Where's Harmless? Why isn't Harmless posting?

Ah, little bloglings. Take a gander at Harmless's office:



It may look benign, but don't be fooled. That office is a killer.

First up, lexicographicatin':



I am hard at work on a project that is overdue. I should have about four more dictionaries open than you see, but I don't have the space.

I want to note the dictionaries are usually not on my desk. I don't like looking at any other books--whether AL's or another company's--when I define. This time, however, I'm doing copyediting, so I have these open to make sure that the definer hasn't cannibalized an entry from any other dictionary. There is a long and distinguished history of plagiarism in lexicography--but I've never been a traditional sorta gal.

Next up is the speechifyin':



Now with 1000% more coffee!

I have a very part-time freelance job as a speechwriter. I fell into it by chance, and I enjoy it, though sometimes I would enjoy it more if the people I were writing speeches for didn't have to sound so dang smart.

In case you are wondering, no, I am not writing speeches for anyone you know or may or may not vote for. If I were, I'd be doing devious things like sneaking in diatribes on how much less oil we'd use as a nation if we all wore more wool socks, or how farm subsidies should be extended to fiber manufacturers.

Which leads us to the knittin':



Wow, isn't that the most scintillating piece of knitting you've ever seen? It's--get ready--a stockinette rectangle! In off-white yarn. Whoo! Living on the edge!

Actually, this is one piece of a large gift I'm putting together. Part I will hopefully be done next weekend, and I will take pics and show y'all. Part II...well, maybe before Christmas? Maybe?

I also have a clown sock on the needles for A., who has been patiently waiting through the summer and fall for me to finish them.

So, Harmless, where's this?



It's, um.... Ah. Way-ull....

It's actually about two stitches away from being frogged (that's being unraveled, for you non-knitter-types). I love the design. I love the colors. I love the construction. I hate cotton yarn.

Guess what Genius decided to use for this skirt? Anyone want a bunch of Reynold's Saucy Sport mercerized cotton yarn?

Maybe I'll give it a go in wool next year. And make it longer. And maybe a little brighter. Or maybe not.

Speaking of wool, there's the warsh:



When the weather finally got seasonally appropriate, I decided to wash the woolens. This is an annual event, as you may know, one that heralds months of snuggly warmth in handknits. It's also something of a massive pain in the arse, especially when you attempt to dry the woolens in the office.

Now, my office is actually an old porch that has been enclosed. There's insulation in the walls and the ceiling, and there's a nice wood floor over the old concrete slab the porch was built over. But there is no heat out here. (Really.) This doesn't bother me terribly, because I'm Finnish, so I can sit here uncomplaining yet drearily cold and be completely in my element. I have a kilowatt vampire space heater and it keeps me pretty comfy. But the woolens? Well. They took a full week to dry.

Time to move the drying part of this process inside for the year.

And what's that in front of the warsh? The spinnin':



Looky! Yarn! I made that!

Actually, there has been a lot of spinning chez Drudge these days. What you see above is a set of fraternal twins, spun from the Spunky Eclectic club October fiber. It was Romney, which is a fun spin, and the end products were fulled and shocked in hot then cold water until they behaved. I had to smack them around a little.

Tags: inedita, knitting, spinning