On the cusp of autumn
It’s the 27th of August. I’m sitting at my desk, under the air conditioning, while outside it’s 32˚C. I desperately want summer to be over, for autumn to finally arrive, and envelop us in fog and yellow leaves and darkness. Of course, I love a good summer storm as much as anyone else, especially from the safety of an apartment building with lightning rods. Spring is cool, too, but we rarely get a proper spring anymore.
But autumn is… magical. Everything is brown and red and yellow, and the land is covered in perpetual greyness. I think there’s something beautiful about it. The changing of the seasons is rarely more obvious than at the end of September when autumn has finally found its footing.
Imagine this. It’s the end of October, at 5 PM. You sit at your window, with a warm blanket and a book in your lap. The apartment is almost completely dark, with just enough light to see what you’re reading. You have a nice cup of steaming chai next to you. You lift your head and look out the window. Darkness has fallen over the city, the streetlights are on. It’s the afternoon. Shops are still open, people are still walking about, going home from work, meeting friends, and buying groceries. But the stars are out.
I find great beauty in this. It’s probably something I’ve grown to love at university when I was living on the 9th floor of our dormitory building and I could see a large portion of Pest–the people, the lights in the distance. And while others understandably lament that it’s dark when they get up and it’s dark when they get off work, to me, those are still the cosiest months of the year.
In the last few days, I’ve been getting the feeling that autumn is just around the corner. It’s the smell in the air. It’s the sun always setting a few minutes earlier than the previous day, its angle changing ever so slightly day by day.
It won’t take long now.
Bookish news
With the arrival of autumn, I’m excited to share that I have two new translations coming out in September if everything goes according to plan.
One of them is Kohómente (originally: Foundryside) by Robert Jackson Bennett, the first book in the Founders trilogy. It’s set in a fascinating world, where magic can rewrite reality. In fact, the use of magic is very much like reprogramming things, which I find an amazing concept. And it’s also a heist story, with high stakes. So for me, a Scott Lynch fanboy, it was right up my alley.
If you are a Hungarian reader, you can pre-order the book in the publisher’s online store, or check it out at Fumax’s stall at the 29th International Book Festival between the 26th and 29th of September, 2024.
The other book is Dungeons and Dragons: Drizzt legendája – Képes útmutató (originally: Dungeons and Dragons – The Legend of Drizzt: Visual Dictionary) by Michael Witver. Now, I love D&D, so translating this book was an immediate yes for me. And, as with each of my projects, I wanted to do it right, so I tracked down every book published in Hungarian from The Legend of Drizzt series (which means almost all of them), I researched every special term, event, and character, respecting the work of the translators who came before me while adding my own translations if something was never mentioned in the books. It ended up being a monumental task, with my glossary having 693 entries, about a third of my current Cosmere glossary.
The book should be published by Kolibri on the 18th of September. You can pre-order the book from several Hungarian stores, including Líra.
On the needles
Summer is the season of accessories, so I’ve been working on a few smaller items in the last couple of months.
Finished Objects
Let’s start with the socks.
The first was my first pair of DRK Everyday Socks by Andrea Mowry. It was on my needles for over a year. Truthfully, I knit the DK weight version (the Bear Paw Socks) three times already, and I feel like this fingering weight version was just a bit too tedious at the time. But it’s done, and it fits really well. – My project page on Ravelry.
The second was my first finished pair of Vanilla socks on 9” circulars by The Crazy Sock Lady. It’s a truly vanilla pair of socks, nothing fancy, but pretty solid, perfect for some mindless knitting in front of the TV. I had to shorten the legs a bit because they didn’t fit over my calves, but otherwise, it was smooth sailing, and the pattern was really easy to follow. – My project page on Ravelry.
Then I started and finished knitting the Dustland Skinny Scarf by Stephen West. Until this pattern was published, I didn’t know I wanted something this small to wrap around my neck for the colder weather that’s coming. But it’s so comfortable and easy to fit under my thick winter coat! I love it. – My project page on Ravelry.
Works in progress
I started swatching for the Foxtales jumper by The Petite Knitter. This is a beautiful, fingering weight, stranded colourwork sweater, knit from the bottom up that I’ve been eyeing for a long time. Swatching for it hasn’t been easy; I’m on my third attempt, for which I’m also playing around with the provisional cast-on. I want to knit this sweater starting from right under the yoke, so after that is done, I can continue knitting it top-down, since I want to add some waist shaping, and I think it would be easier to do it this way. It also makes it easier to customize the length. Knitting the whole sweater top-down would be even simpler, but it would alter the pattern, which I’d rather avoid. – My project page on Ravelry.
I finally got the yarn for it, so I started working on the Autumn Doodle Cowl (Infinity) by Jamie Lomax. It’s a highly addictive knit, with small colourwork sections, so it’s never boring. I’m having a lot of fun with it, deciding on the fly how each section is going to flow into the next. I’m still at the beginning, so I can’t show much more than this. But this is my first truly autumnal project this year, and I already love it. – My project page on Ravelry.
And while it’s technically not a knitting project per se, I want to mention that I’ve started working on the technical editing certification course at The Knitting Guild Association. It’s a huge time investment, but I’m sure I will have learned a lot by the time I’m finished.
Interesting links
I recently listened to an episode of the ReThinking podcast by Adam Grant, titled Decoding Gen-Z slang and grammar pet peeves with linguist Anne Curzan, and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. I think a lot of us will find it rather relatable, even if we’re not linguists.
If you like Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez, make sure you check out Only Murders in the Building. The new season just started, so of course I’m rewatching the previous ones. It’s smart, funny, and a bloody good show. (And this is not a link.)
I highly recommend the Black Hole special episode of The Supermassive Podcast. It’s been my go-to podcast for one or two years now; they’re brilliant at explaining incredibly complex concepts about space which I really appreciate.
I’ve been listening to EPIC: The Musical on repeat. I’m sure my 2024 Spotify Wrapped will only list this. It’s a loose (loose) adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey by Jorge Rivera-Herrans and it’s brilliant. I especially like Warrior of the Mind, Survive, Remember Them, and No Longer You.
I’ve been eyeing the Twilight Zone sweater by Dario Tubiana.
(None of the links are affiliate or sponsored links. I just genuinely enjoy them.)
Tech editing
I currently have availability for technical editing, so if you’re a knitting pattern designer, check out my process on my website, and let’s chat about how I can support your pattern design business.