So I did mean to update on Wednesday, but I had to work on a last-minute baby project Wednesday and Thursday; Friday I was occupied (more on that in a sec); Saturday was WWKIP Day, then we went to see my parents for the weekend; and the last two days I've generally been feeling yuck--trouble with my back. Anyway, my back and neck are still totally screwed up, but here I am...

Friday, of course, was when Tim Russert died. I spent five hours fixed on MSNBC. I did not knit. I was pretty upset. He has always been an idol of Mark's, not only because they only grew up a few miles from each other and went to the same college. It hit me a lot harder than I thought it would. And seeing Keith Olbermann's puffy crying face did not help matters. (Mark always says he's a weeper.) I'm still a little in shock. I thought the memorial this afternoon was great. Maybe people are only saying such glowing things about him because he's dead--but I don't think so. He just seemed like a genuinely good person. (Also, he apparently really liked Bruce Springsteen, which I appreciate.) Though it is weird how people have been talking about his Catholicism. Everyone is saying how "devout" he was, but seriously, the man worked on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings--you know he didn't get to Mass every week. (Unless he snuck out to a weekday Mass on his lunch hour--in which case forget I mentioned it.) To Mark and me he just seemed like a regular old American Catholic--big on the social justice stuff and basic teachings, less so on the more political stuff that is generally irrelevant (mundane in the true sense, you could say). The talking heads have weird ideas about Catholicism...though I suppose they're not the only ones. One girl I used to work with actually asked me if Catholics believed in Jesus. (I almost responded, "Ummm...we like, invented Jesus!) When I corrected her, she said, "Oh, I must have been thinking of my Jewish friend from college..." Granted, this girl was a very sheltered Southern Baptist, but still. Anyway, it's been an interesting facet of the memorial coverage, and it's gotten me thinking...

On a related note, we have been fans of the Chuck Todd for several months. (You know I like the nerdy, statistics-obsessed boys...) Every time they hauled him out on a Tuesday night, I would remark on how bleary-eyed and tired he looked, and that they needed to let the man sleep! I had this idea to market "Save Chuck Todd!" T-shirts (Ferris Bueller reference intended). But look, somebody beat us to the idea. Very funny website.

And now to the knitting. Photos ahoy!


Progress on my Swallowtail. My Susan Bates needle is too blunt to p5tog for the nupps, so I'm doing beads instead. It's a different look--more flashy than I was going for--but I like it, too. Should be done in a few days.


Here's the first Rhombus; I turned the heel on the second last night, and may just finish it tonight. I still don't have the pattern memorized, but I wrote out some shorthand for myself so it's a little quicker.


Ophelia is coming along. This picture was taken when I reached the underarms; at this point I've finished both fronts and am a few inches into the back. I've had to alter the lengths of individual sections to accommodate The Girls, and add about 2 inches to the length of the fronts and back, but other than that things are progressing according to the pattern. I hope it looks good when I'm finished!


A Father's Day gift: golf club cover. I am no fan of fair isle or intarsia, and it's a little tight, but it looks pretty good. My father says it should fit any of his smaller woods. And he mentioned that he still has one I made for him a few years ago, which is probably not that great (I barely remember making it). How sweet is that?


Last but not least, I finished the electric kettle cozy.


I will write up a pattern--easily adapted for models other than the Melitta Express Kettle--once I feel like working up a cotton model (this is acrylic--it's just to keep it clean, mind you, and I only put it on after it's cooled down). I'll also make the cotton one with ties instead of a button flap. That way people would have more options...

And to close, in singing news, I did finally hear back from that artistic director--I'm hoping we can work something out for late last week. I'll feel much more secure after working with him. I'm just getting a little frustrated... And I'm working on more Wagner, though it seems the aria I'd originally wanted to work on is too low. Now I have to choose between a short but very sustained aria and an aria with a whole bunch of A-sharps. I'm up to it, but it sure looks daunting on the page...