Lies

Okay, I lied. Turns out, in the few days I have off between classes and going home, I have some time to blog after all. Finals are finally over and I think for the most part they went well. I liked all of my classes this term and I worked really hard and I feel like I learned a lot. Now I just have to wait to see if my professors agree.

Now that the summer is officially under way for me, I'm bursting with ideas on how to spend the next few months and I'm excited to talk about it, so bear with me.

First of all, I want to knit more. I have so many ideas for patterns and yarns to try, in addition to some ideas for some new things I'd like to design.

This summer I also want to have time to paint, as I'm thinking of applying to graduate school and need to work on my portfolio.

I'd also love to take a few days trips to the zoo or art museum or whatever, sort of like a mini vacation.

Of course, I'll need to work and I want to see a few friends as well, so even with just those few goals I think the summer will be full indeed.

And as for knitting, I'm having a bit of a dilemma:


I was clicking along on the Print o' the Wave, loving it despite the mistakes I made at the very beginning, and I finished the body of the stole. I began picking up stitches for the border, but I got to the required 240 stitches on one side about 8 inches before the end of the stole. Of course, that meant I cleared the mistake I made at the beginning. And being the knitter I am, I thought of course I can just rip out from the bottom back until where I have the picked up stitches and then be just fine. I forgot though, that the beginning of knitting does not unravel like the end of knitting does, and now I have a mangled mess right at the beginning.

Take a deep breath: I might have to take out the whole thing and start over. I'm going to think about this a little longer and then probably take the plunge. I'm comforted knowing I probably wouldn't have been able to unravel like I wanted to and I definitely wouldn't have liked keeping that mistake.

Something Old and Something New

It's that time of year again. Like many bloggers out there, for the next week or so I'll be taking finals, writing papers, and presenting the work I've been doing all term. It's an exciting time, but not known for its time for knitting. I did finish sewing up the Thermal, but with all the clutter around here I don't have a good place to block it and leave it to dry, so I'll wait until I get home. I'm still madly in love with it though and I promise not to forget about it. This week will be crazy busy though, so you might not hear from me for a little bit - I'm moving back home, visiting with family, attending my sister's high school graduation, and trying to get settled again.

In the meantime, though, there's something very new and exciting. I finally got invited to Ravelry - the new knitting/crochet site that helps you organize everything from yarn and needles to which patterns you want to do next. I think this thing will be a godsend. I already added a few things, but I need to get a Flickr account set up which should make it easier. Something tells me that getting everything organized, labeled, and photographed will be a project all its own.

And, as a little taste, here's something that should be there soon:


Some Karabella Aurora 8 in the Sable color, which I'm hoping to make a Blustery with. I think it'd be the perfect addition to a soon-to-be-teacher's wardrobe, don't you?

Enjoy the long weekend!

Curse and Blessing

Guy and I were talking the other day about spinning, yarn, and sheep. Now, Guy's a knitter, but only once every so often and he doesn't seem to be plauged by multiple projects or a love for yarn like I am, and I don't think he'd be very excited about even more kinds of fiber sharing our space. I admire those knitters out there that are expert spinners and dyers, and even those who are not and only want to know more about the craft and material that lead up to the knitting process, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to make the leap. I can't help but think that it would take precious time away from the needles.

I feel the same way about seaming. Tonight, as I looked at a few empty hours all I wanted to do was knit. Of course, I have quite a long list of unfinished projects with a self-imposed deadline, and I'd say more than half of them are actually pretty close to being done if I'd give them a bit more attention. When it comes right down to it, though, I'd rather be knitting something than not knitting something. I don't think new projects are all that inticing for me because they are new, just because they promise more time doing the repetivie motion I love so much. I think that's the curse of the Broadstreet Mittens - there's just too many fiddly parts keeping me from getting that motion going.

Anyway, I forced myself tonight to actually do some seaming. And I'm so glad I did.


Sorry for the horrible picture - there will be more to come in the next few days, I promise. But look at that seaming job! It looks great (the blessing part), if I do say so myself. I love how the ribs match up on that curvy part, and the whole thing fit without too much trouble. Look out world, I might just be wearing a Thermal in the next few days or so. Especially if the weather stays rainy and cool like it was today. What is up with this spring so far?

It's Official

Thermal is nearly complete. Not one more stitch is needed - well, at least that's what I'm telling myself. It still needs to be sewn up, of course. After such a lovely knit it's hard to get excited about sewing the pieces togeter. Really, this is probably one of the most enjoyable things I've knit for quite some time, which is saying something because I had a mean miter and washcloth knitting stage thanks to Kay and Ann.



I know that this thing will need some blocking and right now I'm trying to decide if I should do it before I sew the sleaves in or after. I'm a smidge worried about the blocking process because I've never done it on a complete sweater before, I'm not in the best living space right now, and I don't have any of my serious knitting reference books with me. I'm hoping the blocking will calm down that collar too - why is it so wiggly?



And much to my joy and relief, the sleeves look like they'll fit into the sleeve holes. I've been in that boat too many times where for some reason or another my row gauge was different enough to affect how the pieces fit together.

I'm hoping to work on this this weekend, along with some other ideas and projects I have kicking around, but as always school is getting in the way. I have to keep reminding myself that I only have two more weeks and then one more year and then I can be done for a little while. Won't that be nice?

Some Progress

A morning's work:


I always forget how long it takes to wind up balls of thin yarn. Especially for the lace one - over 400 yards!


Both the Print o' the Wave and Thermal are coming along nicely. I'm nearly done with the body of the stole, but I've been warned that the border takes just as long as the first part. I'm looking forward to the blocking process though, as this is my first real piece of lace.


And thankfully, Thermal is finally resembling something more like a sweater. I actually might finish in the next couple of days! The way the weather is acting lately, I just might get a chance to wear it, too. Let's all cross our fingers.