correcting an oversight

I just realized that i never provided an update on the knitting that i did while in Europe.  I ended up taking my Boing socks and Dashing Evi.  I think i probably took some other sock yarn, as well (probably the Regia for Bees Toes), but i didn't get around to using it.  I spent most of my time working on the Boing socks, predominantly while on layovers in the airports, on the train from Civitavecchia to Rome and back again, on the bus from Izmir to Ephesus, and on the bus to Cairo from Alexandria.  I did go to (what was supposed to be) a knitting meetup with my sisters on the cruise one morning and worked on my socks there, but no one else showed up!  So i finished my socks in Barcelona (bound off in the hostel and wore them on the plane home) and hardly worked on Evi at all.

It's surreal to think that i have now traveled (and knit) in Europe, Asia (questionable:  the part of Turkey that we were in is generally considered to be part of Europe, i believe), and Africa (a.k.a. the Middle East).

2009 in review

i did, quite honestly, a lot of knitting this year, and also some crocheting. It seems rather amazing to me that i finished eleven projects and began at least five more. i knitted my first sweater, my first pair of socks, and knit in Europe (most notably the airport in Germany, the hostel in Barcelona, the train to and from Rome, and the ship on the Mediterranean). This blog may not show how busy i was, but Ravelry was one of my most frequently visited sites, and i fully intend to keep knitting... and maybe crocheting, too. (:

My 2009 projects included:

Fox Coffee Beanie Reborn


Liberty Cap 1.0


Fair Ginny


Ohm Mat Bag


Chunky Cabled Cap


Ski Helmet Liner, Jr.


Boing Socks


three Hobo purses


Ski Helmet Liner

and pictures are forthcoming on Dashing Evi and the Ginny Hex Vest.



Since the new year i have already completed two more projects and started two more! So even with reduced time for knitting (this semester is intense!) i have been knitting every spare moment. i even wrote a poem about knitting last week... and am dreaming up new projects all the time.

ecstatic and traveling

i finished Ginny's Hex Vest today! i need to finish weaving in the ends and block the knit portion. It's actually looser than i expected, and has a deeper neckline than i envisioned, but overall i am very happy with the end result. Now i am planning to knit Christmas presents for Aunt Polly, Abby, Dad, and possibly Uncle Earl and Zac. Dad's present will be like Daniel's, only with the left over green fisherman's wool (and if i run out of that, i'll knit the rest up with the brown fisherman's wool i just got in the mail today for the asymmetrical wrap sweater).

i'm going on a cruise in less than two weeks and am currently trying to decide what knitting to bring along. i think i'm going to leave the computer at home and make it a knitting retreat! i think i'll take the remainder of the Christmas present projects (at least, those i don't finish before the cruise), and sock yarn if that fails. There is actually a good chance that i can get a couple of Christmas presents done before we leave for the Mediterranean. Of course, i do have some school work to get done, but overall i'm very optimistic.

dye day

Yep, last Friday, after work, i finally got my Ohm Mat Bag dyed, along with those thrift store pants that i mentioned. i think the project actually turned out pretty well. The color isn't perfect, but that's why it has personality.

dreaming of yarn...

i cannot believe that i forgot to bring my knitting with me today (i'm in the middle of Liberty Cap 2.0, and World Geography is the perfect opportunity to get the needles clicking). The weather is cool and rainy today, and as such i have knitting on the brain (along with the cruise i am taking in two months, but that is entirely beside the point: that is on the brain because we finally got our plane tickets today). i am really restraining myself, not allowing myself to run down to Tangle (Mountain Biking was canceled due to the weather, so i have a little extra time on my hands today) and check out the yarn that i am thinking of buying for the Hex Vest or simply buying it online (i haven't even seen this yarn in person or touched it, mind you, but i am itching to start this project, nay, multiple projects). i still haven't had the time to take photos of my yoga bag or dye it. My life is so busy and full of stressful requirements. Maybe after the first mod is over (which means the yoga class will be over, and by then, what's the point?).

On a cruise related note, i found two pairs of pants at Goodwill, one pair brown and like new, the other pair pink and from Old Navy. What on earth was i thinking? Well, basically, what the heck, it's four bucks, and i can dye them. i have no idea if i can actually dye this type of fabric, but it doesn't really hurt to try, as no one in town has the appropriate pants (well, Old Navy does, but i'm not willing to pay $30 a pair for them), and Hi Fashion Fabrics does not have the fabric i'm looking for, either. i broke down and bought some batik for a blouse (i shouldn't have looked!). i have very low willpower lately.

fall approaches...

On Sunday, my family and i went to a wedding. On the way there i finally finished knitting my yoga mat bag. i still need to photograph it and dye it, but it's finally complete! This project seemed to take forever, most likely because of the small gauge (i was using size 4 dpns for crying out loud!). The youngest daughter of the bride (who is 13 and friends with my sister Katie) had the audacity to say that it looked like a sock! So, of course, i had to model it, by pulling it onto my right leg, much to their amusement (it's somewhere between the length of a knee high and a thigh high on me, in case you're wondering). Then i put it on my head and bounced off to the car feeling very rastafarian.

On the way home, the family decided to take the scenic route, which is the same loop that we took last fall to see the trees changing colors (you can see pics here). We rolled the windows down to let in the cool air, and wouldn't you know it? i forgot a ponytail holder so my hair (which is getting quite long now, it's starting to inch down my back) was completely in my face. What is there to do but put the bag on my head to keep my hair back? It was how i imagine it would feel to wear a really long snood! Would you believe that the trees are already starting to get tiny splashes of color and Hayes Creek Falls was even more beautiful than the last time we visited? i am so excited for fall, and hope it gets cooler soon (this, of course, has nothing to do with the mountain biking class i am taking twice a week in what seems like blazing heat).

Today, to fill the knitting void in my class time (World Geography is the only class i've gotten up the gumption to knit in so far this semester), i pulled out the size 8 dpns and ink blue Lamb's Pride again to start my Liberty Cap 2.0. i think that knitting the yoga bag and wearing it as a hat has actually helped me understand better the implications of designing this pattern. i don't expect the project to take me long, and fully expect that i'll be picking Tangy Giselle back up again soon, hopefully finishing it just in time for the weather to turn cool again.

p.s. i have passed 6 dead skunks on the side of the road in the past two weeks. Grandma always said that dead skunks in the low country means a cold winter. i think that this winter must be a whopper of a cold one if that's the case.

still knitting

As usual, i cannot believe that it has been so long since i posted. Since my last post i have finished the Fair Ginny sweater (save for the zipper), finished my Bible cover (well... kinda, it's turned out to be a flop, and i'm not sure what i'm going to do to fix it), crocheted several sample granny squares for Ginny's Hex vest, and worked a bit more on Tangy Giselle. That's about all, at the moment, except for the fact that i bought fabric to sew passport covers, need to work on the Ohm bag, and also want to dye a white shirt my grandma got me at a thrift store, because i'm sure there's no way i would be able to keep it white. School is less than a month away now, and the chances for a new pc and camera are on the horizon as well... my laptop is about to give out and i want to have a new digital camera for the cruise i'm going on in November.