yarn. Apparently Lopi and it's immediate relatives is the only yarn I'll be able to afford for the foreseeable future. Good thing it's my favorite yarn in the world, or I'd really be in trouble. But as far as a birthday present goes, I'll just have to think of something else, which is sad because sock yarn is such a perfect present.
Anyways, I've been spending eight hours a day watching old TV news and most nights catching up with my friends so I haven't been super productive. But I did manage to finish a languishing UFO recently and wanted to share it with the world:
It's quite a sight, isn't it? Yes, I'm very pleased with no longer owning just the one store-bought scarf. I can now strut my stuff in this freezing weather without knitterly humility. Hooray! I also knit that sweater I'm wearing there, by the way, but it belongs to my life before blogging, and therefore I see no reason to present it especially. This blog is all about progress, not dredging up the sordid past!
I have another knitting date with my wool-obsessed friend tonight. It's her birthday next Monday and she's invited me over for coffee and cake. I have no idea what to get her. I was thinking about some nice sock yarn, so I stopped by this yarn place on my way home today, and holy rate of inflation! One ball of Regia sock yarn costs 549 ISK. I'm a little too dense to figure out how much that is in terms that makes sense to anyone else than Icelanders, but believe you me, it's a lot of money for one stinking ball of yarn. Apparently Lopi and it's immediate relatives is the only yarn I'll be able to afford for the foreseeable future. Good thing it's my favorite yarn in the world, or I'd really be in trouble. But as far as a birthday present goes, I'll just have to think of something else, which is sad because sock yarn is such a perfect present.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Greetings from lovely Reykjavik
I can feel it. The time draws near. I predict that sometime within the next week I shall purchase a huge amount of Létt Lopi. My defenses grow weaker by the day.
I order to justify this impending spending spree I intend to knit a sweater for my boyfriend. This is a totally uncharacteristic bout of selflessness, but does amply illustrate the depth of my affection for Icelandic wool. And for my boyfriend, of course! The sweater I'm going to make him is this one (as you can see, no progress on the camera business yet. I've even had some computer geeks investigate the matter and they were stumped):
I've knit my boyfriend two sweaters before. The first one he didn't like. It's a brown Lopi sweater with a black and white yoke that he had himself picked out as the perfect sweater. The pattern is from the late eighties or early nineties, and the sweater is kind of baggy and bulky. Turns out that boyfriend likes his sweaters lightweight and fitted, information that would have come in handy sometime before I embarked on knitting the damn thing. This sweater is now firmly relegated to being worn around the house only.
About a year ago I knit another sweater for him, and this time it was a huge success. It's a close-fitting heavy-worsted stockinette sweater with a cabled yoke (I really like yokes). He's worn this sweater so much it's kind of become his uniform. I really want to make him another sweater that he'll like this much, just to add a bit of variety to his wardrobe. He's already okayed the sweater shown above, but he wants different colours, so when he gets here (he's spending easter in Iceland. Hooray!) we're going to the Lopi shop together to do some shopping. My cunning plan is to make him a Létt Lopi sweater, so I'll then have an excuse to make one for me, guilt-free. The logic is that I deserve to be rewarded for being such a good girlfriend. Everybody wins.
In other news, I've completed this handsome sock, knit from the toe up with a short-row toe and heel.
The colors in this photo are, of course, not true to life. The sock is much nicer in real life, and will also be improved by the weaving in of ends and some blocking. I totally enjoyed knitting this sock, both construction-wise and also because of using up the whole ball of wool. I'm going to get started on its partner today.
I´m going to end on a sad, maddening note. My wonderful new laptop seems to have sustained a mysterious injury to its dvd-drive and will have to go in for some costly repairs. I'm totally bummed out by this, mostly because I have no idea what happened. I've taken meticulous care of this computer ever since I got it, but yesterday I wanted to watch a dvd and noticed some weird sounds coming from the drive. I tried to eject the disc I'd just put in, but it wouldn't come out. It was only at that point I noticed that the slot where you put the discs now looks like a smile. I kid you not, that straight slot has mysteriously turned into a curve, and it won't return my precious Northern Exposure dvd. This also seriously disables my research. I'm going to have to start taking notes on paper with a pen, like a primitive cavewoman. Thank goodness for insurance is all I can say at this point. That, and I'm seriously bummed out. Hopefully a little knitting will ease the bummed-outness.
I order to justify this impending spending spree I intend to knit a sweater for my boyfriend. This is a totally uncharacteristic bout of selflessness, but does amply illustrate the depth of my affection for Icelandic wool. And for my boyfriend, of course! The sweater I'm going to make him is this one (as you can see, no progress on the camera business yet. I've even had some computer geeks investigate the matter and they were stumped):
I've knit my boyfriend two sweaters before. The first one he didn't like. It's a brown Lopi sweater with a black and white yoke that he had himself picked out as the perfect sweater. The pattern is from the late eighties or early nineties, and the sweater is kind of baggy and bulky. Turns out that boyfriend likes his sweaters lightweight and fitted, information that would have come in handy sometime before I embarked on knitting the damn thing. This sweater is now firmly relegated to being worn around the house only.
About a year ago I knit another sweater for him, and this time it was a huge success. It's a close-fitting heavy-worsted stockinette sweater with a cabled yoke (I really like yokes). He's worn this sweater so much it's kind of become his uniform. I really want to make him another sweater that he'll like this much, just to add a bit of variety to his wardrobe. He's already okayed the sweater shown above, but he wants different colours, so when he gets here (he's spending easter in Iceland. Hooray!) we're going to the Lopi shop together to do some shopping. My cunning plan is to make him a Létt Lopi sweater, so I'll then have an excuse to make one for me, guilt-free. The logic is that I deserve to be rewarded for being such a good girlfriend. Everybody wins.
In other news, I've completed this handsome sock, knit from the toe up with a short-row toe and heel.
The colors in this photo are, of course, not true to life. The sock is much nicer in real life, and will also be improved by the weaving in of ends and some blocking. I totally enjoyed knitting this sock, both construction-wise and also because of using up the whole ball of wool. I'm going to get started on its partner today.
I´m going to end on a sad, maddening note. My wonderful new laptop seems to have sustained a mysterious injury to its dvd-drive and will have to go in for some costly repairs. I'm totally bummed out by this, mostly because I have no idea what happened. I've taken meticulous care of this computer ever since I got it, but yesterday I wanted to watch a dvd and noticed some weird sounds coming from the drive. I tried to eject the disc I'd just put in, but it wouldn't come out. It was only at that point I noticed that the slot where you put the discs now looks like a smile. I kid you not, that straight slot has mysteriously turned into a curve, and it won't return my precious Northern Exposure dvd. This also seriously disables my research. I'm going to have to start taking notes on paper with a pen, like a primitive cavewoman. Thank goodness for insurance is all I can say at this point. That, and I'm seriously bummed out. Hopefully a little knitting will ease the bummed-outness.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Blog Down
I haven't blogged in quite a while, mostly because being a stealth blogger is really tough when you spend all your computer time in a one-roomed apartment with another person. And that person is persistently curious about everything you do while online. My apartment is very small, and my mom and I couldn't help getting in each other's way all the time while we were in Copenhagen. I made a decision when I started this blog that I would keep it a secret from my friends and family, at least for a period of time while I properly find my blogging voice, if that makes any sense. I feel like I'm more constrained if I personally know the audience that reads my blog, and therefore I haven't really told anyone about it yet. I want to get comfortable first, and get over being self-conscious about writing in English before I allow any of my real-world knowns to look at the blog. So over the past couple of weeks I've attempted to blog a couple of times, but have been thwarted by my mom asking a few to many questions for my liking.
But I'm in Iceland now, and am able to lock myself up in my old room and blog away in complete privacy, so here goes: I've been here for 24 hours, and have not yet purchased any wool. I have a feeling, however, that it's only a matter of time. I have my heart set on a midnight-blue turtleneck sweater knit out of Létt Lopi, some more Einband for some more wristwarmers, and wool to make socks out of because it's cold here! Today it's raining and the wind is blowing hard, and I'm extremely happy to be inside and wearing wooly garments. However, I'm not sure how much time I'll have to fulfil these wooly fantasies because I didn't use my time with mom in Copenhagen in the most productive manner. We had fun, sure, there was lots of fun, but I didn't get much work done because of all the fun. So I really have to get my act together and spend the next couple of weeks researching the Icelandic news media like crazy. And blogging a little bit in between.
I did manage to get in touch with a friend of mine this morning, and we scheduled a knitting session for thursday night. She is just as obsessed with wool as I am, so I'm fully expecting a night of fun discussions about the merits of various kinds of wool and projects. I can't wait.
But did I knit at all during the last two weeks? Do I have any progress to report? The answer is, sadly, not really. I did manage to finish the lacy socks from hell, and immediately cast on for another pair of toe-up socks, because I so enjoyed the short-rowing. The first of those socks is still in progress, even though it doesn't have far to go, but my concentration has been shattered by a certain dream project that I just might cast on for tonight. It's a cardigan (I feel shame) that I'm kind of going to design myself, although it's based on a whole bunch of patterns that I've knit before, and a cardigan I saw in a shop in Copenhagen and really liked. But I didn't buy it because that would mean that I'd be depriving myself of the pleasure of knitting it. Does anyone else think this way when they see clothes in stores?
Oh, and my copy of Stefanie Japel's Fitted Knits finally arrived a few days ago. I cannot compliment this book enough. I want to make everything in it, including, of course, a bunch of cardigans (the shame). I left the book behind in Copenhagen, but I definitely see it being involved in my immediate future. I think Stefanie Japel is the coolest.
Right now, I gotta hit the books.
But I'm in Iceland now, and am able to lock myself up in my old room and blog away in complete privacy, so here goes: I've been here for 24 hours, and have not yet purchased any wool. I have a feeling, however, that it's only a matter of time. I have my heart set on a midnight-blue turtleneck sweater knit out of Létt Lopi, some more Einband for some more wristwarmers, and wool to make socks out of because it's cold here! Today it's raining and the wind is blowing hard, and I'm extremely happy to be inside and wearing wooly garments. However, I'm not sure how much time I'll have to fulfil these wooly fantasies because I didn't use my time with mom in Copenhagen in the most productive manner. We had fun, sure, there was lots of fun, but I didn't get much work done because of all the fun. So I really have to get my act together and spend the next couple of weeks researching the Icelandic news media like crazy. And blogging a little bit in between.
I did manage to get in touch with a friend of mine this morning, and we scheduled a knitting session for thursday night. She is just as obsessed with wool as I am, so I'm fully expecting a night of fun discussions about the merits of various kinds of wool and projects. I can't wait.
But did I knit at all during the last two weeks? Do I have any progress to report? The answer is, sadly, not really. I did manage to finish the lacy socks from hell, and immediately cast on for another pair of toe-up socks, because I so enjoyed the short-rowing. The first of those socks is still in progress, even though it doesn't have far to go, but my concentration has been shattered by a certain dream project that I just might cast on for tonight. It's a cardigan (I feel shame) that I'm kind of going to design myself, although it's based on a whole bunch of patterns that I've knit before, and a cardigan I saw in a shop in Copenhagen and really liked. But I didn't buy it because that would mean that I'd be depriving myself of the pleasure of knitting it. Does anyone else think this way when they see clothes in stores?
Oh, and my copy of Stefanie Japel's Fitted Knits finally arrived a few days ago. I cannot compliment this book enough. I want to make everything in it, including, of course, a bunch of cardigans (the shame). I left the book behind in Copenhagen, but I definitely see it being involved in my immediate future. I think Stefanie Japel is the coolest.
Right now, I gotta hit the books.
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