Summer! Yarn! Lace! FOs!!!

Okay, so it's been a while since my last blog and even LONGER since I've had pictures and such pretty things. Since I last blogged: I finished Elfine, wrote three papers, and took all my finals. I'm done!!! So, I'm here to make you happy with pictures!!! Yay.

Here, at long last, pictures of my first sweater, Arwen. *gasp!*

Arwen
pattern: Cardigan for Arwen by Kate Gilbert in Winter '06 IK
needles: 4.00 mm (US 6) Addi circ and 4.50 mm (US 7) straights. I had to go down a needle size to get gauge.
yarn: Elann Peruvian Wool in Victorian Violet.


A shot of the back. Huh. You can see my imperfect grafting and and the seam down the middle of the hood. Clearly, I opted not to knit it in one piece. No regrets though! I really enjoyed seaming the sweater together. It actually left me hungry to knit another sweater just so I could seam some more. Is that weird or what?


(If I look exhausted it's because I AM! I took my last two finals this morning and goodness, I'm so worn out.)

Everything (almost) is perfect about this sweater. Well, the pattern itself is great. It fits perfectly. My only complaint is the yarn. The cheapness is brutally apparent. It still looks quite nice, but it's getting pilly after a couple of wears. But for a first sweater, I wasn't exactly jumping to dump over $100 on yarn.

I've worn Arwen a couple times now. I told my friend Michelle that I was knitting a sweater, so she told me to show it to her when I finished. When I told her it was this one, she gave me a critical look and finally said, "You're going a really good mom one day."

I'm not sure how to take that.

When I started Elfine the weater was cold as hell. I knit these to encourage spring along. By the time I finished the first one and cast on for the second, the cold weather had completely vanished.


Elfine
pattern: Elfine by Anna Bell
needles: 2.25 mm (US 1) Clover dpns
yarn: Koigu... oh geez I never remember the color names.


I love them. They fit perfectly and look lovely. I was apprehensive at first. The color isn't one I usually choose, and I wasn't sure about the pattern, but as I kept knitting, the subtle variegation really helped bring out the beautiful lace.

Funny story. Or not so funny. Anyway, I was so fixated on the yarn, things were starting to look green to me. My needles, especially, appeared to have a greenish tint. At first I thought it was just due to the yarn making everything look green, but after a while, I realized... no! My needles really WERE turning green! I guess the dye from the yarn was rubbing off? But anyway. I don't have a picture, but it's quite funny.

With the completion of Elfine, I was without a project. I don't have much of a stash to speak of, so I couldn't even resort to that. Besides, what I really wanted to knit was some lace. So. After I struggled through my papers and finals, I decided to treat myself to some yarn.


JaggerSpun Zephyr Silk/Wool in Juniper. I had initally wanted something deep red, but this teal caught my eye and I knew it was just crying to be knit into Eunny's Print o' the Wave. My first real lace project! *is excited*


Rowan kid silk in pink. Super soft, super pretty. Which is why I bought it. Hahaha! I just really liked the pink color. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. I reckon I wanted to knit a Branching Out, but we'll see if I actually do.

She's done

I just weaved in the last ends for Arwen.

Oh my GOD.

Pictures to come!

Quick Update

Okay, I finished the left front of Arwen... and I'm going to block it soon. Augh. Kate calls for a LOT of seaming before blocking and I guess I'd prefer to block the pieces separately. Here's the left front in all its glory:


It went by rather quickly, actually. It's strange to think I just got the yarn 20 days ago. And now I'm nearly done! I should really get on to blocking the left front and the back...

Anyway I started working on the right front. I think reversing the cable kinda threw me off.


(Can you spot the mistake?)

Luckily, I caught it early on so now it's been frogged and reknit. I think I'm hitting a bit of a dry spot with this though... I'm not quite as into it as I used to be. I guess that's to be expected though.

In other news, I finished a pair of socks... but no pictures yet. Maybe tomorrow. And my mum's birthday is coming up (mid-March) so I started some socks for her... Baudelaire from knitty.com.


I don't know how I feel about this. The pattern calls for 2.50 mm or "US 2" but it's not a US 2. I swatched (sorta... don't really swatch for socks) and was short a stitch with the 2.25 and the 2.75. Right now, it looks so big, and my mom has absolutely tiny feet. (One of the huge plusses of knitting socks for my mom... and the other being she likes short socks.) She wears a size 5 and her feet are narrow. I'm thinking I just frog the whole damn thing and knit it again on size 1's and see how it goes from there.

A List

I often use my journals as a way of "keeping track" - books I've read and would like to read, musicals I'd like to see, etc.

Currently I'm a very poor college student. Actually, I'm not that poor, and perhaps it's more psychological than not (the thought of my tuition and potential debt frightens me) but it's managed to prevent me from splurging on a lot of things. So, that said...

THINGS I WILL BUY ONCE I GET A JOB OR SOME OTHER SOURCE OF INCOME

• Swift - perhaps this will wait until I have my own place
• Ballwinder
• Really expensive yarn to make a sweater... not sure what kind of yarn or what sweater yet... and by expensive yarn I mean anything that's more than say $5 for 100 yards. God I'm cheap.
• Spindle - I REALLY want to learn how to spin
• Roving, of course
  
• Circulars and DPNs of all shapes and sizes (Addi and Clover, respectively, being my preference)
• Lots of knitting books - I have tons on my wishlist that no one bought for me for Christmas or my birthday. Sigh.
• Pretty yarn for lace knitting. Mmm.

I need a job. My two greatest interests are literature and knitting and GOD they're expensive to finance!

Oh, by the by, Arwen is still coming along. I'm still working on the left frong, but I'm at the hood now. I knew its exponential growth would have to level off some time. I think I'll finish it before spring - which is my goal anyway. Can't wear Arwen in this ridiculously cold weather.

What?! Another update?

Holy schmidt, another update so soon? Well, I thought I would share the progress of Arwen while I still could. The cable... it's seriously so addicting. I've been knitting away pretty methodically at it and I'd say I have a fair portion of it done. So much for savoring my first sweater.

I was going to wait for sunshine to take nicer pictures but I've come to the realization that artificial lighting is the best lighting I have in my dorm.


Pieces, lying on the empty mattress (which shall later serve as a blocking board. Muahuahua.)
Note the ruler... it wasn't until I was done lengthwise I decided to make sure I had the right width. Duh. Oh! And my swatch! I swatched! Full out swatched! I actually did it twice. I had to go down a needle size.


A look at the cable...


A CLOSER look at the cable.


LOOK AT THE PRETTY STOCKINETTE!!!!

Finally, my aunt had surgery today. Over half a year ago, she had a mastectomy, and this is just sort of a followup. It's strange; my aunt is probably the healthiest of all my mom's sisters. She eats well, exercises, doesn't smoke or drink excessively. But she's a fighter. According to my cousin, everything went well and my aunt should be home tomorrow.

Yarn type

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Shetland Wool. You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered.
Take this quiz!

Amusing.

I'm deadly sick. Ugh. And I have a paper to write. Augh! But I took advantage of my sickness over the weekend to just work away at Arwen. I actually got a lot done (finished the back and am more than half done with the left front!) but alas, no pictures. Maybe next time!

By the way, the color of my STR is Cobalt Bloom and it's a mixture of greyish purple, tan, fuschia, pink, and rust. No clue what to knit with it yet, but right now I'm rather content just petting the beautiful skein!

Excitement!!

Blog and ye shall receive!

I was feeling REALLY sick today and pretty much slept until 5 (waking up only at 1 to take some cold medicine). I went down to the dining hall, ate, and then went to check my mail. I got two packages today:


Socks that Rock from Cara! And a really pretty card with yarn on it. The yarn is absolutely gorgeous. It looks SO amazingly beautiful. I love it. I want to hug it.


I won this in some contest Cara had a few weeks ago, her STR virgin contest. I wrote a stirring poem and Cara gifted me with this beautiful beautiful skein. I'm so in love.

I also got another package, this one from elann.com, and inside it was this:


13 skeins of Peruvian Highland Wool in Victorian Violet for my Cardigan for Arwen! AUGH. I'm going to go swatch.