Au Debut

Bonjour a tous! Tout va bien ici et nous sommes en train de nous amuser beaucoup!

Yesterday the group went to the Eiffel Tower and we also went on a boat cruise on the Seine...so I took more than my fair share of pictures (shout-out to Cameron -- I'm following your directions). Please check them out! I'd love to hear (ok, read) your comments.

I Survived CDG

Greetings from a top-secret, undisclosed location in Paris! After two flights, one bus ride, and a certain number of long queues, the group has arrived. Not much of note has occurred, but I'm looking forward to having our adventures start soon (a.k.a. tomorrow, when people are awake) which will include pictures!

Details, Thoughts, and OAQs

Yes, it has been ages since my last post, and for that, I do apologize. It's been a busy summer!

Anyway, moving on to more exciting times! The vast majority of my audience of 5.3 readers know that I will be leaving shortly for a year abroad in France. I've hoped to study abroad for some years know and it's quite exciting to finally be able to go.

Since there are lots of logistics to think about as I leave and for while I am abroad, I've decided to post a few Occasionally Asked Questions (OAQs) about my plans for everyone's information:

Q: Where are you going?
A: France. More specifically, Paris for all of September and then Tours from October through May inclusive. I will go on excursions around France as well as traveling around Europe.

Q: How will you keep folks updated?
A: You're looking right at it. While some folks send out mass emails when they go abroad, I'm planning on using the pre-existing structure of this blog. I will also post more photos on Flickr than here, but I will provide links in my posts to the new photos.

Q: What if I can't be bothered to type in a URL to follow what's happening?
A: Fortunately, there are several options. You can follow the RSS feed in your preferred reader (I strongly recommend Google Reader) which is the way I like to keep up with blogs. The easiest and most painless option for most people is to subscribe via email, which you can do in the sidebar. You will have to click through the confirmation email, so be sure to keep an eye out for that in your spam folder.

Q: How else will you keep in touch?
A: Email, natch. Also, I have Skype. If you're on Skype and you want my username, just send me an email.

Q: What are you studying?
A: Mostly French itself, but also literature, art, history, international relations, wine tasting, picnic-packing, the fine skill of finding flea market bargains, &c.

Q: Do you want to hear an idea for something to do in France or Europe?
A: Yes please! I'd love to hear suggestions for places to eat, things to do, locations to visit, so please do add them in the comments or shoot me an email if you would like.


That should do it! Additional OAQs? That's what the comments are for!

St. Brigid Completed At Last

It's finally finished! Yesterday I finished the seams and the affixing (not asphyxiating -- an important distinction) of the collar. Unfortunately, it will be quite a long while before it will be the right weather for a ten-pound wool sweater, but I will try to be patient.

I'm pleased with how it turned out as my first Aran (and my first Starmore design, which are notoriously complicated). There's a certain charm in the fact that it's not a contemporary or even a very flattering design. It's boxy. It does not do anything helpful for my figure -- it's just warm, which is the whole point. It's the kind of sweater I could wear on a ship, immigrating in the 1830s from Ireland. That sort of opportunity does not often present itself, but one must be prepared.


This exercise has also impressed upon me the necessity of upgrading my camera. Besides its delays and temperamental nature, the camera I currently use does not capture colour well at all! The red here is much too tomato-y (at least on my browser) and the cables don't look as delineated as they truly are. Alas. I will rectify this situation this summer.

There will be an update on Ravelry shortly with more pictures.

Onward to the Finish

My epic project for 2008 has been St. Brigid. It's beautiful but complicated, fiddly but fun, and thus it has kept me company through many a viewing of Chocolat and not a few episodes of Bones. I'm excited to say that I'm finally on the homestretch; the front, back, and sleeves are finished. What remains: all the seams (oy vey), the collar, and I'm contemplating cuffs as well. I have really enjoyed knitting this sweater and the colour is so lovely. The picture is not accurate -- it's a deep, deep bloodred.

Excellent NYT Article

My roommate kindly pointed out this fantastic NYT piece about steampunk. Though I think it focuses too myopically on the commercial potential of steampunk, it does mention some mainstays in the community and says positive things about the movement overall.

New Projects!

Ah, the lack of posting that occurs when the end of the semester rolls around...so tragic, and yet so predictable.

In between epic papers and exams, I have done a bit of knitting. Mostly I've been working on St. Brigid, but I also just finished a little project from some spare yarn. It's an armband/wristband with the Universal Translator symbol from Star Trek. I love doing two-colour Fair Isle knitting and this came together really quickly.


the front



the back

I have more Information on Ravelry...

I've also acquired yarn for a secret project and for some new socks, but they have to lie dormant until the semester has really concluded.