Plays With Yarn

lack of internet :(

Which means no pictures, as the computer/internet I'm using at the moment doesn't have my digital camera software. Boo :-(

Received my Sockapalooza socks at the designated time, and they are incredibly comfy! Got them from Rose and I love them muchly. Will post picture when internet is back to normal.

Almost done with the Mystery Stole--bound off yesterday, and now it just needs blocking.

Finished a baby sweater sometime in the last month too--need to wash that and send it off. (And take pics, naturally.)

Should clear off my current project list (at least partially) before I start a new one.

Gotta run now.

Since I'm a little light on the knitting content today (I've started and ripped out 3 more socks, I think, since I last posted), I'm doing this meme I found on Alianne's blog:

Bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you're not planning on doing.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting) (maybe)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers (these were probably my first FO ever, when I was 10)
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone elses handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art (because Beth said so)
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Gravity sucks

Today I dropped a ball of sock yarn in the cat's water dish. I'm really not a big fan of the smell of wet wool. (Could be worse I suppose...could be wet alpaca.)

Can't blog....knitting.

At least that's what it has seemed like for most of spring break. But I've gotten quite a few projects finished, and I've actually worked on the Sampler Stole that has now officially been on the needles for over a year. I'm actually working on the first border now!

But the best thing I've done over break is shown in the picture below:

Yup, I taught the Boy how to knit! He gets frustrated quickly, so I doubt he'll stay with it, but at least he tried it!

I do have a couple more FOs to show, so this is going to be a picture-heavy post.

Pattern: Nantasket Basket (sans handles)
Yarn: Lamb's Pride prairie fire and....um. Some blue.
Things I'd have done differently: Well, my color choice could use some work. The blue and red are so close in value it's hard to see the pattern. And I think it needs one more run through the washing machine.

Prefelting:

Coke can included in both pictures for scale.

And this one is so teeny it hardly counts, but since it's adorable:

Pattern: Wee Tiny Sock Swap Sock
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Springer

This is getting mailed off tomorrow to my wee tiny sock swappee.

Plans for the rest of break include at least starting that knitting bag I said I wanted to make, finishing Jaywalker #1 (I could do that tonight if I tried really hard, and maybe watched a movie), swatching for a baby sweater (no, not for me), and possibly a few more rows on the Sampler Stole. (According to the spreadsheet I downloaded from someone who was doing the knitalong, 10 rows gets you another percent done. I could easily do 1%, or even half a percent, a day and get this thing done by the end of the year.)

I'd wanted to post pictures today, but my camera batteries are dead already. I think I got 20 pictures at most out of that set of batteries. Grr. Next camera I get is going to be rechargeable. There's problems with that too, but I've never had any problems with anything I've had with a rechargeable internal battery (Palm, iPod, etc.) Yes, this was an inexpensive camera, but eventually buying so many damn AA batteries isn't going to be cost-efficient. (Along with the irritation of having to change the batteries so often.)

(Yes, Natalie, that was the Trekking you bought me. I love the way it knit up!)

Seems I have way too many projects going right now, and I'm still planning new ones. I just need to finish something first! I want to make a baby blanket for a friend (still deciding what yarn to use...I'll probably buy some Shine from Knitpicks or some of the new Cotton Ease), Icarus (I have two laceweights in stash to choose from, but I'll probably end up using the Spunky Eclectic one I just bought), two hats, one for me and one for my best friend, since we both bought new coats and neither of us has a hat that matches, there are probably 4 or 5 sweaters from Big Girl Knits that I want to make....seriously. The list keeps going. (Not to mention all the socks I want to make. Even though I have 3 pairs in various stages of progress right now.)

Goal: To not start anything else before I finish at least one project.

Yeah, right. We'll see if that happens.

Is there anybody out there?

Because of how long it's been since I've blogged, somehow I'm having my doubts that there are people reading still. Please let me know if you're still there!

And apparently I've lost all of my customizations somehow too! Rwar. Time to put all that back together.

Remember me?

Hellsemester is over. I have the time to knit again, and I have the time to post about it again!

Not that I have much to talk about today. I have a sock-in-progress, a scarf that I'll take pictures of as soon as I weave the ends in, and another sock that needs a mate. Oh, and Rosedale still, but Natalie suggested I join the UFOlympics with that. Possibly. But I just wanted to post and let y'all know (those of you who haven't given up on me!) that I'm still alive and knitting. (Yes, I passed all my classes.)

Meme, part 2

And to answer a question from the comments first: Jenn, a little of both. I love his show AND have a bit of a crush on him, probably because of the sciency-geeky thing he has going.

five things I would never wear:

1. stiletto heels
2. tapered jeans
3. real fur
4. a Yankees jersey
5. Ugg boots

five favorite TV shows

1. Good Eats
2. Family Guy
3. Iron Chef America
4. Sex and the City
5. Muppet Show

five biggest joys

1. time with the Boy
2. deep IM conversations with people I might not otherwise see often
3. watching the cats do cat-like things
4. the stress of a baseball season that's going down to the wire
5. sleeping in a cool bedroom with lots of blankets

favorite toys:

1. my Powerbook
2. my iPod
3. sticks and string *grin*

As usual, I'm on the end of this blog-trend, so I'm not tagging anyone. If you haven't been tagged and you want to do it, go nuts.

Still no pics, I'm still reinstalling stuff onto the 'puter. Tomorrow, though!

Just enough knitting content

Still don't have my computer back. Just called and it's supposed to be done later this afternoon. That means pictures later! I got my Sockapal2za socks Saturday from Jenifer and absolutely adore them! I'm really looking forward to showing them off properly. Thank you so much, Jenifer!

I've also started a pair of socks with Magic Loop (it's fun so far), made at least a little progress on Rosedale (last Tuesday after spending pretty much 16 hours straight on homework the night before, I told myself I was taking the night off, watching a baseball game, and knitting), and am still plugging away on the I've also started a pair of socks with Magic Loop, made at least a little progress on Rosedale (last Tuesday after spending pretty much 16 hours straight on homework the night before, I told myself I was taking the night off, watching a baseball game, and knitting), and am still plugging away on the Broadripples.

But until I have pictures, I have a meme that Roxy tagged me for 2 weeks ago, so I should probably post it already *grin*

ten years ago: I was 15 and dating a 18-year-old senior! (It's not as scary as it sounds, I was his first girlfriend and he was thoroughly harmless.)

five years ago: I'd graduated from Maine with my useless (to me) English degree and was working at Lane Bryant and the Discovery Channel store. Boy and I were living in Portland.

one year ago: I was doing pretty much what I'm doing right now, working on my grad degree. Probably for the next 3 or 4 years, too. I was also working on my knitting Christmas list, because I had just started knitting a few months before and thought that knitting stuff for everyone was a really good idea. (And no, I didn't get it all done in time.)

five snacks:

1. Sushi
2. grapes
3. Coke Zero
4. hard boiled eggs
5. hot chocolate

five songs I know all the words to:

1. Total Eclipse of the Heart, Bonnie Tyler
2. One Week, BNL (that doesn't mean I don't get tongue-tied, though!)
3. I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor (or the Cake version works too)
4. I'm Alright, Jo Dee Messina
5. The Rainbow Connection

five things I'd do with $100 million

1. Pay off my debts and all of my friends' as well
2. donate some to animal rights and domestic violence survivors' organizations
3. book a couple private concerts for me and my friends, including but not limited to BNL, Sarah McLachlan, Godsmack, U2, and Bon Jovi
4. Get Red Sox season tickets
5. Hire Alton Brown as my personal chef

five places to run away to:

1. London
2. Waynesville, MO
3. Cumberland, ME
4. Some little cabin in the woods somewhere in the Appalachians
5. the ocean

I think I have to finish this later, this entry is getting way too long for my taste.

quick entry

I'm not dead. I'm just busy, and my computer is in the shop, so no pictures. (Hard drive died.)

I've been knitting a bit, and I've gotten some yarn in the mail from Annie. 4 skeins of Knitpicks Shadow in Sunset. Thanks so much, Annie!

I'll try to be better about blogging in the future. Just, school is crazy this semester already, so I make no promises.

I didn't break anything....yet.

I decided that since I went to the trouble to put my blog database on a thumb drive, that I might as well actually carry it around and post from places other than home once in a while. But given my track record with technology lately, I'm not so sure anything good will come of it. But perhaps I'm just being a pessimist.

So I'm going to post a sentence that has already appeared once in this blog, and quite recently: Suz kicks ass. When she realized that I never received a scarf from the swap, she told me (I'd say she offered, but she said I wasn't allowed to refuse because she'd do it anyway) that she'd knit me a scarf herself. Rawk. Just a little bit of proof that people are generally good (there are just those few...) Suz, if you're ever in Maine, you can totally crash on my futon.

I'm really having a tank top attack. I ended up frogging the Victoria tank because I just can't keep track of a 9-stitch repeat on 270 stitches. I messed up the counting somewhere, found it, started tinking back, and somehow managed to make a mess of small blue yarn. Realizing that I was going to hate every minute of knitting that thing, I frogged it. Kelly's been eyeing Soleil anyway, maybe I'll try to make that or some modification of it (I love the design, but the lace pattern isn't exciting me as much as it could) I keep hearing that Shine is really closer to a DK than a sport weight, so that's a possibility.

(And can I just say, thank you, Alexandra , for accepting Paypal. I just bought two of her patterns, and my lazy butt appreciates not having to go and get my credit card out of my bag.)

This rain

...is making me not want to do anything. Not blog, not work, not even knit! It never gets light enough out for my body to think "daytime" so I've been walking around half asleep all week. So annoying.

I'm working on the second slip-stitch sock, no pictures to show you. I'm almost done with the Kittyville hat, just need to rip out one ear and knit it again more lined up with the other one. Again, no pictures. Haven't had good enough light for pictures, especially of a black hat. Haven't touched the Victoria Tank (requires concentration) or the Pi Shawl (would put me to sleep).

There ya go, one non-news blog post.

Oh! Almost forgot because, again, haven't taken any pictures, but I won a blog contest over at Lisa's, and got my prize yesterday! 3 bars of her homemade soap (which she also sells, all packaged in fabric drawstring bags. A picture wouldn't show you how they smell, though, which is divine. Thanks so much, Lisa!

the learning curve

Eep! Lost an entry just now...I guess that's one of the hazards of using multiple computers to post with this software. I'll figure out how to make that not happen at some point. Still learning, you know :-)

Sock Wizard

I just installed it and poked around, and I have to admit I'm a little underwhelmed. I suppose socks are one of those things that are fairly easy to design, and I figured the software would have a lot more options for toes and heels and help with extending patterning onto the heel flap and still keeping the flap strong. *shrug* Even so, I suppose it'll help me make socks that really, really fit well.

I was thinking that if I liked Sock Wizard, I might end up ordering Sweater Wizard. While I'm indifferent about SockW, I think SweaterW might be a lot more helpful for designing. I downloaded the demo and we shall see.

*grumbles some more*

So even though my feed is publishing (the Livejournal syndication account is updating properly), it doesn't seem that Bloglines is really getting along with it. (I subscribed to myself just to test it, and haven't gotten an update yet.) If anyone has any hints, let me know (I know Gina was having a couple issues with her feed and Bloglines).

Knitting content: well, not much actually. I just got the Sock Wizard software in the mail today and am anxious to try it out (but since my main computer is a Mac, I have to install it on my secondary one, which lives on campus usually). I also bought a skein of black Simply Soft to make the Kittyville hat for my friend Patrick. (Yes, a boy wants the Kittyville hat.) Been plugging along at the socks and the tank.

So here's the new digs!

I think I have everything figured out with this software. I had a bit of trouble updating some stuff this morning, but I realized it was because my iDisk wasn't actually mounted, so I wasn't actually publishing...bleh. Computer stuff.

This entry is mainly to see if my RSS feed is working right. We'll see! *crosses fingers*