JFC

It’s been six and a half million years since I was here. Dinosaurs literally walked the earth last time I posted. Okay.

Last time you saw me, I was at Rhinebeck in October. What.

November
I wrote a novel: ongoing! Original goal of National Novel Writing Month is 50,000 words in 30 days. I have 90,000 now, after 3 months. It’s almost done. Sort of.

I finished Juno for my grandmother for Christmas.

10/21/09-11/13/09, Juno Regina in JL Yarn Vinca. Pink! Lauretta loved it. Blocked it on my shiny new blocking wires which were a fabulous birthday gift from my mum. <3

I finished my Clover socks.

Clover by Kate Blackburn, fun to knit, in my handdyed in a “gradient” that was actually just kind of mostly purple. Brand! New! Picture! I blame my lightless dorm room partly for why I don’t blog. Pictures are crap. Blah.

December
Socks for granddaddy:

“No one has ever paid such attention to my feet!” Dec 10-20, 2009. Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in “China Blue.”

Clapotis for mom:
no picture! Sadpants.
Clapotis by Kate Gilbert, in BMFA Mediumweight “Tanzanite”: October 26-December 21, 2009. Purple! Shiny. Excellent.

Also in December was Finals Week and a personal ass-kicking, as well as winter break. I went home and promptly spent every day sleeping, writing, internetting, eating at weird hours, running occasionally in the mornings, and knitting. I ignored Daegmund the whole time and felt bad. Oh well. Made many plans. Spent time with friends. Enjoyed myself!

In January, I finished some Christmas presents, such as Dad’s gloves and Disco the hedgehog:

gloves by DROPS, 12/22/09-1/14/10, KnitPicks Gloss.

Hello terrible dorm picture! This was for Sarah. Smith by Ysolda Teague, with Cascade 220 and Berocco alpaca and fluff. 12/24/09-1/21/10.

The Whirlpool socks from my personal sock club got started and finished…

December 2, 2009 – January 3, 2010. Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in “Lakeview,” plus beads!!!!!!!!

ALSO, my pride and joy of the month:

The motherfucking DNA hat.

LOL. omg. So excellent. I had to knit it three times because it was too small EVERY TIME. Fuck you colorwork. Whatever.

Anyway. In the end, successful. January 1-19, 2010, Cascade 220, no pattern, just the chart on my Ravelry page (above).

Finished winter break with a whole lot more of the same, and came back to school. Had an impromptu “airing of the stash” all over my bed.

Not bad, eh? Still not buying more yarn. I just need to not.

Oh, also forgot, new fun incarnation of the sock yarn blanket!

This one is the Ten Stitch Blanket that I saw Erin knitting and waaaaaaaaannntteddd. So I ripped out the squares and went to town.

I started two new pairs of socks, also. My shitty shitty photography does not do these two justice, because they are both SUPER AWESOME.

The first (started at home) is York and Lancaster by the Lisa Grossman (the Tsock Tsarina). I bought the kit at Rhinebeck, and I adore it. Except that it has colorwork and pattern and is WAY TOO HARD to work on while also taking notes in Organic Chem and Biology of Macromolecules. FUCK. I love these. They are not getting worked on. ;_;

Also, Viper Pilots, still super awesome, still too hard to work on and take notes. Wah! I want them. Yarn is Neota Designs Zephyr in “Mountain Majesty” or something. Estes Park.

AAAAAANNNDDDD finally, what I actually HAVE been working on because it was easy enough:
One Row Scarf and Fetchings for Mary in Malabrigo “Amoroso.” No picture because I can’t get my camera to acknowledge a) light or b) saturation, so fuck it. Whatever. It’s very red.

and technically I’m still working on my Bayerische socks, but remember when we talked about things being too hard to work on while note-taking? These are too brain-consuming to even work on while doing fuck-all else. What.

THE END

Welcome to February. See you guys in May, probably.

Or for Ravelympics, which at this point I’m participating in with my goal being KNIT ANYTHING EVER.

Haverfest, and a winner!

This weekend was the celebration of finishing classes, thus completing my first year at college.

This pretty much sums up the weekend. Sweet. I’m exhausted.

Last night I also played glow in the dark capture the flag, over a large expanse of campus. Did I mention how much I love this place?

Most importantly, however, is the drawing from the last entry! I expected more comments, but all the better, because the random number generator picked Jaime! Hooray! I’ll email you and get your info, and then some time this week I’ll be mailing you this book and a couple of other fun things.

Next to tackle: exam week.

Two and a Half Weeks

I have two and a half (ish) weeks left in school, then a week or so of exams, and then I can go home for the summer. Hooray! This first year at the ‘Ford has been AMAZING, but I’m ready to be home with my family and my cats and my boy and my lucrative summer job. =P

I frogged the Henley. It wasn’t right. I ripped back to the arm join, knit the whole body again, put it on, looked at it in the mirror, and said, “Nope.” So I frogged the whole thing with my roommate’s help, and the yarn is back in the stash. I think if anything I need to wash it to give it a shiny new face. But I do have a plan for it.

So instead I started a camisole!

If I had the lighting for a pretty artsy shot, I’d take it, but it’s raining again and it’s been gray all day. Bleh.

The yarn for this is Valley Yarns Southwick, and the pattern is the Ballet Camisole originally published in MagKnits. The yarn is cotton/bamboo, so it’s hard on my hands, but it’s very smooth and pretty and pink.

Plus with all the reading and stuff I’m doing right now, the stockinette is soothing and easy. The other things I’m working on (Herringbone Rib, Bayersiche, Aeolian) are not simple projects, though all of them are beautiful. The Herringbones are actually past the heel, so half the knitting is stockinette, but the other half is pay-attention-to-me and hard to do in the dark/while reading/etc.

I have another project in mind, in the beginning stages of planning, but it’s a little more secret. Sort of.

Aww yeah. Cascade 220 to the max. So excited. I need some more measurements taken, but I’m ready to jump in and start this any day.

An update on the Princess Sweater for mum, you ask? Why no, it’s not finished. My sister is taking her sweet time knitting that other sleeve, and my mum doesn’t really mind. I only mind because it makes my Ravelry page look like I have way too many WIPs, when really it’s only four. Or five. Or so.

I should be reading. Critical essays on the meanings of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. I do not love my Writing Seminar (although I do love Dorian Gray).

31 things in 248 days

So it’s been a long time since I talked about my 101 in 1001, but I thought since I’m nearing the end (<1 year) I ought to pull it out publicly and address what’s left. I have 31 more goals to deal with in 248 days before December 10, 2009, when I’m scheduled to be done. Some of these I plan to finish, some of them I plan to ignore or change. I think it’s a good idea to make these long-term goals, but my objectives have also changed in the last 753 days, and so I think I’ll poke some things around.

8. commit to recording 10 episodes of a weekly podcast
I think I’ll try to do this this summer, maybe. I like the idea of having my own podcast, but I wonder if I could get my sister in on it to make it more conversational and silly. Also I don’t want to do it while I’m at school. People would look at me funny.

11. knit Bayerische socks
I’m working on these now! They don’t have a deadline (except 12/10/09?), but they’re in progress.

13. knit a scarf for the Red Scarf Project
I should just do this one. It’s been on the list since the beginning, and I haven’t managed to do it. I will this year. Come October, I will knit a red scarf. One-Row Handspun?

23. refrain from biting skin on fingers for 2 months (0/60 days)
It’s been a long time since I “quit” biting my fingernails. I’m not totally broken of the habit, but my nails are longer and prettier for the most part. I still bite when I’m nervous or stressed. The skin around my fingers gets decent treatment, but I should try to just stay away from my hands in my mouth for 2 months. Let’s do this now! April 5, 2009 – June 4, 2009.

24. run at least 2 miles 4 days a week for 3 months
When I was working out for soccer, this mattered to me. Or, I think it was the “run yourself ugly” run 100 miles in 3 months, that sort of thing. I think I’ll change this to a goal of running at least 4 days a week in the morning while I’m home, before I go to work.

26. dye hair outrageous color
I’ve been thinking recently of cutting it short and dyeing it blue. I said, “you know what would be cool? Me with spiky blue hair.” Then I said, “you know what would be really inappropriate at Hopkins? Me with spiky blue hair.” Shit.

31. get 2 more ear piercings
This could happen this summer. I want them.

33. run in a 5k charity run
Even though I don’t like running, this is something I really do wish I could do. I wonder if I could find one this summer or fall to do.

34. run 5 miles
No longer interesting to me. How can I change this to be still fitness related, but more relevant to my life now?

42. finish all puzzles in Su Doku book
Hahaha! Oh if I had my Sudoku book, I could make this work. But I think it’s at home. Or something.

45. ride a non-upside-down roller coaster again
46. ride an upside-down roller coaster
These two go hand in hand, and require that I go to an amusement park. Maybe? Maybe no?

47. stay up all night
So far I’ve actually avoiding doing this at college, but I wonder if it would ever serve me. I think this is not so much a goal as a I’ll-remember-it-if-it-happens.

48. go skiing
=/ If it snows?

49. record chapters of an audio book (librivox)
CraftLit is having the reading done by the listeners now, I think. Maybe I could record a few chapters for the next book Heather does!

50. get a domain name and use it
If I had a purpose… I’d like to host this blog on my own (or through wordpress). I’m not sure what else I’d put in my website. Maybe a tiny yarn store.

56. win at Scrabble
My dad is too fucking good at Scrabble to make this easy. We’ve been playing on Facebook, but he keeps beating me. Even a Facebook win would be good enough for this goal. =P

60. cook dinner once a month for 6 months
I’m going to change this to twice a month during the summer, when it’s actually feasible.

61. eat vegetarian for 2 weeks
Not hard. My sister and my boyfriend are both vegetarians– I just need to follow in their footsteps for a bit. Or I could start now and just do it at school. I just keep forgetting to.

71. have $5,000 in bank account for “nest egg”
Hopefully this will become a reality this summer when I make some moneys. It’s just a line to hit– it doesn’t have to stay that way– but I want to make it happen.

73. buy nothing (except gas) for 1 month
Since I spend a lot less money now that I’m at school, I’m not sure if this goal makes sense. I’m going to spend money this summer, when I am driving, as opposed to less here when I’m not driving. I should rethink this one.

75. sell old clothes/toys/things in yard/garage sale
Mostly unnecessary now, since our yard is not conducive to yard sales and my old clothes tend to head off to Value Village or Goodwill. Maybe just another purge of old clothes would be good.

79. fund some portion of tuition via scholarships (at least 10%)
This one’s tricky, and I’m not really sure what I’m going to do about it. Hopefully when my sister goes to school, the ‘Ford will be more willing to give us some money. Otherwise we’re not really struggling, and I’ve lost interest in applying for scholarships, especially with all the other things I’ve got going on (ie. school work). Blah.

84. learn to drive stickshift
I hardly know anyone who drives stick anymore. Not even my granddad.

85. learn basic French/German
Possible, but the intro language classes here are right in the way of my science classes, which have priority. I don’t know what I’m going to do. Maybe just place out of my language requirement (SAT IIs!) and call it a day.

86. Go without swearing for 1 full month
Almost impossible. Wonder if it’s worth it.

87. get rid of 7 things a week for 2 months
I could do this this summer also. Now that I know what I live with happily away from home, I feel like I could get rid of a lot of things I just don’t notice are there.

90. send a postcard to PostSecret
We had a mini-PostSecret event here, but I didn’t get a chance to put a secret in. I don’t really have any secrets that need sent away like that. But maybe I’ll find one.

91. build a sandcastle
I promise to do this when I’m at the beach, June 14-20. Promise.

94. refrain from claiming to hate things for 1 week
I think this was from when I said “I hate my life” or “I hate blah” a lot. I don’t say that as much anymore. I don’t have a lot of things to hate, which is good!

100. Visit Canada
We are so doing this when we take Sarah to school. I’m so excited.

Pi Day!

Was yesterday. But my mommy sent me a package that I have yet to receive that I expect will be full of pie. Oh boy!

So I’m back from Spring Break, which could probably be put down as the worst spring break I’ve ever had, but I’m not really going to go into it. It was shitty, and I know why, and I can’t wait for another opportunity to go home instead. South Carolina, however, was beautiful, I love the beach, and I think I have a tan, too.

Today, instead of working on a paper I need to have revised for tomorrow evening (I did a little editing, I swear), I’ve spent some of my time organizing a stash-based sock club for myself. Squee! I’m so outrageously excited about this. Here’s what I did:

1. Remove all stash from sexy clear hanging yarn-rack, and put it on the bed.
2. Admire yarn.
3. Label envelopes with each yarn’s name and colorway.
4. Choose patterns for each yarn.
5. Print/obtain each pattern and put it in each yarn’s envelope.
6. Seal the envelopes.
7. Put all the yarn back in the yarn-rack.
8. When ready for a new pair of socks, grab a yarn and its pattern!
9. Be surprised and delighted!
10. Knit awesome socks all year!

I had 11 sock yarns ready for a pattern. Or, maybe 10, because one of those yarns is supposed to be for the Playwright’s very boring and plain socks. I’m going to knit him Thuja socks instead of boring socks, out of Dream in Color Smooshy.

It’s a bit like cheating, but I’ve also got the next two pairs of socks I want to knit planned. Once I finish my Eleanors, I either want to knit a pair of Leyburn socks out of STR in “Chapman Springs,” or a pair of Herringbone Rib socks from Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn in Black Bunny Fibers in “The Deep.” It seems fitting to pair a Carol Sucolski yarn with a pattern from her book! So excited.

Some pictures! Works in progress!

The might-never-get-finished Alaska mittens that I’m sort of working on. Sort of.

The sock yarn blanket, which at 35 squares is now almost wide enough (one more), and is 21% complete. Woo hoo!

Eleanor socks, about to get toes. Knit out of Mind’s Eye Yarns Merino/Tencel, on US 2s.

The Bayerische challenge. Knit out of Cascade Heritage, on US 1s.

Yay socks!

Okay, seriously, I need to work on my paper.

This is Huge

Look. Look what I have on the needles, according to Ravelry. Look at my Works In Progress. There are only three!

Click to make it bigger, because this is such a big deal. I’m down to the wire! These are projects I’ve been working on forever, and keep getting put aside because I have other things I want to knit, or I get tired of them, or, as in the case of the blanket, they are such enormous endeavors with such a long time frame that they just sit there and lurk and don’t grow very quickly.

I admit, the one thing not represented here is the Socktoberfest Socks that I started as an on-hand-easy-project, but I took the needles out and used them for other things, and they’re just stuffed in a bag on my bookshelf with waste yarn in and no fate.

I also had started some socks for the SKA Sockdown! October, but I wasn’t enjoying them. They were pretty, and neatly constructed, but I didn’t want to work on them. So I allowed myself to frog them and put the yarn back. I am content.

ANYWAY. The point is, I finished the Fuzzy Mitten Lamb, but I mailed it to Ghana without taking a picture. Plus it’ll be a way better picture in Ghana with Molly than here in my dorm room.

Also, I finished Miss Maisie’s little dress, and it looks great on Mr. Bear.

Start: September 28
Finish: October 7
Yarn: Valley Yarns Southwick, cotton/bamboo, in pink!
Needles: US 5
Pattern:
Little sister’s dress by Tora Frøseth Design

Super cute! I love it. It’s so soft and adorable and pink. It needs buttons, but I have a place for those.

Now I’ll spend time over break working on my Endpaper Mitts and the Hemlock Ring blanket, and knock some stuff out! I want to finish the mitts, but I’m worried I won’t have enough of the Katia alpaca to finish. We’ll see.

“Ewe and I” Adventure (in some serious rain)

This morning I woke up and realized it was my first real weekend day of this new college school year. So I decided an adventure was in order! Because I love adventures!

Earlier, probably before I even got up here, I found the only yarn store within about 7-10 miles, Ewe and I, which had recently moved from a closer location near Bryn Mawr to about 3 miles from here in Narberth. This morning I determined would be perfect to go find it and hang out for a bit and learn the area. It’s actually set in a really nice little shopping area, and if I had taken more time to explore (or when I do have more time), it ought to be really nice to walk around in. Not as awesome as Hamden, clearly, but it’ll have to do. =P

So here’s my before shot. This is actually crucial, and you’ll see why later.

I set off on my trusty steed around 11:00.

The ride’s about 3 miles, part of it on moderately busy road, but all fairly flat and not challenging. I was tired, and a bit sweaty, because it has been very muggy here, but all in all a great ride. I really enjoyed it, and I had no trouble finding the store (or a place to lock said trusty steed).

The store was really nice! I will absolutely definitely be heading there again. The two employees there were very friendly and enthusiastic, but also very content to let me wander about on my own. I chatted with one, and petted the yarn. Their selection of yarn is different from Lovelyarns, but not in a good/bad way, just different. Their sock yarn collection is of unknown size, because it’s all over the store, so I kept discovering more and getting excited. They have Claudia Hand Painted and plenty of Noro, and some Cherry Tree Hill, and lots of other things. In the front of the store is a table and chairs for sitting around. I sat and worked on my Hedera sock and helped a few ladies figure something out. It’s instinctive, helping people knit in a yarn store, but I had to specify that I didn’t actually work there. Oops. Calm down.

Around 12:40, I decided I should go to Bed Bath & Beyond for part 2 of my day’s mission, if I wanted to make it back to school before the DC closed for lunch (at 2). It was raining by then, but not very hard, and I thought I’d picked a good time because it looked like the rain had let up a bit.

Well just so you know we’re experiencing the rain from a tropical storm, so no indeed it had not. In fact it was pretty much the same the whole time.

I rode to BB&B, bought me a mattress pad and stuffed it into my backpack. I missed the 1:02 train back to the nearest stop (because I thought perhaps I’d just take my bike back and avoid some rain), so I grabbed a burrito at Santa Fe Burrito and took my bike across the street. By the time I figured out which track I needed to be on and had carried the bike down some stairs, under a tunnel, and back up the stairs, the train had arrived. I showed the conductor my student ID, and he was like “What is that.”

Duh, it’s a student ID. Do I get a discount? Do you want my money?

“I’ll get you on the train,” he said, “it’s four dollars.”

I didn’t get on. I had $3 in my wallet, and I just said, “Nevermind, it’s cool, I have $3. Whatever.”

And the train left!

Well F-you, SEPTA, you suck. $4 my college arse.

So I packed my burrito away and finished my soda (I made the conductor hold it so I could find my money) and rode back to school, about 1.5 or 2 miles at that point, in the decently heavy rain. At that point it didn’t even matter anymore how wet I got. I was soaked. My hair was wet, my clothes were wet, my backpack was wet, everything was wet. I couldn’t even tell if I was sweating. I probably was. It just didn’t matter. It wasn’t cold, just wet.

I had so much fun that ride back! When I finally made it to the main college road, I screamed a hello at the guys playing Ultimate (I’m on the women’s team), and they were all kind of like, “What…?”

So here’s my after picture:

Yeah! Soaking wet.

It’s still raining now, 2+ hours later. It’ll probably last all night, too.

At Ewe and I, I picked up some Dream in Color Baby/Lace, because I felt like showing up sweaty, staying for an hour, and usurping some customer-helping ought to be followed by spending some money.

Isn’t it lovely? I’m excited.

Also, my first Hedera sock is on the foot region, nearing the toe. I need to try it on Julia (roommate) because she has size 8 feet and I need to see when they’ll be long enough.

Today’s been a good day. I apologize for not blogging much. I’m busy during the week! Ultimate Frisbee literally takes up 10+ hours of my week, which is awesome and intense. We practice for 2 hours, Monday through Friday, plus I’m expected to go to the gym a few times a week and lift weights, and go running once a week. I love playing Ultimate. It’s worth all the work. But that’s my excuse, anyway, and thanks for sticking around.

<3

More interesting with photographs.

Today, I walked around Washington, D.C. It was more fun than I expected, actually, seeing as I was alone and have not been partial to being left alone with my brain running all the time. I walked from my Aunt’s house to the Metro station– 1.1 miles, according to Google Maps– and took the Metro into DC. I ended up at G and 13th, and walked from there to the Mall, and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

I have a thing for Natural History. I love it. My school started took us there once a year in Lower School. In first grade, they took us to see the bugs. I can’t remember what second grade went for. Third grade went to see the Native Americans. Fourth grade went to see the “Western Cultures”– that is, the Ancient Egyptians. Fifth grade… maybe went to see a Medieval exhibit? But I can’t remember. I remember first grade, definitely. We got to go to the bug room and the guy showed us all these insects and cool stuff and we got to hold them. It was great. When my family went to England when I was ten, I made my parents take me to the Natural History Museum in London, which was near our flat. Seriously, I love natural history museums.

So today I went and looked at the Dinosaurs and Paleobiology and all the prehistoric fish and stuff. It was relaxing, somehow, wandering among school groups and families and all these people, and just get to look at what I wanted to, and read all the plaques I felt like, and if I felt like pondering the reason a Triceratops’ humerus was so ridiculous, I could. I had a good time.

Then I went out again and found lunch at a cafe.

Then I walked back and went to the Mammals hall. Apparently mammals can be specified by three things: fur, milk production, and INNER EAR BONES. Who knew? Ear bones. Sweet.

And I wore my favorite sweater (Rogue), because it is- as you know- Mr. Roger’s birthday (okay, I just wore my sweater, but it felt appropriate).

And I listened to the Stitch It! podcast all the time I was out walking in the cold, and it was lovely. Meghan’s great. I love the sound of her laugh. It’s infectious. Her kid Owen is hilarious.

It was a good day, but I was so tired afterwards. My feet were so tired. That was pretty great too. I had fun being on my own, just wandering around. Yay!

I’ll have pictures soon of a) what I’m knitting and b) what I’m SPINNING. I borrowed a wheel from a friend’s mom and I’ve been spinning and it’s super fun. The wheel is for my senior project, but I want to practice on the fiber I have not for the project, and it’s wonderful.

Sushi

I wish I’d brought a camera with me this weekend, because the nature was lovely, but the weekend itself wasn’t terribly exciting.

I went up to J’s after tech on Saturday, and hung out with him and his parents (parent’s visiting weekend, yay!). We went to a talk on Quantum Mechanics and then to dinner at a pub. Quantum Mechanics is crazy, just FYI, but also awesome. And then in the morning we went with J’s roommate and his family to brunch at Cracker Barrel. It was the high life.

I suppose. =D Pancakes are good.

Then I spent another night, and watched movies, and got up Monday morning for an interview and class visit at J’s school. It’s not a top choice, I guess, but I like it there a lot, and could happy attend. My interview was a “forum interview,” in which we four students (myself and three others, including one current classmate, whom J says may not attend his school) just sat and talked about things, like global warming, and the environment, and robots, and war. It was very cool.

After that interview, I got lunch with J and then had to drive to Haverford. Which, by the way, is 100 miles away on the turnpike. Yay. The drive was nice, low key, and pretty enough. I listened to Escape Pod the whole time, having run out of knitting podcasts, and that passed the time nicely. Those are some fun sci-fi stories.

I spent the night at Haverford in a dorm, with some girls. It was awk, but what overnight college visit isn’t? I saw Anders– he was on the same hall, he was a year ahead of me at Park– and Mickey– not on the same hall, but another friend– and Liz. It was fun to see them. I really like that school.

And I got up really early Tuesday morning, because there were supposed to be mouse-catching-people coming, so at 7:15 or so I got up and put away the aero bed and took a shower. Then I sat in the common room and knit and read. The maintenance people didn’t come until 8:15.

So after my Haverford interview, which was alarmingly short, I decided I didn’t want to see more classes, and instead drove home and watched Heroes on my bed and then took a nap.

The moral of this story?

Basically no knitting has happened since like, Sunday morning.

I want to knit! I want time to knit. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving, when J comes home and we get to drive to the beach and I can have 3 hours of totally-me-knitting-time.

Oh and I’m eating stale sushi and spending a lot of time at school getting stuff finished up for Kiss Me, Kate. Rawr.

I love starting things!

I have developed (for me) an astonishingly bad case of startitis. At this moment, regardless of hibernation or not, I have eight projects on the needles. Eight.

This is astounding.

I have finished knitting the Pomatomus socks (they don’t match, by about a quarter of a repeat). I now need to finish overdying them (not going well) so I can finally give them to my sister and maybe have them look decent.

I have also finished knitting (a long time ago) that felted notions bag that keeps hanging around. But I haven’t felted it. I didn’t feel like wasting the water. I don’t know.

But actually on my needles now are as follows:

0. Log cabin blanket. This one doesn’t count.

1. Qiviut wrist cuffs. I put these down because the yarn is very thin, and I’m knitting them on US 1s, and I just got tired. I’m nearly past the wrist ribbing part, and need to start increasing for the thumb gusset. I’m nearly to the interesting part! I should pick them up again before it gets real cold.

2. Mystery Stole 3. I’m through chart D, just started chart E. I like it, but I’ve been busy (sort of) in the last couple days, and lace knitting needs attention. I haven’t had much of an attention span lately.

3. Blue herring socks. Blah. I don’t know. I like the pattern, but I’m not sure I picked the right yarn. I’m working with the blue merino I got in Spain, as well as the brown camel, and the brown alpaca I also got in Spain. I wanted the alpaca to be in the foot part, so I know the camel in with the blue on the leg. The problem is the huge gauge difference between the camel and the alpaca. I had to change the heel to a flap heel to be able to decrease appropriately for the much larger and fluffier (but still sock weight) alpaca. It’s a bit of an engineering feat, knitting herringbone backwards. Anyway, they might pull together.

4. Coupling socks. I like the yarn, but I’m not sure if it’s right for the pattern. It stripes in single row stripes, and the pattern is lacy and textured. They don’t quite mix well, but if I put the sock on it stretches out okay to show the lace. I’m almost done the first sock, so I might as well finish the pair.

5. Monkey socks. I cast these on the other day for some reward knitting. I’ve hoarded the yarn for a few months (Dream in Color, yum) and wanted to make Monkey socks. They are beautiful. No reservations here.

6. Stockinette boyfriend socks. They’re supposed to be a surprise. If he reads the blog they won’t be. Well, he knows I’m knitting them, just not when. I’m trying to knit both at once, just because, but I’m still unsure about the pattern. It’s self striping yarn, so it has to be simple, but it’s cotton, so it has no stretch. And I kind of don’t want to do ribbing the whole way, but I might have to.

7. Baby hat. I cast this on because I was listening to a podcast (Damknit) in which Erin talked about knitting baby hats. I had some cotton/elastic in the stash, so I threw it on some size 5s and started knitting. So far so good. I wanted some instant gratification. Also, I might be able to give it to my aunt, who is due in November.

8. Yesterday evening, I cast on a scarf in Cascade 220, like I needed another project. I’ve started thinking about my Holiday Craft Show knitting, which I need to do so I can have stuff to sell. I will have some on display, not for sale, but I should have things for peoples to buy. Yes.

I’ve also been spinning.

My mom and my sister have ADD. It runs in the family.

Later I teach a sock class! With luck, it’ll be outside, because it’s beautiful today.