Working Out

Hey -
So about that accountability thing with the working out... I've been lazy about going to the gym, but I'm trying to drink more water and I've certainly been walking around campus a ton. Here's my progress since the last time I posted the ticker. I was seriously shocked when I weighed myself at the gym today! I'm almost there!



Other than that, my knitting has really slowed down this week. I snuck in a wristband with Opal sock yarn scraps from a yarn trade earlier this year, but I'm planning to get more knitting done tomorrow evening on my flight home, and I'll post with pictures when I get back Sunday night.

Anyone for a KAL update?

My (until now secret) project for the Knitting Olympics will be Hello Yarn's Pirate Mittens! I think they are wonderful in so many ways, and they'll be a great challenge for me since I have pretty much zero experience with fair isle.
I'll be working with KnitPicks Palette yarn in these colors (or some combination, since I'm not sure yet how to alter a two-color pattern chart to best show off four colors).

Top to bottom: petal, bark, blush, and white.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the week and that you all have a restful, knit-filled weekend!

Knitting in circles

Thank you to everyone for your incredibly sweet and thoughtful comments. Reading them all has given me a lot of comfort and has made this sort of in-between time, waiting to go home and see my family, much much easier. You are all wonderful, and I'm so grateful to know you because of knitting and this blog!

I have some knitting content today - first:
Jaywalker #1! For Cara's Jaywalker KAL
Some progress and the finished sock.

(Hmm... anyone else think I should be repainting my toenails soon? Oops!)
While I had some trouble picking up one side of the heel stitches (this is my first heel flap, so be kind!), overall this construction rocks. Slipping stitches is really fun :)
I find that it makes for a much looser ankle area than a short row heel, so I wouldn't knit this kind of heel for anyone else in my family, as they are all picky about having their socks fit really tightly. Weirdos.
I don't weave in ends until the whole project is done, so I'm waiting for sock #2. I think it's actually because I'm lazy, but I'm going to pretend I just can't call one sock an FO!

#2 is already on the needles and just past the ribbing. I can't wait to have a pair of these!
Some preliminary details - I'm knitting the smaller size sock on bigger needles, I think they're US3, in KnitPicks Sock Garden, the Star Gazer Lily colorway. I haven't run into any problems with lack of stretchiness or a too-tight ankle.

And second:
Last night I was working on a lovely piece in cream-colored cotton. It was basically a sort of c-curve, knit with short rows, that was supposed to end up getting pulled together into a flat circle. It also had some very large eyelets that would have looked as though they were spiraling out from the center.
Why am I using the past tense? And why don't I have any pictures to show you?
Not because I frogged it. The knitting was actually going really well.
But because...

I WAS KNITTING IT IN MY SLEEP!

Yes, people, I've officially had my first dream about knitting. And I was really really disappointed when I woke up and didn't have the project anymore!

Anyone else have knitting dreams to share?

Also, can anyone help me figure out how to put buttons in my sidebar and actually have them link to things? I'd like to put up links to the KALs I'm in! Thanks, guys...

Grandpa

This entry is very difficult for me to write, but I want to let you guys know why my blogging will be very sporadic over the next week.
My grandpa passed away on Thursday night, shortly after he went upstairs to go to bed.

I wish I had a picture of him, but being away from home means I don't have many things like that. Instead I want to share a snippet of a portrait.
Grandpa's name is John. He was 84 years old.
He and my grandma were married for 58 years, and I don't know what she'll do without him.
He was a wonderful father to 10 children (5 boys, 5 girls: my dad is #8) and the best grandpa any girl could ask for (or boy, for that matter). There are 18 of us grandkids.
Grandpa made us all wooden toys, picture frames, toychests, rocking horses, doorstops, clocks, and name trains in his workshop.
He was always the one behind the camera at family functions and took great joy in handing you a photo of yourself the next time he saw you.
When my family stayed at his house, he liked to make my siblings and I cinnamon toast, bring us donuts in the morning, and help us sneak Grandma's cookies from the top of the fridge.
On family vacations at Lake Tahoe, Grandpa gave us extra quarters to play at Circus Circus and took us on walks by the golf course to collect all the lost golf balls we could find.
His favorite song was Eidelweiss.

I'll be flying home on Wednesday to go to the funeral and be with my family over the weekend.

Knitting is helping me right now when I'm far away from home, and I know your thoughts and prayers would help my family, too.

Note

As Lolly suggested in a comment on my last post, I seem to have been inspired lately. It's true! Ever since I've gotten back into the schedule of classes, I've been itching to try new patterns, knit from my own designs (er, well, from images in my head. I rarely ever write anything down first), and just create in general. I've been thinking a lot about how to make myself a space for crafting, and hopefully this weekend I'll get started on Operation Creativity Corner. Until then, it'll be mostly homework, getting reading finished for tomorrow's and Friday's classes.

But let me share a few of the people, places, and things that have been inspiring me lately.

The colors and textures in these hats,
found at Cut+Paste - so many unexpected combinations that really get me thinking about color combinations I like and why.

LiquidPaper's valentine ideas, and this picture! Again with the textures...

Jewelry like this neckace from a sundance catalog I picked up off the couch in my building's lounge.

Amanda at this blog: French Toast Cake, just for general creativity (check out the link to her knitted leaf earrings!), plus something about the color scheme of her page really gets to me.

Happy Knitting - catch you tomorrow...

For Hume the Bell Tolls

Yeah, I know. It's a lame joke (shhh).
We're reading Hume in our constructive studies class this week, and it's pretty fun questioning the entire basis of empirical knowledge in one 1.5 hour long lecture. But I have much more important things on my mind. Mostly knitting!

Second pair of blue fingerless mitts, this time with no thumb gusset, since my seester wasn't sure her friend would want thumbs included. Now she has choices.

Second hat - this time in beautiful beautiful red, knit on smaller needles than the green to offer another size without altering the stitch count of my basic pattern.

By the way, all the yarn I'm using is from my latest KnitPicks order - wool of the Andes in Rain (blue), Fog (grey), Hollyberry (red), and Avocado (best green ever). Everything has taken less than one skein, even the hats. That makes me happy.

Because I'm such a joiner, I flocked to join the KAL linked to the cuteness of this button:

How could I resist the monkeys? No one could. I'm all joined up and ready to make some socks for someone else, most likely someone with smaller feet than me, which will be a nice change :). If you want to knit socks, too, you have until 11:59 EST tonight to sign up over at the Blue Blog. Go, go, go!

Not only did I cast on for the ubiquitous Clapotis last week, but I also gave in to the call of the Jaywalker Sock Craze. That's right, the sock you see in the first photo is my very own Jaywalker! Can't wait to really get going on this project.
I also have valentines on the mind... I'm planning to make a bunch of cards or little knitted goodies, but I'll have to share ideas later in the week. Happy knitting, all!

Productive Weekend

I got so much knitting done this weekend! This puts me in great shape for sending out a package of things to sell to my sister at the end of the week. And if that goes well, more yarn and more knitting! Not to count my chickens before they hatch or anything :) So a few FOs to share:
Arm warmers (requested) and a few experimental wristbands as examples of various stitch patterns.
I especially like this one.
One completed hat (I'm also working on a red one that should be finished this afternoon)
And a little bit more selfish knitting! This is such a fun pattern without requiring too much concentration.
Happy Monday!

And so it begins...

I'm currently working on the following:
Knits for her (her being a girl who saw the fingerless mitts I made for my seester and wants to buy a pair of her own).
And look! pictures in the sun! 1 down, 2nd one on the needles and going along quite quickly.

Knits for me

I know y'all recognize this project. Unfortunately I have no yarn details, since it was a gift from a friend of mine probably 2 years ago and it already had no tags. Some kind of lovely, drapey silk-linen blend.

And a meme! I wasn't actually tagged, but I wanted to do it anyway :)

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Lifeguard Assistant, Swimming lessons assistant
2. Office Assistant at a Neurologist's Office
3. Statistics Tutor at U. of Puget Sound
4. Writing Advisor at UPS

Four movies you could watch over and over:
1. Little Women
2. Anne of Green Gables/Avonlea
3. The Other Side of the Mountain (and it would probably make me cry every time!)
4. Real Genius (HILARIOUS)

Four places you have lived:
1. Palo Alto, CA (born there)
2. Long Beach, CA (during the LA riots - yipes!)
3. Hercules, CA (where my family is)
4. Tacoma, WA (hooray Pacific Northwest!!!)

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. ER - even though I have no TV, I make sure I watch this at a friend's house
2. Judging Amy
3. Spongebob Squarepants
4. Umm, the food channel :)

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Lake Tahoe, CA
2. Disneyland
3. Ireland
4. Home

Four websites you visit (almost) daily:
1. LollyKnitting Around
2. Bits of Knits
3. Cosmic Pluto
4. Hello Yarn

Four of your favorite foods:
1. Good bread of any sort
2. Green beans
3. Zucchini
4. Creme Brulee

Four places you would rather be right now:
1. With Antonionio
2. Visiting friends on the west coast
3. At the bookstore (good thing I'm going in about half an hour!)
4. Rome

And I'm tagging you, you, you, and anyone who wants to do this meme - have fun!

Fee Fie FO Fum

FO! FO!


Specs:
Lang JaWoll Jacquard Sock Yarn in an interesting mix of greens, leftover yarn from BF's Christmas socks. My hands now match his feet (awww).
56 stitches, 2x2 ribbing at ends.

Yes, that is his face in the background. I swear it makes the long distance aspect of our relationship easier if his picture is on my computer desktop. Plus he's cute :)

On another note, I actually made it to the gym this week and it was so wonderful to get back into that after break. Here's my little ticker...

The Olympic Spirit

I'm ready for my first KAL of the year! And, boooooy, is it gonna be a doozy.
Since I had that lovely day off of school yesterday, and I was supposed to be writing a 7 page paper, you all know that I spent probably half my time procrastinating. This included a much-needed venture outdoors and up to get coffee at a certain chain that everyone in the world would recognize so I won't even mention its name.
For any of you who don't think going outside every single day is a necessity (and, okay, I'll grant you that in some climes the necessity is to stay inside so you don't freeze to death), you must not live in my apartment. Basically it is a little tiny box. And I am generally happy living in this little tiny box, but when I get up in the morning and sit at my computer in the box until 4pm it is fantastic to be outside walking. And no, don't worry, I only stay inside like that on rare occasions - like on a day off when I have to write a paper.
Going up to my local chapter of The Coffee Giant served another purpose, since this is the place I'm trying to get hired for a little bit of part-time work. The manager was there, whom I had met at the interview session last week, and not only did he recognize me, but he was very friendly and started up a little conversation. My friends who had joined me for the emergency GET OUTSIDE NOW trek to The Coffee Giant thought this was probably a good sign and that maybe I'll get a hiring call this week (cross your fingers)!
So my lovely trip to get coffee was one part of the procrastination. The other method I used (and use frequently) for self-distraction was an intense blog-cruise. While I was literally out and about, I got some coffee and hope for a job; while I was out and about in the internet oceans, I got infected by the Olympic Spirit and encouragement to tackle a very scary knitting project in the near future.
I'm a huge fan of the Olympics, as you will probably notice over the next month and a half of entries. I'm also a huge fan of Latin (yes, dorky, whatever) and of knitting. So when I saw all three together on one page, I thought THIS MUST BE THE PERFECT KAL FOR ME!!!

Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger)
Check out the details on the Yarn Harlot's page.

I'm waiting for yarn that I already ordered with gift money, and then I'll reveal my proposed project. It will probably require the strength and willpower of an Olympian for me, a fan of simple simple knitting, to complete a project as complex as the one I have in mind, but as long as I manage to take a 20 minute walk outside every day, I'll feel invincible.

The Coffee Giant's help probably won't hurt either.

Ooh, a day off!

Well, sort of. I actually have my first paper of the quarter due tomorrow, so I've been working on that all day so far. But it's nice to have the extra day, especially since I did have a visitor over the end of last week and the beginning of the weekend. J and I had a great time wandering around campus, hanging out at a game night with some other friends, and eating good food.
For some reason, half the people playing games ended up wearing green. I think there may be some sort of conspiracy!
I have gotten zero knitting done in the last few days, but hopefully I can catch up this week after turning the paper in tomorrow. All my reading for the week is finished already, so I can either do some work for next week or knit a lot. Hmm, what do you think I should do? Haha.
I also have to get back into the gym this week, to stick with my resolution of being healthy and losing 5-10 more pounds. It shouldn't be that big a deal, so go me!!
Right now it's back to the paper - so until tomorrow, I hope you all enjoy your day off :)

Busy Time

Hey!
Not much knitting is getting done at the moment, but an update e-mail from my sister said she is already drumming up business for me. Hooray!
I have one of my best friends from undergrad visiting for a few days, so I don't have much time to update. We're to busy having fun - today we're going to go see Tristan and Isolde -- sooooo excited about that one, even if it's clear from previews they've drastically changed the story.
Anyway, I'll have a better update soon. Hope you've all had a good week :)

A Smattering of Things

Keep the suggestions coming! May's comment definitely brought up another option I hadn't considered - sending finished knits to my sister, who is an RA at her college and might be able to sell to her residents. hmmm. More ideas/stories are welcome.

Recent knitting:
Leftover Christmas-y presents for friends who are allergic to wool. And amazingly the only yarn I had here on campus before break was 100% wool. Oops! Here are a scarf (finished) and a hat (obviously unfinished) from Bernat baby boucle, both of which I'll hopefully wrap up and hand off tomorrow.


Fun quiz, courtesy of Piddleloop!
1. What time did you get up this morning? 9am - ah sleeping in :)
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? King Kong. Was anybody else really freaked out by the GIANT bugs? EWWWW
4. What is your favorite TV show? ER
5. What did you have for breakfast? Nothing. I know, I'm bad
6. What is your middle name? Leigh
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Mexican, and really good veggies of any sort
8. What foods do you dislike? Really greasy pizza
9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Tortilla!
10. What type of car do you drive? when in CA, Ford Focus wagon
11. Favorite item of clothing? Button down shirts
12. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? The Mediterranean
13. What color is your bathroom? black and white. with a khaki shower curtain - ooh
14. Favorite brand of clothing? I'm a sucker for Old Navy
15. Where would you like to retire to? Somewhere on the Pacific Ocean
16. Favorite time of the day? Morning
17. What was your most memorable birthday? 21. Because it actually happened while I was at school, I celebrated there and then celebrated 2 more times with family when I got home for break. Longest birthday ever :)
18. Where were you born? Palo Alto, CA
19. Favorite sport to watch? Basketball
20. What fabric detergent do you use? Whatever's cheap
21. Coke or Pepsi? Diet Pepsi
22. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Definitely a morning person
23. What is your shoe size? 10
24. Do you have any pets? Not at the moment
25. What did you want to be when you were little? College Prof. of English Lit. Things haven't changed that much!
26. When is your birthday? December 15. I just turned 22

That's all for now, folks.

Calling all Knitters - HELP WANTED!

Like most other grad students I know, I've been having some trouble with my...ahem... lack of income. Hopefully one of the job applications I've already put in this quarter will turn out to be fruitful, but even still it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra. And I know that knitting could definitely help me with this!
I also want your help. Does anybody have experience selling handknits/crochet online? I'm debating between Ebay, a place that would let me set up a distinct shop like Etsy, and trying out consignment through a site like cut+paste. I'd really love to hear your thoughts, stories, and suggestions as I get this whole process started.
Thanks in advance!

Quick, Socks!

Here's the promised sock picture

And I didn't even have to ask, since the bf reads this blog and decided to send me a selection of shots of his feet in the Christmas socks. Here's one that shows off the whole thing.


I'm working on a new project, so look for an update tomorrow!

Phew!

Well, last time I posted I was just finishing everything up for last quarter, and now that I'm back, I'm already in my second day of classes! That was definitely a really quick break. First, thanks so much for the friendly birthday wishes. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and that you're all enjoying 2006 so far.
On to the updates!

I know you all wanna see the knitting. I did a lot of projects, but I'm a dumbo and didn't take pictures of everything. Here's what I've got:
Chris's Hat - ooh look, colorwork!

Boyfriend's mittens - my own fakey pattern which was pretty fun to figure out as I went
Jennifer's Hat - cables are so entertaining.
I also made Poor Miss Finch's Esther Williams Hat for my sister, but neglected to get a picture of how much she loves it.

Other Vacation
Gingerbread. YUM. Plus my dorky little brother hamming it up for the camera.
Hanging out with the boyfriend for the first time since summer. Long distance is a terrible thing, except I think that when we do see each other we have way more fun.
School
I have new classes and I like them all so far. The M.A. intro course this quarter is on Religion and Constructive Studies (Theology, Philosophy, and Ethics). I'm looking forward to the Spring intro to Historical Studies, but this one has some great books. I mean, when you start out reading Augustine, how can you go wrong? I'm also taking a survey on the New Testament and a course on the Theology and Spirituality of the Middle Ages (14th-15th centuries). Looks like a good quarter ahead!
I am also happy to report that the bug infestation in my apartment has miraculously taken care of itself while I was home in CA. Thank goodness for bug traps. Also, there's no snow here at the moment, which is slightly disappointing but also very convenient while I'm trekking around everywhere getting groceries, books, and other random things to settle in again.

Okey dokey, so now you're all up to date :) Now that I'm no longer on vacation time (and really it is like an entirely different world on vacation) I'll be posting regularly again and getting some more knitting done. I'll also have the boyfriend send pictures of his feet in the neato socks I made for him.