Finished Object: Blaze

The Specs:
Pattern: Blaze, from Knitty. I made the body a little longer, as with the sleeves. I have a long torso and long arms and hate having to tug sleeves down a lot.
Yarn: KnitPick's Andean Treasure, 100% Baby Alpalca. YUM!
Colors: Fog, a really nice grey.
Needles: Susan Bates US size 5 circ for hem and neckline, Boye US size 6 circ for body and yoke, 5" wooden DPNs in US sizes 5 and 6 for the hems of the sleeves and the rest of the sleeves.
Start to Finish: Beginning of January 2007 to Monday, May 14th, 2007. I actually finished the knitting long before - the end of April, but as I blogged before, the neck line needed a little help and it took me a while to figure out what, exactly, to do about that.
For: Me!
Notes: I love this yarn, very soft and smooth and not overly itchy. I'll probably wear a tanktop underneat because that's what I always do with my sweaters, just in case I get way too warm. I hate 5" DPNs - they stab me in the palm of the hand with every stitch, no matter HOW I try to knit. But I'm super happy with the results.

Trying to take pictures of yourself can get ... interesting:

Or you end up with shots like this:


And the neckline, once I strung a pice of "elastic line" that is NOT AT ALL ELASTIC through it:
(Michael's didn't have any elastic thread ANYWHERE.

This is not homework

Even though today's high was something in the 80s, I'm still slogging along on Blaze. I have 15 rows to go.. but with nearly 300 stitches per round, that takes a while. Maybe I can wear it to work over the summer, as I tend to freeze in air conditioning.

Soon, I'll need to pull Sizzle out and finish that. Then I can wear that one to work as well. I think after everything settles down a bit. One rough draft and a final paper for FR, one final paper for 301, one final exam for 301, one final paper for 497C, one final paper for 409Y, one book report for 176, one final exam for 176, one take home final essay for 303, and one quiz for 497C and I think I'm done for the semester. Of course, I also think I'm forgetting something.

The finished waffleweave sock:


For some reason, the sock does not lie flat. I haven't blocked it however, and it fits a foot perfectly, so I'm not too worried about it. You can also see that I've started the second sock. I'm about two pattern repeats into the 18 repeats that make up the cuff. I don't see it taking too long but I also don't see me having that much time to knit.

Bayerische is slowly coming along. See:

Because of the crossing of stitches every single round, I've had to distribute stitches in a slightly ... uneven and strange way. DO NOT LIKE. It is almost enough to make me consider two circular needles, but that will prolly never happen.

The sock is pretty there, but it totally blooms on the foot:

The color is close to true in the first picture, this one is a little washed out. It is seriously hard to get a decent picture of a sock on needles on the foot with weird numbers of stitches on each needle and NOT accidentally getting a corner of your drying rack which is currently home to some 14 bras and pairs of underwear from the last two weeks. Love the internets, but I'm not posting pictures of my underwear. (if you have other requests of things that I could also show my parents, let me know.)

I think I'm going to try to finish the waffleweave socks, then Bayerische. THEN, I can cast on a pair of socks for me.

That's part (and a small part, at that) of the windows in the Urmila's uncle's house. SO COOL.

Let's play Catch Up

Not this week, but next week, I have a paper due every day of the week. For five days of classes, that is five papers. I've avoided putting together a page count, because then I just might cry.

I started a new pair of socks, with the Austermann Step yarn, in a waffleweave pattern. I have no idea if I've blogged about these before and I'm too lazy to look it up. But here's the current state of the sock:


I've decided that I really love garter stitch short row heels. Somehow, the row gauge of garter works well with my theory of 50% of total stitches for the heel, and knit and wrap 66% of those, leaving the remaining third for the middle. I forgot to center the instep pattern with columns of purl stitches framing it, so after I knit the heel, I ended up ripping the whole heel out to center everything. I'm much happier now. (And actually, I think the foot is longer now than it was when I took that picture. In an inch or two, I should be ready to start the heel. YAY for Paradise Lost reading, which I'm currently avoiding by writing this post.) These socks are for my mother and I think she'll really like them.

I'm avoiding Blaze. I'm angry at myself for not finishing Blaze before spring arrived. (Then again, Spring HASN'T YET ARRIVED, so I'm still not late. But I don't think I'll finish in time.) Thursday night, I was knitting away on Blaze and discovered one fewer stitch than required. Well, one fewer going by the tried and true method of going around and checking to make sure there were four purl stitches between every two knit stitches. Lo and behold, I was missing a stitch. I checked and didn't discover any dropped stitches.. Ripped back a few rounds and didn't magically get the correct number of stitches. I don't know what happened, but since there aren't any dropped stitches, I really don't care. I just picked up an extra stitch in pattern and kept knitting.

Of course, I ended up ripping out about an inch worth of progress. In one three hour long class, I tend to only mange 5-6 rows of knitting and I tend not to raise my hand but just blurt things out. GAH!! I could have avoiding ripping, just added a stitch and kept on going.

While I had the thing on multiple needles, though, I did take the time to try it on. It fits! YAY! I really do need another 3-5 inches though, or the thing will become an off-the-shoulder- sweater and I just can't pull that look off.

Last night, the Boy and I were watching Firefly and I wasn't knitting, per usual. He asked why not and I replied that I just didn't really feel like it. He became convinced that I was about to fall over and die. Annoyance with Blaze, not being able to look at charts and knit Bayerische while watching TV, and not wanting to hurry my reading sock knitting along left me with nothing to work on. Also, my pinkies hurt from the double reins of Timmy's bridle and knitting really doesn't help the pain.

Now that I've wasted a good two hours, I'm going to go read ... something and try not to fall asleep. This week is going to be hellish and next week is going to be even worse.

Getting There

Both sleeves for Blaze are completed! I sat down today and finished the right sleeve because Blaze goes with me to class on Wednesdays and I wanted to be sure that I'd have something to do. (Ok, so that sentence doesn't QUITE make sense...) But now one sleeve is attached to Blaze. See?



Right after I took that picture, I realized that I had started in the wrong point of the stitch pattern.. and had to tink my way back to the starting point. I have managed to catch up back to were I was, however. And I am slowly realizing that the rest of this sweater is going to take longer because, dude - there are a LOT of stitches in each round.

However, I am happy to report that one ball of yarn gives you this:


That's right folks. I knit my sleeves a bit longer than called for in the pattern and was wary about the amount of yarn I'd need. I to knit about 5.5" after this point and I have 3 full balls and most of a 4th. I'm fairly certain I'm going to have enough yarn, even with a longer body and sleeves.

The Pawprint socks are also well on their way. This is what happens when one has three hours (or more) of Paradise Lost to read each week:

That, by the way, is my knit/read set up. My laptop is propped up by two stacks of two Altoids tins in the back. I put my stapler on top of the closed laptop lid and then prop my HUGE text book up against that whole contraption. So far, the two socks are matching fairly well. I'll have to check in a little bit if that's still the case up the leg.

I also kinda feel the need to figure out my next big project. I need to finish Sizzle, which only needs a neckband and finishing touches at the sleeves. Branching Out could be finished. I have two pairs of socks on the needles right now, but I also have an empty set of DPNs. Hrm...

I think I shall be signing up for Sockapalooza this year. I figure, free socks in exchange for a pair of socks! I'm hoping that my pal likes the color blue, because then I can use stash sock yarn - which is pretty much the ONLY yarn in my stash.

In other news, I shall be in Lyndhurst, OH this weekend! I'm so excited! If any of the other many knitters planning to be there reads this, will someone say Hi to me that day? I'm guessing that I'm going to be in hermit mode and also, scared witless because I WON'T KNOW ANYONE. And we all know that's how nightmares start. (Well, either that, or you know EVERYONE. And you are in your underwear, for some reason.) The Urmila will visit the bookstore with me, but she doesn't deal with people. I'll post a picture of myself later this week and which ever project I decide to take with me!

Recap

For some reason, my computer does not like to associate with fiber-optic internet service. As a result, it ... doesn't. While at home, I'm forced to either use my father's computer or my sister's computer. My sister's has the disadvantage of being located in HER room. Getting to the computer desk is a feat of balance and flexibility, as there is no walk-way ... just piles of STUFF. My father's computer is not only in a common location of the house, but one doesn't need to warm up before attempting to approach the machine. However, his computer's main language is Swedish. No matter what program you have running - and even if you have an English version of the program - error messages pop up in Swedish. I don't know Swedish. (Neither, for that matter, does my father. That makes tech support quite fun.)

As a result, no blogging. As a result of lots and lots of stuff to do, not quite as much knitting as I would have liked. I did manage to tack on another 5 pattern repeats of Branching Out, for a total of 27, which the pattern calls for. I think I'm going to knit til I run out of yarn, rip back to the end of a full repeat, and finish the thing. Some year. No pictures because it looks like the other pictures, just ... longer.

I finished the one sleeve of Blaze and started the other:



This shouldn't take me too long, as there are only 4 pattern repeats, for a total of 72 rounds. (8 rounds of 72 stitches = 576 stitches. 7 rounds of 74 stitches = 518. 8 rounds of 76 stitches = 608 stitches. And 49 rounds of 78 stitches = 3822 stitches. For a grand total of 5524 stitches for one sleeve. [I'm on round 7 right now, after the 8 rounds of ribbing.] Clearly I'll be done in no time.)

As for my sister's sock,



I also turned the heel, picked up gusset stitches (um, 19 of them, rather than the suggested 16. Not sure what, exactly, I did there), and started the decreasing part. What with the plain stockinette stitch of the bottom, I'm kinda hoping that the foot of the sock goes faster than the leg did. I do have three hours a week to spend on it, though.

Here is Eeyore, modeling the foot of the second pawprint socks.


If they fit her, these socks will go to my mother. These are knit while I'm reading Milton's Paradise Lost.

And then... then I have THIS:



I'm quite sad, even messing around with light balance and color settings, I can't get the real color of this year. There is more green, more blue, more purple. SO PRETTY. That was the awesome part of visiting my mother - she lives in Harrisonburg, VA. So does Claudia, of Claudia's Hand Painted Yarns. As I had hoped, yarn stores round there tend to carry LOTS of Claudia's yarns. I got two skeins, so I'm hoping I might be able to pull off two pairs of footlets. Or maybe this yarn is meant to be a taller sock. Maybe even a toe up pair of socks, so I can knit as much as possible with this yarn. We shall see. I need to finish three pairs of socks before then - pawprint, Bayerische, and this....



The color is very close in this shot, actually. My mother liked the idea of socks with Aloe Vera in them and I can't say I mind the idea of knitting with it. I think I'm going to steal her pair of light cream Opal sock yarn for myself then... This will be her third pair of socks from me.

To completely change the subject, I made the ... mistake? Not sure if that is the correct word... of looking at working student positions for event riding. A found a few that pretty much provide everything I need, plus lessons, horses, coaching at events, a chance to compete.. I wouldn't be able to get one for this summer, but maybe that's what I'll do right out of college. I already know that this isn't the kind of thing that I am going to forget right away, so it can stew in the back of my mind for a while. Until tomorrow, for example.

I'm about to leave for a meeting with a faculty member to discuss the possibility of Holocaust Literature as a thesis option. I'm not sure where his office is, even though I've asked twice. Hrm.

Procrastination, how I love thee

I'm currently at the top of page 4 of a 5 page paper. So I need to come up with another 1.5 pages or so. Clearly it is time for a blog posting.

I spent very little time knitting this weekend, as I'm working next weekend and needed to get ahead to be able to finish everything on time. However, two three-hour-long classes really adds to the knitting time. Reading Milton's Paradise Lost also really helps.

I've been knitting Bayerische during Hist 409Y:

Six inch DPN included for scale

A close up of the pattern:

the actual color is somewhere between the two. For some reason,
this color is very hard to capture with my camera in artificial light.

And Blaze during Eng 497C and watching movies for Fr 497B:


That's actually the third attempt at Blaze. I didn't like how the pattern incorporated the increased stitches - purled until all were added, then a new zig-zag just started up - so I started those stitches in pattern a little early. Given that this will be the bottom of the sleeve, I don't think it will make much of a difference, but I like it. I'm really hoping the sleeves won't take too long, but I'm not holding my breath.



And when I remember, I've been working on the second PawPrint sock while reading Milton at my desk. So far, not too bad. I've finished the toe and have just started the majority of the foot portion, pattern included.



Other than the fact that I could be found at 10pm both Friday and Saturday still doing homework, the weekend was good. I managed to get a decent amount of work done, minus this paper that I have no desire to actually work on, minus the fact that I could then go to bed.

Signs of life

I'm alive. No, really. And now it looks like I might even be alive for a while longer.

I'm still coughing and hacking up nasty stuff, but much less often than before. And the sore throat has retreated enough that I'm off enough drugs to be able to go out for a friend's 21st birthday and not die if I forget and have a drink.

That being said, being sick has been good for the knitting. See?
I suppose knitting in class also helps... I need to finish a repeat and a half of the pattern, then start the sleeves. I'm not in a hurry, because I can't seem to find a set of US 6 DPNs. A friend has a set of 5s that I can borrow for the cuffs and might have a set of 6s. I don't want to tie up her DPNs for the length of time I'd be knitting two sleeves, so I attempted to purchase a set for myself. Wal-Mart and Michael's were both a bust. I could drive to the LYS, but they don't have cheap needles and I'm a broke college student. However, I am in a hurry cause I want to wear the thing while it is still winter.

I also finally got around to starting the other paw-print sock:
I wasn't quite able to perfectly match up the color repeats, but all in all, it is looking pretty good. And it only took me 4 tries to manage Judy's Magic Cast-On, rather than the 6 for the first sock. I do think, however, that these will be my last pair of toe-up socks. I hate attempting to START the sock and I hate FINISHING the sock. So I put those off and that tends to mean that I don't have socks. And that's just not the whole point.


And while watching a movie last night (Serenity, the movie based off of FireFly), I managed 5 rounds of Bayerische socks.
They aren't looking as clean and crisp as Eunny's but that's ok. Blocking shall solve the problem!

Wishful thinking, much?

It's the fever talking

Well, I'm alive.  I still have yet to decide how I feel about that, but I am alive.

For some odd reason, I no longer get a stuffy nose or a runny nose when I get a cold.  Rather, I get post-nasal drip, a nasty sore throat, and pressure in my ears.  The sore throat gets worse when the coughing sets in, but then it tends to only be a few more days before I can swallow again.  There's no more tea left in the apartment, so I've been drinking hot water.  Yeah, I know.

To top it all off, I have to read a two page paper outloud in class tomorrow.  I can't stand the professor, so I would rather NOT have to explain in the beginning of class that I can't talk.  Also, the guy is going deaf, which does not help matters.

I've been knitting in one class - it is three hours long and discussion based, so he shouldn't be able to yell at me for it.  Or maybe he doesn't notice.  Who cares?

I tried Blaze on the other day, it DOES fit.  YAY!  I think I have about 6" done, only another foot or so to go.  I ought to measure the length of some of my favorite sweaters and figure out how long I want this one to be.

Ok, I can't seem to maintain brain function often enough to write a real post.  And Blogger hates pictures this evening, so no pictures for you.  Maybe, however, there will be pictures after the weekend, when I sit down and take pictures of everything that has changed since the last time I took pictures.

Last week? Not so good for the knitting.

I did, however, rip-out the sewn cast off of the paw print sock, knit another half inch or so of ribbing and then try a cast-off I saw on Wendy's blog. I like it MUCH better now. I'd take a picture, but really - it looks almost the same. Just better.

So now I can start the second sock. I'm trying to decide if I want to attempt to make the socks match or just go with it. I think I'll end up matching them. I couldn't bring myself to start the second one when I didn't like the first one.

I also got the second skein of yarn for my sister's scarf, so hopefully I'll be able to knock that thing out in a week or two, just to make myself feel better about the number of things on needles right now.

Blaze is moving along... It would make a semi decent tube top right about now, but not so sure about how much I like the idea of a cabled tube top. Or a tube top in general, so I'll just keep knitting. For the most part, I've memorized the pattern. I just have to stop and figure out if I'm knitting/purling each stitch or crossing them on each round. I've just joined the third ball of yarn, too.

Last week, I somehow forgot to cable and/or cabled when I shouldn't have and had to tink back 4-5 rows to find and fix the mistake. That actually took more time than knitting would have, which was rather annoying. But ah, well. At least it is correct now.

Other than that, working for the first time this weekend - stage crew for the Vagina Monologues. I love the show, but not sure how being present for 3 performances is going to pan out. At the very least, I'll be paid.

Other than that, feeling rather ... off. Somewhat feel like I'm forgetting to do something or am behind or something. Things with friends are weird, things in general feel weird. Not bad, just .. different. And I'm not sure I like it.

YAY for 56 hours of weekend

This weekend was very good for knitting. I finished class at 11am on Friday and realized that I was unlikely to see anyone (other than roommates, and they don't count) for another 6 or 7 hours.

So, I finished two books for classes, sent off a few e-mails, and devoted the rest of the day to knitting.

First and formost, I am officially halfway finished with my sister's scarf:

14" straight needle included for scale: all told, that's about three feet of scarf.

That's the first skein of yarn into scarf. I left the other skein at home, without realizing it, so her scarf is going to have to wait til March or whenever she decides that it is cold and she wants a scarf and mails me the other skein. The color in that picture is a bit muted - the colors are actually a little bit brighter.

I've been working on Blaze and am still loving it. I am about halfway done the first repeat. I'm discovering that this pattern is rather hard to pick up and just "read" where you are - I have to jot down what row/round I stopped on. Slightly annoying, but I shall forgive it, as it is so lovely and soft and squishy.

Not sure, however, if that will REALLY fit me. My gauge is a little bit tighter than what the pattern calls for, but I'm knitting the larger size of the two I fall between, so I'm hoping it will work out nicely. And also, the needle fits around my waist and the pattern is stretchy, given that it is a rib. IT SHALL FIT.

After a two hour break for dinner, I returned home and joined Urmila and Ryan for some 3+ hours of Battlestar Galactica. TheBoy showed up to watch the first episode after the miniseries that sets up the whole series. And in that time, I managed a large chunk of this:

I know, I know. I haven't been blogging about this sock. I got to right before the dark strip before the heel (From the toe) around Thanksgiving and hadn't touched it since. In fact, I left that sock at school over break, so I've knit over half a sock in less than a week, as I cast-off last night. I might un-do the EZ sewen cast-off, knit a bit more ribbing, and try a different cast-off. I don't know how I feel about toe up socks. I suck at the various methods for casting-on for a toe up sock and would MUCH rather graft a toe shut than try to find an attractive cast-off that is stretchy enough to work for a sock.

A close-up of the kitty paw-prints that I randomly threw into the mix just for fun:

I am not sure how much I like them, but they are staying. I suppose I like them enough, as I know the second sock will also have paw prints. However, due to the nature of the paw print, I am trying to decide if I should knit the other sock top-down and compare the two or not. Hrm... I shall have to think on that one.

For now, though, I have season 6 of The West Wing and am slightly ahead for classes this week, minus the 2-3 page paper due on Wednesday that I haven't overly considered yet. But we'll ignore that, allowing me to spend the rest of the evening knitting on Blaze

bits and orts

I want to knit these socks.  I'm not very good at reading charts, so that might prove interesting. But they are beautiful socks.  

Problem is that I owe a pair of socks to Tina, a pair of socks to my sister, and a pair of socks to my mother.  Tina's socks are about 3/4 of the way done and I've already knit my mother a pair.  So I guess I ought to make my sister a pair.  And she also loves the pattern.  I suppose that I can knit them for her first, learn the pattern, and knit myself a better pair.  That works for me.

This is our Christmas Tree Topper.  Somehow, it was deemed
fitting that he should have something up his behind.
That ought to give you some idea of our sense of humor

So, for break, I have lined up : Kool-Aid dying.  I've got some 400+ yards of fingering superwash yarn from KnitPicks to be dyed.  

I'll FINALLY get to start Blaze, with the super yummy alpaca that I pet before going to bed every night.  Luckily, the boyfriend doesn't even notice when I knit in public anymore, so he's gotten very good at ignoring all the yarn sitting around my room.  And my actions towards it.

And then, I'll start the Bayerische sock.  I'm thrilled to find a sock pattern with a gauge of 9sts/inch since that's my typical gauge with Opal and that's the yarn my sister picked out for her socks.

When I was little, I used to build forts under this bush.
The best part was that my parents could never see me.

So, you want to hate me?  I'm almost completely finished my Christmas shopping.  I need to run down-town and pick up a poster for a friend, but I know that the store has it.  For the Urm-dawg, I'm going to donate money to a charity in her name.  I just need to figure out which charity would best suit her.  Doctors Without Borders would let me help out the Yarn Harlot, but maybe I'll just end up donating a bit to them anyway.  I need to get the Boy one more gift, but that might be done through iTunes, so no big deal there.  And of course, I need to wrap those that I've already purchased, but that won't take long.

Clearly, I am a throne for the cat.  This is a scan of a print
my sister took, when I fell asleep reading one evening.

Yesterday, I stayed on campus until 9:30pm, working in various computer labs.  I managed to get quite a bit of work done - I only have two papers and a final exam left.  So, I've calmed down a bit and am rewarding myself for managing to hand in two finals today.  I managed to get about 3 pages of the 5 page paper done, so if I can finish that tonight, I have tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday to churn out 20 pages.  Totally do-able.

Right?

I lied

Word continues to mock me. The cursor, it sits there and blinks, waiting for me to actually WRITE something. Sometimes, it gets bored and wanders off, much like my mind (or even me, for that matter). I am stuck on BOTH papers. 

For the one, I'm just overwhelmed by the amount of information I've found. I'm writing about the domestication and early uses of the horse. There's more than enough information to go on for pages and pages, so its not like I picked a very narrow topic. Rather, I don't know where to start. I THINK I've got a rough outline, detailing the major ideas I want to discuss and a basic order for doing so. Hopefully, I can write a large portion of that tomorrow, after discussing it with my professor.  

For the other.. I have ideas, but I'm not sure where to go with them, where it is POSSIBLE to go with them. I might end up writing about The Picture of Dorian Gray, discussing influence and evil and good/bad angels.  I like the idea, I think I could carry it out for 5 pages, and I found a quote I really liked in the text.  If I can get cracking on THAT paper, I can go to office hours on Friday and see what she thinks and finish the paper and then worry about the 20 page paper over the weekend, cause writing 20 pages in two days is SO the smart thing to do. 

I've been trying not to knit.  I keep ending up staring at my blank computer screen, so maybe I should knit and let ideas float around in my head.  Hrm...  And I lied, I did break open the alpaca and knit a swatch.  And oh, good lord, am I going to LOVE this sweater.  The yarn is soft and squishy and yummy.  I don't think it will be itchy, but we'll have to see what happens when I finish it.  Worst case, I have to wear a tank top under it.  No big deal.  I'm supposed to wash my swatch.. has anyone had Knitpicks Alpaca grow/shrink when wet?   

I've started the ear flaps of Ryan's hat!  Since I put the other stitches on waste yarn, I made him try it on.  It seems to be a little bit big for him, but I think it will work out.  The addis I ended up buying are NOT a US #2, but 3mm.  So the fabric with them has a bit more drape, which I think works with that section of that hat.  I like it so far.  See?

   

Tina's sock is kinda being ignored in favor of the hat.  I think Ryan is leaving on Wednesday or Thursday of next week and I'd kinda like to be able to give it to him before he leaves.  So long as I can figure out how to knit an applied I-cord, I think that's do-able.  Clearly I'm going to be avoiding my papers enough to manage that! 

In other news, I looked at the apartment I'll have next year.  It is small - an efficiency - but actually really cute.  Unfurnished, room enough for a double bed, dresser, desk, large table, and still space to move around all of that.  The kitchen is TINY, there is about 8 square inches of counter space (really, just the edges of the cabinet the sink is in), and the kitchen floor squeaks.  I'm fairly certain that I'll end up hitting both elbows on the walls when I use the toilet and the shower stall isn't much larger.  But - it will be only me and occasionally a friend or two.   I have  a balcony (which, actually, is about the size of the kitchen).  And it is on the second floor, which is where I always seem to end up - at home, freshman and sophomore year, at the apartment over the summer, this year, and next year. 

I'll leave you with one of my favorite toys ever.  It's actually a doggie toy, but hasn't been touched by doggies.  There's a tube inside that makes squealing noises when you move it just so.  Mostly soft and gentle, this thing CAN cause bruises if you are tossing it back and forth with your roommate and kinda forgot to pay attention and caught it very close to your face, in fact - close enough to your face that the tube actually hit you on the nose between your eyes.  And then you might end up with a bruise that looks like dirt, judging by the number of people who asked me why my face was dirty that week.  But you know, stuff like that would never happen to me.

   

time continues

Things have calmed down some, which is quite helpful.

I got my Knitpicks Andean Treasure, 100% baby alpaca and I am in love. So soft! Such a pretty gray color! So soft! I'm resisting temptation and will not cast on to swatch until AFTER all my final exams have been taken and final papers have been handed in.

I finished the body of Ryan's hat last night, while watching Mean Girls and Full House. So, now to knit the ear flaps, figure out how to knit an applied I-cord, and his hat is mostly done. Woohoo! I should be able to give it to him before Christmas. Tina's sock is still progressing, just makes for some boring pictures. And also, the camera's batteries are charging, so I couldn't take new pictures. And blogger didn't want to upload old pictures, so you get nothing.  Next time?

I finished the second 10 page paper on Friday, just need to read through once more to catch typos and grammar mistakes. I attempted to start the 20 page paper today and just wanted to curl up and cry. I'd rather talk to my professor for 30 minutes about the topic, have him grill me on it than write this paper. Hrm, maybe I could arrange that? Shall have to ponder.. But either way, I need to do some more work on that as I could be giving a 15 minute presentation in class as soon as tomorrow. Oh, joy. Oh, rapture. Oh, yes, I'm totally in trouble.

Though, I'd probably be more than able to wing it for 15 minutes in class tomorrow, even with the short 2 pages I currently have written. At this rate, I would actually be able to finish the paper by its due date.

I've decided not to take the final for one class, and having received an A on the major paper of another class, I can blow off that final a bit and maintain my grade. In the only class I have an actual final exam, I also have an A and can blow off the final. Which leaves me with 25 pages of papers yet to write - one 20 page paper and a 5 page paper. I've sat down and scheduled out the week, figured out what must happen by when for me to maintain my sanity. Luckily, all my favorite TV shows are re-runs this week, so I have an extra 4 hours to write. Or curl up and cry, it is all the same at this point.

Next semester better have fewer papers at the end.. Three English classes, three history classes. Why'd I pick these majors again?

AHHHH

Ugh.. where to start?

The Taiga alpaca? About sock-weight yarn. The Website lied. I am angry. Now I need to decide if I want to spend $3 to ship it BACK to them and get store credit for $17.00 I spent on the yarn or if I want to keep 1040yards of sock weight alpaca. What, exactly, can one knit with that yarn? Shawls and scarves are out, since I'll never really wear them and I don't know anyone to which I could give them. (And donating... eh, the yarns too nice to just give away. And I'm a college student. And broke.)

So, I ordered KnitPicks Andean Treasure, in Fog, since I've seen a few people knit Blaze with that yarn, and It. Shall. Work. To get the free shipping, I bought a hank of natural sock yarn to dye my own yarn.

The hat, it continues. The sock, it also continues, past the heel. Both shall be done by Christmas.

Christmas shopping, that might not be done. I HAVE NO TIME.

And papers? Well, they kinda have to be done, so we'll just say that I have to finished editing a 10 page paper, write a 5 page paper, write a 25 page paper (this weekend... I'm screwed), write a 4 page paper for a take home final, take an in-class final, take a final during finals week, and something that I'm forgetting. Oh, decide if I want to take a take home final due the same day as 7 other things.

So, yeah. Back to the grindstone. Or knitting to avoid the grindstone. Which will be ok, as long as no yarn is harmed. Right?

the search is on

After Ryan's hat, I want to knit something large-scale for myself. I'm thinking sweater, since I've decided that I need to stop wearing hoodies all the time. (To demonstrate the extent of my hoodie-wearing habit, realize that a friend in photo club with me has ONLY pictures of me in a hoodie, wearing glasses and with hair in a pony tail. He has some 50 shots of me and tends to only take 2-3 shots of me at any one event. Two years, about 25 separate events, and I'm found wearing the SAME THING EVERY TIME.)

So, yes. A sweater. For me. That is warm, since I am Queen of the Cold. I'm looking for something fitted-ish, classic in style or at least not crazy enough to only be able to wear it for one year, and not overly hard to knit.

I've been debating Blaze from knitty.com. However, I'm pretty sure I'd want to add long sleeves and I'm not sure if that would work with the 16-round pattern. And I can't figure out what size to knit. I fall right between sizes small and medium and have a long torso, so I tend to add length to anything I knit. I suppose I could knit a few more rounds of plain ribbing, without the zig-zag at the bottom. And I might be able to add half a repeat as well. Hrm, ponder.

I also really like this cardigan, but I tend to have issues with buttoned sweaters uh, gapping. And I think this one would have the same problem.

Wendy's Somewhat Cowl, long sleeved version, is another option that I rather like. Not sure I could afford the suggested yarn, however.

Any other suggestions? The Sexy-Little-Knit-Along has some great ideas, but I find it VERY hard to search the blog to find the patterns that they have suggested and/or have knitted in the past.