the quacking fiber addict

Okay. I'm not truly throwing in the towel, really. But, I got up this morning and it occured to me that there was no way I'd ever finish Mum's sweater in time for the Olympics. Unless I drop all my classes or sell my soul to Satan. Neither would work, since 1) I want to graduate, 2) my parents would kill me, 3) I'm Jewish, and 4) I really AM attached to my immortal soul. A sweater just ain't payment enough.

So, I've thought it over today, and I've decided to tweek my goal, just a bit. My academic schedule is just murder for the next 2 weeks (I swear my Professors planned it this way - or, maybe, I should have done the intellegent thing when I signed up and checked when the KO fell in my academic schedule - yes, I am an idiot) and I'm getting less than an hour a day to knit. Calculate it all up and I *might* get the sweater body halfway done if I don't sleep at night and fail my classes.

Seriously. On Monday my Geology 306 course project is due. It's worth 30% of my grade. I have a page and a half left, and then I have to edit it.

I have 3 weeks to reread 7 books of Livy and 4 of Polybius (on top of keeping up with the current passages), because I somehow was convinced to change my term paper topic in Historiography. You might remember I was going to write a paper on the presence of classism in Classical historiography. I've now volunteered to change it (I swear it sounded like a good idea at the time) to the subject of accuracy on the portrayal of the Numidian cavalry. So, while I am much more interested in the new topic, my curiosity is a bit dampened by the fact that I took notes and underlined passages that don't have anything to do with Numidian cavalry. Fun. Speed-reading, here I come. At least they're both interesting and in English. I'd be so screwwed otherwise.

And! (oh, yes, there is more), I have my Aegean Art History midterm on the 27, the day after the Olympics end. I'm sorry, but my midterm DEFINITELY comes before knitting. Especially when I love the course, need the credit to graduate, the course professor is someone I don't want to disappoint, and my parents are FOOTING my tuition bill. It's not fair I waste their money. So, next week I am going to cram Minoan and Mycenaean chronology until I can write it in Linear B.

OOOOH! OMG! On the subject of Linear B - Professor H pulled up several slides of Linear B tablets from Knossos and Pylos. And WHAT did I see??? Little characters that looked EXACTLY like Minoan costumes. Okay. I know this is, like, only a big deal to ME. (Those of you who know me well, know I've been trying to hunt down information on Minoan costume history, etc) It was so exciting! (I kept getting strange looks for my bouncing)

I've wondered for a while now why there're no names for Minoan clothing (which is EXTREMELY unique). We just call them "skirts" or kilts". I mean, Linear B tablets were palace inventory lists, and I'd be willing to bet that weavers (like farmers) paid their taxes in goods. Like - cloth or clothing?

So, today, I copied down the bell-skirt and tunic characters I saw - which were right next to a double-headed axe and what looked like a shield... All I need is for someone to tell me what those tablets actually say. I've been trying to backtrack Greek costumes for a while here, and I'm wondering if somewhere on those inventory tablets there's some info on the costume fabric, etc. I've been trying to find a Linear B scholar who'd actually talk to me. Heck, I'd settle for someone who can read the stuff at this point (Ive asked several Profs and they all admitted ignorance). I know it's small on the scale of major world events, but it did make me glad I'm paying more attention to my studies than my knitting ;)

So, back to the knitting. I am NOT dropping out of the Olympics, but I am changing my goals to something a bit more attainable. If I really push myself, I can probably do this. Here's my list:

1. a panta for Mum (who's been begging for one, and won't be getting that sweater any time this month)
2. cabled femm watchcap
3. and a helmet liner for the HelmetHeads KAL (check my sidebar)

Normally, I can knit a cap in an hour or so, but I doubt this'll be the cast, since I'm using a superwash sock yarn for Mum's panta, and the femm watchcap is cabled, and I've never actually knit a helmet liner before. Hehehe. So! I think I can get these done in time for the flame to go out. Without failing a course or killing someone ;)

Here's the yarn for my projects:


So, now I need to finish that project and get back to knitting. Bill Mahr is on. Toodles.

Labels: idiocy