How I Learned to Stop Itching and Love Wool

Wish You Were Here

2008-05-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd send a e-Postcard from my weekend in Frankfort (right at the haystacks and keep going) which is going extremely well, knitting and otherwise.

Since I last wrote (about knitting at least) I have finished my Grammy's sweater, and sent it off to live at the store as a display peice, finished the knitting for my brother's sweater, in which I designed my own inset sleeves, and made vast progress on the poetry in stitches work.

Pictures to come.

10 Things I Don't Like About Allergy Season

2008-05-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

This will probably be really boring, but it might make me feel better.

1)The way that histamines (caused by my reaction to the wind-born pollen) make me fatigued. This makes it hard to a) move, b) get up in the morning and therefore c) fall asleep at night.

2) The way that people who are not affected by allergies (i.e. my family) are really non-sympathetic to point #1.

3) The way my eyes are totally red, all the time, no matter how many different kinds of eye drops I use, lending me that "kid from high school who never went to class and wore alot of Bob Marley Tshirts look 24/7.

4)The fact that it's finally nice enough outside that I could, theoretically knit while walking, were it not a pollen forest or an allergen wind tunnel.

5) I have to shower every day. this isn't a big deal for most people (and my reader may have just gone "ew" and decided to stop checking the blog, leaving me totally crazy and talking to myself) but I don't shower everyday because it a)wastes water and energy and b) I'm just not that smelly or oily. (note: I totally shower after any strenuous physical activity or mudfights or contact with chlorine, but my normal shower schedule is every other or every three days - whenever I can fit it in)

Allergy medication is such and iccue that it needs more than one number.
6) My doctor (who I love very much most of the time) has so far failed to prescribe any sort of medication or send me to an allergist. He instead recommends over-the-counter tablets.

7) Many of these medicines used to be prescription strength things, but they figured out that they could lower their dosage, and be on drug store shelves. This results in pharmacologicals that don't really work well enough, but that my doctor thinks should be working just fine, because they always did before, even though they're lower doses now.

8) Some part of the decision to switch to the shelves in front of the desk surely had to do with the increased ability for the drug companies to rape consumers because they were no longer being covered. I just got a month's worth of Claritin for $22, and that was heavily on sale. This might not be such a big deal if point #9 were not an issue.

9) I am allergic to everything. My allergy season last from April to November. This year was particularly awful because all the leaves rotted and molded, and Mold is perhaps my worst allergy.

10)I get so frustrated by the whole not being able to breathe thing, along with all the other things, that I write long, obnoxious blog posts about my allergy problems. Please excuse me for this.

I do fee much better, though. normal knitting to resume soon. I have a FO!

Dumpasaurus-rex

2008-05-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

So, due to Final-exam induced hibernation-type periods, I skipped out on the blogerly duties a bit. I decided that the best way to remedy this oversight was to do an old-fashioned Camera Dump, a la Shelly Kang.
What follows is an account of, to the best of my calculations, 60% of what I've knit since the last fiber-related update type post. There are a few garter-stitch projects I've left out to avoid boring anyone to tears, including grey Red Scarf Project thing and some sock yarn squares I stitched during the Howie Day concert at school.

First, a pair of socks, the yarn for which was purchased during a visit from far away father figure. After the first 24 hours, we stopped in Ann Arbor on the way to a father-daughter Tiger's Game, and I have never been so happy to see the Rainforest colorways in my whole life.
Above, the socks, and a cell phone case I improvised in about an hour after I'd kitchnered the second toe. The whole time I was making them, I had no recipient in mind, I just went with the color changes.

Turns out they were for me! Wahoo!

Upon m return to the family abode, I attacked my room with a festival of knits and project intentions.
Left to right: Mothers' day gift, a shoping bag made of cut up plastic bags, A skein of Noro sock yarn Beth (from the store) gave me as an early birthday present, and leftovers from the slipper knitting of past Christmas, to be a sleeve for my computer.
Here is a picture of younger brother #1 (12-almost-13) making plastic bag yarn for above-mentioned project. Mom declined to know the nature of the project, even after we couldn't present her with it, due to a plastic bag shortage brought on my the sudden diversifying of our town's recycling abilities.

Next, my Gandmother's birthday sweater, an I idea conceived, by my darling mother, of heartwarming generational symmetry, in which I lovingly design a sweater for the woman ho clothed me in fantastic handknits for my entire childhood. We even spent way too much money (more than the five skeins of Berocco's Comfort) on fabulous buttons, as Grammy is the queen of Finding the Perfect Buttons, no matter the cost or number of trips to Joann required.
I, additionally, employed younger brother #2 (9) in Wind Fest 2008 (though he refused my offer of 10 cents a skein).

Young Dude wound up about a dozen skeins of yarn, including the Poetry In Stitches kit, intended for darling Mom. I took the kit to Iron man, where the 303 stitch picot-button band took the majority of the movie.

However, after a half hour of winding, the boy deserted his post to go grub around in the dirt, as nine-year-old boys are wont to do, leaving a pile of wool.

I have faith he will return.

There has been a bit of blocking. The blue on is another Red Scarf Project Piece, and the brown one is a mystery project. Have I mentioned, ever, how much I adore blocking and how crucial I find it to be for Garter Stitch, especially in scarves? No? Well I do.
This brown Mystery Type Project reminds me that I have become, somehow, a responsible knitter person. I am a)not casting on stuff that I really want (see Noro Sock yarn above) until my deadline knitting is done, b) keeping a knitting journal with meticulous notes on what I'm doing, because I have finally accepted that I won't remember what I did on that sock from six months ago, and c) not taking needles from an existing project/ buying another pair because I need them for something else, but instead finishing whatever they're on. Weird.

Fore example, I finished Brown Strip Thing, above, so that I could use my sevens on this birthday sweater for Brother #1's Birthday in early June.
Have no fear, though, I have faith that this knitting monogamy is probably short lived. However, The knitting journal is showing signs of sticking. Hmmmmm.

Bittersweet

2008-05-12T12:38:00.001-07:00

I'm choosing to ignore the fact that I haven't posted in almost a month. Suffice to say I did a lot of thinking about this here blog, and am still feeling pretty inconclusive.

Things I Miss from School
1) A certain very tall young man to squire me about.
2) Not having to sleep alone.
3) That cool autonomy thing, where you don't have to tell your Mom that you're going to the grocery store, or spelunking, or whatever.
4) Learning. Not to be confused with paper-writing, which I am NOT missing, but actual receipt of new and interesting information. I really miss that.
5) Someone else cleaning my bathroom and, for that matter, my dishes.
6) Seeing all my friends six times a day, because we all live in the same building.
7) Having everything I have to do within four blocks of my dorm.

Things I Absolutely Do Not Miss
1) Crystal, the psycho room mate.
2) Having to show up at frat events, due to above young man. I usually don't mind this, because I've made really good friends there, but every once in a while I just want to go to bed early with my bunny slippers on.
3) Sleeping in a teeeny weeeny twin bed. This problems is exacerbated by the presence of two people.
4) Paying for my laundry.
5) Baldwin Food.
6)Showering with shoes on, and worrying who would walk down the hall while I was in my towel.
7) Paper-writing. Those last few weeks, I wrote more pages than all of high school.
8)Sheri waking me up when she was a bit tipsy and trying to fall asleep on my rug.

The knitting continues. Pictures to come.

A Tale of Two Feelings.

2008-04-16T21:47:00.000-07:00

I've had this post, a-stewin' and a-brewin' inside me for a few weeks and tonight I find myself with a pocket of time to try and say what I really mean.

There have been a few times in my life in which I have regretted NOT doing something. The most vivid is not going back to French Camp for a third year. The deep, immense sadness I felt when I looked at the pictures from that summer still stings when I think about it too hard. Other things, plays I couldn't go to, auditions I didn't show up for, and clubs I never joined still bug me.

So, when the Yarn Harlot posted her account of her Ann Arbor visit the other day, I approached it with caution. I expected to feel the same sense of lost opportunity as when I read the account of last year's visit (for which I had to babysit). I opened the page and read past the Minnesota stuff and through the Ann Arbor story and I felt . . . nothing. Part of this is probably because Stephanie is (understandably) way more hurried and disconnected.

What I really think is changing my perception about knitters is probably related to one of the problems with spending my whole life with other college students. The drift of knitters, especially on Stephanie's tour is headed to a distinctly "look at me, look at me!" mentality.
Everyone is there with her first sock, their underage knitters, all kinds of . . . well, to me they seem like gimmicks.

Before I go any further, I want to clarify for my newer, close proximity knitting friends that I don't mean you. Really. As I've been mulling this, you've been the exceptions, the ones making me say to my self "But what about . . ."

I think this probably comes from my past knitting solitude. I taught myself to knit at a young age and kept doing it for no reason, even though it made me way weirder than I already was. Besides the blogs I've read and used as a learning tool, I really only started communication with other knitters in any way when I started working at the store. The community in which I live, further, fosters women who are the same kind of craftspeople I am; secluded, solitary and loyal to her work.

This is all a way of returning to a question I struggle with. Who do I want to be, in relation to other knitters. I know I love my relationships in real life; the store, Brit Knits, and KKP (my new grasshopper). It's the blogging thing that bus me. Who am I writing for?

Originally, this was something Daniel really really wanted me to do. After my brother, Graham found out, it became a way to connect to a guy with a really different schedule who I miss a lot. But, really, I'd be shocked if more than ten people have been here. So, I guess I'm down to the last reason for blogging, and the answer to my question. I'm writing for me.

So, I'm facing myself with another annoyingly introspective question. If I'm writing this, putting up things about my personal life why don't I stop? Switch to a journal? Email my older brother more regularly? I don't really have an answer. I guess I don't really know what I'm going to do.

Stay tuned?

Out the Other Side

2008-04-12T16:17:00.000-07:00

This week has been rough, with four papers, a lab proposal, and a biology exam. My mom said, when I finally phoned her last night, after I sent in my last essay, "It would be nice if they'd spread the college experience out a little."

I was too busy to get to Ann Arbor for the Yarn Harlot. I guess I'll just catch her next year.

Any way - here's what I've been knitting. . .

Knee socks for my mother.
The edge on my shawl - way too late to wear to formal in Toronto.

On an excursion with my father last weekend, we stopped in Ann Arbor. I have never been so happy to see the Safari Colorways in my life. I got two.

Progress on the socks for my professor.

The beginnings of a sweater. I love seed stitch.

A really satisfying, comforting way to end this week (which happened to be Greek Week, along with Absolute Scholarly Hell) was watching all the frats and sororities compete in choreographed dance. Yes.

Itchy

2008-04-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

Last night, as I sat on the fourth floor of the KC and represented the Albion Knitting club in independent solidarity with myself (read: alone), I got that funny urge.

I tried to stifle it, ignore it, work some cables, then some lace. Next I went downstairs to get the key to the closet the club shares, hoping to find the ball winder.

I did not find the ball winder.

I did, however, find several spindles and raw fleece.

Where does this come from? About every six months, I get a funny feeling that I need to learn a new craft, or at least do something besides knitting. Does this ever happen to you?

For the record, I left the fleece and stuff in there, as I was frustrated with my inability to locate the gear-y crankin' goodness I sought. And also, because I have some self control, remembering that I packed one small needlepointe project for school emergency-type itchy urges like this one.

2008-03-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

In addition to Easter, Sunday marked my doggies' birthdays (pretty much). Rose is 8 and Sally is 1! Hurrah!
We celebrated, in Holland, with meatloaf cupcakes.
And yes, we made a lot of fun of my mom for that.

Progress on the master plans continues:
Above are the results of a mathematical planning session, which culminated in the words "Ah, screw it - I can fake it."

And here's how part b is looking. . .
Some recent event have rendered this whole project possibly useless, but I want to get it done.

And, just for record-keeping sake, here's the progress on my professor's marathon socks:
It's pretty kooky how much reading I do; those mostly get knit while reading blogs and checking email.

Back in the Saddle

2008-03-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

*Yawn* Streeeeeetch . . . Ah, it's good to be back. Yep. I had an over packed, way too busy spring break, and now hitting the books feels like a vacation. What was I Doing, you ask (besides the aforementioned haircut and yarn acquisition)?

1) Hitting Pancake House for the famous Big Apple, with the fam. For the record, yes, I finished it.
2) Being the extremely supportive older sister type chauffeur to my little brothers, taking them to play dates and rehearsals.

3) Seeing my middlest brother in Annie as The Apple Seller
I, personally, believe him to be the best actor in the whole show. I'm still outraged that Sandy the dog got a bio in the program, but Finn didn't.

4) Progress on the Great Dress Plan. It's not quite ready for pictures, but it's mostly worked out as planned.

5)Sewing up of the Afghan from the cover of Cables Untangled for a customer from the store. As a side note, if my loved ones ever decide to have me committed, and I'm resistant, remind me of this project and the laughably short time in which I agreed to have it done. I'll surrender myself, no problem. This also led to a second offer for a nanny position this summer. Twins!

6) Shopping. At a mall. Blech. But successful.

7) Hurried knitting of the Crossword Sweater, in order to have it done. I finished the body and took it downstairs to sew and cut the steeks, and Mom was shocked that is was finished. "Well, you said it should be done for his birthday!" I said. "I meant that as a general guideline" was the response. Now she tells me! I brought it back to school to put the collar one because I'm sick of looking at it and my fingers were starting to hurt.

8) Drinking hard cider and cooking chicken, risotto, pizza, rhubarb pie, tortilla soup, and a whole ton of salad.

9) Homework.

I think that's everything. I have to hit the books, but tonight I'm going to see the school musical, because all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Ahem . . . what about all stockinette?

. . . I don't even know . . .

2008-03-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

I got back to school today, and prepared to write up my break adventures, only to find that my internet doesn't work. Again. Apparently the geek who keeps plugging something that combats my computer into the network is at it again.

Pardon me while I go dunk my head underwater.

Ketchup

2008-03-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to link to a proper post from the yarn dyeing adventure we had last week. Amanda's version has pictures. I, the real brain trust that I am, left my camera in my dorm, right next to my dignity, under my grace. I'm looking forward to the next Brit Knits meeting. It's been too long.

Today marks the last day that my friend Bill is here from Minnesota. He is totally not awake yet, but once he is, we have plans to hit the DIA and make pizza for dinner. This is also the last day I have alloted for working on the sweater. I wonder how much worse my cold will get if I skip sleep tonight?

I have been running around telling everyone about Cara's exciting new development. My mom is trying hard to understand and be excited, but mostly I'm alone in being overjoyed about this new baby who I'll never meet.

Aquisition

2008-03-11T21:34:00.000-07:00

First, I'm halfway through the crossword sweater's body. This spawned a sassy, sore throated rendition of "Knitting on a Prayer", by yours truly.
The other day, Mom and I headed down to the Wool and the Floss for a howdy and some yarn. First, there was the sock stuff that we couldn't resist. On the left is some sock yarn that she wants, and the right is a skein of Marathon in Boston for a professor of mine who is running the Boston marathon in a few weeks. Goody, more deadline knitting!

yarn for a long-overdue sweater for Finn . . .

Some for a sweater for my Grammy, who knit countless adorable sweaters for me as I gre up, and she's finally old and chilly enough for me to return the favor. you can't see them in this picture, but we got really amazing buttons to go with it.
I've been eyeing this kit since I started working a the shop, with my mother in mind. She finally saw it on Saturday and had to have it. It had sat so long that they gave us a huge discount. . .
And beth let me borrow the pattern book. When I went to pick it up, she insisted that I take another kit from the same company off her hands because it had been in her stash forever.
Boy, it's rough having really nice knitters in your life, hunh?

uh . . . I can't really figure out a way to fit this in but it's mostly for my brother anyway. I went and saw Uncle John today:

Relaxation

2008-03-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

Last night, I spent a yicky hour turning this:into this:

Which, tonight, I turned into a roast chicken with risotto and spinach salad.
The rest of the night looked like this:
(Hair dye, hard cider, Gilmore Girls season 3 and "Why Latin America Hates the U.S.)
and this:
Limp progress on the Crossword Sweater, which needs to be totally finished before I head back to school.
I got another commission to sew an afghan together, so it looks like I'll be doing the rest of my homework on the train.
With these two things and the re-vamp of my dress, plus the colossal pile of mending my family has for me, I don't know how I'll get any of it done.

Grooooooaaaan

2008-03-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

Mom: How were Mid - Terms?

Me: Uh. . . I feel like I was hit by a truck.

So, there was much studying. A little, tiny bit of goofing off:(Sheri was trying out different sorts of parts for her bangs. This one looked like a flower! Ok, it's much cooler when you're tired.)

There was also scant amounts of this:
Edited later:Wait, I just realized that that picture implies something other than what I meant, which was sleep, not . . .that other thing)
Which I promptly made up last night, with a healthy eleven hours of sleep. When I arose, Mom was showing off her snazzy new exercise wear by dancing
and . . . uh . . . being a superhero.
I found time to get ready for the Frat formal in Toronto in the end of the month.
My plan is to get my Cinderella on. First, I stripped this,

a cheap but very well-fitting dress I bought during a Homecoming Dance crisis last year, into this:I also started the second part of my great plan.

And tonight, I have big plans to put off my studying in order to get a jump on the main bit while brushing up on a little Gilmore Girls.

Victory and Defeat

2008-03-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

Usually I save the best for last, but I'm too excited.
I spent most of my waking hours (minus studying) dyeing yarn at Albion's nature center.
I can't get over how cool it is to be in the knitting club. We get money from Student Senate to do this kind of stuff, which translates into Free Yarn!

This is a hank of laceweight in . . . Uh . . . Golden Pear.

This is an attempt heretofore known as "The Ugly Tree Yarn"
And here is my accomplishment for the weekend:
That, my friends, is self- striping sock yarn. In Albion school colors.
The purple is much less blue in real life. I already checked with Mom whether she's too cool for school spirit on her feet. She's not.

Now . . . time to admit my failure. This 365 blogging isn't going to happen. My technology is way too unreliable, and my priorities are always going to lie in hitting to books over trekking across campus to write up my knitting. I like blogging all the time, especially now that I might have a few readers. If I were you, I would fully anticipate a blog post Sunday through Thursday, but I'm not making any promises.

Rien a Dire

2008-02-27T23:04:00.001-08:00

I finished two sleevesies for the crossword sweaterWhen I made that list for what I had to make before Spring Break, I conveniently forgot this project. Once I realized my error, I went out and rented movies from the library in order to create time pockets.

I will leave you with this:

Ha!

Motherf*ckin'

2008-02-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

I'm royally pissed that I haven't been able to get on the internet in my dorm for the past two days, and I'm also pissed that, even if I'd been able to do it yesterday, I wasn't able to be in my room, due to a little misunderstanding as to what "allergic" means.
I am also upset that this means I cannot show you the pictures I took, as they are on my camera, the cord for which is back in my room, where I am not. I finished some stuff and my friend did a silly thing, all of which I was able to retain photographically.I owe you tomorrow.

For today, though, go check out the Teeny Project Runway. Feel free to vote for me, since you're my older brother. I'm the Egg Babies one.

Courage . . . all sorts

2008-02-24T23:33:00.002-08:00

There's a picture of the second half of my night. Actually, it's a very accurate picture, as I watched the whole thing without my glasses. I seem to be needing them more and more these days.

The theme for tonight: COURAGE.

I've had many people in my life tell me that I am brave. Here is all I have to say on the subject of my own personal bravery:

The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out and meet it. - Thucydides

Tonight, I had a vision of what was before me at the dinner at my History 333 professor's house. It was intimidating to walk into a room full of upperclassmen history majors, but I donned my skirt and new sweater and went out to meet it. Turns out that the trial was skipped again, due to a couple of Delta girls ditching out early.

The other thing I want to do is admire the bravery of someone else. Tonight while I watched the Oscars, I finally realized that heath Ledger is dead. I know, 1) get a grip and 2) where have you been? It's far too easy to get wrapped up in my own life, especially here. I was told my six different people within two hours of his death, but It just hit me tonight that this person who I've grown up watching, who went out and made a film like Brokeback Mountain, knowing he would meet opposition, and did it anyway. Tonight, I cried a little. And then I laughed a lot, that I was crying over someone so removed from myself, but initially there was crying.

Lull

2008-02-24T00:33:00.000-08:00

The campus internet went down tonight, and I was very, very sad. Sheri was extremely helpful and supportive in saying, "You would worry about not being able to blog before you go out." She's right. I would.

Later, when it finally came back on I was struck by the utter lack of interesting things there are to show for myself. My reading assignments were rather light this past week, so stitching time was low. I started a garter stitch scarf.

I cataloged the things I need to have done before I go home for Spring Break (so that I can deliver them to my family/commissioners). They are:
- Mammar's F&F socks (2nd foot part left)
- Aformentioned garter scarf (like an inch done)
- Mom's Knee socks (not started, but don't freak out, they're medium weight)
Spring Break is in two weeks (uh, I think), so this all seems completely reasonable. And if not, no big deal. That;s a hard thing for me to say, but it's true.

Random...Friday?

2008-02-22T23:04:00.001-08:00

Sure, why not?

Here's a picture of the finished sweater, as promised:Yarn: Tapestry
Pattern: Tapestry collection - Millet.
Ch-ch-changes: I made a wider collar, and the sleeves are about half as wide as the pattern wanted them.
Thoughts: I'm basically overjoyed with the outcome of this sweater. I plan on wearing it on Sunday, when I have to go to a mock trial. The yarn turned out a little fuzzier than I thought it would be, especially in the ribbing, but I gotta tell you, I love that about it.

Anyone for a perfume update? I know you're all on the edge of you seats. Ha! My sampler came in the mail today and we opened them up and had a whiff.

I like all of them except one, which smells like nail polish remover, but I'm almost positive that the one I tried tonight, DKNY Be Delicous, is "the one". I love it. It's fruity and light without smelling like the crap my room mate wears from the drug store. I haven't been able to find most of The Panel tonight, because it's Friday night and all the frats are bumpin', but on va voir demain.

Care package

2008-02-21T22:47:00.000-08:00

Ha! Mom sent me a care package/ here's some of the stuff you forgot box. I opened it up after class to find yarn to finish my sweater, which is drying on the floor and bread....from a bakery...I'm not sure why, but I find that hilarious.

Sheri was really proud of herself because of this:
I think she needs more knitting in her life.

Couple of Dwarves

2008-02-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

Sneezy and Sleepy, to be precise.

No knitting done today. I'm hoping to do some tonight, after I take a Bio Quiz online.

I tried the Burberry, but I can't tell whether I'm allergic to it, because I have a sneezy cold. Also, there's no one around to smell me.

Drive-by

2008-02-19T23:16:00.000-08:00

I'm in the middle of what may turn out to be an all-nighter, so I have to be quick. I just got back to my room after successfully avoiding my nutsy roommate by writing a paper in a friends room while he was out partying. Clever, no?

I think I knit a grand total of one row today, so I have nothing to show you. Luckily, there's the Great Perfume Quest to the rescue!
Tonight's selection was Armani Code. It would have received a standing ovation from the Smell Test Committee if any of them had been sitting when they sniffed my neck. I had zero itchiness or eye burning. It makes me feel pretty, and it isn't overwhelming.
The only problem? It's Sheri's favorite. She wears it all the time, and she's somewhat known for it. It's highly conceivable she would be rather pissed if I bought "her" perfume.
So the search continues. Tomorrow (or just after whenever my next shower is): Burberry!

Pointless

2008-02-18T22:49:00.001-08:00

I've been sitting here for about an hour and a half, trying to come up with something to write about (ok, I've been doing homework , too). In the interest of honesty, here's the real knitting I got done today:
After a scant four hours of sleep last night, I had a full day of classes, coinciding with visitor day for all the accepted freshmen for next year. Thus, I felt so off that i took a nap (rare) and mostly didn't knit (rarer).

I solved a small mystery that's been plaguing me (because I'm impatient and I like to know things) a strange series of events from Saturday Night. All is clear, now I just have to sort out what I think about what I learned. Sorry to be cryptic, the main point here is that I feel better about something that was irking me.

Tonight began the Great Perfume Search. It's been on my mind for a while that I want to have to option of smelling pretty. Sheri squirted me with one of hers and a few hours later had a few friends smell me.
The verdict: Calvin Klein Euphoria smells good, but it made me a little itchy and it's not "me". I should be wearing bright, fresh scents. I think Sheri wanted me to try Victoria's Secret tomorrow, but that may well be another dead end. I don't know, I didn't smell it. Also in line to try: Burberry Brit (which I am in love with , but might be allergic to), and a whole sampler full of junk from Sephora that's winging my way. Or maybe Rolling. I have a feeling I'll be taking way more showers than usual upcoming.
I can't believe I'm putting enough thought into this that I'm actually blogging about it, but it's been a slow news day. Anyone have anything they like, or like on other people?

One of These Days, Ethel

2008-02-17T21:34:00.001-08:00

I have been wronged by Blogger, again, and I am SO over it. I'm not very tech savvy, otherwise I'd kick it to the curb. Sigh.

Ok, I've made some progress emotionally and physically on the sock for my uncle. We talked and resolved some issues. I was able to move past the dropped purl stitch incident, chalking it up to a need for some attention and the sock forgave me for never checking the stitch count. We spent some quality time together to heal the pain caused by our miscommunications.
I finished the first sock for my Mammar. I love having a Grandmother with tiny itty bitty feet. I love, also how quick they go with STR mediumweight. I find it extremely hilarious that my quick-fix project is a sock with heavier yarn.

Last night was Pledge Day for Albion's frats. It was a kooky day, with the tame kind of hazing happening left and right. My favorite was the ATO kids running down the sidewalk in tighty whities at me before caffeine.

It wasn't a big night for partying, really, because all the guys were pretty spent. One joint hosted a highlighter party, which is waaay more fun than it sounds. During the night I
1) learned how to dance with another person. this is something I've been worried about not being able to do for a long time.
2) felt pretty good about myself, especially when I learned that I'm not to shabby at item one.
3) had my right thumb slammed in a bathroom door.
I debated taking off the rest of the nail polish to see how bad the damage is, but I realized that the prospect of rubbing it with anything was torturous. I don't think you can see in that picture, but my thumb is dark purple under the nail. Ouch! It has been throbbing all day, so I'm anticipating a slower knitting pace for a few days.
At least this coincides with a paper and a bunch of prep for a mock trial of Nathaniel Bacon, both on Wednesday. Fate works in funny ways.

Q and A

2008-02-15T22:07:00.000-08:00

Question: What do you do when
a)You're ready for the heel on the sock you've been working on and you find that there is a stitch missing because you dropped it at the cuff so you have to rip it all back?

b) you're very lonely?

c) also, pretty bored?

d) the school library closes at 9 on Fridays, so you can't get a movie?

e) Valentine's Day hurt and made you ask some scary questions about why you can't trust people and what could possibly be wrong with you?

f) you tried to find your yarn in the lost and found, but, ironically, no one knows where that is?

g) your favorite flowers are making you want to cry?

Answer: Get your feather and fan on.
I started a new sock. STR mediumweight, Blue Brick Wall. Send Jolly Ranchers.

Thwarted

2008-02-14T22:31:00.001-08:00

I was very very close to done with my sweater in order to wear it today. Somewhere between my dorm and the College' s amazing basketball victory, something terrible happened: I lost the rest of the ball of yarn.

I'm going to go back to the gym tomorrow afternoon to try and find it. That will be a good reaction "hey, did anyone find a ball of yarn in the bleachers?". Ha! what if there was more than one and I had to identify mine. Double Ha!

I had time to correct the slub problem on the front of the sweater, and I even took pictures.

You may wonder, how did I manage to miss a slub that length and size RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRONT OF THE ONLY SWEATER YOU'VE EVER MADE FOR YOURSELF. Well...knitting on autopilot can make you look like an idiot sometimes.

For my brother,
I got my first Grammy Box at college, full of some stuff I might use, some I almost definitely will not and. . .
. . . a gingerbread cookie with the head eaten off.

Selfish

2008-02-12T22:57:00.000-08:00

I don't knit for myself. Ever.
It always works out that I buy yarn with myself in mind, than someone sees me working on it, and loves it, and I finish it and give it to them. either that, or I buy enough to make something for myself, then I get caught up in deadline knitting for birthdays and holidays and books. As a result of the second case, I have a large stash of sweater yarn set aside for me, and almost no knitted item for myself, besides a few quickies that don't fit right.

It hit me recently that at least one person in my family, any day of the week, is wearing something I made. The same really really can't be said of me.
Inspired by The Heathen Housewife, who is using this year to make a bunch of her projects in the same situation, I've decided that the Year of the Rat is going to be about having things to keep me warm. Mostly it's going to be the mindless stuff that I can do while I'm reading for class, but I want some sweaters, I want that Malabrigo blanket, and I want a way to look at my sack yarn leftovers that is pretty and makes me a) happy and b) warm.

I sat down to read today, and grabbed the sock for my uncle. I love him, I love the yarn, so I started knitting away on it. I looked over at my sweater pieces and thought, "Boy, I'd love to wear that." And I realized I didn't want it in a few weeks, or next month, or next fall. I want it now. I dropped the sock, grabbed the second sleeve, and got crackin'. I'm going to be wearing that sweater on Valentine's Day. I'm not even considering it a great feat, because all I have left is the rest of the sleeve, the collar, some making up, and a little slub- surgery on the front.

So, because I think it might motivate me even more, I am promising the blog that I will have a picture of the finished sweater tomorrow, for your browsing pleasure.

That Wasn't Very Mature

2008-02-11T21:26:00.001-08:00

Ok, so here's the run- down on what I'm knitting...

First, a pair of socks for my uncle. Mom had a load of Socks That Rock waiting for me at home. This was the first time I got to see one of the Raven Colorways, and I gotta tell you, I'm lovin' it.
Here's a shawl, which I'm not comited enough to yet to name the yarn and pattern, but I think I really like it...

And this is just another sleeve, seen here reclining on my new coffee maker.

I Really Don't Want to Blog Right Now.

2008-02-10T21:53:00.001-08:00

Year of the Rat

2008-02-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

Before anyone mentions that Lunar New Year was on Thursday, I know. The family couldn't really get together until this weekend and in China, this celebration lasts for twelve days.

For the record it was pretty fun, even though my grandmother was kind of sad, this being the first New Year without my grandpa. Actually, it was quite sad for all of us, but we were all trying to keep the spirits up. Mostly, though, it wasn't the same. The food wasn't as good, there was a weird amount of money in my red envelope, and well . . . It was pretty much a typical begining to the Year of the Rat (I'm a serpent).

I'm babbling, nevermind. I'm tired and I ate too much. I have to catch a train back to school tomorrow morning, so I'm going to hit the hay. A demain.

Crafty Lady

2008-02-08T13:01:00.001-08:00

I was all set to blog right now in order to have it done before I left for my train, but I just checked the status and it's coming in an hour late. Sigh.

I wasted a large amount of knitting time today stenciling shirts for my hallway's IM volleyball team.

I'm not gonna lie, I am extremely juiced with the way these turned out. We're The Second West Central (hall name) Hoppers.
Tell me that's not sweet. Just try. I dare you.

Progress vs. Pettiness

2008-02-07T21:31:00.000-08:00

I believe that it is a generally accepted rule that, when someone falls asleep on your floor, you're allowed to pose your knitting on them. Right?Right. Those are my new study-knitting socks. This is the departure in style that I mentioned yesterday. It's STR in Calico, Which I'm totally diggin', however, I'm having trouble getting over my aversion to white. I don't know what it is, but I really don't like white clothes (except my prom dress...). I think that it has something to do with my inherent clumsiness and the fear of spills that accompanies it. I'm warming to the socks though, and this colorway is pretty neat, though totally not "me".

I think the rest of that rule indicates that the longer you sleep, the more WIPs I'm allowed to pile on you...
I decided to change the sleeve of Millet to be not so enormously huge. instead of increasing in every stitch at the end of the ribbing, I switched needles and made typical wedge increases every 8 rows .

There was also Brit Knits tonight. It was calming, relaxing, and, as you can see, extremely productive. My favorite part was when I lay out the finished sleeve and said "Hey, it really looks like a crossword puzzle."
You can see that there are some spots that are going to be greatly improved with a wet-block once this is finished. We discussed blocking a little bit tonight, and I mentioned that I am rather fond (read: addicted to) it. It's the coolest part of finishing something, smoothing out the stitches and stretching and patting it until i's just right. My friend beth was telling me that, hen her daughter lost weight, she blocked in one of her sweaters by 8 inches! Hokey Smokes, Bullwinkle!

OOps, Sheri's getting up, I'd better go!

Done!

2008-02-06T21:55:00.001-08:00

I actually finished these the day before yesterday, but I was saving them until I had nothing else to show for myself. But anyway, here they are.
Sock for my little brother, F. I know it looks like they fit me perfectly, and they do, because the punk's feet are the same size as mine.
Yarn: Opal Rainforest 3 in Kasimir, the daredevil
Size: uh...7 1/2 womens
These got the German ankle treatment (ribbing above the heel and gusset) because everyone knows middle-school boys are fickle, and droopy socks might push them out of the realm of acceptability.
Now then, I have READING to do, and hunger to ignore. Tomorrow: a departure in color scheme.

FAT

2008-02-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

The astute among you have probably noticed that I'm in college now (woah, what?!). The very very astute, may even know what I want to be when I grow up. In the interest of sparing my older brother from further embarrassment (for not knowing), I'll just lay it out. My plans are to go into nutrition.
Before I go further, let me say that I am no dietary saint. I steer clear of fried foods and animal fats as much as possible, but I eat pizza and have comfort foods like pie and peanut butter on celery and black licorice.
Today, I broadened my knowledge of the world by way of an exercise called "Know Thine Enemy."
I first met the Paczki around this time two years ago, as they are generally a polish "delicacy", and we have no Poles in the West. It continues to appall everyone I know that I've never eaten one.
It seemed fated, then, that a large pile of the evil lumps of lard sat next to the scrambled eggs in the dining hall this morning. At least I'd be able to quell those aghast looks I keep getting around Lent.
I grabbed a sugar coated one, and a knife and fork (we can discuss my utensil oddities some other time) and dug in.
Two bites.
I could only eat two bites.

Then I remembered that Paczkis have more than 500 calories each. And then I remembered that most people eat more than one today. And a little part of me died.

130

2008-02-03T21:28:00.000-08:00

Wait, I forgot about the Silent Poetry Reading.
Here's my favorite sonnet, often taken to be horrible and insulting, but I find it to be beautiful and unique:

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red than her lips' red;

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses damasked, red and white,

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delight

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know

That music hath a far more pleasing sound;

I grant I never saw a goddess go;

My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.

    And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

    As any she belied with false compare.

- William Shakespeare

This sort of says it all tonight.

2008-02-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

I'm just a small town girl.

Vide.

2008-02-02T19:56:00.000-08:00

I sat down to write something to the two of you, and I realized, I have absolutely no idea. I was surprised, because I feel like I'm getting a hang of this whole blogging all the time thing. Today, I devoted the same amount of thought that I usually do, and I came up empty.

What I should do is take a bunch of progress shots, but I really didn't want to make you cry from boredom. And I left my camera in my dorm. . .

Sharing

2008-02-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

As long as I've been a knitter, I've been pretty solo. I was always miles and miles from a yarn store, and the only person my age who knit seriously. Even at the store, all the women I worked with were much, much older, and the girls I taught much, much younger. It's always been a big deal that I am a knitter, especially one who knows what she's doing. Daniel and I talk a lot about knitting, but we never really do it together. What I mean is that I've never been a part of a live knitting community.
Last night I went to Brit Knits, the college's knitting club. It was very weird, but also very cool. I got to experience the way that knitting has bound women together for generations simply by being something they share. I totally made a silly arse out of myself, but...I think they'll let me come back.

Mother F*$@^&

2008-01-31T08:43:00.000-08:00

Blogger and I have not been getting along. The night before last, I wrote a post, I uploaded pictures, and I published it. All signs pointed to yes, if the question was "Did you blog today?". However, for some reason, there was no postage on the pageage. Crooks! Ingrates!

Then, yesterday, we had a really fun game of "Can I Post Please?", which, apparently, I lost miserably.

So now I'm crabby and have resorted to the very mature strategy of pouting in the corner with my homework. Tomorrow is another day.

Both Sides Now

2008-01-28T21:12:00.001-08:00

I'm done the front and back of Millet. That's why this post is a little late, I wanted to have something to show.I would keep going, but I sort of only copied one page of the pattern... there was probably a reason for that decision at the time, but I have no idea what it is now. Any guesses?

Hittin the books.

2008-01-27T21:13:00.001-08:00

This weekend marked my induction into many parts of college life. There was the Frat Party, Followed by the Heavy Reliance on Caffeine ...(Thanks again to Daniel for sending the coolest tea-filter-thingy with a bag of the most delicious Earl Grey I've ever had.)

...there was Get Your Roommate to Go Flirt On The Boys Floor So That We Can Rearrange Our Furniture With Minimal Lifting...

And there was so. much. studying. Look how much bigger the front of the sweater is:
It's mad slippery knitting, too. I love it here.

Doubled Up

2008-01-26T15:54:00.001-08:00

Ahem, so...I sort of forgot to blog yesterday. I had the presence of mind to withhold that information from the people attending the party at which I remembered, however. I don't think Delta Sigma Whatever would have been too sympathetic.

The knitting continues, despite the mountain of reading I have:
The sock is on the toe, (Actually, it's so close to done I should just sit down for fifteen minutes and finish it. But we all know I won't.)

I knit the ribbing on a sweater, while attending the campus evening event,

and Clueless's sleeve is past the increases.

Now then, I ask you, "What is better than a vending machine that has Chuckles, the most underrated candy in America (North and South)?"

Answer: "A vending machine that gives you a bonus."

Top Reasons I Love Self-Patterning Sock Yarn

2008-01-24T15:24:00.001-08:00

1) When you're knitting the beginning of a sock, you want to know what the next color will be. This pretty much means you're going to knit a whole color repeat really quickly.

2) You get sassy patterns, without carrying a second color or cutting for stripes.

3) By looking at the pattern, you can easily see how far you've come since you began knitting that day. Sometime, like when you've entered the knitting black hole, progress seems absent. Not these.

4) If you're reading something, knitting along, after a while you look down and, "Woah", you're working a blue stripe.

5) You try and go for really long periods of time without looking at your knitting to set up the situation described in point 4.

6) Self-patterning sock yarn designers are very clever. . .sometimes, you discover just how clever. This morning, I found this:
Apparently, this yarn is designed after some bird, and is part of a collection.

Go ahead, try to argue that self patterning sock yarn isn't freakin' sweet. Just try.

Chattering away

2008-01-23T18:48:00.001-08:00

I have a coat that's been around since my seventh grade winter. It's a wool coat from the gap, pretty simple, a little bit peacoat-esque. It is a very good coat. It was perfect for chilly Bay Area mornings, and it's been suitable in Michigan's more frigid days, with a sweater underneath. I re-lined it right before we moved. A few months ago, I switched the buttons. Before I left for school, I ironed on a patch to the now worn lining. Needless to say, it's a very well loved coat.

Lately, my darling mother has been after me to get a new coat. She flashes her new coat at me. She asks me to try it on and step outside. She tells me when there's a sale on such coats.

I have resisted her efforts for two reasons : a) I do not need a new coat and b) I don't like change.

Today, I sat eating my breakfast, and aforementioned darling mother called. We caught up, and proceeded to have the great coat debate again. I enumerated the reasons I wasn't going to get one, and she listed the reasons that I "totally should".

I hung up, and left the dining hall, stepping into the very picturesque, but regrettably dumb-ass cold outside of Albion College. I walked the block and a half to my dorm, shielding my nose from the air with my Estonian mittens. I got to my room, still shivering, unbuttoned my coat, and watched half a handmade, red tagua nut button fall to the floor.

Message received. I picked up my button and my knitting and waved goodbye to my pride and bought a coat online.

Day Three

2008-01-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

Herman, the HP, has finally returned! The geeks the basement and I worked out a ransom, and he got to come home and serve us in the noble art of blogging.

First, a shot of the stand-by sock (for waiting, hangin in my back pack, and entertaining me with fascinating striping abilities).

Now that that's out of the way, here's the more advanced knitting. This sweater, for my uncle. I had a false start, which was ripped and re-knit. The sleeve is pictured with the graph for boxes. The sweater is modeled after a crossword puzzle (get it?)

The Philosophers Wool instructions tend to be a little quick and dirty, which is how I like to work anyway. They're perfect for people who have a need to change something in a pattern, no matter what. Unfortunately, this means that there's some re-graphing involved in some of the patterns.

At the start of the sleeve graph, there were stitches for 18 boxes, but the graph only charts for 14 squares across. My strategy was to crate a graph working form the center line, adding repeats on the edges.
I had to draw this graph four times before I realized that the squares on my graph paper were the same size as the ones on my pattern. Like any girl who's passed second grade, I knew to trace them. Add some lines for the sleeve increases, an I'm all set.

Now then, time to get my math homework on.

Sigh

2008-01-21T19:58:00.000-08:00

I clearly jinxed myself, in promising better blogging yesterday. My laptop had to go spend the night with the geeks in the basement. Normal blogging (such as it is) will recommence once I get it back.

You can look forward to some serious knitting to grace these pages. I forgot how much I used to get done in high school. Also, there's nothing to do the first night besides stare at you roommate.

Je suis arrive.

2008-01-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

I'm here! There's no web access in the dorm. My friend Michael is seen above, trying to connect in my room. C., the mystery roommate is AWOL. Her bedspread is cooler than mine. More interesting blogging will commence soon, once I figure out how to do it. I don't know how, exactly, I'm going to accomplish that, as all the knitting I brought is "study knitting" (socks, scarves) but we'll get through it together.

One Down

2008-01-19T20:45:00.001-08:00

I finished one of the mittens. I've come to the conclusion that I really don't like this construction, Especially compared to the Estonian mitt I made last month. I'd really like to give them to a friend's mom, so I'm going to finish the pair, even though I'd really like to rip them.

AAAAnd Scene

2008-01-18T17:57:00.001-08:00

Everything but the pillow, blankie, and the pants I need to wear tomorrow.

Packing list

2008-01-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

I'm almost all the way packed for my next life adventure, and there was much careful planning in the choices for yarn packing. First I grabbed my short term WIPs:
Clockwise, from bottom: Green socks in Schaefer sock yarn (way past due);Grey sweater in Rowan Tapestry; Socks in Socks That Rock Lightweight in..Mars? colorway.

This is the part where the non-knitters think I'm through. "That should be plenty, even if this is a large-sized life adventure". My friends, that is why we all call them muggles. I was really lucky to get some yarn giftage recently. My boss gave me a gift certificate for the store and a co worker gave me yarn money as a going away present. A few of the things I've been planning, but about half of these are new:
Clockwise, from bottom left: Needle point fibers; Needlepoint canvas, procured by my sadistic mother; Sock yarn bag, containing 2 skeins STR, 1 Opal, 1 Jitterbug, and two very large Schaefer leftovers; Yarn for scarves for the Red Scarf Project; Various needles, measuring tapes, and needle gauges; Philosophers Wool sweater kit (project due finished in late March); Shepherds Wool, 5 skeins, for a snuggly cabled whatsit (design in my head, gonna start swatching); Yarn and pattern for a very cool Estonian hat (promised the recipient a cap in uh... seventh grade).

Ermm...is anyone else worried that this might not be enough? I know knitters who bring more than this for a minibreak weekend.

This may be the time to reveal a vital piece of the puzzle in my head....There are no yarn stores where I'm going.

Thoughts?

Booties

2008-01-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

Blogger and I aren't getting along tonight, so I'm going with Plan B: A Pattern for dem booteeez

Yarn: something DK (mine is Sirdar Snuggly DK, in "holy crap that's blindingly white")
Needles: Mine are 2s, so you should try 3s.

Cast on 40 stitches.
Work in k2 p2 rib for 9 rounds
(k2, p2tog) all the way around
Work k2 p1 rib for 20 rounds

Make an hourglass heel.

knit evenly until foot measures approx. 1/2 inch less than desired foot length (in this case, 3 inches)
decrease every round as for a toe until you have 10 sts. kitchener them together.

This makes me feel very clever because I a)completely made them up as I went b) think they're really cute and c) only needed an hour to make the first one.

Bottom of the barrel

2008-01-15T20:47:00.001-08:00

Part of the problem with blogging every day is that, when you're really busy, there's really nothing to show for knitting. I dragged out the waiting and reading scarf.It has a small gauge issue, but I'm pretty sure it will block out.

Every day I get to work a row on this mitten, which I can't find a link for, but I will.
I finished the thumb gore and worked a few rows past it.

In the car today, I got almost one sock done for B's grandson.

The colossal mess continues, but I'm using excel (a.k.a. organizational freak heaven) and Google calendars to make me feel more normal.

The madness continues.

2008-01-14T19:48:00.001-08:00

Also, this yarn needs to turn into booties for a christening...

Dude on the water.

2008-01-14T06:35:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is the little man. The computer struggles continue apace. Cross yer fingers. Or yer needles.

Crunch Time

2008-01-12T20:49:00.001-08:00

Things have gotten, all of a sudden, so inanely busy, that I had to have Daniel wind my yarn, because I was worried I wouldn't have time.I love how he used the ball winder in a totally non-traditional way.

Tomorrow... can anyone guess what this small child is doing?

This post is, once again, a little late, due to technical difficulties. Many apologies, I'll try and work out a better system once I have time to eat a meal sitting down.

Over the Wire

2008-01-11T21:11:00.001-08:00

Johnnie, Johnnie, Whoops!

2008-01-10T19:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was one of those days where something happens that has the potential to really change your life. I didn't get around to blogging, but I wasn't to fond of using one of my free days this early in the game. If what's about to happen actually happens, it'll be totally worth it.

I finished the pair of giant mittens and promptly threw them in the wash. Felting in a front loading washer it a bit of a leap of faith, but hands come in all sizes.

Computer shown for scale. After I took that I realised that a) can't work my camera properly and b) computers come in all sizes. Trust me, though, it's quite wide.

Tiny Confessions

2008-01-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, dear reader, I have to tell you something. I sort of lied to you yesterday. Actually, I didn't so much lie as omit some truths. A certain person in my life talked me into fessing up, so here goes.

That t-shirt that Daniel made? I designed it.

To me this is totally not a big deal to me, especially considering how monumentally messed up some of the numbers were. But I did learn a few things.

1) I really really need to use drawings when I design things. I'll write everything out too, but I'm hella visual. Trying to do math and keep track of where I am is pretty pointless without a drawing.

2) I shouldn't do anything involving numbers when I've had a drink or two.

3) I have to check my work, especially before giving it to someone else to use.

4) I really love the way that this started in my head (the picture, not the idea-which was Daniel's) and ended up (after a load of fixes) exactly right.

5) He and I can make a pretty damn good team. We'd make an even better team if we'd been in the same room for any of the process besides the very beginning.

6) I want to do this again, but better. I have a cabled sweater, a ski-bunny type fair isle, a cardigan, a v-neck, and a shrug in my head that I want to make up from scratch.

7) I should probably find a sketch book.....

My Not So Baby Brother

2008-01-07T17:46:00.001-08:00

Saturday, as you know, was the celebration of the life of the youngest member of the clan.(please ignore the royal craptastitude of that cake. Mea culpa)
A more thoughtful, kind, generous or loving nine year old has never graced this green earth.

In this photo, he's contemplating his birthday wish. He sat like that for a full minute until he had the right one.

The young dudeling dug his birthday sweater, seen here with buttons. Ok, you can't actually see them in these pictures, but I have witnesses that they were there.

The rest of the evening was spent with a certain knitting boyfriend. I am so totally juiced to show you the sweet t-shirt he made his best bud. When he told me what he wanted to make, this is EXACTLY what Ben looked like in my head:

What I did Saturday Night...

2008-01-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

2008-01-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

We've had a very successful, moderately stress-free ninth birthday for the youngest of the clan.
I am very full of lots of food, and I have to go dye yarn and get me some fodder for the blog.

Pictures of the birthday sweater on the birthday boy to come tomorrow.

Cleared Pathways

2008-01-04T14:27:00.001-08:00

I was up a little late last night because I was finishing these babies.
I love them.

Pattern: From Folk Knitting in Estonia.
Yarn: Reynolds kids Wash Day Wool (100% superwash). Less than one ball of each color.
Thoughts: Though I totally adore the mittens, I feel that they're pretty technically flawed. The second one was inexplicably smaller, even though both mittens were knit in two weeks. This blocked out, but one is a little more floppy than the other. Other issues I take relate to decrease quality, evenness of the stitches at the pointy part, and the thumb gussets. However, I still totally love them.

I have been totally exhausted, and staying up past my bedtime to finish those didn't help. I dipped out of work for an hour this morning to get my first massage ever. I scheduled it on a whim yesterday because I a) had a coupon and b) am totally stressed out. I really didn't know what to expect, because my Mom really hates massages. The lady was awesome. When she was done she told me that every energy pathway in my body was blocked and that she'd opened them for me. She said that totally matter of fact, like I would say that garter stitch is knit every row. And let me tell you, she was probably right, because I feel amazing.

FO-shiggity

2008-01-03T19:55:00.001-08:00

I have a finished object:
I'll discuss further when I give it to the BIRTHDAY BOY. on Saturday.

But first, let's play How Fast Can KT Rip Out This Crap:
And Make It Into a Pair Of Nice Mittens?

Hopefully the answer to that game is less than 48 hours.

Random Victories

2008-01-02T19:06:00.000-08:00

My mom tries to hide the new toothbrushes from me because she thinks that I change mine too often. Nice try, lady, my desire for proper oral hygiene cannot be denied!

In other news, we got another one of those nifty calendars with a square for each person. Graham decorated my February with the stickers from the package.Too small? Try this:
uh...here

Daniel and I checked out Juno yesterday, so I had to start a new scarf. I had no dark theater knitting on the needles. I'm still getting over the shock.
See how high the quality of those bamboo straights are?

And finally, am I the only person who thinks that Sense and Sensibility kinda blows, even though Pride and Prejudice rules?

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T14:13:00.001-08:00

Last night I ran in the New Year quietly (figuratively speaking) and crashed early. I've spent the first day of 2008 watching inane chick flicks and knitting on my mittens.This brings me to the 365 blog thing (which actually, as 2008 is a leap year, is really 366); I have decided to give it a whirl, even though no one challenged me to it. I'm the type of person who likes to prove someone wrong when they tell me I can't do something. Instead, I was shocked to find that I wanted to do this because someone believes I can blog every day for a year, and I very much want to prove him right.

However, I do hope (cross your fingers and your toes) to be in college for a least some part of the upcoming twelve months, and, as exactly what that entails is still somewhat of a mystery, I am going to give myself a little wiggle room. I'm allowing myself a total of 29 days (or the equivalent of February) off. I feel this should allow for any hospitalizations, finals, hangovers, or brain farts. Wish me luck.

Happy new year, and Happy Birthday Cara

Post-Holiday Post

2007-12-30T10:08:00.001-08:00

I hope all three of you had a very merry whatsit, or fully enjoyed your Chinese food and a movie, or whatever everyone did who wasn't in Wonderbreadland. I've had quite a week, one of high highs and well...really that's it.

Ethan's birthday is in on January 5th, so I pulled out his sweater to go see Charlie Wilson's War (very good) with me. I finished the hood at the film and have spent the last two days knitting on sleeves. I'm almost sure I'm going to make it.
(obviously that's not my dog)

I think I mentioned that I've been surfing the Yarn Harlot archives . There were a few weeks where she was obsessively stitching Estonian and Latvian mittens. While I was at work last Saturday, I grabbed a few books and cast on.
I would so much rather be working on these, but I'm not going to risk Ethan not getting a sweater for it. I always conveniently forget the way that I'm so loathe to knit something because I have to post-holidays. All I really want, after all those felted clogs, is these mittens or the fantastic silk lace shawl that's in my dresser. The good news, though, is that it'll be finished tonight or tomorrow. And he'll love it. I conveniently forgetting that I also have to do the making up.

Before I disappear until New Year, I'll share a few moments from when I was getting my Yuletide on. I gave Daniel his bunny, knit out of Shepherds wool left from his sweater (did I ever mention how we beat the Sweater Curse by canceling it out with a simultaneous hand knit sweater from him to me?)
That's and odd face, but I'm 96 3/4 % sure he really really liked it.

And then there was Sally, chewing her new bone under the tree:

Now I'm off to do laundry, buy cottage cheese, and spend the afternoon at the DIA.

You dare me?

2007-12-27T10:39:00.001-08:00

http://blog365.ning.com/

Aftermath

2007-12-26T21:15:00.001-08:00

There was a holly-jolly Whatsit had by all. The grown ups came back, the gifties were wrapped (though it took some teamwork for the big ones) and the table was laden with finery and good food. Stockings were hung and filled, and the youngins didn't stir us up until nine. It was exactly my kind of Christmas, mainly because there was no shouting.

There was only one knitting related gift; Daniel made me a wonderful cedar box with a hinged top and handles and a tray for keeping my needles in. I love it. I gave him a bunny that he took to so quickly that I didn't even get a picture. Also, there was a stash ball, made of many yarns and filled with trinkets and gizmilonies.

I've mislaid an important part of the blogging equipment, so there are no pictures. It's been a little nutty with nuts on top for the past week, so I haven't gotten a lot up here. Erm... sorry to the two of you who reliably read this. I've been reading old Yarn Harlot archives and they've filled me with inspiration for blogging and knitting. More on that tomorrow. Or maybe the net day (wink).

An open letter to my brothers:

2007-12-23T21:58:00.000-08:00

Dear boys,
I have enjoyed the last few days immensely. I know I wasn't here as much as I could have been, but I assure you, I had fun and thought about you the whole time I was gone. That's why I called to check in (also, just making sure the house was still standing). If we ever run into this type of situation again, I promise to do everything I can to make things smooth, including being home more. In return, maybe you could do a few things for me. I have made a tidy list of small things that would be helpful.

1) Please do not leave dairy products out overnight. I'm going to include Cheez-its in that category.

2) The sponge is not an attractive kitchen accessory. Use it.

3) While you may be very impressed with your ability to strew spaghetti sauce from one end of the kitchen to the other, I am not. See item 2.

4) I have no idea how your socks/underwear/pajama pants got to the hallway/staircase/broom closet, but I do know that you know they don't go there.

5) Flush the toilet every time you use it.

6) If you play RISK, honor any alliances you make. Ethan takes it very personally when you break your word.

7) I am very happy that you knock and ask if you can come in when I'm in my room. It would be better if you would actually wait for a response before opening the door.

8)If you see dog poo/barf/pee anywhere besides outside, do not leave it there. I don't walk around wishing I could step in another animals messes.

Besides these minor complaints, I have nothing to whine about. You have been very helpful little angels. This weekend was smooth as pudding and, I think, quite fun. Get ready to holly-jolly it up.
Love, KT

Elfing off

2007-12-17T22:09:00.001-08:00

So, we all know that the holidays are pretty nutty, especially for knitters, and if you don't, what basement have you been hiding out in?

Mine just got a little more falalalaludicrous because my parents are flying back to California for a funeral for the four days preceding Christmas. That leaves me in charge, with my older brother. Uh...wish us luck? I've told my mom to give me the list of things that need to happen to make there be Christmas, but I can guess at most of them. Erm... wish us luck? Something tell the the eggnog will be free flowing come Sunday night.

Imagine here a really great post about the giddily fun weekend I just spent at the boyfriend's house. There would be pictures of the German pancakes and the latkes and the French toast I made, along with a snapshot of me cavorting like a small child in the eight inch snowfall ( maybe even one of me making a snow angel at three a.m. in the intersection). There would be photographs of my knitting progress and a new project. There would be a really neat one of four of my friends lined up playing Halo at the Union and one of a really smashing Scrabble victory on my part. There would be those and probably more if onlyI'd remembered to charge my camera batteries.

2007-12-09T21:02:00.001-08:00

Earlier this week, I welcomed the birth of Angus(right) and Spirodon, my niece and nephew with lovingly hand knit items. Finn wasn't expecting twins, but I think they were quite happy sharing the hat and jumper. Both on one baby was a bit of a wool extravaganza.

I finished off a commissioned scarf and hat set for the store, but not without a major upset. I missed a row of knit stitches on the garter border.
This elementary mistake resulted in fiber surgery, during which I trind to get Daniel to tell me how to graft in garter over the phone.
Eventually I figured it out, but I had to hang up and put our relationship in jeopardy for the evening.

Life with an almost nine year old boy; always a surprise.

I spent today cleaning house and doing lots of Sunday activities. One was bringing the Christmas boxes up from the basement. our collection is that of two different families joined together. My step dad's first wife was Irish and a little really Catholic and liked Christmas. Alot. On our end, we've been making glue gunned pine cone ornaments for upwards of twenty years. needless to say...
...we have a lot of Christmas stuff. I'm pretty sure that we're still missing a box, as I have yet to find Scottish Santa (the mascot of all things yuletide), which is causing a great uproar of dismay.

I did find this among the holiday table linens.
It had Graham's name on it, but it sounded and felt like food, so I opened it
(as an aside, when I showed Mom the box and the overdue expiration date, she said, "We'll eat 'em.") The thing that really perplexes me is that Graham had to be the one to pack this box. Mom or I would never have stuck a gift in there and Finn, Ethan and John didn't have anything to do with the packing up. Good skills, my brother.

I spent most of tonight making springerle, watching this movie, and singing "All I Want for Christmas is You" to my dogs.

There has also been Christmas knitting, but if I posted it, then I would have to acknowledge the proximity of Christmas and the diminishing likelihood of me finishing in time.

Footwear

2007-11-29T18:38:00.000-08:00

I finished the first pair of socks for Ethan's teachers....

I had a little yarn left.
I started the second pair and decided to do a step by step on how I make socks, even though lots of people write about it a lot better than I do and I can't imagine ever forgetting how to do it. but anyway...

Everyone has a different way of casting on socks in a manner that leaves a stretchy cuff. I like to cast on 150% of the leg stitches...
And work the first row as k1 k2tog p1 p2tog all the way around.
Earlier, I found these one my stairs.

And I made a pair of these bitches. They're in the washer right now. Cross them fingers that they don't over-felt.

Flickered out

2007-11-26T15:08:00.001-08:00

Ok...so it looks like I was doing NaBloPoThreeWeeks. I didn't know. I'm still wrestling with the fact that I gave up on something, which is against my nature to an immense degree (cotton intarsia purse, anyone?). What happened was, I one hundred percent forgot about blogging on Friday until two a.m., walking to the DIA. I was bleary-eyed, exhausted, nowhere near a computer and two hours late.

Do you think I can count it as a practice run?

To make me feel a little better, the museum was all sparkly.

I was all prepared to write about the vast quantities of yarn that my Grandmother sent me.
She doesn't like to knit with wool. Contemplate that phrase a little.
I found this receipt in one of the bags. It's from February 10th, 1987.

Who keeps yarn for over 20 years, through three moves of house, knowing they are never going to knit it?

Grammy, that's who.

Tryptophane coma

2007-11-22T20:22:00.000-08:00

This would be the optimal day for a sappy post about what I'm thankful for, but I think everyone has had enough of that this week.

I got to go to the parade with Hannah's family and it was waaaay too much fun for me. I was as excited as her three year old cousin. I love marching bands. I danced and sang and ate the candy they threw and drank tea from a thermos. It was great.

We're the kind of family who eats Thanksgiving dinner and dinner time. It's totally better than getting up at six to eat at two. I made vodka pie crust and rolls and cookies and yams and ate all the things I love and none of the ones that I don't.

I have a few pictures but now I have to fall asleep.

Wacky Wednesday

2007-11-21T19:47:00.001-08:00

I didn't sleep very much last night, but I didn't even know it. It's been a good day.

I got my anime character on.
I found Otter in my laundry basket. I've been very worried.

I listened to a very silly book at work. I'm still working on it. It's one of those books that's built around a real piece of artwork. It's one step up from Harlequin Romance.

I'm all set for the Thanksgiving Day Parade tomorrow. In laying out my clothes, I faced the eternal question: Which hat to wear? The penguin hat won out, as I wore the blue one last year.
I should go to bed nowish. After I eat my candy corn leftover from Halloween.

Five Years Gone

2007-11-20T19:37:00.001-08:00

Recently I said to someone that grief is supposed to get easier.

But, really, how could that be? How could it hurt any less to love and miss someone and know you'll never see him again?

When Sean McComas married my mother, he set out to be our father like it was the greatest adventure he'd ever met. At the ceremony, in a tiny, sleepy chapel on a mountain, he gave me and my brother gold bands, commiting his life to ours along with Mom's.

When he died, I put mine on a chain around my neck. About a year later, I lost it. I think it had a little help in disappearing, considering when and where it happened, but that's another story. I have never stopped looking for my ring, and I've never quit feeling sad and horrible.

Yesterday I went to the jewelry store and got myself a Christmas present that I can't really afford....

...and, in a hard way, today was a little bit easier.

What is Love?

2007-11-19T20:14:00.001-08:00

Zach Braff contends that it is when your mom offers her your sleeve to blow your nose on. I disagree. I think that love is driving to four grocery stores to get dinner. Love is touching raw meat for as long as I had to trim that leg of lamb. Love is how much grease smoke inhaled.

Love is making the weirdest looking cake from a nonsensical recipe and covering it with frosting that can't possibly hold it together, because it HAD to taste like maple, over the cream cheese.

Love is eating in the dining room, on linen place mats, even though you'll have to wash and double-iron them.

Love is not caring about all that stuff, because it was all worth it when she made this face...
(blurry as it may be)

Happy Birthday Mom.
Love, Libby

2007-11-18T20:13:00.001-08:00

A lot of the time, being a secret vegetarian makes me feel sort of like a superhero. It's like having a double life, since my family doesn't know that I've stopped eating meat. To be completely truthful, I've had to a handful of nights, but I also barfed every time. At work it's really easy. All I have to do is make sure I have enough yogurt. At the yarn store, the guy who brings lunch to us in a cooler makes sure there's something with hummus or tuna for me. When we go out to dinner, that's almost like a get-out-of-jail-free-card, because I don't have to come up with an excuse around dinner time.

Tonight though, was a challenge. My family has always been a little beef centric. Heavy on the big food. We ate at a restaurant that serves that sort of fare tonight. Everyone else had ribs and meatloaf and I felt almost self conscious when I ordered this:
Which claimed to be a pepper jack quesadilla, even though it was cheddar. It was the only non-meat item on the menu.

Tomorrow is my mother's BIG HUGE IMPORTANT birthday. I just prepped everything for dinner. The rest of my night and a fair amount of tomorrow is going to be devoted to ripping her whole cd collection to put on her ipod.
Do I really like her that much?

Am I my Resume?

2007-11-17T19:08:00.001-08:00

I'm not gonna lie, I got almost no knitting done today. Afeter I got home From the Millenbach's house, I totally crashed, after I finished these:
And tried to post that picture, I fell asleep until 7:00 when my brother's alarm woke me up from the next floor down. Crooks. I fell back asleep, woke up, forgot to take my allergy medicine, and went to work. In the yarn store. Where it smells like yarn. And...sheep dander... I just made that up, but my sinuses went crazy.

While I was ironing I heard my mom a-screamin' I ran to see, an my eyes fell upon my eldest brother. Who I knew was coming, but she didn't.

Alex is sporting the Sassy Olympics hat that Jean, my boss, brought from her trip to China. It looks waaay less silly on him than me.

Now we're going to watch both of these movies in alphabetical order. I'll probably eat hummus too.

2007-11-16T20:38:00.001-08:00

For some reason Blogger isn't letting me upload pictures and I'm too tired out to fight with it any more. I just got home from babysitting two wild and crazies, with Ethan thrown in for extra flavor.
Today was totally surprising. I want to keep it all mine, but I will say that people can be really surprising. They can do nutty things.

I have to hit the hay. Tomorrow I'll put up the picture of the four squares I made while i was watching the kids.

Wait, maybe not. Tomorrow is gonna be all kinds of nutty.

Long night in shortville

2007-11-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

I finished a long term project that would have been for the store, except that takes too long so the customer gave it directly to me tonight. It was a big huge undertaking, and it made me crazy. My hands kinda hurt. When all was finished and sewn in, I couldn't find the card with her number on it. Bummer.

Plenty of Dwarves

2007-11-14T20:07:00.000-08:00

I'm sleepy, happy and sneezy. I got through my pottery class without clocking Connie, the x-ray tech who bugs the crap out of me. I threw some more stuff on the wheel and trimmed what I made last week.

I finished the green and blue sock and started the other one. I also finished another cerebral palsy square. I didn't take pictures of either one because they're boring and I'm tired.

We're having unusually warm weather, which is somehow related to the trees not dropping their leaves (I've heard several explanations for it). Thus, they are making mold everywhere. My eyes haven't quit burning for a week. Watching me try to climb two flights of stairs is a hoot.

One small victory.

2007-11-13T19:46:00.001-08:00

I taught my kids' knitting class at the yarn store today. You may recall that I asked the girls if they wanted to help me with a charity knitting project. Most or them were interested and took the colorful bits of sock yarn and needles that I offered as incentive. I was pretty sure I'd only get a square or two out of the class because two of my helpers are very creative, active knitters who love big yarn and complicated shapes. The other was Isabella, the youngest girl in the class who knits about four rows during the week and one or two during class.
Well...you can guess how wrong I was. One girl was at a recital, but the other two couldn't wait to show me their squares. The self striping one came from one of the sporadic 3 to an inch knitter. Isabella proudly presented me with half of her pink square. I showered them with praise and thanks, and offered to knit some of the pink square. After about five rows, Isabella took it back and finished it off. Both of them took more yarn, and another ball for the absent student.
I'm totally moved and tickled. My point was to get the idea of charity knitting into the heads of kids who are the product of an affluent and overly self-centered suburb. I think they got it. I'm so proud that I came right home and picked up the edges of the pink square to make it the four inches.

And I have no idea how that miter got here.

Perchance to Dream

2007-11-12T18:43:00.000-08:00

I have been so exhausted all day today. I spent a lot of time at the yarn store rubbing a chapstick-like peppermint scented homeopathic remedy into my temples. It helped a little. It was a nutty, busy day, and the class I taught had a million problems.

When I got home, I found this on my stairs. I wonder what the other ones are called.

I don't know where this mitered square came from. Maybe it followed me home. Above it is a true representation of my inability to leave anything alone. It's the standard pinch pot that my ceramics teacher has every beginner make. You can see that I took a little creative license. I am totally loving my pottery class. I spent a lot of last week looking forward to the next one, on Wendesday, where I'll trim the three pots I made last class.

The sock keeps growing. Slowly.

I've been doing some of this.

And some of this.

I am seriously exhausted.

There Goes Gravity

2007-11-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

Everything feels all topsy turny. I've never not want to knit things when I need to get them done.

I'm gonna set the projects on my guest bed with numbers in order of importance.
I've started a new project every day for three days. The next morning I rip it out.

Is there a cancer of the soul?

2007-11-10T20:23:00.001-08:00

While i was making the weirdest enchiladas ever, hand down, observed this:

Someday, that's going to stop being hot. I'll let you know.

While it looks like I'm copying this (scroll down), I am, in reality, working on a hat that I started directly after forgetting to wind the yarn into a ball. What?! Yeah. I know.

Later, we saw Ben's mom sing a bunch of song that made me cry. That was probably just because it's November.

That picture's black and white cause it's artsy, but it's poor quality because it's from a cell phone.

A Mini-break with the Knitting

2007-11-09T19:27:00.001-08:00

When you run out of places to photograph the knits, what do you do?Take it to your boyfriend's, where there are plants.

Because at your boyfriends house, there are people who don't kill every green thing they touch.

Plus, there's falafel.

Knitting on Lithium

2007-11-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

Everything is taking forever and progressing slowly. Are the planets out of whack again?
I'm gonna get out of this place for a few days. That'll help.

Premature Evacuation

2007-11-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to think that I may have too much Christmas knitting.

Finn - Socks
Ethan - A hedgehog
Mom - Socks
John - Ha! I have no idea, but I don't need to make it.
Graham - reads this, but it's gonna take a while
Daniel - ditto, plus I don't really know what yet.
Hannah - Don't know if she reads this, but I'm not taking any chances.
John Romano - That amazing crossword sweater.

AND - Two pairs of socks, one for each of Ethan's teachers. Cross your fingers that Mom doesn't remember the Principal.

Normally this wouldn't seem like a big deal, as it's not even Thanksgiving yet. There's also the rest of a sweater for Ethan which I should give him for his birthday, January fifth.

I can totally handle this. And my college essays. I just need to make a schedule...and stop sleeping.

Diary of a Crappy Seamstress

2007-11-06T18:18:00.001-08:00

I got mad sick of wearing Finn's winter jackets, so I finally broke down and replaced my buttons.The old ones came off, along with their backers.

I marked the spots white and decided on the order, because... well...

They're a little irregular. They were made from slices of a nut. Or at least, that's what my boss told me when they came in over the summer.

Sally and her sister wiggled in to help me halfway through.

Now all I have to do is clean off the lint and cat hair left over from last year. And fix that huge hole in the lining. Errr. Maybe I can get Grammy to do that part?

Can't Trust That Day

2007-11-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

Project number one is this sweater, but in this colorway. I've had a secret affair with tapestry since I did a sample for the store. I don't know who this is for yet, we'll see who it fits. Mostly I'm just enjoying the way that this yarn is like a wooley soy fiber cloud.

Sporadica

2007-11-04T20:14:00.001-08:00

I finished Brenda's hat and called my Mammar to see if I should send it to her. Mammar told me that Brenda had instructed her to pay me for it and get it to her. I was appalled . Pay me for it? Sorry, but I'm pretty sure that it's the law that when you get cancer, you get a hat.My theme for NaBloPoMo is to find more entertaining and creative ways to photograph my boring knitting. Step one of this was to leave my bedroom.
I know you're on the edge of your sanity about the state of my toe. It has healed over but the end is tender and i don't think I'm going to get the pointy bit back.
I have about a million things started. Next week is going to be about revealing my plethora of unfinished projects with looming deadlines.

Bucket of Random - Saturday Style

2007-11-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

Otter kindly agreed to sport my Aunt Brenda's almost-finished cancer cap. I ran out of Yarn right before the decreases.Sock yarn for Ethan's teachers and buttons for my coat came home with me.

to keep the nine balls of Tapestry company.

Devilish attack dog!

E for Effort

2007-11-02T13:54:00.001-07:00

Weeell...I won't be up for Wild Woman of the year any time soon, but I did join NaBloPoMo.

Here are some squares made for the Oliver Fund. I got some of the girls in my knitting class to start some too, with their pick of my leftover sock yarn as encouragement...we'll see how many we come out with. I'm not overly optimistic, since most of them are still pretty green.
I got Sally to sport the tiny bit of colorwork I got to do before the stockinette and garter took over. I let her chew on my hand for a while as a reward.

Giving Back

2007-11-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

I've noticed, lately, that everything I touch seems to become insanely dull. My knitting is lame, I have the same conversation over and over, I'm in a food rut, I wear the same two pairs of pants most of the time, and my sense of humor has flown the coop.
If it was just me, that would be one thing, but it has spread to all the blogs that I read. No one really has much to say very often, and the knitting is a bit dull. I'm not blaming any of the writers of these logs, because I consider all of this my fault. As a believer in karma, I have theorized that I am only getting in return from the Universe (knitting and otherwise) exactly what I give it, which is basically nothing. I'm pretty sure that the cosmos having been trying to illustrate this to me for quite a while, and I finally got it through my thick, boring haired head today. So....pardon me while I try and dig up some pizazz.

Muddle-fest

2007-10-28T18:27:00.001-07:00

Started a new project, a Philosopher's Wool sweater for my uncle John the stylist. Winding the wool is taking my life, but John is the essence of goodness so...I woke up in Daniels apartment to find the needles of his sock going in all different directions. Apparently I slept through a raucous college party, my sock came out not so well. I just have to find the other red needles I have.
A sock for when I'm walking to my pottery class on Wednesdays.
I finished my borroco sweater in malabrigo. It's ugly as shit. I'm gonna rip it.
I think I'm in a weird craft mood. So weird I needle pointed. Must be the full moon.

Wanna see my "ew" face?

2007-10-21T18:45:00.001-07:00

Kind of Blue

2007-10-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

A Haiku for Blue:

My tattoo of leaks,
foot stain like rinsing water,
hides beneath high heels.

That little "gem" just won me one of the tickets that the Mason-Dixon ladies gave away to help promote this raffle for the Philadelphia Waldorf school. I think I may have received extra points because I actually knew how many syllables go in a Haiku. I'm ignoring the fact that the poem refers to a tattoo that I don't actually have yet.

Wow, that was difficult

2007-10-19T13:49:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to do this all week, but blogger wasn't letting me put pictures up. Now they're so old that there are pieces missing from this picture of my sweater. I have one front done. I'm hoping to finish it this weekend, but I also have to finish my Michigan application.

Last weekend I had enough time to make sure that the biggest sock ever fit the foot of it's very attractive future owner. The second one stays in my purse and I knit it diligently during lunch every day. It's close to the heel.

Most of the time. however, I was too busy doing this:

Though I did find time to pursue other forms of artistry.

This weekend may produce a small amount of knitting, depending on how stuck I get on essays. Hopefully i can make a sacrifice to the blogging gods and get it up here before next Friday.
SAT 2 scores come out Thursday, cross them fingers!