Sunday, October 29, 2006

Wishin' I Had Gone to School in Upstate NY (AKA Being Closer to Rhinebeck!)

I know, I know. I promised pictures, I promised a more exciting and exotic lifestyle. What have I been doing instead, you might ask? Lazying about. Yep, that is the answer in a nut shell. I wish I could say that I have been cleaning, playing gin rummy, or learning how to bake bread, but no, I have been coming home and taking naps that lasted too long and messed with my sleep-wake cycle (let me tell you, when you do sleep research for a living, you feel ten times more guilty about those late afternoon naps, because you know exactly what you are doing to your sleep-wake cycle).

I guess the lazying about is expected since I had a round of midterms last Monday and really needed to recuperate from the stress (well, I would have needed the time, if I had actually felt stressed about the incident...maybe I will feel more stressed after I get my grade).

Even with the lazying about I did have time for knitting related endeavors. I have been diligently knitting my yellow scarf while waiting for participants to show and sometimes while waiting for other events to occur as well (like class). The scarf isn't getting miraculously longer, but that might be because I know that once it gets to a certain length, it won't be a fun and easy to truck along project as it is now. More now than ever, I am impressed that Mrs. Weasley finds the time to knit all those sweaters for her family. Her motivation never falters!

Speaking of motivation, I finally took a stroll over to bloglines. I had over one hundred posts to read. I know I am behind when people who post less often than I normally do had 5 posts waiting for me to read. I do read all the posts eventually, okay, I at least skim the pictures, but the posting has been at a sorry state. I think my creativity curled up and died at some point while I was in the middle of memorizing the differences between delirium, dementia, and amnesia.

Speaking of memorizing, did I mention I have another exam on Monday? I simply do not understand why I need to memorize all this information! It is not like in the real world I won't have this info at my fingertips. I can see it now, "I am sorry Ted I can't decide if you have Schizophrenia or just the case of the blues because you couldn't afford to go to Rhinebeck, because looking in a book would be cheating!" Yeah, I know the reason for exams, but really, memorizing stuff is boring.

-SAK

Thursday, October 26, 2006

No Pictures

Sorry about the lack of pictures. :( I apparently let both of my camera batteries die and now I can't show you my amazing Walmart yarn purchases. I got two Chenille thick and quick skeins for $2 each! I got two skeine of Homespun for $2 each! I got some fabulous hot pink Red Heart for $3 each! Wait until you see the pictures! The colors are faboo and the prices couldn't be beat.

I am still working on the fabulously happy yellow scarf, but it is coming along slowly now that I have midterms and whatnot to do. I just don't have enough time to knit anymore! How sad is that?

Oh, I must tell you, yesterday the temperature was 37 degrees! Time to pull out the wool!

-SAK

Monday, October 23, 2006

Whoo Hoo!

So I just finished my slew of midterms. Okay, I have another one next week, but that won't stop me from knitting until I have to crack down and study this weekend! I got myself the new Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, and Creative Knitting as a reward. It was nice to go home and curl up with the magazines and watch my Netflix movies (I am currently hooked on Alias). Pictures of exciting knitting goods to come tomorrow!

-SAK

Monday, October 16, 2006

My Dishcloth Confession

So I have a confession to make, yes I might have made four MD dishcloths in four days time, yes I have never knit so fast and with so much enjoyment (I like when the rows get smaller with each round), yes I love the fact I am using super cheap P & C yarn to make my colorful creations; HOWEVER, I don't like using wash cloths. I never know what to do with them when they are drying. I never have a rod in the bathroom to keep them try in between face washes or showers, so they are always damp when I go to use them again. This same problem arises in the kitchen. My spout isn't long enough for a dishcloth, so where will it dry? Then comes the problem of washing them. If they are still damp, I don't want to dump them in with the rest of the dirty clothes if I am not planning on doing laundry soon and I am not capable of planning my wash around dishcloths, I wish I could but I can't keep a proper wash schedule to save my life.

You might be asking yourself if I am going to stop knitting MD dishcloths, well I might for the next few days since I put off some work that needs to be done by Thursday (stats homework and Master's Introduction) and Friday (paper on ethics and the law and a quick write up on conversion disorder), but after that I am going full steam ahead. At this point I am curious as to how many dishcloths I can knit before I get tired of them.

Oh! I finally decorated my sad looking office. I have my cosy potholder loop rug under my desk and I can attest to the happy feeling my feet got when I worked at the desk this afternoon. I also left my grey scarf there to keep me busy when I lose inspiration and I need a moment with something fiber-related to keep me motivated. I brought some other decorations but these sadly enough were not knitting related.

-SAK

Knitting Reading
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - The fabulous Mrs. Weasley knits sweaters for her family (and Harry, of course). Don't you just love Mrs. Weasley? :)

Sunday, October 15, 2006

I Think I Have a Problem

So I spent the day knitting washcloths. Yea, I think it is starting to become a problem. I finished the forest green one I started Friday night and I made a blue and rainbow one today too. Pictures to come. At this point, if I knit enough of them, I can make a blanket!

-SAK

Knitting Television:
Monty Python's Flying Circus - little old lady is knitting while her husband revels over the 3 million kilts ordered from some extraterrestrials.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Can't Stop...

So I worked on the happy-go-lucky yellow scarf some more today. In fact, I walked around campus while knitting! I am not sure if it is the easy pattern or the happy yellow, but it is quite addictive.

Oh, should I mention that I started another Mason-Dixon washcloth? I love this pattern because each round gets smaller and I know I just need to knit 26 rows and I can cast off!

Off to bed!

-SAK

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

A Fabulous MD Washcloth

I cannot believe how quickly the MD washcloth knit up! I had cast on and started the second round (the bobbles) and went to bed last night. I finished the rest tonight! Isn't it the happiest thing you have ever seen in your life? I think I might need to make a few more of these! Thank goodness I bought so much Peaches and Cream.

Oh, random note, if you have never done bobbles before, but want to try your hand, this is the perfect project. This was my first go at bobbles and it was nice that the bobbles were at the very beginning (second round) and then there were no more. I got to try my hand with bobbles without haven't to do ten million for the finished project.

-SAK

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

The Horror!

I found a knot in my happy yellow Lion Brand Cotton Ease yarn! I guess this means I need to start that MD washcloth! ;)

-SAK

Monday, October 09, 2006

Happy Chilly Day!

Hello! I have been hit with the knitting bug! Not only have I been knitting every possible second today, I knit during my silly little stats section and I knit some while WALKING. That's right. I am just that cool. The scarf is coming along well and now I am even inclined to try knitting a MD washcloth. Now a MD washcloth isn't the brick-looking one. It is a pentagony-looking thing with BOBBLES. And yes, I feel so inspired that I think I can conquer bobbles. I think I can rock the popcorn of knitting (at least, that is my plan if another word for bobbles is popcorn and not that popcorn is just one type of bobble, because if that is true, then that isn't what I mean at all).

This was also an exciting day, because I got an Amazon package in the mail. Cox cable/internet/big huge telecommunications' conglomerate gave me a $50 gift certificate to Amazon just for signing up for internet! I purchased the first Barabara Walker treasury, the third volume of the Harmony Guides (I just need the color work guide to round out my collection, okay I also technically need the two crochet books, but I don't crochet so I don't feel I neeeeeed them), and Zoolander on DVD. I have Zoolander on VHS, but alas I don't have a VHS player anymore and everyone needs a working copy of Zoolander. It is an all-time classic, if you haven't seen it and realized the utter brillance of this movie. The world of male modeling...who knew that there was so much intrigue? ;)

Anyway, the happy mojo scarf is going smoothly and has inspired me to knit at all times. Oh, have I mentioned that it is getting "chilly" here in Florida. Right now, the weather channel has pegged Gainesville at 63 degrees! Oh joy! Bring out the wooly knitted goods!

Also, have I mentioned how much I am loving Lion's Brand Cotton Ease? This stuff is amazing! Maybe it is because I have been working with so much lace weight yarn that I forgot what worsted weight feels like, but this stuff is sent from the gods. It has a great weight, feel, and the yellow color just makes me oh so happy.

Go out and enjoy the chilly weather with a happy, basic garter stitch scarf!

-SAK

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Welcome Back!

Hello everyone! I know it has been a long time since I last posted, and even longer since I have commented on someone’s blog. You see, until recently I have been hit by a lack of creativity and motivation. I haven’t been inclined to think about my Master’s Thesis, blog, read others’ blogs, write amusing little stories, or knit. I have had a serious case of the blahs.

I will admit that I had been rather frustrated by this. I think my lack of motivation had been stemming from fear that I haven’t been settling into the grad student lifestyle. Two of my friends have taken this frustration to a higher level with serious consideration of leaving their graduate schools. This got me thinking. Do I lack motivation because I don’t want to be here? When I thought about this, I realized that my concerns about my future all revolve around clinical psychology. My main problems seem to be about deciding whether I want to work with an elderly population or what sort of career I want (but always within a clinical psychology field).

After making the realization that I am really happy where I am even if I do get bored with my classes sometimes (never mind the fact that my abnormal psychology for children class has turned me off to ever having children), inspiration has seemed to hit me full force. After perusing my knitting books, I found a pattern that I wanted to do. It is Ruffles from ScarfStyle. It is the “potato chip scarf.” With only 22 stitches, I am making progress fairly quickly and am enjoying myself. Since I had been hit with the blahs, even knitting had been viewed as an annoyance. I am using Lion’s Bran Cotton Ease and I can understand why some people love it. The texture is cottony but has just enough lightness to it to make the ruffles ruffle. This project has also been good for me coming to terms that I won’t need my wooly goods for a nice long while. Who knows, maybe cotton will become my friend?

Oh! I must show a gratuitous picture of the University of Florida’s 2006 Homecoming Parade. Brown was very low key in the Homecoming department, so this was an experience! The UF parade consisted of TWO HOURS of non-stop floats and marching bands. If you can’t tell from the photo, UF was going to play LSU (the tigers) and most of the floats very delicately hinted that UF might win. UF did win, by the way. ;)

-SAK