my first second shot at mobile blogging... 

so you'd think I'd be sick of the road already-and you'd be right-but yesterday I spent 13hours (including breaks) on the road with my parents to visit my aunt and uncle. Then, in a couple of days we'll get back in the car and head up to dh's homeland where his family is putting on a reception for us, and those who couldn't make it to the wedding. 

And even taking my turns in the driver's seat and napping, I cranked out a good bit on july's siac shawl. Which puts me at 96 of 109 rows, for those skeptics (myself included) who thought it might not happen this month. I still have about 6 hours in the car tomorrow and a looooong layover flying back on Sunday. it may happen yet!

ETA: still can't get the pic to upload so you'll just have to consider this a teaser for the final product!

house to home (slowly)

damson, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

So we are in the new place and sloooooooowly getting it all put together. The bedroom is almost fully set up and the living room looks pretty great (aside from a few errant boxes). We even have an airconditioner installed (we had to move in the middle of one of the biggest heat waves across, well, the world, really, right??) and it's starting to feel normal in here.

Above is the teeny bit that I've been able to complete on my July SIAC shawl (Damson by Ysolda) since last I posted. I still have 8 days, right?!

I believe that it is the little things that can make a house feel like a home, and so I decided to get a little house-warming present for DH:



This is Dr. Walrus, whom we have been coveting for some time. Purchased from The Utilitarian Franchise. I wish I could have gotten more... but I'm not sure where we would put them! Also, things like bookshelves and dining tables are, ostensibly, more pressing purchases for the time being.

deadline knitting

owls!, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

It's dark and stormy looking here today, so forgive me the poorly lit photos...

I've been knitting on a lot of deadlines lately and I'm not sure I like it. The socks are for the sock swap I run, which I love (the people who participate are just amazing) but I'm just in a "me me me" knitting kind of mood.

This is pretty much the only thing I've been working on since the move, mostly because my other yarn is neatly packed away. I could get at it, but I'm trying to resist the urge. I also have the pillow that is for a friend getting married in about a month. It's almost done, knitting wise, and nothing more will be able to be done on it, really, until I get some fabric I like to back it with. And, you know, a space where I could actually sew something...

For those of you with a keen eye, you'll note that I have said absolutely nothing of the July SIAC project. I had the yarn and needles out pre-move but never got around to casting on... so there's that. There are still 13 days left in July, so it's still possible... right?!

limbo

sock and lake, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

sock, meet new scenery.

So we're moved, sort of. We're in temporary housing thanks to DH's job and while it's a great help for us to have a place to stay for a couple weeks so we can look around and get to know the area, it's also been hard. The place is small, which is compounded by the fact that we can't use one of the rooms (I won't even go into details), so a lot of our stuff is just sitting around in boxes. Which is also partially my fault, because I can hardly see the point of unpacking a bunch of things just to repack them in a week or two.


new scenery, meet sock. (Note to sock: ignore the Canada Geese. They are our natural born enemies—but don't tell the authorities or they might revoke my citizenship. They will probably bite you and at the very least you should watch where you step.)(Note to everyone else: ignore my badly-in-need-of-manicure-fingernails, please. My only excuse is the moving. Yes, that's it, I blame the moving.)

I'm also waiting to see if I can get library access through DH, which would be cheaper (free!), easier and less of a hassle in the long run. It's not really the fee (50$/year) that bothers me, it's the book limitations, both in numbers and time allowances. Either way, I'll get access, but the librarians were insistant that I try to get it through him rather than by paying.

Everyone was actually really kind and helpful, but it's a bit weird. I know I'll feel much more sane when I have a place to call my own, where I can set up a work station and my knitting things and all that jazz. In fact, we're going back to a house we saw yesterday tonight to see if we can work out the lease, etc with the landlord. Fingers crossed, this time next week we could be in the first place that is "ours" and not just "mine" or "his" with the other latching on!


Gratuitous sock pr0n. I think we had a rock of a similar nature in my backyard as a child. Of course, we're living much closer to my home and native land now, so that would make sense.

moving

It's moving weekend chez gradschoolknitter... so I'll be back next week, with pictures of knits in different backgrounds!

a new winner

So, it's Tuesday night and I haven't heard anything, and I reallllly need to get to the post office, so I have to pick a new winner.

Drum roll please...

Bronwyn, come on down! Since you left contact info, I'll be contacting you on ravelry to get your mailing address... hopefully you get back to me soon so I can get this package off to the post office before we move!

startitis epidemic '11

what love can do pillow, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

Don't worry, it's not contagious. Unless you're a knitter, of course.

I can't stop starting things. Like the above pillow, which currently doesn't look like much, but I'm hoping once it's done and blocked the yarn will bloom a bit and... well, we'll see.

Also newly on the needles:



The socks for my partner in the Sock Swap. Not much on them yet, but I loooooove the yarn. It's a local dyer, Shalimar, and the base is merino, cashmere, silk. Mmmmmm.

Also newly on the needles, of course, was the sweater for DH last week. In grey. Are we seeing a theme? So much neutral.... I might just have to go find something bright and colourful to cast on!

Dara!

Email me asap! You won!! I really need to get the package out early next week, since the whole point is to not move stuff with us! ;)

If I haven't heard by Tues. night, I will be picking a new winner.

For the rest of you, there will be knitting soon, promise.

lessons in dressing oneself

how do I wear this again?, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

I'm not sure how to wear the stripe study shawl. It's pretty, and was fun to make, but hard to wear.

In part it might be because I ran out of yarn. I got to the 11th stripe (of 12) and had to cut it short in the end because I was going to run out of pink yarn. I also ran out of grey, so my bottom contrasting stripe is a lot thinner than called for.

Still, I think it looks good...


... and maybe in time I'll learn how to wear it in a functional way.