Things I did not need to know.

Franklin at The Panopticon just happened to mention the date of Stitches Midwest in his blog. That date happens to be the exact weekend I will be driving from New Jersey via Chicago to Washington State.

That may be a temptation I can't resist.

Yay for moving on the hottest day of the summer!

To sock club, or not to sock club?

To sock club, of course. But life is crazy right now -- the moving truck arrives on Tuesday, and I'm technically homeless for the foreseeable future (not to worry, of course -- I've gotten many, many offers of places to crash until I find a job and, more importantly, pin down a location).

So, no stable address to send packages, little time to actually knit. I have to say no to a three month, reasonably-priced sock club from a gorgeous dyer, right?

Or maybe I can argue that the socks will keep me sane. It's probably telling that I haven't shared the name of the sock club, although if I were smart, I would, and then all the memberships would be gone.

The Artful Dodger, helpfully illustrating how difficult it is for me to take picture of my knitting on the lawn with this attention whore around.

Most recent podcast: Nature Stories.
Currently listening to: WFUV.
What I should be doing: Cleaning and packing as ever.

FO: Grrr!

Pattern: Knitty's Grrr, by Alice Bell.

Needles: Size 6 bamboo straights and DPNs for the i-cord.

Yarn: Frog Tree Pima Cotton bought at The Yarn Tree, and DMC embroidery thread for the face.

Mods: None.

For: Liam Richard, a friend's first child (born last week)!

Time: About a week.

Thoughts: Lots of fun, and quick to knit. I think I'll knit up one for me with the leftover yarn, and a few for holiday gifts...

I did some knitting in public today, on the Baltic socks as I waited (for two hours) to get my car inspected. Two MVC guys asked if I was making them all sweaters. It's a funny little world -- there's doesn't seem to be much else I do that gets such attention in public.

It'll be slow for a few weeks, as I make my move across the country. I've got a week here until the trailer shows up, and then three more days before I head west. I'll keep you posted as I go.

Most recent podcast: Lime and Violet.
Currently listening to: Brandi Carlile's The Story (my new favorite).
What I should be doing: Cleaning and packing as ever.

"I do like knitting patterns." A. P. W. B. Dumbledore.

I've done little knitting because, of course, my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows finally arrived on Monday. I'm trying to draw it out -- usually I read them through in about 24 hours, but I wanted to really savor this one, since it's the last. Speaking of Harry Potter, I saw Order of the Phoenix the other day, and got all excited about one of Hermione's sweaters. This one, in fact.

Picture edited from MuggleNet.

Pretty simple. I'm not sure yet if I'll knit it, but it piqued my interest. Although I love to see the amazing products inspired by the HP movies that so many imaginative knitters have created, I hadn't yet been inspired to knit one until this one (and the one below -- gorgeous). I think I like this one because it's subtle Harry Potter fan wear -- Gryffindor colors, worn by my favorite character, in a style I'd normally wear. Maybe use my first EZ "pattern" -- I think I'll skip the hood, though.

Picture edited from MuggleNet.

(By the way, Nicomara is working on this sweater, and the charted pattern is available on Ravelry.)

It was actually the first time I watched an HP movie and noticed all of the crazy knitting in it. Ginny had a great vest in one of the final scenes (about which all I can remember is that it looked like a great vest). I'll have to watch the movie in slow motion when it comes out on DVD.

Most recent podcast: Quirky Nomads.
Currently listening to: NPR's Radio Lab.
What I should be doing: Finishing my job applications.

They really like me!

My copy of Harry Potter did not arrive today, contrary to UPS and Amazon's tracking systems. And so I'm blogging.

So yesterday, a lovely surprise showed up in my inbox: my Ravelry invite! (You can find me at WildThingsRun. Fast wouldn't fit.) I feel loved. I've spent the better part of the last 24-hours playing around, and I have to agree with the general buzz -- it's wonderful. No more Googling and Technorati-ing to find details about projects I'd like to attempt, or to see how a certain yarn works up. (Image edited from Ravelry.com.)

I also enjoyed Ravelry's feature to let you check on your invite status (of course, I only noticed this after I'd been invited). I requested an invite on May 31st, and was 6062nd in line. As of yesterday, 12,693 people behind me! I can't wait until Ravelry gets up and running at full speed, I really think it's going to be a great resource.

Of course, this means that I haven't gotten to finish my mini-review of my NYC-area yarn binging; but I have just started two new projects. Since finishing the monkeys, I've been searching for another sock pattern. I had a few in mind -- the Spiral Boot Socks; Clessidra; Pomatomus; Sweetpea -- but the sock yarn I had wasn't really speaking to any of them. I'd had some gauge problems with the Jaywalkers that I didn't want to revisit. I'll reveal my inner geekiness here and admit to creating a spreadsheet to track my sock stash and patterns. While doing some research I came across the Knitting Philistine's review of Clementine's Baltic Socks [PDF] won me over, and worked well with the Fearless Fibers superwash merino sock yarn I had in my stash and have been antsy to use. There's so much of it (550 yards per skein!) that I had knee socks in mind, and the Baltic Socks' stocking stitch allowed for a simple modification for this first-time-knee-sock-knitter. Here's a picture of the beginning:


And a larger project: Norah Gaughan's Bella Blouse [PDF] from Interweave. I was looking for a good summer knit, and this one caught my eye back when it was called Pomegranate-something-or-other. I think maybe Orangina would have been a better pick, but I can put that in the queue. Although I really liked the colors shown in the Bella pattern, I don't think they would flatter me. So I went with a very saturated navy blue in the Berroco Cotton Twist and Tahki Cotton Classic to stand in for the Touche. Here's the bottom band:

Whew. Hope y'all are enjoying your weekends, and thanks for reading until the end!

FO: Nautie

Pattern: Knitty's Nautie, by Beth Skwarkecki.

Needles: Size 4 bamboo.

Yarn: White yarn is Red Heart Soft Yarn in White; The blue yarns are a cheap, unidentifiable wool/synthetic blend from my stash.

Mods: I embroidered the eyes to avoid using the recommended (and easily removable) felt eyes for safety and longevity. Oh, and in true treehugger style, I stuffed the thing with scraps of mis-matched cotton socks (put through the wash on the "sanitize" cycle, not to worry).

For: A friend's first baby, due today!

Time: About a week.

Thoughts: Loved it! I was so excited by the pattern, as I'm setting myself up to be the nerdy/science-y/hipster friend who gets their little boy all into science (I fully intend to support any dinosaur/slimy creature habit that may come). I thought the idea of a knitted nautilus stuffie over a more traditional teddy bear completely fulfilled that nerdy/science/hipster aesthetic. It was an easy knit, all in the round, and super fast -- it took me a week.

Most recent podcast: Knitpicks. (Still!)
Currently listening to: Ticking clocks.
What I should be doing: Cleaning and packing as ever.

Nothing to see here.

I'm still getting the hang of Google Analytics newest beta version, but I just noticed that the largest portion of traffic driven to my site by search engines is looking for info on Norah Gaughan's capecho. I'm sorry to disappoint, since it may be frustrating that I haven't posted on it for a bit. It sort of just faded away from the blog. That's because it's somewhere in here*:

My largest projects are in limbo for a bit as I too am in limbo, living with my parents in my childhood home in urban (nearly-Manhattan) New Jersey. I've got a small storage unit and my parents' dining room until I figure out where I'm going next.

But not to worry -- capecho will be back. This is my summer to gain some more knowledge on knitting basics so that I can better beat the large capecho comforter into submission. (Brenda Dayne said this:

The only thing you need to remember when knitting a Nora Gaughan pattern is to follow the directions exactly. Don’t be jumping ahead thinking you know what’s coming next. Unless you want to rip back. And it is essential to pay very close attention to gauge. Unless you want to rip back. And don’t go altering the pattern unless you thoroughly understand what you’re doing. Because if you do, the only circle of fifths you’ll be interested in will be fifths of gin, and it won’t be Nora’s fault. That’s all I’m saying.

which may or may not have scared the crap out of me enough to bone up a little bit on the knitting skills).

Most recent podcast: Knitpicks.
Currently listening to: NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday.
What I should be doing: Cleaning and packing as ever (See above).

*Yarn may not actually be in this picture. Actually, the yarn is definitely not in this picture. It would have been, had I taken the picture when I originally wrote this post. I never got around to posting this, um, post until I had been proactive enough to organize all of my stash and move it to another room -- but the point remains the same!

FO: Monkey Socks

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A., at Knitty.
Yarn: Three Waters Farm 50/50 Merino Tencel.
Needles: Size 2 metal, inherited from somewhere.
Mods: None.
Time: About one month.

Thoughts: I understand why these are the socks of the moment. The pattern repeats were simple to memorize, and resulted in a unique design that played well with the variegated yarn. I loved working with the merino-tencel blend. I loved the luster -- it makes the socks look iridescent -- the weight, and the feel of the yarn.

My one frustration is that these socks are a little too big. If I make them again -- and I probably will -- I imagine I'll shorten the heel and use one less pattern repeat. I was afraid that using nine repeats instead of ten would make them too short, but they're just a little too big with ten.

And I have to say, I feel a little bit like that kid everyone hated in class. You know, the one who always messed up the curve and was teacher's pet (I should probably admit that this was actually me. Hermione Granger speaks to me.)? I have just finished my second pair of socks. I finished one pair, then moved on to the next pair. I'm the girl who finishes two matching socks before casting on for another? In my defense, this is very unlike me -- I can't imagine it will last long!

Most recent podcast: Knitpicks.
Currently listening to: my parents' ticking clock.
What I should be doing: Cleaning. Packing. Deciding (more on that later).

Hey hey, it's a monkey!

A pair of them, in fact. No pictures of the pair yet, but here's a taste, before bed.

Most recent podcast: Cast On.
Currently listening to: TreeHugger boyfriend on Skype.
What I should be doing: Sleeping.

Bad excuses are worse than none.

I've been knitting. I've been taking pictures of knitting. I've been re-reading Harry Potter. I've been cleaning. I've been applying for jobs. I've been thinking about moving to Juneau. No seriously, I've been thinking of moving to Juneau for a job.

I have not, as one or two of you may have noticed, been blogging. I've been meaning to blog. I want to blog. I have so much to share! But alas -- not tonight. Unless I can't get to sleep later, and then I'll be back.

I'll leave you with the half-finished Grrr, and blame my lack of blogging on the depression caused by Ravelry's continued insistence on not inviting me to join. Love me, Ravelry!

Grrr!

I am not my f****ing khakis.

Please excuse the reference in the title, but it's been my mantra for the past few days. (I actually curse with the best of them, more often than I should probably, but I thought perhaps I should avoid it in the title of a blog post). I wonder what Chuck Palahniuk would think of me quoting Fight Club on my knitting blog?

This is one of the things that is taking up a large chunk of my time these days:


Rather disgusting, isn't it? My entire childhood bed is piled two feet high with all of the clothes that I own (minus the clothes I was wearing when I took the picture, of course). In my defense, a rather large chunk of that is clothes I wore in high school. Since college I've been traveling around a bit, always with only what fit in the back of my '95 Honda Accord. I'd bring a large bag of clothes, and then fill it in whenever I got where I was going. So that's how I got here, with doubles and triples of pajamas and jeans, and about 40 sweaters/sweatshirts. So every day I work on getting rid of a little more. (Check out The Seven Things Project for a little inspiration).

Upcoming:
1. New York City area yarn store adventures.
2. Job search/moving plans.
3. New knitting projects, plus progress on some old ones.
4. Spicy tuna sushi recipe!

Most recent podcast: Quirky Nomads.
Currently listening to: Mozart's Lucio Silla, K 135: Overture, on WQXR.
What I should be doing: Cleaning. Working out. Applying for jobs.

Bad blogger! No cookie.

Amanda tagged me, like three years ago, for the "7 random things" meme. I've been putting off answering this for a few reasons -- first, I've been avoiding my computer like the plague (I've been glued to it for two years, and I'm enjoying this brief respite of Having Nothing To Do). Secondly, I feel like I don't "know" seven bloggers. So this morning I searched all of the knitting blogs I read regularly and feel like I have at least a one-sided relationship with, and it turns out: only two, as far as I can tell, have not filled out memes. So I'm tagging Kim (whose blog regularly makes me snort) and Alli & Adrienne (I love reading their knitting adventures in Alaska). For the rest, I'm following Deb's lead: if you read this blog, and you haven't been tagged (and you'd like to be), consider it done. Leave me a comment, and I'll come on over and check out what you have to say. And we can be blog buddies.

Before the meme, though, a preview of things to come, if I don't crap out and conveniently "forget" that I said I'd blog about them:

• Tour of knitting stores in NYC
• New yarn acquisitions
  
• Moving and cleaning angst
• Upcoming projects

Lara's meme rules:

Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those who are tagged need to write on their own blog those 7 facts as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1. It does not bother me as much as it bothers everyone else I know that I do not yet have a job.

2. My sister and I are ten months, three weeks, and six days apart. I'll give you a moment to do the math. Excellent. As kids we looked very similar, and loved to tell strangers who asked if we were twins exactly how close in age we were. I never understood why my mom told us it was okay to tell strangers we were twins until I was much older, and understood the **wink, wink, nudge, nudge** reaction and my mom's supreme embarrassment.

3. I am the least methodical person I know. I jump around from section to section when I write papers. I work on six projects at once. It takes about five seconds for me to get distrac -- ooh, what's that?!

4. I am twenty-six, and the longest I have held a full time job is eight months. The looming necessity of a full-time job with no end date freaks me out a little. Perhaps this is unsurprising given #3.

5. In four years I lived in five states. From 2001-2005, I lived for at least three months in: New Jersey, Alaska, Washington, Arizona, and North Carolina. Doing my taxes is fun.

6. For a very long time I wanted to be a veterinarian. Then I found my school's Natural Resource Management program and instantly fell in love. The whole pre-vet track was just too competitive for me, and I realized I'd much rather spend my days looking at trees.

7. I could probably eat sushi at every meal for the rest of my life and be completely happy. Making sushi is my favorite dinner event, and my spicy tuna (mmm, spicy tuna!) is better than any I've tasted elsewhere.

And, a picture. I'm spending the weekend at my parents' new house in north-central Pennsylvania. This morning I woke up to this:

Most recent podcast: Lime and Violet.
Currently listening to: NPR's Weekend Edition.
What I should be doing: Nothing.

FO: Three-take Jaywalkers

Pattern: Jaywalker, in MagKnits, by Grumperina.

Yarn: Ruby Sapphire Yarn's Ruby Superwash Yarn, Nina Colorway.

Needles: Size 0 bamboo DPN's.

Time: Received the yarn as a Christmas gift, casted-off on May 3rd.

Mods: None.

Notes: I think I just assumed that I had measured my gauge at some point, and went from there. So these socks are a little...tight. Not too tight to wear, but they could be stretchier. I got to the heel of the first sock using the smaller-size pattern -- way too small. I began again, in the larger size, and didn't like the pooling. By the time I realized, on the third try, that the socks were going to be a wee bit small still, I had no other choice but to keep going.

I've worn them a few times, trying to get as much of them in before the summer hit. I love them, but oh my, the pooling! The pooling and I just did not get along. This project really drove home to me the idea of matching the yarn to your project -- I don't think the pattern or the yarn showed the other off particularly well, although both are lovely.

I also picked up a "farewell North Carolina" skein of sock yarn on my last trip to the Carrboro Farmer's Market (where Chapel Hill Creamery was sadly out of Carolina Moon!). Say hello to this little beauty, Three Waters Farm's fingering weight Merino, in Forest Floor. I couldn't help myself. I think this may be destined for Monkey-ness.

That's right, I'm leaving NC. Next week I head to back to the homestead in New Jersey, to finally fully move out of my parents' house. I spent my time after college traveling back and forth across the country, carrying only what fit in my Honda Accord. I should be there for a few weeks, catching up with friends and my favorite northeastern sights, as well as checking out all of those incredible yarn stores I've missed out on while away. After that, it's a blank slate. Maybe some travel, maybe to the northwest. At some point I hope to have a job -- but not too soon.

Amanda's meme to come!

Most recent podcast: NPR's All Songs Considered.
Currently listening to: Regina Spektor, Begin to Hope album.
What I should be doing: Applying for jobs.

There's a great future in plastics.

I am alive, and still knitting, although that has slowed significantly with the events of the last few weeks. Although I finished the Jaywalkers on the flight west, little further knitting was accomplished on the trip (I made the toe of a toe-up sock, and even that didn't turn out so well). Starting a new project proved to require more thought than one afflicted with car-sickness can adequately give.

Pictures to follow -- Jaywalkers, the start of Kiri, and the near-completeness of the Urban Aran, at least. There's been one new yarn purchase, as well. Ooh ooh! And I've been tagged by Amanda, so I've got a good excuse to blog in the next day or so.

For now, I leave you with the FO that took me two years and a lot of sleepless nights. Woot!

Most recent podcast: This American Life.
Currently listening to: Regina Spektor, Fidelity.
What I should be doing: Returning three-weeks worth of email.

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for the northwest , and I can't wait to get me some salmon and some beer. One of the few remaining divides between the coasts is the beer selection; I sorely miss Black Butte Porter, Moose Drool, Mac and Jack... Yum.

I haven't quite decided what to bring along to knit yet, but I have been busy. I'm not finished yet (my weekly Grey's group may afford me the time tonight), but here's a sneak peak:
I return on Friday, commencement exercises on Saturday and Sunday. I'll see y'all soon.

Most recent podcast: NPR's Story of the Day.
Currently listening to: WUNC's pledge drive.
What I should be doing: Packing.

Change is the only constant

I have just turned in the last final exam of my graduate career. It's strangely... mellow. A sort of lovely, mellow joy, with just the slightest touch of melancholy. Last Friday I turned in my Master's Project, the culminating experience of my graduate experience. All that's left between me and graduation is Western Field Trip, a week-long class trip to Washington State -- not a particularly stressful class. I celebrated with a very indulgent weekend that involved little time at the computer, dinner parties, quite a bit of cheese-eating, wine-drinking, BBC-miniseries-watching (six wonderful hours of it), and of course, knitting.

At a celebratory barbecue, a rare fellow knitter and I met up to discuss the Urban Aran, and picking up stitches for the collar. My poor Urban Aran! It's been so lonely, but now I'm ready to go at that collar and seam it up. Exciting!

This turning point in my semester happily coincides with another exciting time. It's time to pick a new project! With the Jaywalkers nearly complete, I'm looking for another project to bring on WFT for the round-trip flight and a fair amount of time in vans. So -- socks, or shawl? Socks may be more mindless, and better for travel, but I'm itching to do lace...

The contenders

Socks:
Monkey
Hedera
Toe-up of my own design

Shawls:
Kiri (pattern here, better pictures here)

Yarns:
I'm falling more and more in love with this yarn I bought at the Carrboro Farmer's Market from Three Waters Farm. A 50/50 merino tencel blend, the shiny tencel lends the purple and green colorway an iridescent sheen. I knit up small gauge swatch yesterday and the short color repeats look just lovely. I bought the skein for socks, but I'm thinking about picking up another and making a shawl.

Also up for socks, Emerald from RubySapphire Yarns, and Marrakesh or Brick House from Fearless Fibers.

A new skein showed up (with excellent timing) on Thursday, and spent the night reposing next to my computer at school while I pulled a nearly-all-nighter. Isn't it lovely? It's Laughing Rat Studio's silk/wool laceweight in the twilight colorway. I've already begun to knit this up into the Kiri shawl, my first real lace-with-laceweight project.

Most recent podcast: Wow, I can't even remember.
Currently listening to: Cloud Cult, The Meaning of 8
What I should be doing: Returning three weeks of email.

Eye candy...Monday?

I have little to report given the craziness of the last week of school. I know that I lose interest in a blog if it doesn't update once a week. Or if it doesn't have pictures. Since my readership is so teeny, I figured I needed to post something, or I'd fall off the map. It's not like I'm knitting anything to draw y'all , so I appreciate you stopping in for anything I might post!

Photo by Jocelyn T. Please do not use or distribute without the permission
of the photographer -- it's not hard to get. (Not that I think anyone will, but I'm just sayin'.)

This picture is keeping me sane at the moment. My Master's Project is due this Friday, and I've got a lot of work to do. Lately it's been getting so that I can't see the forest for the trees (heehee, a little ecology aphorism for an ecology student). But pulling out pictures of my travels in my study area (western Washington) reminds me why I'm doing what I'm doing. And why I've been doing it for the past decade.

Knitting related: the Jaywalkers also keep me sane. I just get a row or two a day in these days, but it helps. I'm on the gusset of the second sock, plugging on to the toe. And then I can figure out which sock project to take with me for my week-long field trip to Washington and Oregon. Want to help? I'll post my options, once I've got it narrowed down.

Meanwhile, go look at my sister's blog. No, there's no knitting, but she's posted lots of fun stuff for you to look at. Look, two blogs for the price of one!

Most recent podcast: It's a Purl, Man, back episodes.
I've decided to venture into new knitting podcast territory, and this is the first 'cast I'm checking out.
Currently listening to: The Go! Team, Everyone's a VIP to Someone
courtesy of Dave's Music, Christmas 2004 playlist
What I should be doing: Pick one: Western Field Trip Paper, due in three days; MP, due in four.

Scapegoat

My Master's Project is due in one week. Tomorrow is my last day of class ever. I'm working on half a dozen job applications. If all goes well, I'll graduate in less than a month.

It makes sense, then, to blame my lack of blogging on this:


That's TreeHugger boyfriend in the foreground for scale. (Not to worry -- only the tree was harmed in the making of this photo.) No electricity, no refrigeration, no hot water. For three days.

The Jaywalkers and my paper grow. Perhaps a post this weekend. The paper is due next Friday. I expect I'll be in no shape to blog that evening... but who knows, that might be fun.

Most recent podcast: This American Life.
Currently listening to: Cat Power, The Greatest.
What I should be doing: Editing a cover letter for a dream job.

The socks will save you

The ennui brought on by a crazy school week and frustrating projects has been erased by sock knitting. Behold, my first Jaywalker sock! (And behold, my first sock-weight yarn sock!)


This past week was so very nonstop -- I was presenting my Master's Project -- that the knitting fixes that needed doing were just turning me off to knitting. I didn't want to have to deal with the thought of frogging five of six capecho pentagons, or the planning required to pick up a collar for the first time. But my fingers itched, and I picked at everything: bottle labels, my cuticles, you name it. So I picked up the Jaywalker (I was just past the heel) and returned to knitting for peace of mind. Simple knitting. Wool-on-wood-dpn's, tactile knitting. It was rejuvenating, and I got my mojo back.

The yarn is Ruby Sapphire Yarns' Ruby Superwash Sock Yarn in the Nina colorway. The colorway is lovely, particularly the deep, dark brown and the absolutely vivid turquoise blue. I don't think the Jaywalker pattern did it much justice (there's quite a bit of pooling) but I love them.

And -- at least for now -- I've avoided second sock syndrome. I think this stems from the same frustrations: my mind is just not open enough for the many new projects I have lined up. So it's been comforting to cast-on 84 stitches again. Rib for 12 rows. Again. Start the increases and decreases -- again. I can't imagine this is something I'll enjoy for most pairs of socks, but for right now it's just... perfect. I can't handle much else, and that's fine by me.

Of course, that didn't stop me from picking up another skein from Ruby Sapphire (on sale, no less. Sign up for their newsletter for the inside scoop and some sweet benefits). Ruby Sapphire's Tenderfoot yarn, a thin sport weight, in Emerald. Super-soft and petable. I think the color is quite appropriate for an upcoming week-long class trip to western Washington. We'll be in vans quite a bit, and I'm currently deciding on what sock project to bring with. This yarn is up there on the list; now for a pattern...

Most recent podcast: KEXP's Live Performances Podcast: Beirut at SXSW.
Currently listening to: Same.
What I should be doing: My Forest Vegetation Sampling Lab.

Fifteen seconds of semi-fame

I'm presenting my Master's Project tomorrow, so I'll be brief here -- more to come in a day or so. But: If you don't listen to Quirky Nomads, you should. Sage Tyrtle puts out a daily podcast from Toronto that is just endlessly entertaining -- she has a limitless imagination that keeps me coming back for more. But you should definitely listen to today's episode, because I'm on it. Or rather, a sentence I wrote is on it, for an interactive podcast version of the game telephone. It was surprisingly thrilling to hear my name on a podcast, and hilarious to hear the path the game took. Like I said -- you should listen.