Maldita Sopa!

Spring-y Hat

2008-07-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

This hat was a cinch to complete, took a little over a day to do. It's from a book I've forgotten the name of, something about tops and tots. The only modification I made was adding a few more SC rows to the brim. It fits my head snugly so hopefully it fits the intended recipient.

If I were to make this hat again I'd make the flower 5-lobed instead of 6. It looks a bit flouncy.

I've also been embroidering a little, mostly small things like towels. Pictures to follow in another post.

Nerd-time Socks, a.k.a. Seeley Socks

2008-07-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

Summer school has taken up the majority of my time but I managed to finish a pair of socks. Based on Knitty's Thuja in washable wool with a few modifications. The cuff was 1x1 rib but the body of the sock I kept in Stockinette with stripes for added interest. The tripe sequence was a ghetto Fibonacci sequence, multiplied by a factor of 2. In other words, not including the cuff: 2, 2, 4, 6, 10, 16, 26, 42, etc. But it was still very painful to weave in so many ends.

If this had been a real emergency...

2008-05-20T15:21:00.000-07:00

Monday, after a morning final exam, I'm studying in the library, in a big spacious corner conference room with big sweeping windows. Every thing's good and then the fire alarm sounds--lights flash and the alarm sounds. After years of school drills the natural thing would be to pack up quietly and efficiently. Instead I sort of sit around, waiting for it to end...my study buddy has more sense and reminds me we are on the top floor, in other words, "Pack yo shit girl." So I begrudgingly pick up all of my belongings: snacks, humongous books, notes, backpack etc. I am a bag lady after all. And the alarm continues.

At this point the main stairs that run through the library are filling with exiting students but no worries, I know a shortcut. I cut across to the side fire exit, push on the doors and HOLY SHIT. Another louder, more urgent alarm starts ringing and flashing. I turn around and am forced to take several detours and side stairs to exit because the main stairs are closed.

Mostly this taught me that
(1) not all emergencies are created equal,
(2) like in the lab buildings, if you don't exit within the first few minutes during an alarm, stuff begins to lock down and most importantly
(3) I'm an idiot. If this had been a real emergency I'd be trapped/burnt OR arrested on suspicion of terrorism for trying to gain access to the roof (yep, that's why I set off a second alarm).

OMG pod person! or Small Steps

2008-05-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

While I was home the other weekend I finished VK's Cabled Cardigan (#15) from the Winter 2006/07 issue--finished the knitting that is. And then the most amazing thing happened, I went ahead and blocked all of the pieces, all professional-like.

My mom even came over and admired my work; she usually just grumbles about what a mess I'm making. I mean she's right, but whose fault is it that I'm crafty? I certainly didn't teach myself to use the sewing machine or how to crochet miles and miles of chains. I was feeling pretty impressed until she looked at the sleeves which were on another board and asked "What are these extra pieces here?" Small steps, small steps. Here's the back and fronts, with bad flash lighting as a bonus:

The pieces are dry and waiting for me to seam them but no rush! I guess that means I'm only a pod person hybrid. Whew, what a relief.

I want to dance in my pants!

2008-05-08T21:01:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of participating in a swap and check out what I got:

A handknit pillow (with stripes on the back), yarn, coffee (yum), pens!, gum, cards and the cutest post-its. Many thanks to my swap partner, she did a really good job.

On the school front, I'm flooded with work, weary of doing more writing, and I miss the gym. The good news is it'll be over soon and then 2 more semesters! (It's less painful than thinking in terms of one more year.)

Futbol Sunday

2008-03-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

So I'd missed Mexico's last two(?) games, leaving me to get my soccer fix another way. It was a cold Sunday, there was nowhere to sit but I had a good time. This calls for an action shot!

This is how far I got on my dad's tabi...before I accepted that I'd done it all wrong. They were an intended birthday present but in my rush I ended up with P2K3 ribbing. There was a slipped stitch in there somewhere according to the pattern but I forgot all about it. I didn't notice the stitch mistake until about 4 inches into the leg so I thought I'd just keep going.

Then I had issues with the heel. Understandably the pattern didn't have the heel reinforced with slipped-stitch ribbing because who wears toe socks with shoes? Thus, I went ahead with the plain stockinette heel...and yup I hated it too. Here's as far as I got (in the library) before I frogged it and started it over.

Yup, I was knitting this in the library. I frogged it and started over after taking this, with a few changes. I switched up to US 3 because I was afraid they'd be too tight around the calf opening. I added the slipped stitch in thinking it would a pretty pattern but nope, I can't really tell. And when the time comes I think I'll do a slipped stitch heel, it just looks much cleaner.

I also took advantage of my spring break and made considerable progress on my Central Park Hoodie. Nearly finished the back!

Through some sort of resurrection miracle I also picked up my black cabled cardigan. With a back and two fronts already completed it was easy to finish the sleeve I had on the needles. I only have one sleeve and piddly little ties to finish!

Physics homework be darned...

2008-03-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

School's been keeping me busy so that means I cast on for new projects. I started tabi socks for the pop and a purplish version of "Central Park Hoodie." The plum scarf is halfway through the fringing process and NOW the cold season here is over. Terrible timing on my part. No new pictures of any of my progress for the time being.

I did come across this weird collection of bugs though. Presumably they're some type of beetle but that's all I have to offer. How long have they been collecting on the tree and I only just noticed them recently? I'm losing my touch with nature.

We're Taking Over Up in Hurr

2008-02-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

Because it's that time of year I had to go out and buy some Conversation hearts. Half a box later I noticed these were written in an inscrutable language--oh no wait, just written in spanish.

Breakstudy

2008-02-06T16:50:00.000-08:00

In the absence of being able to concentrate on a sweater--ok, I wanted an "easy" project--I started this seed stitch scarf. All of my scarves are storebought and synthetic, which is a shame considering my hobbies. This one will be warm, a little scartchy, plum-y, and squishy (thanks 100% wool). I was tempted to do some fancy cabling but then it wouldn't be the easy-I-can-do-it-while-watching-tv-knitting project. I might add that about 6 inches into it I made a mistake, didn't spot the mistake until about 8 inches later and I had to rip back and continue...all while watching tv.

I AM SO GREAT!*

2008-01-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

With the dangerous deadline of going back to school looming, I managed to finish the baby quilt I began about two weeks ago. I still need to clip the pesky threads so it will have to wait to make its appearance. Mostly, I'm just ecstatic that I made a quilt, complete with hand-quilting, my own binding, and a not-so-fancy label. It's full of novice mistakes and with any luck it won't disintegrate after its first real wash.

*Title taken from a young Bart Simpson song which really sums up my mood.

Freaking crazy or divine providence?

2007-12-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

In the middle of studying for finals, or cramming if you prefer, I come across The Lord of the Rings on tv. This is my all-time favorite thing to study to. Later on, after moving to the library to do my diligent student duty, I read "Start with the final state--having all hobbits and all orcs on the far bank." I had to read it three times to convince myself that my Cognitive Psychology textbook was talking about hobbits and orcs.* It was like a meeting of the nerds, in the dark of the night. Or a small sign that it's time I re-read the series.

*This was in reference to a problem solving scenario, hobbits on one side, orcs on the other.

Babies grow up so fast!

2007-11-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

Ribbed Baby Jacket by Debbie Bliss

I started this for a baby girl I thought was 2 months-old. I had two days to complete the tiny sweater and only had the finishing left when I found out the baby is nearly 6 months-old. I suck at time estimation.

I used Wool-ease in a pea green color because the mother's favorite color is peridot. I ran out in the middle of the night and had to continue with something I had onhand. Cotton-ease in the same color family to the rescue. I'm going to stick with the brighter green for my second and final attempt.

Last-Minute Halloween

2007-11-05T18:03:00.000-08:00

Halloween was fun this year, if a bit rushed. Made more fun by the fact that I put the siblings to work. This is a glimpse of their handiwork:

On the crafting front I finished the back for the VK Cabled Cardigan and cast-on for the left side. The $1.50 Cardigan is on hold until I have the heart to sit down and do the math for the decreases on the fronts. Knitting is rolling along but in need of attention is my overflowing fabric "scraps." I'm up to about three boxes worth, something that's hard to estimate accurately since I keep finding pockets of fabric in odd places. With the impending doom of having to sort and organize the fabric I want to escape and start a new crochet project or maybe even trade mountains and organize the scrapbooking stuff. [Crossing my fingers that the Bio midterm went well..]

Post-Weekend Update

2007-10-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

Owing to two Midterms this week I've been knitting up a storm. The black $ 1.50 Cardigan has been frogged but not forgotten. The bunchiness wasn't working out, even after a light block. Instead, I restarted it in Cotton-ease. The brown shows off the stitch pattern much better. Already on the second skein!

The rejected black yarn is now the Cabled Cardigan from Vogue Knitting Winter 2006/07. The cable repeat is different for every row, ensuring minimal boredom. I fell in love with the tie closures and the fabric is knitting up super chunky (duh).

I also started some booties for the new baby. There may also be enough yarn left over for a tiny hat. I better hurry up.

Now Showing: BALLS

2007-09-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

I've done some work on the cardigan and dug up the old gray sweater. But the most exciting thing by far was this marquee. Time to start my paper. Hooray!

Son of a Beach!

2007-09-16T03:34:00.000-07:00

Yep, it was bound to happen. Cast on for the Dollar and a Half Cardigan and a few rows into the lace pattern it's time to rip it and start over. The lace pattern itself is intact. But I've got this blasted extra stitch at the end of the row. Kind of like when you've finished a nice section of stockinette stitch and there's a tiny snag, that you can't squish back into the fabric. And it just stares at you. That's what this extra lace stitch is doing...staring me down. And although I concede that this situation could have been resolved by pragmatic swatching, I like to dive right in (and flail).