February already?

It feels like it's been forever since i've posted here...wait, it has been!  So knitting, unfortunately, has been on the back burner lately.  I had Bell's Palsy this past fall and school things started requiring a lot more concentration than usual (i.e. multi-tasking was impossible for a while).  I have gradually improved and think that my brain is finally pretty much back to normal.  However, this semester is even more hectic than the last one!  In fact, i'm going to be dropping a class tomorrow (no worries, it was an elective, i took a class in January Term so i could complete my final semester with only three classes if need be).  So i've only been knitting a little bit here and there and don't really have anything substantial to tell about...other than my Christmas knitting, and even in that case i unfortunately didn't get as far as i meant to.

So, in 2010 i completed the following projects:

Dashing Evi mittens FINALLY

Ginny's Hex Vest...which somehow ended up felting in cold water

Tangy Giselle - even more FINALLY, as i had been dreaming of this project for years and had multiple issues with it

Drunken Bees Toes - my socks still have issues that i need to work out

Gentleman's Matrimony/Cozy Socks

four Monteagle bags (with various variants)

a Lacy Starfish Snood that i'm in the process of reworking the band of (it turned out to be too loose)

Mega-Sonic Screwdriver for Megan

Shy Adipose for Josh

Wisp scarf for Abby

Lacy Skull Cap for Alice with matching mini-hobo purse

Baby Totoro cap for Caleb (that turned out being huge)

And my Asymmetrical Wrap...which doesn't have finished sleeves yet, but i've worn a couple of times as a vest.  The sleeves are in the works (i've finished the cuffs so far...pathetic, i know) and i'm planning to make them removable anyway.  I'm also planning to add ribbing to the back waist because it rolls up so much right now.

I guess i did get a lot of knitting done in hindsight, with about 15 projects completed and a few more started.  This year i hope to improve upon my finishing methods (weaving in ends, putting the zipper in my Fair Ginny cardigan, figuring out how to seam that baby sweater i knit years ago, etc.) and will probably eventually get around to working on quite a few projects.  River's vest (from Firefly) being among them... yeah, i've been crocheting more, even tackling amigurumi for the first time.  Yeah, i have been dreaming of a couple of projects but have no idea when i'll be able to tackle them.

first project of the Fall (even though it's still Summer)

I actually have been doing more knitting than usual over this summer, not that i'm getting much done, but i am gradually working on several projects simultaneously.  These socks took me thirty-five days, which really is too long, but for the Summer is pretty good (not to mention that i probably only worked on them on five days all together).  I'm thrilled with how they came out, now i just hope that they fit the person i knit them for.

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.

my new mary janes!

Purchased at Brown's Shoe Fit Co. in downtown Grand Junction on April 20, 2009, and for a pretty penny. i intend for them to be my new work shoes, but they still need a little breaking in. They're Sanita Marcell Cabrios; Sanita is a Danish clog company. Perfect for showing off any socks i may finish knitting. (: The socks i was wearing i bought at Target, though.

knitting on the brain

So no sooner do i say that i don't need a digital camera because i have a cell phone than i have to update the software on my phone because it won't charge and suddenly i can't download photos from my camera any more. So i need to figure out a new way to get that photo off that i promised you last post and i really don't want to text it to my e-mail account but we'll see.

i finished my first sock last night while listening to homework and cast on to the second during lunch today. Earlier this week i ordered the Hauk yarn in color 5943 for my mittens off the internet and used my gift certificate at the local yarn store to buy more sock yarn (in oranges 145 and blues 1606) and cable needles. i am really tempted to buy some Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky for Stitch 'N Bitch's Fairly Easy Fair Isle in colors like Ginny's cardigan (from GoF i believe) as well as that lacy wrap sweater that i've been wanting to knit for forever (the trouble is that i can't find the yarn in the light orange shade i want).

i think that it's safe to say that i'm obsessing about knitting a lot this week.

Oh, i also bought some fabric paints and stencils to decorate some thrift store pillowcases that i'm turning into shopping / book bags. Next i need to buy some straps (i'm thinking about using ribbon) and the cuffs that i've been meaning to put onto my blue zipup hoodie for a while now. Oh, i'm thinking about making stitch markers too and selling some on my Etsy store, and ordering the yarn to knit a blue Liberty Cap. Hmm i'm creative lately, the trouble is finding time to follow through on my ideas.

re: Christmas knitting

So, i decided weeks ago to keep half of my "Christmas knitting" for myself, because the more i worked on it, the more i couldn't bear to think of giving it away. i am 2/3 of the way through a sock, which is just sitting on a shelf above the head of my bed. i hardly put it down for a week and since then i haven't touched it. i've been so busy.

Finals are finally over, however. So i do need to finish my one piece of Christmas knitting, finish my Christmas shopping, and continue putting thought into my Etsy shop. i haven't listed anything there yet, i ran out of time to put up what i was thinking of, as the project didn't work out and it had a clear Christmas theme and it's too close to Christmas now (maybe next year)? i am now working at Hobby Lobby, so my employee discount should come in handy when it comes to mats. i'm thinking about making stitch markers, decorating canvas bags (maybe even buying some at Goodwill and fixing them up, thus Reusing), but knitting is still too dear to my heart at this point. It's too much effort to put a reasonable price on and i pour too much of myself into it to give away to someone who won't fully appreciate it.

Anyway, i hope to buy a digital camera soon, but i also need to save money to pay back my sis... and of course there's so much yarn that i want to buy, that i've been waiting forever to buy. /sigh We'll have to see what works out. i need to buy new glasses first.

Christmas knitting underway

i spent way too much money at Tangle yesterday: fifty dollars and change for three balls of yarn and two sets of needles. Unbelievable. But i'm knitting again, and i like that. i bought quality knitting tools and i am now more broke than i would like to be. i need a job but don't know how to handle having one. Hopefully once i get into the swing of knitting my second pair of socks (my first real pair, mind you, the first pair were kind of slipper socks and i'm not sure they count) it will help calm me down. i don't know, i'm just so happy to be knitting again. i'm thinking about opening an Etsy shop, maybe that's what i should do with the last of my money, but it would require me making an investment and taking a chance. i don't know what i'm going to do.

Summer's here

Well my swimsuit has become a swimsuit coverup and is currently in progress using a Vogue pattern. Brinna's swimsuit was crocheted (based on a Macy's product, i believe) and i hear it's done but haven't seen it. i've began collecting yarn for Christmas presents; need to get started soon while i have plenty of time! So far i will be knitting a fancy fur coonskin cap, a scarf, and some socks.