What you are picks its way.

My. It's been nearly a month since I posted last, and I can only partly blame it on the new job. Because I work remotely, I spend most of the day tethered to my laptop; once I'm finished, the last thing I want to do is spend time online. I've even been neglecting Ravelry!

I have been pretty busy, though. The knitting, admittedly, has been slow. Only two more pattern rounds before I finish the Hemlock Ring Blanket, which continues to look like a big, unphotographable blob. I can't wait to block it -- my goal is to finish it this week, and to take lots of blocking pictures. The only other active project on the needles is the second of the Baltic knee-high socks, which have been good for travel. The Urban Aran continues to require a new collar and then a zipper, and it's just occurred to me that I might have some down time next week (house-sitting in Seattle (yay!), and TreeHugger will be out of town on business) to focus on it.

So, instead of knitting pictures, I leave you with "How I spent my Thanksgiving vacation" pictures. I trekked, with TH, his family and friends, to a hut in the Colorado mountains. This east-coast flatlander had a great time, even if I was sucking wind for three days.


Oh, here's something fiber related! I overheat like crazy once I get moving, and so I love my calorimetry. It keeps my ears nice and warm, but lets me vent a bit from the top of my head. I originally knit it up using Malabrigo on size 9 needles, which made a pretty loose fabric that let winter winds through -- so I took a deep breath, and threw it in the wash. Now it's perfect!

Calorimetry at 12,000 feet.

More to come, and sooner than a month later, as I finish up the Christmas gifts, and start a new project or two!

Most recent podcast: Cast On!.
Currently listening to: Sufjan Stevens Songs for Christmas Vol. 1.
What I'm reading: Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass.

Finally, a finished object to share: Calorimetry.

Knitty's calorimetry, by Kathryn Schoendorf.

Yarn: Malabrigo, worsted weight, in the Verde Adriana colorway.
Needles: size 9

Mods: I cast on 104 stitches instead of 120, and created a honeycomb stitch border. Being without my massive button collection at the moment, I braided some leftover yarn to tie the thing on -- pictures coming.

If I knit it again (and I might) I think I'd switch to smaller needles, size 7 maybe, to make the fabric tighter, and warmer. And I'd make the holes created by the short-rows a little neater. I'm enjoying it -- it's certainly practical given the recent cold spells here, and my ever-present grad-student ponytail.

Listening to: KEXP live.
Most recent podcast: NPR's Story of the Day.
What I should be doing: Land Conservation in Practice readings.

Penance should always be this painful.

My first Malabrigo, worsted weight, in the Verde Adriana colorway. It was a penance purchase for me, for committing a little LYS faux pas (not to worry; I have atoned, and been forgiven -- I think).

It's already been knit and frogged once, into and out of Knitty's calorimetry. Too big, too boring, and too -- green, which is nearly blasphemy for me. So I'm playing around with a smaller version with some stitch excitement. It's bitterly cold here, so I think I'll actually finish this rather quickly. Stay tuned to find out if my predictions are well-founded.

Most recent podcast: This American Life.
What I should be doing: Forest Vegetation Sampling lab.