Cross-Eyed

I looked at past exams like the one I will take next Saturday(!) with the one other grad student who will be taking it with me and we were both pleasantly surprised by what we saw. It's totally doable. It has been a load off. I'll stop talking about it obsessively very soon. ;) Thanks for putting up with me!

3-D Socks

Pattern: Mad Color Weave by Tina Lorin

Yarn: Fangrrl Fiber Arts Socket in In the Third Dimension

Needles: US 1

Project Page

I'll be honest: I kind of hated the way this pattern was written (just a bunch of minor things you'd never see in professional patterns), but the socks are pretty great. I'm still not sure the pattern was the best solution for this colorway, but it's not bad. What do you think? The motif was fun and easily memorized, so I flew through these guys pretty fast two-at-a-time.

I realize the socks are different colors, but I think it was sort of intentional. I haven't had the chance to ask the dyer yet, but based on the colorway name, I think it's intentional. In 3-D glasses, one lens is red and the other is blue, right? Ta-Da! Hence the project name. :)

I think I'm done with socks for a while (except for the super slow-going At the Cauldron's Edge). I've made a lot of them in the last few months and they aren't my favorite to begin with. Besides, spring and summer are coming and, if you're anything like me, you don't wear socks at all, right?

I just posted about my recent stash acquisitions, but yesterday I added even more! I'll share a couple of those pretties with you Monday. I'm super excited about them and about starting a million projects with them all at the same time the week after. :D

Spring is kind of here. What do you have on the needles? Spring knitting plans?

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

Breather

I totally had this written and waiting for photos Wednesday and simply forgot to post it! Double posts today! Yay!

I'm taking a break. It's one thing to read endlessly for an exam, but another to have to grade and do homework on top of it. :P

Today, as a reward for plowing through the last of Thucydides rather quickly was to photograph recent stash acquisitions and make a pile of yarn to take up to the safety of a plastic tub upstairs. I think an insect has invaded my stash basket downstairs and nibbled through some yarn. Remnants of my Madtosh Tosh Merino Light are really the only evidence I have for this, so I might be paranoid, but better safe than sorry. I'm moving skeins that don't have project attachments upstairs since the rest should be knit soon(ish).

I have been doing some serious stash acquiring, despite my resolution to stash-down this year (which I've also been doing! Promise!). I won't show you everything, but I did want to show you these pretties:

This is a box of yarn from Korea! My friend Carol brought it back for me because I help her with her knitting at the shop from time to time and have translated (and still need to) French knitting patterns for her. She actually went to Korea and brought it back for me! She's the best. I'm thinking Deco.

These are Madelinetosh Tosh Sock bound for a Celestarium. I think this summer deserves a complicated knit to revive my mushy brain. If you want to knit it too, maybe I can organize a KAL,eh? That would be fun! Anyway, the colorway is called "Cosmos", which I thought was perfect, but once it came, it was more variegated and greener than I thought. I think they will still work.

I have socks for you Friday! Come see! I'll likely need another break. All this history is overwhelming. That's why I left the poetry for last. :)

I'm curious: how do you organize your stash? I know some do it by color, some by weight, some by project-commitment, and others just hide it in every nook of the house (that's where mine was heading and I knew John wouldn't put up with if for long). How does your organization work for you? Can you find things easily? That's my worry. Don't you love the Ravelry stash page? I hate that it tells me how many yarns I have stashed. I don't want to know that. :P

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

Random Things

I had a whole week off and a stack of books to read and you know how far I got? Well, if my exam is on Thucydides and/or the Peloponnesian War, I'm totally ready!  But it's not, so I'd better start reading faster. I really did enjoy reading Thucydides, though. As I read, I thought about things I had learned about him a few years ago for my Second Year Exam and was pleased to have it all flood back to me pretty easily. I have yet to go back to my notes to confirm those things, but I feel good about them.

Knitting-wise, I'm itching like crazy to cast on a sweater or two or the really special thing I just got yarn in the mail for (will share soon!), but I have to wait another couple weeks. We have a conference for my discipline coming to our university this year the week after my exam. I have volunteered to man the registration table for 3+ hours, which means lots and lots of knitting time! I can't wait! I've never been to this particular conference, which is a big one for Classicists, so that will be fun too. Plus all the old friends who have gone off their separate ways will be flocking back, I hope!

In other news, Eliza tagged me to tell you five random things about myself, which I will try very hard to do.

1. Every morning when my phone alarm wakes me up, I stare at the screen and wonder if "snooze" is actually a word and if it's spelled right. Some days it is spelled completely differently than other days. That might just be my waking dreams, though.

2. I don't eat beans of any sort. Don't like them. Gross.

3. The first and last thing I do every day (from bed, even) is check my email. It's also sometimes the only time I check my email, so I haven't considered it a problem...yet. John begs to differ.

4. I drew this on dinnernotart.com. It is called "A Bunny". Pretty good, eh?

5. Speaking of bunnies, the only thing I have planned for Easter dinner is rolls that look like bunnies....

That was hard, so they probably aren't that interesting, but there are five of them and they are random. Now I get to pass the torch to five more lucky bloggers!

Ivy of Pumpkin Spins
Rebecca of Nook
Tecrin of Tecrin Tries
Michelle of My So-Called Handmade Life
Ann of AnnRushton.com (the one and only ;])

I will take no offense if you beg off, I'm just curious what your five random things are! :) Now, I have some serious reading to do on top of a Latin assignment for tomorrow, so I better get gone. I hope to be back Wednesday. Fingers crossed.

Weird but Awesome

I'm suffering a building panic attack because I didn't get much done during this break week and I have three things due Monday that I don't have time to start/finish. I can't breathe....

This should help:

Zombie Monkey

Pattern: Sock Yarn Sock Monkey by Linda Cartlidge
Yarn: Scraps
Needles: US 1
Project Page

I participated in a swap for the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup earlier this month, for which we had to knit something for our partner related to their patronus. My partner, who used to be in my Slytherin nest, has a monkey for a patronus, but said she'd have chosen a zombie if she could have. I thought--naturally, I'm sure--a zombie monkey was the answer!

Since I couldn't talk about it on Ravelry, my Facebook friends got to help me with it. I think they steered me straight. He's flippin' cute, huh? I could have gone more gory, but I think I did just enough. He even has an intestine poking out, but you can't really tell. She loves him and named him after a guy from Walking Dead. John and I need to start watching that show....

I don't think I changed anything except that I worked the legs and arms two-at-a-time, which made it much easier to work the legs into the body and make sure I was doing the arms right. I think his tail is my favorite part. :) You can see more photos on the project page.

I bet you can guess what my patronus is? A bunny, of course! The Slytherin who drew me knit me three washcloths with bunnies on them. They are stinkin' cute!

I'm sorry if I'm sparse for the next week or two. Comps. :S Comps and classes and grading and a conference, actually. :P I'm going to pass this exam so I don't have to take another class in my entire life!

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

Thwarted by the Cutes

Our camera is full of rabbit photos, so I haven't been able to get any photos of my works-in-progress. There are only two. One you've seen one before and the other will probably be next week's FO Friday post, so you aren't missing much. Rather than use some really crappy phone picture, I'll leave you with some of the aforementioned bunny photos.

They are sooooo cute! Can you blame us for taking thousands upon thousands of photos of them? :) I'll be back Friday with real knitting photos. In the meantime, if you want to check out WIP Wednesday posts, go to Tami's Amis!

Break Time

I had a fabulously lazy weekend with John and every intention of beginning my studies today for the dreaded exam in three weeks, but I just can't shake the lazy. I've been watching tv, knitting, catching up on blogs, and tending to two virtual cities (I'm such a nerd). The pile of books are waiting patiently for me.

Part of me really looks forward to diving into them, because this is what I love to do and I chose to bring home many of the authors I've been itching to read or reread for years to study first. In order to prepare for the exam, I have to work through a reading list I was provided my first year of grad school. There are works from 17 Greek authors (plus an anthology) and 16 Latin authors. I have to read them all. I'll do it mostly in translation, but my vocabulary retention is so bad for Greek, that the more I can read in the original language, the better. It should be fun, I just have to force myself to take the first step.

The anxiety about this exam has made me think I might not take it and all and just leave school then, but the closer it looms, the more accepting I am of it. I will have to get my hands on the last two or three exams this week so I can study and be fully prepared, but I feel better about it all the time. Just cross your fingers for me when the day comes!

Enough about me. I hear Google Reader is gone! I just use my Blogger blog-list to read all the blogs I follow, so I'm afraid I don't know what to do for those of you losing your favorite reader. If you have to switch readers now and there is anything you need me to do to make it easier for you to read our posts on the new one, let me know! I keep telling John we need some fish back on the blog. He's been busy, but the more we push, the more likely he will cave. ;)

I'm living it up this week, so expect the usual Wednesday and Friday posts!

Midterms

Need I say more? Sorry for the blog silence. I had an academic bomb dropped on me last Friday and have been trying to recover while studying, teaching, etc. :P I learned I have a mere three weeks now to cram for my final comprehensive exam! It's terrifying!

Here's the good news: I'm officially on Spring Break. Woohoo! What will I be doing, you might ask? Studying for that comp! And knitting. Lots of knitting!

Love Potion

Pattern: Rainbow Twist by Thao Nguyen
Yarn: Malabrigo Rasta in Abril
Needles: US 11 and 8 held together to = US 19
Project Page

It's getting warmer (today, anyway), so I better show you the last few truly winter knits . I whipped this one up pretty quickly. I fell in love with my friend Ann's Rasta cowl, but mine wasn't coming out as great, so I switched patterns. This one is pretty good. It's not terribly practical because it sits low on the neck and isn't tall enough to shield from the icy wind, but it looks really nice with whatever I wear. I think two skeins of Rasta would have made it more practical.

The cables are really hard to do even with a cable needle, so don't try it without! I struggled trying to make them look "right", but just go with the pattern and they work out in the end. I think it's a great way to use up every bit of a skein of Rasta. The pattern really shows off the great colors and adds just a little bit of interest. I don't have any needles larger than US 11, so I did an experiment to see if I held two needles together of sizes that added up to a US 19, whether they would give me the gauge of a 19. They did! It's a little bit of a pain to knit with two needles like that, but once I got into the rhythm, it wasn't so bad. I don't work with super bulky yarn enough to justify buying huge needles, so this is a good alternative.

This month has started out as a slow knitting month, but I'm hoping next week I'll have lots of time to start things and to share with you! I'll catch up on my blog-reading this weekend. I've really missed you guys. :( I'm glad to be back after a rough two weeks! Tell me: what are you knitting for spring?

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

It's Like Time Travel

I have struggled immensely with keeping track of what day it is all week. The last 7(!) weeks have gone crazy, crazy fast, so when this one decided to go at about normal speed, I got all mixed up and a day ahead. :P You would think that realizing I have an extra day to do stuff would make me relax a bit, but I have way too much too do! How the hell is it midterm already?!

Now that I'm done complaining (for now ;]), here's the one and only project that is currently being warmed by my hands (besides a secret one) in the chilly weather. I've been slowly working on these socks since December, I think. I need the needles to start some new socks, so I'm determined to get this one sock done pronto. The other can wait a bit longer. :) I'm pretty close, but I suspect I'll get impatient and shove it onto scrap yarn or choose to Magic Loop instead and dump these in the "revisit" pile.

If I make it to Friday, I plan on casting on all sorts of goodies, so I'll have more to report next Wednesday! I'll try not to lose Friday and deprive you of an FO. I'm very nearly done with a super cool one that I can't wait to share!

How are you doing this week? Awesome, I hope? Does knitting help? I feel like a new project might help me, but I have too many WIPs and tests and papers to grade to justify it right now. My prayers for snow days keep passing unheard. How's your luck?

EDIT: Look! I'm so frazzled, I forgot to point you to other WIP Wednesday posts at Tami's Amis! I think I need some cookies.

Blizzard

Begun in one and photographed at the tail end of another, Blizzard is the perfect name for it.

Blizzard

Pattern: Blizzard-A Hat Inspired by Bones by Cambria Washington
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Pewter
Needles: US 8 and 10.5
Project Page

I belong to the Bones group on Ravlery, where this hat pattern was born and raised because of an episode in which Booth and Bones get stuck in an elevator and Bones is wearing this amazing hat. I love it! I was very prematurely upset earlier this week because it was huge while it was still damp. I had no idea what a difference a little bit of moisture makes in the size of a wool hat! It fits pretty well now. It keeps sliding off my head because the pom pom is really heavy (I may have gotten a little carried away) and I got my hair cut yesterday. My stylist straightens and thins my poofy mane, so I don't have the typical volume to fill out the hat. It'll fit perfectly after I wash my hair. :)

The pattern is totally addictive and beautiful. I knit it in one night! I've literally been saving this yarn for this very hat for years! It's a perfect match. The hat I designed is knit with the same yarn (different color), but I don't think the pattern and yarn really match as well there as with this pairing. You have to pay for the pattern now, but I think it's worth it for the work she put into the second version. If you block as aggressively as I do, though, I recommend you knit a size smaller than you normally would. I have a 23" head and knit the 20". Like I said, it's still a little big after drying.

John took gorgeous photos of me and my hat! I'll give him most of the credit and my hair the rest. Oh, if only I had the time and patience to straighten it....I'll try it more this summer. I think I could do more fun stuff with it straight.

Enough about my hair! I'm addicted to something only a nerdy Classicist desperate for a means of procrastination could become addicted to: Grepolis. It's totally amazing and I'm trying desperately to build a wall so I can feel safe enough to leave my city for a while without getting attacked. I'm such a nerd. Tell me one of your nerdy addictions?

If you want to see more FO Friday posts, go to Tami's Amis!