What you can, when you can

I've come to loathe my morning commute.  It is mercifully short (20 minutes door to door), but people can be shockingly rude in the a.m.  My complaints are of the mundane variety, so I'll not bore you with them; suffice it to say that nothing makes me happier than walking or riding my bike to work. I get to be not on the train and in the fresh air.

Yesterday's weather report called for a high of 50 degrees, so I decided to take advantage of the spring atmosphere and hoof it in to the office.  I kind of planned my outfit poorly, so that I was both cold and sweating as I walked, but the sun was out and my iPod was on shuffle working its magic, so I didn't mind.  Too much.

Today we've been experiencing what the weather forecasters call a "wintry mix." It's been raining and snowing off and on all day.  I've not been too disturbed as I work indoors and have plenty of handknits with which to bundle up.  The weather has, however, made me glad that I took the opportunity yesterday to spend some time in the air and sun while I had the chance.

On the topic of seizing opportunities and making the most of right now (ham fisted segue), about 10 years ago a not great movie starring one of my biggest Hollywood crushes was released.  He is Keanu Reeves, and the movie is Sweet November.  I'd never intended to see the movie, and in fact, I once decided that a guy was "not right for me" because he suggested we see it on our second date (which subsequently never occurred), Yet see it I did, last fall when I was dogsitting for some friends.  As I said, it's not a great movie, but I'll forgive a lot when I find an actor charming. 

ANYWAY, Charlize Theron stars opposite Keanu as a woman with a poorly kept secret (SPOILER: it's lymphoma) who takes men under her wing, one at a time for one month at a time, and teaches them how to be present and embrace life.  Hokey, yes, but she wore some great scarves in that movie.

Had I seen the movie when it was released, I wouldn't have known what to do about these scarves I liked so much, but now I am a knitter and a crocheter and I knew what to do: Ravelry!  Turns out patterns for both knit and crochet versions of the scarf are available (for free).  I opted to make the crochet version, for maximum authenticity, and I'm really glad that I did.

Details:

Pattern: Sweet November Scarf/Shawl by April Draven

Yarn: Wollmeise Sockenwolle Twin

Hook: H/5.0mm

Started: January 22

Finished: February 19

Love the pattern, love the yarn.  I bought the Wollmeise from The Loopy Ewe on total impulse and in a panic, because the stuff sells out within 5 minutes of being posted.  I love how acidy bright it is, with incredible depth of color.  The hype surrounding Wollmeise is not for naught.  The colorways are gorgeous and it's easy to work with.  It's so tightly plied that it's almost like working with cotton, so maybe it's funky to knit with like cotton, but to crochet was a breeze.

I wanted to make this big and drapey so that it could easily wrap around one's neck more than once, so I ended up using about 1 1/2 skeins of yarn. Still, it's light enough for damp and chilly spring and fall days, and possibly even summer nights if you live in a temperate climate.

So, Sweet November, might not be an award winning movie (although it was immeasurably better than that crap fest Forrest Gump) there are some nuggets of wisdom in there (like do what you can when you can (SPOILER: because you mighty not have a tomorrow), and it inspired this dope scarf, so yay for that.

Maybe next time I'll share my thoughts about The Lake House (SPOILER: I love it!)

See!  Even they're dubious.