scraps

I have no major knitting accomplishments or failures to speak of today, sadly, but I'm bored at work (apparently the boss didn't think to leave me any work before departing on her week-and-a-half-long trip to . . . wherever she is), so I thought I'd just ramble a bit, kill some time. Incidentally, as I type this I'm snuggling into Mrs. Darcy--she's a bit stretched out, I need to take her home for a bath and reshaping, but of course, cleanliness and size have little impact on her warmth, she's keeping me quite cozy.
Gentleman's socks are nearly done. I took them on a tour of the subway yesterday, but I don't think they enjoyed it, the bumpy ride (I shudder to think what the train might be bumping over) made for slow, slippery knitting. People are always saying that socks are a great portable project, but I don't agree. Too many needles to keep track of, and since my travels involve public transportation, there's also a high probability of poking myself in the eye. On the other hand, I guess a needle might make for an impromptu weapon, should the need arise, but brandishing a sharp stick at a man with a gun is probably just delaying the inevitable.
My March Christmas project is the Hemlock Ring Blanket. I have the wool (I think this is the first time I'm knitting a project in the specified wool!), but neither 40" cable nor size 10 DPNs, so I ordered them from KnitPicks yesterday, along with some sock yarn for Josh's Christmas socks, and yarn for Dad's Christmas gloves. If you've glanced at the chart for the blanket, you'll probably agree that this will be a challenging project--a lot of stitches to keep track of. Wish me luck.
It was warm for 2 whole days here this week--I almost hate that, because it's only March, you know it's going to get cold again, so it's just a tease; and indeed, this weekend we'll have lows in the 20s--and it's prompted me to think about summer and potential summer-y projects. I'm curious about bamboo yarn, and how it wears--is it light and breathable? I'd like to try out this Ella Rae bamboo blend for Mom's birthday gift, and perhaps for my own Lotus Blossom Tank (Lickety Knit's version is, IMHO, vastly superior to the original, which, despite being pretty in and of itself, is horribly unflattering on the model--why on earth is it so short?).
Well, I wish I had more to ramble about, given that it's not even 11am here and I have many many hours yet to kill, but I'd better sign off before I start spouting off about the mortgage crisis, presidential election, or Colombia/Ecuador standoff and what a lunatic Hugo Chavez is. (Of course, if you want to hear my thoughts on any of those things, you can always email me.)