a promise is a promise is a promise.

floppy ears, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

As promised, this post is not about socks! Instead, I spent a few days this week whipping up this adorable little bunny from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I made a few modifications, such as the yarn used (mostly a knitpicks cotton blend), being that it was worsted, I decided not to double it up. Also, the ears: instead of pinching the ends to sew them on, I sewed each on flat, to make them extra floppy. S/he really looks like they're going to take off when the ears are opened wide:



I also added the shawl, shown in the pattern on the elephant. The rabbit didn't have any accessories, which I thought was rather sad, and I wanted to cinch the neck in a bit too, so I thought a shawl would cover that up nicely.

Hoppy Easter!

one pair down...

sunshine socks, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

I just wove in the ends on the sunshine socks I was making for the will work for yarn group.

These socks were surprisingly difficult for me... I couldn't quite memorize the pattern, which might have been due to the glaring errata. If you plan on making these socks, I would highly suggest checking the comments on ravelry which explain how the cables should be reversed on the leg and foot charts, not the set-up chart (as posted in the interweave errata).

In any case, they're done now, on to the next pair!

And now for something completely different...

cyc yarn, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

Yarn! Ok, ok, so you've seen yarn around here before... but this is worsted! not sock! (or socks...)

I've recently signed on to teach some knitting classes at Michaels! I'm really excited to get back into teaching knitting... it's a lot of fun and the students seem to like it too! Hopefully I'll be getting on the schedule for April... if anyone is interested, send a me message and I'll let you know the wheres, whats, etc. Probably just beginners for now, but potentially more advanced things as time goes on.

So, why the yarn? Well, Michaels is a rather large company, with stores all over Canada and the US, so they want to keep consistent. To that end, they use the Craft Yarn Council's Knitting Instructor Course (and crochet, of course) to certify their instructors. So, over the next few months, I will be working on that... which requires you to make a bunch of swatches, etc, and I needed some nice smooth wool that would show off my stitches. Hence the Class Wool Worsted!

Stay tuned for the thrilling updates as I complete my swatching!

ce n'est pas un sock

stunts, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

(but there is one below)

The bag you may have seen before... if not around here, then over at the MadridKnits blog... but the buttons are new. My mom picked them up for me, the sock one, because, well, if you've been around for any length of time you may have noticed that I knit socks... like, always... and the other, which is my fave, says "I do my own knitting stunts" and has some ominous blood dripping down the sides... she picked it up because of this incident. Ah, my mother is a witty woman... and a great artist, if you didn't know.

And, since this blog would barely be itself with a picture of a sock in progress, and we don't want to disappoint, voila:



One down, and a toe too!

Socks on a Sunday

Pretty plain Jane socks, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

Heel turned on my plain jane socks for the WWFY group!

Speaking of socks, I'm contemplating some changes to the sock swap... it will still be international, but I am thinking about making it into two swaps instead of one. For those who like the current format (socks + goodies up to 30$ US), no fears, that will remain the same. But I'd also like to introduce a smaller swap for those of us (myself included) who are trying to remain a little more frugal these days. This second group would just send socks and possibly one small goodie like stitch markers or a chocolate bar... Anyway, there is a poll and subsequent conversation here on ravelry. I'd love to hear from anyone who has participated, who has thought of participating, or who might consider participating in either of the options in the future!

sunshine #1

sunshine #1, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

one down, one to go!

a change would do you good

just a toe, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

shamelessly stealing blog post titles from song lyrics, I know, I know

I cast on for the second set of socks for the WWFY group this morning. Sure, sure, I haven't quite finished the first set...


ok, so "not quite finished" means I still have a toe and a whole sock still to do...

... but I just needed something new. I've been feeling that way about a lot of things in my life lately... I keep threatening to cut off my hair... I feel like I'm on the brink of a big professional change... all kinds of things.

And so this morning I finally took the plunge... and changed my ravelry name! I've been "gradskoolknitter" since my first year in my PhD program, but having defended almost a year ago, it was really starting to seem outdated. I haven't changed anything on the blog yet, as that would require a whole lot more work and planning, but the rav name change is rather easy (although you only get to do it 3 times... so you've got to make it count!).

If you've made it this far, I'm sure you're wondering what it is... I will henceforth be known (at least on ravelry) as arteconsobras! The name is not just a random stringing of letters, but Spanish for "art from leftovers". I've been thinking about it for some time, and the name comes from a comment on this blog, in fact. When I posted about my finished leftover sock yarn blanket an anonymous poster (who signed "Susana" and I think I know who it is from the MadridKnits group) wrote "No siempre la gente sabe hacer arte con sobras. Me parece preciosa." Roughly translated it means "Not everyone knows how to make art from the leftovers. It's beautiful". I loved that comment and I loved the idea of "art from the leftovers". So after much mulling, I finally took the complement on as my knitting identity.

I promise there will be lots of artistic uses of leftovers in the near future!

The Wool Room & Longmeadow Farm

The Wool Room & Longmeadow Farms, a set on Flickr.

You might remember the Wool Room at Longmeadow Farm from last September when I went a little crazy at the fibre festival... most of the yarn from that post is from the wool room. So when Sandy posted on her ravelry group that they were having an open house at the farm to show off the new lambs I knew I had to go. So I mentioned it to some of the ladies I knit with and off we went!

There were lots of lambs, a horse named Pilot, a very cute and extremely friendly border collie, and, of course, yarn! I restrained myself this time and only brought home two skeins of 100% merino in a deep burgundy:



I'm hoping it will look nice with some of the yarn I still have from my first purchase:



I'm thinking of striping them in a pullover? Still tbd!

socks, socks, and, well, more socks

treebeard, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

I finished up the socks for my international sock swap partner... just have to try and put together some goodies this weekend and then we'll be off to the post office!



Pattern is treebeard.
Yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Blackwatch (approx. 1.5 of the original sized 50 g balls)
Needles are US 1 dpns
Size large (they look a little big on my feet but I believe my partner's feet are ever so slightly larger than mine, so they should be ok. Ravelers complained that it is not a very stretchy pattern, so I sided with caution.)
Raveled here.

And in more socky news, I started one pair of socks for the Will Work for Yarn Swap:


My apologies if the brighter pink appears to be glaring at you. It's a tough one to photograph properly.

Pattern is Sunshine from Cookie A's Sock Innovation. A word to the wise if you're going to knit these: check out the comments on ravelry first. I noticed as I was finishing up the ribbing that the cable in the set up chart and end of the leg chart were reversed and found it really odd. Turns out that the two cables in the leg chart ought to be reversed (and not the set-up cable, as interweave's errata would have you think!).

That's all for now, but I'm sure there will be more socks in the near future!

things new and old (but new to me)

WWFY for stuype, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

I've gotten back into the Will Work for Yarn game and promised some socks to two ravelers. Above is the yarn and gift yarn for a pair of plain jane socks. The recipient's socks will be made out of the bugga, on the right, which I'm really looking forward to working with (20% cashmere, what's not to love?!). My "gift" yarn is the brown and orange Henry's Attic Silk Sock on the left. I'm thinking socks for DH.

Next up:



Again, my yarn is the one on the left, Rainy Days and Wooly Dogs Goth Sock Club in "This is my natural color". The yarn to be knit for the sender is on the right, another Rainy Days and Wooly Dogs Strychnine Yarn in Pink.

And another new(old) thing:



I bought myself a darning "egg" at an estate sale. I've wanted one for a while and was told by the woman filling out the slips that this was a "good one". There's a bit of a crack along the top, but I don't think it will cause any issues, and the bottom shows that it's been put to good use:



I've never used one before, but I have a couple of socks in need of repair, so perhaps I'll try it out soon!