Friday, January 17, 2014

what I did with my winter vacation

Stripes, actually by gradschoolknitter
Stripes, actually, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

Although school has been out for almost a month, I still cannot say that my knitting speed has picked up much. So really the only thing I have to show for my "time off" is this cowl.*

Stripy stripes

Pattern is Duotone Cowl on ravelry.
Yarn is Malabrigo Silky Merino almost exactly one skein each of dill and purple mystery (I brought 2 of each and I really truly thought I was going to run out of the dill towards the end but it made it with just yards to spare!).
Mods: none, except for that pesky extra row that showed up uninvited. Since it's only on one side of the tube it can be turned to the inside and never seen again!

*OK, so I did do some academicky things, like go to a conference and interview for several jobs, work on proposals/papers for conferences, finalize syllabi for the new semester, etc etc... which on paper actually looks like a lot, but the knitting was scarce amongst those others.

Monday, January 6, 2014

last 2013 knit

garter shawl by gradschoolknitter
garter shawl, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

2013 (especially the second half) was not great for knitting production. New jobs, moves, etc all kept me away from the needles. Not that I'm complaining... a job is a good thing, even when it doesn't afford one much time to knit.

My last finished knit of 2013 was a shawl for DH's grandmother. Just a simple garter triangle (start with 3 stitches, increase on one side until out of one ball of yarn then decrease on same side until out of stitches) made out of Patons North American Classic Worsted in Natural. I didn't get any other pictures, so unfortunately this one of her unwrapping other gifts will have to do.

In 2014 I'm hoping I'll have a little more time for knitting. I'm only teaching 2 classes in the Spring instead of 3, and one is a repeat from last semester, which will also help. So I'm returning to my beloved sock swap, moderating and swapping for the 12th swap. Sign ups are open from Jan 1 - 31 and swapping will take place from Feb 1 - April 30. There's also a special deal from yarn mountain for swappers, so be sure to sign up soon (offer is only good until Jan 15, I believe).

Happy new year of knitting!