OMG pod person! or Small Steps

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!

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

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...

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

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

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!*

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.