Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 10:08PM I'm knitting a hat for Jake, but I wanted to try it on for myself.
It looks like a painting, so Paintbox Hat is an appropriate name. I'll take this and my sock to Lake of Egypt this weekend. I'll probably be too busy to work on either, but one should never leave home without any knitting.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 4:13PM SOCK LOVE
When there is downtime at work (and there has been a lot of that over the summer), I am allowed to knit at my desk. I've been working on my Promise socks mostly and the new lab assistant really liked it. She told me that she does know how to knit, but she just hasn't been interested in socks.
Now she's knitting socks with her daughter.
She told me that she was impressed with my socks and it would be a great project for her daughter to do for an upcoming 4-H competition. In order to help her daughter, she is working on the same sock pattern ahead of her so she can offer help.
How awesome is that? Mom and daughter knitting socks and spending time together. I told her that I would be happy to help with anything they needed. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy when people tell me that my knitting inspires them to do something creative. Another good reason to knit in public.
SPINNING
In other news, I'm trying to spin again. I own an Ashford Traveller and have for about five years. After several falase starts, I think I'm starting to get it.
This is undyed Romney. I'm told it's a great beginner fiber. My single is starting to look more even. When I started, it was much more thick and thin than this. Maybe after more practice, I'll try out some dyed top I have.
MORE HATS?
Of course! Jake is sort of a hat fiend. It makes up for his fear of wearing socks. I haven't made him one yet this year and I always knit at least one so he has something new to wear to MAGFest. Here is the latest creation in progress.
We agreed that a plain stockinette hat would be best and would allow the colors to stand out. I may put some icord on top. He gets a kick out of that.
Enjoy Nugget...
He loves you!
Monday, April 20, 2009 at 8:42AM I received my Loopy Ewe "Don't Be Blue" kit in the mail last Friday and it really made me happy that I at least tried to get in. Handmaiden dyed a really beautiful yarn just for this kit. It's so soft too; that bit of cashmere added in really makes a difference.
This past weekend Jake went to Cleveland for a demoscene convention and I had no schoolwork to do. That equates to a free weekend, so I cleaned up the house Friday night so I could go to Needleworks early to get help with the Rogue pullover.
(On a side note, Jake won all of the music competitions except one and came home with money, books, tshirts, and a top of the line gaming computer. It was awesome.)
I was ready to seam the shoulder together and pick up stitches to start the hood. That is, at least I thought I was ready to do that. Matthew was there on Saturday and was happy to help me out. He pointed out, to my embarrassment, that I completely forgot to knit 36 more rows after the armhole shaping. The back was much shorter than it should be.
He said that that particular direction looked like it was snuck in at the end of a paragraph when it probably should have had its own paragraph...like all of the other important instructions. He undid the bind off for me and set me up to knit those last rows. Then I'm going to undo the bind off at the front shoulders. Instead of seaming, I'm going to do a three needle bind off with the front and back shoulders at Matthew's suggestion.
Here is a photo of the back. The back was about as short as where the two strands of yarn are. You'd think I'd notice something like that, but I haven't knit anything like this before.
In other news I managed to get a net score of 100.8% on my latest chemistry exam. I got 100% on the polyatomic ion quiz which is added on to the exam. So...wow. As a reward to myself, I'm stalking the Loopy Ewe for their Numma Numma and will get some if I can catch it.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 8:50PM 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.
cowl, hat, knitting, midwest fiber fair, rogue, tamarind, turn a square Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 2:45PM 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!