Two Ways to Keep Your Sanity

Exhibit A:
Lace.

Exhibit B:
Mindless garter stitch

Yes, I'm struggling through that part of the semester where everything just seems like it's dragging. So two projects - just for me! The first is the Spring Tulips Stole from Night Owl Knits and the second project is the super quick garter stitch cowl.

Two midterms, one paper down...

one paper, two midterms to go...

How much you want to bet I finish the cowl before my paper on Hobbes?

First New Project of the Year

I am sick.

The weather here has taken a turn for the worse lately, and I guess I've been a little stressed with recruiting. So. I got sick. And now my back aches. I don't know how my illness caused my back aches, but somehow, it did. And now I am suffering.

Anyway, yesterday, I went to my boss's baby shower. I found out maybe three weeks ago, and I deliberated for a while what to make for the baby. I considered a sweater, but then I couldn't really decide on a pattern. Then, I remembered the plethora of yarn I had left over from Noah's blankie and thought this would be a prime time to use up some more of it.

I thought about making another Log Cabin, but I wasn't really feeling it. I knew I wanted garter stitch - it had to be something I could do mindlessly while I watched Law & Order. So I came upon the idea of knitting three strips and use each color for one really big block. I sketched a schematic and that resulted in...


Crayola Blankie
pattern: My own
yarn: Bernat Super Value Acrylic
needles: US 9 (5.5 mm)

I was really happy with the finished outcome. It was basically all I had imagined it would be. There was a little bit of weirdness though with gauge. The yellow, for some reason, came out more loosely than the other yarns. I couldn't really figure out why. It required a little bit of adjusting, but in the end, I ended up with the right number of rows.

Here's another picture of the whole thing laid out. Pardon the poor coloring; it hasn't exactly been sunny here in New York City.


It was received very well, and I was praised for my use of bright primary colors. I do hope she finds a good use for it.

2009 Already

So I didn't blog much this year.

Partly, this was due to my ventures in London. Busy, busy, busy. Little knitting, even less time to blog about it. Obviously, I knit a lot more than I showed for it. I would backtrack and blog about it all, but that would prevent me from blogging about my new projects.

So, in an effort to look ahead...


This is the Myrtle Leaf with Willow Border (such unromantic names) in pink. I've always wanted to knit something from Victorian Lace Today, and I finally settled on this.

I had a lot of false starts before I finally decided on this project. I knew I wanted to make my mom a shawl for her birthday but I couldn't settle on a pattern. I must have cast on at least four times before I finally went with my gut instinct.

Is it just me or is lace in progress really not that attractive?


Doesn't stop me from trying to take nice pictures though... hahah.


Here's to 2009.

UFO Landing

Well, I never thought I'd see the day.


Grandma's Mitered Squares
pattern: Mitered Square... thingy.
yarn: Assorted worsted weights.
needles: 5.00 mm (US 8) straights and 36" circ for the borders

This was an extremely consuming project. It took me over a year! And for a while I'd nearly given up on it, but thank goodness, I stuck it out. I wanted to make my Grandma a blanket, and the mitered square phase was all the rage, so I thought, why not? I used mostly stash yarns, though I ended up having to buy more of the burgundy... which was Lion Brand Wool-Ease, and thus the cheapest.


To aid in the knitting, I made up a few rules. I stuck to four colors (burgundy, grey, brown, and white). Each square would have two colors and whatever striping.

Putting the pieces together was a bit of a puzzle. I didn't want any two squares with the same color border next to each other. I think I did a decent job with the final arrangement. If I could "redo" I'd switch two squares, but other than that I'm pretty pleased.


The border isn't quite as thick as I'd like it, but I knit until I ran out of yarn. Such is life.

This is one of my favorites. It was such a pain, but it's so pretty. I love it. And warm! This is definitely going to be the year of blankets (if all goes as planned), so I think this is a great way to kick things off.

Hello old friend

I have missed thee.

The blog, I mean. And you, dear reader. After my long absence, returning to this familiar ground is quite a treat. For me. Sigh. Well, in the last few months I couldn't blog about knitting since well... I wasn't! But now I'm back in boring old America and with all its yarn and I'm back to my old crafty ways.

Speaking of which, I finished a long, old project. Any guesses which? Ah, but that is for another post! I'm so damn proud and happy it's DONE. Finally!

My long break from knitting and its ilk has made me uh... slightly ravenous for it? Observe my work station:


I have hijacked my mother's office. So my mother, while happy that I am home, is slightly disgruntled that I have taken her space. Though to be very technical, this used to be my room. She's only renting. In the picture, you can observe the sorted embroidery floss, the Fall 06 IK, some grey yarn, my laptop, a ruler, and a pair of scissors.

The cross stitch I'm working on is a bitch. I know I'm the yarn hugger, but here's a peek at the cross stitch project that's been owning me for the last two years.


I do love working on it, but I think this is one project I'll be REALLY glad to be done with.

And yes, there is knitting. The grey yarn in the picture above. Any guesses as to what it might be? No prizes for a correct guess. Here's a closer look:


Minimalist Cardigan! Recognize the yarn? It's the Rowan Cashsoft DK from my mom's "cardigan." I decided I wasn't quite ready for my debut as a sweater designer, so I frogged the hell out of the sleeves and cast on for this. My mom saw the pattern, okayed it, so I'm good to go. Think I can finish it in 20 days?

Yeah, me neither.