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!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

It was actually my mom's birthday yesterday, but we were so busy festivizing (hehe, I like making up words...) that I didn't get a chance to post anything.

Here's one of her newest pieces:




(copyright Sarah A. Cowling, of course!)

If you'd like to see more of her latest work, please visit her blog Mother of 3, Also Paints. And leave her a comment! She'd be thrilled!!

socks for a sister

herringbone socks, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So pretty! I want them for myself! Waaah. But the cuff is a bit tight (surprisingly enough... I usually find 64 sts to be more than enough...) so they're going to my sister, who is modeling them here.

As stated last time:

The pattern is Charade with a free download for ravelers.
Yarn is Woolarina sock.
Needles are US 1 DPNs.

Oh well, I have a large-ish ball of leftovers (yay for small feet!) for my sock yarn blanket... so at least I'll be able to enjoy some of the gorgeousness of her yarn in blanket form!

cottage = good knitting time

herringbone sock, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So here's a project that's been ignored both on the blog and in the ravelry notebook for quite sometime. So long, in fact, that I can't quite remember if I started them in April or May. We're going for May, at least according to ravelry. Oh, and there's a finished one lying around somewhere, but it didn't make it to the cottage so there's no actual picture of it yet. (Read: I'm lazy.)

The pattern is Charade with a free download for ravelers.
Yarn is Woolarina sock.
Needles are US 1 DPNs.

A note: the cuff turned out super tight on the first one... I tried to be a little looser with the cast-on on the second... I can get them on but it's a tight fit and the cuff cuts into my leg a bit. So they're going to my little sister who still possesses stick legs!

FO, just in time!

nana's blanket, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I finished up Nana's lap blanket on Saturday and leave for home on Tuesday (tomorrow!!) am, so that worked up just perfectly!

And the (not the best picture) full blanket:



And then I looked at things like this:



and this:



If you don't know what honfest is, you just ain't bawlmore, hon!

more garter stitch

Nana's 90th bday lap blanket, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Did I tell you I was loving the garter stitch or what?! This one is a present for my grandmother, who turned 90 last month. I got sidetracked by other things but it will be done by the time I head home on Tuesday! I wasn't going to mail a giant, heavy blanket to Canada anyway!

Hope she likes it!

baby blanket

closeup garter stitch, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I made this baby blanket for a very special friend, one that, despite not knowing me in "real life" has been there for me on many difficult occasions. She just had a baby, but it is also a very difficult time of year for her, so I'm glad she got this in time to bring a smile to her face on a difficult day! It makes up for a small fraction of the advice and support she has given me over the past few years.

And the full shot:



It's a basic diagonal garter stitch blanket with 3 yarns (sock weight and therefore washable!!) held together on a 7.5mm needle (no US equivalent). I used mostly the leftovers of sock yarns past, and when one ran out I'd add another.

I had an email on ravelry asking me how it was done, so the basic gist is this: cast on 3. Increase into the first stitch (kf&b) of each row until it's big enough for about 1/2 a baby blanket. Then decrease (k2tog) at the beginning of every row until there are 3 left. Bind-off!

Et voila. A simple but beautiful baby blanket.

can't... stop... knitting...

Ok, so I'm LOVING the garter stitch baby blanket. In fact, it's almost done. And I'm loving it so much I'm thinking about scrapping the shawl I was making my grandmother for her birthday (which I was NOT loving) and making her a lap blanket in a similar vein.

Those on ravelry click here for the sneaky preview (with new pics of the latest progress).

I think the reason I'm loving it is because it's SOOOOO simple. So. Simple. My brain has been exercised more than enough over the past few months in school related activities that I just can't process the difficult knits right now... One paper and one week left to go!!

I think it's back

My knitting mojo that is. It's been exactly a month since I last posted. Wow... I can't believe where the time is gone. I have just under 10 days to finish my last comp exam (in the form of a written paper) and I'm more than a little freaked out. I've barely been knitting at ALL, mainly due to stress and extended periods of freak out time in the library. Yesterday was the first time I actually took knitting with me to work on while I read so that I could calm down a bit. And of course, it is the simplest of projects, a gorgeously soft, stash-busting, garter stitch baby blanket for a friend who just gave birth earlier this week. A friend who is highly internet savvy, so pictures are staying off the blog for now.

Those of you on ravelry, however, can catch the sneak preview here!

FO: rainbow socks!

rainbow socks!, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

SO PRETTY. What is it about rainbow coloured things that just makes me so happy?! I don't know, but I think these socks pretty much encapsulate it.

Pattern: None. 56 sts, twisted rib, French Heel.
Needles: US 2 DPNS
Yarn: Mini Mochi! (approx. 1.5 skeins)

Exams are hard, dude

rainbow socks, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So I wrote my big, scary, sit in the room for 7 or 8 hours and try to type as fast as you can exam on Wednesday. I've oscillated between thinking it went fine to "OMG they're going to kick me OUT!". Which, by the way, is probably not true or even plausible. It's just the release of stress post-exam.

BUT! Hey, LOOK, a SOCK! I saw someone else's rainbow socks over on ravelry and couldn't resist.
Yarn: Mini Mochi
Needles: US 2 DPNs
Pattern: None. 56 sts, twisted rib, round heel (or French heel) from Heels by Number. (Yes, I am going to eventually try them all!)

And, hey, look... ANOTHER SOCK!



OK, this one has been done for a while... but I've been so lazy about my battery eating camera that I hadn't yet photodocumented this one... and yes, the other one IS on the needles, but it's barely started. These take a lot of time and concentration, neither of which I have for complex sock knitting currently.