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

Catch Up

$458 and 30 books later, I need a larger bookshelf. 30 books for a 15 week semester means about two books per week. That'd be do-able, but ... at least half of the books are over two hundred pages and two of them are 800+ page books. This is gonna be a fun semester! Some of the books actually look really good, like Special Topics in Calamity Physics (which, don't worry, is just a novel) and Toni Morrison's Paradise. I'm also looking forward to Beware of God: Stories and The Plot Against America. I think part of the reason I'm so excited is that I get to read some contemporary texts this semester. YAY!

I dragged the Branching Out scarf back out and have tacked on another 3 or 4 repeats. The pattern has either gotten easier or I'm a better knitter, since the pattern is easier than I remember. I'm no longer getting lost if I put it down mid-row (I know, I know. But when the phone rings and you only have til a certain point in the song your phone is playing, you do things like put down your knitting mid-row). I'm hoping to finish the thing by the end of February at the latest. And then! I get to discover the Magic that is blocking lace.

Here's the current status of the Bayerische socks:

The color is actually pretty close in that picture. And I am still loving the pattern, just working on a few other projects in my attempt to finish projects that have been on the needles in a while.

Blaze, as a result, has been left like this:

Soft! Fuzzy! Yummy! As soon as I see Julie, I'll have size 6 circs to start the body and to enjoy this pattern even more.

And this is my sister's scarf, in a lovely mess of colors that she, thankfully, loves. Basketweave pattern, of knit 3, purl 3 across for four rows. She's happy with it and it really is going quickly. It is just kinda boring and I don't really like the larger size yarn and needles.
And I've turned the heel in my first toe-up sock, so I just have the cuff to go. I'm thinking it will be a 6" cuff, so those will be for a while. Pictures when I get around to it.

Finished Object: Ryan's Chullo!

The Specs:
Pattern: Cross-Country, by Anne Featonby (from Knitty)
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease, worsted weight, two skeins
Colors: One skein Blue Heather, one skein Pastel Yellow
Needles: size 2 dpns, size 2 circs, and Addis Turbos that are labled size 2 but aren't actually a US size 2
Start to Finish: Started on 10/30/06, finished on 01/10/07
For: My roommate, Ryan

Notes: This was my first attempt at a hat and two-stranded, color knitting. The top turned out a bit wonky, I think because my gauge was a little too tight for the yarn. However, the Addis really helped loosen up the fabric, making it drap a lot more. Ryan loves it, I'm pleased, and I definitely learned a thing or two from this one.

For one, I like dpns better than circulars, and knitting in the round better than knitting flat. For two, I like knitting for other people. For three, that I can create my own patterns! See:


And here's a shot of the awesome tassel:

Picture Post!

My father has currently stolen my camera, so you'll have to make do with some old shots:

We were on our way back from Ikea (LOVE IKEA) and I had my camera since we'd spent a large part of the day at the Brandywine River Museum (which is really an art museum.. I know. It makes no sense.) and I discovered that if you leave the shutter open for a bit and swirl the camera, the available lights also swirl. See?

New Year's Eve. My father discovered that why, yes, he is getting old, when 10 minutes of the following tired him out and made him wonder if he'd have a heart attack. Oddly enough, EVERYONE was playing with balloons in some fashion or another that evening. 

Do you have any idea how hard it is to capture an action shot
when there is no where near enough light and the flash won't
reach that far and also, you don't want them to know you're
taking pictures? You get fuzzy pictures. But that's ok, we'll
just say we're trying to protect the innocent (heh) this way.

You're not allowed to take pictures in the majority of the Brandywine River Museum. However, there were no signs telling me that, so I took pictures. And when I was told otherwise, they didn't make me delete my pictures. So we have this lovely lady, who I think was once a member of the Du pont family. She makes me giggle and I'm not really sure why.

The Christmas Bush. While you can't see top or bottom, there was no way to get far enough from the tree and get top, bottom, and sides in the picture. The thing was that wide. However, it had character and also, sparkly lights and piles of gifts underneath. Didn't have a very strong scent, however, and that is totally the reason to have a real tree.



In other news, I finished the 8 rounds of p4, k2 ribbing on size 5 needles for Blaze and now need to get my mitts on a pair of size 6 circs, either 24" or 29". I'm thinking 24". We'll see what I have at school - I may already have a pair. YAY!

And I dyed the sock yarn from KnitPicks this afternoon. I didn't wear gloves cause I'm a rebel that way and now my fingertips are rather pinkish. It makes me laugh. The yarn is currently drying in the bathtub and I keep looking at it and going oooooo... ah...... I'm quite pleased with the colors - pink lemonade, tropical punch, and cherry, so it is various shades of reds and pinks and a little bit of the natural white. I'm fairly certain that I didn't dye it exactly as one is supposed to, but the yarn didn't bleed at all when I checked if after microwaving it. So, it seems to be ok. And I'm fairly certain that it'd be hard to felt superwash merino, so I think I'm ok.

And now, it is off to the barn to help out one last day, give Lexi back her copy of Grey's, and see if Lex and Lex want any of my old dresses. Yay?

Alive.

So, um, this regular-posting concept?  Doesn't seem to have sunken in very far.

I haven't been knitting very much, in part because I'm not watching TV at home and in part because I don't have a lot of free time.

I have, however, mostly finished Ryan's hat.  I need to make the tassel for the top and snip off three already-woven in ends that I wove in before I found the scissors.  (Actually, I have yet to find the scissors, so we'll see when that happens.)  It is in the process of drying right now - I blocked it tonight and am shaping it on a stuffed Eeyore I have at home.

I'm also on row 4 (or 12, depending on the chart) of the Bayerische socks, which I am LOVING.  My sister is lucky that I dislike the color of the yarn or I just might steal the finished socks from her.  Maybe they won't fit and I can have them?  They are rather stretchy, though.  I keep messing up parts and having to rip and re-knit.  I've been just ripping a few stitches to the side of the mistake and knitting back up in that section, since I think I might curl up and cry if I had to reknit large sections.  (The whole sock, just small sections at a time, seems to be acceptable though.  It is normal to play mental games with oneself, right?)

I've been cranking out my sister's scarf as well - I think I have about a foot done now.  With the bulky yarn, I imagine that the whole thing shall go fast, if I were to actually sit and knit the thing.

And I finaly cast on for the Blaze sweater.  I only have the correct size needle to do the ribbing at the bottom though, so the major part of that might have to wait til I get back to school and can borrow needles from Julie.  Or I'll just break down and buy a pair.  I am loving the fabric made from the KnitPicks alpaca.  Softy and squishy!

I've also spent some $350+ on my car, what with new brakes, an oil change, and a new headlight bulb.  I think I need to replace a few other things, but I plan on waiting til the next oil change.  (Which will be soon, given that I've already put some 500+ miles on since I got home.  And need to drive back to school.  And may be driving back here for a doctor's visit after classes start.)

I think I might get around to dyeing the sock yarn tomorrow.  We'll see if I manage to drag myself out to the barn tomorrow or not.

And Blogger seems to hate pictures, so I'll continue to promise them and not deliver.  (At least you know what to expect from me!)

high class

I'm home and somehow have internet.  I'm fairly certain that I won't after the new year, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

I'm working on the i-cord edging for Ryan's hat.  Not so sure how much I like it, not so sure how much I care.  But, over half way done the finishing aspect and I won't see him for a while, so I'm  ok with that.  Maybe I'll mail him a picture of the finished hat, though.

Need to finish Tina's sock by oh, 4pm tomorrow when she comes over for Christmas dinner.  But, I think that's totally possible, assuming that I do nothing but knit tomorrow.

I started a scarf for my sister - this multicolored yarn she bought at Michael's.  All in all, it isn't that bad.  I'm doing a basketweave pattern, which she is really liking.  I think it will be a fairly fast knit, so long as I stay on top of it.  I just need to think a bit in the process, so I remember to continue the pattern.

The holiday party season has started.  TheBoyfriend's family had a get-together this evening and I went for a little bit.  I ended up on puppy duty- they have a cocker spaniel/poodle mix named Butterscotch.  She's super cute and very friendly.  However, she's still puppy enough to been to be on a leash will all these strange people around and I ended up with the leash.  She was very well behaved, would sit or lay down at my feet.  Many a time, my shoe was used as a pillow.  All things considered, she was very mellow this evening.  

Then I went to the annual Christmas party of family friends.  Lots of good food, open bar.  I discovered that ginger ale, sour apple schnapps, and vodka is quite yummy, as they couldn't make whiskey sours.  And discovered that my parents have both smoked pot and that my mother had SoCo at her high school prom - prompting me to say "So my mother was a high class underage drinker who wore short skirts."  Just as I finished that sentence, someone turned and looked at us with the best expression on his face.  He shrugged and walked off; we burst out laughing.  It was a fun evening and good to see my parents remembering the times when they used to get along, even if my mother did lock him in the hallway, naked.  Twice.  (but then, he fell for the same trick twice, so the second time wasn't her fault.)

My camera's batteries died, again, so no pictures yet.  But I do promise pictures of the Christmas Bush that is currently gracing the living room.

Christmas came a little bit early

 It has been a very few exciting days around here.

But you'll get to read the same old boring topics.  YAY for you!

I've finished with all but one class - Hist 401.  Of course, this is the class for which I must write a 20 page paper.  I'm currently on page ten and about ready to curl up in a ball and cry in his office, begging him to just give me a B+ and I'll take it, thankyouverymuch.

Something tells me that I'm just gonna have to suck it up and write the paper.  

I've only received one grade so far and oddly enough, compulsively checking eLion to see if any other grades have been posted doesn't seem to be working.  I've decided to blame technology.

The realtors made a surprise visit yesterday to make sure we're all abiding by the lease.  One section of the lease (on the bottom of page 9, actually) states that only four people get to live here.  Oddly enough, that's the one section of the lease we can't seem to get Jendrew to follow.  Surprise of surprise, they were both here when the realtors knocked on their door and she got a talking-to.  About twenty minutes later, they both left.  She's returned once, to pack up toothbrushes and medications, and we've only seen them once since.  The atmosphere here is SO much more relaxed now. 

If he spends more than two nights a week here again, we're gonna have a little talking-to ourselves.  I am, in a sick and twisted sort of way, looking forward to that very much.

I'm fairly certain that she is pissed at us, believing that we called and complained.  I find it so very satisfying that a) she is angry for getting in trouble for doing something she is not allowed to do and that we have asked her, multiple times, not to do and b) that we had nothing to do with it.  Here's to hoping that they remain not here for the rest of the school year.

To follow that wonderful Christmas surprise (I promise, there is no sarcasm what-so-ever in that sentence), Ryan locked himself out of his room.  (We have taken to locking our bedroom doors when we leave because we have reason to believe that Jendrew went through Ryan's room while he was at mass.  Papers were not were they had been left and a rather mean-spirited note that he had written to relieve stress and anger was found on top of the papers it had previously been underneath.  Plus, there were a number of holes in his practice exam, as if the exam had been stabbed with a knife.)  All told, I think he spent about two hours waiting for a locksmith to let him back in his room.  I suggested billing Jendrew for the cost of the locksmith, but the idea was vetoed.

TheUrmily had similar issues this morning, but that was related to her car and the fact that she locked not only her keys, but also her cell phone and id card in her car, making it impossible for her to either call anyone for help or return to her room and ask a neighbor for the use of their cell phone.  

There is no knitting content because I have been doing no knitting.  I sit at my computer and I type and read and read and type and play a few games of Freecell so my mouse doesn't feel as if I no longer love it.  Ryan shall have to go home hat-less, as I think it would be better if he went home in such a state and I finish this paper before it is due.  (Time: 19 hours and 45 minutes.  And I think sleep might be a good thing at some point.  Perhaps?)

There will, however, be knitting content once I get home.  We'll see how fast one can knit an applied i-cord edging to a other-wise completed hat, finish the remaining 1/4 of a sock, figure out gauge for Blaze, start upon highly complicated chart-reading-requiring socks, and go to the barn and deal with family and maybe see the boyfriend for a little bit.  And let us not forget about the holiday parties which, by definition, involve food and alcohol that is (mostly) free.

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.