Full of Chemistry and Algebra

I honestly really enjoy going to college and actively learning, but it really keeps me busy.  If I'm not balancing equations, I'm juggling logarithms in my head.  I dream about it.  Unfortunately, this does not leave much time for knitting.

Now that I've become adjusted to college again, I can make better use of my time.  I have short days on Tuesday and Thursdays, so I make myself take an hour or two to knit or play video game.

Oh yeah...Star Ocean?  That'll be the death of my A average if I let it.

In fact it would be great if I could update this every Tuesday and Thursday.  Lets see if I can stick with that.

So way back in February, Jake said that he would take me on a road trip to a nearby city of my choice for my birthday. Visiting a big city is fun, but going to a fiber festival would be even better.  So we'll be at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair.  This year they are going to have an alpaca pavilion (which totally sold Jake) and the dyer of Creatively Dyed Yarn will have a booth.  Is anyone else going?

So, here is what I've been working on.

I am still plugging away at the Rogue pullover.  I'm just now finishing up the front shoulders and the cable design on the front.

This is something I finished late last year and never got a chance to talk any photos of it.  This is a Turn A Square Hat in Cascade 220 and Noro Silk Garden.  I've since forgotten the colorways, but Jake picked them out.

This is his 2008 MAGFest Hat.  I knit him one every year.

This is the Tamarind Cowl made with the Worsted Deluxe LP yarn Addie and Ariel got me for my birthday.

I got to use it the day after I finished it and I loved it. It kept my neck warm without feeling too bulky.

Also....Sekrit Project.

Janurary Ravelry Sockdown Socks!

I didn't feel compelled to post anything until my second Licorice sock was done.  I've already posted pictures of the first one, so doing the same for the second would seem redundant.  

I finished it yesterday night which means it's time to post!  It also means that I could win a fabulous prize if my name is picked.  There are twelve different prizes to be given away and they are all really nice.  Even if I don't win anything, I now have these awesome pair of socks and I proved that I can knit a pair within two months.  

Here's the stats:

Pattern: Licorice Stick Socks

Source:  The Twist Collective Magazine.  The pattern is $6 and is specifically here.

Yarn:  Dream In Color Starry from The Loopy Ewe.

Colorway:  Dusky Aurora

Needles:  Size 1 bamboo dpns

I memorized the four row pattern repeat after knitting it a few times.  I like the linen stitch heel too; it was a nice change from others I have done.  They fit snugly; overall I am pleased with the outcome. Also, as my husband loves to point out, they sparkle!

So...what now?  I'm going to leave sock knitting behind for now and completely focus on the Rogue pullover.  I also want to re-knit a hat for my husband that he lost in Chicago.  I just need to grab the pattern and get the right kind of yarn.  I'm a broke college student and might hold off until later until I can walk into a yarn shop without crying.

We will get quite a nice tax refund though.  I have to be a good girl and squirrel it away since I'm not making the big bucks as a college student.  

I have been doing other things...like getting more yarn.  I know right?  Why am I getting more yarn if I'm broke?  It all goes back to the Yarn Pirate Booty Club.  It's a GREAT club and the dyer is awesome and super-nice.  She just keeps accidentally sending me more yarn.  That's not why I say she's nice...it has nothing to do with that.  I thought she was nice long before I joined the club.

I tell her every month about the error, but she just tells me to keep it.  I feel pretty conflicted about it; I shouldn't be getting this lovely yarn that she's worked so hard on.  It's pretty yarn that I get to keep though...it's a moral dilemma.

Just look at it.  It's such a weird position to be in.  The top colorway is Plum Pudding, the middle is called Hope, and the last is Daffodilly.  

When I'm not knitting or stashing yarn, I'm being a human calculator.  I've got to study for algebra and run some calculations for my chemistry lab...so that's all for now!

I'm Now A '30-Something'

Before I get into anything else, I'd like to respond to TF about the way I laid out my sock blockers in a photo for a previous post.

You're right, it does look like a penis when the blockers are laid out like that.  Your comment made me giggle. However, I didn't intentionally do it; I just liked how it looked symmetrical. Should I keep doing it? :)

Anyway, last Friday I turned 30 years old.  I didn't cry or go through some sort of denial.  I welcomed thirty; i have a feeling I'd be taken more seriously when I say I'm in my thirties. Besides, people are always surprised when I reveal my age.

My husband says that we'll take a road trip soon to celebrate.  He couldn't get Nugget boarded in time to go this weekend  He says I can choose to go to Chicago, St. Louis, or Indianapolis over the weekend.  I have yet to pick which city I want to visit.  I haven't been to any of them.

St.  Louis is a strong choice, especially after my mother gave me a gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe.  It would be really neat to go see the elves that package up all of the orders.  The problem is we would have to drive out of downtown to get there.  Otherwise, I can't decide on which city I want to visit!

As for other fiber related gifts, I received a really cute pair of Serendipity needles with sheep on the end.

The same person also gifted me a skein of Deluxe Worsted LP yarn in the Autumn Equinox colorway.  I am thinking this might make a nice short row hat.

Now I just have to figure out how to best spend this lovely gift certificate.  I was thinking about some Casbah yarn, but I wonder how it wears.

We need to get a peg leg for Nugget's pirate toy.  He ripped the poor pirate's leg off.

The Wollmeise Yarn Cult

Wollmeise.  I has it.

This is the Vincent colorway.  The photo is from their website.  The husband is still sleeping and I don't want to wake him up by digging through my yarn stash.  I bought it from a Raveler who was destashing; I wanted to see what the big deal is.

I still really don't know what the big deal is.  It's pretty, but so is a lot of other yarn I have. Maybe if I knit with it, I'll get it.

Regardless of my opinion, this yarn is highly desired among knitters.  It's the big thing right now.  Knitters will stay up for as long as it takes to constantly refresh sites like The Loopy Ewe just hoping for a chance that Wollmeise becomes available for sale.  If they get that far, the knitters go into a frenzy.  There is a mad dash to throw as much Wollmeise as they can into shopping carts and buy it before someone else does.  The stock only lasts for minutes.

It reminds me of the Socks That Rock frenzy at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival a few years ago. One year, I was able to visit The Fold booth without standing in line.  They had a nice stock of Socks That Rock in various colorways.  I took my time and picked out a few I liked, paid for them, and went on my way. Next year, there was a line clear out of the barn for the stuff.  I entered the barn on the opposite side and didn't realize there was a line. When I peeked in the booth, I got a slew of dirty looks from knitters at the front of line.  I imagine they had been standing there for hours; their looks could kill.

I hate it when people show their true colors.  People are so shocked when a shawl is stolen or money is taken at knitting shops or fiber festivals.  'Knitters wouldnt do that!' people say.

What a load of BS.  Anyway, I digress!

The Loopy Ewe decided to limit Wollmese purchases to one colorway per order.  Naturally, this leads to some snarkiness that has forced a thread about the subject to be locked on Ravelry.  People who missed the update and didn't get any yarn just can't help but feel a little frustrated at the one person who posts her excitement about scoring TEN skeins of the stuff.

I think this has become less about the quality of the yarn (though the colors are very pretty) and more about a desire for it because it's so difficult to get.  Getting Wollmeise, especially from an e-tailer, illicits some kind of emotional response and bragging rights.  I'm pretty sure people get high off the entire experience, from stalking websites to the rush of actually buying the stuff.  The most amusing part of it all is that many knitters are afraid to actually knit with it.  What if they can't get any more? The yarn they worked so hard on getting just sits in a box somewhere.

I feel neutral about the whole thing.  If you have the time and patience to constantly refresh your browser at bizarre hours in the hopes of getting some Wollmeise, go for it!  It's your time and money.  I wouldn't do it, but I'm not going to whine about missing the updates either.

If I happen to be online when an update goes up, I'd still try to get one though.  I'm way too broke for Wollmeise anyway.  I need to go through some of the tubs of sock yarn I have already.

Oh yeah, I'm going to cast on the other Licorice Sock this weekend.  I meant to last week, but I was waylaid by quizzes in all of my classes this week.  Argh.

One Licorice Down, One To Go

A finished sock approaches.  Command?

I've got to hand it to the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry.  Their monthly sockdown challenge has motivated me to knit this in 19 days.  I don't think I've knit a sock so fast.  I do have extra time between college and my job, but I'm still proud of myself.  I went from one year to less than a month.

It's very possible I'll finish the pair by the end of February and win fabulous prizes!

Once this is over, I'm going to sit out a challenge or two and pick up work on Rogue again.  I'm just starting the cable work around the collar.

On a side note, my friend Larry Oji described me as 'Kristi Kaufman, kickass knitter'.  I like that; one of the most gratuitous uses of the letter 'K' I've ever seen.  Sure...my husband composed the soundtrack for Contra 4.  I guess that's kind of a big deal, but I'm a kickass knitter!

Yeah.. :)