I have been wanting to get back into the game for a while, but I was inspired to start up the ol' blog again when a friend who has only recently gotten into knitting asked me if I had any pictures of my projects.  I found myself feeling overwhelmed at the very thought of all the unfinished projects I have lying around my apartment, but I decided it was high time I pull them all out of their boxes, bags, cupboards and suitcases, and do something with them.  And I'm happy to say i've already finished one of them and am close to a second.  But first, here is my pile, arranged for dramatic affect:

So I now know I am the proud owner of more than 30 unfinished knitting projects.  And those are ones I have actually started - I probably have another thirty that are still in the imaginary stages, which in some cases I own the yarn for, and have partially or fully designed the pattern, but it may never leave my computer.  Ugh.

That said, let's celebrate something that is finished, and finished today!  Here is an earthy sort of sweater that knit up pretty quick, even though I started it well over a year ago - I got side-tracked, see my other 30 unfinished projects.  Like most of my creations, it made itself up as i went along - one way in which I think knitting and writing are very much the same.  The original idea for this sweater was to mimic one seen in an episode of Angel, worn by Cordelia.  Her sweater in that episode was a pretty simple brown thing, but the sleeves were only attached to the body by a few stitches in the middle of the arm, making the sweater kinda sexy and also prime for armpit ventilation.

So I set off with the plan to replicate this Cordy's sweater.  I started the sweater as i generally do, from the neck down in a seamless, raglan sleeve design.  When I separated the sleeves from the body, I bound off the sleeves except for 4 stitches in the middle of each, which I held with a safety pin.  Then things started to change for me.  I got bored with stockinette stitch halfway down the body, and opted for some lace detail, so I've got a simple lace/ cablesque thing going on, with 3 rows of k2/p2 rib and then one row of k2 tog, yo, p2 alternating with yo, k2 tog, p2 so that the holes switch sides of the rib (sorry guys, I realize that most of the people who are going to read this are not knitters, and this falls into the mumbo jumbo category.  Also, if you are a knitter and are considering replicating this lace pattern, know that I don't know the difference between k2 tog and k1 sl1 psso - I just put whichever stitch I want in front and k2 tog for either).  So here's that lace:

Also, you'll notice that in the finished picture (down below) I do not include the awesome sleeves, which were the whole point of making the thing to begin with.  Well, I did add them, or begin to add them anyway.  But I tried it on with the sleeves and decided that they were kind of lame.  I ended up loving the sweater i ended up with, but it doesn't really represent the original vision at all.  Funny how life is sometimes.

I've (co)written my first obituary - not something one wants to have to do, but nonetheless I considered it an honor.

R. Sherwin Drury, 91, of 112 Stuart Ave., died in his sleep Sunday evening, Aug. 9, in his home after a short illness, surrounded by family.  Before his death, Sherwin wrote the following notes contributing to his own obituary:

“He was born at home at 790 Main St. in North Leominster to parents Ralph S. and Florence M. (Farnsworth) Drury, January 9, 1918.  He attended Leominster schools through high school class of 1936 and graduated in 1941 from Brown University in Providence, RI.  Shortly after graduating, he was drafted, however his stay in the army lasted only nine months because of asthma.

He worked for 40 years at the former Simonds Saw and Steel Co., mostly as a cost estimator in the office of the Fitchburg plant.  He was a fourth generation member of the First Church in Leominster Unitarian Universalist.  Always very interested in his family genealogy and in local history, he was chairman of the historical committee of his church and produced a 250th anniversary book for it in 1993, plus a troop 1 of Leominster Boy Scout history book.  He was formerly a member of the Planning Board of the City of Leominster and for many years has been a member and secretary of the City of Leominster Historical Commission.

More later.”

He went on to become historian for the City of Leominster Historical Commission, where he was a member for 30 years, until his death.  He was instrumental and a contributor toward the 2006 publication of Combing Through Leominster’s History, the first history book of Leominster since 1850.  One particular interest was in the history of the Houghton family of Leominster, and of the renaming of North Main St. to Houghton St. in 1874.  In 2008 the square at the corner of Main St. and North Main St. was named Houghton Square, and a dedication was held this May to honor the efforts made by Mr. Drury.

Mr. Drury was a unique and beloved man who lived his life, to the very end, with intent and particular attention to detail - in his conversations, his actions, and even his wardrobe.  He loved music particularly the big band era.  He was always excited to try anything new, whether a new gadget or an interesting food.  He was proud to be a life-long republican.  Most important to him were the members of his family and the history each is creating.  As he said recently while reflecting upon his life, “I am proud of all the things I have done.”

He is survived by three daughters, Ann Drury of Leominster, Judy D. Young of Glover, VT, and Barbara Drury of Westminster, MA; two grandchildren, Sherwin A. Young and Emily J. Young, both of Portland, ME, a cousin Florence “Buddy” (Enholm)Tainter of Leominster, a brother-in-law William Hart Jr. and his wife Mavis of Hanover, NH as well as numerous nieces and nephews.  He is predeceased by his wife of 55 years, Doris M. Drury, in 2003 and his sister, Jane Graffagnino, of Columbus, GA, earlier this year.

I've been really interested in the idea of disfigurement lately, in the psychological sense.  I want one of the characters in the next thing I write to be disfigured.  There is a little boy I know who basically has two giant fingers instead of a left hand.  I don't really know what to think about it, but watching him pick things up makes me reconsider how my hands function.

Does anyone know anything that could help me out?  (you don't have to join anything to comment)

I'm realizing that I don't really like knitting the arms of sweaters.  They are boring tubes that go on forever, and then you have to make a second one.  The body of the sweater can get kind of boring too, but you don't have to pay very much attention.  Arm, on the other hand, tend to be tapered, so I have to decrease every 8 rows or so.  Damn, this topic is even boring.

Anyway, I have 4 sweaters lying around that need arms.  The good news is that I finally finished Vincent's bomb sweater (I had been working on the arms for a month or so, here and there).  It came out pretty well.  I'll have pictures as soon as I find my camera cord.  Additionally, I've been re-arming a sweater that I made a little over a year ago, before I fully realized how essential tapered arms are.  The previous arms would really accentuate the flapping-ness of old-lady biceps.  But I'm not really into that.