With hours to spare...

paraphernalia, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

our intrepid knitter has finished her May installment of the Self-Imposed-Accessory-Club.

Now she can kick back, relax, and wait for June to start...


ahhhhh.

Pattern: Paraphernalia
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Blue Violet
Needles: US 1.5 DPNs
Mods/Errata: Several. See Ravelry Project Notes.

Mystic, CT

yarn!, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

This past weekend a group of us headed to Mystic, CT to see the last of the grad school girls get married! Saturday morning we had some free time and decided to check out the historic downtown area, which included the fabulous Mystic River Yarns. It's a big store with lots of the usuals (Cascade, Berroco, Brown Sheep, Crystal Palace, etc) and some local handspuns and handpaints. I, of course, couldn't resist some local yarn and ended up leaving with this:



in tow. Ellyn Cooper's Yarn Sonnets "Fine Merino" in Aquatide. Not the best shot, it's much more variegated from green to deep teal.

Mystic is super cute, with lots of beautiful old homes (many of which we were gazing longingly at, especially those with "for sale" signs...)



And, my fave, an old school drawbridge:



Since our friend was marrying into an East Indian family, we (the bridesmaids) got to wear some beautiful saris:



It was a beautiful weekend and a beautiful wedding. Congrats Bridget and George!

one down, one to go

awkward foot angle, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

ah, that awkward angle that comes of photographing one's own foot...

So with one vote for "yes, wip posts" and another for "do it the way you like", here we are. 50% of a project, but 100% of a sock!

The fun thing about these socks ( paraphernalia on ravelry) is that they're asymmetrical. This one, for the left foot, has the cable running down the left side, whereas the right sock will have the cable on the other side. It's the little things.

So, with just six days left in the month, I have cast on for the second sock. I'm heading north on a long train ride this weekend for a wedding, so I should have plenty of time to finish in time. Also ending May 31: the sign-ups for the next International Sock Swap!! It's lots of fun, and you could get goodies from all over the world!

WIPs

50% of a blanket, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

or, How to Bore your Readers 101

I find that I post more when I have actual finished objects to share, rather than progress reports on WIPs. I feel like 20 posts on the same blanket/sweater/whatever gets ridiculous and tedious... but right now I'm looking around and not seeing a lot that's going to finish itself any time soon, so here we are!

Above is 50% of the wedding blanket that is now becoming longer and longer over-due. But 50%! That's something, right? It's just becoming too big to carry around, not to mention too hot out to knit it anywhere but the air-conditioned comfort of my own living room.

Also on the long-term docket:



May's installment for the (less-than-successful thus far) Self-Imposed-Accessory-Club. Sure, I have something to show for each month, but except for the first month (and that was a squeaker) nothing has been finished technically on time. With any luck (and a long train trip next weekend) I might finish these on time. But yes, that is only the first one...

So what do you all think? More posts with the potential for repetitiveness? Or fewer posts, only when I have something really interesting to share? I don't want to lose the few-but-darling readers I have to a lack of posting, but I also don't want to bore them to death (or at least unsubscribing) either.

the great ratsby

ratsby, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Sometimes, grad school isn't all books and complexity theory... sometimes, you make really great friends, too.

And, since I've been at this whole PhD thing for a while now (five. years.), sometimes those friends have to move on.

So, one of my very good friends here threw a "gatsby" themed party to say good bye. (Only she called it the Ratsby, in honor of the vermin that overpopulate this place.) We all dressed up and I made myself a fascinator. Sadly, we couldn't get very good photos, and I can't show you how very awesome the button is (it has an enamel design of a peacock on it). Here's another poorly lit shot for good measure:



A great time was had by all, and everyone loved my headpiece... although I have to say, these things are kind of delicate. I would have to replace at least one of the peacock feathers should I wish to wear it again.

I was inspired by Notorious, which has been removed. I basically just knit a circle, folded the edges over and hemed it so it wouldn't roll too much and sewed on the decorations.

late, for a very important date

alice's socks, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Ok, these socks weren't for late for anything in particular, they just took an awful long time.I started them Jan 5, according to ravelry, but got side tracked by other projects, writing 2 chapters (just handed in the second yesterday!) and, you know, getting married. So there was stuff. But, finally here they are! This post is also later than expected, as it appears that blogger was having some issues earlier and ate my original post.

In any case, they're done now, I'm not in love with the pooling (which is probably why they were cast aside in favor of other, prettier projects) but I do like the pattern and with the right yarn I think it would be just great.

Stay tuned tomorrow... ok, more likely Sunday, to watch for a little project I'm whipping up for a Gatsby themed party!

may flowers

may flowers, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So I didn't get anything done for April, although if I had put my mind, and fingers, to it, I definitely could have finished this before May 1st. I cast on about half the stitches on April 28, got distracted and forgot about it for a few days. Once I got working on it, though, it took a matter of hours to complete—OK, so I haven't woven the ends in yet, but just ignore those, please.

Pattern is Reverse Rice Stitch Cowl
Yarn is Mirasol Tupa, less than one skein (in fact, I can tell you that it took exactly .8 of a skein, since I got a fancy new kitchen scale and can do some (read: very little) simple math)
Needles: Size 7 US
Mods: None

April Showers...

So I have nothing to show you for the month of April. Sad, right? I was working on the Accidental Girly Mitts as my Self-Imposed-Accessory-Club entry, but I just wasn't loving them. They were too big, even though I went down 2 needles sizes, and I was going to have to finagle something to make them smaller at the wrist... so I just decided it wasn't worth it. So I frogged, and started casting on with the same yarn to make a Reverse Rice Stitch Cowl but didn't even get the cast-on finished. So.... that's that.

BUT!! It's May 1, which means that the sign ups for the next International Sock Swap are now open! And it's our one year anniversary! It's a great group, and a lot of fun... and low pressure: the packages don't have to be mailed until Aug 31!! You have the month of May to think about it, but if you have wanted to in the past, I would highly recommend it!