hello again!

it's been almost a year since my last post, and over three months since i last logged onto ravelry! imagine my surprise when i logged on today and found over a hundred messages in my inbox! i am going to start responding to them very soon, i just spent all day browsing profiles and enjoying being a full time knitter again. reading all your messages today made me feel wonderful inside and i have missed all of you so very much.

i know i have been out of communication and out of the loop for so long. i've been away at school, busy trying to get good grades in all my departments. this year, i declared a dual major of art history and history, with a minor in french. needless to say, i was kept extremely busy with all my courses and i abandoned knitting :( but it was worth it! i got straight a's!!!!! sorry to brag, i'm just so excited. those straight a's led to me qualify for a study abroad program: for fall semester i will be studying at london metropolitan university in london. for spring semester, it's across the channel and down to france where i will be attending sorbonne in paris. needless to say, i am ecstatic.

the historical campus of sorbonne

the futuristic campus of london met

so i recently looked up the weather in paris and london. it's cold, very cold. which brings me to the knitting section of my blog! i made these matching hat and mittens for the cold weather!
pattern: give a hoot mittens & inspired by hermione's hat
yarn: 1 skein lion brand wool-ease in oxford grey total
needles: US 5&7 for mittens, US7&8 for hat

mods & notes:

mittens: i didn't do the first decreases after the wrist in the mittens, i kept it at 32 and just increased from there. i also changed the top, to be less pointy. rather than decreasing steadily, i knit to the top then did this to make an even and round tip:

1st row: k every 3 & 4 st tog
2 row: k even
3 row: k every 2 & 3 st tog
4 row: ktog all

hat: i made similar cables, just a bit longer. also instead of plain eyelets, i did an eyelet faux-cable. really simple, really quick, but i really like how it turned out.

also, i've been sewing so i thought i'd throw this skirt in!

update

wow it has been much too long since my last post. i have been knitting, i swear, but i have no new projects to post because my internet is terrible and won't let me upload pictures. plus, i have been so busy. i started my junior year at nau in august, and i moved into my own apartment with friends. between homework, boys, friends, and parties, i have barely had time to sleep. but now i am procrastinating a paper. while reading knitting blogs, i came across this and i just felt i had to do it. Bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you're not planning on doing. Afghan I-cord Garter stitch Knitting with metal wire Shawl Stockinette stitch Socks: top-down Socks: toe-up Knitting with camel yarn Mittens: Cuff-up Mittens: Tip-down Hat Knitting with silk Moebius band knitting Participating in a KAL Sweater Drop stitch patterns Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn Slip stitch patterns Knitting with bananafiber yarn Domino knitting (=modular knitting) Twisted stitch patterns Knitting with bamboo yarn Two end knitting Charity knitting Knitting with soy yarn Cardigan Toy/doll clothing Knitting with circular needles Baby items Knitting with your own handspun yarn Slippers Graffitti knitting: knitting items on, or to be left on the street Continental knitting Designing knitted garments Cable stitch patterns Lace patterns Publishing a knitting book Scarf Teaching a child to knit Knitting to make money Button holes Knitting with alpaca Fair Isle knitting Norwegian knitting Household items: dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies... knitting socks- or other small tubular items- on two circulars Dying with plant colours Knitting items for a wedding Olympic knitting Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn Knitting with dpns Holiday related knitting Teaching a male how to knit Bobbles Knitting for a living Knitting with cotton Knitting smocking Dying yarn Steeks Knitting art Fulling/felting Knitting with wool Textured knitting Kitchener BO Purses/bags Knitting with beads Swatching Long Tail CO Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards Machine knitting Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn Stuffed toys Knitting with cashmere Darning JewelryKnitting with synthetic yarn Writing a pattern Gloves Intarsia Knitting with linen Knitting for preemies Tubular CO Freeform knitting Short rows Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers Pillows Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine Rug Knitting on a loom Thrummed knitting Knitting a gift Knitting for pets Shrug/bolero/poncho Knitting with dog/cat hair (i have a dog, it slips in!) Hair accessories Knitting in public

august.

hemlock hoodie.

dates: 9 july to 13 july

pattern: a fusion of starsky and the central park hoodie. name taken from alligator. sizing, shape and gauge from cph, cables from starsky.

yarn: 4 skeins malabrigo merino worsted in paris night

needles: US 7 and US 8

inside light vs natural light

mods:

• smallest size
• larger hood
• short row hood, so it's less pointy
  
• longer sleeves
• different cables
• changed ribbing to match cables
• shorter ribbing on body
• added zipper
• knit body in one piece
• knitted in the sleeves, rather than seaming
• added pockets

no hoodie is complete without pockets.

notes: this sweater came out perfectly! the sleeves caps almost completely blend into the body and the sweater is totally seamless! i love the yarn, it feels great against my skin, the color variations are just subtle enough to be gorgeous, and it holds the perfect amount of stitch definition. my only problem is it is starting to pill already, but that can be dealt with. the zipper is amazing, i didn't quite sew it on properly so the top and bottom pull out and get kind of itchy but i'll fix that later. i was thinking about lining the hood. i think it might ruin the lines of the sweater.


overall, i loved working the cables pattern, the cph pattern was easy to follow and very enjoyable, and the end product is even more than i had hoped it would be!

FO: socks

charade.

pattern: charade by sandra park.

yarn: 1 skein, 376 yards, of Ranco by Araucania Yarns in color 101

needles: US 2 dpns.

dates: cast-on ??, cast-off, 5 july 2008

modifications:

toe-up
smaller number of stitches
shorter leg, 6.5 inches

notes:

really fun, simple, and easy socks. i love the stitch pattern, it really makes the colors pop. i've been wearing these socks all week, they're so comfortable.



trillian's argyles

pattern: minerva's argyles by morethanoneway

yarn: less than 1 skeins each of lion brand baby solid in melon, pistachio, bubblegum pink, and cream

needles: US 2 circular

dates: cast on ??, cast off 3 june 2008

modifications:
cast on 70 stitches
decreased to 64
knee-high


notes:

i realized i forgot to blog these, so here we are. loved the pattern, definitely the best one available. i didn't do any calf shaping. i accidentally made two left socks. don't ask. they were inspired by this thread on ravelry, and this movie.

one more shot, cause i'm madly in love with them.

road trips, sock yarn, and possibly spinning?

sorry i have been incommunicado for the past weekend, i went on a spontaneous road trip to try to distract me from what time of the year it is. i wanted to come back later, so i wouldn't be in this room on this day of days but some things just can't be helped. it was a good distraction though. but i digress. this is a knitting blog so i shall distract myself with knitting, just like i have for the past year. i picked up my needles for the first time in years the last 1 of july and it seems like i haven't put them down since. i started knitting a pair of charades on five dpns, see the picture?? of course, when i turned the heel and started using only four, i left the fifth in a sushi restaurant. they threw it away. i finished one sock on four, but refused to start the other one without my fifth. i'm knitting the toe-up, and the way i work the toe requires either markers or five needles. and seeing how i only keep one marker in my pocket at all times, i couldn't do either. (yes, i keep a spare marker and a guitar pick in every pair of pants. i am a huge nerd.) so on the way back, we stopped in jerome, az. i went to knit 1 bead 2, which people had just raved about. for good cause, i will say. the whole store is sorted into colors. i love yarn stores like that. i have only been to one other one, ironically in laguna beach right around this time last year. i bought some sock yarn, because i am in dire need of plane knitting. i also started the hemlock hoodie using my malabrigo. i finished the body and started the first sleeve. no pictures yet.

i bought two skeins of koigu premium merino in greys, and local merino in pinks. both colors i haven't used before! i'm not sure what they will be yet. i will leave you with this, my then-in-progress charade sock:

i think i'm going to learn how to spin. my dad is making drop spindles for a local artist, and she agreed to teach me.