grr

Blogger keeps losing my list of knitting blogs, and it's irritating me. How am i supposed to keep up with my blogs if they delete them? Luckily, i bookmark them as well. i still wish that the stinking thing worked.

a new left-over-yarn stash use?

i just started running this week (amazing, i know, but true). The trouble is, i'm not sure what to do with my cellphone/mp3player while i'm running. i'm afraid that if i hold it in my hand i'll drop it, and it's already awkward enough switching my water bottle back and forth. i'm kind of ashamed to admit that i have been putting my cellphone in my bra, in between my breasts, but it gets sweaty in there and that's just... gross. i need to figure out a way to carry my water bottle without it being difficult to use and bouncing all over the place, too.

While i haven't figured out what to do about the water bottle yet, my thoughts immediately turned to the iPod armband that was featured in one of the first issues of Knit1. A quick Ravelry search has uncovered several options. i'm not sure how well an armband will work, or how long it will fit (my goal is to lose weight after all!). Maybe i can knit it to the size of my forearm and hope that it will fit my bicep eventually? Another option is a pouch around my neck, which i like, but i'm not sure i want another thing bouncing around all over the place up there.

Of course i'm bouncing around up there, i'm running. i want to find some exercise bras, bandeaus, or tube tops to use as an alternative to my bras. i'm worried about the fact that, though my bras fit just fine, they get to be uncomfortable, and when i take them off i itch. i know this is a similar phenomenon to when i take off my socks, it just means that i'm getting a return in circulation, kind of a subdued, barely noticeable, waking up from being asleep affect (like when your leg falls asleep and tingles). This can't be good for my breasts or my body. i'm thoroughly disgusted with bras really, i'm anti-females-as-a-sex-object outside of the privacy of my bedroom, tyvm. i only want my husband (whoever he may be) to think of me like that. That's part of why i dress in such an androgynous manner (though i'm sure my mother would probably say i dress in a masculine way).

i don't wear a lot of skirts because they're either old fashioned/not my style or too short/not my style (not to mention that thighs rubbing together gets to be a tad uncomfortable). i've wanted to start wrapping shawls or scarves (the thin, silky kind, not the warm kind) around my hips over jeans as a more feminine touch but it seems a tad extraneous and over the top (not to mention the fact that i don't own any shawls, can't afford any yarn, and most scarves aren't long enough to fit around me).

Anyway, back on topic. i'm going to get out my old yarn and try to figure out a quick solution. Ravelry awaits....

i just put ice in my waterbottle

It feels cold now. Is there a way to knit a cover that will keep my bottle cold? Would the condensation get the yarn soggy? Which type of yarn would i use? Those wetsuit-material bags that are sold at REI are neat but way too expensive.

All these thoughts were going through my head as i was walking from lunch to the computer lab. Not knitting is definitely getting to me, especially considering the fact that when i knit in class i have better focus and remember lectures more clearly. Drat it all, why can't i find a job so i can fund my knitting obsession???

September is here...

...and once again i have an itch to see snow and strap on my board. In fact, the itch started before September did, in a rather typical fashion for me, that is no doubt amplified by the fact that i spent most of my last winter in warm Savannah, GA (it also doesn't help that the leaves are starting to change early this year). So i've been browsing the usual places for new gloves for when i hit the snow. i have horrible luck with gloves, and seem doomed to always lose one glove right away, or discover that i have paid too much for a product that is going to start falling apart the first time i wear it, or even more annoying is the tendency for my hands/gloves to get wet and freezing long before the rest of my body is. Snowboarding requires one to put her hands in the snow a lot, far more than when skiing. Every time one sits down, gets up, turns too sharp, grabs, scrapes the excess snow off the top and out of the bindings, straps in, you're probably going to get snow on your hands and/or gloves/mittens. Even so called "waterproof" materials allow far too much moisture to accumulate in the place where i get cold first... my hands.

So i don't want to pay $50 for some nice gloves that i'll probably just lose and/or won't keep me dry and warm. And because i'm crafty i'd much rather be able to knit something at a fraction of the price. Browsing at all the handmade things at Etsy got me thinking... even wool yarn gets wet, right? Maybe i've found a solution.

The Knitter's Reviwe wrote Yarn Profile: Dalegarn Hauk four and a half years ago... and it looks promising. Not only is it wool, it's teflon coated so it repels water. Other water-repelling options seem to be tencel, yarn spun from ecospun (fiber made from soda bottles), jellycord, or fuax cashmere (though i'm not sure how warm all of these choices would be). i think that as soon as i find a job i'm going to have to buy some of this Hauk and knit myself some gloves or mittens. Yarndex features some Gryffindor colors, as well as some choices that would match my board nicely (it's even an affordable price). i'm excited that i discovered this! Thanks to Knit Lit and the power of Google!