Springsteen was right:

I get up in the evening
and I ain't got nothing to say
I come home in the morning
I go to bed feeling the same way
I ain't nothing but tired
Man, I'm just tired and bored with myself
Hey there baby, I could use just a little help

I so know how this guy feels. I'm just tired all the time. Working really takes it out of you. I had no idea.
But I knit to forget. Recently I finished this:



It's clapotis. It took me a while to get around to knitting this pattern, but it's been on my to-do list for a while.
I've decided to express my feelings about the knitting of this piece in a poem, both because I was feeling particularly lyrical today, and also to pay homage to the third annual Nýhil international poetry festival which starts this friday and I'm sure will be very fun. Fun fun. Good fun. If anyone should find themselves in the Reykjavík area this weekend, I recommend it.
Anyhoo, here goes:

Red Wrap

Stitches march
down
leaving in their wake a ladder
unused
cat burglar
opportunity
I will never return to
this voluptuous pattern

Working girl

Ah, jeeez, no sooner had I recovered from the flu than another occurrance put a huge dent in my plans to be the most prolific knitter, ever.
I was offered a job. A real job, with good pay, nice colleagues my own desk and direct line and everything. A grown-up job. Not only that, this job combines two of my biggest interests (apart from the whole yarn thing, obviously): culture and the media. People, I tell you, I am now a fully employed cultural journalist. Writing articles about literature, ballet, theatre and opera is now what I do all day, from 9 to 5.
I´ve only been working for little over a week, but it so far it seems like the perfect job for me. It's just thoroughly interesting beginning to end. But I think it says something about my priorities that when I was offered the job the first thought that popped into my head was "Darn! Now I won't have as much time to knit!" Then the second thing I thought was "But this means I'll have more money, which means I'll finally be able to try out some yarns other than only the cheapest ones!" So clearly, this situation has its pros and cons.
However, I have managed to finish a knit recently, believe it or not. I proclaim the following:
Callie by Cosmicpluto is the fastest knit and the nicest fit I've knit in a long time. Look!



(I realize I´m reverting to my old and wicked photobooth ways, but to get a picture of the sweater on my camera I'd first have to stand up and get the camera. Then I'd have to get someone to photograph me or try to do it myself with the timer and fail miserably. Then I'd have to find the cable to attatch the camera to the computer and...you know, photobooth may be inferior when it comes to picture quality but it's a godsend for people like me who don't like it when they have to get up).
Well, as you see I've made a few modifications. For one thing, I tried the three-quarter length sleeve and didn't like it, so I just went for a full length sleeve which I like. I also tried out the picot trim, but I felt it made the bottom of the cardigan kind of bulky, so I just went with seed stitch. Lastly, I totally hate picking up large numbers of stitches, like buttonbands, so in patterns that require this of me I usually just crochet a buttonband instead. I did that here. It kind of looks like seedstitch anyways, so it doesn't bother me.
All in all, I heartily recommend this pattern. It 's simple but still has a few interesting features, so it never gets boring. It's a quick knit and, best of all, it's a really flattering sweater.
I liked it so much that as soon as I'd bound off the final stitches I used the same needles to cast on for this:



It's another Callie. I need help.

No knitting, but cookies.

Absolutely no knitting content today, I'm too busy doing other stuff, like writing to bother much with knitting. But no matter how much I write I still have to eat, right? So today I bring you: My snacks: A photojournal.
My grandparents brought me this yesterday:



They ran into it in some store, and since they know how much I love Moomintrolls they bought it for me. This is an appropriate snack for me since I am about to start a Ph.D. in literature, and these cookies are based on some of my favorite book characters. Let me introduce you to the family:



Meet Moominpapa. He is a philosopher and the author of his most excellent autobiography "The Exploits of Moominpapa." I highly recommend it.



This lady is the love of Moominpapa's life. His account, in his autobiography, of how they first met is very dramatic. She is, serendipitously enough, called Moominmama. Do you see her handbag? Well, let me inform you that she is a serious knitter, and she carries her knitting with her wherever she goes in that handbag. I would love to be able to peek into it.



This fellow is their son, Moomintroll. He is a good soul, but sometimes he gets into trouble by accident.



This girl is the Snorkmaiden, and she is Moomintroll's girlfriend. Well, I don't really know how serious they are about each other. We'll see, they're young still. Her hobbies mostly revolve around her looks; she enjoys combing her hair and being admired for her taste in jewlery.



I don't know what this guy is called in English, but here in Iceland we call him Snúður. He is Moomintroll's best friend, but he has a wandering spirit and cannot stay in the same place for very long. This troubles Moomintroll, because it means that his best friend is seldom with him. I have a friend who's like that; it's kind of difficult.



Finally, my favorite (characterwise that is; they all tasted the same). This is Mía Litla (in Icelandic). She is a close friend of the Moominfamily, so close, in fact, that she lives with them. She's not really a burden because she's so small. She likes to take naps in the yarn in Moominmama's handbag. She has a mean streak, and can be kind of snippy, but she has a great sense of humor. Because she's so small, she often gets misplaced and the Moominfamily has to spend alot of time looking for her, but they don't mind.

Not only are these characters entertaining, they make a great vanilla-flavored snack.

On a cultural note...

I was just listening to Shellac, starring my beloved Steve Albini in the leading role. Does anyone know that song Prayer to God?
Well, I've always thought it was pretty good, and kind of funny in a way, but I've only just now grasped the full implications of the lyrics. Steve Albini must have written this text after being dumped! What foolish woman made the grave mistake of dumping him? He sounds like such a catch, in a geeky-sensitive-artist kind of way. Although, it must be said, he does appear, judging by the lyrical contents of this song, to have some issues with rejection and anger management. In fact, he kind of strikes me as rather vengeful, which is not really a quality I look for in a man. I wouldn't want to be the one who arouses his anger, that's for sure.
Still, as long as he doesn't take the killing spree any further than into his songs, I guess he and his works can still be appreciated.
Amen.