Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. I've been busy packing. In fact almost all of my belongings are now boxed and in a trailer waited for departure on Friday. I have two days worth of clothes, my computer, and my iPod to keep me company in my sad, empty rooms. And my sock. I haven't done much knitting over the past few days because of the business. I did get some more of Charlotte done a couple of days ago. I did the second color repeats but can't go any further because the rest of the yarn is in a box. I had planned on sharing pictures of my packing progress, Charlotte, the sock, the laptop case, but my camera is on a box too. I got a little overzealous with the packing on Monday and everything is gone. I also wanted to show you the cute card I got from
Katie today. Where did you get it? Ah well, I'll take pictures of everything once I get moved. Of course I won't have internet in my apartment right away, so I'll have to hang out at coffee shops with free wireless for a while. Internet withdrawal could kill me.
I've been listening to old episodes of
Cast On while packing and found an episode that I really related to. It's
episode 6 - Pulling a Geographic. For any of you who don't listen to Cast On (you really should because it's great) Brenda Dayne is an American living in Whales. First off, I'm totally jealous because I would love to go there. But I could really relate to her essay in this episode. She talked about moving to shake up your perspective and change the way you're living. I really need to do that. I've lived in South Carolina my whole life. I went to college here and medical school here. I was born in Greenville and though I've lived in other cities for school, I wound up back here. I like this city and thought about staying here for my residency. It would have been the easy thing to do - I know the hospital, I like the people there, I have a place to live, I wouldn't have to move. But I need to shake things up. I'm too settled into a life that I don't even really like. I need to meet new people and try new things. Change my perspective and my attitude. So when the time came to make my match list for residency, I looked far. I listed Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and waited to see what would happen. I still get really nervous about the move. I'm leaving behind my family and they will be too far away to visit often. I'll be starting a new job with a whole new set of people. But I can really start over and make my life into whatever I want. So I push the nervousness aside. "Sometimes the best way to get a new perspective on life is just to stand on your head, and nevermind if a few coins spill out of your pocket."
Brenda Dayne, Cast On.
Ok, it isn't the lace that's stupid
It's me. I was pretty hard on Charlotte yesterday, and this disaster really wasn't her fault. I need to take complete responsibility.
First mistake - using dental floss to make my lifeline. I'm not a sewer so thread is hard to come by in my house. I read somewhere that dental floss works, but I later remembered they specified non-waxed. All I had was waxed. This created a big issue when attempting to use said lifeline because the yarn stuck to the floss.
Second mistake - placing the lifeline on the purl row. The floss became all tangled up in the k2tog skpso mess and made it really hard for me to weave my needles back through the stitches.
Third mistake - attempting to knit lace while hanging out with my family who kept asking me questions (like what exactly does my blood pressure medicine do? how is Plavix different from aspirin? do the mashed potatoes need more salt?) Pausing in my knitting/chart reading to talk got me all messed up. I kept losing my place on the chart and getting confused about where to put the yo. I'm just not good enough at this lace/chart thing yet to multitask.
Fourth mistake - not counting my stitches frequently enough. So I'm going along - pattern row, purl row, pattern row, purl row... I didn't notice there was a mistake until the number of stitches didn't match what I was supposed to do on a given row. So then I had multiple rows to go through to find said mistake.
Fifth mistake - attempting to correct mistakes while mad at my knitting. This leads to poor tinking and ruthless frogging.
So after the crisis of yesterday I put down the Koigu and picked up my sock. Good mindless knitting while I made the heel flap. Then today I resuscitated Charlotte. Here's what I learned from all my mistakes.
1. Silk surgical suture make an awesome lifeline.
2. Place the lifeline after knitting the pattern row so that all your doing with it is purling around it. The makes it really easy to follow.
3. Count stitches after each pattern row. This way I find mistakes immediately and they are easier to fix.
4. Remain calm. Do not throw yarn, needles, or pattern across the room. This will not make the stitches magically jump into the correct place.
5. Do not attempt to multitask with this project. Accept limitations to brainpower. Full focus must be on the chart to avoid total failure. Do not converse, listen to an audiobook, watch a movie. It will only end in tears.
6. Listen to great (wordless because singing along will also lead to disaster) music. Today that was the
Pride & Prejudice soundtrack. It gave me the patience of Jane, the strength of Lizzie, and the perseverance of Mr. Darcy, all of which were needed in this task.
7. Read and reread wonderful comments of encouragement from fellow knitters. Thanks, guys! I really needed that.
So Charlotte is back to her previous size, currently without mistakes, and quite pretty. All is right with the world.
Lace is stupid!
See Charlotte. See Charlotte's lifeline. (OK, you can't see it in this pic, but I swear it's there.)
Tinking fails. Lifeline fails. See Charlotte being frogged.
Poor Charlotte.
Stupid Charlotte!
So I've been doing a lot of packing over the past few days. Very out of character for me to start this early, but I made myself. I'll be loading the U-Haul on Thursday so I really have to get it all done. I'm even packing up all my yarn. Doesn't it look sad as it prepares to be sealed in a cardboard box?
All that navy is for another Harry Potter scarf - this one a Ravenclaw. And this time for me. I'm going to need a really warm scarf this winter. I've discovered that my stash is very useful in this whole packing process. When a box of books is getting too heavy but there is still room left, yarn is the perfect thing to add. It takes up space with very little weight. So now my stash is divided into many boxes.
My mom bought me a
book the other day.
I'm really enjoying it. A good mystery with lots of cute knitting parts. The main character comes into town when her aunt is murdered. In between trying to find out who the killer is, she learns how to knit. The descriptions of her first trip into a yarn store and her attempts to learn how to knit are great. Sock and I are really liking it.
In other news, I finally made it to the post office. Katie, your yarn is on its way. During the packing process I've come up with a stack of things to give away - books and movies. I have a hard time parting with those usually, but I'm definitely done with these if anyone in interested. The movies -
Monster-in-Law,
Cider House Rules, and a season of
Sex in the City. I also have a DVD of episodes of Trading Spaces. If anyone is interested, let me know. My books are registered at Book Crossing. I'll be releasing them this week, but will send them to anyone who wants them. They are listed on my
bookshelf. And I'm almost done with
Knit One, Kill Two and will be giving it away too. If no one claims it I'll be releasing it in a LYS before I leave town.
Have a great holiday weekend!
If I move to Europe
| You Belong in Dublin |
Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions.
You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town. |
My Secret Pal has been in touch! I'm so excited about the swap, and I love hearing from my pal and reading her comments. So hi and welcome, secret pal!
I finished my mom's socks. I was almost done with them on Tuesday. I actually had only one row to do and then graft the toe but I just couldn't do it. Serious SSS and I couldn't look at the sock anymore. So I set it aside and wove in all the ends of the laptop case-I swear there were 200. But yesterday I finished the sock so I could give them to mom.
Sorry for the horrible picture. I took all my pictures inside so they're dark. But you get the idea. And they match! They came out perfect. My mom put them on immediately (and then 10 minutes later started complaining that she was hot...could it be the wool socks?) and kept saying they would be great sock puppets. Is that a compliment? I'm not sure, but they are good puppets.
And what does a flag sock say then it's a puppet? It sings the
Star Spangled Banner of course! And it looks pretty proud of itself too.
I can't stand to not have a sock on my needles, so I started a new one right away with my
Sweet Feet yarn in Honey Butter.
That's my Mac posing with the sock. Isn't it pretty? I love the new
Mac ads!
What I'm afraid of
This is a great
list from
Jen, a new nurse in an ICU. I have to admit that I have the same fears. Some of mine:
The ACLS, PALS, and NALS part of orientation when I inevitably do something to look like an idiot in front of the other interns.
The first time I say or do something wrong and get dressed down by an attending. I am way too sensitive but my mantra will be "Do not cry."
My first NICU patient. That's my first rotation and I'm petrified. Those babies are so little and often so sick. Not a place to be a stupid new doctor.
My first code. The first time I do the intubation. The first time I call for the meds. The first time I'm the first doc in the room. The first time a code results in a patient's death. The first time I have to tell that to a family.
My first night on call. When the pager goes off at 3 am and I'm expected to have an answer for whatever question is posed. When a patient is crashing and I have to handle it.
My first night on phone call. When a new mom calls because her baby has a fever or is throwing up. Having to decide if it can wait till the morning or requires an ED visit.
The first time a medical student asks me a question. I am so not ready to teach them.
Grand Rounds and
Pediatric Grand Rounds are up.
Ball winding, take 2
Last week Gina and I did some training and started getting me into shape. Things didn't go very well, and I ended up a mess. I was in knots and in need of a massage (preferably from someone tall, dark, and alpaca). Gina tried to place the blame on me, like I wasn't cooperating, but it was all her fault. I'm a sensitive fiber in need of time and care, and Gina doesn't seem to be the patient sort. So she blamed me and whined to everyone. Fortunately she got some advice from
Beth. And instead of being her usual stubborn self, she actually listened. For this endeavor we needed a new teammate. Murray was quick to volunteer.
He's outlived his usefulness in the fight against allergens and phlegm and really wanted to avoid a trip to the landfill.
Here I am, ready to work.
Murray I and got along very well. He's a sweetheart, though not exactly my type. But I would do anything for him-he's got me wrapped around his finger!
And see how good I'm being? Not a knot or tangle anywhere!
Thanks, Beth. This was an wonderful workout. I'm ready for my close-up.
And now, to the shawl!
Love,
Charlotte
Top 20 list
Gina H. at
Sleepy Eyes Knitting is having a contest this month, and this week's task is to create a knitting top 20 list. So here goes.
1.
You Knit What has become one of my favorite sites. I check it daily and have read all the past posts. The projects they post are always horribly disturbing and the captions are hysterical.
2. I'll put these two blogs together because they have a similar style. Written as letters between two friends, they are like a window into a friendship.
Mason-Dixon Knitting and
Two Sharp Sticks3. No list of knitting blogs is complete without the
Yarn Harlot. Love her sense of humor and traveling sock photos.
4. I stumbled across these blogs via the Amazing Lace ring. Yay for knitting doctors!
Stitches and Sutures and the
Knitting Doctor5. Katie from
Knits & Grits has a great etsy
shop. I love her needle cases and would snatch up the blue one if I had more circular needles. The second Katie makes a straight needle case it's mine. Love her blog too.
6. Another great etsy shop is
cafecrafty. I got a sock bag and love it.
7. I'm really into knitting podcasts. They're great to listen to while knitting in public. One of my favorites is
Cast On by Brenda Dayne. It's a knitting magazine of sorts with great essays and knitting stories. And Brenda has a great voice.
8.
Pointy Sticks by Christine Selleck is another great podcast. Great stories about what Christine is knitting and books or patterns she's checked out. Great music and an awesome theme song. Christine also has a blog-
Big Pink Cookie.
9. Another fun podcast is
Pixie Purls. This one feels more like chatting with a friend. Pixie talks about what's on her needles and blogs she enjoys. She also spins and talks about that.
10. Estrogen overload? Try listening to
It's a Purl, Man by Guido. Get a guy's perspective on the knitting culture and hear about what he's working on. Guido also has some interviews with LYS owners and awesome music.
11. One of my current LYS-the
Needle Tree. Good yarns and helpful people. I wandered in there when I was first learning and these ladies were so nice. And if you go on Tuesday their dog is there.
12. My other store is
Yarns Forever. Great selection of yarns including some you can't get elsewhere. Recently expanded and has spinning and dying supplies.
13. My future LYS-
Webs. Never actually been there but I've spenty many hours drooling over the website. I'm looking forward to shopping there. The other shop isn't online, but it's great. Northampton Wool on Pleasant St was my first real yarn store ::sigh::
14. Now for some yarns. I love
Brown Sheep yarns. I've used Lamb's Pride and Nature Spun and they knit up wonderfully. Good quality, no knots, great colors. I hear they felt well and I'll be testing that soon. Just a good, basic yarn.
15. I've just discovered
Koigu and I love it. I'm doing my Amazing Lace shawl with it and I really like working with it. It's soft and the colors are gorgeous. I see more of this yarn in my future.
16. I found this great sock yarn through
Lolly. It's Hill Country Yarns
Sweet Feet sock yarn. Yummy merino wool in awesome colors. I got Honey Butter and Chocolate Covered Kisses-gorgeous! There's also a
self-striping version.
17. I love
Knit Picks. I've tried a couple of their yarns and was very pleased. And the prices are great. I especially like Shine.
18. I taught myself to knit with
Stitch 'N Bitch and think it's a great book. I also like the
forum. It's a very active forum and I've gotten great advice there. Click below "Virtual Stitch 'N Bitch".
19. I learned how to knit socks with
Sensational Knitted Socks (and plenty of help from Mary from my knitting group). I love this book and see many socks in my future. Basic instructions for sock knitting (on DPNs and circs) and tons of stitch patterns.
20. I'm kinda out of knitting links... in addition to listening to podcasts while I knit, I also listen to audiobooks.
LibriVox has free downloads of many works that are in the public domain.
So that's my list. What are some of your knitting favorites?
I got one pattern repeat done on Charlotte. Actually, I got it done several times, but once it was actually right. Here she is!
OK, I know she doesn't look like much (but don't say that too loud because she's really sensitive) but I'm still pretty proud. I managed to read a chart and get through all the k2tog yo skpo and actually have the correct number of stitches at the end. Woohoo! I'm throwing myself a party. And just because she's so pretty, Charlotte gets to pick the refreshments-she's partial to tequila (shocking, I know).
I'm almost done with my striped laptop case. Yay! All I have left is to weave in the ends, sew the seam, and felt. It took half the yarn I bought, so I have 3 skeins of brightly colored
Lamb's Pride left. I love this project but don't see myself using this yarn on anything else. Any one want to give this yarn a good home?
The colors are darker in person. Just leave a comment and email me with your address if you want it.
I got mail!
I love getting mail, especially packages. Yesterday's mail contained the sock bag I ordered from
cafecrafty. I love it! The fabric is so pretty and it holds my sock WIP perfectly. This bag is perfect for tossing into a larger tote or backpack so your sock comes with you wherever you go.
My sock is loving her new home and wants to say hello.
When the bag arrived this cute card was tucked inside.
How's Charlotte? There is only one thing to say.
I wanted to pass this on from the comments. From
Beth:
I do have a tip about winding the yarn. Here's what usually works for me. Hang one end of the hank from a doorknob or something a little higher. You'll be unwinding up and down instead of side to side. Take a small bottle (like a pill bottle or something taller), put one yarn end into the bottle and cap it. Start winding around the bottle then wind at a slant from bottom to top. Slightly turn the bottle as you go. You'll notice that it starts to look like a center pull skein. I got the idea from Knitting Tips & Trade Secrets.
Thanks Beth! I'll try that on the next hank.
I'm back
Been away from posting for a few days. Not that I've been busy or anything, just not much going on and I've been too lazy. Basically I've been getting out of the house just to avoid packing. I really hate packing and usually end up doing it all the day before I move. When I moved from Columbia I was up all night getting everything packed. My brother came to help me move and he called before he left home to make sure I was done. He said he would carry boxes all day, but they all had to be packed before he arrived. I have the reputation for packing as the moving is being done. When I left for college I started packing the night before, after coming back from going to dinner and a movie with my friends. And when I left college I had to go back to the dorm after graduation and finish packing. But I'm not going to do it this time...I swear.
Been meaning to post this for a few days... my Tea Swap Pal sent me the cutest card and finally revealed herself. She's Paula from
pjbknit. Thanks for everything, Paula! I love it! And my spoilee, Susan at
Labradorable received her package. This swap was so much fun. I had such a great time shopping for my pal. I am looking forward to SP8 and doing even more shopping!
I have been doing some knitting. I've gotten some more of my mom's sock done. Serious case of Second Sock Syndrome though, so this is as far as I've gotten.
I made sure I started in the same place as the first sock, so they actually match. Very exciting.
Inspired by
Katie (and lots of nudging from my mom) I've been making mom some dishcloths. Not very exciting though since she only wants white ones. I'll have to make some for other people just to use some colors.
Amazing Lace Update: This most time I spent on Charlotte this week yielded this.
Exciting, eh? I don't have a ball winder or swift so I was winding the yarn by hand. I tried the on the feet trick, the on the knees trick, the back of a chair thing...they all stink. I got about 2/3s wound and they rest was a big knotty mess that took hours to get untangled. I haven't started winding the other four hanks. I figure why not drag out the torture through the entire summer.
After getting this ball wound I got started on my gauge swatch. So I followed the instructions that should yield a 4 inch square. Here's the question: Is that pre or post blocking? Because crumped and ugly it isn't 4 inches, but if I block it and pin it so it's pretty it would be. Anyone done lace who can help me? Ran into another problem with this whole lace thing...I suck. I can't get through three repeats without messing up. The first one-fine. The second-still fine. The third-damnit! I'm missing a stitch! This could be a long, hard summer.
The Amazing Lace - Challenge 1
As you probably know already, this season's most anticipated reality show is the
Amazing Lace - a summer long event where knitters throughout the world have partnered with lace projects in hopes of eternal glory. In this first episode we'll meet the participants. Go on over to the
official site for links to all the competitors. But first, meet Team GamecockDoc.
Gina - South Carolina
Charlotte - Canada via
VermontGina is a newly minted MD who started knitting in December 2005 in an attempt to decrease stress. While this attempt failed miserably, she continues knitting anyway and does find it enjoyable. She is proficient in knitting and purling and can increase and decrease with only mild reminders from her knitting instructor, the
Stitch 'N Bitch Handbook. Gina is currently a sock enthusiast but is looking forward to her first lace project.
Charlotte is a beautiful (and not entirely modest) merino wool who longs to become a shawl. She answered Gina's request for a teammate - a mail order bride of sorts - in the hope that together they can make this dream a reality. Charlotte does worry that Gina's complete lack of experience will end in failure, or at least a lot of frogging and tinking.
Team GamecockDoc met only yesterday and have much bonding to do, beginning with getting Charlotte into (center-pull ball) shape and completing tryouts for another teammate. Tryouts will begin soon with the members of Team
Denise.
Watch Gina struggle with lace work and chart reading. See if Charlotte offers comfort during an upcoming move. Watch the entire enterprise collapse as the teammates are forced to spend long hours apart - Gina locked in an ICU and Charlotte in a lonely apartment. Will this team win the Amazing Lace? Will they even finish? Stay tuned and see the drama unfold.
Charlotte's here!
Happy Mother's Day
to all you moms out there. I've had a busy day today cooking dinner for my mom. We had her favorites-steak, potatoes, and broccoli. Had some yummy tomato bruschetta while dinner was cooking, and dessert is chilling in the fridge. I made raspberry tiramisu, and I'll post a link to the recipe if it's good.
I found two packages in my mailbox yesterday. One was from my
Tea Swap pal. (Sorry the photos look so bad. I shot them near the windows to get some light but didn't realize the glare was so bad.)
I got some gingerbread tea that smells
amazing and an assortment of tea bags.
I'm looking forward to trying the Chai, and I hope "Awake" lives up to its name!
She also sent me 2 skeins of
Knit Picks sock yarn. I've been wanting to try their sock yarn so this is perfect. I'm going to save this for purple
Project Spectrum month.
The other box had the tea I ordered with the gift certificate my pal sent me-a selection of red teas. These also smell wonderful.
Thanks for everything, Tea Swap Pal! It all looks great and I'm going to make myself some tea tonight (and share some with my mom).
Random
Project Spectrum update: I'm still working on my laptop case which has green in it. Once I'm done with that I'm going to felt it and my April project. I hate felting only one item, so I've been waiting. In the meantime, some green stuff. My green books...
and movies.
Completed sock
As promised, a pic of the completed sock. Feel free to oooh and aaah. A special blessing from the yarn gods made it end on blue just like I wanted it to. Now comes the true test-can I get sock #2 to match? Stay tuned.
Knitting in public
This time without a DPN stuck in my hair!
So I wandered out of my house today and finished my sock at my fave
coffee shop. Yes, it's a chain, but I still love it. And they have free Wi-Fi so now I'm blogging in public too. My sock is done, but I don't have my camera. I'll post a pic when I get home. I'm definitely improving with this sock thing. My kitchener stitch looks a whole lot better this time around. I think it's because of the step by step instructions I found
here. Page 6 has the kitchener stitch with some great pics to illustrate the process. I also found a darning needle in my grandmother's sewing box which works a lot better than the giant plastic tapestry needle I used on the last pair of socks. This thing it nice and small so it fits through the stitches a lot better. I'm a tight knitter, so the plastic one was hard to get through the stitches and stretched everything out.
Ann at
Mason Dixon Knitting has fallen down the rabbit hole and started sock knitting. Go over to welcome her and check out her awesome first sock.
Get the word out about
Worldwide Knit in Public day, June 10. Check to see what's planned in your area. If nothing is, start something!
Guido from the
It's a Purl, Man podcast is going to be chatting with LYS owners and wants to know what
questions you would ask.
You know you're a knitter when...
So I spent a good bit of the day knitting. I put my things away and went to the movies. Then I went for some coffee. I pulled out my sock and couldn't find my fifth DPN. I looked all through my bag, felt for it in the skein of yarn. Still couldn't find it. Had it pointed it out to me that I had a stick in my hair. That's right, the DPN. Stuck through my ponytail through a movie, multiple car rides, and walking into a coffee shop. Yes, world, I am a crazy knitter!
So what have you done lately to announce you knitterness to the world?
United 93
I haven't cried this much since
The Passion.
This movie was amazing. So well done and realistic. I have to admit that I was worried about a Hollywood telling of 9/11 (and I'm still worried what Oliver Stone will come up with) but this movie was done right.
United 93 really brought back the emotion of that day-the shock, the fear, the confusion. The action centers on flight 93, the doomed flight that ends crashing in a Pennsylvania field, and goes between the plane, the military, and the FAA. You see the story unfold beginning with the terrorists in their hotel room. You see a normal morning and an ordinary flight that turns disasterous. The disbelief of the FAA workers, the initial "once they get whatever they want we'll land" belief of the passengers. You see realization dawn in the first inhabitants of a post 9/11 world - these people want nothing more than to kill us and we need to stop them. The bravery of the men and women on that plane is inspiring.
Never forget.
yay for spring!
Well, not really because my allergies are horrible this year. But it's such a beautiful day that I decided to risk it and sit outside and knit. It was wonderful. It's in the 70s, warm and sunny with a breeze. And I could smell my basil plant...yum.
I'm Italian so basil and garlic are two of my favorite smells. So I spent a couple hours sitting in the sun listening to
It's a Purl, Man and working on my sock. I'm almost done with the foot.
In other news,
Charlotte is due to arrive on Monday. Super excited!
I'm going to see
United 93 this afternoon. I'll let you know what I think when I get back.
Cereal is yummy
Online quizes and breakfast cereal are two of my favorite things. As far as I'm concered, cereal is not just for breakfast. It's also a quick dinner and a great snack. So what kind of cereal am I?
| Your Cereal Personality:
Froot Loops
| |
You were Tucan Sam, the strangest looking bird of the morning cereals. Your loops of froot caused many a child to lose spelling bees. Not even Alpha-Bits cereal could combine Fruit with O's to get Froot Loops. Nice beak, though.
|
|
what happened on your birthday?
Came across this birthday meme at
Unravel Me. I always think that "on this day in history" stuff is cool, so here goes. On October 29...
Go to Wikipedia. In the Search box, type your birth month and day (but not year). List three events that happened on your birthday. List two important birthdays and one interesting death. Post this in your journal.Three events1787 - Mozart's opera Don Giovanni receives its first performance in Prague.
1886 - The ticker-tape parade is invented in New York City when office workers spontaneously throw ticker tape into the streets as the Statue of Liberty is dedicated.
1929 - The New York Stock Exchange crashes in what will be called the Crash of '29 or Black Tuesday, ending the Great Bull Market of the 1920s and beginning the Great Depression.
Two birthdays1915 - William Berenberg, American physician and Harvard professor
1920 - Baruj Benacerraf, Venezuelan-born immunologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
One death1932 - Joseph Babiński, Polish-French neurologist
Grand Rounds
This week's Grand Rounds is up at
Aetiology. I haven't had time to read through them all yet, but I'm sure there's good stuff over there.
A new addition to medical blogging, Pediatric Grand Rounds is up at
Unintelligent Design. I'm a week late to the Peds party, but I'm happy to join. As a Med-Peds person I like to see both sides of medicine represented in the blogosphere.
heel turning
I am loving this sock. I don't know if it's because it's a little smaller or because it's my second pair, but this sock is knitting up way faster than the other pair. I finished the leg today and turned the heel. The change in colors worked perfectly for how long I wanted the leg to be. I like how the blue is at the top and then right before the heel flap.
I won't get the pair done for Mother's Day, but I should be able to get this one done by then. I could present my mom with half a pair of socks...could work I guess. I also ordered her the slippers she loves but they won't make it in on time. I know, I'm a bad daughter. I always have great intentions and then time just gets away from me. I should start working on Christmas presents now so they'll be ready (unless I then lose them, which I would totally do).
I went ahead and order my Charlotte's Web
kit today. I decided on this colorway.
I like how the pinkish-purple turns into the blue with a little green and orange thrown in for contrast. I can't wait to see it in person. That's my only beef with online shopping-not being able to see and feel the yarn. But I tried both my yarn stores and neither carries
Koigu so this will have to do. I'm getting excited about this shawl. I've never done lace before so I hope it doesn't turn into a mess.
I mailed my
Tea Swap package today...hope my pal likes it. I sure had fun shopping for it!
I love tea!
I got a gift certificate from my Tea Swap Pal for
adagio teas. Never been to the site before so I rushed over and ordered some red tea since I've been wanted to try it. Thanks Tea Swap Pal!
I've finished shopping for my pal and I'm boxing up all the goodies now. This was so much fun!
today's reading
The Collected Work of Jane Austenby Jane AustenFemale Lead: I secretly love Male Lead. He must never know.
Male Lead: I secretly love Female Lead. She must never know.
They find out.from
Book-a-Minute Classics
Feeling patriotic
I'm a pretty patriotic girl, so when I saw flag sock yarn at my LYS I had to have it. I had a lot of problems getting this sock started though. My cast on stitches kept twisting when I joined them making a big mess that had to be frogged
many times. So I got annoyed, through my DPNs across the room, and finished my Gryffindor scarf instead. I picked them up again yesterday and everything just clicked. I was able to join the stiches without any trouble and quickly got through the ribbed cuff and onto the leg. I'm keeping this sock a simple stockinette because I want the focus to be on the color pattern. Plus it's quick and I want to get the pair done before I move. These socks are for my mom and I want to be able to give them to her here instead of mailing them whenever I get it together. They won't be for Mother's Day though, I'm not that fast a knitter. But my mom does have little feet which speeds up the process. I only had to cast on 56 instead of the 72 I needed for my feet.
Now a plug for a podcast I've added to my "must listen to" list. It's
Pixie Purls and I'll be adding it to my sidebar. I've gotten hooked on podcasts lately, esp knitting ones. I really enjoy listening to them when I'm out having coffee and knitting. I have a few that I subscribe to but many of them don't update regularly so I went looking for more. And I came across Pixie and love it. It's by a 26 year old Georgia girl who knits and spins. I really enjoy her podcast because it feels like chatting with a friend. She talks about what she is knitting and spinning, yarns and patterns she has tried, and blogs she reads. So if you're into knitting podcasts, check her out.
Another book meme
From Julie at
Happy Catholic.
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open it to page 161.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence along with these instructions.
5. Don’t search around and look for the coolest book you can find. Do what’s actually next to you.
Elizabeth had scarcely time to disclaim all right to the compliment, before their approach was announced by the door-bell, and shortly afterwards the three gentlemen entered the room.So what book is it?
It's
Pride & Prejudice of course! I love, love, love this book (as well as the BBC/A&E movie with the adorable
Colin Firth) and read it every year. It is this month's book for
Knit the Classics and I'm hoping to knit some lace worthy of Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
The Amazing Lace
I've seen pictures of Charlotte's Web all over and decided to try it. It will be my first lace project, so I've joined the
Amazing Lace knitalong to keep me motivated. So I went by my LYS and there's no
koigu. There will never be koigu since the owner doesn't like the rep. So now I'm going to be ordering the pattern and yarn online, but I've never used the stuff or even seen it in person. So does anyone have any suggestions? I've checked out some Charlotte's Web
kits and I like 4,5, and 14... your thoughts?
Graduation!
Sorry the posting has been so light this week. Today, well actually yesterday, was graduation so I've been pretty busy this week. Just finished celebrating being a medical student no more. It's exciting but scary at the same time. Serious responsibility starts July 1. But until then I can play, so I promise more knitting and posting in the future.
I give you...Gryffindor!
The neverending scarf of Harry Potter is finally done. Tada!
It's over 80 inches long with 12 stripe repeats. And it only took me 3 months to complete. I used Brown Sheep
Nature Spun in Brick Road (4 skeins) and Sunburst Gold (1 skein). Pattern from
atypically knit. I'll try to get a pic of it on its lucky recipient (if I can convince a 10 year old to humor me in our current spring weather).
secret pal questionnaire
I am so looking forwad to Secret Pal 8. I watched Secret Pal 7 with more than a little envy, and I am so excited about being in this one. So hello and welcome to my secret pal! Everyone else can skip this all about me post.
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I don't really have a favorite yarn and have loved most things I've tried. I just bought some
Malabrigo that is wonderful and am looking forward to finding the right project for it. The only thing I don't like is acrylic. I spent college crocheting with red heart from wal-mart, but no more. I am on the way to being a yarn snob!
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Currently rattling around the bottom of my knitting bag.
3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I just started knitting in December. I have progressed from just making scarves though and have completed my first pair of socks. I haven't attempted a big project like a sweater yet though. I guess somewhere between beginner and intermediate.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I do. It's my graduation
wish list, so it's pretty boring.
5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) I love spicy scents like cinnamon and ginger and also like lavender.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I definately have a sweet tooth! My favorite thing is chocolate especially mint and chocolate. I also like things like jelly beans and gummy bears.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? Don't spin and am not really good at a lot of crafty stuff. I would like to try beading and I love black and white photography.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I pretty much like everything. I have jazz, classical, alternative, and country among other things in my music collection. I'm always on the lookout for new bands. Recently I've had a thing for British rock. I have a well stocked iPod!
9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? Lately I've been really into reds and blues but there aren't any colors I hate. I'm doing Project Spectrum so I'm trying to branch out colorwise.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I'm single, no kids and no pets.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I'm moving from sunny South Carolina to Massachusetts so I'm going to have to start wearing that stuff soon. Not really into ponchos though.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I'm all about trying new things. I like socks and I like felted bags. I would like to try some lace sometime.
13. What are you knitting right now? Three things on the needles right now - a sock, a laptop case, and a PDA case
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Love to!
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Still trying out needles. I have Denise interchangables and love them. Also love my straight needles - I have some bamboo, some aluminum, some plastic. I'm not into the Susan Bates plastic needles though. I need to work on my needle collection.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? nope
17. How did you learn to knit? I taught myself with Stitch and Bitch.
18. How old is your oldest UFO? An crochet afghan I started 6 years ago. I only have a few rows left but haven't touched it in years.
19. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving - I love hanging out with family and watching the parade.
20. Is there anything that you collect? Not really. I'm really into journals, stationary, and pens though.
21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? No magazines and a couple of books. I would like to try the Koigu Charlotte's Web.
22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? The next thing I want to try is cables. I drooled over some of the projects in Inspired Cable Knits and would love to try some.
23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yep! I'm a size 9 shoe.
24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 10/29
