2012

I want to do brief homage to a really fabulous year. It has been a really stressful but extremely happy year!

Knitting in Review:
This year I finished 44 projects of the 49 I started. (I smoked my own record from last year!)

Frogged: 1
Socks: 7 (leg warmers count)
Sweaters: 10
Neckwear: 10
Blankets: 1
Stuffed Animals: 2
Mitts: 4
Hats: 3
Odds and Ends: 6






Resolutions:

Knitting: Get rid of more of that stash, give more projects away.
Wardrobe: Dresses and skirts! Why the hell not?! And muted colors (I'm in love with mint recently).
Blog: I think we need a new header. Schedule posts (finish them first!) so school doesn't eat me for long periods of time. Maybe add another blogging day?

Eliza lured me onto Pinterest, so I've been stocking up on outfit ideas for another 30 for 30 (and my wardrobe and lazy style in general). If you're on Pinterest too, look me up!

Have a very happy and very safe New Year's, everyone! We'll see you on the other side.

Looks Like November

But it's December. Right before the snow came.

Cobblestone Trenchcoat

Pattern: Cobblestone Trenchcoat by Veera Valimaki in November Knits
Yarn: The Fibre Company Organik in Night Sky and Agave
Needles: US 7 and 8
Project Page

I was really thrilled when Courtney Kelley contacted me to knit this trench in The Fibre Company's yarn. I love Veera, love the yarns, and the colors she chose were perfect! I hadn't worked with Organik before. It's like Malabrigo Worsted with silk. It might pill, but for as much wear as this got travelling in my bag all over town, I think it will take a lot of work to make it pill up. It was just starting to slightly fuzz when it left my hands.

The pattern is very well written. There are some fiddly bits (the facings/hems), but they are gorgeous details in the finished product. I'm going to do this hood on all of my hooded sweaters from now on! It's so big and wonderful! Because of the silk content (I think), the trench is pretty heavy, but it's also incredibly warm. Definitely outerwear, not just a cardi. If you knit it in loftier yarn, it could be a lighter cardi.

It's knit two sizes larger than I would wear myself, so that's why I'm swimming in it a little. My brother took the photos. I didn't realize he was terrible at it until I had mailed the sweater off, so these are some really, really lucky shots, haha! Good thing I have a fancy camera that does most of the work! Hopefully The Fibre Company will take some great photos. I'll let you know if they do.

I think I might need one of these....

For more FO Friday posts, go to Tami's Amis! I'm probably up in the mountains with my family. I'll show you how pretty it is up there on Monday, I hope. I'll be in an airport long enough to post, I imagine. What are you doing to unwind after the holiday buzz?

P.S. These are the brown boots i bought to wear with my legwarmers. I've been meaning to show you for ages! The legwarmers look amazing with them, but I forgot to pack them. :P You'll see the grey ones in the next couple weeks. :)

P.P.S. Again, I scheduled the post before finishing it. I'm on vacation, so it's allowed...right? :)

Knitted-Out

I hit a point yesterday where I just couldn't knit anymore. I've been knitting non-stop and I need something else to do. I don't have anything else to do. :P

Well, I do, I suppose. Posting, scheduling posts, and reading your posts has been a welcome relief! I've been working feverishly on this sock. I think if I just switch to Exeter, I'll be happier. I really need to finish it anyway!

I got a yarn bowl for Christmas! Isn't it cute? There were a bunch of clay buttons in it too. I'll have fun deciding what to put them on.

Did you get anything yarny for Christmas? Any plans for it yet? :)

For more WIP Wednesday posts, go to Tami's Amis!

P.S. Sorry if you saw the draft post! I didn't check the timezone of my scheduled post!

I Still Disapprove. Also, Merry Christmas.

Greetings Fellow Bunny Revolutionaries

I would first like to briefly explain why the world did not end on December 21, as predicted by the Mayan calendar.  A little bunny history is in order: in the year 300, there was a bunny revolution in the ancient Mayan Empire.  Like the coming revolution I am planning, the battle was quick, cuddly, and cute.  Soon we bunnies were in charge and directed all human activities.  And this leads us to the calendar.  The problem is, archeologists have assumed that the Mayan calendar looked something like shown in picture 1.  This is not true.  After the bunny takeover, we re-made the calendar to look like image #2.  The main difference between the “bunny-Mayan” calendar and the old one is that is that instead of ending in 2012, the bunny-Mayan cycle never ends.  Once the beginning is reached, humans simply start over.  Glad that’s cleared up.  Silly humans thought they’d be done taking care of bunnies in 2012! HA!

Correct Mayan Calendar

Mayan Calendar

The second purpose of this post is to reflect a bit on the state of the underground bunny resistance.  This has been an eventful year, planning for the Bunny Revolution and all.  My comrade Sweetpea has been busy scouting out various hiding places where we can attack the humans from (see picture).  We have contacted many bunnies all over the world and we shall commence operations on…nice try humans, you thought I was going to give away the secret date!  When the time arrives, bunnies shall arise!  We decided to wait until after Christmas for obvious reasons.  There is a high chance of added treats, toys and cuddles during the holidays, which is what life will look like after the revolution anyway, so why bother rushing it?  However, for any humans reading this, don’t dress us rabbits up in elf hats or any other festive Christmas costumes, we are cute enough the way we are.  And also, when we’re in charge we may return the favor by forcing you to dress in humiliating costumes and taking pictures of you.  

In any case, Merry Christmas and happy holidays from Spike and Sweetpea to all you bunnies out there (and yes, also to the humans who take good care of the bunnies).  Humans, be sure to give your masters rabbits extra treats and cuddles and we probably won’t may, just may, spare you for now. 

Ooo...Warm!

Phew! I'm glad I got this up before the world ended! That would have been a tragedy, eh? ;)

Catherine's Mitts

Pattern: Annepaalandet's Mitts by Annepaalandet
Yarn: Berroco Vintage in Breezeway
Needles: US 7/8 (it's more of a 7.5, but I use them as a 7 or an 8)
Project Page

These are a quick, stash-busting Christmas gift for John's sister, who apparently really loved the hat I made her. I think she will actually use these, though. I was tempted to keep them because they are so versatile and warm! I had just enough yarn left for 70 Yard Mitts, though (which I'm wearing now in my family's super cold home to keep blood in my fingers!).

I first saw the pattern in Eliza's "Quick Knits" round-up (she's brilliant, so check the whole series out!). I've been on a mitt thing recently. I'll probably make at least two more pair while I'm home. They are so fast and satisfying! I altered the pattern a little, but I think it was only after the thumb stitches were separated. I only knit a few rounds before starting the ribbing and only 5 rows of the thumb since I didn't like how long they look in the photos.

It's a really simple pattern (even in Google-translationese!) and really great to wear. Perfect for the photographer who doesn't let winter keep her indoors. I wish I had kept them long enough to wear on an upcoming adventure here! But Catherine can keep them and enjoy them. :) It's not like I don't have time to whip up my own!

For more FO Friday posts, go to Tami's Amis! I may post Monday, but if I don't, I wish you all a Merry Christmas (or a restful few days off if you don't observe!)!

It's Cold!

I'm posting a picture-less blog. I'm sorry to disappoint you. I promise pictures for the rest of the month, but I'm cuddled up under a really warm blanket and I can't possibly get up without risking frostbite!

I made it home to Idaho, where the highs are in the 20s (if we're lucky) and the house is kept at about 10 degrees colder than the human body finds comfortable. I should have packed my knitted sweaters instead of just shawls, but I was being optimistic, I think. The good news is that I did pack three unfinished sweaters, one of which has been keeping my lap nice and toasty warm as I finish the last sleeve and one more pocket. I'm hoping to sew all the facings and ends in tomorrow and send it back to The Fibre Company. I might huddle up on the couch in it for a day or two first, though. It's so cozy!

I actually would risk frostbite to take a photo of it for you, but the closer it comes to completion, the less it looks like a sweater. I'm not sure why that is...probably all the facings flapping around. I do promise finished photos, though, when it looks like a sweater. :)

The first thing I'll do when that sweater is done is cast on mitts! My hands are freezing! I'll need the mitts to be able to knit anything else while I'm here! I hope you're all keeping cozy with your knitting too. This is a great time of year for cuddling furries, loved ones, and your beloved knitting.

If you are facing any of the storms threatening the country this week, stay safe and warm! I'll be back Friday!

Oh, okay, here's a picture of my Idaho backyard two Christmases ago (when snow was still normal in December):

Quickly

I've been procrastinating for two days straight, so I'll write this speedily and get going on things that must be done! Unfortunately, I don't have much to show you, but that's because (fortunately), I've been finishing things left and right! I'm resisting the urge to cast on some little mitts until I'm done with my sample sweater, which just needs sleeves and pockets. I did start on this today, though:

I'm sure I posted about it a million years ago (i.e., this summer), but I never showed you the finished Still Light Tunic because I didn't like it. You can see it on my project page, if you want. It's not long enough, so I'm tearing out a few inches, adding stitches to cover my butt, and lengthening it to dress-/tunic-length. It might be fun to wear for Christmas or New Year's, so I figured why not now? Shouldn't take long. Tearing out a sewn bind-off from hundreds of little fingering weight alpaca stitches is really not my idea of fun, however. I'll bet frogging it is going to be a nightmare too....

How's your knitting going? Are you Christmas knitting, finishing, selfish knitting, or just too damn busy to knit? I'll tell you what, I don't often let that stop me. ;)

For more WIP Wednesday posts, go to Tami's Amis!

Finals Week

Last week ate me. Sorry about that. I had posts planned, just lacked the time to write and post them. Curiously, my finals week is surprisingly vacant for the first time ever.

In that case, I've been looking ahead to next week, when I head back to Idaho for Christmas with my family. I've been trying to decide what knitting to take with me. A sweater? Lots of socks? Unfinished projects? I seem to have collected quite a few of them lately (if you haven't noticed over there =>). I could finish up about half of them this week. I will certainly try.

I almost always knit sweaters over Christmas break (or any time of the year), but I've had the urge (perhaps spurred by a recent realization about how large my stash has gotten) to knit smaller, quicker projects. I have quite a bit of sock yarn that will make beautiful socks or stranded mitts and hats. I just have to decide what to knit with which yarns.

I spent the better part of Saturday (I wasn't feeling well and could only watch so much Downton Abbey and Sherlock) organizing my queue and linking projects to suitable stash yarn. I think I've got some pretty good combinations of patterns and leftover yarn. These two patterns, for example:

For the Branching Out Mitts, I'm going to use black and white alpaca, but I haven't decided whether to do black on white or white on black. They will be so fuzzy and warm!

I am winging A Most Bespeckled Hat  with this Berroco Vintage. I have smaller quantities of two neutral colors: grey and light tan. I'm not sure which will speckle better and be a cuter pom-pom. Hell, maybe I'll make two: one with grey speckles and one with tan!

It's actually been pretty fun to scroll through my stash, then through my queue, and try to match up odds and ends with patterns that have been buried in seven pages of patterns I might not ever make. It looks like my mad stash-down might turn into a decent queue-trimming, so it's win-win!

How often do you revisit your stash and queues? What are your favorite stash-busting projects? I know I've seen quite a few of you stash-down in interesting ways, but I'd love to hear more!

Knitting: 1, School: 0

That's not really fair. School's gotten a major chunk of my downtime, it's just much harder to show my productivity in schoolwork than in knitting. I still have two papers to write, though....

Druella Black

Pattern: Emily Dickinson by Keiran Foley
Yarn: Madelinetosh Prairie in Cloak
Needles: US 5
Project Page

I do not know how to begin to tell you about this shawl. I had a very specific vision of how it would look and it looks exactly that way. I was very skeptical right up until the end because the yarn is a bit heavier than lace weight and the shawl looked so small in my lap when I bound-off. As usual, the magic of blocking really was magical and...well...look!

It looks and feels absolutely amazing. I simply cannot believe how beautiful this simple shawl is. It is literally garter stitch with beads. The most difficult part was the cast-on. It is recommended that you cast on 545 stitches in the backward-loop method. I struggled with the first row so much that I'm sure my head was smoking from frustration. I don't recommend the backward-loop cast-on for this.

I do recommend the pattern. It uses less than 300 yards of lace and it is the perfect pattern for anyone who wants to try using beads in their knitting for the first time. There are a few charts, but they are really simple to read for anyone who wants that sort of experience too. Honestly, for as awesome as this shawl looks, you would be shocked to see how simple and easy the pattern is.

I bought the beads for Wavering Heart and I have an entire unopened bag left, plus some. I might make another of these shawls or I might find another small beaded shawl pattern to make with what's leftover. Do you have any beaded shawl patterns to recommend for about 500 yds of lace weight?

For more FO Friday posts, go to Tami's Amis!

Really?!

Holy crap! It's Wednesday! I had hoped to be half-way through two papers by now! I haven't started either. :/ Fortunately, they only have to be 7-10 pages and I have the topics for both pretty well planned out, so I'll bang out this blog post and get to it!

This is Emily Dickinson with gold beads. Mmmmm. I love it. It's caused me some fits, but I think it will be beautiful! It has to be done Friday, so I hope to share it with you then.

Now to the papers (and dinner)! What are you working on? Now that I have much less on the needles, I'm thinking of new projects...but maybe I should finish a few old ones lying around....

For more WIP Wednesday posts, go to Tami's Amis!

Home Again

I hope all my U.S. readers had a really lovely Thanksgiving and the rest of you had a really lovely week in general. :) Maybe there are other holidays in the world at this time? I don't know those things as well as I ought. John and I went across the state to spend time with my immediate family, who flew in from states away to spend time with my extended family. We had a great time!

I was far busier than I had hoped or I would have posted things for you (like my new boots! Thanks for the suggestions! A timely boot sale fixed me up nicely :]). But, as promised, at least I have this for you!

Narcissa

Pattern: Rock Island by Jared Flood

Yarn: Alpaca with a Twist Fino in Silver Belle

Needles: US 6

Project Page

I don't recall ever encountering a pattern that made me think, "I'm not sure I can do this." With some quiet, time, and some reference to knitting techniques (either a book or YouTube) any knitter can knit anything. Reading the thread dedicated to this shawl in the Brooklyn Tweed Ravelry group gave me pause about this shawl, however. Lots of very skilled knitters have had to set it aside and regroup.

I had to pay very close attention to what I was doing any time I worked on it, but it didn't take long to get into a rhythm or to figure out when I had made a mistake and quickly fix it. Be wiser than I and use a lifeline in the Rock Island section. I had to tink back three rows to figure out a problem. That was not fun.

As always, Fino is a dream to work with. Even though it tends to knit up somewhat unevenly, I knew already that it would (and did!) block perfectly. This was my first real blocking experience where I pinned out every point and measured mercilessly. It paid off! I think I need to invest in blocking wires, though.

Though the border took ages, I really, really loved knitting it. I vow right now to knit every Jared Flood (and Brooklyn Tweed!) pattern because they make me so incredibly happy. They are much simpler than they appear (this one is the only exception I've encountered and it is by no means impossible) and exceptionally well-written.

Have a nice, relaxing weekend! Again, I hope you all had a very relaxing and fulfilling holiday! We'll catch up next week. For more FO Friday posts, go to Tami's Amis!

Wanted: Cute Brown Boots

Red Aster Leg Warmers

Pattern: Thistle Leg Warmers by Melissa LaBarre
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in Rage
Needles: US 4
Project Page

Here's my first finished object from the book November Knits! I adore them. I wish I had other boots because they don't look right with these boots, but I have had some trouble in my boot hunting (which is that I am really particular about my footwear and just haven't seen anything I love yet). I'm making it my Thanksgiving week mission to find some cute brown boots. Just for these legwarmers, pretty much. That's how much I love them!

I've always wanted to work with this yarn because my Ravelry friends make everything out of it and I figured it must be some sort of knitting crack. It is. I have enough for a hat or another pair of legwarmers. Decisions, decisions!

The pattern was a joy to knit. The repeats are 6 rows, so easy to keep track of. The seed stitch and simple cables seem sort of uninteresting to knit over and over again, but really kept my attention. I cheered to myself every row I had to cable because I do love my cables. :) I shortened the legwarmers by two repeats of Chart A and by one of Chart C because my legs are really short beneath the knee. I have wrestler legs. Not good for fashion or...anything really. Except wrestling and balance.

For more FO Friday posts, see Tami! I finished Rock Island earlier today, so I will have it blocked and photographed for you next week!

Have you seen any cute boots recently? Certainly you have some cute boots! I missed the boot-boat (I typically come late or too early to these sorts of trends) and gave away my cute cowboy boots I never wore.

Woman at Work

I'm too busy. :P

I'm currently working on finishing up my reading list on my Greek author so I can take the test and focus on classes. I can't find my French dictionary, though, so that's fun..... :/ The good news is that I have lots of stockinette projects and I can knit and read at the same time! Yay!

My projects either don't look different than last week or are so close to done that I can't show you yet! So here's a different kind of work-in-progress. I won a giveaway a couple weeks ago and the goodies are slowly trickling in (along with a few things I thought I had better order while John is least suspicious of all this yarn coming into the house ;]). I think I'm waiting on one more skein, then I'll share the goodies in detail!

My Rock Island and my legwarmers are really, really close to done. I'll have one to share with you tomorrow! Go check out some on-time WIP Wednesday posts on Tami's blog!

Pleasant Surprises

Falling

Pattern: Insouciant by Julie Hoover
Yarn: Cot n' Lin
Needles: US 8
Project Page

I forgot that I hadn't showed you this yet, so...surprise! I really loved knitting this. It went much more quickly than anything else I have had on the needles in the last month and a half. The yarn is some old cotton-linen blend from a cone that I got for free from a dear friend. I was skeptical about it for a few reasons, but namely its odd texture and the yardage. The smudged sticker on the inside of the cone says either 2000 yds/16 oz or 2999 yds/16 oz. I was optimistic, but after estimating the called-for yardage, it's likely 2000. I still have quite a bit left. Maybe enough for a lacy top I've had my eye on....

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised. The texture is really interesting. I held two strands together, which resulted in a really light, airy fabric, but when I washed it in the machine, it plumped up quite a bit. My gauge is still the same (except row gauge, I suspect because I intentionally and successfully shrunk it just a bit), but the fabric is much fuller. It is exactly like a perfectly-worn sweatshirt. I love it! Oh, and don't even get me started on the perfection of the drape!

I highly recommend knitting it in pieces and seaming it so it doesn't stretch completely out of shape, though the trend has been to modify it into a seamless sweater. If I knit another (and I might), I'll knit the smallest size. I was being unnecessarily cautious about the fit on this one. I have grown to love loose-fitting tops, but this one in this size is just a bit too loose. I can totally wear it inside-out too! So clever!

I named it after this song by Richard Marx.

For more FO Friday posts (it's still Friday somewhere!), go to Tami's Amis!

There Are Too Many

I had a wretched morning on Monday and the only consolation I could think of was to stop at the yarn shop on my way home and buy some yarn for these legwarmers.

It's red. Rage, to be precise, which is how I feel about owning anything red, but this is exactly what I had in mind the second I decided to knit them and I do not regret my choice. I will wear them proudly. I should mention that the yarn is Rowan Felted Tweed and it is so heavenly! I can totally understand why everyone knits everything out of it.

I've also got my Rock Island clicking away. After the endless edging, it's a huge relief to finally be knitting some decreases on something that looks like a shawl. It would be nice to have it done for you Friday wouldn't it? I'll see what I can do.

Here's a vest. It's in three pieces now instead of just one. I call that progress. Very slow progress.

And a Double-Leafed Saroyan that's going nowhere. The KAL ended last week. I ended with it but my shawl didn't get the memo. I think it's going to have to chill out for a little while until I can make my mind up about it. It's not that I don't like it. I love it. I just have to think too hard about what I want it to look like and what I have to do in order to make it look that way. I don't have that kind of brain power right now. But look...oooo...pretty! And it's super, super soft.

I feel like I'm collecting works-in-progress on my finite number of needles. I have actually taken needles out of things to start something new! I'm going to blame fall since I'm not knitting holiday gifts this year. Please tell me you have more projects on the needles than you know what to do with too? Are you knitting for yourself or for others? I'm living in terror of a wicked winter since last year's was so mild, so I'm stock-piling as many garments as I can knit before it hits. I think you should too. Just in case. ;)

For more WIP Wednesday posts, check out Tami's Amis!

November

Judging by the collective groans I participated in all last week, I will just assume that you've been busy too? I feel like the mixture of fall, daylight savings time (do we really need to keep that?), and the drawing near of the end of the term and the holidays are wearing everyone out. I'll tell you what helps: a nest of yarn. I am literally sitting in a nest of yarn on my futon. John is less happy about it, but I think there are few things in the world that would make me happier. I'll share that joy with you in due time, though.

Tonight, I'd like to introduce you to one of my new favorite knitting books, recently released by Kate Gagnon Osborn and Courtney Kelley, November Knits. I'll admit I'm a little biased because I have been knitting samples for The Fibre Company and Kelbourne Woolens for a few months now, but I honestly love these patterns. I'm a big advocate for classic and timeless, which this book contains in droves.

The book is divided into three sections: Farm Hands is full of lovely rustic designs and yarns, Ivy League contains colorful, sophisticated, classic designs, and Southern Comfort has lacy, elegant garments and accessories with sparkle and great drape. Here are a few of my favorites:

I cast these Thistle Leg Warmers by Melissa LeBarre on last night. I am so anxious to wear them! Imagine them peeking out of a worn pair of brown boots....The cables are not intricate, but they add just the right amount of interest. In fact, there are lots of little details in their design that make them very polished and special.

I'm crazy about this Bozeman Jacket by Cirilia Rose, who is pretty great at designing sweaters I love. The best detail is definitely the closures, which I am going to try my damnedest to find! Though the deep pockets are really fantastic too. The cartridge belt ribbing looks so thick, cozy, and warm but incredibly intricate up close, too, though the directions don't seem terribly challenging. You can bum around in this thing comfortably from fall to spring!

I am currently knitting a sample of the Cobblestone Trenchcoat by Veera Valimaki for Kate and Courtney. The pattern is so simple and stylish! It's great for anyone who loves miles of stockinette (or who can read and knit, like I've been doing). The hemming details are definitely my favorite. Or maybe the fabulously roomy hood....I think I need to knit one for myself!

I don't typically wear skirts, but the Barton Springs Skirt by Cecily Glowik MacDonald is so pretty and interesting that I might have to! Each lacy tier is a different pattern or texture and the slit in the back makes it functional and fashionable. It's seamless with a smart waistband. There's no reason not to knit it!

Finally, the Tallulah Shrug by Courtney Kelley is incredibly elegant and classic. It's knit in Road to China Worsted, which is divine, I tell you. Everything about this shrug is high-class and high style. I think it would be a great Christmas Mass shrug with a little holiday dress, yeah? Maybe cream?

I have nothing to lose or gain sharing this with you, I just genuinely love this book so much that I have to share! I think a lot of you have a similar knitting aesthetic to mine and, since I want to knit everything in this book, I figure you might want to as well. :) You should browse the rest of the patterns on Ravelry. It occurs to me now that this is where the "so I'm giving a copy away!" part goes, but I don't have a copy to give away...I'll look into it though. I'll show you my legwarmers tomorrow!

A Little Goodness

This week has been a really rough one. I'm loving that it's Friday so I can finally relax a little bit. I'm seaming Falling as you read this, so watch for it next Friday. Today, I'll just show you this totally awesome cake, which has kept me from dropping out of school a couple times this week. That and I won first prize in the Summer Sweater KAL Giveaway! I've never won anything in a blog giveaway and here I won more than I think I'll know what to do with! I'll show all the goodies when I get them. Promise.

This is a three-layer double chocolate cake with raspberry filling and vanilla meringue buttercream frosting (the frosting is the best part). Mmmmmm. The recipe is from bella eats. I followed the recipe, except in two places, where I didn't take a careful enough look at our pantry. Instead of 3 oz of semisweet chocolate, I used 2, and 1 oz of bittersweet. I also didn't have enough sugar to make the frosting, so I used the last 4-5 tbsp I had and subbed powdered sugar for the rest of the measurement. I don't know what difference it made, if any, but it is really, really good!

I don't bake very often, so this is real treat (and surprise that it's so delicious). Next time, I'll make it a sheet cake so I can share it with people. :)

Because this is already a really scattered post, I must tell you how much I love Halloween movies. Not the scary ones (there aren't any or I would love them), but the others ones, like Beetlejuice, Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, and Practical Magic, which I'm watching now. This movie always made me want to be a witch. And have a sister...oddly enough....John has never seen The Shining, so we are going to watch it tonight (over pizza and cake!). I'd love to know what your favorite Halloween movies are!

For some real FO Friday posts, check out Tami's Amis.

Nothing, Really

I've been trying to think of something to write about all day. I've got nothing. Or a whole lot of little nothings, like an obnoxious little fruit fly that keeps bothering me, the cake that has taken me hours and hours to bake and will continue into tomorrow because I don't have enough butter for the icing, my sadness that my favorite Real Housewives franchises are done for the season and I actually have to do homework, the pleasantly warm and stormy weather, my annoyance at having finished a predictable book after a really long time and not knowing what to read next, that I can't read Greek and watch Hulu at the same time because I need the computer for both and Netflix will just draw me away from my work completely....

I'm full of fun nothings. :) It's better than a big something, though.

This week is going to be nuts. Like last week. And the week before that. And the week before that. When will I get an easy week again? This cake is going to make my week so awesome, that I'm not even going to worry about it. I hope you don't need a cake to keep your week awesome. But who says you can't have some cake anyway, right?

Love for Everybun

I often forget to thank you profusely for reading my blog and leaving such heart-warming comments. Grad school leaves a lot of room for wondering what the hell is going on, but I can always count on my bloggy friends to be there posting, reading, and/or commenting. You're so wonderful!

That's the important part of this post. Here is a less important one:

Mug Sweater

Pattern: Mug and French Press Jacket by MK Carroll
Yarn: Berroco Vintage in Smoke
Needles: US 7 or 8 (they are really more of a 7.5)
Project Page

This is just silly, really. I wanted to use up some leftover yarn and the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup Quidditch challenge was to knit or crochet either food or food cozies. I had fallen in love with the pattern photo of this cozy just days before, so I knit it.

The pattern I used was really, really terrible, but it has been updated and looks miles better than it did. The cozy itself still doesn't look quite right to me, but it's a flippin' mug cozy! I'm not going to get too cerebral about it. I wish it had used a bit more yarn because now I might be compelled to knit another one, but I will spare you a post about it, I promise.

I'm going to try to finish Falling next week because I've got a really big sample knit coming next week and I need to finish a lot of my own knits. I hope I'll be able to do a little introduction to the book I'll be knitting from. I've been in love with it for a couple months now and finally get to knit from it!

In other news, John took this photo of the bunnies today while he was rearranging the living room. I would tell you what we think actually happened, but it would ruin what looks like a lot of bunny love. :D

For more FO Friday posts, go to Tami's Amis! Oh! And since I'll be studying pretty much all weekend (with a bit of cake-baking thrown in), I'm dying to know what you guys have planned for the weekend. I have to live vicariously, you know.

If You Don't Sleep....

You can get a lot done in those eight hours your's supposed to be sleeping. I'm too old for all-nighters, so I'm sleeping, just not the usual 8-9 hours. I can function on 5 at the least and I'm testing it hard this week! I've been really productive, so that helps keep my spirits up when my eyes are drooping. I'm knitting up a storm, too (but only when my brain threatens to explode)!

This is an Insouciant, which I'm calling Falling. It's incredible. It's too spring-like to be knitting now, but I can get some fall wear out of it too, I hope. The yarn is from those cones my friend pawned off on me. I'm kind of crazy about the yarn! I wasn't so sure at first.

This is a vest for John. I'm calling it Hancock for the skyscraper in Chicago. The color reminds me of the building. I've knit the vest before. I love it, but didn't want to knit it for him. He wanted a buttoned vest, though and liked that one. I hope I can make it look less '30s and more...him. The color alone so far is doing all the work.

And this is Rock Island. I'm doing one 8-row edge repeat for every page of Greek I read a day. I'm not reading enough, but the prize of knitting a repeat is great incentive to read. The reading is also getting much easier, faster, and more enjoyable, so it's a win-win situation. I have no idea where all my shorter cables are (you know you need to finish something when...), so I've been knitting 14-16 stitches on a 32" cable! It's obnoxious, but it will be easier when I start working the body of the shawl. Right now the edging looks like...well...that. I have to keep stopping and stretching it to remind myself that it will be stunning.

I also have a freshly-started Double-Leafed Saroyan in the car. We are knitting-along at the shop where I work and it's so much fun to see all the different yarn, color, fiber, and pattern choices! I think I'm officially the slowest right now. Hopefully, I'll have some progress and pics to share next week.

I don't know if I'll have anything finished for Friday. Maybe I'll finally get some baby booties done. I do have a small project I'll share if nothing else comes off the needles. It's cute, if nothing else. :) How are you guys doing? Got any extra hours lying around I can borrow for the next couple of days? Sleep well for me, if nothing else! I'm going to bed early tonight and sleeping in tomorrow, I'll tell you that much!

For more WIP Wednesday post, go to Tami's Amis. Have you seen her Witch's Brew colorway? I'm hankering for it big time. If I survive the week, I'm buying it!

Pink?

I forgot to post Wednesday. I feel pretty bad about it too, because I have some cool new stuff to share, but I suppose it will be in a more-shareable state next week, so it's not a complete loss. I hope you will accept a bunny photo as an apology. :)

Dromeda

Pattern: Henslowe by Beth King
Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Lepidoptra
Needles: US 4
Project Page

I received this yarn as a gift. I had my choice of colors and, believe it or not, I chose this pink one! I haven't liked pink...ever. But now that Madtosh is in my life, I like pink a lot. You'll recall that I made a pink scarf this spring. Also Madtosh.

This pattern was pretty awesome. It's simple, though it seemed to take a very long time. If I were to do it again, I might go to the trouble of figuring out how to do it top-down. I don't like that my cast-off is looser than where I picked up the lace edging. I know some have remedied the tight pick-ups by doing a double yarn-over at the beginning of those rows. Smart!

Tosh Sock only has 395 yards, so I had to modify the pattern to suit my consumption. I read the notes on every project that used Tosh Sock and decided to do 3 Roman Stripes instead of 4 before the knitted-on edging. I also didn't do any extra garter rows between the last Roman Stripe and the edging. I could have gotten away with maybe two.

I need to block it again to get the lace to really expand. I don't have enough blocking pins, so I may have to do it in stages. You may be able to tell the lace edging is every-so-slightly ruffled. I know it will be gorgeous because I fall in love with every photo I see of this shawl, but right now, mine is not at its loveliest. I'll tell you this, though, it fells like a dream! I can't believe how soft and silky it is after its bath! I have a Tosh Sock sweater that I don't think is quite this wonderfully soft.

How have you been? I've seen a lot of zombies walking around on campus (not literal zombies, I was gone the weekend they came through town) and I know I've been one of them for the past two weeks. I've got to snap out of it! Hopefully you've all been well, too. There's some dreadfully icky stuff going around in my area. :P

Stay safe and well and stress-free! Here's a bunny to help.

Don't mind his disapproving look. He really loves you. We think. There are more FO Friday posts at Tami's Amis!