thank gord for forgotten packages on a long Monday

Forgotten packages, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

Today felt long. Longer than long. I don't really know why except that maybe it had something to do with my students not doing as well as I hoped on an assignment (yes, those things bum out profs almost as much as they bum out the students receiving the marked-up papers...) or perhaps because of the lunch meeting that was not really as stimulating as one might hope (although there was free food...)

In any case, whatever the reason, today felt extra long, and it was, of course, a Monday. But I did return home to find a package that I had almost forgotten about! I bought some yarn that a friend of a friend was destashing on Ravelry last week and it showed up today! Two skeins of blue moon fiber arts "socks that rock" (one lightweight, on the lower right and one mediumweight, upper/left) in mill ends colours. I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet, but the lightweight screams Christmas to me, so I hope that by December I'll have had the chance to make myself some Christmas-y socks, perhaps?

I had almost thrown out the packaging before I felt a little bump in the bottom, and when I felt around inside, I found these:



Adorable earrings shaped like balls of yarn with needles stuck in them!! I'm so glad they didn't get thrown out! The destashing raveler in question apparently makes them, so I'll try to get the name/url of her shop so that I can pass it along to anyone who is interested. ETA: her shop is Double Dee Designs!

Now to find some food and then to collapse... at least Tuesdays are generally short around here!

progress

Another terrible office shot, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

It might be boring, but it's progress all the same!

I've come to the end of the teal (that bit at the top is all that is left) and I've started on a ball of grey. I'm going to knit about 2.5 inches of grey and then split for the sleeves. I was hoping to get a teeeeeeny bit more out of the teal, but the skein ends where the skein ends, you know?

Next time you see this, it'll be so much more exciting, what with the whole other colour of grey on top! Right?!

Autumn To-Knit List

What, so it's still summer-like weather where you are, too? So what?! This weekend is the official start of FALL, my favorite season (and a good colour palette for me) and I want to get into it already!

Things I *neeeeeed* to knit this fall:

1. Three... no, four baby things. 3 for babies already here, 1 for one soon to show up on the scene. I promised the summer mom's that they'd have something for their babes once the weather got cool... so maybe I should be thanking the warm weather for sticking around a little longer and giving me more time!

2. Holiday gifts? I'm not sure how many there will be this year, but I'm hoping to do something crafty for at least a couple of the people on my regular gift list!

That's probably it for things that are absolutely necessary... but of course there is always *want*:

1. My fingering weight st st sweater, which is actually coming along surprisingly quickly (update photos to follow shortly)!

2. Socks. Of course! We (meaning DH and I) can always use more socks. And I always seem to have more sock yarn...

3. Replacement gloves and/or mitts for me: I lost one of these last winter and they never did get reunited... and these mitts are finally starting to unravel/fall apart... they were the first projects I made when I got back in to knitting in 2007, they're super warm, and I'm sort of sad/in denial. I'll probably keep them around for another season or two, but they need backup.

I think that's it for me... what are you knitting this fall?

Sock swap 10 received!

Sock swap 10, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

I just got my swap package from this past swap and even though I took part in the "frugal" group my knitter was way overly generous. Interestingly enough, the partner I sent to downstream was also my upstream partner! (We don't usually plan it that way but sometimes it just works out.) So, if you remember what my swap package looked like you will notice that we basically just traded green socks! hehe!

And a close up of the fantabulous socks, so you can see how well they fit:



Unfortunately my camera seems to have gone missing (I know it's around, I've seen it, but that's the way with moving... everything finds a new home and then I can't find it again), so I had to rely on my iPhone for these pics... hopefully it'll show up again soon so I can show off the slow, somewhat boring progress of my fingering weight stockinette stitch sweater!

There's still time to sign up for the next swap! Sign ups are open until Sept 30 and swapping/knitting will take place between Oct 1 and Dec 31!

Christmas not Christmas

Christmas not Christmas, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

I saw these at a garage sale this morning and had an idea... the 5 in packages are new and were 0.10$ a piece. The three in the gold frames were a set for $1.00 and I actually want them just for the frames... and the kits mostly for the thread. I have an idea, and it might become a Christmas present, but I don't think it will be Christmas themed....

Cryptic, I know, but sometimes surprises are more fun when they are actually surprises!

faster than the speed of light

iss12_003_medium, a photo by gradschoolknitter on Flickr.

It's a bird, it's a plane.... no, it's my swappee's package!*

I sent it last Friday and she received it (in Europe, no less) on Tuesday!! She took much better pictures than I, so I'm posting them here to show you how well they fit:



I think the "will they fit" worry is even worse than the "will it get lost in transit" one... so hurray on both points!!

In other knitting news, I'm trying to make myself a colour-block style sweater... and by "trying to make" I mean "making it up as I go along". So we'll see how that works out. So far, it hasn't gotten a lot of attention:



but it is simple enough that I can work on it while I'm reading, etc, in my office (also pictured above).

*The sock swap is open again for sign-ups!! If you are interested or want more information, please come check us out on ravelry!!