Reflections on Mrs. Dalloway

I am a little more than 1/2 way through Mrs. Dalloway for Knit the Classics. I have not made a lot of decisions about the novel yet. I remember enjoying Virginia Woolf quite a bit when I was in college, but nowadays I guess I am quite more adept at reading Hawthorne than Woolf. I do not dislike the novel, but at times I am just not in the mood. And lines like the one that describes "chickens swimming in casseroles" strike me as forced.

My knitting has been proceeding slowy. I decided to go ahead and cast on a Sniper Cozie since it requires less in time and money than my other ideas. I am still trying to finish up a few other large projects, so I do noy want to start another. I decided to knit the Brioche Gaiter from Interweave Knits Fall 2005, figuring it would warm a soldier well.

I have never knitted Brioche before and it just didn't make sense to me, especially knitted it in the round. I cast on about 10 times and could never make it work, so I frogged it and began knitting the project flat. When I finished there were too many mistakes to make a suitable gift so I frogged it again. This time I felt confident enough with brioche to knit in the round. And after a few more failed attempts, I am knitting happily in circles. I am beginning to like brioche and may even try a larger project in the stitch.

Despite so many difficulties, I am happy that I have picked this project for Mrs. Dalloway. My two favorite characters are Septimus and Peter. Knitting something masculine reflects the affection I have for both of them.