Newest on the needles

Another pair of armwarmers have found their way onto my project pile, this time with scraps from my latest socks and that navy blue hat.




Not much time to talk about anything else today - too busy with meetings and homework and running around doing errands! Hopefully I'll get some knitting time tonight, though...

ETA: A lovely late evening of guilt-free link-chasing means a few new-to-me blogs have been added in my sidebar. I may also have another FO tomorrow (exciting!).

Monday Morning Distraction

Hey, Nicole, guess what?*

Who is Your Ideal TV Boyfriend?

Created by BuddyTV

Found via Chicknits' latest Monday Morning Mirth entry.

Why, yes, I do like to waste time in the morning when I should be preparing my Latin translation for class.

*Nicole and I discussed how he is my perfect man within the first five minutes of me watching my first episode of The Office.

Socking it up

Finally!

Today's post is made possible by a combination of lovely diffuse morning light and my patience to take about 40 pictures and weed through until I found the best ones. Check it out:

First, a work in progress - scarf for my BFF Nicole in Lion Brand "Incredible", a ribbon yarn that looks pretty nifty in seed stitch.

FO #1, long overdue

Pattern: Gentleman's Fancy Sock from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks

Yarn and Needles: Hand-dyed sock yarn that I bought at Renegade Chicago this past fall, US2s

Mods: I knit the socks on US2s, because I didn't own any 0s at the time I started (Come to think of it, I still don't, but I've got 1s, which is closer). I substituted my own standard heel flap for the French Heel recommended in the pattern, because I know the one I use will fit me.

Thoughts: I love these socks, especially the cheerful colors! They're very very soft, so I'm a little worried about wearing them out quickly if I use them as everyday socks, but I guess it would be an excuse to knit more...

FO#2

Pattern: None, my own standard sock guesstimation technique

Yarn and Needles: Regia Superwash, two 50g balls in one of the Kaffe Fassett colorways. I have enough of each ball left over to make matching mitts, I think. US1s.

Thoughts: I loved the experience of knitting these on US1s. They didn't take any longer than the socks I used to knit on US3s, but the fabric seems a lot more sturdy, and they fit better around my ankle. I also just can't get over the colors in this yarn. These socks make me think about going to the beach at Lake Tahoe in the summer, where you can see all of these colors, including the sand under all that clear water. Can you tell I'm ready for winter to be over?!

That's all for now. I'm so glad I was finally able to get some decent shots.

Happy Knitting :)

Did you know?

I cannot for the life of me get any properly-lit pictures right now, so I'm going to try again (maybe even outside) tomorrow afternoon. I have two pairs of socks to show you, for goodness' sake!
So I thought while I wait for the right amount of sunlight, I'll answer some fun questions...

1. Childhood ambition?
To be a college professor of English Literature (ever since 3rd grade)... things haven't changed that much!

2. Best/worst weather (choose one)?
Simultaneously sunny and windy; it's like a dirty trick, and if you want to pretend like you're warm, you have to trick yourself into concentrating on the sunny part.

3. Favorite food?
Probably egg salad

4. Current book?
Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity (Sarah Pomeroy). Why, yes, I do read academic books for fun before bedtime!

5. Guilty pleasure?
Seriously trashy tv. The Tudors? Yes, please!

6. One quirk?
I can't sleep with socks on, no matter how cold my feet get without them.

7. Something you’ve never done that most people have:
Had a cavity.

8. Favorite drink:
Ice water.

9. Oddest job you’ve had:
Student caller in the Alumni Giving Office at my undergrad: "Hello, would you like to give us some money?"

10. Last song you listened to (on purpose, not on the radio):
David Gray, This Year's Love

11. Cities/towns/villages you’ve lived in, in chronological order:
Albany, CA; Long Beach, CA; Northstar-at-Tahoe, CA; Berkeley, CA; Long Beach/Lakewood, CA; Hercules, CA; Tacoma, WA; Chicago, IL

12. Teenage ambition?
With rather unexciting single-mindedness, I stuck with the college professor plan.

13. Movie you’d most like to be a character in:
Oh, probably Mists of Avalon. Is that really weird? It's just that the movie's been on my mind a lot lately, and I think I want to watch it again.

...And an intentional FOto shoot

For some crazy reason, I thought it would be a good idea to knit a tiny-gauge hat for a friend without a pattern. I like to fly by the seat of my pants sometimes, and this time it happened to work out!

Here we have the belated Christmas hat:

from above

on a head (though it's not for me, and I really hope it fits the recipient)

Project Specs:

Pattern, Yarn, Needles, all the info in one: I started with 144 sts on a 16" US3 circular needle, using KnitPicks Palette in Navy. I did a 4x4 ribbed brim, then knit in stockinette until it fit on my head and seemed like it needed some decreases (I could never write patterns - "knit it until it fits okay and you feel like moving forward."). I did 12 regularly spaced decreases, changing to dpns when necessary, until I was left with 12 stitches on the needle, then I just whipped the end through those and tied it off. I ended up using about 2/3 of the 231 yards of yarn in my skein.

I'm sort of sold on the tiny gauge right now (my only other project is a pair of socks on US1s), and it knit up a lot faster than I expected it to. Depending on how this is received, I might be willing to knit more hats this way in the future, at least as gifts to enthusiastic friends. This guy, at least, seems really excited about getting his new hat: last night I sent an e-mail telling him it was ready, and his immediate reply was "YAY!", and he hasn't even seen the thing yet. That's the sort of response we all want, right?

Happy Knitting!

Unintentional FOto shoot

On a Friday night trek downtown, we ended up taking a whole lot of pictures, and since I was wearing my fancy new hat, I can now show you what it looks like without having to make a special trip outside to stand around in the 6 degree weather. I think this is a good deal for everyone involved, especially my frozen nose.

Here we are on the train.

And here we are huddled together under a heatlamp at the station.

Project specs:

Pattern: Gretel, sold by Ysolda here [Can't seem to get the link sorted; will add later].

Yarn: Paton's Shetland Chunky Tweeds, two skeins, in Charcoal. Christmas yarn!

The making: started 10 Jan, finished 14 Jan, with most of the knitting accomplished during the weekend and brief homework breaks. This was one I really didn't want to put down.

Modifications: None. The pattern was extremely clear and easy to follow, and I loved it so much, I'll be starting another soon! There's just something satisfying about knitting cables. They're not too difficult, but the end result looks incredibly fancy and professional. I knit the slouchy version of the hat, and I'll probably stick to this version.

Verdict: Love it! I plan to wear it all the time!

Art Wall

Since I don't have a headboard for my bed, one of the things I've been seriously considering is relocating my framed art to hang on one of the two walls the bed touches. Getting back to a frankly boring space after being at home for Christmas break has helped renew my interest in this room-prettification project. Who knew sharing a room with a 15 year old boy could inspire the urge to do some interior decorating? As the project develops, I hope to share some pictures (plus the fake accountability created by a promise to document everything might serve as motivation!).

Last week, I was perusing Etsy and found some wonderful new pieces to supplement my collection. What do you think?

Blue Icicles from the yumiyumi shop

Hello January 08 by ashleyg

New Yarns, New Project

The fluffy purple thing is finished, all piled up on its fuzzy self on top of a pile of scarves, hats, and armwarmers I need to photograph for an Etsy update. Until I've done my mini photoshoot, I'll share some pictures (poor quality, but the colors are fairly accurate) of some of the yarn I got for Christmas!

Yes, this is Regia sock yarn in one of the Kaffe Fassett colorways. Good choice, Mom!
Some Cascade 220 Paints in a color called David's Eyes. I am not sure who David is, but he sure has pretty eyes.
Last but not least, two colors of wool (well, okay, the tweedy one is a wool-acrylic blend).

I'm using the charcoal shade of the Patons to make the slouchy version of Gretel. I'm about 3/4 of the way finished, so I'll wait until it's done and I can get a picture outside - it's really hard to see the cable definition on such a dark yarn indoors generally, so I have no hope of getting a good picture.

That's all I've got for the moment. Now it's back to translating for me...

Who would have guessed?

No one who knows me and knows anything about Eleanor should be surprised by this, actually. The only problem is that now I want to watch this movie instead of translating the rest of my Latin assignment...

I am knitting a fuzzy thing.

Yes, that is right. It is fuzzy and purple and squishy and I love it. The yarn is Patons "Be Mine" in Darling Denim (weird, because it's definitely more purple than blue), and while I don't need another scarf, the fuzzy squishiness is irresistible.

Yum.

I also made a lonesome armwarmer in Moda Dea "Cache". Sadly, my single skein was not enough to get two entire mitts, so I'll have to buy another one on my next trip to Michaels.

In other news, classes start up again tomorrow.I'm taking a Latin translation course on the Roman novel, a Greek translation course on Clement of Alexandria, and a third that promises to be a lot of reading in English and Greek - early Christian Biblical interpretation. I'm really looking forward to getting back into my usual schedule. I've had a serious sleep shortage during the last week, and I'd like to make time to head to the gym and, well, do more knitting, of course!

Still working

A few recent knits:

My grandma gave me a gift certificate to K2Tog on Solano Ave in Berkeley/Albany, and I had a lot of fun choosing my birthday yarn. I made this scarf from 4 skeins of Crystal Palace Taos, 2 in a light lavender-grey mix, and two in a green-pink colorway.

It's all garter stitch, something like 40 stitches on US7s, and I alternated two rows of each color, carrying the yarns up the side of the scarf (it made a really pretty edge, too!). Sorry about the dark picture - it is right in the middle of dark, cold winter here in Chicago.

I'm sort of working on Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts in two shades of KnitPicks Palette (Golden Heather and Clematis Heather).

This picture was taken in early December, before I went home for break and proceeded to not work on them at all for the whole month. I'm stalled, but planning to get back to it when I need knitting breaks after classes start on Monday.

(And yes, Dan, this update is for you, since I thought you might like to have something to look at now that you know about my top secret blog. You're welcome.)