Back!

Don’t be shocked, it’s probably temporary…Just wanted to let anyone out there still reading know that I haven’t fallen off the face of the planet, nor have I abandoned knitting forever, I’ve just been EXTREMELY busy with school and then getting ready to leave for the island (next Monday, May 21st!)…I haven’t been knitting much, but I have taken up spinning again!  And I will have some photos probably tomorrow of the projects I plan to bring with me this summer, and maybe even some stash photos, if I get around to retaking them.

Entrelac!

First of all, I’ve got a little bit of extra cash at the moment, so I picked up a couple balls of Patons Soy Wool Stripes the other day. I’ve been wanting to try it out for a while now and I was at Michael’s, so hey, why not? For some reason, maybe all the entrelac scarves I’ve seen hanging around lately, I thought learning entrelac would be interesting and who can’t use another scarf? I mean, it was 50 degrees today, but it’s supposed to snow tonight. Its New England, it’s always potential scarf weather 🙂 Anyway, for some odd reason I find entrelac completely fascinating and addictive. Part of it is probably because this is my first time using yarn like this, but it’s also just such an ingenious technique! I use Eunny Jang’s entrelac tutorial in the latest Interweave, which could not have been easier to follow. Unfortunately, I don’t think two balls of this yarn are gonna cut it. I can afford more but it means trekking back to Michael’s which means driving the boy’s car, because mine has a flat (I realized after the fact that I should have taken a picture of the piece of glass in my tire so i could blog about it but it was too late…)

Without further ado (am I the only one who hate when people write “a due” or “adieu” instead of “ado”? “Ado” is right, right?):

Those were taken yesterday…Since then, it’s at least doubled in size. Like I said, I’m addicted.

I also ripped out Rogue and swatched for the Dollar and Half cardigan. I don’t have swatch photos but I have photos of Rogue being frogged 🙂

Before:

So close to done, I know!

After:

So now I’m ready to start the cardigan! It might take a while though, I’ve got lots of other things I’d like to finish, and lots of schoolwork coming up. I’ve been working on the Razor Shell Cami a lot too, but it doesn’t like much different. Might be while ’til I update again, I think the rest of the semester is going to be pretty busy.

Really, there’s been knitting!

I’ve never been good with titles…

So, I test-knit a fingerless glove pattern this weekend for Katherine Summer. I finished the first one of a pair of her Victorian Gauntlets in a couple days. It was a nice, quick, easy knit, the pattern is well written and easily adjustable to different sizes and comes in a long and short version. Check it out:

Once mid-terms are over and Spring Break is here, I’ll be able to start to second one…

And for my directed study, I had to make an altered book, some I’m knitting one:

The process of making the yarn got a little old.  There will be more to it eventually, but this will wait until Spring Break too.  I’ll write up a more interesting post about it when I have more time, like maybe during, um…Spring Break?  Yeah.

Wasting time…

I’m totally in love with this yarn by Hello Yarn.  I’m so tired of being broke!

That’s all for now, but I’ll be back for a real update in a little bit, once I’ve done some more studying (ugh!)

I should not be allowed to look at yarn…

I’m wondering if I need to take a break from reading knit blogs…Every time I do, I follow links to beautiful and extremely tempting yarns that I seriously can’t afford. I have a decent stash but I really want more sock yarn. I desperately want to try Socks That Rocks, of course, but there are just so many yarns out there! Like I’m in love with this one from Spunky Eclectic, and this from Claudia Handpaints…And I see new and different yarns, especially sock yarns, every time I look at a new blog. If I could afford it, I’d have the biggest sock yarn stash in existence. I probably wouldn’t even knit with that much from it, I’d just ooh and aah at the pretty colors 🙂

That’s all for now…There’s a bit of knitting and some spinning going on here, but it’ll have to wait until after class when I have time to take pictures. Two posts in one day? It might just happen…

ETA: Whoa, look what I just found!  These ladies specialize in sock yarn and are based in Worcester!  Good thing they don’t have a bricks and mortar shop, or I’d be hanging out there all the time instead of going to school!  Still, I always feel Worcester is lacking in yarny/fibery/knitting people and places, so it’s cool to find another shop based here.

Yes, another rant.

This will just take me a second, and there’s knitting (an FO!) to talk about too. Feel free to skip ahead if you wish.

If you’re sticking around for the rant, go here first.

Get a good look? That’s the new dorm here at Clark University. I don’t know how much it cost to build, unfortunately, but I can tell you that to live there for a year would cost you $7,300 for a single room or $5,200 for a double (as far as I can tell, this includes winter break, but you can’t live in this dorm over the summer, so it’s really 10 months, not a year). Just to put that in perspective, I pay $2,700 a year to live in an off-campus apartment with three other people. We each have our own bedrooms and share a kitchen, living room, and bathroom, and we have a back and front porch. It’s not the nicest apartment ever, but it serves us well and is substantially cheaper than any on-campus housing.

What I can’t get over about this building is the fact that it surely cost a fortune to build, is HIDEOUS on the outside. It looks like it was built in the ’70s, even more so than any other building on campus. The next newest building, the bioscience building, is infinitely more attractive. How can the school possibly ask people to live in this building, especially when they’re charging such an exorbitant sum? Seriously, they’d have to pay ME to live there. Are all college administrations so clueless? I guess I’m just kind of over the whole school thing…I’m not really involved in anything here besides classes, I rarely even go onto campus, and I’m just done with the people running this place. I’ve had some other, more personal negative experiences with the administration (confidentiality? what?) and this new eye-sore isn’t helping.

Ok, now the good stuff! I finished my socks! Like, bound-off, ends woven in, FINISHED! Ready for gratuitous photos? Good.

Socks without feet…You can’t really tell, but the cuff is a half-twisted rib (knit stitches only). I wasn’t really sure how to finish ’em, but I like the way the twisted rib looks and it isn’t too tight. It also doesn’t really hold the sock up well, but part of that probably has to do with the fact that this is a cotton/wool/nylon blend so it’s not exactly an elastic yarn. I don’t care, they’re done!

They’re not exactly long…I’m glad I have small feet so I got halfway decent length for the leg. I’m really aching for some knee socks though (like I have the time)

I’ve only made three pairs of socks for myself and they’ve all been toe-up, short-row heels…I’m not sure they’re the best fit for me, but I like knitting them this way. I’m sure I’ll eventually try a gusset/heel-flap type heel, but I’m not very keen on the look or the process (although I do like the eye-of-partridge heel). I would like to try a sock like Grumperina’s from last year. The colorwork is so beautiful and I think the arch-shaping would make for some very comfortable socks. Unfortunately, at the moment I don’t have the time or resources for such an undertaking. In general, I’d just like to try some colorwork, but again, I lack especially the yarn for a colorwork project and I’m on a serious budget. There’s been a lot of colorwork out there in blogland and it gets more and more tempting every time I see someone’s awesome fair isle project…There are just so many things I’d like to do with knitting; in a perfect world, I would knit and take pictures and never have to go to school again. Ah, wishful thinking…

I’ve also made it to the lace patterning on the Razor Shell Cami, and have a photo of Gilbert, but it will have to wait (hopefully not too long), since Flickr decided now would be a good time to shit the bed.  With any luck, they’ll be back soon and then I will be too, to finish this post.

To the people of Worcester, MA and Clark University

I have two things to say:

Number One – It’s called a sidewalk. Did you notice that barely one car can fit down the road, nevermind two cars? Maybe you should GET OUT of the DAMN WAY!

Number Two – Man up guys. Seriously, I know it’s been a while since we’ve gotten more than 2 inches of snow, but this is not the end of the world. Remember when we used to get snowstorms every couple weeks? Or at least once a month? This is nothing, and I’m sure you managed to drive on CLEARED roads after those storms. Now, I’m not driving recklessly here, and I admit I have an advantage driving a Subaru stick-shift with all-wheel drive, ABS, and snow tires but you LIVE IN NEW ENGLAND!!! It’s not my fault you’re not comfortable driving on roads that might be snowy or icy, or that you’re car is not properly equipped to drive in ice or snow. Don’t feel comfortable driving? Gonna fuck up my day and mess with the flow of traffic? Stay off the roads, for the safety and sanity of yourself and others. Please.

Seriously, I don’t think I’m asking for much here…If you’re obeying the regular rules of the road and I don’t know, if you’re paying as much or more attention than you normally do while driving, it’s really not so bad out there. It’s like, people get so focused on the fact that it snowed and oh my god, the roads have snow and ice on them (because it’s really cold and salt is useless at this temperature), and totally forget that, oh yeah, they’re still driving, they still have other people around them trying to drive. Yes, I’m one of those people who believes that if everyone in the world drove like them, the world’s roads would be much safer, happier places.

Annnnnyway, enough ranting. For now anyway. There hasn’t been TOO much knitting going on, school is shockingly time-consuming this semester (and it will only get worse, I’m sure). But, I’ve managed to make two hats for Mini’s hat drive, work on the Lang Jacquard sock, and I bought some Paton’s Classic Wool today to make a hat. I went into A.C. Moore to buy more tapestry needles, as mine have apparently grown legs and ran away, and I decided I wanted to make a little something for myself. I had a refund check from school for $20, and the Paton’s wool is cheap, and I want to make another attempt at making a tam I’m satisfied with, so: new yarn! I tried to move a little bit outside my comfort zone in terms of colors while still trying to find something that would work with my complexion and my wardrobe…In general, I love bright and saturated colors, but when it comes to what I’ll actually wear, my color choices are pretty limited. Hopefully this color will work out.

I was hoping to find some Patons SWS, but AC Moore doesn’t seem to carry it.

Here’s sock progress:

Annnnnnd furry hats!

I’ll show you the hat I’m making for myself, and maybe some potential patterns for my Rogue yarn, next time.

ETA: Please excuse the awful quality of these photos…I swear I took some really good ones today, the yarn ones just didn’t want to work because I took them late in the evening, with no good lighting.

Oh crap.

I don’t know what’s gotten into me…Maybe it’s because so many bloggers are participating in this or maybe it’s just me feeling the need to clean up an organize (if you saw my apartment, you’d understand. It’s a disaster. Really.), but I’ve decided something needs to be done about this:

This is Rogue, in Cascade 220, a much nicer heathery shade than it appears to be here. It has been languishing in this form for almost 2 years now. Yes. I said 2. Years. That’s a really long time for something so close to being done, I know. All it needs is a hood, seaming, and a zipper. The problem? I don’t think I want to finish it. I hate seaming. A lot. And I’ve never seamed sleeves or had to attach set-in sleeves. I’ve sewn one zipper, and while I didn’t completely botch it, it wasn’t something I was really comfortable doing or something I enjoyed.  And that wasn’t even a full length zipper. Plus the thought of having to graft that hood? To be honest, I just don’t see any time in the near future when I will have the time and motivation to sit down and work on this. Still, the idea of ripping the whole thing out is a little frightening. If I knew what I wanted to do with that yarn instead, I wouldn’t be so concerned, but the thought of a sweater’s worth of wool added back to the stash without purpose isn’t really a pleasant one to me. I considered Eris, I have the pattern, but I’d really like something a little more fitted. I guess what I’ll do is go through my books, find something I want to make that will work with this yarn, and then rip. Have a plan before I just go for it. Any suggestions? I can’t seem to get recommended gauge with Cascade without the fabric being far too loose, so something in a light worsted is the way to go. I’m still torn, I’d kind of like to just rip the damn thing out right now but I don’t know why I should. I guess I just need to decide if I’ll ever actually want to sit down and seam and knit the hood and add the zipper. Right now it seems unlikely.

Not much other news…Joni of Union Center Knits sent me some furry yarns to make more hats, but I haven’t had much time the past couple weeks. I’ve got three finished and hope to get four more (thanks to Joni’s generosity). I’ve knit a few rows on the sock, nothing very exciting. School and life have just been seriously hectic lately, so it’s hard to squeeze knitting in. Spring Break is only 3 and a half weeks away though, maybe then I’ll have some time. Hopefully I’ll be back soon, at least to show off some crazy hats.

Look, I’m posting! I even have FOs!

I’ve been trying to knit more lately…Mostly just trying to do more in general.  Despite what seems like a busy schedule, I definitely have a lot of free time and I’m trying to get better at taking advantage of it.  I’ve even joined a couple knit-a-longs, kind of.  One is the square-along (the link isn’t working at the moment, I’ll come back and add it later) at test-along.  The purpose of the squares is to make up a blanket for an upcoming book, but all the squares (including those not included in the book) will be made into blankets for Warm Up America, I believe).  Unfortunately, I didn’t know until I got the pattern that I don’t have sock yarn in the colors they’re looking for…I haven’t decided yet what I’m going to do about that, since I definitely don’t have money to spend on more yarn.  Maybe they’ll still want the square for the donation.  Also, if you check out Minestrone Soup, you’ll see she’s organized a whole bunch of knitters to knit fun fur hats for kids at Children’s Hospital Boston who are undergoing chemo and/or radiation treatments.  It feels good to be a part of this, because the hospital is somewhat local and the kids requested these hats…The hats are easy and quick and I’m pretty sure these kids will be pumped to get them.  So, I’ve finished a couple of those already:

The two finished hats are Moda Dea Fur Ever, and the next hat will be made from the ball in the middle, Moda Dea Kickx.  I can’t afford anymore yarn at the moment, but if anyone hats working with furry yarns and wants to get rid of what they’ve got, I’ll take it so I can make more hats! 😉

I also whipped up some mitts from Weekend Knitting…I’ve been wanting to try the pattern for a while now and had some Lamb’s Pride Worsted leftovers that turned out to be pretty much perfect.

They were a little too snug before blocking but now they’re great.  I definitely need to make some fingerless gloves too, because my hands and fingers are always cold and these mitts don’t quite cut it for my icy fingers.

I’ve been working on my socks too!  I decided I needed to at least try to clear some stuff out of the cache, plus I need some cozy warm socks.  After these, I’m gonna start some wool ones…It’s fucking COLD in New England right now!

Now it’s time for the real boring part, knitting that leg in 2×2 rib until I’m almost out of yarn.  I haven’t decided how to finish these socks yet.  The first one I switched to a 1×1 for an inch at the top but that was too tight.  I feel like if I just stick to 2×2 rib the whole way, it won’t look as finished as the 1×1 rib.  What do I do?

I still need to take pictures of the roving I got for Christmas from my roommate…It was honestly completely unexpected and one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve received.  She went out of her way to find something nice and something she knew I’d like, even though she doesn’t know anything about spinning.  It’s a beautiful merino/tussah blend from Ashland Bay in a color called Sea Mist, which my roommate chose because she knew I loved Star Island, and the ocean in general.  What a sweetheart!  Sadly, you’ll have to wait for pictures of that!  Maybe one of these days I’ll get back to spinning, but right now I feel like I’ve got a lot on my plate so I guess we’ll wait and see.  Oh, I’ll take pictures of my finished tam at some point soon too.

I know, I said I’d post yesterday

So, I was hoping to go to Worcester Friday night, then I could have picked up the merino/silk roving I got, so I could show it off…But that didn’t happen. Here’s some other stuff though:

The books I got for Christmas – Handspun Revolution, A People’s History of the United States, A Gathering of Lace, Books, Prints, and Things, Stahman’s Shawls and Scarves, Victorian Lace Today, and Unexpected Knitting

More Christmas loot – A Lensbaby 3G and a Polaroid camera

Last night’s snack (garlic and herb goat cheese on pita and a banana) and the beginning of a tam from my hand-dyed handspun yarn, and a razorshell tank in Elann Luna.

The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge in Boston, MA.

The almost finished tam blocking (I think I need to reknit the first few rows, it was a little loose pre-blocking) and marginal progress on the razorshell tank.

I’m not much into writing at the moment, so I hope this will suffice. And don’t forget about 365 Days, 365 Photos!