The socks, they are DONE

Done and blocked and everything. Already gifted them to my mother, who loves them.

(and her feet are smaller, so they fit her a little better. And is it possible to take a picture of ones feet without giving oneself cankels?)

A close up shot of the stitch pattern:


I really like how they came out, even though they took forever and I apparently knit tightly and loosely at the same time. (As in, with larger-than-called-for needles, I get smaller gauge AND holes in my fabric. What gives, yo?) Started sometime during the school year (you'd think I'd remember) and finished on a Friday. I think the Friday after TheBoy left, so the... 11th. In other words, they took forever. I am a slow knitter, specially when I ignore projects for a length of time.

It has been beautiful out in the last week. A little warm during the day, nice and cool at night. No rain, which we need, but beautiful skys and such. See?


What I call the Dr. Seuss Tree:


It totally looks like it came right out of a Dr. Seuss book. I love it.

See the three trees in the middle? The one on the left looks like a rearing horses, ears pinned back. And the one on the right looks like some sort of cartoon bird. I've been staring at that section of the treeline every day as I take horses out and that's what I think every time. Lexi agrees with me, and we decided that it's a garden-scape of her horse, Scout, fighting an ostrich over that thing in the middle. Someone else said camel, but we don't really see it. Or, the camel has some weird thing growing out of his butt.


Meet Flair. Flair is one of our mares. I dislike Flair. She's very pretty, as you can see. But she's a mare, and thus, moody. She's hard to ride (read: likes to rear) and hasn't been sound for the last three months. In fact, she's spent the last three months in that stall. AND IT DOESN'T bother her. There's something wrong with a horse that doesn't mind being inside. All the time. Alone at night. She's also not all that bright. Not that dumb, but ... not that bright.


Though, tonight, Flair has Harry to keep her company. Isn't he cute? And silly?


This is Rocket. Rocket likes sticks. He's so very cute and has the best sad puppy dog eyes I've ever seen. He makes me feel like the world will end if I don't throw his stick. He'll keep bringing it back to you until he's tired and needs a break. Then, he chews his stick for a while. The result is that you end up with very small pieces of stick that are really better mulch than toys. But don't tell Rocket that, he won't listen.


That's all I got for now. Still working on the back of Sizzle (which Wendy says knits up in about 3 days), about to finish the increases and work on the armholes. So maybe there is hope. Still loving the pattern, the yarn, the resulting fabric. Not sure if I like the increases in the back, they look wonky to me. Maybe I'll mess around and figure out another way for the front, a way that doesn't show as much as my most invisible method of a make 1.

I think I owe a few pictures

This:

Now looks like this:


The socks I started a long long time ago, at school, now look like this:

I'm about halfway done knitting the foot, so the end is in sight. I'd kinda like to finish this before I go back to school....

And because I'm insane, I started this:


I was bitten by a really nasty fly (no idea what kind, either) and my left ankle swelled up something akin to a balloon, resulting in this:


This is the first of the long promised pictures of the apartment:

my bed. Doesn't it look comfy?

This is the bathmat in the bathroom:


And this is what I spent Saturday doing:


I started this within the last week:

Wendy's Sizzle. I am LOVING this yarn (Karabella's Zodiac) and the pattern.

In other news, I move in about ... 30 days and have yet to start packing. I want to finish the one pair of socks, the scarf (so that I can give it to my boyfriend's mother when she moves back into (or near) town, cause that's not weird at all. Right?) My boyfriend will be here on Sunday or Monday, we're both hoping for Sunday. I need to go grocery shopping cause I've heard that eating on a regular basis is a good idea. I want to buy V for Vendetta. I need to buy text books online, at least the ones I was able to get ISBN numbers for from the student bookstore. Tina needs to finish my quilt so that I can take that to school.

My computer remains propped against my printer, my back is killing me as a result. I'm competing again on Sunday. It is hot here, but I have the pool. Of course, that requires walking outside, which is NOT benefiting from my A/C. So that doesn't always happen as often as it could.  

And that might be the last you'll hear from me until I move into the apartment at school- around the 30th.

just breathe

I don't have any pictures to show, sorry.

I have, however, started the heel on the second sock. I'm onto pattern repeat 20-something of the lace scarf, and I've started another pair of socks- simple knit2purl2 ribbed socks with Opal.

I also recently bought yarn and the pattern for Wendy's Sizzle. I'm very excited for the yarn to arrive. I think I ought to finish at least one sock first, though.

Problem is, I've finished season 4 of the West Wing. I need to find something new to watch on DVD then, so I can sit and knit in front of the TV still. I think Marie has Friends on DVD, but I'm not all that interested in Friends. Maybe I'll steal TheUrmily's House? That'll do me for a while.

I've got three dogs for the weekend- two big dogs, one little dog. One of the big dogs snores and has horrible gas. Sadly, I can't convince him to stay in the spare bedroom. He does know he's not allowed in my bedroom. It is kinda nice to have the company, though.

My life revolves around horses- who's where and when, who needs drugs, who needs to be ridden, who has lost a shoe. I had a day off a little while ago and walking through the barn that evening, checking on the one horse that is in due to an injury, I realized that I do more than just bring in horses, feed them, feed them again, and turn them back out. I know who goes where, when, and why. I know who gets fed what, who gets what drugs - and for how long. I know where the new horse should go, when Chris will not be around. I'm the glue that's keeping everyone else together. It's kinda nice.

Two of the girls who normally help us out each day will both be gone the next week. That means it will be mostly just me for a week. I'll have help in the mornings, but shall be on my own in the afternoon, to turn out and muck. Should be interesting. I guess it is a good thing that I have next weekend off- gonna go up to school with TheUrmily and visit for Arts Fest. Should be good times.


Ok, need to escape the dog. And go to bed. Maybe pictures next time. I've discovered that I get great signal strength from the pool.

you'll think of me

I'm all settled in the apartment, though I have yet to take pictures. I'm rarely in the place during the day- I come upstairs between 5:30 and 7pm, take a shower, and often turn around and leave again.

I've got wireless internet from the main house, but the signal is really low. This is my current set up:


That's the only place my computer doesn't a) over-heat (stupid Dell setup) and b) lose internet signal.

As a result, blogging hasn't happened. I'm hoping to fix that, but no promises. In exchange, I offer this following shot of the first completed sock:


I've started the second one already, but have limited time to work on it. Three nights a week are devoted to homework- at least two hours of reading a night. Reading about things like the library, what a card catalog is, and why I might want to use it. Technically, I'm a junior in college. If I don't know that by now, I should be failing out of school.

The lace scarf hasn't gotten much farther, either. I got a good 5 pattern repeats in at the Outer Banks, but haven't touched it since. No wonder it takes me so long to finish stuff.

I'm debating with the idea of devoting a day of the week to cross-stitch. I have a ton of kits left that I haven't started/finished and I love it. Problem is, you actually have to pay attention to that. And count. A lot. We'll see.

Hopefully, I'll soon have a better set up that doesn't kill back, arms, and hands to type.

A short reappearance, only

For some odd reason, Blogger.com wasn't loading for me for the last week or so. I could read blogs hosted by blogger, just not up-date my own. Once I got the new Ethernet adapter, random pages stopped loading. Other pages randomly lost pictures- they would load, I would scroll to the bottom of the page, and they would have disappeared when I scrolled back up. Very strange.

Lots of sock process. Not last Wednesday, but the one before, I cast on again- with a bigger needle size and two more pattern repeats. That Saturday night, I turned the heel. I didn't knit as much as I had wanted to during finals week, but I have evenings for knitting now. Well, knitting and reading.



That was taken on.. the 2nd. What day of the week was the second? The sock is now about 5" long, all said and done. Hopefully, I'll finish that this coming week and start on the mate. I'm not taking any other sock yarn in hopes that that .. mental trick will work. Can only knit what one has.

I've finished 13 pattern repeats with the lace scarf, so I'm about half-way done that. Supposed to do 27 pattern repeats, but I have this weird ... thing with odd numbers. Plus, I think the scarf looks better when folded in half with an even number of repeats. But again, that could be the weird ... thing with odd numbers.

I'm heading to the beach tomorrow- the Outer Banks, actually. Spent a good 20 minutes tonight, going over maps and stuff, figuring out my directions. Should be an 8 hour drive, what fun! But I plan on leaving at 8am, so I'll still have the evening there.

I've been attempting to unpack from school, reorganize, pack for beach and pack for apartment, without losing my mind. So far, I gave up on the packing for apartment and getting everything neat and organized and out of the way. Many things need to happen, like taking the queen size down comforter off my twin bed at home (my bed is really high. Think mid-thigh to hip level.), replacing it with the twin size comforter from school, and taking the queen size to the apartment. I need to sort through clothing, figure out what I'm going to do as far as clothing storage- closet in the bedroom over there is TINY, with one self. And the room contains only a bed. (but said bed is comfy. And large. But very low- that's gonna be weird.)

several arrows later

My computer is officially broken. No longer does it recognize that the cable is plugged and thus, no longer do I get online. Somehow, I see this being a good thing. No more wasting hours and hours on knitting blogs. And Freecell can only hold me for so long.

Completely frogged the Sixth Sense Socks. My roommate, who is not quite 5'1'', has tiny feet and she couldn't get the sock past the ball of her feet. Should have thought to check sooner, but denial is a powerful thing? I think I'll add two pattern repeats and work with the size 2 needles. That should give me a decent chance of finding SOMEONE the socks fit.

I've been looking for a pattern for the Opal yarn. Self-patterning yarn, so I want to use a fairly basic pattern. I've discovered that I like short-row heels and toes much much more than heel flaps and gussets and pointy decreased toes. (Never mind the fact that I have the hardest time figuring out how many stitches to knit each row and can't see if a stitch has been wrapped or not. Go figure.) I think I want a toe up pattern, cause I haven't tried that yet. I'm figuring to get a good bit of knitting done during finals week, since I'll write the paper due at the end of next week some time this week.

Saw Matt Pond PA tonight. As always, he (and the rest of the band) rocked. I love the cello. Love, love, love. Really shouldn't be too surprising, since I love Yo Yo Ma as well.

Went to see a production of Much Ado About Nothing on Monday night. Or rather, went to see the first dress rehearsal of a production of Much Ado About Nothing. The Roommate and I were two of about ... 8 people sitting in the theater (which prolly seats about 60 people, max) and that included the director, stage manager, and costume guy. It was very well done though and I managed to swatch more Opal yarn. Since getting about 10 sts per inch with size 2. I'm wondering if I should go for the whole 4" swatch, rather than the 2-3" I've been doing. That involves a whole lot of casting on though and I don't want to wait.

Since I'm in the computer lab, I have no pictures. I should see if taking my laptop to the end of the hall lets me pick up the wireless connection from the building next door. I doubt it, since I'm sure PSU has managed to end the range about 2 feet from the sides of the building.

you'll see boys

So, the sixth sense sock is moving along... but is undeniably too small for my feet. I don't want to frog and start all over- I'm getting about 10 stitches to the inch when I should be getting 8.5. Moving up a size in needles might not do that much good. I could add another pattern repeat to the number of stitches to cast on, but then I get the problem of attempting to do math when I get to the heel again. Shouldn't be too hard, but I don't wanna rip. If they fit my roommate's tiny feet (and she'll actually wear them) , I'll frog and start over.

The lace hasn't moved any farther, since I screw up too many times if I look away from that one. I'll have time to work on that at the beach.

I actually get a vacation this summer! Wahoo! The Boyfriend's family has a house in the Outer Banks and he's having friends down for the first two weeks after finals. I've got to work on Sunday, but will drive down on the 8th and drive back on the 12th.  

In other news, visited Whipple Dam on Sunday with the Photo Club. (Or rather, two other members of the photo club. Turn out, not so great. Shots, great.) It was really nice out, after a loud thunderstorm that morning and rain all day on Saturday. A bit too buggy for my taste, but I'm told I have high standards.

I love the following shot. I happened to glance at the park's rules and regulations and found definitions of some of the things forbidden- pets and snowmobiles, in particular. I didn't read the whole thing and couldn't get a picture that would let me read it later, but I wonder if they later forbid equines and bovines, or could one bring cattle to the park?



I want to cast on Opal sock yarn and start those. I knit a swatch tonight while watching a dress rehearsal/preview of Much Ado About Nothing. I got about 10.5 stitches per inch on US size 2 needles. I don't think that's normal. (Specially when the band tells me 8 stitches to one inch on US size 1 needles.) What to do, what to do? I think I'll just knit another swatch. I've discovered that I can't NOT knit. (And that's how I know that knitting is a disease.) Maybe toe up socks would be the solution, cause I could just keep increasing til they fit? Suggestions?

(Side note: If I want people to read my blog, I should start leaving comments on other people's blogs. (yes, I do like to state the obvious.) But... I feel like I'm butting into the "adults' time" since the average age of a knitter who blogs is NOT 20. So, am I too young to 'fit in' the knitting blog circle(s)? Or do I just need to keep leaving comments and post lots of pictures so people come back to see how projects are progressing? Again, suggestions, my non-existent audience?)

I have NO talent for witting titles. Or interesting titles.

I'm currently having serious issues with my internet connection. A 'local area cable has been unplugged' on a VERY regular basis and doesn't like to be plugged back in. I've fiddled with it quite a bit and I think it is a hardware issue, which means I need to replace my network card. That won't be happening any time soon so I think my computer will continue to vex me. (I swear it knows when I want to talk to someone on AIM or go to a website, since I almost always lose a connection then. Evil, evil thing that must last at least two more years.)

And so concludes the lengthly explanation for the lack of any updates.

I was on repeat 7 on the lace scarf when I realized I had made a mistake some 4 rows back. I'm now working on the 5th repeat again. I think I've learned why people hate knitting lace. If you screw up and have to frog, you had better hope that you thought to put lifelines in. I had been carrying one lifeline every pattern repeat, but my mistake was below that. Luckily, one row only has 25 stitches, compared to the other's with 31. It looks much better now, if a bit shorter.




I've started the Sixth Sense Socks. I'm loving the yarn, Sockotta, even though it is 45% cotton. I normally hate knitting cotton cause it doesn't have that much stretch to it. I'm also loving my new bamboo dpns. Almost enough to go buy another set. Almost. Then I could cast on my Opal sock yarn, which arrived over the weekend. But I think I should finish these before finals. I'm afraid they might be too small for me, so I need to find someone with smaller feet who will actually wear them.


I think I'm going to set up my textbook to knit and read. Luckily for me, I've already read tomorrow's assignment so close attention to detail will be towards the sock, not The Rape of the Lock. YAY for yarn and needle goodness. And yay for homework that allows me to knit and read. The paper I have yet to write will piss me off cause it will cut into good knitting time.