Even Rainbow Brite Knits!

Even when I am not knitting, I am on a constant knitting patrol. I was looking for news on whether the Rainbow Brite tv show was ever going to come to DVD when I came across pages from Rainbow Brite coloring books. Yes, this is an official disclaimer that the following picture is not my own and owned by someone who has far more legal power than I do. Anyway, I have been super busy and have been sadly ignoring my blog. I promise that this Thursday I will respond to emails and post a picture of my current knitting project. Until then, let Rainbow Brite bring a little more color and happiness to your life. ::sigh:: Wasn't Rainbow Brite the best?!

-SAK

Silly Grad School

So the whole grad school thing is starting to really take over my life. I am meeting with my advisor tomorrow and I am not real pumped about what I have to show her after a week of lit searches. This whole thing has really reminded me why I like knitting. With knitting you have so many choices. You can design your own project or pick out a pattern. Even with a pattern, a knitter has the option of making the pattern his/her own. With a thesis, you are on your own. You might have a mentor and your colleagues, but there are no step-by-step instructions, no hand holding, no charts. I wonder if it's not too late to drop this whole grad school thing and open a yarn store. Well, maybe I should wait and finish a pair of socks first.

-SAK

We All Love Caffeine

So instead of going to bed like a good girl, I am going to be an awesome blogger and post! Okay, this decision mainly came about because I drank THREE sodas today after being almost caffeine free and I am pumping energy.

I have to tell you that I am just completely frustrated with my knitting. I can't seem to accomplish anything. I frogged a bit of the sock and continued to make the same mistakes. I took out a worsted weight scarf I was working on with just simple purls and knits to make blocks. I continued to mess this up. I couldn't keep track of what row I was on. I got so frustrated that I frogged the five inches I had and cast on 40 stitches. I am proceeding to knit whatever I feel like. If I feel like garter stitch, I knit garter stitch. If I feel like doing YOs and k2togs or YOs and ssk's, I do them. I even did some YOs and dropped stitches. The only requirement is that I try to keep the number of stitches at 40. I think all of this thinking during the school hours has blown my knitting concentration. Hmmm...maybe this school thing isn't for me. I would love to see the look on my mentor's face, if I told her that I had to quit grad school, because it was taking out too much time from my knitting.

In other news, I watched this PBS special on Quilts today (I think it was called "A Century of Fabric" or something like that). What was most fascinating was how innovative quilt makers are. One woman used crayon to create a gossamer effect, and another used embroidery to make her images pop. Even with these new and different methods of creating a quilt, the documentors still thought of the quilts of today and yesterday as equal. Looking at them, I had to wonder if the quilters of today are making some new, something different, a new textile art of sorts. This made me wonder about knitting. Are we as knitters branching out with something new too? With the millions of knitters in the world, are we too on the breaking point of creating something beyond or equal to knitting? Will there be a point where one does not just using knitting needles for knitting but also for a different textile art, which had its origins in knitting?

-SAK

PS If you sent me a comment/email, answers are on their way, I am just entrenched in paper writing and stats homework at the moment.

PPS Pictures are on their way too!

Knitted Televison:
State Fair (Ma knits on the last night of the fair.)

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a wonderful birthday today! My wonderful classmates threw me a surprise birthday party. It was really sweet of them considering we all just met less than one month ago. Anyway, we had a blast talking research (yeah, we're nerds) and movies. :)

I opened up my birthday presents too. Here is a picture of the loot. My parents sent me a glass Dopey figurine (I collect them) and I bought myself a few knitting magazines (okay, I would have bought them anyhow, but at least I had an excuse with the birthday and all), a few necessary movies (musicals are a staple in my DVD collection), Opal yarn (flamingo, fish, and a petticoat colorway), Paton, and a cooking magazine (I will learn to cook if it kills me).

I promise to return to knitting content soon! I am thinking the beautiful Opal yarn will motivate me.

Alright, back to birthday fun!

-SAK

Knitted Television:
Monty Python's Flying Circus (I am not sure which episode, but there was a cartoon woman knitting who was later placed into a suitcase and taken elsewhere. This description makes sense if you have ever seen a Monty Python show).

Still No Pics

So I have decided why I haven't been knitting as much as I usually do, I simply did not have the knitting in easy access to the futon I collapse onto when I get home. I found a variety of UFOs and placed them in a plastic container (wanted wood, but I was afraid that it would snag the yarn). Soon I will be posting pictures of tons of UFOs again!

I am sorry I haven't been posting pictures, but there really hasn't been anything to show. On Thursday, though, I will break the cycle. Thursday is my birthday and I bought myself some yarn and I will show it off when I officially "open" my presents. I use my birthday and Christmas as an excuse to buy a few fun items (I cannot exceed $100) that I normally wouldn't buy for myself. Now that I am a poor graduate student, I really need to keep to a budget so the yarn and other presents were a real treat. That's right, I have imposed a knit from the stash only policy unless money falls from the sky. I guess I can't feel too constrained by this, since I do have a large variety of yarn for multiple projects. But don't we all love our cozy and large stashes? :)

-SAK

Long Time No See

Hi everyone! I know I haven't posted in about four days and it probably seems like I have dropped off the face of the planet, but alas, I have been living my own crazy little life. I spent most of the week going to class and doing research on my Master's Thesis and then this weekend I had bonding time with my lab, I went to the fabulous Waldo Flea Market, and attended a play (Moonlight and Magnolias).

Don't worry though, I did get some knitting time in this week. I ended up frogging the gusset and have started picking up the stitches again. I also picked up my Moss Grid Hand Towel from the M-D book. I couldn't stand looking at the sock again, so the towel was almost like a comfort food for me. Hey, it was better than eating a batch of brownies.

Even though my knitting time has been rapidly shrinking, I have been reading "A History of Handknitting" by Richard Rutt. It is utterly fabulous. The most fascinating part is Rutt talking about how other historians have misread poems, stories, diaries, etc and translated X for knitting when in fact X meant something else entirely. He also mentions how various fiber goods were originally thought to be knitted but in fact they were made via some other technique. I never thought that the history of knitting was so ambigous and in some ways controversial. In addition, it amazes me to think about how knitting (and other fiber-related techniques) have been around for centuries. I never thought about people centuries ago needing mittens and socks. Didn't they all wear togas until the invention of Macy's? ;)

-SAK

Knitted Television:
Breakfast at Tiffany's (Holly Golightly knits!)

The Good, the Bad, and TV

So I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I finished the potholder loop rug! It isn't incredibly huge, mainly because I got tired of knitting the heavy monster, but also because I just need a tiny rug for under my desk. The rug is 31 by 22 inches. I have my feet in the picture to give you an idea, but you may be distracted by the very sexy sandal tan and blisters. I need to make my office homey or I may never get through grad school.

The bad news is that I frogged part of my sock. I am so amazed that I was able to frog the gusset with only a few problems even though I didn't go back stitch by stitch. I am going to look over the work and then retry the gusset this week. I am going to finish these socks if it kills me! The other bad news is that I didn't win anything on the Amazing Lace. I get these grandiose ideas of winning stuff and then I am surprised when I don't win. Oh well. Life goes on. Plus, I bought myself some snazzy knitting-related presents for my upcoming birthday, so life isn't so bad. :) Pictures to come when I "officially" get to open them.

-SAK

Movies/Shows with Knitting (since I haven't been knitting to the tv recently, but still seem to have been watching television)

The Greatest Show on Earth (one of the audience members knits during a dangerous acrobatic act)

All Hail the Powerful Knitting Gods!

Last night I got together with my cohort for a little dinner party (there are just 15 of us). It was great. We talked clinical psych, Project Runday, and everything in between. We are getting to be a pretty tight-knit group, which makes me happy, since we will be taking classes together for four years. At the dinner, I have potentially recruited two new knitters! I told them about all the creative and calming powers of knitting. Of course, I felt slightly guilty saying these things, when I haven't picked up my needles in several days. Once I start getting into the groove of this whole grad school thing, I will be able to fit the knitting in better. Right now, I only seem to be able to squeeze the knitting in on the weekends.

Oh! I was going to tell you that I told the two lovely ladies about my local SnB and one asked what we did at the meetings. This struck me as odd at first. I told her that we knit and talk about all sorts of stuff. She seemed happy with this response, but I started to wonder about my answer. Should we be doing a prayer to the knitting gods at the beginning of every meeting? Should there be some sort of induction ceremony involving acrylic worsted weight yarn and size 8 needles? Should people who don't attend meetings regularly be forced to knit a fugly object in penance?

-SAK

I Heart Ernesto

This is going to be a quickie, since there really isn't too much to say. I have been mad busy spending time in the lab and reading articles for my psychological disturbances of children course. Trust me, this all sounds a bit more exciting than it really is. I am holding out that things will get a lot more exciting once we get through the introductory material.

In other news, I have been keeping my eyes on Ernesto. I am not very nervous about it, it is just a tropical storm right now. I am really frustrated though, because the weathermen/women just talk about the storm going through Florida. I can't get any sort of specific information about Gainesville! Weather.com now says that there is just a 60% chance of rain. Ugh. I just want some basic information: will it rain? will it be windy? am I just being neurotic? I grew up in Puerto Rico, so I am used to getting prepped for hurricanes and getting actual information about what is happening. Here, no one seems the bit concerned or interested or even aware that a tropical storm is hitting.

Anyway, I have made the big decision about my current sock. I am going to hold off on sock #1 and start on sock #2. I think I have too many things going on in my life to think about gusset decreases. I can do ribbing and a basic slip stich pattern. At least I think I can.

To bed! To bed!

-SAK

Hurray for Sock!

Wow, this has been one crazy week. I started school on Wednesday and I feel like I have been going non-stop since. I am not stressed out just yet, but I can already forsee the stress with the load of reading, research, and early morning classes I have. Knitting has been pushed to the wayside a bit, but I am still plodding along as best as I can (I even made time to go to SnB).

My sock is coming along; however, I am having mixed feelings about it. I might frog back and redo the gusset and whatnot. I have a ladder at the bottom of my foot and I forgot to decrease a stitch at some point. None of it is really noticeable, but it is bothering me all the same. You see, as much as I would love to just continue and ignore the mistakes, my anal retentive tendencies suggest that I might regret this and prove further aggravation down the line. Tomorrow I am going to take a good hard look at my knitting and make a decision. I don't trust myself in the heat of frustration to make a big decision like frogging a couple of hours worth of work.

-SAK

What I Did on Summer Vacation...

Today was my first day of grad school! Yea! I am official grad student with syllabi and homework. Alas, I didn't have time to knit, but I was busy becoming friends with my cohort and working in my lab, so don't begrudge me too much. :)

Some people were interested in the socks I am knitting. I am using Lorna's Laces' Shepherd Sock #70 (Vera). The pattern is entitled "Classy Slip-Up" from the happy-go-lucky Knit Socks! book. Since the yarn has this varigated but not self-stripping effect, I thought this pattern would help lessen the pooling of colors. The pattern has been doing a pretty decent job of doing just that, plus the simple slip stitch pattern is pretty easy to memorize, so I don't need to carry the pattern with me.

-SAK

Look! A Sock!

I want to thank everyone for the positive support regarding the woman at my LYS. I might not be the fastest or most experienced knitter, but I thought I deserved a bit better than that. Luckily, when I went to my local SnB, the attitude was much better than at the LYS. All of the ladies were simply wonderful. They were nice and didn't base their opinion of me on the number of WIPS I have or the amount of yarn I own. I can't wait to go back next week! Yea! I am making friends outside of school! ::clap clap::

I worked on my sock at the SnB and it is coming along nicely (I have worked on it since this picture, but I have been too lazy to get my camera...there is just more leg pattern). I am super excited that this project is portable and it can come with me when I am waiting for meetings to start and participants to show up! Is there something wrong with me since I am really excited that I can knit before classes and meetings? This is something I couldn't do at work, so I am super pumped that I can knit when I want to now. :)

Oh, before I go, I must say, "HI KURT!" I promised him that I would drop his name on the very famous silverarrowknits blog, since he helped work on the Give It a Whirl Bag a while back.

-SAK

Knitting Television:
The Full Ten Yards
Under the Tuscan Sun

Final Amazing Lace Challenge

At first, I was going to post this picture as my official picture. Since Twizzler spent a good chunk of time in this ziploc bag, it seemed understandable that it was modeld in the ziploc bag.

After a while, I decided that this was a sad model for Twizzler, even when he was half finished. For this reason, I decided to use Rudolph as my model. I chose Rudolph for two main reasons. 1) Rudolph is extremely attractive (at least that is what all the female reindeer tell me). 2) Christmas time is an excellent time frame for finishing Twizzler. :)














-SAK

Was It Something I Said?

So I was having a pretty good day yesterday, I got keys to my office, I got data for my 1st year project/Master's Thesis, and I went out with my cohort (my class) and the 2nd year students. With all this happiness happening, I decided that I was going to go back to the LYS and find out about local knitting groups and check out the store again. ::sigh:: Why do I continue to have bad experiences at this store? When I asked a woman who appeared to work there/loiter about the local knitting groups, she immediately asked if I knew how to knit. This struck me as odd, since a) I asked about local knitting groups not about lessons, and b) I was holding my knitted bag! Granted it wasn't the most complicated knitted bag, but it was definitely holding its own (and my stuff). After this, she told me about two groups at the store and then told me to look around campus, that there were fliers around campus for knitting groups for younger people. Now this sort of statement could be said in a nice way, but the vibe I was getting was that I was not wanted there. Maybe she didn't like the Rainbow Brite shirt I was wearing, but I never said I wanted to knit with "young people." I might look young, but I didn't like being treated like I was a tween. I should also mention here that I haven't seen any posters for knitting groups at the University of Florida (thus my going to a YARN STORE).

I wouldn't make such a mountain out of this, but when I tried to make conversation about bringing my yarn to Gainesville and about all my WIP, she just said that one day I would catch up with everyone else. I didn't realize that I need to have a room filled with yarn and 50 WIP to be allowed into particular knitting groups! Since this was my second non-friendly experience at the LYS, I have had it. Online shopping is the way to go.

Even with the negative yarn experience, I am planning on going to a SnB tomorrow. My life is finally calm enough to go forth and check out knitting groups. :) I am a little nervous about meeting new people, but I think it will be fun. I started a sock in celebration! Isn't it cute? It's Lorna Laces in Vera. It reminds me of chocolate and cherries. I am using Susan Bates' sock knitting set and I wished I had some shorter needles. I keep thinking I am going to poke my eye out! I am also continuing to work on the rug. It doesn't look longer, but it is. Now that I started on this sock though, I don't have a real desire to continue with the painful and heavy knitting project.

-SAK

Knitting Television:
The Whole Nine Yards

Happy Rug

I am proud to say that even though it has been over 90 degrees every day for the past week with not one whisper of a breeze, I have continued to knit. Granted, I wasn't too keen to pick up a scarf or Twizzler (merino wook isn't what I want to touch right now), but I did pick up the potholder loop rug. The cotton loops are breathable and I don't break into a sweat knitting it. I might be getting tennis/knitter's elbow using the huge needles, but everything else is hunky doory. I am planning to use it in my office at school, so I will have a nice and cozy handknit to keep me sane. The cotton loops are soft and squishy, so my feet will stay happy when I am stressing about clients, theses (both the master's and doctoral), and classes.

-SAK

Knitting Televison:
Home Improvement

Exhausted

I can't believe it's Monday already! The days just seem to be slipping past me. Every day has been a new adventure: filing forms to start getting stipend checks, learning how to do neuropsych exams, going to orientations (with a decent breakfast spread,btw), and trying to outfit my apartment. How's the moving in going, you ask? I now dream of going to Wal-mart, Sam's Club, and Target. Most of the moving in has happened, but there are little things that require me to continue to going shopping: white-out, napkin holder, and bug spray (the bug are 10 times bigger than bugs in RI, I kid you not!) to name a few. I have almost finishing outfitting my kitchen. I just need to motivate myself to go to the grocery store for flour, sugar, and other basic staples. I currently have parts of meals that need a trip to the grocery store for the necessary carbs: buns (burgers), rice (stir-fry), and taco shells (well, I don't think I need to explain here). Anyway, soon everything will work itself out and I will just need to visit the grocery store to refill the supplies.

In knitting news, I finished the "Give It a Whirl Bag" from Creative Knitting. I enjoyed knitting it, since it was mindless knitting; however, I do have some problems with the finished product. The handles are too long and the bottom is a tad pointy. See that cone-shaped bag? Not the most attractive look, if I do say so myself. I need to learn to crochet, so I can have flatter purse bottoms.

I also got my public library card and checked out The Shop on Blossom Street and A Good Yarn. I have been wanting to read these, but wasn't really keen on purchasing them. When I found them at the public library, I figured it was a sign. Once I finish these, I want to read those knitting-murder books. I might have to visit another library, but it looks like the Alachua Public Library system has them! You got to love the public library, it lets you indulge in your guilty reading/music/movie pleasures without paying for them.

Alright, time to get ready for bed. One of these days, I am going to have time to read my emails and go to knitting groups and do all the things I planned to do when I got to Gainesville. Right now though, I am off to bed and then am going to buy some clothes that are better suited for 90 degree weather.

-SAK

Sooo Tired!

It has been a long couple of weeks. I dream of going to Walmart now. I am a little frustrated, because I can't seem to get enough sleep. I am not sure if it is because I am not getting enough sleep or because I am still getting used to the heat in Florida and am extremely dehydrated all the time. I am drinking water like it is going out of style.

Even with the craziness of moving (I am still making lists of stuff I need) and starting graduate school (I am already expected to know my Master's thesis topic?!), I have been working on my itty bitty purse. This purse is probably the size of a hat, but it seems to be taking twice as long! I keep measuring it and it does not seem to grow in length. I just need 1 1/2 inches and I will be done. It is all St st, so I am just using the knit stitch since it is in the round, but it does not grow! The frustrating part is that after I finish the purse, I need to knit two 30inch i-cord drawstring straps. As much as this project is slow-going. I don't need to bring the pattern with me, so it is working out great as the carry-along project, when I am waiting for the ten million meetings that I suddenly need to attend. (Did I already mention that I need to have a Master's thesis topic?!)

Oh! In crafty news, two of the ladies with whom I will work crochet! I know, I know, it isn't knitting, but I am excited that I am working with crafty ladies! It's nice to know that I will be in a supportive and fiber-loving environment. :)

-SAK

Weirdness

So I was checking my email last night and I got a piece of spam. Now this wouldn't be weird all by itself, but it was the "person" who sent me the email which was weird. The person was...Barbara Walker. Yeah, weird, I know. I can't seem to erase the email, because it is just too weird.

Today I bought the most perfect needle organizer ever! Isn't it awesome?! I have all the needles from size 000 up to size 11 in their own separate bins (10 and 10 and 1o 1/2 share the same bin with a divider), larger sizes share a bin, and then I have three bins for extra knitting stuff like row counters and Chibi needles. If you are curious, I decided to organize my needles by US sizes and not metric. I am not sure if I am going to stick with this plan for the long term, but I am happy with it for now. I do have an extensive excel worksheet listing all possible data per knitting needle, so if I do need a particular metric size, I can go to that and not have to go through all the bins.

Oh! I got my boxes from RI today! My knitting books arrived safely and tomorrow My Dad and I are going to buy industrial shelves that can take up to 600lbs per shelf (I have serious shelf wharping issues...I am completely dissillusioned with the entire bookshelf industry) to put my knitting books and other books (like school books, I guess) on it.

Alright, must get some sleep...I am going to the DMV at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

-SAK

Finally Home!

So here is the post I have been promising you guys! Things have been crazy for the past week. My Dad and I drove from RI to Florida, proceeded to fill our hotel room with furniture, kitchen supplies, and everything else one needs to start up an apartment, and finally on Friday we moved into the apartment and proceeded to build all the furniture we bought. Don't worry though, the yarn was considered during all the furniture purchasing. You see this living room? It may look like a normal living room, but wait! Check out the trunk! It has yarn! :) I also have yarn hidden in drawers intended for clothing as well. Thank goodness, I went through my clothes before moving to Florida, so I would have room for all the yarn! (Okay, in reality, a chunk of my clothing was stuff I have had since freshman year of college, which was over six years ago.)

Even though I have been spending the majority of my time moving and building, I have been working on a little purse. It is halfway done. After all the craziness is over with, I will finally have time to cozy up and knit again!

-SAK

I'm Home!

I finally made it to Gainesville and my apartment! Pictures to come tomorrow. My Dad and I have been super busy buying all sorts of stuff for the apartment. We even bought containers specifically for my knitting needles! I even have yarn hidden around the apartment.

The moving in has been going well, but here are some of the things my Dad and I learned about building desks, tables, and other pieces of furniture that must be built because you can't afford the "good stuff."

1) Pieces not in bags do not count as parts.
2) A pile of extra parts is expected after building a desk.
3) NEVER take off the numbers/letters on particle board pieces until you have completed the object. You might think you will remember the label for the piece but five instruction steps later, you won't.

Tomorrow, I promise to respond to emails and all of that, tonight is for sleeping.

-SAK