etsy goodness!

I'm not going to post what I bought, because I want it to be a surprise for the future mamas, but I just bought some adorable baby stuff from my good friends at MeepCraft! Everything is organic or upcycled, or organic AND upcycled. It arrived today and it's cute. SO CUTE.

Thanks ladies!

What I'm Working on, Weekend Edition

googly eyes, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

Remember the Argo Sweater I started a few weeks ago? I've been slowly plucking away at it, although I had some issues with the contiguous sleeve instructions. I finally worked it all out (I think) and and now working on the sleeve increases. It's slow, but I think it'll be a great sweater when it's done.

What I've really been working on the last week or so, is a pair of socks for the international sock swap:



I hope my partner likes them!

mojo times two

mojo times two, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

Almost the same, but not quite. Mojo #1 is on the left foot, #2 on the right. #1 has the inside out toe and heel.

Pattern is mojo, on size 1.5 US dpns and using some lovely Socks that Rock lightweight in "My Wild Irish Girlie".

These are pretty crazy socks, with the pooling and the slightly mis-mashed/reversed ribbing, but I like 'em. I like 'em a lot.

mojo number 1

mojo number 1, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

These socks are so crazy. But comfy! The yarn is pooling strangely, I think in part because the changing ribbings makes things move around a bit differently (if that makes sense... I can't really find the right words to explain it, except that purling takes up a little more yarn than knitting so depending on what part of the sock you're on you'll get different amounts of yardage used).

I worked the afterthought heel with the sock inside out for this sock so that it would mirror the inside-out toe. Since the two socks are not identical, I'm excited to see how the second one will work up. Could be similar, could be totally different...

Wild Weekend WIPs

wild irish sockies, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

I've made mojos before, for the first sock swap and I loved them so much I swore I'd make myself a pair, eventually.

So, here we are, a pair of mojo socks for me, in Socks That Rock Lightweight, colourway "My Wild Irish Girlie". Love the colours in this sock and it's too wild to be in a sock with intricate lace or cable patterns, so I think mojo suits it just fine.

The rest of my wips (argo and dh's crazy mittens) haven't changed at all in the last week... maybe I'll have more to report in a week's time (especially since I'm almost done with my intro to the thesis and will have a lot of free time on my hands!).

rainbows and babies!

rainbows and babies!, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

Need I say more?

Raveled here.

January Wrap-Up

socks!, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

No, I did not knit all of those in January.

I purposefully did not pick a January SIAC project, as I needed some time to work on some UFOs, as well as a few other things I had going on.

In terms of knitting UFOs I did finish a sweater for me and a pair of socks for DH (and yes, I did go back and rip out the first toe and re-knit it). I did not finish DH's colourwork mittens, in part because they're too complex to work on during thesis time, but the extra yarn did arrive.

And: the biggest UFO of all: my dissertation. I sent a revised draft of all of my chapters to my thesis advisor and second reader on Saturday night. Now I just need to whip up an introduction and conclusion and I should be set to defend—soon. It's exciting and scary and everything all at once!

Other January news: I had my 5 year blogiversary. I'm a little sad because I just found out this morning that the first prize winner received her prize package last night and it was empty. The card was there but the yarn was gone. Way to go USPS. I'm so disappointed and angry and I'm going to call them later and give them a real earful. I'm also going to try and call the distributing centers near to us both and see if they can't locate it. The silly thing is that the package was sealed back up, so it makes me wonder if someone noticed it was open. Or opened it. In any case, I'm once again disappointed in USPS. This is not the first time something in a package I've sent went missing, or took WAY TOO LONG to get to it's destination (disqualifying me from a job in Canada I would have died for)... the list goes on and on. I guess one of these times I'll learn my lesson and switch to fed ex or ups.

But let's end this on a happy note, and the reason for the many many socks pictured above: the international sock swap starts tomorrow!!! Which means you still have until tonight at midnight to sign up. (Probably really until tomorrow morning... I most likely won't be up at midnight to shut down the sign ups.) So if you're still on the fence COME JOIN US! It's a fun group and I have several pairs now of awesome socks that I love to wear all the more because they were made FOR me, instead of by me. I love my own socks too, of course (and really need to make a few more pairs soon as some of the older ones are getting threadbare), but there's something special about wearing socks that someone made especially for you.

Hope your January was just as good, and here's to an even better February!

WIPs on a weekend

all you need is rainbow, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

The rainbow baby blanket is well over half way finished, in part thanks to the ease with which garter stitch can be accomplished even when reading complex passages of psychoanalysis!
Pattern is the Super Easy Baby Blanket, which clearly lives up to its name.

Another new WIP I'm working on is Argo:



Obviously I've only just started, and so far I am loving it (and especially the yarn, which is Cascade Indulgence (70% alpaca, 30% angora... what's not to love?) that I got on a a craftsy deal for a great price). I'm a little worried, though, since I'm using a worsted weight (and a light one at that), while the original pattern calls for aran... I did get gauge on 8s but the fabric was very hole-y and I didn't like it at all... so I went down a needle size and up a pattern size and am crossing my fingers that it'll all work out for the best... also worrying is the reports of pilling for this yarn... alpaca and angora, two of the hairiest yarns out there... of course there will be pilling... let's just hope I can control it with a sweater shaver!

the post you actually wanted to read this morning

Drum roll please.......

The winner for best answer (because it involved yaks and the phrase "hot knitting" which probably will generate me lots of google hits) goes to: Kate!

And the 2 random draws go to: Kim and Elinor! (Yes, the random number generator really chose 1 and 2. I guess that's why they call it random!)

I'll contact you guys shortly on ravelry, unless you see this first and then feel free to send me a message with the name of the pattern you want me to gift to you!

really finished this time

gartery buttony swingy, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

I finally sewed on a button and made a loop for my garter stitch swingy sweater last night. Don't mind my hair.... or my face... it's still early, ok?

So now it's really, really finished and I'm going to wear it out of the house this morning! I'm still thinking about adding another button or two, I have three of these that I bought ages ago without any plan, I just thought they were kind of awesome. Anyway, we'll try one this morning and see how that goes.

Comments have been (or at least will be momentarily) closed for the 5 year blogiversary contest. Winners will be announced later when I'm not about to run out the door for yoga.

one of these things is not quite like the other

not quite, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

As you may be able to tell, upon not-so-close inspection, one of these socks is longer than the other. I made the first one some time ago and did not really pay attention to the length (something about boredom and not loving the yarn might have been involved) and so it really wasn't long enough for DH. The second one fits better (truth be told it is still snug, but Cascade Fixation is nothing if not stretchy) so all that's left to call these finished is cutting out the toe of the first and knitting a little more length. I also decreased more on the second which makes for a pointier (and therefore also longer) toe.

I should probably go do that right now before I remember how much I dislike the yarn and cast them off for something newer and shinier...