getting there

This is post # 297, so if you haven't entered the contest do it! Do it now!! Don't forget that it is open to both knitters AND non-knitters. Knitters get yarn, non-knitters get a pair of mittens knit by moi.

HOWEVER... there may be a bit of a lag in the next couple of posts. Things are about to get hectic for the next couple of weeks around here. I'm going to DC tomorrow through Saturday for a conference. I'm not presenting, but I am attending and it's a lot of the big names working in my field... it'll be interesting to see what other takes are being looked at currently. So I don't know how much knitting / blogging I will get done during that time.

Then the following weekend one of my favorite bloggy-people, and, truth be told, the person that got me interested in blogging in the first place, Loralee, is coming to the area to meet with the whitehouse!! and discuss health care options (go, read her blog, seriously) and we're going to meet up for the first time ever. I've been reading her for almost five years. She got me through some serious homesickness / loneliness my first time 'round in Spain. We've been email/internet friends since and she is an all-round awesome, supportive person and I really can't wait to meet her in "Real Life".

So yeah, it'll be a little hectic around here for the next couple weeks, but I'll try to get some posts in here and there AND soon announce the contest winners!

Pattern is ready and waiting!

cowl, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Pattern is ready and available for free download through ravelry:
download now

much better

cowl, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Pattern coming soon!

quicky cowl

quicky cowl, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So, not the best picture, but this is a quick cowl I came up with for the class I'm going to teach at Lovelyarns in November and December. The class is designed to teach people how to read charts, how to use a provisional cast-on and grafting/kitchener stitch.

I'm also going to a) take better pictures and b) write the pattern up for sale on ravelry later. So expect to see this again soon. (Hey, the point is to get to 300 posts sooner rather than later, right?! This is post 294. Which means the contest is still open so click here to enter and here if you want to check out potential prizes.)

etsy binge

As a grad student I tend to go through a "summer drought"... we don't get paid from end of May to mid-September, so that first paycheque is like a god-send. And it tends to come with a bit of a release... a permission to shop, so to speak.

So I went a little etsy-crazy over the last month and have had several wonderful things come home to me. Since I haven't produced anything interesting enough to share knitting-wise, I thought I'd share a few of my new fav etsy shops and purchases. (All pics are the ones from the sellers... I'm feeling lazy and their pics are probably better than the ones I'd take anyway...)

An Audrey Hepburn inspired dress... I'm probably going to be Breakfast at Tiffany's Audrey for Halloween, but I also kind of adore and idolize her and would love to style myself more in the fashion of... (From Dinwiddies)



A hot-pink skirt. And we're talking HOT pink... the pictures don't do the colour justice. (From Silly Rabbit Vintage)

A tweedy brown-ish with flecks of gold skirt. Again, pictures just don't do it justice. (From 13bees)



A pair of vintage rooster mugs. I've loved rooster stuff since going to Portugal as a young child. These are adorable and the perfect size for coffee for me - slightly smaller than your normal mug. (From Simply Suzula)

Finally 3 extra large (2.25") embossed polymer buttons. I have no idea what I'm going to use these for but they are even more beautiful up close and personal. (From crochet18purple)

There are a few more things, but one is a present for my brother that I'm not sure he's received yet and the other is something that I'm still waiting to receive... so once those things reach their final destinations, I'll fill you all in!

Pattern testing

I'm really excited to announce that the pattern for my 3/4 jacket has been sent out to some test knitters and will hopefully be available for purchase in a couple of weeks!! I'll keep you all posted!

Prizes!

Thank goodness for flickr and ravelry... I totally forgot that I lost the usb cord to my camera and can't get pictures onto my computer. So for now I'll be using stock photos (my own when I can, and others when I can't).



(Photo is mine.)

The above photo is of prize #1: Crash into Ewe's Jewel Collection with Real Silver in "Garnet", 420 yds. (Only one skein, of course... the other skein I'm using to make myself the Kai-Mei socks from Cookie A's book.) This has been subsequently wound into a ball, however.

Prize #2:



(Photo by: Coolmoonyogaknits)

One skein of Malabrigo Sock in Natural, 440 yds. I used this to make my Twisted Flower Socks, just in green instead of natural. I LOVE this sock yarn. (Ok I love all malabrigo yarns...) This is still in the skein (like in the picture) but I would be happy to wind it if someone would prefer that.









And finally, Prize #3:



(Photo by: llgreens40.)

One skein Cascade Yarns Heritage Solid in blue, 437 yds. I haven't used this sock yarn yet but I've seen it knit up and it is gorgeous and super soft. This has been wound into a cake already.

And, of course, any and all of these can be made into mitts by moi.







There is still LOTS and LOTS of time to enter the contest, so click here to check out the previous post and enter!

300th post contest

So this is actually post 290... the winners of the contest will be posted in the 300th post itself. ALSO: for the NON-KNITTERS: this contest will be open to you too, and you can even win your own prize, which, while knitting related, will not require you to knit for yourself!! So read on...

I had hoped to have the pattern for this:



ready before posting this, but due to some math-SNAFUs (i.e. I decided in grade 11 that I wouldn't really need math to be a linguist/historian so I stopped caring...) and the fact that my pattern notes weren't as great as I remembered them to be, it'll be another day or two before it's ready. I'm going to have to just sit down with the actual sweater and "read" the pattern back from it. (If that makes sense to anyone else...)

OK, so, the contest is this:
FOR THE KNITTERS: Leave a comment on this post telling me about a pattern you would like to knit for yourself when the holiday rush is over.

FOR THE NON-KNITTERS: Leave a comment on this post telling me one thing you would like to do for yourself (can be anything - a spa day, a girl's night out, etc etc) that you don't normally take the time to do.

FOR EXTRA ENTRIES FOR ANYONE: Let people know through your blog / fb / twitter / etc (as long as I can see it) about the contest and then come back and leave me a comment directing me to your post.

DOUBLE EXTRA ENTRIES: Get people to let me know in THEIR comment that you linked them.

OK, so how is this going to work so that people who DON'T knit get a prize? Well, the prizes are this:

I have several skeins of sock yarn at home and probably will never get around to using all of them. Most of them are already wound into cakes / balls so you have to be ok with that. I'm going to pick 3 and post them in the next day or two. The 3 will go to 3 people randomly drawn. (You can have multiple entries, but NOT multiple wins. The 3 prizes will go to 3 people.)

What about the non-knitters? The non-knitters will get (eventually, don't expect it to go in the mail the next day!) a pair of mittens - either fingerless, regular or flip-top depending on your preference - knit out of one of the 3 skeins by me, to your specific measurements. Yes, I'm totally serious.

OK, that's it... prize yarns will be up in a couple days!

*An addendum: contest will be open until I post #300 with the winners. Winners will be chosen using a random number generator (with each comment being assigned a number in order of posting).

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

Hope all my Canadian friends and relations had a great Thanksgiving yesterday! I know I did. I've been feeling übber homesick as of late and decided that it would be nice to host my very first Thanksgiving dinner. This is the 5th year I've been living out of country during Canadian Thanksgiving and I've never been able to get home for it. So I did Thanksgiving "Lite" with a whole bunch of close friends here. Turkey burgers, sweet potato fries and lots of lovely salads courtesy of guests. AND PIE:



Actually that would be an apple crisp on the right and apple pie on the left. Made from scratch on Sunday, from apples I picked Saturday.

I am so thankful for my friends here, who are a fabulous support system, who make me laugh when I need to, and let me cry on their shoulders when I need that too. I don't know what I would do without them. I probably would not be a graduate student anymore if it weren't for them.

catch-up

S1050714, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

OK, once again, I'm playing catch-up. I couldn't find the cord to download pics from my camera to my comp though, so I had to clandestinely use the comp at the yarnstore yesterday that has a memory card slot. I still haven't found the cord, despite looking in all the usual "safe" hiding places, so I may have to bite the bullet and buy a replacement on ebay.

And now back to knitting related things...

Above is a picture of some "art" I'm working on for a local artist. He has these plants that are free-floating and was looking for interesting vehicles to showcase them in. He came to the store a week or so ago and asked the owner, Sue, and I to knit little baskets for them. Sue made some extras so she could display them in store and they look like this:



Pretty cool, eh?

Aside from that I haven't been finding a lot of time for knitting, but the time I have been finding has been going into this:



It's for a friend, for a very special reason, but she sometimes reads this and I want it to be a total surprise. So hush hush on the details for now.

That's pretty much it now, but this is post 288 of gradschoolknitter, so look for a 300th post contest in a couple of posts. I'm thinking I'll post the contest on entry 290, and by the time I get to 300 I'll draw the winner. Which could take a while with the way I've been posting lately, so there will be lots of time for entries! HA.

watch out for this woman...

angora spinning, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

she'll practically pay you to take her angora home with you. Stash-enhancement is inevitable in her presence.

I went to Mount Vernon yesterday, with my friend Kate, and we wandered around the 18th Century Craft Fair. We missed her on the first round through, but saw her after a spin on the Potomac River cruise (Which, btw, I cannot pronounce the name of for the life of me). She was spinning the fiber of one of her angora rabbits (she owns 30, which, she informed me, is exactly the amount she can take care of...any more would be too much.) and had several skeins of dyed nubbly wool for sale, as well as some knitted items, made from the angora.

And then I saw this:



A lone skein of angora / silk, maybe 60 - 80 yards. I won't even tell you how much it cost, 'cause it'll make you sick. (cough*4$*ahem) Ridiculous. Unfortunately I can't find her on the interwebs, which is probably good because you'd all be breaking down her door to carry her off to the looneybin. Although I really got the impression that she does it for the love of the rabbits rather than any kind of personal gain. It's not a ton of yardage, but I'm thinking a nice lacey cowl kind of a thing might work. But for now I just want to pet it and love it and call it George.

P.S. I'm not even going to try and make excuses for the ridiculous amount of time that has passed since I've blogged. I present my dissertation proposal this thursday and then maybe I'll have a normal life again?! Pretty please??

accountability, or "in which I do NOT talk about knitting"

So I've been writing this blog for over 2.5 years, and for a total of almost 300 posts. (I can't believe it's that many, I'll have to have some sort of 300th post contest!) But I don't say much about myself. I figure that many people who bother to check out my little corner of the internet either know me a) from "real" life, or b) from previous internet encounters. I used to have a blog that was connected to my real name and an identifiable email address, but I quickly discovered that that is a very good way to have everyone know what's going on in my life, whether we know each other or not... and I'm sort of a private person, for the most part. And yet a lot of the comments I get are from people I've never met IRL or online before... and there are some things I feel like putting down into words, and putting out there, so here goes.

Most of you who have read any of this blog know a few certain things about me. I'm Canadian, but living in the States, I'm a graduate student (in Spanish Literature, which might have been a little more obscure), I've also lived in Spain and done a lot of other traveling. I started doing hot yoga on a regular basis this past January, which I will talk about shortly. I also used to talk a bit about "Dr. BF", but some may have noticed he's been absent for, oh, just under a year... with good reason.

So, just under a year ago my long-distance, on-again, off-again bf of 4 years and I decided it was finally time to call it quits. And not in the "maybe we'll get back together again at Christmas" kind of quits like we had done over and over again in the past, but this time, I believe we both knew it was permanent. It wasn't an easy decision in some respects - I still loved him very much, and I will probably always have a bit of a soft spot for him - but he also made some decisions over the course of last summer, decisions that I wasn't really involved in, consulted about or even really fully informed of, that made it easier in some respects. We were also just not good for each other. We loved each other, but we were making each other miserable. I won't go into too many details, for his sake and the fact that some one may read this someday who may know him, personally or professionally, and I still respect him and don't wish him ill in any regard - it just takes too much energy.

I wouldn't say it was "his decision" or "mine" fully, for us to finally break it off... I sort of started the conversation rolling, but in the end it was a mutual decision that both of us had been contemplating for some time. It still saddens me, to some degree, because we did love each other very much, just maybe not in the right ways. I felt, and sometimes still do feel, that I lost a best friend.

All that said, it was really and truly the right thing for me. I've had some ups and downs in the last year, and at first did a lot of dating. Mostly online dates, most of which didn't last longer than one date, maybe two. I know it's sort of cliche and pathetic, but I'd never been "alone" longer than maybe a couple of months in my adult life, and it was really scary. REALLY scary. So I dated. A lot. And made some bad choices, some bad decisions in terms of judging character, but nothing so bad that I felt truly in danger or anything like that. And in the end, all of those experiences, both the good ones and the bad ones have taught me something. Being "alone" in the true sense of the word - as in, not a friend or family member to hold dear - would be scary. But I am so. not. alone. I might be single, but I have some of the best friends and family a girl could ask for. They have been supportive and caring in all of the ups and downs I have experienced so far, and I can't imagine they won't be in the future. And... I LOVE MY LIFE HERE. I can't say that enough. I have a GREAT life, that I have built for myself (in some ways it is fortunate that the ex and I lived so far apart because I was forced to have my own life here BEFORE we broke up and that life was waiting to hold me up with or without him) here and can't imagine it any differently.

It took me almost this full year to feel really, truly comfortable in my own skin. But now I wouldn't change me, my life, my friends and my family for ANYTHING. Or anyone. I decided to stop online dating about a month - 2 months ago for the time being... it was taking up way too much time / effort and I wasn't getting anything out of it. Most of the people I was meeting were either rude to me once we actually met, or alternatively we would have a great time and then I'd never hear from them again. It was not only time-consuming but also emotionally draining.

That's not to say I wouldn't want to meet someone to share my life with... but it would have to be a very specific type of person. They would have to fit my life in a way that was both unobtrusive but also supportive and "there". I know that sounds... weird? oximoronic? but what I mean to say is that I would want to spend time with them, talk to them, be with them, but I'd want us to continue having our own lives too... there has to be some kind of middle-ground / compromise possible, right? I'm holding out hope that there is, anyway.

As for the rest of my life, I've made some very positive changes in the last year. I mentioned earlier that I started attending hot yoga on a regular basis (generally 2 - 4 times per week, depending on my schedule... sometimes more, sometimes a little less). I also did a complete overhaul of my "diet" (and by "diet" I don't mean that I decided to eat differently / do one of those crazy purges for a few weeks to achieve instant weightloss, but rather a full overhaul of my nutritional mind. I eat differently, and conscientiously, and hope to continue to do so for the rest of my life. I believe this to be the only way to successfully lose AND keep off weight... / end digression) around mid-April. I had lost some weight before then, I'd say from the time we broke up (I had gained quite a bit of weight during our relationship due to stress and just general laziness / bad habits that we encouraged in each other) until April I think I lost 5 - 10 lbs. It's hard to say because I wasn't weighing myself consistently prior to April. In April I started weighing myself consistently (approx. once a week) for two reasons. 1) It kept me accountable. 2) It was great motivation to see those pounds shed off. Since April I've lost about 20 lbs. I've held relatively steady (within a 5 lbs range depending on the time of the month, etc) for about a month to a month and a half. I would like to lose another few lbs, but I have to say that I am happier with myself and my body than I have been in a very long time. I don't think I've weighed anywhere close to this in 2 or 3 years.

I wouldn't say it's all hot yoga, the weight really didn't start coming off consistently until I changed my diet. But the yoga has DEFINITELY helped in several areas, including helping me lose the weight faster, toning my muscles, increasing my flexibility, improving my digestive tract, reducing stress / anxiety and just making me feel better about myself in general. I'm not trying to "promote" any particular method or recommend it for anyone and everyone (because it definitely is NOT for everyone in my opinion) but just putting out there what has worked for me. I also remember someone asking me MONTHS ago when I casually mentioned trying it out if I could let them know how it's worked for me.

I'm not sure why I had such a strong urge to write about this today... I should be working on my dissertation proposal that is FAST approaching a deadline. But it was one of those almost uncontrollable urges, and maybe it's just to help me sort through some things in my head (which was necessary) or maybe it's the universe telling me to put this out there for someone else who might be in need of it (I've decided nothing is impossible and coincidences aren't always cigars). I might delete this 20 mins from now, if I decide I can't have this much of myself out there for the world to see... or I might leave it up there for all eternity, in the hopes that someone will find it when they least expect it and need it most.

In any case, thanks for listening (ok, reading) and please, if you want to comment and know who the other players are in this story, please leave names out of it! Thanks, and namaste.

calling all test knitters

suéter profundo, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

argh... I hate when I accidentally close the page I'm writing a blog entry on and it isn't saved... soooo here we go AGAIN.

OK, before you email / comment saying YES I want to test knit, I have some stipulations. I am looking for a few people to test knit the sweater above (see more photos here on ravlery or here on the blog) but I need the following from any potential test knitters:

1. I knit this in about a 36/37" bust. I need people (bigger and smaller) of a variety of sizes to try this out. In your email / comment please send me your measurements so I don't get all one size of knitters!

2. This is going to be a plug and play style pattern, i.e. you must have a happy, healthy relationship with your calculator and / or personal math skills. ALSO: you must check gauge. I don't care what gauge you get (i.e. you can use the yarn / needle combo of your preference, although I would prefer to see it knit in worsted weight yarn...) you just have to check it in order for the pattern to work, ever.

3. You must provide your own yarn for this pattern.** You are making this sweater for yourself, to keep and use, like any other sweater you would make. Thus you should only volunteer if you REALLY like the sweater and think it is one you would make for yourself even if you weren't getting the pattern first, and for free. That said, I might be able to find some small prizes for those who do follow through and make a nice sweater for themselves!

4. You must have a blog and / or ravelry page that you update regularly enough for me to see how the sweater is progressing. Please provide your blog url or ravelry name in your email.

OK, I think that's everything... all that said, though, I'll have to take a look for my notes and / or measure the sweater when I get home, if there is enough interest from test knitters...

** If you are wondering how much yarn you will approximately need (and could then stash dive / run out to your LYS!) check out the chart here. You want to go to the bottom, where it says "Sweaters" and look at the Adult sizes for worsted weight yarn. Keep in mind that these are approximate and that this sweater is probably longer than the avg sweater. ALWAYS BUY A LITTLE EXTRA TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE!!!! Please DON'T buy for this project, however, until you have heard back from me positively!!

the difficulties of photographing one's own foot

sparkly goodness!, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I'm sure I've written before about how difficult it can be to take pictures of one's own foot. And I'm sure I'm not the first knitter to gripe about it either. This one is pretty decent, although it was only achieved through great contortion.

Here's a shot from above:



that makes me look like I have no ankle. Not my best angle... I pride myself on having fairly nice feet... which include ankles!

So the right Kai-mei sock is done, obviously, although I have yet to cast on for the left one yet. I'm sure that will happen today or tomorrow as tomorrow is going to be a long travel day.

I really like this sock, although I have to say the pictures don't do it justice. It's dark and rainy here this morning so the colour is totally off.

Something Fishy this way comes...

fish scarf, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I came up with this fish scarf for my lys to display a new yarn, Knit1 Crochet too's Geologee.

Here's another photo:


The pattern is available on ravelry and on etsy.

baby blanket fit for a king

baby blanket fit for a king, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Or a stone lion on my parents' front step. I finished this a few days ago for a new baby in my best friends' family.

Here's a better view:



So I'm not knitting much these days since I've developed pain in my wrist/hand (the right one, of course...) and I probably shouldn't be doing much typing either, but between my own work that needs to get done asap and the lure of the internet, that's a hard one. I should be working on a sample I promised to my local yarnstore but unfortunately that is the easiest thing to cut out, in the hopes that the pain will subside soon. It does seem to be getting better, but that might also be the tylenol ultra too.

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!!