Cleaning House

With the end of the school year approaching (I find myself wishing it would HURRY UP) I've realized that I have accumulated a great deal of...crap. Crap that I no longer use, or even see. I'm talking stuff I haven't needed (or even wanted) since like...high school. That was three years ago, and frankly, I could use some space (and less clutter). For evidence of my junk-filled room, see exhibit A, my closet:

A couple of those are boxes I'm saving for whenever I move out of the place I'm currently in (so they're empty) but the majority of stuff contained in those boxes is basically junk I don't know what to do with. Since I am currently playing the role of broke college student, I've decided to try to sell a few things I think might actually be of value to someone else out in the world. See exhibit B: Pink Express Sweater.

This is a soft sweater that I just don't wear anymore because it's not particularly flattering on me, and a tad too warm for my liking. Here's a picture of the tag:

As you can see, it's certainly made with some nice materials. I would rip it up and try to knit something with it (the yarn appears to be somewhere around a worsted weight) but I can't bring myself to destroy it. If you like this, and want to destroy it to make it into something pretty (or just want to wear it!) shoot me an e-mail - this is one of my "I-don't-need-it-want-to-sell-it" items. Here's a picture of the little details near the bottom half of the sweater:

Next is exhibit C: American Eagle sweater. I've had this sweater for quite a while, but didn't wear it much because the size I bought ended up being a little bit big for me. I dug this out of my closet shortly after I finished my green cable luxe tunic and kind of laughed about how similar the two were.

The color in these photos is surprisingly accurate - the green might be slightly brighter and a little more emerald-y, but you get the idea. If you're interested in taking either of these things off my hands, shoot me an e-mail - I'll definitely entertain any reasonable offers for either of them. All of my clothes come from a smoke free, pet free home and have been well taken care of. If I dig anything else up that is remotely exciting from the dungeon that is my closet, I'll put it up here and see if anyone wants it, I guess.

I've been doing a little bit of "cleaning house" in the knitting department, too. I started working on the Nordic Sweetheart hat some time ago, but sadly, it looks like this at the moment:

Not very far, I know. But I have a good reason. A really good reason. A really really really good reason that will probably make my aunt jump for joy when/if she reads this post.

I've been working on the baby blanket.

This isn't the most satisfying knit on the planet (it is the most EXTREME form of black hole knitting known to man right now) but I'm doing the best I can at the moment. I prop open my textbook, grab the blanket, and go while I'm studying. The blanket doesn't seem to get any longer no matter how much work I devote to it - it's been hovering around the 2 feet mark for quite some time now. One of these days I'll wake up and find that I made it to 3 feet...ah, that will be a glorious day. It certainly is warm and snuggly, though!

I do often wonder - has the baby been born yet? Probably. But I'm bound and determined to provide something snuggly for this child. I probably won't knit another blanket until I have a child of my own (and THAT'S a long way away). I'm going to keep on keepin' on until I realize I've finished.

And then you'll all come out and get drinks with me. Right?

Hat Wars Episode Two: The Lamb's Pride Strikes Back

It seems like as soon as I blog about something I'm working on, I immediately feel the need to throw it in a corner and cast on for something else I deem more exciting at the time. That's precisely what I did after I wrote about the Nordic Sweetheart hat a few days ago.

Hence the title of this post - I knit a hat (Guinan, from Kim over at Yarn Abuse) out of a skein of Lamb's Pride over about 2 and a half days. I think it needs a good blocking. Right now, I look more rastafarian than slouchy-chic when wearing it, and the latter is kind of what I was going for.

I think I'll give it a bath tonight and check out the results.

Last night I also kept myself busy by doing something I've wanted to experiment with for a long time - making a light box. It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like - a box in which you put...light. And then you take pictures and they look way better than they would if they were not in the light box. I grabbed a bunch of things that happened to be on my desk at the time I finished the project, and then took a picture with the macro setting on my digital camera (which is nothing fancy, just so you know). I am pleasantly amazed.

It's going to take a little more practice to really figure out how best to manipulate the light and the box to suit my photos, but these pictures make me happy. The box cost me absolutely zero dollars, and maybe 10-15 minutes to make. I found the instructions via google, and all that's involved is a cardboard box, some tracing paper (I used regular computer paper, which doesn't let as much light in, but it works), and some tape. That's it. You also need a light source. Here's what my ghetto setup looks like:

Isn't it funny to think that such neat-looking pictures are being taken in something that looks so run-down and funky? Three cheers for whoever came up with this design. The only downside is that my box is rather small - I have bigger boxes, but I have neither the required amount of tracing paper nor the space to store something that large (unless I shove it into my closet, but then it might crumble, and I would cry). Still, it's certainly going to help me with taking pictures because so often the only time I have to photograph things is at night - not the best lighting, let me tell you.

Now that Guinan is finished, the only things I currently have on the needles are the Sweetheart Hat and a baby blanket that is currently 4 feet by 2 feet. I just can't seem to find the motivation to work on that thing. It's soft and cuddly and warm and pretty, but...SO. HEAVY. Someone needs to threaten to smite me if I don't have it finished in two weeks or something. That might do the trick. Or how about...if I finish the blanket, I get to make myself these amazing cupcakes that I saw over at dyedinthewoolhandmade.com? Although I don't usually have much of a sweet tooth, my stomach makes inappropriate noises and I begin to swoon when I see it. I really want to track down the recipe ASAP. Who could resist? Not me. Can you?

Now, I've got some procrastination to attend to, and a baby blanket to think really hard about (better than nothing, right?).

Hat Wars Episode One: A New Noro

Alternately titled: The day I fixed the blog situation and finally got things back on track.

If you've attempted to visit the site anytime over the last few days, I'm really sorry that it was non-existent. When I got my invoice to renew the site, it said it was due on the 21st (which is today), but they decided my site would no longer be accessible on the 15th or 16th. This caused confusion, which has since been resolved. Hooray - now I can update again!

Since I've been gone, I got to celebrate my 21st birthday a second time! It was a blast both times, and I got to wear my new best friend (read: little black dress) out in public while drinking overpriced alcohol. See below evidence.

In knitting land...I got a gift certificate for my birthday as some of you may remember, so I decided to run out and get the makings for the Nordic Sweetheart Hat. I grabbed a ball of...

Noro sock yarn!

It is so beautiful. I picked the skein with the brightest tones I could, because I'm knitting the hat with one strand of white and another strand of the Noro. I may be addicted to that color changing effect. I am not, however, addicted to the price. Hence the reason I used my gift certificate to purchase it. The hat is still in its early phases. I will post a picture of it when it has reached a point of...excitingness. I have some more rows in the first chart to complete before we reach that stage.

Tomorrow the yarn harlot will be in Portland to do her talk and book signing. I had been planning on going forever, but the gas money and the time it takes just aren't going to figure into my schedule quite right. School and work are keeping me pretty busy lately. I've just taken on a third part time job! That isn't as bad as it sounds - two of them are work from home, and one of them only requires I spend 6 hours in an office on campus doing general office stuff. Still, I stay busy...because I like to pay my bills, don't you?

For those of you who plan on going to see Stephanie tomorrow (or at any of her future tour dates) I hope you have fun!

Quick Edit: 50th post! Yay!

Dear Planet:

Today I turned 21. In the United States, that means you're finally legally allowed to buy and drink alcohol. I had a really simple, but really great day. I was hit with barrage of well-wishing text messages all throughout the morning, sent a bunch of cards, and got to have an excellent dinner with some friends. I purchased my first drink in public (and yes, they checked my ID!), drank it, and ordered another one.

I had a rather large bill for such a small meal, that's for sure.

My roomie baked me a delicious cake, too!

I was sung to by my friend Max - it was the most hilarious and best birthday song ever. My brother's girlfriend got me a gift certificate to one of the local yarn shops, too! I was so excited! I can't wait to go and spend it. I might be able to make a hat I've been thinking of for a long time!

We then decided it was time for me to buy something in a store. 711 wouldn't allow me to purchase anything, despite it being my actual birthday. I'm not entirely clear on their policies, but even though it clearly said on my license that today, the 8th, is my birthday, the guy wouldn't let me buy anything.

I went to the grocery store across the street - my roommate came in to buy some cereal and milk while I picked out something - anything to buy, and the cashier wouldn't let me buy THAT because I knew my roommate, who did not have ID.

One of my friends suggested the little market near his house, and they all decided that nobody would go inside with me - I would head in, pick something out, and walk away. I just wanted to buy it - that's all. I grabbed a really huge, really cheap bottle of Mike's hard lemonade.

The guy behind the counter asked for my ID, and after verifying it, started asking me a ZILLION questions. He saw that it was my 21st birthday, and asked things like: what are you up to tonight? What did you do tonight? Where did you go to dinner? What are you doing for the rest of the night? What are you doing this weekend? I'm still not sure whether he was skeptical about my ID, if he was just being friendly, or if he was hitting on me, but whatever it was, I FINALLY walked out of a store with my own alcohol in my hands. Triumph!

So now it's late on a Tuesday night, I'm sitting in bed drinking Mike's hard lemonade just to prove that I can, and I've got quizzes and classes to get to tomorrow (not until 1, thank goodness). This Friday, I'll get to have my big birthday party - a big group of friends and I will all get dressed up and head out to dinner together. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

In knitting news (I know I haven't said much about knitting lately, sorry), I ripped out the beginnings of the mohair and restarted. Mohair is not fun to rip, let me tell you.

I much prefer mohair either knit up, or in its ball state. Much more agreeable. Pretty, too! I think it looks like a little puff of snow.

I've re-caston (I'm inventing my own terms now) for the project...on size 0 needles. I think this is probably a really really really bad idea. Size 2 was terrifying enough, but knitting an entire flowy tunic on size 0 needles? I'm going to have to rethink this one.

Also, countdown to the end of the baby blanket - I'm about 2 feet in to the thing. It is monstrous and heavy. It is, however, snuggly and cozy and baby friendly. It kind of makes me wish I got to keep it so that I could snuggle up in it and suck my thumb.

Tomorrow - I want to venture out to the knitting store where my gift card can be redeemed - I've already got a good idea of what I want to use it on. Here's a hint - Noro Sock Yarn + Fingering Weight White Yarn = Hat. Ohhhhhh yeah. Just you wait. You'll want one too. Maybe. I hope.

I'm so confused

I apologize for the blog lately - something really strange is going on, and I don't know how to fix it. Several times over the last few days, for no reason at all, my blog has reverted back to really old entries from November, and I don't know why. It's really really frustrating, and I have no idea how to fix it.

Bear with me while I try to figure this out...and if anyone has a clue why this is happening, it would really be helpful to me!

Recovery

I'm back! From my trip to southern California, that is. Having a few days of sunshine and getting the chance to visit with my Grandparents was superb. Getting there and back was difficult, though - our first flight left late, so my parents and I ended up having to run to our connecting flight in Las Vegas only to get to the terminal just in time to see the plane pulling away from the building. Spending the night in an airport is NOT on the list of things I ever want to do again, that's for sure.

We wandered around some boutiques in the downtown area of my Grandparents' town. My Gram took me to the LYS...I'm not sure if any of you remember me mentioning a certain flowy top I wanted to create with mohair held double on size two needles, but...um....let's just say there are 7 balls of Crystal Palace mohair in my car right now and there's a size two needle holding some stitches in place.

I also got to see Oklahoma(!) live. Entertaining, if a little long.

As for knitting, I've only done some small things. I just took a set of size 2 DPN's with me so I could work on a sock or something while I was on planes, but that didn't really happen. I made a cute little ipod case with a wooden button with some leftover silky wool I had. Nathan and his family bought me a brand new ipod as an early birthday present. I was (and kind of still am) speechless. My last ipod was either stolen or severely, severely misplaced. It was a really wonderful birthday gift. I need to brainstorm some ideas to make sure his 21st birthday (not until September, foo) is just as good.

Thursday before my flight out of LA, my Gram and my parents and I went and wandered around Rodeo drive, which was pretty neat. My Gram insisted that I get a dress to wear out on my 21st birthday, so I'm now the proud owner of my very own "little black dress". There will be photos next week, I promise.

I know I don't have any pictures today, but I just wanted to make sure to get a post up here to prove that I'm alive. Spring term classes start tomorrow, so I'll be back to school-work-yoga-knitting again soon. I've been told that the big beastly baby blanket doesn't need to be 4 feet after all, which is both good and bad - good because I don't have to knit 4 feet of blanket, and bad because I already bought the yarn. Oh well, can't win them all, eh?

In other news, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka YarnHarlot) is going to be in Portland on April 22nd. Anyone from the area heading up? I think I'm going!

Simple Cabled Bag

Here's that secret project! It was my Mom's birthday present this year (her birthday is on the first day of spring!), and she absolutely loves it. She claims it will accompany her the next time she visits Saturday market.

Here we see the bag, studying up on its astronomy.

I'm actually going to put up the pattern for this one because a) it's really simple and b) I think it makes a cute and functional little market bag. I've even put buttonholes on this one, so that buttons can be added in the future.

The bottom of the bag is plain reverse stockinette, and then simple cables up the body of the bag for just over a foot. The top of the bag is seed stitch, and then I created two "ropes" of I-cord and twisted them together to make the strap, which I quite like.

I've got one (rather poor) shot of the bag in action, but I swear, it looks better when being properly used.

I'm very happy she likes it, and I'll put the pattern up (free!) this week.

Yesterday, Nathan and I headed home to Central Oregon. We're officially on Spring Break now (yay!). I took a couple of pictures on the way home just because I think Oregon is fantastic.

Here's a shot of how green the world is in this part of the country:

The greens are so vivid! I always think of movies like the Lord of the Rings when I drive through this part of the forest. I half expect to see hidden castles on the other side of the river. It's very beautiful!

Then, just a few miles up the road, we see this:

I drove through all kinds of weather yesterday! Sometimes I really like to just appreciate the natural beauty that I'm fortunate enough to live in. It's really something, isn't it?

On Tuesday, my parents and I are heading down to sunny southern California to visit my grandparents. It'll only be for a few days, but I'm very excited. I hope I can decide which knitting projects I want to take with me, and I really hope they don't make me give up my size 2 DPN's before I get on the flight!


Until next update...Happy Spring to everyone!

Happy Green Sweater Day!

Yeah, that's right: Green Sweater!

Pattern: Cable Luxe Tunic (Purchasable from Lion Brand online)
Needles: US size 8
Modifications: I made this into a fitted sweater rather than a swingy tunic. I also made the sleeves fitted rather than flaring open, and I decided to go with a k2 p2 rib for the yoke instead of garter stitch. I wanted to create an edge that was stretchy/fitted enough to stay up at my shoulders. The end result is exactly what I was hoping for.
Notes: I was thinking on my way home from Nathan's house last Monday morning about how Eunny Jang supposedly knit her Venezia sweater in 5 days. I needed something green to wear for St. Patrick's day, and I decided I would knit the remainder of my cable luxe tunic by Saturday. And man, I did it. I was weaving in the ends Saturday afternoon. I couldn't be happier with the result.

Check out those seams.

I've gotten a ton of compliments and looks of amazement from my fellow college-going friends, and my parents can't wait to see it when I head home for spring break (yeah!). I'm so happy that everything worked out precisely as I wanted to and I ended up with a great sweater. I have to admit, I kind of feel like an invincible knitter at the moment. It feels pretty good, and I'm looking forward to the next project (which is a secret for another few days. Then you'll get the updates). My sweater and I wish you a very happy St. Patty's day.

Foiled!

I had high hopes for my most recent post. It was going to be awesome, it was going to be stunning, people would weep for joy and be inspired. That's how good it was going to be.

However, I need my camera for it, and right now, my camera isn't turning on.

Everyone project nasty thoughts at my camera battery (because it's totally the battery's fault I am without camera-action) for robbing you of your glorious post.

Aforementioned post will have to wait until tomorrow, I suppose, when I go home and have a chance to charge the thing.

Until then!

(Ooooh, the suspense!)

Blobs are a girl's best friend

Because I certainly don't think they look like diamonds.

I decided this would be my first attempt at being "funky", so the gloves don't match. The diamonds are in different positions on each glove. I even did the thumb gussets differently. Yeah, that was totally on purpose. Totally.

I'm just glad to have these off the needles. It'll mean I can focus my full attention on the baby blanket (HA) and get that finished asap. Then I'll be free to focus on my own fun designs and all the projects I have laying around to finish up.

I'm glad the recipient of these gloves likes them more than I do. She picked up a finished one and put it on, then said: "Oh my God! It fits like...like...a glove! HAHAHAHAH!" Yeah, she couldn't believe she actually said it either. I hope she gets lots of wear out of them.

I wasn't planning on making a pattern for these just because they're so simple, but if anyone actually likes them, I can put up some guidelines or something for how to create them.

I know the people who visit the blog typically are more knit happy than spin happy, but I wanted to post this image just because I think it's an interesting comparison.

The little skein on the left was created using the navajo plying method, and the skein on the right is a 2 ply. It's pretty amazing how big the difference is, I think.

Now that I've finished something up, I have to go and continue my war with the baby blanket. Wish me luck.

A case of the mondays

I seem to come down with a case of these once a week. Thursday night through Sunday evening is usually prime time for me. But Monday? Monday is relentless. Monday never fails to smite me like the fist of an angry God. Well, maybe that's a little bit too severe a phrase to use, but you get the point. First, let me backtrack a bit.

Thursday evening, after a nice session of yoga, I come home, and successfully bake myself a tasty cake from scratch.

Alisha: 1 Universe: 0

I let it cool (I think), and then attempt to move the cake onto a plate. Cake splits in two, and tasty crumbs go all over my counter.

Alisha: 1 Universe: 1

No problem. Cake may not be pretty, but cake is still tasty. Roommate confirms this. We stand in the kitchen picking bites off the side of the cake and saying "mmmm" repeatedly. I make a note to make this cake more often...without breaking it into pieces.

Friday: Head up to Nate's house. Discover that he is feeling stressed about his education and his future. Discuss options, give girlfriendly support. Succeed in (seeming to) make him feel better. Spend an excellent evening with friends.

Alisha: 2 Universe: 1

Saturday: Do a weensy bit of grocery shopping with Nate. We both decided to roughly split the cost of groceries, since I eat half of his food on the weekends, anyway. I handed the checker a card, and was told the "account number was invalid". Confusion results. I try again, and get the same message. I am told that this establishment does not accept "Debit visa" cards. I stare dumbfounded at Nate, who is holding a Debit Visa card he has just successfully used. He looks as confused as I do. I break out a different debit visa card, and it works. Unfortunately for me, I was doing my best NOT to touch any money in that account (my primary checking account). At least I know that if anyone robs me (god forbid) over the next few days, all they'll get out of me is about 4 dollars and some change.

Alisha: 2 Universe: 2

Sunday: Successfully complete business project on time and submit it. All group projects for business are now officially finished. Rejoice.

Alisha: 3 Universe: 2

Monday: Head back home. Successfully make it to class. My Japanese skeelz were actually applauded by my classmate and teacher today. I attempt humility, and likely fail.

Alisha: 4 Universe: 2

Head to work. Work let me know a few weeks back that they would be hiring an administrative assistant as a full time position, since my hours are very much part-time. They told me my role in the office would change a bit, but they'd like to still keep me. No problemo. The new administrative assistant lady was in the office today, and I was introduced to her. They showed her around the building, talked with her, and introduced her to the rest of the staff. I worked away at a big stack of papers. One of my coworkers (he's a professor at the university) walked into the room where my desk is and said: "You know...right now they're trying to figure out how to make this new assistant thing work without having to fire you."

Alisha: 4 Universe: 5

Thanks, man. Thanks a lot. To make matters worse, after he said it, he just started to laugh. I panic, and bring home a giant stack of papers to get as many hours in as humanly possible just in case I need to look for another job sometime in the near future.

New assistant doesn't start till April, but that's my birthday, and call me selfish, but I'd hate to be stressed out about jobs and money and miss the chance to properly celebrate my 21st.

Right now, the universe is winning, but only by a little. I figure that as long as I stay on top of it, I'll conquer all the irksome little things that have been popping up for me to deal with lately. I'm going to be busy. It's going to be OK, though, because I have yarn and candy. Plus, something I once read on Yarn Harlot has stuck with me for a very long time: "It's all going to be OK in the end. If it's not OK, it's not the end." Yeah. I like it.

4 feet

4 feet is bigger than I thought it was. 4 feet is equal to 48 inches. It's 121.92 centimeters. 4 feet is also the approximate requested finished size of this baby blanket I'm knitting.

I like the blanket. I like it a lot, in fact. It's very snuggly, and properly baby soft. I'm even enjoying the mindless knitting it provides me while I'm doing something like watching TV. The only thing I don't enjoy about it is the fact that it is 4 feet. This consumes a lot of yarn. It also makes my needles heavier with every row I knit.

In the picture above, I've used two balls of yarn (out of the four that I initially purchased). The blanket is 13 inches. Just so we're on the same page, 13 inches does not equal 48 inches (this is what I want). I realized that having two balls of yarn left (AKA another 13 inches) also does not equal 48 inches. It only equals 26. Hence:

Two more balls of yarn. Pretend you don't see the blue. We can't talk about the blue for a while. Blue is a secret. Shush.

The border section of the blanket in seed stitch takes up more yarn (a few more inches worth of yarn, in fact) than the garter stitched part. Thank God. Still, each ball will only get me about 8 inches, and I also want to have enough to make an itty bitty lace border around the thing. So. According to my crude calculations, 6 balls of yarn should now be enough to complete this. I've been knitting through one 225 yard ball of yarn in two days. I have 4 balls left. This (in theory) suggests that in 8 days time, smooshy 4 foot giant blanket will be finished. One can only hope.

In the midst of the snuggly monotony that is the blanket, I've had time to think about all the other things I'm working on (and want to work on). I finally started fiddly-ass fingerless glove number two for my friend, and want to knock that out by the end of this week. I have no idea when I will knit the next crescendo sock. Frankly, I'm suffering from severe second sock syndrome and a nasty case of startitis. It was everything I could do last night to not cast on for a new footwear design I've been thinking of for several days. I keep promising myself that I won't cast on anything new until the blanket is done. That's 8 days (in theory).

I also really really really really want to make a flowy top. Also my own design. Here's the kicker: I'm dying to make it out of a laceweight mohair blend (held double)...on size 2 needles.

Someone knock some sense into me.

(And knit a few rows on this blanket, too, while you're here)

New and exciting content!

Yay!

Well, at least, I hope it's exciting for you. It is for me. Sometimes.

I've been working on a baby blanket over the last few weeks. It's going slowly because it's huge (a little less than 4 feet across), and because it's just...a blanket. There's nothing terribly interesting about it, although it is snuggly and warm, despite only being about a quarter of the way done.

I bought 4 balls of yarn (225 yards each) for this blanket, which I hoped would be enough, but ball one only got me about 6 or 7 inches into the blanket. I'm supposed to make it about 4 feet square. I'm not sure if I'll have to buy more or not...I did a three inch border in seed stitch, so I'm hoping that maybe not doing that stitch throughout the body of the blanket will help me get more out of my yarn. I hope. I really hope.

My awesome Gram sent me some yarn she bought while on her trip in England, and it hit me one day that it would work perfectly for a halter top design I've been doodling for months. I cast on for it a few days ago. It's worked in three pieces (or so I hope) - the front body, the back, and the boob-holder part. I've worked most of the front already.

This design calls for some negative ease. I'm a big fan of fitted clothing. However, I'm a little concerned that I've placed too much ease in my design. I might end up having to modify the stitch count and redo the whole thing, but I guess that's ok. That's what this process is all about, right?

Here's the part I'm both excited about and dreading (I hope you can kind of see it):

The back of the halter has a lacy pattern on it. It'll be worked back and forth (yes, this top could be worked in the round, but I just had a hankering for straights), and will reveal a little bit of skin on the lower and mid back. I hope this turns into a perfect summery top. I can't wait to get it finished. Let's just hope that it'll fit me.

One more thing: Joann's has a coupon online for 25% their entire stock of yarn! They've got a fairly decent selection, so check it out!

Houston, we have a pattern.

Let's hope it makes a sock that looks something like this:

I have to apologize for the last week's lack of posts, and apologize in advance for this week's lack of posts. I have to be studenty this week. I've got tests and projects and performances and quizzes and discussions all to do within the next three days, or else my grades implode. On top of that, my body is trying to get sick. I grabbed some cold medicine and have been drowning myself in fluids since I got home, so now I'm off to get a good night's rest.

Let's hope I can put a little bit more yarn in this picture soon.

I'm a terrible person.

(Sarcastically speaking)

Here's some reasons why.

1. First of all, I've been tagged by Knitasaur! That's not a reason why I'm terrible...you'll see in a minute. Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about myself - random, weird, whatever. So, here goes!

一　日本語を話せます。(I can speak Japanese. It's my major.)
二 I have this really bizarre condition. In a nutshell, I'm allergic to extreme cold and extended cardio exercise. After I've been really cold, and then start to warm up (even slightly), any skin that was exposed to the cold breaks out in hives and itches like mad. As for the exercise one - I was running on a treadmill one day when I felt a weird tingling in my nose...I thought it was just an asthma attack, but the symptoms kept coming - my throat started to close, my skin turned red and I broke out in hives...and then my face swelled up so much that I could see the skin around my eyes in my peripheral. That was a fun day. NOT. So now I do yoga. Hehehe.
三 The worst job I ever had was this summer. I had to stand in front of this 1.2 million dollar RV all day and just smile and greet people. I was so bored I actually asked my supervisor if there was anything I could do. I asked the sales guys for information about the RV so I could answer questions (this was at a 3 day RV show). They all looked at me like I was crazy for wanting work to do. It was the worst, most exhausting job ever because I was standing in the sun for 9 hours a day. On the upside of it was that everyone working around me brought me ice cream and water whenever I wanted it. Hah!
四 I named my site summer-wind after the Frank Sinatra song. Initially, this was more of a collective of my personal interests, but when I started knitting seriously, I realized that I already had a great name for all of the things I designed...I feel like the things I make (or have planned to make) are fresh, but dynamic.
五 Honestly, I think I've been knitting for a little under a year. Maybe about a year. Not sure.
六 I haven't really considered myself much of an anime fan in the past, but this weekend I got SUCKED IN to this show called Deathnote. I watched something like 26 episodes of it on Sunday, and was up until 3 am last night watching more. It's very different from the typical American animation. If you're into drama with a little bit of a supernatural element, it's worth checking out. Here's a link to all of the episodes (with English subtitles).
七 I love goldfish crackers.

I didn't think it would be so hard to come up with 7 things about me, but that actually took me a while. I tried to pick somewhat interesting/amusing facts.

Here's the part where I'm a terrible person: I won't directly tag anyone, just because I don't really communicate with 7 people on a regular basis. So if you wanna do this, just stick 7 facts about yourself on your blog, I guess. I've never really done one of these, so if I'm breaking all the rules, I'm terribly sorry.

2. Reason number 2 why I am, in fact, a terrible person will require a list. Here's the list of things I need to knit:

- Another diamond (blob) glove.
- An entire baby blanket
- The cable luxe tunic
- The crescendo socks.

Now, tell me if any of these pictures look like any of the things on this list.

No? I didn't think so either. That's because I've got some serious start-itis over here. And I mean serious. The spinning I can kind of justify because technically it's not working on other projects...it's a different hobby altogether! Right? And the yarn in the second picture is yarn that my gram sent me while she was on her trip to England! I mean, I had to try to make a Lelah out of it, even though I knew it was never going to work, Right? Just to show that I was grateful for the gift, of course.

And those mittens? All right, I have no excuse for the mittens. At all. I just picked up the knitter's almanac one night and immediately decided that these things HAD to be mine. Who cares if it's getting warmer out and I should be making something more like Lelah? Pffft.

There's a lot of projects that I should finish up, too...

I promised Nate another pair of gloves (that actually fit him!) several months ago. Like...right after I gave him the first pair. So I cooked up this one. The keyword here is one. I think I'm very quickly coming to the conclusion that I hate knitting gloves. Or rather, I hate knitting finger holes for gloves and fingerless gloves. I will never make toe-socks, so help me God. Knitting each little tube is just so damned fiddly! And you have to make five! That's ten fiddly holes for each pair of gloves! I think that's why I enjoy the Endpaper Mitts so much...there are no finger holes. Just one nice, crisp ending. Aaah. That's the way I like it.

I guess I'll have to get over that, considering I have another fingerless glove to do, as well as a second glove for Nate (someday). I still have yet to put some elastic in the bottom of the Shedir I made a couple weeks ago (the ribbing isn't tight enough, it just slides around on your head. Very irritating).

Lots to do, as always. My major allows me a lot of free time in the evenings. The homeworks aren't very challenging, and there's only one every week. In theory, I have plenty of time to knit. I just really need to take better advantage of it, and then you all would see some progress!

Oh, and reason 3 for why I'm a terrible person? I got a good grade on my finance midterm and may have been gloating about it during class to my friend. Oops.

Not as a I promised...

Alternately titled: How to make a mitten, part 2.

I know in my last post I promised shiny pictures of the cable luxe tunic, but I didn't take them. I've been working on the thing, but it doesn't look a whole lot different from the last time it was photographed. Just a little bit longer. Pictures will have to wait.

To distract you from this distinct absence of sweater pictures, look at this! Some handwear for a friend (which you may remember from "How to make a mitten, part 1"). She's requested diamonds in random-looking positions, which I have attempted to do.

I would really have preferred knitting these in wool. The cotton sags and doesn't hold the shape as well as wool does. They look all right when placed on a hand, though.

Tonight I'll do the fingers and thumb, and maybe get started on the second one. In the pictures I tried to adequately depict the diamonds. They're just made with purl stitches, and are kind of arbitrary. I'm going to try to match glove #2. I'm starting to think it might have been a good idea to take notes on the positioning of the diamonds. Oops.

On last post's theme of changes: this weekend is going to be action packed! For me, anyway. Nathan's going to visit here on Friday. My roomie and I are having a few people over for a couple hours on Saturday, and then Nathan and I head up to Washington. A friend is house sitting the most obscenely huge house I have ever been in, and would like us to come and have a relaxing evening. We got the opportunity to do this last year, and it was SO much fun. It was such a treat. The house took an hour just to tour! It sits right on the vancouver river, and has a pool and hottub looking out over the water. I promise to take pictures. It's beautiful, and it's a joy to be able to stay for a night. I think I enjoy the view more than anything else. The house is kind of spookily gargantuan.

I must be brief(ish) tonight - I have gloves to finish, horrible boxed pasta to eat, and...maybe a finance midterm to study for. Here's hoping it goes well!

P.S. A big fat hello and warm welcome to everyone who has found my site via the knitting blog ring. I was getting maybe 9 or 10 hits a day on this site (which I was happy with), but the day I was accepted to the ring, I got 89! Goodness! I hope I can hold your attention for a little while. Leave a comment with a link to your site! I want to see your work!

Success and Change

First comes the success:

Work on crescendo has skyrocketed. I finished the heel today during lecture, and finally get to start working on the highest point of the sock's "crescendo", the cuff. I almost can't believe this pattern is working. I didn't look at anything for any tips when doing the short row heel, and found out that despite having not worked many socks in the past, I'm still capable of doing one.

It came out a little sloppy because I was so excited.

As a result of this sloppiness, my gauge is a little bit bigger than the rest of the sock, but it still fits. The heel is a little on the baggy side, but I'm going to finish up the cuff, write up a rough draft for a pattern, and work the other sock while sticking to the pattern. Hopefully sock #2 will turn out perfectly.

Here's some pictures, because my digital camera arrived in the mail! They're all taken late at night so they aren't perfect, but they're certainly better than what my old one was capable of.

I'm looking forward to finishing this up soon! I'd love to have a pair of them on my feet.

Part 2 of today's post title (change) regards life in general. I'm not unhappy, just getting tired of the same old routine, I suppose. Today I was inspired by the most unlikely source - an article I read while bored at work about other celebrities giving Britney Spears advice.

Here's a quote from the article:

"Rapper-turned-act or Ice-T, once known for his gangsta scowl, looked to his own mom for advice for Spears.

"My mama used to say, 'You keep using the same ingredients, you're making the same cake. If you want to make a new cake, you got to change the ingredients.'""

I like the cake I've got. I like all kinds of cake. But even though I may like all kinds of cake and like my own cake, I still feel like it's time to try some new cake. So I'm changing up the ingredients a little bit. Just a smidge. Little things like rearranging my room (I have so much space now!), really putting an effort into my schoolwork for the last 5 weeks of term, and trying my best to start eating right (and sticking to it!). These changes aren't spawned from unhappiness, depression, angst, or anything like that. I just wanted to try to get outside my routine. Just a little. And see how it goes.

So far, it's going well.

Next update I'll have shiny pictures of the cable luxe sweater! I'm feeling very gung ho about that project at the moment. When making modifications for it, I keep thinking about my body and how it is shaped. I once read something another knitter had written about ensuring that the knitter creates garments for her body, and not for the woman she thinks she is. The importance of measuring and taking the time to ensure a proper fit will have much better results in the end.

We hope.

Noro Scarf

Started Wednesday evening of 1/30/08, finished Friday evening 2/1/08.

Yarn: 2 Skeins Noro Silk Garden Lite
Needles: US size 4 straight
Notes: I dove right in to this one. I picked out two skeins of Silk Garden Lite that I liked, came home, and kind of arbitrarily grabbed a set of US 4's and cast on 24 stitches. I worked in k1,p1 rib for the entire length of the scarf. I alternated which skein I knit from every two rows, and slipped the first and last stitch of every second row of the current color to hide the carrying yarn.
I love this scarf, and my friend seemed to be very happy to receive it. I'm glad I gave it to someone who can appreciate it just as much as I do. She was mesmerized by the colors.

I apologize for the poor pictures - it was very rainy and grey today outside, so I didn't have the best conditions for scarf-photographing. In the process of trying to photograph the scarf, I discovered that trying to take pictures of a scarf is actually rather challenging. These were some of the better pictures I took.

Next up to do is a baby blanket and a pair of mittens. I'm kind of starting to discover that when I knit for other people, I am more motivated and excited to knit. When I knit for myself, I drag my feet and take forever to do anything.

Maybe I can trick myself into thinking that I'll knit that cable luxe sweater for my roommate. I'll let you know how it goes.

I blame Noro.

Firstly, Rebecca, if you're reading this, stop immediately, and go do something else. You are forbidden from this blog entry temporarily.

Now! My aforementioned friend and I decided last weekend that we would do a crafty-trady-thingamajiggy. I'm the yarny fiber geek, and she makes all kinds of really neat things from beads and hemp. So we decided to do a trade!

When we made this decision, the very first thing that jumped to mind that I thought would be perfect for her is a Noro scarf. You know, the ones that alternate between two different colorways of Noro to make that amazing shifting striped effect? Yeah, that one.

This project marks the losing of my Noro virginity, by the way. A moment of silence, please.

*Ahem*

Anyway, I bought two skeins of Silk Garden Light because my LYS had one for 10% off, and because each skein had 137 yards in it, which is more than either Kureyon or plain Silk Garden. When I got them home and pulled them out of the bag, even my roommate realized there was something Godly about this particular fiber. She kept saying: "that's soooo pretty!" I read to her the fiber content (45% silk, 45% kid mohair, and 15% lambswool), and her eyes got big.

But then I started to knit. And I lost. my. mind. Here's a timeline for you.

5:30 I arrive home from the LYS and plop myself down on the floor. Didn't take off my shoes or my coat or anything. I swatched using three different needles for the baby blanket I'm supposed to make (because I got the yarn for that, too). Once I decided on a size 9, I shifted my focus to the Noro.

6:00 I grab my size 4 straight needles, cast on 24 stitches, and start working a 1x1 rib, alternating skeins of Noro every two rows. I chose to slip the first and last stitch of each color change's second row in order to hide the yarn as I carry it up the side.

I am entranced after...maybe an inch.

6:30 I have not moved. At all. My knitting is several inches longer and I'm staring at it as it comes off the needles, probably open mouthed and drooling.

6:45 My stomach starts to rumble. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remember that the last thing I ate was a sandwich at like...2 PM.

7:30 My stomach is making obscene noises. I wonder whether eating or Noro knitting is a better option. I am seriously weighing these decisions while sitting on the couch.

8:00 I finally decide to put down the scarf long enough to make myself a huge tasty honey mustard grilled chicken salad.

8:30 I am knitting again. I wonder how badly I really need to study for my midterms.

This stage lasted for quite a long time.

I think I finally put my needles down and called it a night at around 1:45 AM. The scarf is just about 4 feet long. I want to put another 2 feet on it tonight and then give it to my friend tomorrow or Saturday. I can't wait to see the finished results. I kept saying to myself: " I just want to see the next color change, then I'll be done. Promise". Yeah...no.

I've read lots of interesting debates about how Noro is good/bad/ugly/beautiful/expensive/unneccessary/overrated/etc. Honestly, though, for my first time knitting with it, I love it. It's certainly unlike any other yarn I've ever encountered, and it definitely has a very distinct character. When I say that, I mean that you're knitting with singles (it's not plied), the colors are very unique to the brand, and there's occasionally little fuzzies and bits of hay still stuck in parts (they're not huge, and they've just fallen out while knitting. No problems). This yarn seems to have such a rustic beauty about it...I just can't put it down. I was knitting this morning while I waited for my bagel to toast, and even in those few minutes I was still amazed. I never really understood the Noro fascination until I'd knit something with it.

That being said, I don't think I'll get to knit with it very often. My student budget will only accomodate a scarf like this every once in a while.

Also, I have some great news for the blog - last night I ordered a digital camera! It's the same one that my younger brother has. I used it to take pictures of my crescendo socks (which I've been working on!), his mittens, the beginning of my cable luxe tunic, and my spindle. It's a great little camera, and I got it for $120 cheaper than he got his, plus the seller is throwing in an extra battery. Hooray!

Anyway, yeah. Riveting update at the moment, sans pictures because I refuse to take a picture of this scarf with my horrendous camera. Photographic evidence tomorrow. Noro is ruining my life as a student. Well, for these last two days, anyway. I have two midterms to study for, homework to do, quizzes to take, and what do I do? I knit a scarf. Damn you, Noro, damn you.

First person to tell me that I need a lesson in self discipline gets slapped with a ball of Kureyon.

Sometimes I knit things...

I know the blog has been really spinning-oriented lately. But that doesn't mean I haven't been knitting! In fact, here's a list of my FO's, just for good measure (most of which you can see on this page by scrolling down).

- Mittens (from "how to make a mitten, part 1")
- Cable Luxe Sweater
- Baby Blanket (not yet begun - does that count?)
- Coffee Sleeves (you'll see these soon)
- Crescendo Socks

That's a pretty fairly good sized list, I think. I like to stay busy. I'm not as busy today as I'd like to be, though. Why? The area I attend school in is...unaccustomed to getting snow. It snowed several inches here over the weekend while I was visiting at Nathan's place where he attends college (about 40 minutes north of my school). I'm fine to drive in the snow - I've done it plenty of times before because my hometown gets snow fairly often in the winter. But the thing about living here is that when it snows...you also get ice because the climate is very very wet. Some people here call the rain "liquid sunshine". Interstate 5 this morning was like a sheet of ice.

I had two classes and a few hours of work scheduled...but...no. I'd rather not risk my life (traffic reports were saying that cars were simply "sliding off the road", and two semi trucks jacknifed in the southbound lane) for a couple of classes and some work I could do from home. Work ended up emailing me and telling me to just stay put where I am. I got a snow day, sort of. Hence, I blog. And show some "terribly exciting" FO's.

I finished Nathan's Shedir! I want to steal it. It's way better than mine.

I don't have much to say about this one. I had one repeat and the ribbing done on Saturday, and went a little crazy with working on it. I had it finished by 12:39 that night. I was so happy. The texture of the silky wool is wonderful and just the right amount of warm.

I've made a few of the little reusable coffee sleeves, too. With the weather getting cold out, these are great to use on a hot or cold coffee drink. I made the bind off edge a little tighter than the cast on to prevent any drinks from slipping away. The ribbing gets pretty stretchy. I made both of these with some leftover yarn bits.

Functional, earth-friendly, knitter friendly...what's not to love?

Lastly...you knew I was going to put up some yarn I spun. You knew it. I had to. Anyway, here's the result of my first attempt at plying with the roving I bought from pigeonroof studios on etsy. The colors aren't perfect, but they're pretty darn close. I have about 68 yards total of two ply.

(singles)


(plied skein)

This was a joy to spin. I can't wait to make some more. It's a little thick-thin, but I kind of feel like it's perfect the way it is. This is about a DK weight. I just measured about 11wpi. I'm so excited about that - I actually set out to make a DK or sport weight yarn with this, and succeeded! I feel so accomplished.

Now! I have to make some mittens. Wish me luck. I'm finding I'm not such a big fan of the cotton/acrylic blend. It's not "grabby" and "sproingy" enough for me (we like to make up words here at summer-wind.net). I'm not really enjoying the knitting process. But I must. Here I go!

I like to spin.

I've been spinning a lot the last couple of days. The roving I received in the mail got me so excited! It doesn't look like very much when it's all braided up, but there is a TON.

Here's a little photo of the recently spun stuff (taken with the webcam, sorry):

The leftmost one is that blue and pink blob I showed a few posts ago. It's 20 yards. The brown blob in the middle is some of my alpaca! I realized that I had enough to give plying a shot, so I did it tonight, and I ended up with only about 30 yards, but it was fun. I haven't washed it yet, and I'm eager to see how it will change.

On the right is the "drift" roving, and oh mama do I wish everyone could poke and squeeze it. It's only a single, but it's 75 yards of single, and it is soft and squishy and wonderful. It's also fairly evenly spun. There are a few little bumps here and there, but I almost feel like it suits the color and feel of the overall skein. It makes me think of seaweed and ocean. I love it so much. I hardly made a dent in the roving, too. I can't wait to spin up another 75 yards or so and ply it. It's gonna be a winner.

I'm kind of worried I'm not going to want to knit with it! I just want to look at it and poke it! I may have made my roommate poke it. I'm not sure she understood why she was poking the yarn, but at least she seemed somewhat interested. She said: "you made that?! Neat!" Yes, it is neat!

I love spinning. That is all.

Stay tuned for "how to make a mitten, part 2". Let's hope this edition of the series will be a little more successful. Although I think I'll end up keeping the steps where I consume caramel. Can't hurt.

How to make a mitten, part 1.

1. Decide on a pattern.

2. Buy appropriate yarn.

3. Think of funky texture details to add to mitten while washing hair in the shower.

4. Sketch out rough design for mitten, based on similar objects previously knit.

5. Walk away from pattern to spin until shoulder nearly detaches itself from torso.

6. Return to pattern, create excel chart of previously imagined funky embellishment.

7. Completely disregard fiber content.

8. Begin to knit.

9. Finish cuff. Finish most of funky embellishment.

10. Realize mitt is huge. Mitt is stretchy. Mitt will not fit recipient.

11. Stab dpn through center of gargantuan mitt (and its ball of yarn).

12. Consume caramel.

13. Consider trying to immediately redo mitt. Do not.

14. Realize it is 12:40 A.M.

15. Begin: "Mitten Fixing Procrastination Time".

16. Consume more caramel.

17. Smile.

...now with more knitting pictures!

This entry will actually feature some pictures of knitting (no way)! But first:

A friend requested a pair of fingerless gloves in green, so I ran off to get the yarn for it today...when I noticed something different about the place. There seemed to be boxes on tables...boxes with patterns in them...for low prices! The yarn I needed was only around $5.25, so I perused a few of the bargain bins. There were three copies of Rowan 34, but nothing really stood out to me, so I didn't pick it up. I did, however, notice one more box near the cash register marked "Free patterns."

Upon noticing the box, I may have jumped slightly with glee and practically raced across the store.

I flipped through a few that looked kind of interesting, but then...right at the very back of the box was a book of patterns I never thought I would ever see.

Rebecca! I've perused the site before, I loved the patterns I saw, but the cost (and how long it would take to ship to me) have always kind of deterred me.

In the box was a book that's not even on their site - it's #9, and it's not in English, but it still seems to be straight forward. Nathan looked at it (he speaks some German) and was reading article titles to me. EDIT: I am stupid, and there's a booklet inside the magazine with all of the english translations of the patterns. Cool. Here are a few pictures of some of my favorite patterns:

Needless to say, I'm very excited about all the neat things I could make. I can't decide what I like best. But it'll have to wait until I finish up this one:

That's the finished cable yoke and part of the back. I'm apprehensive about the changes I'm making to the pattern, but every time I get nervous I just think: "learning experience...learning experience..." Progress is unfortunately slow on this one...I should reasonably be able to sit down and finish the back in one day (or two) but I never put more than a couple of inches on it at a time. I really want to see the finished product...I gotta kick myself in the ass and get working on it.

My last exciting photo is of Nathan's Shedir, which I'm making from a mossy colored silky wool. It looks really pretty, but it has quickly become apparent to me that I've made a mistake somewhere, because stitches are not in the correct position, and I'm "missing" a stitch at the end of the round. Bah.

I feel bad because I told him he would have a nice new hat this weekend, but it just didn't work out as well as I had hoped. Fooey, maybe next weekend. Maybe. And that's a big maybe, because my package full of fiber-y goodness arrived on Friday, and I can't wait to spin it up! I'm eager to see the colors in yarn form.

With all of these works-in-progress, my next update had better be exciting. And hopefully not five days in the making, like this one was. Oops.

Cash-strapped college student resorts to desperate measures

Ever since I spun with those little sample-size bits of roving, I've been craving the stuff. Roving is so much easier for me to spin (consistently!) with than the locks of alpaca that I've been using. I'd love to be able to make roving out of my alpaca, but that requires the use of expensive equipment. The combs used to process the fiber are (at the lowest price I've seen) at least $45, which is outside my meager budget at the moment.

So...I started thinking.

Combs are used to process this stuff...

I have combs...that I use to process my hair...

I don't have a diz, but I do have a needle sizer...

Hmmm...

Desperate times call for desperate measures, my friends.

Shown here are two wide-toothed combs (that I already had), my needle sizer, and one of the bags of alpaca.

Before I show the rest of these pictures, I have to say that yes, I know that this isn't the best way to prepare my fiber, and there's probably a billion reasons why I probably should not be doing my fiber prep this way, but I'm impatient, and..."creative", and it was fun. That's my disclaimer

First, I loaded up one of the combs with some fiber.

Next, I took the other comb, and brushed the ends of the fiber, gradually working my way inward, until I had most of the fiber moved from one comb to the other.

This was about how much I had left on the brush after the first combing:

I smoothed out the brushed hairs into a cone-ish shape, twisted the end slightly, and pulled it through one of the holes on my needle sizer (I think I used size 6, just for the sake of hilarious detail).

I took the brush away from the fiber and brushed out the end I hadn't pulled through the diz yet. I repeated these steps and added to my "roving" by twisting the joins of the fiber together a bit before pulling them through my "diz". I ended up with about 5 feet of "roving" which I then spun.

It fell apart in (surprisingly) only a couple of places. It made spinning faster, easier, and more fun! I love how easily the alpaca pulls apart when I'm drafting. I was making much more consistent yarn, and I spun a TON in a small(ish) amount of time.

I've also knit 3 rows on been working on the back of the cable luxe tunic...I don't know why it's so hard for me to work on things I'm making for myself. You'd think that I would have more fun when I know what I want and can make exactly what I want...but progress is unexpectedly slow.

So is the progress on Nathan's shedir...I'm not sure why...I love the yarn, I love the dude, I love the pattern, and yet it is still not past the first repeat of the pattern. Sorry, man.

Lastly, my auntie has asked me to design a baby blanket for a friend! And I need yarn ideas. She has specified that it needs to be machine washable and dryable, and should be white - maybe sparkly. She wants it to be about 4 feet (square). I get to choose any kind of design I'd like. Anyone have any ideas?

I am so happy.

My happiness stems from a number of things.

First and foremost, I finished up shedir a few days ago - here are a couple of less-than-gorgeous pictures of a hat that actually turned out really neat.

It was a fun, quick knit, despite all of the twisted stitches. It only took 2 or three days to do the entire thing! I've been getting all sorts of compliments on it, even from a woman working in the yarn shop. Nathan wanted one, so I picked up some yarn (Silky Wool, mmmm) today. It's a greenish grey heathered yarn, and when I showed it to him, he yelled: "YEAH! That is such a F***in cool color!" So...I think he likes it.

Also at the LYS, I picked up a few little bags of some plain old wool (not sure exactly what type of wool, the package just read "wool". I chose shockingly ridiculous colors, and picked up a half ounce of each (barbie pink and bright teal). These were prepared rovings, and ohmygod when I spun them I finally experienced that "ah ha!" moment. THAT is what spinning is supposed to feel like. It was so much easier to maintain the correct amount of twist on my yarn, so much easier to draft...so much easier to do everything. So I've decided I need to transform the remainder of my alpaca into Alisha-friendly roving. I'm on a tool hunt.

Here's what I spun today. These are the singles, sitting in their own little cups, while I prepare to ply (for the first time!).

The pink one was a bit overtwisted, but the teal came out just about right. It's so satisfying to see it all get better, little by little. Here's the plied yarn, still on the spindle:

And then I turned it into a skein, stuck it in one of those teeny little cups, and put a penny in it (so you havea better idea of how thick the stuff is). I didn't make very much out of this stuff - somewhere around 10-15 yards, I think.

It was so much fun! I have to wash the skein to set the twist, and then maybe I'll knit a teeny swatch so that I can say I have officially knit with yarn I spun myself. It'll be a giant ego boost. I will revel in my own awesomeness.

Today was also the day of the next big update by pigeonroof studios. I was watching like a hawk for the perfect roving. A few I liked came and went (quickly! you people are FAST!). But finally, I saw the drift roving. I had seen it before, and I loved it. I fell head over heels the first time I saw it on her blog, and then it popped up on her shop page, and I lost it. I HAD to have it. So I got it. Here's a picture of the beauty that is my soon-to-be new roving love.

I can't wait! She still has (at the moment of this post) some more DELICIOUSLY beautiful things up for sale, so definitely check it out. I swore that I would only pick one thing for this purchase, and it was a hard decision, but I'm definitely looking forward to getting my squishy package in the mail.

I've been working on the cable luxe sweater, but I don't have any updated pictures. The yoke is done and I've been working my way down the back. I've been figuring the math for the modifications I want to make...and it seems like it's all going to work out fairly simply. I look forward to wearing it!

Until then...I'm going to be spinning my ass off. Whoever turned me on to spinning should be ashamed. They have created a monster. A monster!

Who cares, this is fun. I love fibers. So much.

Butter knives CAN be dangerous.

Here's yesterday's progress on Shedir - I hope to have it finished tonight...tomorrow at the latest. I could really use a snuggly new hat. It's pretty damn cold out.

It's coming along beautifully. I just finished the 3 repeats of the pattern (making it shorter, like many have done) and will now begin the decreasing section.

The title of today's post comes from a recently acquired wound. I was rushing to make myself a bagel this morning (because I had to make and eat the bagel in 5 minutes) and was about to cut it in half. The bagel was rather tough, and instead of puncturing the bread part of the bagel, when I made my "stabby" motion, I instead, slipped across the skin of the bagel and gouged myself in the finger with a butter knife. Hooray.

It is eerily similar to the one Nathan accidentally gave himself about a week ago - his is on the knuckle of his RIGHT index finger, and mine is is virtually the same spot, with the same weapon on my left index finger. I told him we would have morbidly cute symmetrical scars.

The downside of this (other than proving that I am both impatient and rather moronic, AND that I now have a cut on my finger) is that it is located on the knuckle. It's making knitting slower than usual. I have to keep the finger relatively straight, because if I bend it too much, I split the wound open again and it gets all oozy.

Eeeew.

So I'm not entirely sure whether or not Shedir will get the attention she deserves tonight, but I'll sure try. I'm ready to wear it already!

And now...

...for a visual summary of my weekend (AKA: where I show that I have, in fact, been taking my required pictures.

January 4th:

This is a really wretched picture, I know, but I took it in the evening, and that's the time of day that's worst for my poor camera. This is a picture of the finished cable section of the yoke of my cable luxe tunic. It has since been sewn together. However, I'm faced with another design dilemma. The pattern asks me to (quite reasonably) pick up stitches along one edge in an area I have marked out (to be the back). I, however, have decided that I do not like the way it looks to pick up said stitches.

The way the yoke was knit has left a 1 stitch ridge on each edge of the yoke piece itself. It looks like this:

\/-----{0}-----\/

I know it's a horrible representation, but pretend the V's on each side are knit stitches, the dashes represent the purled area between the edge of the piece, and the O with the brackets is the cable.

I like the knit stitches where they are. I would not like to pick them up. In picking up these stitches, that dimension disappears and the whole thing smooths out. I've decided I don't want that. So I've been trying to think of a way to get my ideas put into action. I thought about maybe picking up from the purl bumps just next to the knit stitches, but I'm worried about pulling the fabric in funky directions. I'm currently mulling over the idea of a strip of single crochet on the yoke, from which I could pick up the stitches without ruining the effect the edge has on the piece.

That might have made no sense. I guess it's kind of hard to explain without a decent photograph (here's the part where I hope everyone reading glares really hard in the general direction of my poor, defenseless camera). I want to figure it out soon - I'm excited to get to work on the body of the sweater.

January 5th:

Ahem. Do note, however, the presence of the cough medicine in the foreground.

January 6th:

This is due to that sickness I posted about on the 5th. It was like a short lived cough-cold thing that I had pretty well beat after only 2 or 3 days, a lot of liquids (non-alcoholic, thank you), and some rest. It's just about gone now.

January 7th:

I started work on the new shedir! And now, I'm happy to say, I absolutely love it. I'm using the Bernat Soy Blends I picked up at Michael's not too long ago, and despite the high acrylic content, I'm very impressed with the softness and the stretch in the yarn. And the stitch definition! My little twists and ribs are turning out beautifully, if I do say so myself. I sat down and worked through the 9 rows of ribbing and about 1 of the pattern repeats before doing this blog entry. It is absolutely whirring by.

It's interesting to note the things I've learned since the last time I tried to make this. The first time, I was using a really splitty sock yarn on a circular needle that was too long, and too pointy. I was trying to muscle my way through the pattern by staring at every stitch, and just found myself getting more and more frustrated every round because I would make one small mistake. This time, I am able to look at the pattern, and see that: "In this round, they simply want me to do X." And then I go around without even looking at the chart. It's so much more enjoyable to knit this time! It'll be finished very soon. I'm