FO: Tempting II

Pattern: Tempting II by Jenna Adorno

Yarn: Berroco Comfort
Mods:
-long sleeves roughly following emcglone's instructions
-two more decrease rounds at the neck
-knit neckband picking up stitches in both directions every 5 or so rows, hedging between the pattern as written and how many people have modified it.



Please excuse the requisite dirty mirror shot. My self-timer and I are having a disagreement. I can't seem to get it to focus on me when I use it, since I have to press the shutter before I'm in place, so it focuses on something else. Any suggestions?

I am so glad to be finished this. I started it in November and planned to have it done by December. Woops. That said, if I was a proper perfectionist I'd rip out the neck again (for a fourth time) and redo it so it doesn't look so weird. The extra decreases I did left an oddly textured bit that is clearly visible in the photos. I'll wear it anyway, though. It's pretty cozy for an entirely synthetic fibre.



Speaking of which, this was a major experiment for me. I'd like to say I only use natural fibre yarn, but in reality I often find myself using blends of natural and synthetic fibre. Rarely do I use something entirely synthetic, but it was the colour more than anything else that attracted me to this yarn. The yarn shop I went to doesn't have a massive selection, but they have a whole wall of this stuff, and the range of colours seduced me. This sort of deep teal (despite the photos, it is in fact slightly green) is probably my favourite colour of the moment. I have no idea how this will wear, though I have read good things about it.

roadtrip

Oh yeah, I went to Niagara Falls this weekend. I had never been, but I guess that's one more wonder of the natural world to cross off. It was bitterly cold, but not very crowded, and the sun peeked out! I took about a hundred photos and stood gaping for a bit.

Then we drank wine.




Inniskillin is a beautiful, very classy set-up. We got an introduction to wine-tasting, which was a laugh of course. I don't have a very sophisticated palate, but I can almost pick out various pretentious features of wine if someone tells me what to look for! Yay.

And then, to Kittling Ridge, which I will sum up in this ridiculous photo:



25000 L? Holy shit.

All in all a good time :)

OOh internet fun!

I saw this at Canary Knits, and I'm probably the last to jump on the bandwagon, but it looked like fun, so here it is.



The blog according to Wordle.

Gee, I seem to be obsessed with Ottawa.

WIP: Tempting II

I don't know if I'm cut out for this blogging thing. No in-progress pictures of the long-suffering Tempting II? Thus remedied:



I do believe this little sweater has turned respectable! Please excuse the horrible lighting: I live in a basement. All I need now is the neckband (take two), but I was so excited that it actually fit without falling off that I had to prance around taking awkwardly posed photos of myself. Lucky for you I crop out my head.



Coming soon: FO!?

Back

I realized while in Ottawa how much I complain about London. It's not so bad, really! My tendency to complain about things in order to make conversation probably represents some bizarre flaw in character. I'm happy, mostly! In any case, it was fun to be back in Ottawa, and perhaps London noticed, since it has been cold and bright and not at all slushy since I returned. Cold sunny days make me smile.



On the way home I spent 3 hours in Union Station. I present to you Toronto: View Through Dirty Glass.



I didn't have the energy to go exploring much further afield, but one of these days I think I should. I haven't properly been to Toronto in years.

Today is my birthday. It doesn't really feel like my birthday, and I almost forgot about it because I did all my celebrating while I was in Ottawa. Several have told me that I ought to be gorging myself on pancakes, but since I did so in Ottawa, and I don't really know how to make pancakes that aren't scorched and lumpy, I figured I'd pass. Instead, last night I had a relaxing evening of laundry, knitting, Heroes, and guilt-free avoidance of work. Rejuvenating, and addictive - don't want to work today, either! But I did. Yay.

WIP: Life

Tomorrow morning early I head back to London, but I'd like to have a little more time in Ottawa. It was fun catching up with friends I hadn't been able to see before I left in January, and I enjoyed the mostly-crisp, less-smooshy weather. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to hit the canal, and also unfortunately, I spent the whole week freaking out about my assignments when it would have been nice to relax. They still aren't done, but I sometimes surprise myself when I work bit by bit, so I'm hoping when I look at them again tomorrow I find them mostly done, with just a little room for tweaking. Hoping against all hope...

On the knitting front, I finally FINALLY got one more ball of yarn and finished Tempting II. No pictures because I'm lazy, and the sweater is indecent. Predictably, even doing more decreases at the yoke than the pattern calls for, I ended up with a huuuuge off the shoulder neckline that is incredibly unwearable. Unless this was the 80s and I wore a high side-ponytail? Yeah, no. I haven't ripped it yet, but my next task will be to take out the neckband, and do more decreases. And MORE! I do admire the way the pattern is constructed. I think it's brilliant to do things seamlessly, and I love how the neckband is attached. I'm totally bored with this project, though, even though I gave it a month-long rest when I ran out of yarn. Sigh. I'm stagnating on Basic Black also. I desperately want to get that done while it's still winter, because I'm tired of this charcoal yarn.

Suddenly I want to knit mittens, scarves, and hats. No more sweaters!

FO: Coronet, on my own head

Blocking sorted out the wrinkly decreases perfectly,and the recipient likes it, so a success all around! I'm pleased. Would knit again.

What I did today

Took a long train ride, and then another.


Knit a lot, and finished Coronet

Mods: I did a hybrid of the Medium and Large sizes. Originally intended to knit a medium (22 in circumferance), but I didn't check my gauge, and the hat band ended up being too short with the stipulated cable repeats, so I kept going. I only knit up 8.5 inches before decreasing. My decreases looked rumply and terrible, but I think blocking on a balloon has evened them out somewhat. Modeled shot to come, maybe.

It's Patons Classic, my go-to cheap yarn for hats, apparently. I keep meaning to at least try Cascade 220, which I have so far never tried, despite the fact that I'm a miser and cringe at expense. Something for the future. Anyway, I think it will be fine because it likely won't get too much wear. One of these days I'll try some luxury fibre and maybe I'll never turn back?

I have a raw spot on my hand from knitting for so long, today. I did a little bit of reading on the train, but mostly knitting. The entire stockinette portion of coronet took shape on the train today, although I had finished the band before. It's good to get something finished for once! Now that I'm home, I'll try to acquire some more yarn to finish Tempting II, and I'll be rolling. That's right, I brought 3 knitting projects home with me for reading week. What about all that reading I'm supposed to be doing?

exploring downtown

Dapper fellow tragically attacked by face-eating rodents or picturesque urban decay?

I took a wander by the train station yesterday. Why are train stations always surrounded by dilapidated buildings and rust, even when they are located in the middle of town? The train station itself is pretty shiny. I find dilapidation interesting to look at, anyway. Got my train tickets, am all set for a long wait in Toronto and a train ride longer than it seems like it should be.

Hello World

As usual, I'm at the point where a few solid hours work would probably result in a finished product. Maybe not a brilliant finished product, but one nonetheless. And yet the thought of getting my notes out of my backpack, opening a Word document, and starting to reorganize all the crap I am tentatively calling a literature review makes me shudder. So I am blogging. (Typical.)

I spent a good solid 5 hours on the computer earlier. I got so much done today. Just a little more... Until tomorrow. And the day after. Sigh. Whine whine whine moan moan moan. Okay, I'm done. Down to work.

Searching the literature

It amuses me that the engineering building looks like a church. I'm going to call it the Church of the Engineering from now on. Now for utterly unrelated ramblings...

I ought to have suspected that a general search of LIS literature relating to the internet would be interminable. Since apparently LIS is collectively obsessed with the internet. Come to think of it, most people are obsessed with the internet, but in reading these LIS studies I'm finding that there is a sense of urgency. Everyone is terrified of becoming obsolete, and yet many are clinging to traditional forms and catalogues that require some foreknowledge to use effectively.

Reading these studies is a somewhat disorienting experience, not simply because of their length (though they do make my eyes water from compuer-gazing), but also because I can see myself in their analyses of clueless undergrads engaging with the library catalogue for the first time. Honestly, I've learned more about the intricacies of effective searching in the last few weeks than in the past four years. Nobody claims Carleton had a particularly brilliant library; in fact, I believe the words normally used to describe it are something along the lines of... well, something impolite. (mumble LEARNING COMMONS?!). But I used it, and I'm pretty sure I never used a boolean operator on the catalogue the entire time I was there. Never mind truncation!(In my defense I did employ boolean operators when on the internet). I don't think we ever had an instruction session from a librarian or anything, although it's not clear if that would have helped.

I don't really have a point, other than to say that I think in undergrad I took shelter in the inadequacy of my research. It was a deliberate choice to pick JSTOR and stick to it, only reluctantly using other databases. I never once got an interlibrary loan, nor did I use any journals I could only find in print. Good thing I didn't do a thesis, right? Learning how to actually make use of the wide world of library before me is kind of terrifying, but obviously liberating. My disbelief in the extent of my own library incompetence is mitigated by my recognition that I did it on purpose. I chose to only look in easy ways, and I managed -

But now I'm left with this endless literature search of doom, and I can't fall back on these artificial limits: I feel like I have to find EVERYTHING in order to make up for my past inefficiency. When will it end? How thorough is thorough enough? Gah.

cookie time

Tangentially inspired by library school: Transcending Boolean would be a great name for a band. Or maybe Boolean Transcendence.

In other news, I am typically antisocial and passed up karaoke in favour of baking cookies and taking pictures of them, to the probably amusement of the roommates. Since I finally bought flour and sugar, and I actually have an oven! (I have newfound appreciation for the kitchen in this place, having found out that at least a few classmates are living off hot-plates.)



Lately I have problems with proportion. I made a few too many cookies. Left to my own devices I'm sure I could finish them off in a shorter amount of time than they deserve, but then I would be sick and feel gross. So I froze 2/3 of them. Anyone want chocolate chip cookies?



Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
may have originally come from the ancient Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but it has been modified almost beyond recognition

1 cup oil
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 3/4 cups flour (this time I used all whole wheat, usually I mix white and whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
cinnamon
nutmeg (optional)
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix oil, sugar, eggs, and yogurt. Mix dry ingredients together, and add to wet. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake 8-12 minutes at 350 F.

I, in my shame, had no cinnamon (or nutmeg) to add because I thought the communal spice rack had cinnamon. Turns out, the cinnamon jar was empty, but since it is opaque I didn't realize. The cookies are missing something without cinnamon, but still nice. Also, I forgot to buy baking soda, so I just put a bit more baking powder. Not clear it helped or hindered anything. They turned out fine.

Mmmm.

mixed messages

I like to think that I'm pretty happy with myself, or at least realistic. Of course I've had some body image woes in the past, which is probably so prevalent as to be cliche among women (and increasingly men) these days, but nevertheless I like me. Though I'll admit I probably obsess a little over some things, such as uncertainty about what clothing best suits my body type, and this is reflected in my knitting and my rambling about knitting, I'm pretty cheerful about the body I have and the rest of me that comes with it. Usually.

Why is it, then, that when I weighed myself on a whim the other day, and the scale said I was ten pounds lighter than I expected, I felt jubilant?

For one thing, I'm pretty sure the scale is broken. Oh, that's always the excuse, but I truly don't think it's possible for me to have lost so much weight since I last weighed myself. I can't remember when I last weighed myself, since I don't do it too often. I've been pretty much the same weight since first year university, as far as I can tell, and that suits me fine. Anyway, my clothes don't fit me any differently.

All that aside, why does someone who is unabashedly happy about her body and her weight feel so excited and happy upon "discovering" a surprise weightloss? Am I that wrapped up in the cultural stereotype and the supposedly universal western female obsession with skinny? I thought I wasn't. This is troubling to me.

I'll go to the gym tomorrow and start bulking up, or something.

WIP: Familiar territory

Whoa, knitting!



Miles of fuzzy, charcoal-gray stockinette.

Also some 2x2 ribbing.



I'm ploughing through Basic Black by Glenna C. while slowly frogging the Gilmour vest for more yarn. It's going well, and surprisingly quickly. This has been in my queue and near the top of it for possibly as long as I've been on Ravelry, so I'm happy to finally start it. I'm a little apprehensive, since I initially thought about making it with this yarn and decided I didn't have enough. Hopefully my current estimate that I DO have enough is not wrong. Do I bait tragedy with my knitting?

I keep saying I have to stop choosing projects with monotonous stitch patterns, but I think I've realized why I do it. Not just because I am attracted to simple, versatile, classic lines, but also because I have an unspoken (now spoken) aim eventually to replace store-bought knit items in my wardrode with my own knitting. Most of the really useful store-bought knitwear I have is pretty non-descript, to be honest. I don't have much in the way of awesome cablework or whatever. On that note, I need to aim to replace at least some of the simple stuff with more complicated and challenging stuff. But that may not happen any time soon.

I got the winter issue of Interweave knits for Christmas and while I wasn't drawn to anything in particular at first, I now feel the need to make at least three items from it. The Victoria Yoke pullover tops the list. Oh look, more stockinette stitch. At least there is some texture involved. Next comes the Welt and Rib raglan, a shoe-in to replace a turtle neck sweater I wear and love that may disintegrate within the next year. Then, the Dainty Pinstripes pullover. For some reason I really was not keen on this at first glance, but now I like it a lot. Maybe I'll stop liking any of these before I get around to making them; that's a lot of sweaters to try to fit in this winter, and as is apparent I loathe spending money. Ha! We'll see.

Musing

Will I remember that during Obama's inauguration I was grocery shopping, obsessing over the price of milk?

I might remember that in January 2009 I had just moved to a new city, and was just starting my master's. Maybe I'll think of it as some sort of new beginning or at least new direction in my life. I guess that depends on what happens next.

I think it depends on what happens next for America, too, though I can't help but see this as pretty amazing and positive. Even if I'm skeptical about all the crying, and even if I forgot about the inauguration until the evening and watched it on youtube out of some sense of duty.

Discouraged

I ran out of yarn knitting Tempting II. I have an inch more of yoke to knit, and then the neck band, and then I'm done. Lately, in my frugality, I can't seem to buy enough yarn. This happened with Liesl as well - not enough yarn, had to cannibalize the sleeves. It's slower going with tempting, though, since I didn't realize that frogging from the cast-on edge isn't as streamlined as frogging from the bind-off edge. It never even occurred to me, to be honest, until I painstakingly undid the sleeve edge only to find that it didn't all come undone easily. I left it there, shoved it back in my drawer, and moved on. I am so close to finishing this thing that I really don't want to just leave it, but it's turning out to be more effort than it's worth.

To console myself I ripped into my Gilmour vest, and discovered that I am a failure at proper frogging, too. Lame. It's not necessarily my fault. The yarn is very sticky, so even frogging it takes awhile. Lots of coaxing and untangling. I hope the yarn is fit for use after. (Notice, I didn't rush out to the LYS which I still haven't explored, to snatch up luxury fibres that I know are there. I'm still being good. Nearly).

I'm doing all this in between short spurts of actual work. They've got me in a panic over the workload, even though when I look at it rationally it is totally doable. And I'm doing it. But I'm not so keen on the essay parts so far - I aimed to leave this behin at least for a while. Oh well. The presence of essays continues to define my existence. What else is new. Blah blah blah.

Epic shower rescue adventure

I should probably stop referring to everything I do as either "epic" or an "adventure" or both, but on the other hand, it's my life and I am rather excitable and easily amused. So, here's my latest epic adventure. In the shower, of all places. (Excessive Long-windedness follows)

A disadvantage to having long hair and lots of it is that it gets everywhere. I probably have no right to complain about the cat rubbing his face on my sweaters and shedding all over them, because I'm sure he's just returning the favour: he has to deal with my long hairs all over the place. Sometimes he rubs his face against my shoulder and comes up with a face full of hair that he has to bat away. But I digress. The other main disadvantage of long hair is the rate at which drains get clogged. I live with 2.5 other girls now, but I think my hair is the longest, so I'm totally willing to pitch in and clear the drain when necessary because I figure it's mostly my fault. I did so today, even though I hadn't intended to do it so soon since I've only lived here for a week and a half.

What happened was, as soon as I got in the shower today one of my beloved golden hoop earrings fell off. I say beloved because, well, I love them and I wear them almost all the time - now I have some new beloved silvery ones that I wear most of the rest of the time. Anyway, I sleep in these earrings because they are seamless hoops that don't have pokey studs or anything, and I certainly don't hesitate to shower in them. But one fell out today, and slithered down the drain, and I cursed and nearly cried, and jumped out of the shower into the frozen air and set about trying to right this problem. Given that the drain was clogged with a mess of gross old hair, I knew all was not lost.

After first setting on the drain with my hands (as gross as it was) I found I needed new weaponry. So, I grabbed a handy tool box and attacked the gross, sludgy mass of drain hair with some thick, grippy pliers. The earring was nowhere to be found in the first layer of grime, which made me nearly despair. At least it would drain faster.

Then I got a flashlight and peered down into the drain, and there it was! A glint of shiny yellow metal in a bed of grayish congealed crap about 3 or 4 cm down from the opening. Gross, but so encouraging. It's this sort of thing that renews my interest in archaeology. The pliers were unfortunately too large to fit far between the crosspieces of the drain, and I know I brought my needlenose pliers with me but I couldn't find them at the time, and anyway they would have been too short.

Out came the Allen key (sp?), with its handy crook that I thought would be ideal for fitting into the hoop and lifting it out of the muck. Lift I did! Alas, the Allen key wouldn't lift easily out of the small hole at the right angle: every time I tried, I had to maneuver the key such that the earring slipped off and back into the sludge. Sigh. I brought out some floss to try to thread through the earring so that when it dropped off the Allen key it would still be attached and within reach. Floss is floppy and doesn't hold its own when poking in a dark drain. I tried using a knitting needle, 5 mm dpn, in addition to the Allen key to convince the earring to emerge. Stubborn thing would not.

Every so often it would disappear in the murk and I thought I'd lost it forever. I'd like to think I'm not so hung up on material things, but in reality there are some material things that I really would prefer not to lose. But more poking and prodding would cause it to emerge once more.

I tried many things, running back and forth between the bathroom and my room across the hall to gather tools, half-showered and in my bathrobe, perplexing a housemate with my bizarre inquiries about long needle-nose pliers and the like, and apologizing for totally monopolizing the bathroom.

But I rescued the earring, finally! With a floss-threader, of all things. You know, those plastic large-eyed needles flung at teenagers by dentists and orthodontists to encourage them to floss despite the impediment of their braces? Yeah. I stuck it down loop-first into the drain, hooked it onto the earring, and lifted. Simple! Why didn't I think of it first?

I only have floss threaders because back in the day I was one of those kids with braces who ignored most dental suggestions that I floss, but accepted the small gift of a package of floss threaders every check-up. I started flossing religiously after getting my braces off, perhaps to make up for lost time, and I'm a committed flosser now, but not in those days. I still have one wire behind my bottom front teeth that I need to use these threaders for, so it's a good thing I have a lifetime's supply.

Needless to say, I'm pretty pleased with myself and the outcome of this harrowing rescue. Now to soak the earring in something nasty and disinfectant for a while.

New surroundings: now with camera

Getting lost; epic grocery adventure of doom

I have fond memories of wandering aimlessly around Exeter when I first moved there, getting slightly but not irrevocably lost. The romantic notion of getting lost in a new place, however, far outlives the actual experience of getting lost, if my London wanderings are any indication. I don't remember feeling anything other than excitement when learning my way around Exeter, but I probably had periods of frustration that I have forgotten. Or perhaps it's just less fun to wander around in the cold and the slush with several kilos of groceries, fumbling clumsily with a map and asking identical strangers plugged into ipods for directions. Epic.

An epic and ultimately less useful than planned adventure to a big ol' sprawling mall followed my first library class. I was determined to find Bulk Barn, which wasn't where I thought it was, but I eventually did find it after first walking far out of my way to the intersection I thought it was locate at, then wandering sheepishly back where I had come, asking a Zeller's lady for directions. Then, they didn't have any lentils, which I think is inexcusable. No lentils! Especially since I had already gone to Loblaws and bought everything else but specifically had not bought lentils in favour of getting them bulk. Thwarted again! Small battles, small battles.

The distance traveled by foot today was sizable from all the walking in circles, you know. But it probably wasn't as much as it felt like, because like an idiot I decided to go to Loblaws, which was immediately in view, first - before finding Bulk Barn. Whatever. It worked out. I have food enough for days and days, though I have no lentils.

And I even had my first class today which was kind of interesting, and slightly terrifying. The terror I am trying to suppress by telling myself "I survived 4th year Hums; this is bound to make more sense." They are doing their best to freak us out about the workload, so I started my readings today and promptly found out that antelopes may constitute documents. Sweet.

Tempting II will be done in the next week or so, I say perhaps optimistically, and then I'll have more knitting for this blog. Until then, ramble ramble ramble.

new environs

My favourite way to get to know a new place is on foot. (note: #63 of my 101 in 1001 is now complete.) London's constant ankle-deep slush will not defeat me! Haha. It was a bit colder today, so in many places the sidewalks were more solid. I ended up making a ridiculously inefficient loop through downtown and back up through the university; though I had a map, I didn't look at it when I chose to cut down a street through a neighbourhood full of huge houses, and so neglected to see that there was no way through.

It is clear that something must be done about winter boots. I wore mine today, even though I probably could have gotten away with the shoes I wear all winter in Ottawa. Yesterday I wore the shoes and got soaked, so I clearly also need to get better at judging the level of slush. In any case, I suffer from an affliction that I assume is fairly common in Canada. My socks always slip off my feet, or at least slip all the way to my toes while I walk. This happens very shortly after I begin slogging, generally. I tried wearing knee socks today, knowing that I would be walking for a long time and would not want to hop around awkwardly in the middle of the street trying to tug my socks back up. Knee socks didn't help. Hop awkwardly I did. Sigh. This is why I wear my hiking shoes year round.

Anyway, on my wanders I found the closest yarn shop to my house. I didn't go in, but it's good to know where it is. I also did boring but necessary stuff like scope out banks and groceries stores, which seemed fairly unrewarding in the bleak afternoon. After accidently wandering into the shopping district that I had explored a little before when I was here to find an apartment, I ran into a pro-Palestine rally, and turned back.

knitting of 2008

I mused about putting on every item I'd knit in 2008 simultaneously for a silly photo, but time slipped away and now I'm in London without a camera (gasp! but what's a blog without copious photos!), and anyway some of the things I knit were gifts, so I no longer have them. So, a bit late, and a bit overdone, but here is a compilation of what I knit in 2008.



My first sweater (Cozy V-Neck Pullover by Stefanie Japel), my first colourwork (Endpaper mitts by Eunny Jang), first serious cables (Gretel by Ysolda Teague), and my first lace (Tiger Eyes lace scarf by Toni Maddox). Among other things. I think it is safe to say I did more knitting this year than in my whole life, and I certainly tried things I hadn't done before. Success?

This year I want to do more of the above: more cables, more lace, more colourwork... I don't have any specific goals, but I want to challenge myself further (blah blah blah). I also want to make more socks out of real sock yarn, since as of yet my sock experiences have been fun but slightly silly in their non-superwash glory. Hurray!

2008: movies

I am pleased to say I watched fewer movies in 2008 than I read books. At least, so says my cunning list, although it may be inaccurate. Plus, I didn't mark down any re-watches, and I know for sure I watched at least two of these films more than once.

Here it is. Looking back on the list, it appears I only saw one film in a theatre. Really? Weird. That can't be right. Whatever.

1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
2. Bridget Jones’ Diary 2
3. Three Kings
4. I’m Not There
5. Popeye
6. Keeping Mum
7. Sweet and Lowdown
8. Juno
9. 27 Dresses
10. Soylent Green
11. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
12. Enchanted
13. Mirror Mask
14. Shaun of the Dead
15. The Darjeeling Limited
16. Music and Lyrics
17. Penelope
18. Match Point
19. Brokeback Mountain
20. Batman Begins
21. Prince Caspian
22. Hairspray
23. Howl’s Moving Castle
24. Zulu
25. High School Musical
26. Bon Cop Bad Cop
27. Poseidon
28. 40 Year Old Virgin
29. Marple: The Moving Finger
30. Marple: A Murder is Announced
31. Ocean’s Twelve
32. Shrek 2
33. Casino Royale
34. Ocean’s Thirteen
35. L’auberge Espagnol
36. Fahrenheit 451
37. The Prestige
38. Deathproof
39. Little Miss Sunshine
40. Wall-E
41. The History Boys

New year, books of 2008

Three weeks of bliss and adventure ended today with the departure of my favourite person. If all went well he was on the flight that left for Heathrow an hour ago. No relaxing allowed, however; on the 7th I'm moving to London. Ontario, unfortunately. A few people I've spoken to have automatically assumed I was immintently UK-bound, but this is unfortunately not the case. Maybe in 2010.

I'm quite excited, though I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed since I have almost no time to breathe before I move, and I've spent the last three weeks ignoring most things having to do with grad school and moving and London, ON. But! Now! Go!

I haven't made any resolutions: in September I started pursuing my 101 in 1001, which I think does me for goals for the next couple of years. In addition, I'm trying to embrace a spirit of action, or something equally pretentious-sounding but really not so unreasonable when you think about it: if there's something I want to change about myself, there's no point waiting for the new year. Might as well get started now, right? Right.

In the spirit of new things and the old year, I will now list things I did last year, since this seems to be the thing to do now that it is January.
First up: Books I read in 2008

I counted longish readings that were published as free-standing documents as "books" so excuse me. I did not count books that I read only part of. *cough* most of Hums 4000? *sheepish*. Things I had read before are labeled as such, but I decided to count them again anyway. Plays and epic works of poetry etc are also considered "books" just for the sake of simplicity. Apologies to purists.

1. Life on the Refrigerator Door, Alice Kuipers
2. Gargantua and Pantagruel (books 1-3), Rabelais
3. Robinson Crusoe, Defoe
4. The Concept of the Political, Carl Schmitt
5. The Gift, Vladimir Nabokov
6. Letter Concerning Toleration, Locke
7. Into That Darkness, Gitta Sereny
8. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov (reread)
9. On Toleration, Voltaire
10. Rameau’s Nephew, Denis Diderot
11. Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov
12. Life is a Dream, Calderon
13. Le Cid, Corneille
14. The Human Condition, Hannah Arendt
15. Sofia Petrovna, Lydia Chukovskaya
16. The Sorrows of Young Werther, Goethe
17. Tartuffe, Moliere
18. Ada, Vladimir Nabokov
19. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
20. If This is a Man (Survival in Auschwitz), Primo Levi
21. Modern Social Imaginaries, Charles Taylor
22. Fuente Ovejuna, Lope de Vega
23. Precious Damsels, Moliere
24. Phaedra, Racine
25. The Princess of Cleves, Madame de Lafayette
26. The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco
27. Persians, Aeschylus
28. Agamemnon, Aeschylus (reread)
29. Oedipus the King, Sophocles (reread)
30. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
31. The Life of Pi, Yann Martel
32. Selected stories by Philip K. Dick
33. Philoctetes, Sophocles
34. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
35. The Bacchae, Euripides (reread)
36. Iphigenia at Aulis, Euripides
37. Orestes, Euripides
38. The Origin and Early Form of Greek Tragedy, Gerald Else
39. Making Money, Terry Pratchett
40. Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes
41. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate – Alexander McCall Smith
42. Emma, Jane Austen
43. On Beauty, Zadie Smith
44. Saturday, Ian McEwan
45. Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson
46. The Confusion, Neal Stephenson
47. The System of the World, Neal Stephenson

In total: 33 out of 47 books read were for university in some capacity. It seems like so long ago. I did have a fun couple of months reading only for myself since September, but upon reflection it seems I didn't read all that much.

This year I branched out a little past the classics. For the last few years I've spent my summers reading largely classic works that I feel I should read to fill in the gaps of my knowledge. This summer / fall I read a few more contemporary works, though I also tackled War and Peace, which I (hopefully unpretentiously) recommend because it is interesting as well as being famous and long. I count Neal Stephenson as this year's literary revelation for me. I've been meaning to read several books by him since high school, but I didn't get around to it until this year for whatever reason. It was better than I had hoped. I'm a convert. Next time I have some time open to myself I'll read Cryptonomicon.

So much for this year in books. Next, this year in movies?

dye madness

I'm beginning to think I bit off more than I could chew by deciding to dye up loads of this handspun in order to have enough for a sweater. After my initial success producing a tiny skein of beautiful blue, I dyed two more in huge roasting pans on the stove, and nearly died from vinegar inhalation. Well, was made uncomfortable ha. Anyway, they turned out very light blue, even though I'm sure I multiplied the numbers correctly, and used an insane amount of food colouring. So I did it again with more. Still light blue. In the fluorescent light of my basement it looked nearly periwinkle and I despaired for a moment. Not that there is anything wrong with periwinkle, but I just knit my Liesl in light blue that has a slight periwinkle air. Luckily, in other light the yarn doesn't look periwinkle, but it's still much lighter than the tiny skein of wonderfulness that I had my heart set on.

So. I let the two skeins sit for a few days while I got used to the sight of them, decided they weren't so bad after all, and set about dyeing the fourth. Over the course of this dyeing, I ran out of blue food colouring, but only after putting enough in - I thought. Anyway, this one turned out an entirely different colour from the last two. I know, dye lots etc.... but the first two that I dyed each in a differnt pot, albeit simultaneously, turned out quite similar. Anyway. I am not sure what I'll do now. I still have a fourth skein to dye, and possibly I'll overdye the rest. I've given up the plan of getting all this done before I move to London, so this yarn may hibernate.

I'm about to get busy entertaining my favourite person who is landing around 4 pm today, so no more yarn griping. Wooooo!

Yarn and guilt

The yarn and the guilt are completely disconnected. First, yarn:



I made this teeny tiny skein! It's cute, and I'm so excited. Same story as before: I did not spin this lovely handspun, but I dyed it. This is my fourth attempt at finding a good colour for a sweater, and I think this one wins. The picture is unfortunately a bit deceitful: the yarn is darker than this and has very subtle overtones of purple. More like hints. I'm pleased. Dyeing is fun and exciting, although I do think I need to invest in some citric acid because I'm sure breathing in all that vinegar can't be good for me, plus I hate the smell.



This time I used the stove rather than the microwave, and I added salt to the dye mixture because I read somewhere that might help. It's not exactly clear if it did or not, but whatever. It didn't hurt, I don't think. I used blue and red food colouring, and I dyed it twice in quick succession. The second time the dye refused to exhaust, so I probably didn't need as much blue that time around. This will make it a bit of a challenge to replicate this beauty for a whole sweater's worth of yarn, but I am plotting and strategizing. All will be well, or at least interesting. I'll start trying tomorrow, methinks.

In other news, I am incapable of spending money without feeling guilty about it, unless it is something mind-bogglingly necessary or useful like groceries. This could be a useful trait if it meant I spent less money; perhaps it does, but it's not clear. Right now I am finding it an awful hindrance to Christmas shopping. I don't need to do much Christmas shopping, but I need to do some, and worrying incessantly about my purchases is not helping. Sigh. Normally I consider "impulse purchases" as being the result of only one or two forays into the shop to examine said item before whipping out the credit card, and maybe I should be happy about this. Occasionally I take even less time, and that's when I really stress out about what I have already paid for. Especially when it is shipping from the states and I'm worried that it won't get here in time but not worried enough to pay more for faster shipping, obviously.

And in other guilt news, I've officially quit chocolate until Dec 13th. That doesn't sound like a very long time, and to be fair I've probably gone without chocolate for longer than that before, but I have been indulging far more than is necessary or desirable lately, and I feel like a total glutton. Wow, I'm uptight. Anyway, it is decided. No chocolate until my festive season starts in earnest when my boyfriend arrives. I'm not sure why I feel the need to impose restrictions on myself in a slightly ridiculous fashion, or post publicly about it, but there it is. Muse muse muse.

December!

It's December. Which means NaNoWriMo is over.

Tada! My novel, tentatively titled Night Shift, is finished, and it is decidedly mediocre. Woo! I plan on going back to do some editing so that I don't feel too embarassed about showing a few people - I promised this story to my cousin, who also attempted NaNoWriMo this year. But for now it feels good not to have to look at it for a bit. Snrk. My vampires are not sparkly vampires. Anyway. That is one more item to cross off my 101 in 1001 list. (Notice how I didn't say "Write a publishable Novel.")



In other news, I've been doing some experiments dyeing with food colouring. Here are about 2.5 metres each of my initial attempt. The bright cyan one is straight blue food colouring, the light green is green + blue, and the periwinkle/grayish blue is blue food colouring with some cherry instant drink mix added. I like that one the best, although I totally didn't expect it to look more gray. In some light it even looks a little greenish, but I think that's from the yarn's natural colour showing through.



Winter means crappy indoor photos, unfortunately. Sigh.

I'm going to try dyeing some more tomorrow maybe, and when this is all over I'll have enough to make something with lots of greenish blue stripes! What I'm aiming for is a dark/bright blue. I'll see what I can manage. Definitely want to get this yarn dyed before I move to London, so I can bring the yarn along and work on Basic Black, which will hopefully absorb my knitting urges enough that I won't be tempted to buy lots of yarn instead of paying rent. Woo!

dallying

A dusting of snow that collects in dried leaves and looks a little like fake snow spray / powder used in Christmas displays. We haven't had much snow here yet, although when I was in London (ON unfortunately) for a few days I got my fair share of it. Fluffy flakes that became wet and soggy and slushy on the ground. (by the way, I have a place to live wooo!) I had never been to London, nor had I really shopped for apartments. Well, I guess I have if you include summer in Exeter - was that shopping? Kind of. Anyway, it was an interesting few days full of puppies and slush and basements. I'm kind of excited to move there in January for another brief taste of independence, or at least a change of scene.



A while back I decided I had been neglecting the camera so I went out in search of interesting photos in the desolate landscape of suburbia in November. Right. Not sure I succeeded, but I reminded myself that there can still be interesting and maybe even pretty things in bleak November.


And of course the ubiquitous birds on wires.

I got lots of knitting done on the 6.5 hour ride to and from London: I'm nearly finished the body section of Tempting II. No pictures yet, but it's just a boring 1x1 rib tube in pretty teal. More on that to follow. I've also baked some delicious things that while tasty were not particularly photogenic. Reading Smitten Kitchen has really made me afraid of posting about baking ever again! Nah, mostly it has me copying millions of delicious-looking recipes that I'm sure won't be nearly as pretty once I substitute vegetable oil. But that won't stop me.

Twist collective winter issue, at last!

Gah! I am about 5k behind on my NaNoWriMo novel, and blogging just makes me feel like I'm misdirecting my verbiage. Bad, bad.

But...

I have been impatiently waiting for the winter issue of Twist Collective, ever since I heard a rumour that it would be arriving Nov 1. This was just a rumour; anyway, it was delayed for very good reasons, but I have still been impatiently checking the website, even though I have my next couple of projects lined up already and I don't need to do any more pattern lusting. Or do I?

What stands out for me this issue are coats and hoodies. Coats coats coats. I'm attracted to the idea of knit coats, but I'm still undecided as to how practical they would be for me. Perhaps in the fall rather than the winter. I love Sylvi, though. The flowers and vines on the back stun me. If I find myself with a large amount of big yarn, perhaps I'll make it, maybe in time for next fall.

Heroine also really appeals to me, though I don't know if I could stand felting a coat - it would have to be ridiculously massively huge before hand, I would think. In reality, I think the buttons shown make the coat, plus the model's steampunk-esque binoculars. I probably won't make this, in all honesty, but it is cute!

On the hoodie side, while I love looking at designs for knit hoodies (and I have had Corona by Canary Sanctuary queued for a while), I am not always sure I'd wear a knit hoodie. I have plenty of hoodies, but I don't usually wear the hoods, except when weather and my other layers demand. More often than not I'm inclined to think that these gorgeous knit ones would look as good or better without the hoods, even. But Twist may have converted me, because I can definitely picture myself knitting and wearing some of these, hoods and all.

Vivian blows my mind. I am an unapologetic devotee of Ysolda, and I always look forward to seeing what she has come up with, but wheeee. How incredibly cable-y. I love the look of complicated cables. At some point soon I want to step-up my cable experience by making something with lots and lots of cables, and I think Vivian is now on my list. I love how it looks very fitted and shaped to the model so that it doesn't matter if the cables are stiff or not; my worry would be about whether I could make it look quite so amazing on me. This goes in my queue for the hopefully near future.

Gythafalls into the category of drapey, tunic-y, slightly hippy, whimsical sweaters that I adore the look of and the thought of... but again, not sure if I'd be able to pull it off myself. Eeesh. I think I need to suck it up and make myself a tunic-y sweater and be done with it, because I'm clearly too uptight. Anyway. Gytha is cute and looks comfy, and perhaps if I get over some of my hang-ups and can afford yarn I'll make it some day! It's not at the top of my list, though.

With my idealistic love of cloche-type hats, it's weird that I don't have any. maybe not all that weird since I'm a miser who doesn't like to spend money on style-over-substance fashion. But I have been eyeing MK Carroll's Matilda and Tillie hats for a while. Twist's cloche offering Dietrich is very cute. It goes on the list to sit along with Matilda / Tillie for a while to simmer while I decide which to jump into and go with, likely as soon as it gets too cold...

Startitis, of a kind

I don't usually get the typical knitting startitis. Certainly, I compulsively queue projects, most of which I will never make: I need to get better at using the "favourites" feature in ravelry instead of just queuing everything I like the look of whether I'll make it or not. In any case, while I have "queue-itis" (eugh at vowels), I don't generally find myself compulsively casting on for lots of projects in quick succession. This is because I'm so anal about yarn purchasing these days that I spend ages and ages deliberating about what yarn to buy, or whether or not to even buy yarn at all... So far I'm keeping my yarn purchasing under control, which I'm happy about.

Anyway. A different sort of starting problem plagues me. It seems like every project I start, no matter how simple, starts with a stupid mistake. For example, I nearly always use long-tail cast-on, and even though I know I should be more careful with leaving a long-enough tail, I nearly always have to restart my cast-on because I've run out of yarn. Sometimes more than once. But I'm too excited to be careful and methodical! It's stupid.

When I make it past the cast-on, there's usually something else that goes wrong almost immediately. With Odessa, I mobiused the damn thing. Then I realized I hadn't cast on enough stitches. With Tempting II, I've just started, and it turns out I screwed up the 1X1 rib in the first row. Rather than rip it all out, or just ignore it and let it work itself out (both of which I sometimes do), I decided to go about manually unknitting each stitch and re-positioning it as knit or purl, then knitting or purling the stitch again to be caught up to the second row.

Once I'd realized that it was only about 20 stitches into the round that I'd purled twice, thereby throwing off the entire rest of the row, I didn't think to only undo and fix those twenty stitchs to realign the rib. No, it was only about halfway through the row of fixing that I realized that would have been smarter and faster. Blah.

As I stands, I still haven't finished the fixing row. The knitting is sitting in my living room sulking. At this rate it would have been faster to rip it all out, but if I do that I'm sure to screw up the cast-on. Repeat cycle.

Sigh. I think I sabotage myself and my knitting a little sometimes. I'll get there eventually.

What am I doing lately?

-Congratulating the USA for not electing another Republican.
-Breathing a sigh of relief that Sarah Palin is not VP
-Fretting a little about the fact that Sarah Palin is not going to go away and probably will turn up again next time around. So scary.
-Volunteering at a library! Super fun and educational
-Working at stupid job, but saving more than I'm spending, so woot.
-Not braiding my hair for a month - this experiment has shown that I am very very lazy. I thought I might figure out more interesting things to do with my hair if I couldn't braid it, but in reality I fall back on buns and ponytails mostly. Oh well.
-Not taking any photos of anything, inexplicably
-Looking for a place to live in London, ON
-Feeling happy that I'm still with my favourite person (albeit long distance) after 2 years. I'll always remember the 5th of November but for slightly less pyromaniacal reasons...
-Writing a novel for NaNoWriMo. (only 6057 words so far, but I'll get there)
-knitting another apple cozy
-waiting for the winter issues of Knotions and Twist Collective

-loving today's knitting-related Questionable Content

Halloween

Halloween happened! And ever since I've been consuming large amounts of tiny chocolate bars and other terrible candy in a seemingly compulsive fashion. The appeal of tiny chocolate is inexplicable and only seems to occur for me around Halloween. Ah well, we will finish it up soon enough and maybe I'll go for a run tomorrow.



But Halloween is one of my favourite events, commercialized candy peddling aside. I especially like carving pumpkins. Perhaps perversely. In a fit of the absurd, I carved my pumpkin as a pineapple in first year uni. I am inordinately proud of that pumpkin, even if that makes me extra weird. Eh, I don't mind being extra weird. When I was younger, we'd usually take a family trip out to pick pumpkins off huge piles out at a market where we'd also buy lots of apples. This year we only had the one pumpkin, but I had fun carving it.

I went to a party and hung out with lots of hum friends in various states of (geeky) costume. It was pretty great. Only at a hums party will you find Medea, Medusa (me), St Augustine, and various other clergy represented... Heh. I'm graduating next weekend (WOOOOO), and I've been pretty caught up in the relief of finally pulling off my bachelor's degree, but I know I will miss a lot of things about Hums. Geeky costume parties being only one.

Now that I'm not in school, I'm taking the opportunity this November to participate in NaNoWriMo, something I've meant to do for years, but could never justify - there was so much procrastinating for essays to be done instead! My cousin is also writing, so we got together last night to kick off our novels with a bit of competition. It's good fun. We'll see how far I get. I'm not aiming for brilliance, as I'm told this is ill-advised. Mediocrity will suffice for now!

FO: apple cozy

Apple Cozy from I'm Gonna Purl

I first saw this on I Like Lemons and knew it would fit with my obsessive practical-knitting (which I realize goes awry more often than not), as well as let me use (but not use up, alas) some icky acrylic I've had lying around since the beginning of time.

Icky acrylic is perfect for this sort of thing: it will hold up being bashed around in my backpack, and I don't have to worry about ruining pretty yarn. Plus, this is mostly black so it won't look dingy(er) quickly.

It turned out huge. I may make another one doing fewer increases. This one fits huge apples, which we happen to have some of at the moment, but the next one I'll aim for fitting normal medium apples.

I was a little careless with the increases and decreases: I used 4 needles instead of 5 and got tired of the constant counting I was doing to follow directions written out for 5 needles: "on each needle knit to 1 stitch before end, m1." I pretty much winged it, making sure to increase and decrease where I thought was the right place... so there aren't as pretty seams as the original, but it doesn't show too badly, and I am altogether pleased.

Hello winter!

I heard we were going to get a lot of snow, and I trudged through some slush last night, but I didn't expect all of it to stick. Wow.

FO: Odessa

Odessa by Grumperina
It's not really as lumpy as it looks in the photo, I swear! I knit an extra inch or so before decreasing because I like ears that cover my ears. It turned out a little big, but it will keep my forehead/ears warm.

I love love love how the yarn knit up. I'm so excited about it! The handspun isn't the softest yarn, but it's sturdy and a bit textured. Combined with the accidental semi-solid dye job and a simple yet interesting knitting pattern = success!

Encased in knitwear: an October adventure

It is November weather today. I, like many people, don't particularly enjoy the November part of fall with its cold, clammy, blustery rain. I follow the pack and love the crisp, cool, and bright part of fall. You know, before the leaves get brown and sludgy underfoot when they are still lovely yellow, orange, and red.

But no matter. Today the blustery cold drizzle was mitigated somewhat (at least in my mind) by my wearing Gretel, Endpaper Mitts, and Tiger Eye scarf. I did so without shame, despite the hilarious un-matchiness of all these items. If I'd worn my V-neck I'd have been encased in knitwear; it wasn't cold enough for all that, fortunately.

So I was clashy, cozy, and enjoying the bluster despite its Novemberiness. I know, maybe I should learn some new real adjectives instead of making them up.

And what a day to visit a yarn store! (Maybe I should be more conscientious about starting sentences with conjunctions, too.) I went to Yarn Forward and Sew On on my way home today. I'd never been in there before (gasp) because truth be told I'm woefully inexperienced with Ottawa yarn shops, and yarn shops in general. Mmmm yarn on a blustery day. I didn't buy anything because I'm not buying any yarn until I get my interest for October, but I'll definitely go back. It was neat to see and be able to touch all these yarns that I've only ever heard about - Koigu, Hand Maiden, Fleece Artist etc. Exciting.

Life Work Blah

I keep trying to convince myself that my perverse enjoyment of behind-the-scenes work justifies the bad times at my crappy job. Honestly, I'm mostly indifferent to the job, which is a whole other thing, but it has its ups and downs. Lately downs. I think it is because I've been working long shifts in order to get enough hours in this week. I made the mistake of taking the entire Thanksgiving weekend off, and then I worked at the Election on Tuesday for 14 hours.

The election was fun times, really. I've done that work twice before, and this time I was partnered with a jovial and talkative British ex-pat who pretty much entertained me the entire time with random anecdotes. So despite the length of the day, it didn't feel draggy most of the time, and hey - doing my civic duty to help the democratic process! Woot. (Again, my perverse enjoyment of things behind-the-scenes is at play here. Also I like getting paid).

But. Following a 14 hour work day with 6.5 hours of call centre the next day, and another 6.5 hours the day after that was a stupid stupid idea. I'm losing my mind. And the worst bit is, I'm working those same hours tonight, and then 4 hours on Saturday. I need to get better at scheduling myself. Eeesh.

For the first time since my first awful day at this job, yesterday I felt I just couldn't take it. Every task seemed stupider than anything anyone would ever be asked to do. I know that's irrational, but I sometimes think people here get by through comraderie in despair. Oh hey, that's the working world for ya. I guess. Whatever. I seethed on the way home and ranted at night, and went to bed feeling pissed off and unable to contemplate working again. Wow, emo. I'm not going to quit, since I know I'll quit before December anyway, but man - I definitely felt like it yesterday.

Getting paid yesterday didn't help, oddly enough. Instead of feeling proud of the money I'd made by doing stupid things all day, I felt demoralized that the last two weeks could be measured in $341. To be sure, I'm happy to have this money now that I'm sensing a disturbing trend towards consumerism in my desires, but... I'm probably thinking too much about this.

FO: Koolhaas

I made this ages ago, but never showed it out of paranoia. Not that I honestly expected the recipient to read this blog, but I wanted to be careful.

Now that he has the hat snugly in his possession I'll show it off.

When I jokingly promised not to knit him anything for his birthday he said, "ACTUALLY..." and mentioned he could use a "non-pointy" hat. So he even gave me tacit permission. THAT'S what I like to hear.



The colour is not quite right in the above photo, but the one below is closer.



Koolhaas by Jared Flood
Mission Falls 1824 Wool

Although I made it for a man, I only did 4 repeats of the cable pattern because otherwise it would have been massive. I loved making this. I used Grumperina's tutorial for cables without a needle: super helpful. I may never use a cable needle again, for mini-cables at least. I love everything about this hat. The Mission Falls was so nice and soft to knit with, although I do fear it will pill. Given the recipient lives in balmy Devon, I don't expect the hat will get too much use except when he is visiting me in the Frozen North, so hopefully it will hold up well enough.

I want to make one for me, now!

3 cherry and 2 grape later... Addiction!

I dyed about 175~ yards of that amazing handspun, and I love the colour! It's hard to tell from the photo, but it's a bit semi-solid, which I like a lot. I was afraid it would turn out bright pink or something. There was no noticeable separation of blue and red from the grape, either. I call this a success!

Once again, I used no-name instant drink mix. Man, this stuff is PUNGENT. I left the yarn to dry overnight and when I stepped into the same room as it this morning I could still smell the intense fruitiness. I left it outside for a while, and it seems to have calmed down, so I don't think I'll pass out while knitting. Woo. Again, much more pleasant than vinegar in my opinion, but it was pretty overpowering.



I followed directives from this Knitty article.

Handspun, WHAT?

I recently made a pact with myself that I would not buy yarn until I get my interest for October. I do want to knit a sweater or two in the coming months, and I will need yarn for these projects, but I figured they can wait until November 1. Then, my mom acquired a huge sack of handspun from someone cleaning out their basement, and she gave it to me. Now I'm excited and terrified!



It's beautiful stuff. I'm not judge of handspun or anything really, but it's so neat to look at. It's a tad scratchy, but not too bad, and it is all undyed. It immediately piqued my sweater need and my kool-aid dyeing obsession. It is about DK weight, which is fairly convenient, since I've wanted to knit Basic Black for a while, but I think I need to do more dyeing experiments before I commit to a sweater's worth.



So I'm looking at small projects to dye for and knit before attempting a sweater. Red? Green? Blue? I bought some cherry and grape flavoured instant drink mix today, so first I'll aim for dark red. It turns out the grocery store I hit has a terrible selection, even of proper Kool-Aid, so I may make a foray into food-colouring sooner than I expected. (I hate vinegar, but hey, I'll deal). I've read some things about colour separation when attempting to dye purple, so we'll see how this goes. I don't mind unevenness.

I'll definitely have enough yarn for more than a sweater, but all this excitement is rendering my careful queuing topsyturvy! (As if I queue carefully. Whatever). I'm thinking I'll make Odessa since I have admired it from afar for ages. No beads, and I'm hoping the handspun will give it an interesting texture that won't overwhelm or be overwhelmed by the spirals. And hoping I can make it cover my ears.

Also, as a graduation gift my grandmother gave me The Knitter's Book of Yarn, which I had ogled while borrowing from the library. I think it will be an excellent resource to have, since I want to keep learning about yarn and fibre, and stop making stupid yarn choice mistakes. Plus, lots of fun patterns. (And plenty I'll never consider making, but you know. Either way).

My first FO: A retrospective :P and second incarnation

When I learned to knit (several times) in my childhood, it never really occurred to me that I could make things. I couldn't be bothered with patterns, and I didn't care much for useful finished objects. I think I made a garter-stitch doll blanket or two, but that's as functional as it got; the miscellaneous swatches of varigated acrylic yarn still occasionally turn up around the house. I still have several partial skeins of said yarn that I don't know what to do with.

My first real finished object with a specific use was a pair of off-white lightly-felted lopi mittens. The pattern came from a children's story and how-to-knit book my parents got me one Chanuka: Sunny's Mittens by Robin Hansen. I don't remember how old I was, maybe 10 or 11, but I do remember being old enough that the cutesy story didn't entirely charm me. Still, it looked like fun, so I acquired some yarn and some dpns and got to work.

And quickly put the project aside. It must have taken me two years or more to finish the mitts - not that I found it boring, but I didn't have much patience or dedication, I guess. I made my mother do the "hard" parts, like casting on and picking up stitches, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to keep track of the beginning of the round. (Stitch markers were a revelation that didn't hit me until much later). When I finally finished them I was exceedingly pleased with myself; this is one early project that I still consider a success. Afterwards I forgot about knitting for a while, and then tried crochet before eventually starting to knit again. (But that's fodder for another pretentiously nostalgic blog post.)



Once the mittens were finished, it seems like I barely wore them before I outgrew them, but that might be an exaggeration since they're ding, have lost their fuzz, and look well-worn. I kept wearing them, stretching them, when I got bigger for a little while, but eventually the cuffs no longer covered my wrists and they were no longer practical. Not to mention that white mitts get dingy very easily in the city snow.




Anyway, I still had a whole skein-and-a-bit of that lopi yarn, tucked away in some corner of my closet. I dyed it orange, knit and felted, and the rest is history.



FO: Sunny's Mittens, by Robin Hansen
Yarn: Istex Alafoss Lopi, hand-dyed with koolaid
This time around it was SUPER fast. It took maybe two or three news-watchings to get through these. Upon felting, I think they lost a little colour, but not enough to make me worry, so I'll probably keep them as they are. I felted them by hand in soapy water using a bamboo sushi mat for extra aggression (as per suggestions in Not Your Mama's Felting by Amy Swenson). The mittens did not lose stitch definition, but since they didn't last time either, I wasn't expecting them to. They shrunk down enough to become very dense, though they are still roomy and they cover my wrists. I suspect they could be felted further, but since they shrunk in width more than in length, I don't want to risk making them too small around.

So there it is! Yay, Mittens!

wip: cantaloupe-ice cream orange mittens

That bulky lopi yarn I dyed orange with no-name instant drink mix? Tada! Mittens!
It's clearly fall/autumn for real because we turned out heat on today. Winter is coming, and when it arrives I'll have some sprightly orange mittens to remind me of autumn leaves. Or cantaloupe ice-cream. Whatever. I love how the uneven dye job knit up. It is slightly stripy in some places, and a nice mix of pastel and bright spots. I still need to felt/full these so they'll be thick and warm and not giant-sized.



I have been warned that felting may wash out the dye, so I'm spending some time staring at the prettiness for now, and if it washes out I'll dye them again afterwards, and maybe end up with some hazard orange instead of cantaloupe ice cream. Fun possibilities! Stay tuned for the epic conclusion of this adventure...