Riding on

Finals are done, grades are in, school has been left, and my heart is healing. Hello world, I'm back--thanks for waiting. Also, thank you for your words of encouragement in getting me through this rough patch. It's been a while since I've done the whole "single thing" and to be honest, it's still feeling pretty foreign to me (3.5 years is a long time to suddenly be without a +1!). I'm finding that taking things one day at a time is helping and that spending quality time with friends and family is making this transition bearable. Gosh, does it hurt though. It's especially hard because I use knitting for general relaxation and think time--and think time is the exact opposite of what I need right now. I have resorted to only knitting with other people or with something very distracting on in front of me. It's not ideal, but hey, it's a start.

Now, I've never been one for rebounding, but sometimes a rebound is the best medicine. Please meet the new love of my life:

"Hello, I'm adorable."


"*yawn* being cute makes me sleepy..."

Meet Gracie-- the soon-to-be new addition to our household. June 8th will be the official date that she joins us, and let me tell you--I can't wait to have her for keeps. Forget chocolate, nothing heals a broken heart like a cute & cuddly puppy. Seriously.

In knitting news, I was finally able to attend my first 'knit night' of the season and I got quite a bit of work done on my mom's shawl! I finished the 17 repeats and I have moved onto the edging portion. dare I predict completion within the week? I dare. I have proof of said progress as seen here:

Say hello mom, you're famous!

More fun photos of knit night have been chronicled here on my fellow knit blogger Sarah's site! We had a fantastic turnout (9 people!) Including some of my close family & friends. It's fantastic to see how the group has grown since it's humble beginning last winter. Being there was therapeutic to say the least, and I can't wait to go back again next week. To all of you considerate readers, thanks again for your support through this all--knitters are certainly a caring breed!

Sigh...

Finals week, work, packing and a breakup--I will try to get back on my horse soon, but please bear with me in the meantime. This knitter is especially unhappy today.

Hopelessly Devoted

No knitting to speak of; financial accounting is consuming my soul (of all things!). Trying to not think about the 30-page portfolio I have due tomorrow, and instead looking forward to this Saturday when my brother will be marrying this lovely woman (yup, she's one of us!). Joel is my only sibling so this wedding will be extra special! For those curious, I will be a groomsmaid.

Let me introduce you to Sandra Dee: my mom's cruiser that she generously donated to my commuting cause-- Thanks, mom!
"But blue Schwinn don't you see? There's just no getting over you...I'm hopelessly devoted to you..."

Bittersweet

Let me tell you, this week has been unbelievably hectic. I know I'm not alone in feeling this way, almost every person I know here is feeling the end of the year crunch. But guess WHAT? Despite everything I have going on all at once, I have an FO to show you! No second mitten syndrome for this gal, I count two!The second mitten went significantly faster than the first; that certainly was a pleasant surprise. I'm very happy to have them finished (just in time for 60-degree weather!).
Are any of you being drawn to that gorgeous pink peony in the back? You're in luck! My fabulous roommate, Jamie (pictured below), recently purchased a crepe paper peony set a la Martha Stewart. It was such a cool process to watch--the kits are highly recommended!

Lastly, I have a sad bit of news that has added to the stress of this past week. Do you remember when I said I knit the special side thumbs on my mittens in order to be conducive to biking? Apparently, I spoke too soon...Last week Thursday, my vintage blue bike was stolen and I'm still mourning its loss. I recently remembered these photos which were taken last fall for my friend Kevin's product line (he sews a fantastic line of messenger bags and accessories). I wanted to share them with you in an attempt to help me grieve. Sigh. You will be missed bicycle, I hope we meet again.**Afterthought: I did knit the hat I'm wearing in the picture--it's my chevron newsie hat. I've never written the pattern for it, but it certainly wouldn't be that hard to do. Thoughts?**

Okay Okay...

I suppose I owe you an actual blog post hmm?

First of all, thank you so much for all of the kind birthday wishes!--it certainly made my day that much happier! (Those of you who are interested: yes I had a fantastic time that night!)

Moving on in knitting news, I opted to make myself a new pair of mittens after I was dubbed "a bad little kitten who'd lost my mittens," earlier this month. After it randomly (and I mean randomly) snowed 4 inches in one afternoon about a week ago, I decided that this replacement needed to happen sooner rather than later. Enter Mitered Mitts:
These mittens really need no introduction, but for those who are interested, it's EZ's Mitered Mitts from Knitter's Almanac. This probably has to be the easiest mitten pattern ever. Since these mittens are going to be used while I'm commuting via bike, I opted to do the standard side thumb shown a la Grace Schnebly. These are such a quick knit my only excuse for not having them finished is that I've had my mind blown by college this past week. Here's the progress on the second one...I've just cleared the thumb which means nothing but clear skies and smooth sailing here on out!

Lastly, I've decided to start a secret project which I'm incredibly excited to begin. (Observant readers will note that this yarn originally debuted here). What on earth could I be doing with 2 skeins of Tahki Cotton Classic and one GIANT crocheted chain?? (*hint* the chain will be for a gigantic provisional cast-on). Yikes! You won't be kept in the dark too long, more updates to follow in a more reasonable fashion!

A Love Story

There once was a chilled bottle of soda who lived alone in the kitchen.

"Brrrrr, I'm cold!"

Then, at that very moment, she received a toasty sweater from a secret admirer!

"A secret admirer?....me?"

The sweater kept her warm, but she soon grew lonely...

"*waaaaaaahhh*..."

Chicklet was rushed in to cheer her up

"Awww, Thanks for the hug Chicklet--I needed that."

Feeling a little better, she decided to get gussied up to go out that night...

...and she ended up meeting the bottle of her dreams!

"Did you like the sweater I sent you...?", he asked. "It's perfect!" She replied.

And they lived cozily ever after-- The End.

Surprise!

Somebody turned 21 today!

(*pssst* it's me!)

So raise your beer cozies & yarntinis--this college knitter is especially happy today!

Basking

I have been working on the Forest Canopy Shawl but opted to not post new pictures (a triangular shawl with fourteen repeats looks a lot like a triangular shawl with nine repeats).

In other news, I found a knitted item from Christmas past! Does this happen to anyone else?

I give you the DROPS shrug:
(The look on my face epitomizes my feelings about my 4-day weekends)

Here are some stats:

Pattern: DROPS Shrug (Ravelry)
Designer: DROPS design...? (It's very vague)
Yarn: 5 skeins of DROPS Eskimo in light ice blue
Needles: US 15 Addi Turbos
Estimated time of knitting: 4 hours in a trance

And here is a better picture of the frontIn a nutshell, It was quick. It was easy. And it's warm. 'nuff said. My only complaint is that the back gapes a little bit at the bottom, but nothing a good blocking or cleverly placed front button wouldn't fix.

Stay tuned to see the fate of this yarn, as well as a surprise sneaking up at the end of the week--hooo boy!

Spring Break!

I've been pretty occupied with the itinerary mentioned prior, but since my last post was a little lacking of knitting, I've decided to spare you the details of how lovely Boston is (it's really lovely). Instead, I'll show off what I've been up to!Enter the Forest Canopy Shawl. This pattern = perfect for airplane/subway knitting because the pattern is so simple it can be easily memorized. In the end, this little number will be gifted to my fantastic mom (along with knitting [and every other crafty thing known to man], my mom has her own chain maille jewelry business! If you do click, disregard the ginormous picture of my face as well as the blinding glare off of my fake engagement ring. heh.)
The story of this shawl goes back all the way to January. My mom had bought 5 skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino baby and, after a few failed attempts at finding a good scarf pattern for herself, she generously donated the yarn to me. Little did she know that I was going to be making her yarn into a shawl for her! Initially, it was going to be a secret, but (as I learned with Jamie's vest) it's too much hassle to hide a project from someone you live with. Production on said shawl came to a halt after knitting 7 repeats on needles that were too small. Ugh. It is officially the largest gauge swatch I've ever made. I switched to size 8's (much better) and knitting commenced!

Now, let's check out the shawl's view out of the Harvard "dorm" windows!Do you see that stately looking brick building? Is it a library? A science center? Admissions? a bank? A museum? It's more student housing. Stunning.

Turning our heads, we have yet ANOTHER view!If you can bring your eye past the extensive courtyard (seriously), you'll be able to see the scenic Charles River!

Not quite Miss Kinkos

I got home from work around 1am and, as per usual, I couldn't get to sleep. After dealing with my sporadic sleeping habits over the past year or so, I've learned that the worst thing I can possibly do is to lay [awake] in bed wanting to go to sleep. Instead, I need to do something productive! Who cares if it's 3:45 am! It's all the more reason to tackle my unfinished projects since there won't be any of those pesky distractions (like other people) that are usually lurking during the day.

These tags are just a little something to personalize a gift one step further. They're also the ideal option for baby garments.

But wait--it wasn't really that easy, was it...?

Of course not.

For your comic relief, I've captured my mistakes and will share them openly.

FIRST Try: I put the paper in upside down, but more importantly, the rounded rectangle I had added to the backside of the card was out of alignment. Goodbye rounded rectangle!
SECOND Try: I decided to try a darker (more sophisticated) yellow than the first time and instead got a decidedly un-classy highlighter/popcorn yellow. Oh, and my margins got reset to default after all of my careful measuring...round 3 shall we?
THIRD Try: I opted for an aqua blue since my eyes were still burning from the first two tries. A little too dark, but what's this? Success! This run is looking good... now just to print the back! Oh no...
FOURTH (and final) Try:color? adjusted.
Margins? set.
Paper? right side up.
Planets? Aligned.
Product? 30 cards wasted, but 10 cards: SUCCESS!
Lessons learned? I should go to sleep.

Busy Busy Busy!

I know it's bizarre (especially lately) for me to just disappear for a week, but I have my reasons! I spent the first half of the week down in Lake Geneva for an industry-related conference (Those of you feeling nosy can Google WIGCOT 2008 to see more). On the plus side, the conference was informative, entertaining, and enjoyable. On the minus side, the professional conference environment isn't exactly conducive for knitting. At all. The end result was me getting about 3 hours of knitting time in the car there and back. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not complaining since, as before mentioned, I had a great time. That being said, however, the rest of the week was spent catching up on everything I had missed the first 4 days of the week. Isn't that how it always goes? Playing catch-up? Regardless of how much I think I've gotten done, I'm nowhere near finished with everything I need to have finished up by next week. What better time then [heh] to decide to write a blog entry! Anyway, here's what I have to show for myself:Yes, he is that cute in person. I had been eying up Ysolda's "Elijah" for months now and finally decided to make the commitment to actually knitting him up. Now, did I have sport weight & DK weight yarn on hand? YES! Did I choose to use either of them? hah-NO WAY! Why make the easy decision in a situation like this? I had 3 skeins of Blue Sky dyed cotton in a pretty ice blue. I actually got the idea from seeing Ysolda's newest toy, Otto, whom she made out of the same yarn in white. "Elijah would look cute if he were bigger too", I thought. "I'm going to give it a try!". The saga continues from there...

I might also add that the pattern construction on this project is just mind-blowing. There was A LOT of careful thought put into this pattern. Meticulous diagrams and vivid descriptions. Given my previous experience with her patterns, I'm not surprised in the slightest. He does look awfully goofy with no arms, ears, and only one leg though--that alone is enough to give me the motivation to finish him!

And lastly, I'd like to take this opportunity to point out that SPRING BREAK starts in six short little days. Get ready Boston, I'm almost there! (Those of you in the Boston area: any local yarn shops to check out?)

Girlyness!

I have been one busy lady! I have two FOs to show off today (one won't be quite as exciting since you've already seen most of it), but regardless, I'm still excited. What took me so long you ask? Getting to the store to buy that darn ribbon! I finally mozied on over to pick it up at 1 am Wednesday morning after I finished my late shift at work. By 2 am I had ribbon in hand and was ready to finish these little items off! Brace yourself, here is the first:

The pattern itself is from the book "Special Knits" by Debbie Bliss. Overall, I'd say this little top was way more tedious than it needed to be, but mostly due to user error (knitting in the wee hours) rather than pattern error. I will say though, thank goodness for Ravelry! There is no picture in the book of that cute little keyhole button closure in the back, and trying to make sense out of that part of the pattern without seeing it first would have been madness.

(My photoshop refused to make that bigger, but all of those photos are uploaded onto Flickr here!)

Quirky

Uff da. I just finished up a crazy week of projects, studying, meetings, work, and exams--and let me tell you, this girl is exhausted! I've been pretty much useless this week in the realm of knitting, and all I had to show for myself is about 4.5 inches of stockinette stitch on a baby garment for Leah's little one. It's not too exciting yet (stockinette rings never are), but here's what it looks like as of 11:45 this morning...
How riveting. Luckily, stockinette goes quickly and now that I have some free time, this little monster shouldn't take much longer. I'm using KnitPicks shine sport in the color Coral which I got on clearance for $1.99/skein [!]. It is so soft I can't even handle it--perfect for sensitive baby skin. Eventually, it'll be turning into this adorable baby top (I apologize for the increased amount of "cute" content lately, it'll stop soon). here it is:In other news, I was recently tagged by Susan and Rachel to talk about 7 things that make me "unique" (my first thought was "heh, just seven?!"). Due to lack of good knitting content, I figured this would be as good a time as any to do so. Here it goes:

1. I prefer to walk/always be on the right side of people
2. I always check my back seat before getting into my car--thanks a lot Urban Legends.
3. I've never eaten a McDonald's hamburger before. I've heard I'm not missing much...
4. I collect sugar packets wherever I go.
5. I managed to make it into the .5% of women who are colorblind. Hooray for heredity.
6. My right thumb is about 1/2 shorter than my left. (Causes to consider: problem with growth plate in wrist, shop class, UFO abduction...[lol?])
7. And lastly, I learned how to land an airplane after becoming paranoid reading Gary Paulsen's "The Hatchet".

So there you have it. I am what some people might consider "quirky", which I actually rather enjoy. I could have gone on, but seven was the lucky number. I'm not keen on tagging people for these sorts of things, so if you haven't been tagged yet and are interested in doing this, consider yourself TAGGED! Also, thank you to Sarah for awarding me the "You make my Day" award, it (for lack of better words) made my day!!

Blackout

Everyone knows what a blackout is, yes? Some people have medically related blackouts, some have anger blackouts, and then there's me: I have knitting blackouts. What do I mean by this? I mean I sat down to talk with a [close] friend last night and about three hours later I had 3/4 of a children's hat completed.

I don't [consciously] remember choosing to make this hat, finding the yarn, downloading the pattern, checking gauge (okay, realistically I know I didn't check gauge on this one), or any of the other preparation type activities that go into starting a new project. I'm starting to think that this might be the cause of my accumulated WIP collection though....sigh. I give you: Thorpe
Mr. pumpkin is hiding underneath this time...maybe he's camera shy tonight, who knows. Anyway, this hat was made for my fantastic manager's [sited here] daughter, Allie. She will be turning 2 in April, and cozy hats are never too plentiful this time of year in Wisconsin! Here are the stats:

Pattern: Thorpe
Designer: Kirsten Kapur
Needles: US 10 Addi turbo circulars
Yarn: Plymouth yarn Indiecita Baby Alpaca Grande
Start date: sometime (?) early a.m. 2/18 End Date: Afternoon 2/18

So exactly what happened during those hours between midnight and 3am, nobody will ever know. What is known is that a cute and simple toddler hat was born in the process. Modifications? Well, my gauge was obviously smaller so that's how I go the hat to be kiddy sized. Since the pattern size was making the hat longer and I didn't know Allie's actual head size, I opted to leave off the earflap part, despite how cute it would have been. Also, I used magic loop from the top down which was challenging at first, but better than futzing with DPNs in my opinion (also I didn't have any, and in my "haze" I decided I didn't care). The alpaca knit up so smooth and dense, and the double thickness of the colors will really help keep Allie warm!

Also, here is a shot of my pet chicklet helping me show off the other label Lindsey graciously gifted. This one is a little more feminine than the one I sewed into Koolhas, and I love them both equally.

And yes. I know that's not a real chicken, but I don't have cute cats to drape my knitting over...wind up toys will have to do.

Awwww....

I have been busily working on finishing up some baby items for my friend Leah, who (as evidence by the photo below) is one of the cutest pregnant ladies ever. Leah would be classified under the "one of my favorite people of all time" category. I met her in high school and she, being several years older, acted sort of as my adopted big sister during those years. She married a wonderful man (also pictured below) my sophomore year of hs and now is expecting a little baby girl within the next few weeks.

Can you even handle how cute she is? I can't. Speaking of cute...

Enter the most adorable baby hat ever. (I should make it known ahead of time that ruffles excite me almost as much as poms do)

This hat, graciously modeled by Mr. Pumpkin, makes me so unbelievably happy. My mom had made one [Ravelry] several years back and I um..."borrowed" the pattern from her so I could make one while I was at school.

Why the holes in it you ask? Well, in a few days this hat is going to get even cuter (as if that's even possible) than it already is. Yes, ribbons get tied through those little holes and are looped around the whole hat. The original pattern called for twice as many ribbons as will be on mine since I think there is a very fine line between "adorable ribbons" and "nauseating ribbons". I'm opting for adorable. More photos and pattern info coming once it's actually finished, I just couldn't resist showing it early. Oh, and I almost forgot....

One of the coolest features of the Artist's Koolhas hat was that it was the first time I'd been able to use my new labels (!) given to me by the artist's sister--we'll call her "Lindsey". This was such a thoughtful gift from her and I absolutely love them! Thank you so much Lindsey!

For the Artist

Oh who are we kidding, I can't keep anything from you guys! No more secrets! I cheated on my promise and there's no getting around it--100% guilty as charged. Heck, I was even apprehended by one of the local police officers who, after reading of my promise, caught me knitting this forbidden item on one of my shifts! That's when you know you've crossed the line. I know I said I wouldn't slip, but that being the case, at least my fall from grace was not done in vain...

My outcome was a surprise Valentine's Day gift for my [patient] boyfriend. Here are the stats:

Pattern: Koolhas
Source: Interweave Knits, Holiday 2007
Designer: Jared Flood
Needles: US size 2 & size 7 Addi Turbos
Yarn: Berella Muskoka --100% Superwash Merino
Start Date: 2/10 End Date: 2:12

I loved making this! Something snuggly (err...manly) to keep his head warm was overdue, and this pattern was the perfect remedy. This hat went very quickly and was so fun to knit! It's a very easy pattern to memorize, and without a cable needle, all of those little twists were fun rather than tedious. I highly recommend this pattern.

Sneak Peak

It's confession time, for I fear I have let you down.

My lack of willpower can be seen here on Ravelry (apologies for those who can't access yet!). More [and much better looking] photos to come later this week-- stay tuned!

How on Earth?

So here's something knitters don't exactly love to do-- showing everyone our mistakes. I was knitting along on Tree Jacket when I realized I'd made a mistake...or two...or three. I was definitely in denial about the back of this sweater. Keeping in mind that this was primarily football knitting, so it's possible that some of the mistakes came when an interception was thrown or an opposing team threw a touchdown. Yeah. That's where the mistakes came from...

So first, here is the front of the sweater (aka what it's supposed to look like):See how the rows all go straight back and the stitches between the lace portions all match? The front, minus the wrinkles from being stored in a Ziploc, is looking good.

Now, to show you the [misbehaving] side in question:Most of the problem has been contained in that middle column. I have no idea how, but I've slowly been losing stitches (which means I've added them somewhere else since my stitch count is still dead-on).

It has gotten to the point where I can no longer deny that this is a problem. What's even worse is that I've started to strongly dislike working on this sweater because of the mistakes--I know I wouldn't wear it often either. As a result, I've decided to frog back to the start of the lace pattern. Do I have the support of the masses on this one? Am I making the correct choice to remove my Treebeardy from the needles to make it right again?

Regardless of my decision, I'm staying positive on this one. The lace pattern on this one knits up so quickly it won't really be a setback. I do hate ripping out afternoons of work though-- It's a good thing it's in my favorite color...

There's Always Money in the Banana Stand

Any knitting Arrested Development fans out there? Check it OUT! That's right, we've made some serious ground as far as getting our presence known! The Arrested Development Documentary project is sweeping the nation to interview die-hard AD fans for their film! I'm a huge advocate of this project (who wouldn't be?) and wanted to spread the word. Especially because it has now been made known that we collectively (as knitters) love the show! Here is a link to their trailer for the project!

And I know it's posted right on the side of my blog, but again I proudly state: