Countdown to hot water

The past few days (since Thursday, to be exact), we've not had hot water. I don't mind washing my hands or dealing with cold water, except for the shower bit. Oh my gosh. Cold water showers really are the pits! I have come up with a solution though--heat up a dish with water in the microwave and use that in the shower. Tomorrow we get our hot water (thank goodness. I am going to take a nice hot shower tomorrow).

But in knitting news:


Star Trek Socks


Then when I was finished with the Star Trek Socks, I started the Argh!gyle socks. I'm halfway through this sock's pair. Obviously it is too warm to wear these this summer, but at least it will be ready for fall!

Argh!gyle socks

In a few short days...

During the SnB party, I was talking with Devona about one of my projects, which did not turn out as lovely as I wanted. This is the Elizabeth Bennet sweater that I knit out of the angora yarn that I bought before. My intention was that it would be fitted. The problem?

I hate doing gauge swatches.

Lesson learned: I have a sweater with sleeves that go over my hands, darts taht start at my waistline, and a sweater that is just huge and is most definetely not fitted.

Devona convinced me to post pictures. Here you go, Devona! Enjoy!

I did not bother putting buttons on this sweater. It would be pointless.
I also promised you a photo of the sweater that Andrea knit for the swap in which I participated. It is truly lovely and warm! it will also look fantastic with my purple coat!

The day after the swap/anniversary party, I unfortunately came down with a fever and a sore throat, and thought it was the flu.

It lasted through Friday afternoon, making me rearrange, cancel, and reschedule appointments (what a pain in the neck). During this time, I took the hint and let my body and mind rest by finishing a fiction book (The Eight by Katherine Neville--unfortunately I was so out of it with fever that I really don't know what happened at the end). I also watched a couple really bad TV shows (Royal Pains and Ghost Whisperer. Can someone explain to my why I find the lead actor who plays Hank in Royal Pains so attractive in movies such as In Her Shoes and Woman on Top but so unattractive in Royal Pains?) I also made some progress on a pair of fair isle mittens that I started the day before the anniversary party.

On Friday night, I watched Amelie while I knit these.

On Saturday morning, no more fever! So I went to work.

Then...mid-afternoon, I started feeling cold and a little shivery. Wanted to sit down, and was feeling a bit of sore throat. Went home, and still felt pretty cold. My boyfriend was waiting for me (we had plans for the evening), but I was feeling pretty miserable and sorry for myself. When he went to pick up food for me, I checked my temperature (even though boyfriend thought that I wasn't running one), and it was up to 100.1! I was so distraught over getting sick again in such a ridiculously short period of time.

Decided to monitor my fever and sore throat for the night, and see how I felt in the morning. In the morning, I still had a fever (hovering around 100 degrees) and my sore throat was even worse. So I decided to go to the urgent care in town, and boy, was that place busy with coughing people, feverish people, and a whole lot of sick adults and kids. Lots of coughing. Anyhow, I waited for 2.5 hours to get to see to the doctor. She basically told me that I had strep throat (just what I thought).

The end result is that I got some medications and a doctor's order that I not work on Monday. So basically, a sanctioned sick day, which did make me feel somewhat guilty.
(I didn't cancel class, but got someone else to cover for me). I also took everything as another sign to take a break. So no work on dissertation, no work on class prep, etc. I read another book. I watched Spirited Away. I knitted some more and made a lot of progress on this mitten.

Tomorrow I do not have to be at school or work. However, I will be catching up on all the work that did not get done for...well, days.

What I have made

It's been a long time since I've posted, and admittedly, a lot of things have been on my mind (mostly school and research related, so I took a little hiatus from this blog to try and keep sane. Plus, the thought of school was a bit depressing last fall, so I've tried to focus my energies in a more positive direction). So, in the time between the last time I posted and today, I've

• finished my Noro socks (I am wearing them at the moment and will take photos of them sometime soon)
• Finished a scarf for my SnB anniversary scarf swap
• Actually read a real book (meaning: A book that has absolutely nothing to do with research or school: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest)
• Gotten my photo taken for a billboard (it is up right now!)
• Worked a lot
• Made some progress on recruiting subjects for one study
• Started the new semester anew, and hopefully the spring semester will be much better and much happier than the fall semester

So, for tonight's anniversary swap, here are some photos of things that I made:

This is my homemade baklava, which is so yummy and sweet.

I made Saroyan, a lovely scarf with a leaf edging out of a mohair blend yarn that I've had in my stash for a while. I've looked at the yarn for a long time, thinking it would be beautiful knitted up in this pattern. Chantal wound up with this scarf that I made.

In return, I wound up with the scarf that Andrea knit. Andrea, I love the scarf that you knit, with its bright, cheery colors! I will post pictures of it in the next few days!

Birthdays in September

Last week, our SnB group had its annual birthday swap. The way this works is that we all are given one person to spoil completely, while someone else spoils us.

We don't have an idea who our spoiler is, not until the party, anyway. My spoiler was Andi (knitbrit) who is an artiste with needlework of all kind--sewing, embroidery, knitting, crochet...you name it, she does an amazing job! So of course, I was thrilled when I opened my gift bag and saw this:

In the bag was this gorgeous blue bag that she made and embroidered herself, using a knit pattern that I adore as inspiration. (This pattern is this neat looking paisley sweater from a japanese knitting magazine that I cannot find, but I look at the pictures of the knitted garment on Ravelry). The bag is lined with a cool paisley print, too. In the bottom of the bag was a red and black laquered box, which held some chocolates, a small bag, sheep clips (so cute!) a pincushion, Noro Kureyon sock yarn, and gorgeous yarn that Andi spun for me. Seriously, I adore these presents!
My swapee was Devona (over at http://www.clevernesting.com/), and since she mentioned The Owl and the Pussycat a few times in her questionnaire, I knit her her very own Owlie Cowlie (which happens to be one of my favorite patterns). Devona was also a lot of fun to shop for, as she loves vintage and vintage-inspired things, so I got a copy of the Ohio Knitting Mills pattern book and some vintage fabrics, and some great alpaca yarn in colors that she likes. (I forgot to take pictures of those!)

What I've been up to

These days, I am trying to do a lot of work, and I also have been knitting. First up: I started the Tree of Life baby afghan for my friend's baby, which is due in August. (Of course, I may not be able to see her baby till September or October, so I think it will be a nice gift. I admit that I was initially nervous when I first looked through the pattern instructions, but it's actually pretty easy.
Around the same time, I started knitting myself some knee-high socks. So far, I've gotten half of one sock done, and with all the cables, it satisfies my need for something a little challenging, but it's simple enough that I can still do something like watch some TV at the same time. Since this is merino yarn, I'm going to try and find some nylon reinforcing thread or yarn for the heels and toes.

And finally--I finished my Pomatomus II socks with the yarn that I dyed at Martha's some time ago! Instead of using yarnovers, I did M1's, so the fabric is not as holey and it's a little warmer.

Merry belated Christmas!

Merry Christmas to me--I got what I asked for: no snow BEFORE Christmas (for business purposes, and that was fantastic). Plus, scraping snow/ice off car windows really is the worst.

Anyhow, the evenings after coming home from work, I busily figured out how to sew using our sewing maching (breaking a couple needles in the process. Note to self: must buy more needles for the machine, just in case...)

But here is what I made:

Progress--even more!

Over the past couple weeks, much has happened. I am settling into a routine at school and am becoming more used to teaching a large class. Earlier, I signed up for the World Yarn Swap, and a few weeks ago, I recieved a package from Jane in Scotland . In

this package, I received some Scottish breakfast tea, some delicious looking candies that I've not seen here and plan on savoring after teaching lots of math and physics. She also sent me this cute magnet of a cow with really long hair :)

And of course, need I mention the yarn? I mentioned that I am totally into fair isle knitting at the moment, so I also have some lovely new Rowan yarns in varying colors and am now planning some nice knitted projects. Or maybe I'll end up with many Owlie Cowlies ;)

I also received a package from my Secret Pal, which included some prettily colored sock yarn, a book by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, a potholder and towel (perfect for cooking), window clings, and a pattern for a knitting on the go bag. But one of my favorite parts of the gift was the llama necklace (I have never seen anything like this before, and this made me smile!)

I also finished my Owlie Cowl in this Debbie Bliss Cashmerino yarn that I have had for a few years. It is an incredibly easy and fun knit, and the yarn is wonderful. However, the problem is that I am terrible about doing gauge swatches, so the cowl became the size of a very small tube top! which of course, is too small for me, but I'll hang on to it because it is pretty cute.

In my goal to make a more wearable cowl, I cast on for another Owlie Cowl a few days ago, in a bright, color contrasting combination, using my stash yarn (of course). So far, I am loving it even though it is very bright--the colors are a good contrast for each other. Also, I invested in a Habu kit that I've been lusting after for a couple weeks (when one lusts after something for quite some time, i think one is meant to have it. It's made out of pineapple yarn and I think I'll cast on once I finish this cowl and my zebra mittens (no picture as of yet).

Right now...

... I'm really not in the mood to do much of anything. I have all kinds of things to do, but would rather read a book (currently re-reading "The Little Lady Agency in The Big Apple") instead of doing work things. Anyway...in knitting news, I had these two skeins of this wonderful Elsbeth Lavold Angora yarn that I've had sitting around for a couple years, and was debating whether to make a hat or a cowl. After I saw Natalya, these two skeins became a gorgeous hat.

This hat took 2 days of knitting in front of the TV (which is great) and it was my first foray into the world of making bobbles.

After I was done with this hat, I cast on for another hat to give away (Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora), which used up about 2 skeins/balls of yarn. I still have two balls left. Although I love knitting this hat, I probably should knit something else entirely with my last two balls of yarn!

1:25 AM

I'm a wee bit frustrated. After an entire week of being sick with a cold and conking out by 11 PM--and at times, by 9:30 PM...here I am at 1:24 AM, wide awake. Aargh. I have taken NyQuil just a little while ago, and maybe that will help me sleep (and keep my sinuses clear the rest of the night)? Luckily for me, tomorrow is Saturday and I have no grand plans except a nice sleep-in (if I can get to sleep, that is), some quality lazy time with my boyfriend, and some knitting!

But while I was sick, I took my Wednesday to try and do some dissertation stuff (somewhat successful) and knitted up most of Felicity. The next day, I finished knitting this. I think this is rather cute--it's one of the ArtYarns in a soft merino. I like how it striped up--I wasn't sure how it would work up in a knit. I'm planning on a few more hats (easy knits) and am working down that stash...hopefully I can work my way down a little more of it this summer. The last month of summer, anyway.

Also, I got this package from my Secret Pal! Thank you! There's this cool knitting book, Knit So Fine, which has this lovely dress that I will one day have to make, and some vests and sweaters that are classic but unique at the same time (that's totally my style). Also that really cute tape measure in the shape of a bee...stitch markers, yarn cutter, foot soak (which will be good for after a long day at work or night of dancing), and this incredibly stretchy bag that my pal made. Thank you so much! It was so nice to get something on a day when I was feeling utterly miserable, even with DayQuil and cough drops :)

I think one reason I've been relatively sleepless today is that we're getting geared up for a big fundrasier at our store next Sunday--if you need more details, let me know. We're planning all kinds of things, like games and activities for kids, and nice things for grown-ups too.

Oh, it feels like the NyQuil is starting to kick in...thank goodness. Off to bed now. Hopefully to the land of sleep...

Catching up

The past few days have been hectic. Actually, the past few weeks have been hectic and I am in need of a day off--one where I see no one, speak with no one, and do absolutely nothing but prop my feet up and watch cheesy lifetime movies. The likelihood of that happening, however, is quite slim.

Knitting stuff first: I knitted up a shrug, and it's finished! It took me less than a week, and I'm breaking into my stash pretty nicely--but still have a ton to go through. I think this summer (0n one of those days off), i will take pictures of my stash to determine what can stay and be knitted up, or what can be sold or traded. Or given away.

Anyhow, here is the shrug:

I also went away for the Memorial Day weekend, where I knitted. In my attempt to stash-bust, I brought some chunky yarn to make the Shalom sweater, and finished the whole thing. I still have 4 skeins left over (darn it). All that's left to do is weave in the ends and buy a really cool button. I'm thinking a bright yellow or orange button.

Isn't it pretty?

I've also been trying to finish my scarf, made out of Debbie Bliss Pure Silk, and it is absolutely wonderful to knit with. It is incredibly soft and it's also a lovely color.

And finally, finally, I finished my s0-called-scarf. it is very pretty, and I think it will be gifted to someone else.

Other adventures (non-knitting) also included going to Trollbeads University, and also having our basement flood on tuesday evening. Our fridge broke two weeks ago, so we got a new fridge, which has an ice-maker and a water dispenser! The guy hooked up the fridge, but apparently didn't do a good job, so water was leaking into the basement. So on Tuesday night (when the Cavs were also playing pitifully) I stayed up till 2 AM just cleaning the basement with my dad. The next day, right after knitting, i just conked right out (which is early for me, at 10: 30 PM).

For those of you wondering how awful it was in the basement--we have a little storage room where we have some things like books, old products, paper, etc, and everything was soaked through and through. It really sucked, but i am glad it wasn't worse. Like, it could have been pictures or my things for school, or heaven forbid--beloved collectibles.

I am sick of this!

I have exams coming up the week after next, so my absence from blogging has been due to my burying myself in my notes. Granted, I am feeling a teensy bit better about my knowledge, but not by that much. I'll be counting down each day as I finish my four hours of essay writing a day (it's 4 days, 4 hours of writing each day, on...whatever topic my professors choose to give me). Basically, it's hell. I'm already planning what to do when I'm done with everything. So, my written exams are the week after break, and two weeks after that, I get to defend my answers. After that, I plan to:

1. Sleep
2. Watch TV/movies/k-dramas for a week
3. Spring clean
4. Knit! Knit! Knit! without the guilt
5. Work some more
6. Sleep some more
7. Buy myself a new Trollbead or two, plus Habu yarn and some cool sock yarn so I can make some awesome knee-high socks that I saw on Ravelry. And some new fun books to read!

But in other news, I finally finished Pomatomus last week. Since I'm also trying to not kill myself as I study, I take time off in the evenings and at lunchtime to relax, so I get to do things like work on a knitting project while watching mindlessly stupid (but fun) TV shows, such as Dancing with the Stars (even though the Woz is a horrid dancer, I want him to make it through another week or two. Goodness knows I need the smile). I am partial to Melissa Mycroft and Shawn Johnson, and surprisingly, I kind of like Steve-O. But there can only be one Steve, so I have to place my loyalties with Steve Wozniak, even though I'm a PC and not a Mac type of girl.

And check this out! I got an awesome new Trollbead in the mail--a little gift from Lise Aargaard herself! So thrilled about my Smiley bead (like I said, I could use the little happiness and smile the next couple weeks--or month--as I slog through the studying and exam-taking and the stress of going through this whole process.

Welcome (belatedly) to 2009

I hope this year will be a good one. But in the meantime, I realized I forgot to post a picture I made for my friend's baby, which was born just a few days ago!

Also, I completely lied when I said I would never, ever knit lace again. At least this was more bearable than the lace that I knitted for that Brooke's Column of Leaves scarf...

I hope that Tameka will be able to enjoy this sweater when little Xavier gets big enough to wear it...

Casting on

As if I have all the time in the world, what with trunk shows, Christmas, and getting things done (paperwork and all that fun stuff), and studying, I decided to cast on a couple small projects for mindless knitting.
So without further ado, these are some socks I am working on...

This first pair is made from yarn that my friend Carolina sent me--it's Phildar Hobby, and is very brightly colored, but I am liking how it is striping up into solid greens and blues, with the red and white in between. It's kind of neat knitting with something that someone else picks out for you, because there are times when we just don't look beyond a certain color or composition. So, thanks Carolina (again!) for this yarn! It also feels warm (or at least feels warm to my toes). Now, for some yarn I picked out for myself--Panda Silk in pink (for those of you who know me, pink is not a color that I gravitate toward, but...well, there you go! Pink socks! This is actually the first pair that I tried with toe-up construction so I didn't cast on enough stitches, and it looked rather silly. So I frogged it and started all over again. I'm liking it better now.

And my knitting group had a bag swap--and I'm too lazy to fetch the bag that I got--which was knitted by Meg--it is awesome and is a nice shade of green (and funnily enough, matched what I was wearing on the night of the swap!) I finished my bag (which went to Juniper) on the day of the swap. I'm glad that I remembered to take a picture of it :) before it went to its new owner.