hemlock ring wedding blanket

hemlock ring wedding blanket, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

One of my best friends is getting married in just over 2 weeks, so this is for her ( and her to-be hubby, of course).

It's not quite as big as I wanted, but I was running short on yarn and time... yes she's getting married in 2 weeks, but I'm going home in less than a week and I wanted to have it done and blocked before I flew home.

Here's a full view of it blocking on my double-sized bed:



Pattern is Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood (brooklyntweed)
Yarn: Cascade Soft Spun (4.5 skeins)
Needles: size 11(US) 8mm
Mods: Didn't do the crazy picot bindoff, instead just P2tog, slip stitch back to left needle.

stop playing with your knitting!

sock "puppet", originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

yeah, I know, I'm a dork. But I just realized you could turn a sock into a "puppet" after turning the heel. Pull on the string and his "mouth" opens and closes...



See?

Someday this is going to be the right sock of the beautiful Kai-mei socks by Cookie A, from her new book Sock Innovation.

/end dorkitude. It's the heat, I swear.

slow knitting

twisted flower, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I'm sure most of you have heard of the "slow movement" - the idea that we need to slow down our fast-paced lives and turn to simpler things. The slow food movement, for example, promotes using locally available, organically grown foods to cook home-cooked meals at home. Crazy, I know.

These socks, Cookie A's twisted flower, are a prime example of slow knitting (to which there is a dedicated ravelry group (actually dedicated to the slow concept in general, not necessarily promoting slow knitting...)).

A lot of people talk about process knitters vs product knitters. Those who enjoy the process, the stitches, learning new techniques, vs those who look at a project and go "ooooh I want THAT". I think I'm a little of both. I will admit that I have, on occasion, wanted a project so badly that I'll set unrealistic finishing goals. I have knit sweaters (two, both technically vests, but you get the idea) in less than a weeks time. Sometimes, a simple sock can take me less than 2 days.

But then sometimes I start knitting something (and I don't usually tend to knit anything that I think "ew, who would want that?!, so in some ways I suppose it is always about the product) and the process of knitting it takes over. These socks are a prime example. Started December 7, 2008 and completed July 20, 2009 (that's 7 months and just shy of 2 weeks for anyone counting), I believe that's the longest it's ever taken me to complete any project... and socks are supposed to be small and quick, right?!

Now, that isn't 7 months and 2 weeks of continuous knitting by any means. First Christmas knitting took over, then other projects, but every once in a while I would pick these up, knit a few rows, and then usually put them right back down again. I used the cabling-without-a-cable-needle technique for these and found that with such small stitches, my hands would hurt after a while. Far more than with any other kind of knitting I've done before, which also contributed to the lengthy process.

But now they're done and ready to wear... and it's about a billion degrees out... so I guess they won't really come full circle to their complete purpose for a couple more months.

For those still reading, and interested in the close ups of front and back here they are:

Front:

and back:


Forgive the top picture, we just moved and are still in the process of unpacking and figuring the whole thing out. Including the best spot for FO pictures...

things neglected

checking it out..., originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

And I don't mean the cats. Pictured alongside of the cats (big cat is fully in the picture, little cat was about to join the party as seen by the teeny paws coming into view in the top of the picture) is the garter stitch sock scraps blanket.

Here's a better view of just the blanket:



And another thing that I often forget to blog:



I finished up two bears for the mother bear project, but only have a FO picture of this guy, named Sam, since I finished him on July 4th (get it, Sam... Uncle... yeah.).

Hope everyone is having a great summer! I can't believe it's July already!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

It was actually my mom's birthday yesterday, but we were so busy festivizing (hehe, I like making up words...) that I didn't get a chance to post anything.

Here's one of her newest pieces:




(copyright Sarah A. Cowling, of course!)

If you'd like to see more of her latest work, please visit her blog Mother of 3, Also Paints. And leave her a comment! She'd be thrilled!!

socks for a sister

herringbone socks, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So pretty! I want them for myself! Waaah. But the cuff is a bit tight (surprisingly enough... I usually find 64 sts to be more than enough...) so they're going to my sister, who is modeling them here.

As stated last time:

The pattern is Charade with a free download for ravelers.
Yarn is Woolarina sock.
Needles are US 1 DPNs.

Oh well, I have a large-ish ball of leftovers (yay for small feet!) for my sock yarn blanket... so at least I'll be able to enjoy some of the gorgeousness of her yarn in blanket form!

cottage = good knitting time

herringbone sock, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So here's a project that's been ignored both on the blog and in the ravelry notebook for quite sometime. So long, in fact, that I can't quite remember if I started them in April or May. We're going for May, at least according to ravelry. Oh, and there's a finished one lying around somewhere, but it didn't make it to the cottage so there's no actual picture of it yet. (Read: I'm lazy.)

The pattern is Charade with a free download for ravelers.
Yarn is Woolarina sock.
Needles are US 1 DPNs.

A note: the cuff turned out super tight on the first one... I tried to be a little looser with the cast-on on the second... I can get them on but it's a tight fit and the cuff cuts into my leg a bit. So they're going to my little sister who still possesses stick legs!

FO, just in time!

nana's blanket, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I finished up Nana's lap blanket on Saturday and leave for home on Tuesday (tomorrow!!) am, so that worked up just perfectly!

And the (not the best picture) full blanket:



And then I looked at things like this:



and this:



If you don't know what honfest is, you just ain't bawlmore, hon!

more garter stitch

Nana's 90th bday lap blanket, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Did I tell you I was loving the garter stitch or what?! This one is a present for my grandmother, who turned 90 last month. I got sidetracked by other things but it will be done by the time I head home on Tuesday! I wasn't going to mail a giant, heavy blanket to Canada anyway!

Hope she likes it!

baby blanket

closeup garter stitch, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I made this baby blanket for a very special friend, one that, despite not knowing me in "real life" has been there for me on many difficult occasions. She just had a baby, but it is also a very difficult time of year for her, so I'm glad she got this in time to bring a smile to her face on a difficult day! It makes up for a small fraction of the advice and support she has given me over the past few years.

And the full shot:



It's a basic diagonal garter stitch blanket with 3 yarns (sock weight and therefore washable!!) held together on a 7.5mm needle (no US equivalent). I used mostly the leftovers of sock yarns past, and when one ran out I'd add another.

I had an email on ravelry asking me how it was done, so the basic gist is this: cast on 3. Increase into the first stitch (kf&b) of each row until it's big enough for about 1/2 a baby blanket. Then decrease (k2tog) at the beginning of every row until there are 3 left. Bind-off!

Et voila. A simple but beautiful baby blanket.

can't... stop... knitting...

Ok, so I'm LOVING the garter stitch baby blanket. In fact, it's almost done. And I'm loving it so much I'm thinking about scrapping the shawl I was making my grandmother for her birthday (which I was NOT loving) and making her a lap blanket in a similar vein.

Those on ravelry click here for the sneaky preview (with new pics of the latest progress).

I think the reason I'm loving it is because it's SOOOOO simple. So. Simple. My brain has been exercised more than enough over the past few months in school related activities that I just can't process the difficult knits right now... One paper and one week left to go!!

I think it's back

My knitting mojo that is. It's been exactly a month since I last posted. Wow... I can't believe where the time is gone. I have just under 10 days to finish my last comp exam (in the form of a written paper) and I'm more than a little freaked out. I've barely been knitting at ALL, mainly due to stress and extended periods of freak out time in the library. Yesterday was the first time I actually took knitting with me to work on while I read so that I could calm down a bit. And of course, it is the simplest of projects, a gorgeously soft, stash-busting, garter stitch baby blanket for a friend who just gave birth earlier this week. A friend who is highly internet savvy, so pictures are staying off the blog for now.

Those of you on ravelry, however, can catch the sneak preview here!

FO: rainbow socks!

rainbow socks!, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

SO PRETTY. What is it about rainbow coloured things that just makes me so happy?! I don't know, but I think these socks pretty much encapsulate it.

Pattern: None. 56 sts, twisted rib, French Heel.
Needles: US 2 DPNS
Yarn: Mini Mochi! (approx. 1.5 skeins)

Exams are hard, dude

rainbow socks, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So I wrote my big, scary, sit in the room for 7 or 8 hours and try to type as fast as you can exam on Wednesday. I've oscillated between thinking it went fine to "OMG they're going to kick me OUT!". Which, by the way, is probably not true or even plausible. It's just the release of stress post-exam.

BUT! Hey, LOOK, a SOCK! I saw someone else's rainbow socks over on ravelry and couldn't resist.
Yarn: Mini Mochi
Needles: US 2 DPNs
Pattern: None. 56 sts, twisted rib, round heel (or French heel) from Heels by Number. (Yes, I am going to eventually try them all!)

And, hey, look... ANOTHER SOCK!



OK, this one has been done for a while... but I've been so lazy about my battery eating camera that I hadn't yet photodocumented this one... and yes, the other one IS on the needles, but it's barely started. These take a lot of time and concentration, neither of which I have for complex sock knitting currently.

Yet another "I'm a bad blogger" post...

OK, so I've been doing this a lot lately. I don't even know what happened to March and thus far April seems to be slipping by pretty quickly too. I think it is mostly to do with the fact that I spend (at the bare minimum) 75% of my waking hours in the library. I was never a big library worker in my undergrad or even my MA days. But here it's like I could find 5 billion other things to do if I try to work from home. Even cleaning the toilet with a toothbrush sounds more interesting. And I'm actually enjoying what I'm reading right now! (Almost finished Part 1 of Don Quijote, for anyone who might care.)

But my big sit-in-a-room-for-8-hours-and-answer-6-questions-that-could-be-on-just-about-anything comp exam is in 10 days. TEN. DAYS. And I have a lot more stuff to read before then. Freaking out doesn't even cover it. So I spend my days in the library, doing a lot of reading and very, very, little knitting.

I did, however, at some point, finish these:



The great gonzo's death defying exam socks. Made from Storm Moon Knits "Muppets from Space" sock yarn, over 64 sts with a twisted rib cuff and a slip stitch heel. This is actually the second time I've worn them and they've been through both washer and dryer with no harm done. I think I might have to wash them again before next Wednesday to wear during the exam taking. As you can probably tell they're a little loose, so my next pair (started today while teaching sock class) are going to be on fewer stitches...

Other than that, like I said, much reading and not much else. Except today I had to make muffins! I promised Aleta of Omnomicon that I would take part in a taste test, the deadline for which was 5pm today. Being the fantabulous procrastinator that I am, on top of practically owing the library rent for staying there so much, I didn't find the time to do it until this afternoon.

I made these:



Recipe "A": blueberry with pecans.

And these:



Recipe "E": blueberry with almond and oat topping.

My roommate and I both liked "A" better... although I must admit that I couldn't find the flax seed as called for in "E". Apparently the grocery store close to my house (which basically carries nothing AND is poorly organized in the first place) decided that now would be a good time to rearrange. All the signs are missing and it's impossible to find anything there anyway. That's my story anyway. Plus I love pecans way more than almonds, so I knew before I even made them where my bias would lie.

OK, that's it, head over to Omnomicon later for the taste test results! Hopefully things will calm down a little after the 15th and I'll have more time to knit/share the results!

alpaca is sexy

alpaca is sexy, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Sorry about the photo... it's about the best I can currently do. I have to use the mac cam 'cause a) I'm visiting the fam and forgot my camera and b) my camera apparently eats rechargeable batteries, 'cause no matter how much I charge them they no longer seem to work.

In any case, I'm really happy with how this turned out!

Details:
Pattern: Sexy Vesty (free download from ravelry)
Needles: US 7 for body and 6 for neck and arm ribbing
Yarn: 2 skeins Berroco Ultra Alpaca.
Mods: Needle sizes 2 sizes bigger than called for... and not because I wasn't getting gauge... it just seemed ridiculously small. Also, added 2 extra inches to the length... thank goodness 'cause it still seems a little on the short side.

socks for Cookie A

test knit for Cookie A., originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

About a year ago I think I posted that I would be doing some test knitting for Cookie A. These are the "Angee" socks from her book "Sock Innovation" (rav link), (Amazon).

And the closeup:



It was fun to test knit and see things before everyone else... and I got to try out a yarn (Colinette Jitterbug) that I hadn't used before. I liked the yarn except it dyed my bamboo needles orange, and the yardage is pretty short. (I have small feet, so if I had made them to my size it probably would have been fine, but these actually got sent back minus 1/2 the toe rows on the second sock to Cookie 'cause they needed about 1/10th of a second skein to be finished.) Plus my name is in the book as one of the test knitters! Wohoo!

the great gonzo's death defying exam socks

the great gonzo's death defying exam socks, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So this is a somewhat better picture... the colour is still completely off though. I had to borrow my roommate's camera, as mine apparently eats batteries alive and all of my rechargeable batteries are no longer working despite being charged two days ago.

I'm sure I'd get a better picture if I went outside but it's cold out! There's still snow on the ground. Of course, they're forecasting 20C/70F for Sat and Sun, so maybe then....

is this thing on?

OK, so I've been a little under the radar... I'm in exam mode (i.e. finished with course work and now have a semester to study for and write 3 exams that prove I've actually learned something over the course of the last... nine years of my life! EEP!) and have been spending most of my time in the library.

BUT, I am still knitting too! The order of the day is SIMPLE knits... stuff I can bring with me to the library, and is simple enough to work on while reading. Currently that includes anything garter or stockinette (preferably in the round!). So I'm working on a sock that I'm calling "The Great Gonzo's Death Defying Exam Sock". Someone please tell me I'm not the only one to remember the Great Gonzo, his fleet of adoring chickens and death defying stunts? Maybe I'm spending a little too much time alone in the library...

So, if you really want to see them, here is the worst picture ever taken of knitting. Not just by me, either.



Yes, that's right, taken in the library, by the mac cam, with the worst possible lighting ever. If I ever see the light of day and have access to a decent camera again, I promise to take a better picture. In fact, it's so bad, I'm not even going to upload it to ravelry yet.

Yarn: Storm Moon Knits "Muppets from Space" (hence the reference to Gonzo... see, I'm not totally nuts!)
Needles: US 2
Pattern: None. But! check out the coolest thing ever: Heels by Number. I found this this morning while trying to remember how many stitches to knit before ssk'ing on the heel turn. It has 6 different types of heels (all of which I want to try out now!) with the math all figured out for any number of stitches (in multiples of four) from 40 - 80!!!

P.S. This post broadcast to you directly from the MSE library.

new sweater love!

suéter profundo, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

My first fully formed, self-designed sweater! And I luuuuuurve it!! I took 4 or 5 FO pics this morning 'cause I couldn't get both the full sweater and the colour just right... so above is the full sweater but below is better for colour:



This was basically finished on Sunday, except the button holes were a wee bit too large for the buttons... a danger of starting the sweater pre-button buying! I cinched them up a bit and they're still a *little* bit big, but I was worried the buttons wouldn't fit through otherwise.

In the end it only took 6 of the 7 balls of Malabrigo I had in "Azul Profundo" and 5 of 6 buttons. (ETA: Buttons from: Yukidesigns on etsy.) BUT... I'm not sure about the collar. I don't think it will lie flat all the time and I *may* end up putting another button hole / button to hold it down. Any thoughts??

And now what? A question: Can alpaca be sexy?