Public Service Announcement

KnitPicks is having a huge book sale. All of their books are 40% off until August 8th. Since I bought the books I wanted, I thought I would let you know. ;) Hey, I am nice, but not that nice!

Quick Note

The beginning of the week is always so crazy for me. I spend my Mondays/Tuesdays/Wednesdays madly doing work I should have done over the weekend. I also have my clinic day on Tuesday that is spent testing a child for any number of psychological concerns. This kills the whole day then I am too tired in the evening to really do too much. I know this sounds mean to the child, but I am a pretty fun person and the children usually feel that time flies by. Seriously, I have had kids (during the summer) that have told me that they had tons of fun and name their favorite parts of the day (and I am not talking lunch but different tests).

Anyway, I was able to get some work done on Argosy. I am seriously near the end. I am sooo happy. I have honestly enjoyed (some) of my time knitting this, but I am ready to move on. I don't want to put it aside because I have too many WiPs. As I do my very necessary summer cleaning, I keep finding WiPs around the house. I looked behind my futon and found a bag of yarn AND an unfinished hat. I don't mind having a couple WiPs, but I would like to be able to name them all and know where they are. That isn't too much to ask, is it?

Knitting Weekend Update

This wasn't a super productive knitting weekend. I went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum in Orlando with some friends and then cleaned most of my apartment. I say most, because I successfully avoided my living room again. After pulling out all my yarn, I realized that I have a lot more yarn than room and don't know where to hide it properly. I need to hide it, because I need to keep all my yarn in ziploc bags, and the bags don't look glamorous. There are lots of bugs in Florida, and I don't want them crawling in my yarn. eek!

Argosy is coming along. I am almost to where I began ripping back. Although Argosy became a huge challenge since I took the needles back up, I have learned a lot with Argosy. I can read my knitting better and have fixed several mistakes (like forgetting a YO) without ripping back. I am now at a significant conundrum. I have almost made all of the repeats the pattern calls for, but I have enough yarn to go for a few more. Should I keep going? Since I still need to block this scarf, it is probably going to grow a bit. The question is how much. Should I keep going since I like long scarves or should I stop? Maybe more pattern repeats will cause the scarf to be too long for a lace scarf (since I like those to be a bit shorter than plain old ribbed scarf). ::sigh:: This scarf also reminds me that the only space available to block long items like scarves is the floor. Since I have a one bedroom apartment, I don't have too much space to keep empty (and therefore completely clean) for blocking. Hmmmm. Maybe I should start knitting this piece more slowly.

I have also worked on my ribbed scarf. I love this thing. It is so soft and comforting. It truly is my security scarf. Even though it is long enough, I am going to keep knitting it. It is just so comforting to knit. I think after I cast off, I am going to cast on another ribbed or garter stitch scarf. It is really nice to have some mindless knitting on the needles. Plus, even in the Florida heat, I can wear scarves (light, novelty scarves that is) from fall to early spring and not look crazy. I wear pretty much the same outfit every day (black/brown pants and some sort of pink blouse), the scarves would mix things up.

Comfort Knitting

It has been a very busy week! Even though the summer is supposed to be more laid back (1 class instead of 2-3), I still have a full therapy load, 1 full day in the child clinic (I test children for ADHD, learning disorders, autism spectrum disorders, and other mental health concerns), 1/2 day at an asthma clinic, research, and a stack load of meetings. For every patient I see, I have at least 30 minutes of supervision and then about 3 hours of research meetings. ::sigh::

What has been getting me through this? Two things. First, every night before going to bed I work on my blue, ribbed, homespun scarf. I love this thing. It is soft and cozy and a quite large at this point (I am determined to finish two skeins of homespun for it even if that is a bit excessive). It is like the security blanket I had as a kid but it looks far more presentable than my blankie. I am so amazed how mindless the ribbing is. When I knit this scarf in Fiesta years ago, I had to rip back a million times. I needed stitch markers to remind me when to switch from purl to knit. Now I can read the stitches and I can knit this while watching my favorite BBC shows. I will have to take a picture tomorrow for you.

The second thing that got me through this week was my new favorite podcast. Now I have been out of the knitting community for a while, so this might be old hat to everyone, but I will share my new find just in case you haven't heard of this podcast. On Tuesday I cruised iTunes for new knitting podcasts (my backload of Cast On is gone, so I needed something new for my daily school commute) and found the KnitPicks podcast. Now I was unsure about trying this podcast since it was company sponsored, but the popularity level was high, so I decided to try it out. Please keep in mind that I have only listened to the first 15, but here is my opionion about the show.I love this podcast. The show is only 30ish minutes, so it is the perfect length for my walking commute around school. The woman who does the podcast keeps a nice flow to the show. She talks about her own knitting, talks about different knitting techniques (I learned something new about ribbing!), reviews a few knitting books (I love this since I am a knitting book harlot), and sometimes interviews coworkers or big name knitters (I am listening to an interview with Ann Budd now). Yes, she does refer to knitpicks yarn regularly (she does most of her knitting with knitpicks yarn), but this doesn't bother me. At least in these early episodes I haven't felt like I am listening to a commercial.

Things that Go Bump in the Night

Although this is a knitting blog, I need to talk about things that go bump in the night right now. I live in an apartment complex, so I have to do the laundry in a common area. As you may remember from your college/apartment/Partridge Family days, you need to plan your laundry washing on everyone else's lives. I am a fan of doing my wash late at night or early Friday evenings. I don't mind missing out on potential social events, since me doing laundry means I have hit the dregs of my clothing (i.e. passing off a prom dress as being a trendy chic psychologist outfit). What I do mind are two things that go bump in the night.

The first thing that scares me when I am doing my laundry are the frogs/toads (I can't tell the difference...didn't read those Frog and Toad books when I was a kid) that come out at night. I am scared that I am going to step on one, squash it, and then fall on my bum. From afar the frogs and wet leaves look the same. Although the fear of frog slippage scares me, I feel if I remain vigilant I shall be safe.

The second thing, I must admit scares me much more. This is what keeps me from wearing my iPod while doing my laundry. This is what keeps me aware of my surroundings at all times. I am afraid of zombies. Yep, you read that right. Since I do my laundry at odd hours, there are rarely any people around. When I walk outside, it is like the beginning of a zombie movie: the surroundings look the same as usual, but everything is eerily quiet. If I see someone out in the distance I have to freeze for just a moment to see if he/she moves like a person or a zombie. What can I say? Irrational fears are my forte. I think I need to knit some sort of zombie talisman or is that an anti-zombie talisman?

Alright, I am going back to my classic talisman...brownies.

Knitting for Brains

This weekend, while getting over a horrible head cold, I watched a lot of BBC mysteries. (I am seriously contemplating moving to England just for the BBC channels.) Since Poirot and Holmes weren't available through the InstaWatch feature on Netflix, I decided to try some Miss Marple episodes. For some reason I am not a fan of the female detective genre, so I really wasn't expecting much. I think I read too many Nancy Drew mysteries when I was a kid and my annoyance with her spread to the whole world of female detectives. My issues with Nancy? 1) The girl was NEVER in school. I wished for the amount of holidays she had. 2) Her boyfriend Ned was NEVER around. You would think Bess and George wouldn't have been her only means of social support when she was nearly killed by some crazy criminal. Anyway, I heard that Miss Marple knit and thought I would give her a try.

I have to admit that I enjoyed the Miss Marple mysteries I watched. She is quite feisty and I could see her and Poirot getting into some interesting debates about a crime. I also liked the fact that she seems to be a slow knitter like me! She had the same piece of knitting throughout each episode and didn't appear to make much headway. Okay, maybe the actress can't really knit, but I like to think I have something in common with a brilliant detective mind.

So why am I talking about Miss Marple? In one of the episodes I watched (A Caribbean Mystery, or something like that), one of the characters keeps making derogatory references to Miss Marple and her knitting. At one point he says he can't believe she came up with such a brilliant idea since he thought she had "knitting for brains." This comment "knitting for brains" struck a cord with me. Would knitting for brains always be a bad thing?

Lace: I wouldn't want knitted lace or lace knitting for my brains. Holes, generally, are a bad things in the neocortex. I want all the brain cells I can get.

Stockinette: I would have to veto this too. Stockinette curls and I need a straight laced brain for school.

Cabled: I think I might lose some of the valuable information in my brain if all the information had to travel down curvy roads all the time.

Entrelac: All the information would need to fit into tiny squares or else organization would be a disaster. This doesn't seem like a good idea, since I am a big picture type of girl.

Good ole' Garter Stitch: If our brains were spread out they would be huge, so to fit in our tiny skulls, they are folded up and smooshed in. In a way, the folds are just like garter stitch ridges and valleys. If someone told me that my brains were like garter stitch, I think I would smile and say okay, because I knew they weren't too far off from the truth.

Ribbed Stitch: With ribbing, you can get even more yarn (a.k.a. brain cells) into a small place. If I wanted to be completely inaccurate (and I do since it is 2AM), I would say if regular people have garter stitch for brains, Einstein and his genius pals have ribbing for brains: far more brain cells in the same amount of space.

So next time someone tells you that you have knitting for brains either 1) smile and take the compliment graciously because you know that they were referring to ribbing or 2) smile and very innocently ask them what type of knitting they are referring to. ;)

Sick as a Dog

I have just gotten over a horrible cold. It was the type of cold that you drag yourself out of bed just to collapse on the couch in the living room and take a nap. I really need to buy stock in Alka-Seltzer Plus medications and Puffs with Lotion tissues. ::sigh::

As you may imagine I didn't start on the TKGA Master Knitting program this weekend. Before experiencing the worst of the cold, I did manage to hit Jo-Ann's and buy some Paton's Classic Merino Wool in white and Wal-mart and get a binder, page protectors, and a notebook. Once I finish the bulk of my schoolwork this week, I am going to start swatching or at the very least start with the research paper and questions.

I wasn't too sick that I couldn't knit at all this weekend though. I worked on my blue ribbed scarf. I got really far too! I knit almost an entire skein of Homespun. I have decided that I want to finish one of my WiPs each week or at the very least finish a large chunk of a project. I don't kid myself that I am going to finish a shawl in a week, but I could at least finish a section of it. I figure this is a doable goal, since several of my projects are pretty small (socks and hats, mostly) and with a little bit of attention, I could finish them). I really want to start some new projects (Pi Shawl, Birch, Icarus, etc), but I want to get some of the previous projects out of the way first. What can I say, raverly, is making me want to be more organized with my projects. (I started taking pictures of my stash and the organization side of me is wanting to make made love to this website. I realized that I officially have become addicted to this site, I think if something horrible happened to ravelry, I would fall into a deep depression. How did I keep my knitting/stash/projects organized before ravelry? I didn't. I didn't.)

Maybe Knitting with Wool Isn't Motivating in the Summer

I didn't work on Argosy today. Losing so much length really put a damper on knitting it. I pulled out a ribbed scarf I had been knitting. It is a pretty blue and knit with Homespun (Lion Brand). The Homespun gives the scarf a nice texture. I also convinced myself that working on the ribbed scarf is like prepping for the Master's Knitting Program. For some of my swatches I will need to knit some k2p2 and k1p1 ribs. If I can do good looking ribs in Homespun, I can really rock it with plain white yarn, right? :)

On other knitting news, I am doing the Seasons of Lace KAL this summer. I am not sure exactly what I am going to do. Maybe I will finish the Sampler Shawl from the Summer of Lace challenge from the summer of 2006! Okay, maybe I will start a new lace pattern instead. I don't like the idea of starting a challenge with an old project (unless that is the purpose of the KAL). I am not sure if I am just a snob or am using KALs to promote my severe startitis.

Ripping, Tinking, Frogging

There was knitting activity today, but sadly it went in the wrong direction. I ripped back to the row in which I didn't cast on 8 measly stitches. Although I was excited that I ripped back to my error as opposed to tinking back (I get really nervous I am going to lose my entire project), I was not pleased with the amount of ripping I had to do. Yesterday the scarf was about 3.5 feet long. Today, the scarf is 1 foot long. Yes, 1 foot long. I long about a skein's worth of knitting in a matter of 5 minutes. I am happy that I fixed the mistake and successfully ripped to where I wanted, but losing several feet of work does not make me a happy camper. Today has been a busy day, so I don't have pictures, but I will get some to you tomorrow.

In other news, I have recently discovered that I own more yarn that I thought. I know this is probably a common surprise for knitters, but really I don't have that much space. My stash list in ravelry is starting to freak me out a bit. I try to remind myself that my yarn can be split into three main categories: 1. yarn that was gifted to me (this is a lot of my acrylic yarn), 2. super pretty yarn that I figured I wouldn't be able to see in person ever again once I moved to Florida (this is my Fleece Artist, Lorna's Laces, and Rowan), and 3. yarn that I bought with a specific project in mind (keep in mind I bought most of this yarn right when I started knitting, so I have a lot of...what's the word?...decorative yarn...you know...fun fur, eyelash yarn, etc...I still like the funky scarves one can make from it but I would prefer not to own several pounds of the stuff). I am exaggerating a bit. I have some reasonably nice yarn that is plain enough for tops, hats, etc. It was just a bit of a shocker to see all my yarn in one place.

I think this organization of my yarn has inspired me to starting using up some of my stash. Don't worry! The Fleece Artist will be treasured for a bit longer, but I think I will use up some of my acrylic yarn. I am thinking of looking into charity knitting groups. The yarn is a bit too rough for newborns, but maybe I can donate knitted hats to homeless shelters or something of the like. I love the idea of using up my stash, knitting fun new hat patterns, and helping others all at the same time! Now if I just had the time...

Tigger & TKGA

Not too much knitting got done this weekend, since I ran of to Walt Disney World on Saturday. There was a new ride opening at Disney's Hollywood Studios (Toy Story Midway Mania) that I wanted to try out. BTW, it was totally amazing and you should ride it if you are ever in the area. I also was able to have breakfast at my favorite restaurant at Disney (The Crystal Palace). The atmosphere is beautiful, the food is good, and you get to hang out with Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger. Tigger really liked my camera and took a couple of self-portraits.

In knitting news, I got my Masters Level 1 instructions in the mail. There are so many instructions! I am starting to feel a bit intimidated, but I have all the time in the world, so I am just going to take it one step at a time. I am going to start with some of the written work first to build up my confidence before knitting the swatches. I have knit swatches and whole clothing items before, but now that it is for "grade," I am shaking in my handknit booties. ;)

Are You Jonsin' for Ravelry?

Yesterday I received my invitation for ravelry. OMG. I can't stop visiting this site. I will be trying to write therapy notes and I will decide that I need to add a project to my queue. I will be trying to prepare for a lab meeting and I will decide that I need to upload pictures. This site feeds my OCD tendencies. I literally spent about 2-3 hours recording my yarn into the stash folder. I am planning to take pictures of my yarn, so my stash section will have pictures. My name on ravelry is silverarrowknits.

I am sure you have been wanting some pictures. My camera hasn't been working, but I think it is fixed (and by fixed I mean actually charge the battery), so I will have new pictures for my next post. For today, here is a picture of Argosy as it was about 1 year ago. In fact this is longer than what it will be come Sunday. Remember how the stitch count wasn't working? Well, I thought I had forgotten to cast on 8 stitches within the past couple of days. This was not the case. About 12 inches ago, I forgot to cast on 8 stitches. I wasn't going to rip back, but I might. I will know I forgot a pattern repeat, even though no one would ever notice. I am using Noro Garden Lite and I figure if I am going to use the good stuff, I should get the pattern as perfect as I can.

I Should Have Paid Better Attention in 1st Grade...

So I have been working on Argosy for the past two days and I have been spending more time tinking than knitting. At first I was just tinking to fix a slip up on a row (I missed one pattern row and made a row of squares into rectangles). After I got to the right row and was all set to starting kniting (and not tinking) but then I counted the number of stitches. I had 33. This was a problem. I was supposed to have either 41 or 49. So then I proceeded to keep tinking. I tinked and tinked. I tinked for 45 minutes waiting to a late supervisor. I tinked while watching episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I tinked while just sitting on my futon. No matter how much I tinked, I kept getting 33 stitches. I was about to throw this project to the knitting gods when I thought to add. After so many rows, I am supposed to cast on 8 stitches. 8+ 33 = 41. Yeah. Exactly. I have been tinking for no good reason.

How Do I Do That Again?

While waiting for a meeting to start, I pulled out my knitting today. Even though I really want to start a new project, Argosy called to me. The Noro Silk Garden Lite kept yelling at me to finish the scarf so I can wear it next winter. The colors and scarf shape are just so sexy that I got distracted by it and couldn't see another skein of yarn or another pattern.

Anyway, I was sitting in a nice shady spot outside and I was enjoying the fresh air (I had spent the day in the basement of the hospital doing a psych assessment with the cutest kid ever), when I pulled out the pattern. At the end of the row, I was going to need to cast on 8 stitches. I couldn't remember how to cast on. I took a breath put the knitting away and pulled out a book. When I got home, I sat down with Argosy. I looked up how to do the proper cast on for the patter (cable cast on) and journeyed on...for about 6ish stitches. I need to do a ssk. Again I had to look it up. By the way, I used The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques for my memory lapses. I love Ms. Wiseman.

Two hours later, I had tinked back more than I had knit (I did remember how to tink like it was yesterday), but ended up with more knit scarf. I would have rejoiced; however, I had managed to miss a vital row or two. It doesn't look horrible or anything. I just turned a row of squares into rectangles. Oh well, this setback gives me something to do tomorrow. :)

Hello Again

Hello. Hi. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.

It's been a while huh? Almost one year. You were probably surprised to see me pop up on your bloglines account. Where has she been? She hasn't been posting. Did she fall off the face of the earth? Well...sort of...not exactly...but yeah...I did.

Let me explain, please...won't you let me? I can understand if you don't. I just walked out of your life with no warning. One minute I was promising to write and the next I was on the next train to Wonderland. The truth of the matter is that I got stressed. I was working on my Master's degree, starting to seeing therapy patients, and was still trying to keep my life going, and so I got stressed and...you won't believe this...I stopped knitting. Did I mention it is ridiculously hot here in Florida?

Anyway, things have changed recently, really...I am not just saying this. I recently received my Master's degree, so some of my stress has dissipated. I switched mentors, so the majority of my stress dissipated. She was a very nice woman, but our personality styles were just a wee bit different. Also, my clinic requirements have finally slowed down. You must be saying to yourselves, "But most of these things have already occurred, why now?" I can't really say. This weekend, I started rereading the Yarn Harlot website and I realized I missed knitting and the community. I realized that I missed knitting scarves and hats (I really love hats) and Mason-Dixon washcloths (I can't believe I knit about 25 of those for the holidays a couple years ago). I missed having something to do, while I watched television. I ended up reading all of my Stephanie Pearl-McPhee books this weekend. I also started brainstorming new projects to do, because my previous projects should remain works in progress for the moment. I need a fresh start.Oh, I also ordered yarn and some knitting books that I had been wanting. BTW, I can't believe which knitting books have been discontinued and which knitting books are soon to be on the market.

I promise I really am back. I am willing to commit, really. No weekends only type of dating. I am willing to go all the way. How can I show my love to you? How can I reassure you that I am back for the long haul? I can prove it to you, because I did something crazy. I keep telling myself it is an investment in my knitting education and has no time limit. I can keep trying until I die. You guessed it. Why I do these things to myself I have no idea. Okay, I do. I need a goal. I need something to push me to the next level. I requested the Level 1 material for the Master Knitting Program.

Viva la Revolucion!

Hey,

I just got back from my conference a few days ago and apparently I didn't get enough sleep, because I have been spending a chunk of time sleeping instead of blogging!

Here is a quick update....

The second Hermione hat is going well. I am still working on the double ribbing, but it is going quickly. Pictures to come.

In my own life, I have an amusing story. I think I mentioned a few months ago that my undergrad alumni magazine misprinted a class note of mine, so it appeared that I had gotten married. In the most recent edition of the magazine, I had the note corrected. To be honest, I cringed when I saw it, because the magazine had gotten rid of the humor and just stated the fact that I was neither engaged nor married. Apparently, the magazine wasn't keen on admitting the misprint. Anyway, since the magazine came out, I have been getting stacks of people thanking me for the note! Everyone was so happy that I printed something that did not involve a wedding or engagement. They stated that they were going to start writing in notes too even though they weren't getting married/engaged. Apparently I started a revolution in alumni class notes!

I'm Knitting....Really!

Just in case you were wondering about the knitting, here are the fruits of my labor (or at least my The Nightmare before Christmas and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest watching labor). I am one round away from starting the fun and exciting cables and bobbles. I am a bit torn though. I am going away for a conference for five days and I am not sure if I should stick with this hat or start another Hermione hat for the trip. The mindless double rib would be nice for the airport; however, starting a new hat would require me to take this hat off the needles, which is never fun. Blah. Maybe I can find yet another project to start...or maybe another project to finish. Wait! Finish a project! That is a silly idea! Hmm, back to the books (knitting books that is).

Just a Normal Monday

No real knitting news to report. I seem to have gotten busy with all sorts of errands for school. In a couple of days I am going to a conference and am looking forward to some uninterrupted knitting time on the plane and waiting for seminars to begin. I am thinking that I might start a new Hermione hat for the conference, since I was torn between two different yarns and this way I can get the best of both yarns. I could start baby things, but I figure I would need multiple baby projects and one hat with cables will hold me for the entire conference (I am assuming I will only to be able to knit a bit here and there throughout my "vacation").

MeMe

So with the return to knitting, I thought this meme would do me a load of good. I had to bold everything I have ever done in the world of knitting (which was a surprisingly long list), italicize all the things I want to do (which is a long list), and do nothing to the items I have no desire to do (which were very few items).

I liked this meme, because it is a to do list for me. If I can't think of something I want to try, I can go back to this. If I feel I haven't done many exciting things in the world of knitting, I can go back to this list. It supports AND challenges me all at once.

Key: Bold=done, Italics=Will Do, Normal=No Desire

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 Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes Knitting with alpaca Fair Isle knitting Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)on two circulars 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 Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously 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
Baby items Knitting with cashmere Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia Knitting with linen Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/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
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Like Riding a Bicycle

I have to admit that when I picked up my knitting this past weekend, I thought that I would have lost my touch. I figured I wouldn't remember how to cast on and it would take me thirty seconds for each knit stitch. Well, was I wrong! I watched The Nightmare before Christmas last night with a friend and was able to watch the movie AND keep up with the double rib I was working on for Hermione's hat (it is in the new Charmed Knits). I knit about ten rounds during the movie, which was a typical speed for me. I was quite impressed with myself, if I do say so myself. I would post a picture, but I am lazy and 14 rounds of double rib in burgundy isn't the most exciting thing in the world. Once I get to more exciting stitches, I will post a picture, I promise!

Speaking of all things Harry Potter, last Friday I pre-ordered my book! Yes, I am one of the nerds who is going to pick up her book at 12:01 AM on July 21st. I don't want to be concerned about finding out what happens in the book before I get to read it. All I need to do now is pick up the book on the release day and then I can lock myself up in my apartment with no internet, phone, or television until I get to the final page. Hey, I have invested six years in this series! I can't have a random news report ruin the ending for me. ;)

I'm Back!

Hey everyone!

So I just wanted to let everyone know that I am back! What has brought on this return to knitting? Well a few things have been happening. First, one of the guys in my cohort is having his second child! Well, his wife technically is having the baby, but you know what I mean. I am now in the process of finding some sort of cute baby knitting project for the new baby (he/she is due in October). This is posing to be a challenge, since I keep finding adorable cold weather projects, but no warm weather projects. Oh, I am also worrying about how machine washable any of my knits are, since I always hand wash my knitted goods, and parents of a toddler and a newborn don't seem like people who are going to want to hand wash baby booties or bibs. Second, I recently bought Charmed Knits, and am in the process of knitting Hermione's hat from Goblet of Fire. Third, the summer is posing to be significantly less stressful in regards to my time. I only have two classes, plus lab, and research, and halfway through the summer one of my classes will end and I will start treating people in clinic instead. See! Tons of time!