A New Project!

I recently took a short vacation with my husband to Alaska, but aside from the 10 day break my dissertation continues at a fairly steady pace. I’m on track to finish the full draft of my final chapter this coming Friday, at which time I will enter a stage that I affectionately term “ravening, raging, frantic revisions”.  I’m slated to defend in September.

Naturally, this means that I’m crocheting more than ever. I’ve come to the conclusion that crochet is just about the only thing that keeps me sane when the rest of my life is otherwise consumed with writing this dense and detailed document that only five people are ever likely to read. (Six if I can goad my husband into pursuing the finished text.)  I have decided, perhaps unwisely, that each member of my committee will get a small gift. I crocheted a hooded cowl as an experiment a couple weeks ago, but am not entirely satisfied with the result. I can’t decide if the cowl is cute or obnoxious. It certainly looked cuter in the original pattern, though I opted to dispense with the edging she uses.

 

I’m taking some time to get used to the look of the hooded cowl before I start working on a hooded scarf for another committee member. The easiest gift will be for the lone male reader–he gets a hat and scarf.  I’m grateful that I live in the cold midwestern wilds of Minnesota where such gifts will actually be useful.

The big project, however, is for my adviser. I wracked my brains for a few days trying to decide what to make for this woman who has be shepherding me not only through the often confusing quagmire of dissertation writing, but who has been the voice of reason (and sometimes the swift kick in the pants) that helped me survive the past few years of school.   Despite seeing her regularly to talk about my work, I can’t say I know her well. I knew I wanted to make her a blanket, but she’s not the frilly sort and I wasn’t sure what her colors might be.

I opted for a simple entrelac throw that would be big enough for a bed.  The pattern I found was great for learning the stitch (modified tunisian), but I opted for a smaller hook to suit the lighter wool yarn I chose–Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, a rather lightweight worsted.  The project is progressing well, but not as quickly as I’d like. I’m not entirely sure I’ll be able to finish it in time considering it currently measures 100 x 16 inches.  Entrelac is both a dense and time-consuming stitch.

Regardless, here is a picture of the work in progress. I chose autumn colors:

I’m pretty pleased with how it’s coming out so far. There’s actually something kind of wonderful about watching this particular afghan grow as I watch  my dissertation grow and in anticipating its completion alongside my biggest career step yet.  There are a lot of positive thoughts in those stitches…and a lot of yarn too! Each row takes nearly a full skein at 110 yards.  Hopefully I’ll be able to post a completed picture in early September.