So, it’s the end of the semester and I should really be reading or writing something. I’m resisting that at the moment, and have been for most of the week. This is not a good plan. Papers do not write themselves; exams will not be graded by the cat; Derrida is not comprehensible without a little effort on my part; a complete Faust essay will not spring Venus-like from my head unaided. Sigh.
Thing is, I’m having a bit of a crisis of academic voice. I’m not writing the way I’d like to — it’s gotten convoluted and tentative and way too fuzzy somewhere along the way — and I can’t quite seem to spit my thoughts out. I am frustrated.
All that to say, I thought I’d update my knitting progress before getting the (academic) day underway. It might be time to get out of my pajamas and get to the crappy Starbucks with the Christmas music (though, as is the way of the close-to-campus coffee shop, I tend to run into people I’d otherwise avoid there).
1. Lizard Ridge.
I finally admitted (to myself) that this blanket was never getting any bigger and finished it off. Two colors of Kuryeon, lots of picked up stitches and garter stitch later, viola! clean edges! At first, I was highly sceptical of the pepto-pink bind off, but now … I love it. To me, it adds the perfect folkart touch.
2. Miss Violet Beauregarde
This got a lot of attention while I was in California: turns out, endless episodes of Say Yes to the Dress really facilitate a lot of knitting. I’ve almost finished (or, really, am about halfway through) the first set of repeats on the last chart … yeah, it’s going to be a while.
3. Albers shawl
I’m still not convinced that this is a good idea, but I’ve decided that I need some simple knitting to accompany all that exam reading that I’ll have to start over break. Garter stitch seemed like a good idea. The mohair is debatable.
Again, it seemed like a good idea at the time. The cardigan is super cute and looks totally wearable … but when, oh when, will I find time to actually finish it? The Nashville winter is cold but short — and mine is already pretty well booked with academic obligations.
The real problem, however, is not the knitting. It’s this:
Yeah, that bump isn’t supposed to be there. It’s almost certainly from all of the knitting. Argh. I am not amused, yet not really willing to give up the knitting either. I am currently seeking a compromise and hoping it will go away.
Now, to work!
brokeknits 
My second year in my PhD program, I started (and completed) a sweater during finals week. In other words, I respect and understand the power of yarn to aid in procrastination, distraction, and comfort. Good luck with the work and the bump!
I can totally relate to your motivation problems – all my work plans are currently dissolving into nothing… Must be the dark… I too tend to procrastinate through knitting but I simply decided to accept the fact that I cannot face another page of Roger Lass’ monologues on linguistics and the male nipple without knitting a round or two. Try to bribe yourself! Hope your wrist will get better soon! (Off to look for Christmas cards now 🙂 )
boo to wrist bumps. i bet typing doesn’t help much either. (knit and type in small chunks?) these WIPs are stunning. can’t we demonstrate how productive we are by submitting lots of thoughts and a heckload of garter stitch? (not that they’d appreciate it…)
Please take this with a grain of salt (I’m no Dr) but you can maybe use your books to get rid of your wrist lump (check a Dr 1st!). My colleague (chronic knitter and computer geek) got a ganglion and was told to smash it with a book. Check Youtube for videos of people doing this (sometimes they use a Bible but Faust would probably work even better).
ps love all your projects…
I’m having a hard time trying to change the way I write — less edit-as-I-go, and more planning in advance, while writing seat-of-the-pants to write through my ideas. Edit-as-I-go works OK for small projects, but it has made me absolutely crazy while approaching my dissertation. The result is that I write more and get through more of my argument and evidence, but there’s more crap that will take lots of editing later. We’ll see…
The border on Lizard Ridge looks awesome!
Sorry to hear about the writing frustration – maybe procrastination (or at least distraction) could be an effective way to find your voice. It’s hard to know when to push on – you don’t want to force it when it’s not happening, but at the same time, it’s reasonable to expect to have to put a lot of work into these things sometimes.
I love the hooray cardigan pattern… very cosy, and if you don’t get it done this year you can have it ready for next winter.
The bump!! Oh no!! It looks like a ganglion, you can get them surgically removed or aspirated (fluid drained with a tiny needle) quite easily, normally. Hope it’s not giving you much pain. Definitely, definitely do not give up on the knitting!
I love the close up of the lizard ridge square. And the pink with all those wild colors looks great, not pepto like at all!