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

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...

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).

Breakstudy

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.

Freaking crazy or divine providence?

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.

Last-Minute Halloween

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..]

Now Showing: BALLS

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!