Works in Progress

I feel like my whole life is a suspended work in progress right now.

I've got two papers to finish up, a vacation to take (not that I'm complaining about taking a vacation - no way!), some major cleaning to do in my room, things to prepare for next quarter (which starts Monday - too soon for anyone else?!), and several large-ish knitting projects to finish.

Ribby Bolero (Ravelry link)

I'm knitting this up in Caron's Simply Soft - that's right, 100% acrylic! I'm looking forward to wearing it this spring with all my favorite tank tops.

Rusted Root by the girls at Zephyr Style

Still working on this one. I'm hoping my long weekend away with one of my college roommates will entail much knitting/girly movie time.

Lopi Lace Scarf (Ravelry link) from Melanie Falick's Weekend Knitting.

I'm not using Lopi yarn, but some Paton's Classic Wool in a nice, fresh green. It will be perfect for the last bit of snow we have this spring; that is, if I ever finish it... Scarves always seem to go on forever, don't they?

Here's to a week of being productive (I hope), and wrapping up some of these unfinished projects that feel like they're hanging over my head.

Next time I write, it will be from Minnesota!

Welcome to finals week (aka Ugliest Hat on Earth)

When we were little, my siblings and I used to watch a lot of Gumby movies. My uncle would send individual volumes of the Gumby Collection for Christmas, and each one contained 4 or 5 episodes. My personal favorite was about Gumby and Pokey traveling to the Moon, where they found a young piano prodigy with a nasal, drawling voice. Halfway through the episode, the boy suddenly gets vampire fangs and glowing red eyes. It was the creepiest clay I'd ever seen. We also all enjoyed the episode in which Gumby and Pokey crawl inside the oven and meet some bloodthirsty baked goods. When Gumby's mom unrolls a jelly roll to find Gumby with x-ed out eyes inside, it's a tense moment, let me tell you.

When they're not battling space pianists or oven-dwellers, Gumby and Pokey usually run into trouble with the Blockheads. This week, I ran into trouble with the blockheads, too. Blockhead hats I-III.

It's fun to knit in the round, and stockinette can be fairly mindless, so I had a chance to get 3 hats finished up while I was reading and studying.

I just cast on stitches, knit straight until it looks big enough, and use a 3-needle bind off for the top seam. When you put these on, they make cute little ears in the corners. Or not so cute little ears, if we're talking about Blockhead III.

This is officially the Ugliest Hat on Earth (TM). Pros: I used up all my leftover KnitPicks Merino Style and Wool of the Andes scraps that have been sitting around in a ziploc bag for 2 years. Cons: These colors don't really go together. I laid them all out and chose what I thought would be an aesthetically pleasing (read: as unoffensive as possible) order, but the finished project just looks sickening.

I'm chalking it up to temporary insanity induced by too much studying.

These socks are like a mullet.

Hello, we are a pair of socks.

You may think at first that we are very businesslike in nature. Perhaps you find us a tad boring. Gray, after all, is not what one might call an exciting color.

But wait! We have the most wonderful colorful toes ever!

Inside your shoes, you are having a party, and no one can tell!

Instant Gratification

When I couldn't sleep last night, I decided to complete a quick and easy gift project - cell phone cozy!

Yarn: Leftover sock yarn from an exchange a few years ago. I wasn't sure the tiny ball I had left would give me enough yarn, but I forged ahead, and it turned out alright.
Needles: US3 dpns
Pattern: ummm, CO 36, knit in stockinette to desired length, use 3 needle bind-off to close.

(It's a little big for my phone)

Verdict: I love the texture and the color, and of course I love the near instant project completion. I'm not sure yet if it fits the phone for which it's intended. I'll find out soon enough...