psammeadred's blog

It's been a while.

2010-01-30T14:49:00.004-06:00

And by "a while," I mean about eight months. Wow. A lot has happened in that eight months!

On the personal front...

1. I bought my first home. Kind of scary, but good at the same time. Now I can put yarn WHEREVER I WANT!!! Of course, a mortgage cuts into the yarn budget a bit, but the feat of moving all my yarn convicted me a bit of how much yarn I actually have. Quite a bit - including a bunch that I'd forgotten.

2. I survived my first blizzard! Oklahoma got slammed with an honest-to-goodness blizzard on Christmas Eve. Thankfully, none of us was hurt, although my dad did have to spend Christmas Eve in a Best Western. But not-at-Christmas-Eve Dad beats injured Dad any day.

(can you see where the street's supposed to be? Yeah, neither could we - or anyone else.)

3. I became a momma to two furry boys - Gus (the long-haired one) and Bertie (the short-haired one). They came home from the kitty rescue at the beginning of December. They have got to be the most clever and loving cats I've ever met - but they also love playing with my yarn. If I turn my back for more than about five seconds, they've dragged something around the house for me to wind back up. Last week, they took a nice tidy ball of Baruffa Cashwool (1,400 yards of laceweight wool) and wove it through the foot board of my bed. That night, they also opened up (I kid you not, I counted!) 169 tabs of Firefox help. They've also figured out how to open a find window in Firefox and knock over the recliner (onto the tile floor in the middle of the night).

On the knitting front...

1. I had the incredible opportunity to test knit several patterns - three for friends, and one for a yarn company.

First up:
Tamarack, by Amy Duncan

This is a super-cute hat from less than a skein of Malabrigo. It comes in a more-slouchy and less-slouchy version, and I knit the less-slouchy, which was perfect for me. The pattern is fast and entertaining, and I get lots of compliments when I wear it - which is often, this winter!

Clothilde, by Kristen Hanley Cardozo

This is a simple but gorgeous shawl from less than a skein of Malabrigo sock yarn. I used the Solis colorway, which is the most beautiful vivid blue-green colorway I've ever seen. Every once in a while, I would have to stop and admire the colors! The pattern is stunning.

Goes, by Melissa Leapman

This is a test-knit from Malabrigo Book Two. (Is anyone else noticing a pattern with my yarn choices?) It was my first seamed sweater, and I have to say, seaming is rather...painless, surprisingly. (Malabrigo PSA: If you don't know if you'd want a sweater from Malabrigo worsted, think of this: you know how soft and fuzzy a sweatshirt is when you put it on for the first time? That's a Malabrigo sweater - forever. Mmm...warm and cozy, yet not stifling.)

Mythica, by Beverly S.

This vest had lots of firsts - first vest, first applied i-cord, first grafting cables...all of which were very clearly spelled out in the directions. It's a very flattering pattern - I knit a size with about 3" of negative ease, and it looks great! (Modeled pictures will be forthcoming when I get a mirror. Did I mention that my cats broke my one long mirror?)

2. I have knit lots of socks. Socks, socks, and more socks. I love my knitted socks! Everyone should knit socks! (Not that I'm obsessed or anything.)
Vilai by Cookie A., in Jojoland Melody Superwash

Basket Check Socks by Charlene Schurch, in Mountain Colors Bearfoot, Tamarack colorway. (I've been drooling over this yarn for years, since the first time I visited the Gourmet Yarn Company. The colors glow like an oil painting!)

Not dead yet

2009-05-08T13:14:00.003-06:00

I'm not dead. My computer, on the other hand...R.I.P. little laptop. You served me faithfully for six years, needing only a hard drive and CD drive change three years ago. But alas, it is cheaper to replace you with a desktop than to kit you out again.

My new computer should be here today (!!!!!!), and boy, do I have some fun new toys to show all three or so of you who read this!

In which I learn some things

2009-01-13T09:23:00.005-06:00

Lessons from knitting:
1. Negative ease can be my friend. Being 5'3" means even size small sweaters sometimes swamp me. (Alliteration is, apparently, also my friend.)
2. Short-row bust shaping is also my friend, even if it means putting a mauve stripe where I would just as soon not have a mauve stripe. (If I had to do it again, I'd start the short rows as soon as I took off the stitches for the sleeves and use two balls of yarn to avoid the giant mauve stripe.)
Pattern: Wicked (although I misplaced the pattern halfway through, hence the not-quite-matching sleeve widths that I need to redo)
Yarn: Patons Soy Wool Stripes in Natural Earth - about 770 yards (!)
Needles: US 7
3. Entrelac is a little bit like magic, especially with striping yarn.
Pattern: Quant
Yarn: a partial ball of Noro Silk Garden, color 226 (I think) that I got in a guild swap
Needles: US 5, because this pattern makes a pretty big headband

4. Yarn makes a great Christmas present; so do gift cards to purchase yarn.
From the top: 5 skeins of Malabrigo worsted in black, 5 skeins of Malabrigo worsted in apple green (thank you, Uncle D and Aunt S for the gift card!), 2 skeins of Plymouth Happy Feet in a red/brown multi that will be great for non-stockinette socks, 1 (of 2) skeins of Plymouth Happy Feet in a blue/green/red multi that is more muted than the colors suggest (thank you, Grandmother!)

5. If you give your sister a coupon for hand-knit socks for Christmas, she will pick out a) your favorite yarn from your stash, b) the lightest-weight (and therefore longest-to-knit) sock yarn, and c) a pattern prone to dropping stitches and yarn that, when dropped, will run approximately 1 inch per second. Oh well. It'll be an adventure. Fearless Knitting, right?
Yarn: Actual Size Creations in Rorschach
Pattern: Conwy, from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road (at least I've made these before, so it's going pretty quickly)

The pretty, the cute, and the pointy objects

2008-12-23T23:07:00.003-06:00

I promised you pretty. Here is the pretty!

This is a scarf knitted from the edging unraveled from a cashmere/silk blend thrift store sweater. The pattern is a basic lily of the valley lace pattern, but I replaced the nupps with the beads. They're sort of a dark jewel-toned rainbow assortment. I love it!

Now, some cute. Remember me writing about Eight Ball the llama? Well, when he was sheared this summer, I brought back the fleece to give to some spinners from the knitting guild. Anna was kind enough to give me a bit of two-ply yarn from my buddy the llama, and so I knit it into a wee sock ornament to give to my grandmother for Christmas. I crocheted a little snowflake and sewed it on to give it a bit more decorative feel. I think it's pretty cute. I hope Grandmother likes it!

Today, I got off work a couple hours early, and I went thrift shopping. I really lucked out at one of the stores. These antique knitting needles were only 49 cents! There are four nine-inch size 17 (1.4 mm, also known to US knitters as 000) needles. I wonder who used to knit with them. Whoever used them must have had super-sturdy hands, because these puppies are SHARP.

For pretty

2008-12-05T21:26:00.004-06:00

About two years ago, my grandmother gave me two teapots for my birthday. One was delicately ornamented blue and white bit of hand-painted china. It looked like something that Elizabeth Bennett would have used to pour Mr. Darcy a cup of Earl Grey. Grandmother had taped a note on it that said, "For pretty."

The other was a solid tan and brown teapot. It isn't the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, but somehow it's endearing in its relative plainness. Its note said, "For everyday." And I do use it almost every day.

I've realized that most of my knitting lately has been in the "For everyday" category. I've been knitting to stay warm, especially since until this evening, I had no heat in my car. And in case you were wondering, 26 degrees is COLD. I've been coming home with stiff, numb hands every night, even with gloves. On the plus side, having a cold car gives me an opportunity to wear more of my hand-knits - almost all of them. Simultaneously. On the con side, I haven't been knitting as much "For pretty." So that needed to change. It's blocking right now. Here's a snippet.

A polite request

2008-11-23T21:45:00.005-06:00

To: The gnomes that live in my room and hide my stuff
From: A frustrated knitter

Dear Sir/Madam/Top Gnome/Whatever:
It has come to my attention that you have apprehended the knitting pattern I was about to start. Normally, this would have been tolerated for a few days. Yes, there are certainly other things I could knit. I understand that the holidays are upon us, and work is especially rushed and stressful. But was that really necessary just when I finally got gauge with my lovely yarn? I respectfully request that you GIVE IT BACK ALREADY.

Sincerely,
The human whose room this in fact IS, and don't you forget it!

Postscript, several hours later:
AHA! Thought you were clever, did you, hiding that pattern behind the books? In the future, please limit your scavenging activity to the pile of Red Heart Ickrylic in the far corner of the closet.

Thanks,
The Management.

Sweater, revisited

2008-11-22T10:42:00.005-06:00

Like I said in my last post, fall is here to stay. (I hope. Now that I've typed that, watch us have an Indian Summer at Thanksgiving.)

Anyways, that meant that last weekend was spent hauling out all the cold-weather clothes, including this one, which you may remember:
It's the Cable-Down Raglan that I knit last year out of Patons Classic Wool. I wore it to work yesterday, and as you can see (maybe), it's held up pretty well. But there's something I didn't like about it. Somehow, it sags in the armpits. I couldn't figure out what the problem was - did I do too many raglan increases for the arms? According to the pattern, I did the right thing. My gauge swatch was right on. It wasn't my favorite thing I'd ever knitted, but I wore it like a mother wears the paper crown her kid made for her, even if it looks a bit like a cross between a brontosaurus and a platter of wilting lettuce. It may be an imperfect sweater, but it's MY imperfect sweater.

Well, when I was pulling it on yesterday, I had an epiphany.

The sweater is TOO BIG.

As in four inches too big.

So I have a sweater that's a size or two too big. Oh well. I'll keep wearing it, because it is MINE, yes preciousssss...but I may re-knit it in a smaller size.

And yes, I know - I should have washed my gauge swatch. I'm horrible about not washing my gauge swatches.

We had a very special visitor to our deer feeder yesterday morning.

It's the White Stag! We haven't been able to tell if this is an albino or a white deer. Whatever he is, he's pretty gorgeous! He practically glows when he's out at the deer feeder, and that's saying something when you think about the red Oklahoma dirt he lives in. We didn't try to catch him to see if he would grant us wishes, though!

A very delayed post

2008-11-13T22:24:00.002-06:00

Fall is finally here! Time for some serious knitting!

This is the back of the Estes Vest from IK Fall 08. I'm knitting it from Lamb's Pride Bulky, which is quite a change after knitting socks for a while! It works up quickly into a soft, plushy fabric. I've finished the back and one of the fronts, but I may rip out the front bit. The pattern has pockets in front, and I'm not sure I want to do them, since they'll only be about three inches deep. I really don't mind the idea of ripping out a front of a vest as much as, say, half a sock. I knitted the entire front (I think) while watching a BBC miniseries - Wives and Daughters, which I wholeheartedly recommend! (Think Jane Austen, but with a bit more action and character development.)

This is Zetor, a triangular shawl/scarf knitted in Noro Kureyon Sock, knit on size 6 needles. It was a rather fast knit, as shawls go. The lace pattern is quite easy to memorize once you knit a couple of repeats - I think I did seven? (There is an error in the edging chart, though - knitters, ye be warned.) I ran out of Kureyon at stitch #221 of 279, but thankfully, I had a scrap of recycled wool/silk that matched perfectly - crisis averted! Normally, I'd knit lace from a more solid-colored yarn, but I needed something colorful to go over a grey dress I was going to wear to a wedding.

And speaking of a wedding...it was FANTASTIC. One of my best friends got married in Kansas on November 8. It was a wonderful weekend of watching my dear friend get married to a totally awesome guy who's crazy about her and hanging out with old friends I hadn't seen in ages.

This wedding also marked a first for me - the first time I caught the bouquet! Actually, I didn't so much catch it as pick it up when it landed behind me. However, the heartbreakingly adorable 3-year-old flower girl nabbed my flowers when I set them down to cut the cake. (That's her holding the flowers.) Oh well, she'll enjoy them more than I would.

Because I thought it was funny.

2008-10-09T14:19:00.002-06:00

New camera!

2008-09-20T13:32:00.003-06:00

In case you haven't guessed by now, I got a new camera for my birthday! It's a Canon PowerShot SD870 IS, and it takes some pretty fantastic pictures.

A couple of not-so-great things

2008-09-07T20:30:00.002-06:00

This looks like a partially good thing (aside from my atrocious colorwork).

Here's the problem.

The other not-so great thing:

Let this be a lesson: bookshelves from Walmart are not to be trusted.

But let's end on a high note, shall we?

This is Odessa, and it's knit from a ball of some mystery angora blend. I like it, but angora just isn't my thing. There were fuzzies all over my nose and eyes and mouth.

Remember that Oklahoma sock yarn that I bought in a misplaced fit of state pride? A refresher - it's PINK.

Not anymore! It's so pretty - a slightly variegated royal blue. I'm really pleased with how well it turned out, and I think it wants to be a lace shawl.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

2008-08-23T09:38:00.003-06:00

Let's get the ugly out of the way.
This is my shirt after wearing my Ophelia vest, which I knitted from Hobby Lobby's new cotton yarn. "I Love This Cotton" knits up very nicely and is wonderfully soft, but...yeah. This is what it leaves in its wake.

Now, some good. First of all, my first felting project:
I crocheted a circle from the leftover wool from my Cable-Down Raglan (and my cabled headband). A little vigorous swooshing in hot soapy water, and here's what came out.I made this little circle-type object to put my teapot on when I take it up to my room.

And new yarn always counts as a good thing, right?

This is some Louet Gems Fingering that I got through a Ravelry destashing. It's a soft yellow - bright, but not fluorescent.
This is from the same destashing - Actual Size Creations hand-dyed sock yarn. The colorway is named Rorschach (as in Rorschach blot, I guess), but to me, it's fall leaves.
And here's some Ultra Alpaca Light, 433 yards of fingering-weight wool/alpaca/nylon. The color is so much richer in real life - dark, vivid blues and greens. Lace shawl, anyone?
And last (and least!), the bad.

This may not look terribly bad. Sure, it's pooling like crazy, but it's a sock, right?See the problem yet? Into the frog pond it goes.

Past the finish line!

2008-08-12T19:47:00.003-06:00

Cast on first sock 8-8-08 10:45 AM
Cast off second sock 8-11-08 8:40 PM

I've got 87 yards of yarn left! I probably could have made these knee socks, but I didn't want to risk running out of yarn. As it stands, they're 8" from cuff to beginning of heel flap. These will be my winter snow boot socks.

6:00 PM Ravelympics update

2008-08-09T17:11:00.000-06:00

Let the games begin!

2008-08-08T18:29:00.004-06:00

Or, I Am A Rather Lousy Ravelympian.

Wednesday:
3:30 PM: Buy yarn for Ravelympics socks.

Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome in a potluck colorway ("Water" - whatever. I haven't seen much pink, purple, or red water.)

Thursday:
10:30 PM: Realize that I haven't actually signed up for the Ravelympics.

10:31 PM: Sign up for Ravelympics.

10:45 PM: Search through 15630548304819357314 favorited sock patterns in search of The Perfect Ravelympics Sock.

10:50 PM: Decide to try the Flutter-By socks. Commence swatching. (yes, I know, I swatched for a sock.)

11:30 PM: Realize that the sock is a) WAY too big and b) pooling like crazy.

11:45 PM: Realize again that the sock is a) WAY too big and b) pooling like crazy.

11:50 PM: Rip out sock swatch.

Friday:
Sometime between 6 and 7 AM: turn off both my alarms.)
8:30 AM: Lie in bed, basking in the joy that is Saturday morning.

8:32 AM: Remember that as joyous as Saturday mornings are, this is in fact FRIDAY, and I have to be at work in 28 minutes.

9:30 AM: Get on internet to find The Perfect Ravelympics Sock.

9:31 AM: Read headline story on CNN.com. Have heart attack as it hits me that one of my best friends and her fiancee are in the Republic of Georgia, which is currently being bombed by Russia.

10:01 AM: After several frantic text and Facebook messages, remember the name of the missions agency.

10:02 AM: Call missions agency. They're on the other side of the country and safe, thank God.

10:15 AM: Realize that I still haven't found The Perfect Ravelympics Sock (TPRS from here on out). Open 350483937951793473070 web browser pages of sock patterns.

10:45 AM: Decide and cast on for Charade.

5:05 PM:

Third time's the charm?

2008-08-03T14:42:00.003-06:00

At the March 2007 Knit-In, I cast on for a pair of socks. They were my first "pattern" socks. The yarn was Plymouth Sockotta, and the pattern was Conwy, from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road. I finished that sock fairly quickly.

I cast on for the second sock yesterday. Yes, this is/was a 17-month case of Second Sock Syndrome. I've knit EIGHT pairs of socks between sock 1 and sock 2.

Here's one of the eight pairs. I finished the Spring Forward socks, and I do love them! They're possibly the best-fitting socks I've knit. I can see this pattern becoming the new Monkeys.

But certain members of the household just want the shoes...Clarks are the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn, but I don't think I like them quite this much. They aren't quite as dirty as they appear.

Incidentally, I was thinking about getting a new camera, since the "down" button on mine is broken. This is the button used to zoom and select new settings. (Slight problem.) I wanted a camera with a macro setting so I could take up-close pictures of my knitting. Well, last night, I *gasp!* picked up the instruction manual for my camera, and it had a section about using the macro setting. So THAT'S what the little tulip button is for!

Colors, colors, and more colors

2008-07-26T21:53:00.005-06:00

In the knitting guild, we have swap meets twice a year. Last March, I got several balls of someone's handspun. It's going to be a striped scarf. I love how different brown yarns can be!

Here's a finished (-ish) object from the Malabrigo Magic Yarn Ball swap.
Pattern: A Touch of Whimsy scarf
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted, in Water Green (1 ball)
Needles: US 8. I used the Brittany needles Katy sent me, and they're lovely!
Cast on: 7/11/08
Cast off: 7/15/08
I really enjoyed this pattern. It's easy to memorize and interesting enough to keep your attention (which is a big deal for me!). The only problem? It's awfully short. So it might be frogged to make something else. The Malabrigo is too good to waste on a project I won't wear.

Here's a detail shot of the scarf. I love how there are cables and lace in it, but it's not too busy.

I also did some hand-dyeing this past week.

First, I made a giant skein. (Pardon the stuff on my dresser.)

I dyed it with egg dye in ~24 inch segments. It took about 15-20 minutes for the color to set in the microwave.

Here it is drying in my bathtub.

And here it is, all wound up and ready to go!

Is it just me, or do patterned socks get knit way faster than plain stockinette ones? It seemed like it only took a couple hours to do the whole patterned leg.
Yarn: Lang Yarns Jawoll Color Aktion, in the ever-so-poetic colorway 132.0188
Pattern: Spring Forward
Needles: US 1
Cast on: 7/21/08 (I think - it's been sitting around in my bag languishing in 1x1 ribbing for a while)

And now, a Basil update - remember this little guy? Look how big he is now! He spent the night at our house earlier this week. Aside from a couple of accidents, he did really well. (I think my brother feeds him sulfur bricks, though. Phew!)

Malabrigo madness

2008-07-10T19:21:00.003-06:00

I have two Malabrigo FO's to show you!

Up first, we have a Coronet from Knitty.com in Peach Tree, with some variations - fewer cable repeats, more stitches picked up for the hat itself, and no flipped-up cable band.

This was a super-quick project - less than 24 hours from start to finish.

When I was at the Gourmet Yarn Company last week, I got a ball of Malabrigo Worsted in Noviembre. It's a mixture of dark green, rose, orange, and brown. The rose was so pretty in the skein, but as I said before, pink and I don't play nicely together. But one of my friends is moving to a colder state in a few weeks, and she loves dark rose.

I used a very interesting stitch for this scarf. It's called the Linen stitch. Every other stitch is slipped with the yarn on the "wrong" side - in front for the knit rows, in the back for the purl rows. The result is a dense but still draping fabric that DOES NOT CURL (woohoo!). Since each stitch is slipped once, you need larger needles than the ball band suggests (I used size 10 needles with Malabrigo Worsted). I love how the slipped stitches break up the color repeats. Another interesting aspect of this stitch is that the knit side is almost completely flat, like woven fabric, while the purl side has raised bumps.

Magic Yarn Ball Goodness!

2008-07-05T20:25:00.004-06:00

I'm in the Malabrigo Swap Group at Ravelry, and the current swap is a Magic Yarn Ball swap - you wrap a bunch of goodies in yarn, making a "magic yarn ball." It's lots of fun! (Rats - I should have taken a picture of mine before I sent it. Oh well.) I got home from my Grandmother's house this evening to find this on my doorstep! Thank you, Katy!

It's a box within a box! Curiouser and curiouser!

I see green. Me likes. And a teapot. Me likes even better!

And the total count: a wee teapot (it's the perfect size! my other teapot's a tad big for one tea bag), a wee pot of honey, two tasty teas (English Breakfast and Earl Grey, which is now brewing), a tea strainer, a bag of pretty stitch markers, a Ravelry pin (!), two samples of Soak wool wash in Citrus and Flora (haven't tried those scents yet!), a pair of Brittany straight needles (size 8), a skein of worsted Malabrigo in Water Green (a color I've been coveting), and a skein of laceweight Malabrigo in Verde Esperanza (another color I've been coveting!). What a fantastic MYB! Thanks again, Katy!

Cute alert

2008-07-02T21:31:00.002-06:00

I finished the Tura Maeve dress! It's just in time, too - the intended recipient will be delivered on Tuesday. I'm very pleased with how it (FINALLY) turned out. The hardest part was the skirt. It wasn't that it was difficult. It was the fact that there are (not counting the increase rows) 10,752 knit stitches in that little skirt. Thanks for showing me the pattern, Pat!

On Tuesdays, we have a seminar series at work. Usually they're interesting, but last Tuesday's was about the kinetics of drug absorption. (I think I just drooled a bit just typing that.) So I "ran errands" on my lunch break. And by "ran errands," I mean the Gourmet Yarn Company just got in a shipment of Malabrigo, and this lovely ball of worsted in Noviembre followed me home (as did another skein of Oceanos). I love the colors...for someone else. (Pink and I just don't play nicely together.) I'm knitting a linen stitch scarf for a friend who's moving next month. It'll get done much faster if I stop admiring it and just knit the thing! The linen stitch breaks up the colors and doesn't curl.

That's all I have time for now. Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

What I've been doing lately

2008-06-26T17:36:00.003-06:00

Making yummy jam of deliciousness - it doesn't get better than homemade strawberry jam. (Well, actually, homemade strawberry jam and chopped strawberries and vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup is right up there too.)

Knitting (and FINISHING!) the Retro Redux Shrug from Lace Style in Malabrigo Verdes - it's sooo soft, and I can't wait until the weather gets just a bit cooler so I can put it on without spontaneously combusting! (hence the lack of modeling shots)

Nearly having a heart attack when this 2-inch-long spider suddenly appeared in the dishes I was putting away!

Being amused by the antics of my dad and my dog - Tucker's a bit of a ham.

Being glad to live in a state with such exciting weather! Bring on the thunderstorms!

In other news, look here! Hooray for Beverly!

New yarn and furry friends

2008-06-08T14:55:00.004-06:00

One of the benefits of Ravelry is that you can trade out yarn that you're tired of looking at. I had some Schaeffer Anne in a bright yellow-green and Schaeffer Miss Priss in a variegated yellow, blue, and green - both lovely yarns, but my inspiration was waning with both. So I swapped them for some lovely Malabrigo. I received two skeins of Oceanos and one of Peach Tree. Oceanos is a variegated blue, from darkest navy to palest sky, and Peach Tree is a mix of warm peach with olive green.

Yesterday, we had a family reunion for my maternal grandfather's side. (And before you ask, no, these are not my family members!) Family reunions are usually almost as exciting as renewing your driver's license, but one of my cousins-several-times-removed) had a spectacular idea. She brought gumdrops and spaghetti, and the kids could build towers. So of course, "the cousins" (me, my brother, my two cousins, and one cousin's boyfriend) had to get in on the fun! (And for the record, my 19-year-old brother was the youngest of the bunch.) One of my cousins is an engineer, so her tower made it to almost four feet tall. My other cousin and brother made a fortress-thing, complete with gumdrop people furnished by yours truly. My cousin's boyfriend's tower wound up looking an awful lot like Barad Dur from Lord of the Rings. I think this may become a family tradition!

After the reunion, we went back to my grandmother's house. She has a small farm, complete with Eight-Ball the Llama, Magnum and Elvira the miniature donkeys, chickens, and peacocks. Eight-Ball looks a bit intimidating, but he's such a marshmallow. He loves to lie out in the sun on his back on hot days. The first time my granddad saw him out there with his legs sticking straight up and his neck turned back, he was sure he had a dead llama. Llamas can be such drama queens.

Magnum and Elvira are my buddies. They're getting up there - I think Elvira is at least 23 years old! - but they're so sweet. The old proverb about donkeys being stubborn is mostly true. There are only two things these two will move for - sweet feed and petting. Give them a few scratches behind the ears, and they'll follow you anywhere. Magnum especially loves hugs.

As I was cleaning my closet (yikes!) the other day, I found a partial ball of wool left over from my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. So I made a little headband from it. It's very easy.

CO 3 sts on a circular or double-pointed needle. Work in I-cord for about 6-7 inches. (You want it to be long enough to tie behind your head.)
Start working in garter stitch; k1, kf&b, k to end; repeat until you have 12 stitches.
Start cable pattern:
Row 1: k2, p1, k6, p1, k2.
Row 2: k3, p6, k3.
Repeat rows 1 & 2 twice more.
Row 7: k2, p1, c3b, p1, k2
Row 8: k3, p6, k3
Repeat until cable section reaches across your head from ear to ear. (Cable pattern is VERY stretchy.)
Start garter stitch end: k1, ssk, k to end; repeat until you have 3 stitches.
Work 3-stitch I-cord to the same length as the first I-cord. Bind off and weave in ends.

Is it winter yet?

2008-06-03T21:05:00.004-06:00

I need to accept the fact that I do, in fact, live in Oklahoma, a state of four seasons - almost summer, summer, HOT summer, and Christmas. From about May to September, you don't even need to check the weather forecast - it'll be HOT, HUMID, and WINDY. Yet somehow I've chosen to live my life surrounded by wool. Go figure.

Pattern: Emerald, from Knitty.com
Yarn: Recycled Greek wool
Needles: US 10
Cast on: May 22, 2008
Cast off: June 3, 2008

This was a very easy knit. Bulky yarn and size 10 needles make it an almost instant gratification project. I still need to find a button - you can't see it in the picture, but there's a five-stitch buttonhole in the ribbing. I have a few ideas, but I might wind up waiting till winter to pick one.

The shawl collar was much easier than I expected. I messed up on part of the directions, so it's a bit larger than the pattern specifies, but I like it with a slightly bigger collar. It's a big, snuggly, oversized sweater that I'm looking forward to wearing when it's cooler than the surface of the sun outside.

Here's my new knitting toy! It's a yarn meter that I ordered from Amazon.com. With all the recycling I do, it'll come in very handy. Speaking of Amazon.com, I just discovered that you can get YARN there. Lorna's Laces, Misti Alpaca, Cascade, Plymouth...if only they had Malabrigo on there too!

Day off

2008-05-29T08:19:00.004-06:00

I'm taking today off. Due to some contamination problems with our cells, I have absolutely nothing to do in the lab today, and I have a 35 mile round-trip commute (which is almost 1 1/2 gallons of gas). I told my coworkers to call me if they needed me at all. I have a ton and a half of stuff to do around the house.

So why do I feel so guilty for not working?! Maybe my conscience is hyperactive.

I do have pictures to show you, though.

Here's Juliet!
Good: incredibly yummy yarn (Malabrigo Worsted in Tiger Lily), easy but interesting pattern, pretty design
Bad: can't decide what to do regarding buttons on the bodice, can't wear it until it cools down quite significantly

I've also started Emerald from Knitty in some recycled wool from Greece! It's still got the lanolin in it, which unfortunately doesn't agree with my hands. The bulky yarn works up wonderfully quickly. I cast on last Thursday on size 10 needles (for once, I got gauge with the suggested needles!), and all I have to do now is the shawl collar and ribbing. I think I'll do a belt instead of the button.

We've also got some new visitors out back.

Yes, that's a male pheasant, a female turkey, and two ducks. According to our bird books, pheasants don't get this far south. I beg to differ. Not sure where the ducks came from, since we don't have a pond or anything. The four of them like to hang out in the field behind our house. Last year, we had a pair of turkeys with a baby!

Still kickin'

2008-05-21T19:12:00.002-06:00

I'm still here...and still knitting. (Well, actually, right now I'm typing, but you get the idea.) Juliet is done - yay! - but I can't decide on what sort of buttons to use. It's beautiful. Pictures will be forthcoming when I figure out how to close it. Since I used a heavy worsted weight instead of the suggested bulky, it's a good deal drapier than the original pattern suggests. So it definitely needs something, but I don't know what yet.

Lately, I've been in a sort of knitting slump. I need to find some project that I can really sink my teeth into. I've been eyeing Starsky and Oblique, both from Knitty.com. There are several yarns in my stash that will work. But I have this "thing" about using ALL the yarn. For example, I have over 1200 yards of Patons Classic Merino in Bottle Green that would be a very pretty Oblique - but Oblique only calls for ~940 yards. And that bugs me. I don't like having leftovers! But when you buy only sale yarn like I've been doing, you buy first and find a pattern later. I need to stop doing that. So why do I still regret not getting the 7 balls of beautiful green wool for $2 each at Michaels?

A slightly delayed post

2008-05-06T20:02:00.004-06:00

Last Monday, I had just taken pictures of a project and some yummy yarn to post here. However, I was slightly distracted, and I think you'll understand why.

Introducing...my furry nephew, BASIL THE WONDER PUP!!! (take special note of the nose wrinkles in the fourth picture)

Basil is half American Staffordshire and half Mutt Who Jumps Fences. He was saved from certain death by one of my brother's housemates, who brought him over last Monday night for his first bath. He is the cutest thing! The poor pup had both parvo and roundworms, but he's all better now. Expect a lot more pics of the closest thing I'll have to a nephew for a while...

Oh, and knitting. Can't forget the knitting.

This is Malabrigo Worsted in Tiger Lily, a variegated orange with a pink cast to it. I started off making the Circular Shrug from Peony Knits, but the yarn wanted to be Juliet instead! I'm almost done with Juliet. If I hurry, I may be able to wear it tomorrow!

A neat story

2008-04-22T20:56:00.002-06:00

I tutor a little girl from the inner city on Tuesday nights. She's a total sweetheart and a huge blessing. But tonight, when she got out of the car, I noticed she was limping. Her right leg had several sores and a bandage. I asked her what happened, and she said she got stung by some sort of bug. My father, a physician, is also a tutor with the same program, and I called him over to look at her leg. It's infected. So while I was reading with my student, he called her family, then called in a prescription for antibiotics at a Buy 4 Less Pharmacy close to her house. He told the pharmacist about this little girl whose family simply can't afford antibiotics. The pharmacist told him, "Don't worry. I'll take care of it." Ten minutes later, the girl's mom had the antibiotics, free of charge.

Just thought you might want to hear some good news.

The Clapotis that ate New Jersey

2008-04-13T21:51:00.003-06:00

This one could.

As long as it doesn't eat my baby cousins that live in New Jersey.

When at first you don't succeed

2008-04-07T21:38:00.006-06:00

I'm attempting another Clapotis with some recycled lambswool/silk. Last time I tried Clapotis, I didn't feel I had enough yarn, but I've decided to give over the entire sweater's worth this time. The yarn is black wool with light grey flecks of silk, and its qualities are best appreciated when knit up. The fabric has a springy, elastic, patting-a-sheep's-head feel to it that I'm really enjoying.Yarn: Recycled from size S cabled sweater, 85% wool/15% silk
Needles: US 9 14" straights
Cast on: 4-7-08
Pattern: Clapotis from knitty.com

This just in - quarter-sized hail in Oklahoma City. (Seriously. We actually put one of those on a quarter.) The hail was coming down so hard that it shattered when it hit our sidewalk or deck! And of course, my dad was running around picking up hailstones while being nailed in the back of the head by those puppies.

Speaking of puppies...here's Caddie working the cute angle.

Tucker's being shy.
It's hard to get Tucker to look at the camera. I had to hold a treat over my head for this one.

Sometimes, you just need to make baby booties.

2008-03-30T17:46:00.003-06:00

Like this one. I actually made three of these widdle bitty Mary Janes. No, as far as I know the baby does not have three feet, and yes, I gave two to the mom at the baby shower. But they're so cute, and they are SO incredibly quick! (Linda, do we need baby booties for the charity knitting?) I also made a Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting, but as I finished it 25 minutes before the shower started, I didn't get a picture. The two booties I gave with the sweater took less than 30 minutes to make!

In other news, I finished my Monkeys with the yarn my aunt & uncle got me for Christmas. It's Tempted, a hand-dyed yarn from a lady in Tulsa. This colorway is called Fiesta, but I think of it more as springtime in the woods. It's really interesting how the colors work up into miniature colorways. The purple and yellow combine for "pansies," the green and brown are the "woods," and the pink and blue are "wildflowers." You can't really see the pattern as well, but it's useful as a motivation - one uninterrupted pattern repeat took about 30-40 minutes. I really enjoyed working with this yarn, especially after the Sockotta!

I'm in a bit of a knitting slump right now. I have several projects in mind, but it's hard to decide which one I want to start. It's been a while since I had a "big" project. Sweater? I have several sweaters' worth of wool. More challenging lace? We'll see. But first I need to cast on for some more socks. I get antsy if I don't have anything on the needles. Maybe that's the Puritan/Scottish utilitarian in me.

Blearghh.

2008-03-26T20:11:00.002-06:00

The past week, my life has not been my own. I've had everything from first cousin once-removed's first birthday parties to a good friend's funeral to uncontrollable kindergarteners to a work day that didn't end until 10:25 last night. At least I've been able to get a good bit of knitting done (at work) on my Monkeys from the Tempted Hand-Painted sock yarn, which I LOVE. I'll post pictures when I'm not semi-comatose. (This yarn is quite possibly the best I've ever worked with.)

Now, off to knit a baby sweater for a shower on Friday...are IOU's acceptable for knitted gifts?

The Knitting o' the Green

2008-03-17T16:50:00.004-06:00

Happy St. Patricks Day to one and all!

In other news, I finished my first pair of Monkeys at the guild meeting yesterday.
Sockotta isn't my favorite yarn. The cotton makes a very rough, hard sock that stretches out easily. But I got it for Christmas this year...and last year...maybe I need to drop hints that there's better stuff out there!

You know how sometimes a yarn just tells you what it should be?
Well, this one certainly did.

And who am I to question the yarn?

How to keep an eleven-year-old occupied

2008-03-09T19:36:00.003-06:00

The little girl my sister tutors was at our house on Saturday with not much to do. The solution? Give her some recycled cream-colored wool, Kool-Aid, and egg dye.

This is the colorway that Bianka picked out. It's purple egg dye, pink egg dye, and cherry Koolaid-knockoff. The purple separated a bit, but the pink and red turned out well.

So now I have a big ball of girly-colored wool. I'll be making hats or scarves for Bianka and her sister.

This is the colorway I picked out. It's supposed to be dark blues and greens. I mixed blue and green Wilton's food color paste with Wilton's black color paste...and discovered that either the black was just ultra-concentrated red, or vinegar changed the color.

It took soooo long to get all the wool dyed on this one. I had it packed in too tightly, and when I poured on the dye, it stuck to the closest wool and wouldn't budge. Every time I thought it was done, I'd pull a bit out and find huge white blobs. I had high hopes for this colorway ("Mess"), but you can't even see any blue on it!

A woolly day

2008-03-03T18:39:00.003-06:00

Today was the type of day that is positively perfect for wool. It started with a thunderstorm and was snowing by the time I was on the road. So I'm wearing my Hourglass Sweater, some socks from Lion Brand Magic Stripes, and earlier I also wore my Lunch Break Hat, Dreamswatch scarf, and Fetchings. It's such a joy to be able to keep others (and yourself!) warm with things you make from waving around string and sticks.

Good news on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan! I sent it through the washing machine, and it's back to its intended size. Machine washing the Silky Wool also gives the fabric a velvety texture. It's a good thing, too, because I really did not want to frog that sweater.

My goal this year is to knit six sweaters. I've got two-ish down, but now I'm having a hard time deciding what to knit next. For a while, I've been adoring Eustice from Berroco, but I have just barely not-enough sportweight wool for it.

A pretty and an (intentional!) ugly

2008-03-02T12:11:00.004-06:00

I've been in a race with myself to see how fast I could make this. (That, and the book's due back at the library.)

Pattern: Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style
Yarn: Sportweight/DK-ish cashmere from a thrift store sweater (color's most accurate in the closeup)
Needles: US 8
Cast on: 2-21-08
Cast off: 3-1-08
Blocked: 3-2-08
Modifications: I did an extra repeat (or maybe two) of the main fir cone pattern to make it bigger.

Lace on big-ish needles goes SO fast! It also had the benefit of being a very easy-to-memorize lace pattern. This was also the first time I've worked with cashmere. It's soft, but somehow it didn't feel as elastic as wool. When wet, it also smells just like wool.

And for the ugly: remember the Frankencloth? Here it is in all its completed, misshapen glory.
This was a fun project - it's just a bag of dishcloth cotton odds & ends amalgamated into a...thing.

I worked on my second Monkey sock yesterday on the way up to Tulsa. My grandmother has an acreage south of Jenks, and we went up to clear branches out of the tractor lanes. The weather was, simply, perfect. We came home filthy, scratched up, sunburned (especially me - the joys of an Irish complexion!), and exhausted, but all in all, it was a very good day. I got to hang out with my buddies Magnum and Elvira, the miniature donkeys, and Eight-Ball, the slightly deranged llama. (Totally forgot my camera yesterday. Rats.)

Lesson of the week

2008-02-26T21:31:00.003-06:00

I learned something very important this weekend.

WASH YOUR SWATCHES.

After a gentle soak in hot water with wool wash, my Tangled Yoke Cardigan is now gigantically huge. Machine washing and drying are in its future to help it regain its slightly fitted shape, but I'm wearing it right now, and it's ginormous. It's not even baggy-sweater comfy. If machine washing and drying it doesn't fix it, it'll be taking a trip to the frog pond, I fear.

About the Hourglass Sweater - it's done, it's comfy, it's been worn once, and it's been washed, and it's still the same size. I like it quite a bit.

More writing and pictures later when I'm not tired and crabby about amazing growing sweaters.

Can I call it done yet?

2008-02-21T20:09:00.004-06:00

So, I've been knitting a sweater. It's almost done.Pattern: Hourglass Pullover from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Size: I used the numbers from the 37" size, but my gauge was a bit smaller and I liked the resulting fabric, so according to my math, it should be 35" at the bust.
Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool
Color: Apricot (That's the official colorway name, and it sounds better than what I've been calling it - Harvest Gold.)
Needles: US 6
Cast on: 2-4-08
Modifications: longer sleeves, short rows in bust (see below) and back of neck. If I were to knit it again (a distinct possibility!), I'd provisionally cast on and knit the hem facings in a contrasting color, then knit the hem together before continuing on. Now I have to go back and sew them all up.
It has sloppy bust darts. (Hopefully blocking will fix this.)

And this is where I stopped on Monday - ONE ROW LEFT when I ran out of that ball of yarn. Seriously. But I do have two more balls, so it's okay. I just wound up one, so I may have a finished sweater by the end of the night! I really hated to break into a ball for a few yards of yarn. I almost just scrounged up the little ties that held the skeins together, but that would mean more ends to weave in. Silly, I know.

I also started a shawl from this recycled cashmere. Originally, I used the "Handsome Triangle" from Victorian Lace Today, but the pattern just wasn't a good fit with the yarn. Tonight, I'll try it with the Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style. Orange has never been one of my favorites, but somehow the tangerine color just looks so refreshing after all the brown grass, brown trees, and grey skies we've seen lately.

Yellow

2008-02-13T20:58:00.002-06:00

Button, button, who's got the button?

2008-02-01T20:39:00.001-06:00

I've got the button! Nine of them, actually.

Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan, from Fall 2007 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, color #41 (light yellow, although it looks straw-colored to me), 6.25 skeins
Needles: US 3, 2, and 0
Cast on: 10-5-07
Cast off: 1-27-08
Buttons sewn on: 2-1-08

The sleeves are a little longer than they're supposed to be. This is because I modified (messed up on) the sleeve increases. I saw on Ravelry (hint hint Beverly!) that the sleeves tend to be rather large, so I didn't increase as fast as the pattern states. Okay, to be completely honest, I was being stupid and not reading the pattern thoroughly. But I like how they turned out. I prefer my sweaters to have slightly longer sleeves.

I also made the body of the sweater a bit longer than the pattern calls for. I could have made it quite a bit longer still, since I have 2.75 skeins left!

Also, I knit the buttonholes a row early. This made the buttonholes harder than they should have been. (They really weren't that hard, though.)

But this is definitely my favorite FO so far!

Lunch Break Hat (and rambles)

2008-01-31T18:43:00.000-06:00

I made a hat today.

I like it.

Lunch Break Hat

Yarn: Superbulky wool - I'm going to say about 120 yards. I'm not really sure. This was wool I frogged from a thrift store sweater, and I used about 3/4 of a sleeve.
Needles: US 10 (UK 4 - because that's what I happened to have in my bag)
Gauge: 10 stitches/4 inches in stockinette stitch knitted flat (but as long as the k2p2 ribbing pulls in to your liking, anything goes)

CO 44 stitches; work in k2p2 rib until you have as much as you want.
*K1, k1f&b* to end - 66 stitches.
Work in stockinette stitch until piece measures about 8 inches long from cast-on edge.
K2tog across - 33 stitches.
P1, then p2tog across - 17 stitches.
Cut about a yard of yarn, thread through the remaining stitches, and sew seam. This could easily be modified to knit in the round (and thus avoid seaming, which I would have done, had I brought appropriately-sized circular or double-pointed needles to work today!).

I wore my Cable-Down Raglan to work today. It's nice and warm without being scratchy. The verdict's still out on the sleeve length, though - when my arms are at my sides, they're about two inches above my wrist, but if I raise my arms, they retreat to about 3/4 length. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I definitely should have divided for the sleeves earlier, as the shoulder-to-clavicle region is rather baggy. When I raise my arms, my upper torso looks like a hexagon, and while teaching geometry is important, that's not what I'm attempting here.

The Tangled Yoke Cardigan is, sadly, still buttonless. I've made several attempts at finding buttons, but the right ones just haven't been discovered yet. If the roads weren't a skating rink tonight, I'd try a few more places - maybe tomorrow? It needs 9 ~5/8" buttons, and I'm thinking either a pewter or a light shell button would be pretty. We'll see.

A few things

2008-01-29T21:02:00.000-06:00

1. The Tangled Yoke Cardigan is finished. Sort of. It's buttonless at the moment. I'll have more details and photos when I sew on the buttons (hopefully Friday - my weeknights have suddenly gone nuts on me).

2. I have NO WIP's at the moment. This is a first for me. It's kind of weird. There are loads of things I want to do next, but I just haven't cast on for any yet. Admittedly, I do have two socks that need their mates, but...I just can't seem to get motivated to finish those.

3. My goal this year is to knit six sweaters. We'll see how that goes. I think I'll count the Tangled Yoke Cardi as one - or is that cheating?

4. I got Season 3 of Doctor Who on DVD. What does this have to do with knitting? Absolutely nothing. (Although there's a character who's shown knitting for a split second in one episode.) Great show, though.

Have I mentioned that I love knitting?

2008-01-13T14:44:00.001-06:00

I've been working on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan almost nonstop since Christmas. I finally figured out how to do two sleeves at once on one circular needle - yay! - and I joined the sleeves to the body of the cardigan last Friday. Yes, that's about 17 days on the sleeves, and here's how I did it:

1. There was very little to do over Christmas Break besides eat, drink tea, and knitting. Which one doesn't make you gain weight or give you caffeine jitters? Yup.
2. The Thursday after I went back to work, I had to take my car in to the shop, because when they replaced the timing belt ($$), it had gotten off a notch/cog/doohickey, making the car shake. Thankfully, I'd grabbed my knitting bag on my way out the door, because three hours later, the mechanic told me that the repair would probably take all day. But at least I had been knitting through those three hours! I got a good six inches of the sleeves done that day. (Plus, they gave me free spark plugs, and I wasn't charged for the repair!) That day was "I knit so I do not kill people" day.
3. Knit-In at the Gourmet Yarn Company - four hours of knitting time! Stockinette is great for Knit-Ins.

I messed up a bit on the sleeve shaping, so the sleeves are a bit longer and narrower than the pattern says, but several people on Ravelry said the sleeves tend to run a bit large in this pattern.

Oh, and FYI to Oklahoma residents and visitors: admission to the OKC Zoo is free on Mondays and Tuesdays in January and February! It's recently undergone some renovations, so if you haven't been to the Zoo lately, this is a great time to go. There's a new Oklahoma Trails exhibit with animals found in the state - including a large room with bats flying around. We went on New Year's Eve Day, and aren't these little foxes the cutest?

A wooly week

2008-01-05T14:48:00.000-06:00

I have to say, there are definite perks to my otherwise mind-numbingly boring job - like not having to work from December 21st to January 2nd. Most of that time was spent in Tulsa with my mom's side of the family. But I did take a day to go thrift shopping (my favorite kind, aside from yarn shopping!).

A huge Shetland tweed sweater - I'd call this DK to light worsted. And there is a TON of it. According to the label, it's a size small. Yeah, for a small Hagrid. Notice the iPod* for size reference.

This is my favorite! It's the softest, springiest 100% wool I've ever unraveled. And the manufacturers were kind enough to tell me that this is "worsted wool." Thank you, manufacturers!

This was maybe not so bright of a purchase. I bought it based solely on the colors. When I got home, I did find the fiber content on a tag inside the shoulder seam (how uncomfortable would that be!). It's 50% wool, 50% acrylic, and unfortunately, it has serged seams. I think, though, that the seams aren't actually cut. (At least, I hope so.) The yarn is so pretty in that variegated stripe! I know I can unravel the body from the underarms down.

These, believe it or not, are two different sweaters! They're the same brand and same color, but one's a medium and the other's a small. Both are super-soft one-ply 100% lambswool. I don't care for the color, but can we say overdyeing?

Here's a 100% silk sweater with a twist - it's knitted from ribbon-like strands of torn silk fabric. I started unraveling this one...then I found deodorant on the underarm. GROSS! So this needs a serious wash before I mess with it any more.

This sweater is rust-colored 100% silk. It unraveled beautifully, and it's about a sportweight/DK.

Here's another 100% wool sweater - this is a sportweight/DK lambswool. It's a pretty tan with white, brown, and almost black nubbins. Again, notice how huge it is!

No, this isn't a sweater. This is a velveteen coverlet I found for my bed! I'm determined not to let it become like my other blanket...

...completely covered in dog hair. Nearly everything I own is completely covered in dog hair - that's the price you pay for having a dog that sheds year-round. But Tucker's so cute that it's hard to kick him off the bed.

Last Saturday was the Gourmet Yarn Company's end-of-the-year sale, and I picked up some Cashwool and Jojoland Harmony - both lace yarns I've been wanting for a while. That's almost 2 miles of wool, by the way. Now that I've done a lace shawl, I want to make something bigger! I've been looking through my copy of Victorian Lace Today, and it's both exciting and overwhelming. The knitted-on borders look a bit daunting, but I think I'll just have to plow through one.

*I love my iPod and librivox.org! So far, I've put the entire New Testament, seven or eight good-sized audio books, thirty or so hours of podcasts, and my entire music collection on it, and it's only about 10% full.

The internet has returned!

2007-12-27T17:40:00.000-06:00

I has teh interwebz!!!1!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! I spent Christmas south of Tulsa, as usual, with my mom's side of the family. We ate (too much!), drank (lots of tea, especially Pomegranate Oolong), and were very merry. I learned a new game (Fluxx), opened lots of great presents (including a lovely sampler embroidered by my grandmother), and ate way too much homemade eggnog candy - did I mention that?

I also knitted a sock...well, actually, the second of the Embossed Leaf Socks for my mom's birthday...

...and worked on my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. These are the sleeves so far; they're both on one size 3 40" Addi Turbo. That was a challenge to get going! I wish the circular needle was just a few inches longer so it would be easier to handle.

And look at the yarny goodness that Santa (aka Grandmother and Dear Aunt & Uncle) left me under the Christmas tree!

Plymouth Sockotta - I think this colorway would be perfect for Pomotamus, don't you?

And this lovely skein is Tempted, a sock yarn from a shop in Tulsa. Here's an up-close look at the lovely colors in the Fiesta colorway.

Speaking of the shop in Tulsa, they were having a big sale on the 26th. So I dragged my patient and obliging Mom (there's a reason she's getting knitted socks for her birthday next month!) down to the store. Here's what I got:

That's right. Nothing. Although I can say that I have seen the new Noro sock yarn. I wasn't impressed with it, to be honest. It feels like baling twine. I can't imagine having it on my feet. I was looking for something that I couldn't get in OKC, but I really didn't see anything that I wanted. GYC has much better prices, even counting the Tulsa shop's 25% off.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-23T14:36:00.001-06:00

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Thank you Panera!!!

2007-12-19T20:08:00.000-06:00

Well, possibly as a result of the ice storm that hit my state last week, we haven't had internet at my house for almost a week. So I'm here in Panera Bread taking advantage of their WiFi. Thank you, Panera!

Anyways, I got some lovely yarn in a swap from Sanibelle on the KH forums yesterday! Two skeins of Malabrigo and one of Schaefer Miss Priss!

I'm thinking about the Retro Redux Shrug for the Malabrigo - wouldn't that be cozy? And some sort of hat, scarf, or mitts from the Miss Priss would be fun.

Two things to be proud of

2007-12-13T23:15:00.000-06:00

So, I cast off on the Swallowtail Shawl for my grandmother on December 3. Here's what it looked like:

It's about two feet wide by 15 inches deep here - if you stretch it. Kinda dinky, honestly. Some serious blocking is needed for this puppy.

It needed a bath with some Soak wash - I got a sample in the Aquae scent at the Gourmet Yarn Company a while back. I used about 7 drops/dribbles in a sink of tepid water. (This stuff smells great, by the way!) So I VERY GENTLY pressed it into the wash - since the Malabrigo laceweight is a single ply, it's very prone to fuzzing and *gasp* felting.

After 15 minutes of leaving it alone (yes, I had to set the kitchen timer), I VERY GENTLY (seeing a trend here?) lifted it out of the water, pulled the plug, and let it drain into the sink.

I VERY GENTLY spread it out onto a bath towel, then VERY GENTLY rolled it up and pressed on it to squeeze out some of the excess water. (After all, I was blocking it on my sister's bed. She doesn't know about this, so please don't tell her. It wasn't that wet, anyways.) See how big it's grown already?

Then I put a towel on my sister's bed (she has a queen size bed and I have a twin, okay?) and VERY GENTLY pinned out the scallops. It should be dry by morning!

And this is how much yarn you have left from one skein of Malabrigo Laceweight minus one Swallowtail Shawl. (Plus, I have another skein in the stash - maybe I'll try one of the patterns from Victorian Lace Today next.)

And the other thing to be proud of - I survived Biochemistry! It's OVER!!!

Good news and bad news

2007-12-09T20:50:00.000-06:00

Bad news: Because of the ice storm, I don't finish Biochemistry until Thursday.
Good news: Because of the ice storm, I don't have to take my Biochemistry final until Thursday!!!!!!

Good news: I finished my grandmother's Swallowtail Shawl, and it's simply lovely (although not yet blocked).
Bad news: My camera's batteries are dead and there isn't a single AA in the house. (Pitiful, ain't it?)

Good news: Our campus is closed tomorrow, so I get a snow day to knit and bake cookies and wrap Christmas presents and do fun stuff! (oh, and study my behind off)
Bad news: Um...thinking...nope.

And this week's Blogstalker - excuse me, last week's Blogstalker topic - is/was Your Favorite Invention of the 20th Century. Here's one of mine that came to mind this past week.

Clarification: DNA was not invented in the 20th century, I know. But its structure was elucidated in 1953 through the combined efforts of James Watson, Frances Crick, and Rosalind Franklin (and probably a bunch of research techs like me!). Not only is it the source of my job, it's just so elegant - four "letters" combine to make a girl, giraffe, or goat. How cool is that?!

I'm back!

2007-12-06T20:23:00.001-06:00

Things I'm thankful for

My Redeemer - "How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure."

My family - Dad, the protector and geek after my own heart; Mom, the nurturer and teacher; Dear Sister, the smacker-down of mouthy 7th graders; and Dear Brother, the comedian extraordinaire. Not many people my age can say that their parents are still married to each other - thanks, Mom and Dad.

The men and women of our military, past and present, including my Granddad, my Dad, and my cousin - they have defended our country's freedom and kept us safe.

My grandmother, who taught me how to knit - it didn't "take" the first time, but her patient lessons stuck with me until my mind was ready to handle sl1 k2tog psso.

The many friends I've made through knitting - the first time I heard someone talking about double pointed needles (besides saying "Oh, I could never do that"), I felt like I'd come home.

The END of Biochemistry - currently 3 days, 13 hours, 28 minutes, and 45 seconds away, after which I should be able to post more regularly!

From yarn to FO in less than 15 hours!

2007-11-16T14:46:00.000-06:00

I have this yarn that I got in a swap from ADAllen on the Knitting Help forums...

...and I've been working on the Embossed Leaves socks and the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I needed something quick and easy - preferably something that didn't involve rectangles, garter stitch, or any other boredom-inducer. So I was looking through Ravelry, and I found this. Less than 100 yards required? Check. Interesting pattern? Check. Slightly funky shape? Check. Big needles? Check (UK size 2 - which I happen to have picked up at the last Guild swap meet!). I cast on last night around 11 PM and worked two wedges. I picked it up again this morning, and here's the result!

Usually, hats make me look like an egghead, but I'm definitely liking this one!

And here's how much yarn was left over. There isn't much, but I've been mulling over a mitten pattern with detachable cuffs. We'll see.

I'm a bad blogger.

2007-11-12T20:52:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's been three weeks since I posted. Bad me. Various and sundry things have been happening - weird viruses, another big test, family events...okay, maybe it's just apathy.

Blogstalker updates first:
1. What's for breakfast? Pumpkin bread, this morning! I love anything involving pumpkin. Pumpkin soup with curry and carrots, pumpkin pie, pumpkin dip for gingersnaps...you name it. The way I figure it, pumpkin is loaded down with beta-carotene (which your body processes into vitamin A) and fiber, so it makes everything healthy, right?

2. Junk drawer! I cheated a bit and used my bathroom junk drawer, as it's (marginally) more interesting than my main junk drawer. Of course, my junk is mostly just spread out over my room.

We've got Badger Balm (lavender orange - yum!), a couple of headbands, deodorant, my broken glasses (the bobby pins are sticking to a magnet that used to hold on clip-on sunglasses), contact cases, nail polish that I wear once in a blue moon, allergy/cold meds, hair goop, hairbrush, dental floss, a little jam jar that holds my hair pins and clips, and...a bunch of junk. Yeah.

I have been doing some knitting! Remember the bag of dishcloth cotton scraps I got at a thrift store?

Basically, I just started doing a log-cabinesque dishcloth with a mitered square (or in my case, mitered blob) thrown in for fun. I call it the Frankencloth. It's kitschy and ugly and so much fun!

At the November Knit-In (yes, I'm still calling it the Knit-In!), I broke down and got some of this.

I do have a good reason, though. Friday is Oklahoma's centennial! And while pink is one of the last colors I'd pick for Oklahoma (I'd go with purple for redbuds, brick for the red dirt, or that greenish-orange the sky turns just before the tornado sirens go off), it's still named after my state!

I'm late, I know!

2007-10-23T19:27:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I missed last week's blogstalker post. I had a big Biochemistry test on Monday, so that's been sucking up my life lately.

Here's week 5: An Interesting Statue.

When my dad was in medical school, he had a rotation where he had to stay at the hospital and work at all hours of the day and night. After a long shift, exhausted and disheartened, he was walking past the hospital gift shop when he saw a small figurine of a red-haired blue-eyed angel holding a lamb. He bought the figurine to put at his desk, a reminder of God's love and care for him.

Two years later, he had a baby girl with red hair and blue eyes - me! I was born at 1:12 PM, the exact time (plus three years, five months, and twenty-eight days) that my dad said "I do" to my mom on their wedding day.

And here's "A day in the life," for week six. I chose Saturday.

I woke up and looked out my window. The sun's up; time to rise and shine! (or in my case, rise and...five more minutes?)

I stumbled down the stairs...

...to make Cherry Cream Scones for brunch with the girls from Bible study!

After Bible study, it was time to do some work around the house.

Watering the flower patch while the wind is clocking over 30 mph is a good way to get your jeans soaked, by the way.

As you can see, Tucker was just a huge ball of energy this weekend.

Caddie is watching Friday night's episode of Dr. Who, which I taped off PBS. That dog has good taste in TV shows. (And good news - her collar is off and she's on the mend!)

I interrupted His Highness (aka Mickey, aka Gollum/Smeagol)in the middle of a nap to take his picture. He may forgive me one of these days.

And what would this blog be without some knitting? This is the Tangled Yoke Cardigan from the Fall 2007 issue of Interweave Knits. I'm using Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, and it's going faster than I expected.

I finished the clown socks last week! My mom was very impressed - much more than I was. Sockotta isn't my favorite yarn. It has a high percentage of cotton, which makes the yarn less elastic and more hard on the hands. The forethought heel also messed up the fit. Chalk one up for experience, I guess; I know how to do the forethought heel, but I choose not to.

I also finished the purple stripe basic socks, but I haven't worn them yet. I'm making progress on the Swallowtail Shawl as well, but I've decided that nupps are not my friends. I also started some Embossed Leaves socks with the teal Cherry Tree Hill I got in a swap. (CTH is AMAZING, by the way. So soft and squooshy!)

Love/hate relationship

2007-10-11T20:45:00.001-06:00

This week on Blogstalker: Three things you love and three things you hate!

Let's get the hate over with:

1. See the Swiss-cheese-esque wood? That would be termite fodder. In the cabinet where we keep the cookware. 'Nuff said.

2. This is pretty minor in terms of hatred, but I despise this silverware holder. It's hard to get the silverware out, and it's so unstable that it falls over with an earsplitting crash at least three times a day.

3. Disclaimer: I do not hate Caddie. I love Caddie. What I hate is that she has to wear this collar right now. She had surgery to remove a cancer, and this collar is to keep her from ripping out the stitches in the incision on her tummy. (Her long-term prognosis is very good, though, and she doesn't act like she's in any pain at all.)

Okay, now on to the happy!

1. I love autumn! Exhibit A: fresh apples These are destined to become applesauce and apple butter. Mmm...the house smells so good right now.

2. This is an antique pump organ that we brought back from England. One of my favorite memories is when we finally brought it into the house (it had been quarantined in the garage - mice!), and my dad asked my mom to play Amazing Grace. And then we found out that only one pump was functioning. Playing the pump organ is quite the leg workout! I used to love dusting this organ. There's a lot of woodwork on it, and I used to try to find faces and animals in the designs.

3. This...art piece...is an example of how completely insane my family is. (Click for details.) On top, we have "Lucy in the sky with diamonds" a la my little sister (who teaches middle school math, but will always be my little sister). On the bottom, we have some sort of shark-like character with Hebrew writing on its side. My dad did that part - he taught himself Hebrew when he was in high school. (He also had his own X-ray machine in the basement, and he and his best friend would hang out in a classroom doing physics equations during school dances.) They're completely kooky, so I fit right in. I love them all, even though they drive me spare half the time.

Knitting stuff: I finished the first clown sock! And my mother, who (usually) has very good taste, thought it was just amazing. So I guess I'll be making her some socks for Christmas or her birthday.

The Swallowtail Shawl is coming along, but I feel kind of silly taking pictures of it when you can't tell whether or not it's grown. I've got one more repeat of the first lace pattern to go, but my stitch count is off by two. Bummer.

Oh, and check out this sock pattern! I'm definitely making these sometime soon.

Getting the hang of Thursdays

2007-10-04T18:20:00.000-06:00

Another Thursday already? I'd better go ahead and do this week's blogstalker post before the next one's up!

This week: How I Get from Here to There! (here being my house, and there being the lab where I work/live)

Clockwise from top left:
1. My dirty car. I've had this car for almost two years. The car before that, a Mitsubishi Galant, met a messy end on I-40 when a tire blew out at 70 mph. It was my first (and hopefully last!) car accident. If the tire had blown out just a bit earlier or later, I would have gone into oncoming traffic or fallen into a ravine. A positively angelic couple stopped and helped me and my passenger until my dad got there. (That was also the first day that my dad ever went ~20 mph over the speed limit.) Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. But it still kind of scares me to think about it.
2. The front of my dirty car. Pretty self-explanatory.
3. The floor of my dirty car. (If you're thinking that I usually ride alone, you'd be right.) We've got a Whiz Kids tutor notebook (I tutor a 3rd grade girl on Tuesdays), a sunshield (quite necessary when it's still EIGHTY DEGREES IN OCTOBER), a stray size 6 from some knitting project, a jacket, and a Blockbuster receipt.
4. The passenger seat of my dirty car. Notables include my Bible, the book that two friends and I are studying (Lord, I Want to Know You, by Kay Arthur - it's about the names of God in the Bible), some books that my church library was giving away, and another jacket.

Knitting update: I was up until 11 PM last night doing my first afterthought (or in this case, forethought) heel. I'm not convinced that it's any better than your average heel flap. Dealing with one really long circular needle, waste thread for a stitch holder, more waste thread for a provisional cast-on, and two ends of the same ball of yarn was a bit of a mess, in the same way that tuberculosis is a little cough. Wrestling Harry Potter's giant squid would probably have been easier.

My grafting looks a little wonky, too. I think I may undo it and get rid of the little ears on the sides.

Blogstalking, knitting, and birthday present

2007-09-27T20:03:00.001-06:00

This post should make up for the lack of pictures the past few posts! It's been a busy week. I had a big test on Monday, which I didn't quite tank, exactly.

Anyways, on to the good stuff! This week's blogstalking theme is Purse Guts!

Clockwise from top left: my purse, beginnings of purse guts, actual purse guts, knitting-related purse guts, and my keys.

See the yarn keychain? That's a tiny hank of Malabrigo (!!!!!), a gift from a swap partner. The whistle is a "self-defense whistle" from college, and considering where I work, it's a good thing I have it. (It also comes in handy when I'm working with kindergarteners.)

Notables: I have way too many pens/pencils, but you never know when you'll need one (or when someone will borrow one and not give it back). The pink circle thing is a very clever little screwdriver set.

I've been working on a couple of knitting projects lately. First of all, the same swap partner who sent me the Malabrigo keychain also sent me some laceweight Malabrigo. It's been waiting patiently in my stash for a project, but no longer!

This is the Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave Knits, Fall 2006. I cast on September 16th, and I've done 11 of 14 repeats of the first lace pattern. It's really easy! This will be for my grandmother for Christmas. The colorway is called Tuareg, and it's a variegated blue that reminds me of the sky in spring to winter. You can see a bit of the color changes in this picture. The laceweight Malabrigo is soooo soft! I did have to frog it once, though, when I only had a few stitches, and it had almost felted itself together.

Here's a significantly less subtle project.

This is my VERY BRIGHTLY COLORED CHEVRON SOCK. The pattern is from Sensational Knitted Socks, and the yarn is Plymouth Sockotta. I'm calling these my clown socks. They'll be a good pick-me-up this winter when it gets dark early. This is the third skein of Sockotta that my mom and grandmother got me for Christmas last year.

Speaking of my grandmother, look what she gave me for my birthday!

Clockwise from upper left:
1. A picture from the instruction book of my great-great-grandmother's sewing machine.
2. A drawer from the sewing cabinet with some neat wooden spools. There's also a couple of tubes of tiny beads and a drawer full of crocheted lace edgings.
3. My great-great-grandmother's button drawer. My aunt and I spent almost an hour going through this drawer. There are some very cool buttons from the 1920's. Apparentely she liked green too!
4. Some wooden needle holders and a packet of the tiniest needles I've ever seen. I don't think I could draw a line with a pencil that would be as narrow as these needles! My grandmother told me that she couldn't even get a needle threader through them.
5. "The Army and Navy Needle Book," a packet of sewing needles.

I don't have the actual sewing machine yet. It's still being worked on. But I'm very excited to have a working treadle sewing machine! I may have to brush up on my sewing skills before long!

Thoughts of the day

2007-09-20T18:53:00.000-06:00

(Yes, I'm updating at work. What else am I going to do at almost 7:00 PM during a 10-minute centrifugation?)

1. Any experiment that involves:
a) nuclear protein extraction
b) rat liver
c) dry ice
d) a mortar & pestle that must be kept at -80 degrees Celsius (and used at -80 degrees Celsius)

is likely to be neither fast nor easy, no matter what the protocol booklet says.

2. The more you like your T-shirt, the more likely you'll get gunk on it, even if you're wearing a lab coat.

3. When they say "cold room," they're not kidding.

4. No matter where you stand and how much covering you're wearing, when you load a centrifuge in the cold room, you'll end up with a vent blowing directly down the back of your neck.

5. For some reason hitherto unknown, when you get bleach or even water on a lab countertop, the black countertop will get all over your clothes and WILL NOT WASH OUT (hence the lab coat).

6. When you see scientists on TV, movies, or advertisements, if their lab coats are white, they're faking it.

7. If you try to put two gloves on the same hand, it's time to go home.

8. If you feel naked when you take off your nitrile gloves, you're probably a molecular biology geek.

9. The more you want to go home, the longer it'll take to thaw the vial of standard that was in the -80 freezer.

Wednesday update

2007-09-19T21:43:00.000-06:00

No pictures today, but I will have some neat ones before long. My grandmother gave me my great-great-grandmother's sewing machine for my birthday, so there will be loads of pictures of that when it gets to my house! There'll also be some pictures of my Swallowtail Shawl, which I started Sunday night with the Malabrigo laceweight (!!!!). I haven't worked on Green Gable in a while - I'm having serious doubts about the yarn I chose to make it with. It's so thin that I'm afraid it'll be see-through. (And I'm not the transparent blouse type - not by a long shot.)

Oh, and Mystery on PBS is quickly becoming my favorite TV show. No commercials!

I guess I'm a blog stalker now

2007-09-14T16:48:00.000-06:00

I joined the Knittyhead Blog Stalkers web ring. Basically, every week you post pictures of that week's theme.

And this week's theme is "Who are you?"

This is me. (It looks nothing like me, but oh well.)

This is a view from my back door. I live "in" the city, but we nearly border a wildlife park. (And we do get wildlife - as in turkeys, coyotes, bobcats, deer, owls, rabbits, and quail.)

Thrift store finds

2007-09-12T21:40:00.001-06:00

When you say that you went shopping on your birthday, thrift stores are not usually what come to the minds of most people!

Here we have an ickle ball of someone's first handspun. I think this would be a fun edging for gloves or something. It's a very '70's avocado green and gold. (But hey, it was 40 cents. And it needed a home.)

At the same store, I also found two crochet books. I do crochet every now and then...less now, more then.

And boy, are there some interesting patterns in the binder. For your viewing enjoyment, here are some selections!
The diamond-square doily, I thought, was kind of neat. The turtle is cute, too.

Although I'm not sure why a doll without knees needs a jogging outfit.

Teddy bear garlands should definitely not look like they're planning the best way to rip out your innards while you sleep.

"Sleep well" is fine to crochet on your sheets. "Vote for Joe" or "The bedbugs here are terrible" might be a bit intimidating for your guests. (This, of course, could be used to your advantage.)

On a less scary note, this is a wool, acrylic, and cotton blend sweater with good seams. It'll be a demonstration for a Guild presentation about recycling yarn.
And I also found some fun yarn!

Sunday afternoon update

2007-09-09T15:03:00.000-06:00

Well, I wore my finished Jaywalkers to my Biochemistry test. I guess the procrasti-knitting worked, because I got an 97% on the test! It really wasn't very hard. Oh well. (And I did get almost all of the amino acid R groups memorized.)

Progress on other stuff:

Green Gable: I've separated the arms, but when I tried it on, the bust line looked like it would be a bit snug for my taste, so I did some short-row shaping. A few more rows, and I'll be ready to decrease for waist shaping.

Malabrigo scarf: It's about 4 feet long now. I may cast off soon and make a pair of Fetching or Dashing. The Malabrigo is incredible. If I ever have kids (and a significantly larger paycheck!), I might make them teddy bears out of this stuff. I've petted puppies that are rougher than this yarn.

umm...other stuff: I have this thing about always having at least one pair of socks on the needles. As soon as I cast off for the Jaywalkers, I cast on some basic socks in my last ball of Lion Brand Magic Stripes (Purple Stripe colorway). As of Friday, I was nearly ready to start the heel flap. I love that those socks can go so quickly. My personal record is a finished sock in 24 hours with that yarn. Magic Stripes is the only Lion Brand yarn that I really like. It's super-cheap (especially when you get it on sale for $0.76!), machine washable, and cozy-soft once it's washed. And of course, it's being discontinued. Thanks a lot, Lion Brand.

That pesky scarf in the Marble yarn will probably be frogged soon - if I'm getting tired of a Malabrigo scarf, I don't know how I can handle a whole scarf out of acrylic. (Granted, it's good quality acrylic in a lovely color scheme, but still!) I bet it would make pretty wristwarmers. Can you tell I have a love affair with wee projects?

I must confess - I did buy two balls of Lion Brand Incredible (their ribbon yarn) at Michaels a few months ago. It's the Copper Penny colorway (a warm, muted rainbow), and it's oh-so-beautiful until you knit it. The edges of this ribbon feel like edges of cardboard. But it knitted up into a beautiful drop-stitch scarf, and I also made a crocheted headband-type thing that will go great with my hair.

My goal is to use up the less-nice yarns in my stash so when I get to use the lovely ones (Silky Wool - yummy!), I won't have to go back to icky acrylics, etc. And I'm only one stamp away from getting my $20 (?) off at GYC! (Not going to think about how much I've spent there. Most of it was for swaps anyway, right? Can I justify it that way?)

More procrastinating

2007-09-03T17:21:00.001-06:00

This isn't just knitting - this is "procrasti-knitting!" But at least I have a finished object to show for it!

Pattern: Jaywalkers
Yarn: Zwerger Garn Opal Seide (70% wool, 30% silk, from Becka!)
Cast on: July 31, 2007
Cast off: September 3, 2007
Needles: US size 1 (2.25) bamboo DPNs (until one broke), Addi Turbo Lace size 1 (2.5 mm) 47" circular

I've heard rave reviews of Addi Turbos, and I have to say, I get it. These are the most amazing needles I've ever used. Also, I have about another sock's worth of yarn! That'll either be baby socks or wristwarmers.

I am studying all weekend.

2007-09-01T20:20:00.000-06:00

Seriously. I have a Biochemistry exam on Wednesday morning, an exam for which I'm expected to know all the amino acid R groups (still not sure why I'm taking this class).

So where did this come from?
Here we go again!
Pattern: Green Gable, from Zephyrstyle (via the lovely Becka in the Summer Swap!)
Yarn: Omega Sinfonia, a sportweight cotton, in royal blue
Needles: US 7
Cast on: 8

I'm surprised that I have to use size 7 needles to get gauge. After all, this is sportweight cotton, and my CDR was knit with worsted wool on size 4's.

PS. Thanks to all who commented on the finished CDR! It really wasn't a difficult project. If you're thinking about starting a sweater, GO FOR IT! I could have finished the CDR a lot sooner if I'd worked on it every day. (I only worked on it on weekends for a while, and then I took a several-week break. I'm easily distracted like that.)

It's done!!!!

2007-08-27T21:31:00.000-06:00

Look what I finished tonight!

I love it! The only thing I would change is to separate the sleeves a bit earlier - it's kind of baggy around the shoulders. (I could probably have gone down a size.) Oh, and I'd modify the sleeve increases. But anyways, my first sweater is done! Now I need to start swatching for Green Gable. That should go more quickly.

Here's the rundown:
Pattern: Cable Down Raglan by Stephanie Japel for Interweave Knits, Spring 2007
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino in Leaf Green, about 4 2/3 skeins.
Needles: US 4
Cast on: May 26, 2007
Cast off: August 27, 2007

Look what I got!

2007-08-23T20:53:00.001-06:00

Here's what was waiting for me when I got home today!

Caddie gave the boxes her sniff of approval.

This was in one box!

And this was in the other!

That's 9 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Pale Yellow (actually a nice light beige) and 6 skeins of Araucania Nature Wool in color 37 (supposedly butter yellow, but more along the lines of harvest gold).

An odd thing to be thankful for

2007-08-21T20:14:00.000-06:00

Most people who learn to knit after childhood wish they had learned earlier. I'm SO thankful I didn't start knitting until after college. Otherwise, my GPA would have tanked big time. I'm taking graduate Biochemistry this semester (no, I don't know what I was thinking), and it's going to take some frantic catch-up chemistry to keep this course from kicking me in the behind.

In happier news, I've finished one sleeve of the CDR and started the second. Pics later - hopefully with my first WEBS yarn and my new knitting books!

Still not done with the CDR.

2007-08-18T08:40:00.000-06:00

But I'm making progress! I only have a little over one diamond repeat left on the right sleeve. One thing I've figured out, though - next time I do a top-down sweater, I'll do the sleeves before the body. These sleeves are taking so long!

I've got two Mmmmmalabrigo projects on the needles at the moment - a Mistake Rib scarf in worsted Azul Bolito...

...and a Swallowtail Shawl - my first "real" lace project! - in laceweight Tuareg.

Oh, and I got an email from WEBS about my (first!) order. They ran out of the chocolate brown Silky Wool, so I got some Araucania Nature Wool in a buttery yellow instead. I've been craving a soft yellow sweater.

I used my last two Amazon.com gift cards to get two books I've been eying - Victorian Lace Today and Fitted Knits. They should be arriving next week! So should my other major book purchase...*gulp* Not sure what I was thinking when I signed up for this class.

I caved.

2007-08-12T13:48:00.000-06:00

So, at the August Knit-In at GYC, I saw that the new fall issue of Interweave Knits was in. This issue had very few things that I didn't want to knit! My favorite was the Tangled Yoke cardigan, designed by Eunny Jang. (Eunny Jang is an AMAZING knitter. I want to be her when I grow up.) Anyway, this cardigan has a beautiful cabled design on the yoke. It uses sportweight/double knitting yarn - Rowan Felted Tweed, a lovely yarn that is WAY out of my budget.

Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, on the other hand, is not - especially when it's on sale at WEBS for $3.49 a skein! And it has the same yardage per ball as the Felted Tweed and everything! That must be a sign, right? So Friday night, I placed my very first online yarn order for 9 skeins of Silky Wool in beige (and another 9 skeins in chocolate - hey, it was on sale!).

I finished the first Jaywalker! It turned out great - I may have knit it a bit long, but it'll be all right. I've started the second one as well, and let me tell you, Magic Loop is fantastic, especially with Addi Turbos!

I can has yarn?

2007-08-07T21:07:00.001-06:00

The Gourmet Yarn Company Knit-In last Saturday was lots of fun! Someone made a garish orange and pink toilet paper holder and put it in the bathroom (I swear, it wasn't me!). I got a good amount of the CDR sleeve done. My goal is to finish that puppy by the end of the month.

The Jaywalker #1 is coming along splendidly! I've started the toe decreases. I should have a finished sock by tomorrow evening.

Oh, and here's the Silky Wool I got at the SWAK sale! I'm now kicking myself for not getting more. This stuff is gorgeous.

And here's Mickey, ready for work!

The Jaywalker, the Needles, and the Addi

2007-08-03T18:08:00.002-06:00

Once upon a time, there was a Jaywalker sock. It was a happy sock with many lovely colors. It was a very special sock, for the yarn it was made of was sent to the knitter by a friend. It was also special because the knitter started the sock on a vacation. The sock was being knit on size 1 double-pointed needles. Once in a while, the needles would poke the Jaywalker, but the little sock didn't mind. It was just happy to be knitted up into a beautiful sock with zigzagging stripes! Blue, pink, purple, brown, yellow, and mauve, the sock was very proud of itself.

But things weren't always to go well with the sock. Late one night, somewhere between Amarillo and Elk City, there was a snap. No one knew exactly what had caused it, but there was no doubt as to the effect: One of the sock's needles had broken!

The sock was heelbroken. "What is to become of me now?"

The knitter was exhausted from a very long car ride. "How will I knit the sock now?" she wondered. She kept wondering until she got home in the wee hours of the morning.

The next day, after getting a (precious) few hours of sleep, an idea came to the knitter. "Are you a knitter or not?! Why did you get that Addi Turbo if not to knit socks?"

The Addi was a size one - the same size as the sock's original needles. However, there was a slight problem. "Oh no," cried the knitter, "the Addi size one is 2.5 mm, and the double-pointed needles were also size one, but they were 2.25 mm! Will it work?"

But then the knitter remembered a piece of advice from a very wise knitter. "A bit of variance doesn't matter! Just keep knitting!"

The sock was carefully transfered to the long needle, stitch by stitch. In almost no time at all, the sock was back on its way to being finished!

The knitter put away the double-pointed needles in the Addi bag. "One, two, three, three and a half, four...where's the fifth needle?"

And that wasn't the only happy event for the knitter. The same friend who had sent her the yarn for the Jaywalkers had also sent her another box of lovely knitty goodies! There was a lacy bag to hold a water bottle, a beautiful knitted top, some colorful washcloths, a box of Chai tea, a cute little ducky bath fizzer, and some French soap!

You know you're a yarnaholic...

2007-07-30T10:54:00.001-06:00

...when while getting ready for a vacation, you pack your knitting before your clothes.

We're going on vacation for a few days. I don't know exactly where, but my dad decided (last week) that we needed a family trip. Oh joy. Seven hours with my family in a minivan. At least I have a CD player and headphones. And knitting - plenty of knitting. (Is there such a thing?)

Projects I'm bringing with me:
1. Basic stockinette socks in Lion Brand Magic Stripes on size 2 needles - one's finished. I think I set a new personal record yesterday - cast on to partway through gusset in half a day. With any luck, I'll have a new pair of socks by the time we get to the western border of the state.
2. Conwy socks from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road in Sockotta - one finished, major SSS on the other.
3. Opal Silk to make Jaywalkers
4. Omega Sinfonia in Royal Blue to make Green Gable (thank goodness for interchangeable needles!). I got this yarn from Hobby Lobby on Saturday. It's a really pretty royal blue sportweight cotton.
5. WoolEase Sportweight to make the Essential Stripe pullover (minus the stripes).

Peer pressure and parsley worms

2007-07-26T21:11:00.000-06:00

Ah, peer pressure, the scourge of parents of teens worldwide. What else could explain this?

Yup, that's a Mystery Stole. No, I have not finished the CDR yet. Want to hear my rationale?
1. My knitting bag (the nice one my sister brought me from Italy) won't hold my CDR without squooshing it and possibly felting it.
2. I've worked too hard on this thing to ruin it now.
3. The Mystery Stole is portable, especially when it's using recycled wool from an old thrift store sweater.

In other news, one of these:

has progressed to this:

and will soon (hopefully) become one of these:

Oh, and look what was nibbling our flowers!

Harry Potter and the Hagrid-Sized Knitting Bag

2007-07-23T19:00:00.001-06:00

At 5:45 PM on Friday, I had this:

At 1:00 AM on Saturday, I had this!

I finished Deathly Hallows in 4 hours. I need to re-read it to let it sink in more. The reason I plowed through it so fast is that I just wanted to read it before I got spoiled, like I did on almost all the other books. Some parts were great, some parts weren't, some parts I totally saw coming, and some parts I totally didn't. I won't say much more so as not to spoil anything, but if you're considering reading Harry Potter to your young 'uns, stick with the first three books. Deathly Hallows is most certainly not a children's book. It's got a terribly high body count.

After I finished Deathly Hallows, I went to SWAK in Guthrie, where they were having their store-wide 25% off sale. I picked up 9 skeins of Silky Wool in a really pretty dark cobalt blue for $4.81 a skein! This is such lovely soft yarn. The color is blue without being the denim-y blue that I'm so sick of. I can't decide what it wants to be, though. It would look great in cables.

Last Christmas, my grandmother ordered me a knitting bag from Land's End. She didn't give it to me at Christmas because she thought it was too big. But it works great for toting around the knitting guild library!(I wear a size 8 shoe, by the way, and yes, it does come up to my knee.)

I finished the bottom of the CDR! And wonder of wonders, IT FITS! And there was much rejoicing. Go gauge swatches! (The stuff hanging out of my armpit is waste yarn, by the way. Seriously.) I've knitting about three inches on one sleeve.

Less than five hours now!

2007-07-20T18:25:00.001-06:00

I'm in the second group of 150 to get my very own copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!!! So excited!

Oh, it's been almost a month since I last posted. Bad me. I'm feeling a little embarrassed.

Since there's so little time left before I read DH, here's my last shot at playing Professor Trelawney with some predictions:
1. Snape killed Dumbledore on Dumbledore's orders.
2. Snape had a thing for Lily Evans-Potter.
3. Pettigrew will fulfill his life-debt to Harry.
4. RAB is Regulus Black.
5. The final battle will take place during a full moon, and werewolves will be involved somehow.
6. Who dies: Lord Moldyshorts, Snape, Pettigrew, and Bellatrix; Hagrid, Percy Weasley, and somebody else major (I wouldn't be surprised if it's Neville or Luna; please not Lupin or Tonks!).

Knitting-wise, I've been plugging away on the cable-down raglan and a Ravenclaw house scarf. I'm on the bottom edging for the CDR! Somehow, I kept getting distracted at work and knit some purls and purled some knits. With any luck, I'll finish the bottom and at least part of a sleeve at the DH release party at Borders tonight.

I got my first Addi Turbo circular needle! At the Knit-In at the Gourmet Yarn Company, I won 2nd prize for the kiwi lime gelato I brought, so I got a gift certificate. Thank you Margaret! I got a size 1 47" lace Turbo that I can use for Magic Loop or the lace shawl that I WILL make someday. I've signed up to make the Mystery Shawl, but I'm not letting myself cast on until I finish the CDR.

I've decided that I LOVE knitting from charts! I tried knitting from an old Vogue stitch dictionary from the guild library, but it's one of those tall, narrow books that will not stay open. This means that the instructions for just one row can wind up taking several lines in the book, and it's really hard to read.

Well, I'm off to Borders! See you on the other side of DH!

Wanna see my new toy?

2007-06-21T19:33:00.000-06:00

Do ya? Do ya?

Well, click here!

CDR progress: Finished the first repeat of the side cables. My enthusiasm and crazy knitting speed are waning. When you're cabling all the way around the sweater, it tends to slow things down quite a bit.

And look what we saw outside today!

Lotus Knits! is having a contest where you post your first FO. Here's one of my first items - the obligatory acrylic squarish thing.

Yeah...I hope I've improved.

If anyone enters this contest, be sure to tell her you saw it here! :0)

CDR progress and YARN SWAP GOODIES!

2007-06-13T20:24:00.001-06:00

I've started the waist cables on the CDR. It certainly is coming along quickly! So far, I've used two of five balls of Patons Classic Wool. This stuff is pretty nice, but in the second ball, I came across several knots in one of the three plies.

And here's what a lovely swap partner sent me!
That's a hank of Cherry Tree Hill in Turquoise, a hank of Schaefer Anne in Minty, and a skein of Opal Silk Wool in a yellow, brown, purple, pink, and light blue. So far, I'm thinking Bayerische for the CTH, Monkey or Pomatomus for the Schaefer Anne, and Jaywalker for the Opal. I've also got that Nancy Bush book, as well as Sensational Knitted Socks...I'm overwhelming myself. Must stop now.

Sleeves are separated!

2007-05-30T22:21:00.000-06:00

I've separated out the sleeves for the CDR. Honestly, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fit any more stitches on the needle. It got really crowded toward the end of the sleeve shaping.

This is a very addicting sweater. Now that the only cable segment is the diamond cable on the front, it goes SO fast!

I can't believe I cast on for this sweater on Saturday morning! I hope my energy keeps up so this gets finished soon. Even though I swatched repeatedly, I still have a fear that this won't fit...which would be a shame, since it's such a beautiful pattern.

CDR is 20% done (I hope!)

2007-05-28T20:53:00.000-06:00

I've finished one ball of Patons Classic Wool on my Cable-Down Raglan. Four more balls to go! I'm halfway through the second diamond center cable. So far, I'm enjoying the pattern. The sleeve increases are off, but I think I fixed them. They still look a bit odd, but it's not enough to justify frogging a whole 223 yards of wool. I've also joined a KAL for this sweater!

Look how crowded the stitches are on my 24" circular.

Oh, and here's a bag that a friend of mine picked up for me at a scientific conference. It's fashionable on the front and geeky on the back (ads for a biological supply company). My former Clapotis fit in it perfectly...rest in peace. It's headed for the frog pond tonight, probably.

A finished object and two WIP's

2007-05-27T13:11:00.000-06:00

Well, I had a ball of white dishcloth cotton, so I made this:

I like it, but it's not a "must repeat." I may get another ball, knit to the same point, and graft them together so the wavy edge works out. The pattern is from the first Barbara Walker stitch dictionary.

And say farewell to the Clapotis:
I measured it, and it's only 15 inches across. It's headed for the frog pond. I wanted a wrap, not a big scarf. How disappointing...

But I did start this!

I'm definitely liking the pattern so far, although the sleeve increases are wonky. (Side note:
ALWAYS check errata before starting a pattern.) I'm using Patons Classic Wool in Leaf Green, with size 4 needles. (I couldn't believe how small I had to go to get gauge!) This is the wool I bought back in February, when my sister asked why I was buying yarn when I had a whole wall full.

In unrelated news, some simple-minded gherkin decided to knock down our brick mailbox this morning...

A picture of contentment

2007-05-19T21:51:00.001-06:00

Does it get any better than this? That's Tucker, connoisseur of comfort.

And here's a picture of my half-finished Clapotis. I'm not worried about how much yarn I have anymore. Now I wonder if it's wide enough. Hmm...well, it's always froggable!

Note to self...

2007-05-15T14:17:00.000-06:00

...always, always, ALWAYS bring knitting everywhere. Life is really boring at the moment. I want my Clapotis! Oh well, I'll just browse some knitting blogs instead.

Mystery flowers...

2007-05-14T18:27:00.000-06:00

I don't know what these are. They came in a wildflower mix that we planted two years ago, and this is the first time they've bloomed.

An afternoon of relative peace!

2007-05-13T15:01:00.000-06:00

Well, little sis is now a college graduate. My, how time flies...

After graduation, I got in some knitting on Clapotis. It's coming along nicely, although I'm a little worried about the amount of yarn I have left. Two sleevesworth of a good-sized sweater should make a nice Clapotis, shouldn't it?

Yesterday was the most gorgeous day ever. There was hardly any wind - that's a huge deal in Oklahoma - and it was just warm enough to be toasty without overheating. The sun was shining, the grass and trees were as green as can be, and everyone was happy.

Oh, and here are some more flower pics!

I'm slowly learning how to format!

One less thing to stress over

2007-05-11T20:32:00.000-06:00

The bridal tea was a success! I'm not sure who was more surprised - the bride that the "girls' lunch" was a bridal shower, or me that the bride was surprised. I was sure I'd let the cat out of the bag several times. We drank tea, we ate scones with lemon curd *yum!*, and we tried on funny hats. (Mine was pretty stinkin' cute, I must say. Pics when she emails me a copy.)

Haven't knitted in a couple of days. We've been too busy getting ready for my sister's graduation. We've been cleaning and cooking like madwomen around here. But tonight was the family dinner thing, tomorrow's graduation, Sunday's Mother's Day, and then it's back to semi-normal.

I got my mom this for Mother's Day! She and I have a thing for Jane Austen. I want to be Elizabeth Bennett when I grow up (minus the family drama). And for graduating sis, this and this. Some of these might be involved as well...

It feels like Friday...

2007-05-10T21:45:00.000-06:00

...but it is in fact Thursday. Bummer.

Actually, tomorrow should be fun. We're having a surprise bridal shower for a friend at work here, and there'll be tea and scones and all manner of things feminine. I do enjoy being a girl when teacups and flowers are involved.

Clapotis pics

2007-05-09T21:40:00.000-06:00

I'm plugging away at Clapotis. Here's what I've got so far:

It's about...one pillow-width long so far. I'm a little nervous about not having enough yarn to make it a decent length, so I only did 5 repeats of the increase row instead of 7. It's still a good width, though. I think I've used up about 1/3 of that ball of yarn, which was one sleeve's worth. If I get a 6-foot long wrap, I'll be happy. If I get more than that, I'll be happier, but beggars can't be choosers.
I've just dropped the first stitch. Boy, that was exciting...sort of. It only went down a few rows.

This yarn is a little "clingy," since it's recycled from a sweater. It will definitely need a bath in conditioner and a stout blocking. This is one sweater that lived up to the stereotypical itchiness of wool. Right now, the dropped stitches are kind of sticking out. I hope it sorts itself out once more stitches are dropped.

And here's a gratuitous picture of the Easter Egg dyed yarn all worked up.
I still am amazed by how well this turned out. It goes from a bright leaf green to mint to sky blue to deep robin's-egg.

And here's what was waiting for me on Monday when I got home from work:

This was what I got on Amazon.com with my gift certificate! I have so many things I want to work on from these books. This way, I won't have to worry about library late fees. I'm planning an Hourglass Sweater from the blue Fleur de Lis.

Here's the yarn that samm sent me:

That's the sock yarn - I've been wanting some solid-ish sock yarn for some patterned socks - and the variegated heavier-weight yarn, which reminds me of the autumn leaves in Arkansas when I was at college. (I have never seen such beautiful trees as the October that I went on a weekend retreat to Fayetteville, Arkansas. The colors were glowing.)

I really need to find a place to photograph my stuff besides my bed...now the whole world will know how often I change my sheets.

Well, it's 11:00 PM, so in the words (?) of a 2nd grader that I tried to teach a bit of German tonight, "Auf Wiedreshqpritiethdqetrjeqwkansen!"

Another rainy day

2007-05-08T20:04:00.000-06:00

I love rainy days. The sound of rain is one of my favorites, along with thunder. It makes me want to curl up with a blanket and a cup of tea for a morning of reading (or knitting!). Somehow, though, I always wind up having to work on the deluge days. I may have to take a "rain day" one of these days.

I don't love driving in rainy days, especially when my 25-minute commute turns into a 1-hour commute on a day when I'm supposed to be ready to scan a Western blot at 9:00. At least the demo was pushed back to tomorrow. *I forgot to scan the blot! Oh, great.*

I got a swap package from samm at Knittinghelp.com today! I sent her several balls of Magic Stripes, and she sent me the Winter 2005 issue of Interweave Knits, some grey sock yarn that'll be great for cabled or lace socks, a cute tape measure and magnets, and a ball of pretty variegated yarn that'll make a great cabled scarf or wristlets. Thanks samm!

Tomorrow night is the AWANA awards night rehearsal. That'll be..."fun." The kindergarteners have been really hyper lately, probably because they know it's the end of the year. Two more weeks!

Oh, and Beverly sent me this site - amazing knitting and photography! Thanks for telling me about it!

Done with Immunology!

2007-05-07T17:40:00.000-06:00

I have officially finished my first graduate class! It was a piece of cake, too, except for the clinical stuff, and that was quite tolerable. The final was this morning, and from what I've heard from the professors, I did well.

Last night was the best thunderstorm we've had in quite a while. (Yes, I love thunderstorms. Crazy, I know.) At one point, there was a really loud thunderclap, and my sleep-deprived, immunology-crammed, caffeine-overloaded brain thought, "That lightning bolt hit an IgM pentamer!" (It made sense at 2:00 in the morning, okay?)

Today was good. I had the test in the morning, a nice busy afternoon, and a package waiting for me when I got home! I bought Knitting Nature, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, and Knitting Beyond the Edge from the Amazon sale. So my reward to myself for getting the final done is going to be a leisurely perusal of these books!

Still waiting for the postman

2007-05-06T14:19:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess I won't get my books before Monday. That's just as well, I guess, because I have my Immunology final tomorrow morning, and knitting books would be a huge distraction from the studying that I should be doing right now. I'm not too worried about my grade. I've already got an A in the class. I'm more intent on showing the professors that I'm a good student so I can get more potential academic references someday!

My friends T&J moved today. I miss them already, even though they'll be back in 2 weeks. At least they're only moving 2 hours away! But P&H are moving several states away next month, and they're taking baby J with them...*sniff*

The Knit-In was fun last night, even if there were only 10 of us instead of the usual 30 or so. We watched the Kentucky Derby on a little TV someone dug up. I started on a Clapotis with my Easter egg dyed yarn and got a good ways on it. I also got the Summer issue of IK and some of this to make a "Fiery Bolero" (from here) to wear over a strapless dress for a wedding this summer. (Although, I got white yarn, so does that make it a Snowy Bolero?) I've started swatching it, and I like the yarn a lot. It's super-soft and feels like Lion Brand Microspun, but it isn't nearly as splitty.

Tapping foot impatiently...

2007-05-05T14:22:00.000-06:00

So, last week there was a big sale on Amazon.com. Specifically, it was a sale on certain knitting books that I've been drooling over - Knitting Nature and Knitting on the Edge, for example. A few weeks ago, I filled out some surveys for scientific supply companies, and I got a $15 and a $25 gift card to...Amazon.com! So I ordered those two and Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. I picked the free shipping option (because I am, above nearly all things, a cheapskate), which has an estimated delivery time of 10-14 days. Package tracking is the BEST thing ever. According to the website, my package was in Kansas City at 1:00 AM on May 4, Waco at 9:00 PM (couldn't they have dropped it off on the way?), and Oklahoma City at 9:00 AM! Then they said it was "out for delivery." But at 12:46, it was still in Oklahoma City. I was hoping to get it before I leave for the Knit-In at 3:45, but I guess that can't be helped. I'm going to make the Hourglass Sweater from LMKG with the Fleur de Lis yarn I got in a swap.

I found the cable!

2007-04-30T20:52:00.000-06:00

I have pictures to post again! This is a finished Conwy sock. I think I set a record with this one - I casted on at the March Knit-In and had it done in about a week. Amazing the amount of knitting you can do when you're sick.

Also included for your viewing enjoyment are the Log Cabin Blanket (4 balls of Plymouth Encore on size 8 needles and about 2 months!), an Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet from Patons SWS, Easter-egg-dyed recycled wool in blue and green, blue variegated Malabrigo Laceweight, and a baby hat that only took about 2 hours to knit.

Oh, and there are also some (quite a few, actually) gratuitous flower pics. I love living in Oklahoma...

This is slightly irksome

2007-03-19T17:52:00.000-06:00

Number of pictures I have to post: quite a few
Number of cables in my house for connecting computer to camera: two
Number of aforementioned cables that I can FIND: zero.

Don't you love disappearing stuff? Stinkin' Borrowers...

Psammeadred tries her hand at haiku

2007-03-05T21:05:00.001-06:00

I've seen this floating around, and I thought I'd give it a try. Basically, you summarize your dissertation or other research in a haiku - a poem with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. Since I'm not technically a grad student, this is based on our lab's research:

Jet fuel causes rash.
Mechanics should know better
Than to expose skin.

Diabetic wounds
Heal very very slowly
MMP's do what?

Booze kills gals' livers.
Estrogen causes problems
So does LPS.

Knitting update: At the knit-in on Saturday (Hi Bev!), I cast on for a sock from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. I'm doing the Conwy sock in Plymouth Sockotta color #5618 (blue, green, and purple stripe) on size 1 DPNs. And I'm very pleased to announce that I'm already on the gusset!! It's amazing how much knitting one can do when one is sick for a day. I really like the twining cable pattern - it's easy to knit, and it flows very nicely even on DPNs that are slightly bent. If I can finish this sock in a week, it'll be a record for me. Knit-ins are so much fun! I'm going to miss next month's, though, because my semi-half-cousins 2.61659 times removed (long story) will be here from the East Coast. I'm so excited to see them again!

Right now, I'm waiting for DB to bring the score for the high school musical. The first performance is in one month - guess what I'll be doing every night! I do enjoy it, though, and I even get paid this time. So come on, brother dear. (Of course, this is the same DB who locked his keys in his car while it was running this weekend...)

Exciting news of the day: I might lose my job in 2009 if our grants don't get funded. So it looks like postponing house-hunting was a good idea.

Finished, finally...

2007-02-26T18:01:00.000-06:00

Well, I finished the Sockotta socks today! I have nearly a whole sock's worth of yarn left over, so I'll make a kerchief thing out of it. And I think I may have figured out a new way of grafting toes without yarn needles...maybe.

I've been up since 6 AM on a Saturday morning!

2007-02-24T21:00:00.000-06:00

Well, the contest went pretty well. It was a little scary being in a room full of middle and high schoolers. One student is advancing to state - go J! The piano I played sounded very different from our piano at home - much darker and cloudier, if that makes any sense.

After the contest, I went to the library sale. I found Kathy Dalmeny's World of Knitted Toys, Paintbox Knits (might go back tomorrow to get this one), boxes full of vintage knitting and crochet magazines (I got one with 101 sweater patterns!), America's Knitting Book, by Gertrude Taylor (this one has lots of information about modifying patterns), With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, The Floating Admiral by Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, G. K. Chesterton, and "Certain other members of the Detection Club," and two books about buying a house. I also got the most beautiful antique book I've ever seen: The Book of Wild Flowers for Young Readers, by F. Schuyler Mathews.

There's an outlet store for a ridiculously expensive clothing store that's opened within the past year. I got $673 worth of clothes for $45. The dressing rooms are downright creepy, though - it's just a big room with a lot of mirrors and clothing racks. So you get really comfortable with your body really fast. Yikes.

And to top it all off, I got Last-Minute Knitted Gifts from the library! I'm trying to decide whether to cast on for the hourglass sweater tonight or wait until tomorrow...that's such a pretty pattern. I'd buy the book, but it's not a cheap one.

Now I'm pretty doggone worn out. I think a hot bath is in order.

Oh, and if you've never listened to Schickele Mix or Weekend Radio on NPR, your life is woefully humor-deprived.

Pre-Saturday morning blues

2007-02-23T22:07:00.000-06:00

I have to be AT the school at 7:15 tomorrow morning. Bleargh. At least it'll be over by 11 or so. Starbucks gift card, I'll be needing you in the morning. At least the library book sale is tomorrow! Yay! I'll be bringing home way more books than I'll ever need. With any luck, there'll be some neat knitting books. I'm still in awe of finding an Elizabeth Zimmermann book and a Barbara Walker stitch treasury for $2 each at that LYS that closed. I still wish I'd bought more needles. I really need to get over that.

And I need to find something to knit for my cousin's baby! I want to make something really special for her - it's the first grandbaby on either side of the family. How exciting - my cousins are becoming parents!

The top secret plans for the yarn...bwahaha!

2007-02-21T21:49:00.000-06:00

My yarn stash has magically expanded again. Five balls of leaf-green Patons Classic Merino followed me home Saturday night after a bead-hunting expedition with DS. (Side note for those of you who don't know me in the flesh, which is probably most of you: DS = dear sister; DB = dear brother. I know I have a pretty poor memory, but it seems like marriage, pregnancy, and
childbirth would be fairly difficult to forget.) DS took one look at the yarn and said, "Don't you already have a wall full of yarn?" Poor non-knitters just don't get it, do they? I should have asked her if she already had a jewelry box full of necklaces. But hey, it's for a specific project (Cable Down Raglan from the Spring I K), and it was on sale for $4 per ball! You can't beat that!

One of these days, I will actually sit down and figure out what to knit with each and every ball of yarn in my stash. Here goes a shot in the dark (I'm currently at work and can't see it, so that counts as dark, right?):
1. Mounds of TLC Amore: multiple-strand crocheted dog bed for my Corgi, who is officially getting too old to jump up on the bed. *sniff* Maybe one for the shedding machine pup as well.
2. Cream and pink Greek wool from gigantic sweaters: something felted. It's probably too itchy to wear next to skin.
3. Super-pretty blue heathered laceweight - I WILL KNIT A LACE SHAWL. (someday) Or socks - how many socks can I make from a size M sweater?
4. Yellow laceweight that's falling apart - I dunno. That's probably my least favorite at the moment, mainly due to its fallingapartness.
5. Navy blue worsted wool from a Hagrid-sized sweater - Tubey from Knitty.
6. Nearly-bulky black wool (also from a Hagrid-sized sweater - my, Molly Weasley has been busy, hasn't she?) - a vest.
7. MOUNTAINS of Homespun in Seaspray - a blanket of some kind. I've got to unravel the monstrosity I started a few years ago with stockinette blocks. Urgh.
8. Sock yarn! I have Plymouth Sockotta in a primary color stripe (faux Fair Isle would be fun!) and a purply mix and Lion Brand Magic Stripes in brown, regatta, and purple stripe. I'll have to check out the SKS book for ideas.
9. Light blue lambswool - It's not enough for a sweater that would be as long as I would like, so we'll have to figure out something else...maybe that Bonsai tunic from Spring IK.
10. Lavender sportweight/DK cashmere - I look horrid in lavender, as does DS (who doesn't like knitted garments anyways, so never mind). Maybe Mum would like a lace wrap...there's an idea.
11. Off-white wool - I've got to try dyeing some honest-to-goodness wool. I bet I could come up with some great color combinations! (WalMart's KoolAid knockoff is 10 cents per package instead of KoolAid's 20 cents, so I got some lemonade, cherry, and grape. We'll see...)
12. Carrot-colored (formerly radioactive yellow) WoolEase sportweight - that would make a nice pullover, since it's lightweight.

And when will I find time to make all of this? Hmm...that's a good question.

On the upside, I did get the heel flap done, the heel turned, and the gusset started on the second Sockotta sock. I was knitting away while the Sparkies were at store/game time, and when they came back, one boy asked what I was knitting! Bless you, M, for knowing what I was doing! One little girl said, "She's sewing somethin'!" That's okay, A dear, you couldn't have known. Then M said, "I'd like to learn to knit if someone would show me how." *thud* What lovely children I work with. (They really are sweet most of the time, as long as you keep the markers away from D. No, D, we do not put markers in our mouths, or anywhere else on our bodies, for that matter.)

I found out today that I made a 96% on my first grad school test! It really wasn't hard. (Actually, aside from 2 questions, it was the exact same test as the one they gave us to study.) I'm starting to think that full-time graduate-student-hood might not be quite as terrifying as I once thought.

The United States of America will temporarily shut down this evening...

2007-02-04T16:17:00.000-06:00

...because a bunch of guys are going to be running around with a pointy-ended ball.

Meanwhile, psammeadred will be working on her many UFO's and maybe watching a movie.

When you think about it, sports will make people lots of money, but if you're stranded in an ice storm, would you rather be stranded with someone who can play football or someone who can knit you a sweater and some cozy socks?

Knit-ins are fun for everyone!

2007-02-03T22:04:00.000-06:00

Whee! Just got back from a knit-in at my LYS ! (Check it out if you're ever in Oklahoma.) I worked on my Pi shawl for a bit (and discovered that I'm way too easily distracted to knit lace around people) and my Sockotta sock #2. It's so much fun to knit with lots of other people. I got two skeins of Lamb's Pride Bulky in Seafoam (a gorgeous blue-green), a back issue of Interweave Knits (Fall 06), and the new Interweave Knits spring issue. (Interweave Knits - so many beautiful things, so little time and money...) The Lamb's Pride is going to be a cabled scarf for me (maybe).

It's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, er, my house. Class is still going well, aside from a little tiff with the bursar, who somehow was charging me both in-state and out-of-state tuition, but what's the deal with people surfing the Web and IMing during class?! I don't get that at all. I really enjoy the class, though. It's so amazing to see God's fingerprints on His creation. "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." Ps 19:1

For our entertainment at the knit-in, there was a duet of the new unofficial state song:

SNOW-klahoma,
where the cold fronts sweepin' down the plain;
And the piles of sleet beneath your feet
Follow right behind the freezing rain.

SNOW-klahoma,
Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I
Travel home from work and hope some jerk
Doesn't wreck our car in passing by.

We know we belong to the land
But it could use more salt and more sand!

And when we say
Yeeow! Ayipioeeay!
We're only sayin' you're slick as snot,
SNOW-klahoma!
SNOW-klahoma, Oy Vey!

(The formatting on here is driving me up the wall, by the way...)

Monday update

2007-01-22T19:56:00.000-06:00

Well, I don't think my class will be very hard. It's interesting, though.

I signed up to be a Stashie on knittinghelp.com - I knit only from my stash so far. I've got plenty of yarn and not so much money, so this is a good thing. Oh, and I finished the Yarn Girl washcloth from Whimsical Knitting! It was fun - and the washcloth is HUGE. I'll take pics later. I'm really sleepy right now. Must drink tea...and eat honey-chip biscuits...mmm...

Finally, a finished object!!!

2007-01-18T19:51:00.000-06:00

I finished Calorimetry from Knitty! It's a quick and easy knit. I adjusted the pattern a bit:
- used Patons SWS in Natural Earth (this colorway is GORGEOUS!)
- cast on 80 stitches instead of 120 (the pattern must have been written for someone with a REALLY large head!)
- repeated the short rows 10 times instead of 14

Oh, and the really big news - I got to see Baby J today! I cannot believe how tiny he is. His mom asked if I wanted to hold him, and I would've loved to hold him, but my dad was waiting for me outside in the slushy ice. I'm looking forward to getting to know the newest addition to our group. May God bless him and keep him safe, happy, and healthy, and may he always know he is loved by his mom and dad and his Creator.

Speaking of our group - oops. We had a fellowship night tonight. I forgot...

I had my first graduate school class on Wednesday! It was...interesting. For one thing, I decided to dress very professionally (and by very professionally, I mean black slacks, blue striped button-down blouse, and black sweater), because there was a big kafuffle a few years ago about professional students not dressing professionally. I was the only student not wearing jeans! Oh well. The students seemed friendly enough, but I felt really out-of-place, since I'm the only grad student there. I think it'll be a good class (despite the rumors of a 200-page syllabus of DOOM...).