Thanks Joyce!

This is going to be a quickie, because I stayed out late with a friend and am quiet sleepy. I could have waited until tomorrow, but I needed to show you the yarn and needles I have acquired. I had dinner with my friend MB tonight. We laughed and talked about old times. It was fabulous. In addition, she very kindly gave me some of the yarn from her large yarn stash her Mom had accumulated over the years. We must all give a very big shout out to Joyce! I left with four bags of yarn. Most of it is a mixture of acrylic and wool or just acrylic. I jumped at the chance for such a large amount of yarn, because I have been wanting to knit a blanket but didn't have the money to spend on the amount of yarn I would need. I am thinking about making a Mason-Dixon log cabin blanket with it or maybe even the mitered square blanket.

I also need to show you the needles I got. Here is just a quick shot of some of the dpns I got. Aren't they beautiful? I also got a stack of circular needles, my new best friends. Some are plastic and some are aluminum. I am going to have to make some sort of labeling system since there is nothing marking their size, but I love them all the same.

Also, on the knitting front, I started a moss stitch hand towel from the Mason-Dixon book. Isn't it sweet? I think it would be lovely to have some handknit goods around the apartment in Florida.

To bed! To bed!

More details (and pictures) tomorrow, I promise.

-SAK

Thank Goodness Knitting Blogs Don't Need to Be about FOs

So many updates, so little time...

The Amazing Lace
Wooly Twizzler got a little time out the ziploc bag this weekend, but the heat kept it from being too extensive. I will finish you Twizzler! I promise!

The Mystery Stole 2006
I did another two rows of the mystery stole last night, but as you can see from the picture, I haven't gotten very far. Sorry it is blurry, my camera doesn't want to focus on this particular project for some reason. I really like the pattern and it has been pretty easy going so far, but I seem to be terrified of messing up with the laceweight. I am afraid that if I do more than two rows at a time, I will royally mess up.

Other Projects
I finished Filbrina on Saturday and sent her to her happy new home. Branching Out has been quietly hoping that I will work on her now that Filbrina is done. Hey, it could happen.

In other news, I have decided to make Mason-Dixon hand towels for my new apartment in Florida. As soon as I got home and looked at the crochet thread, I could hear Julia Roberts telling her mama in Steel Magnolias: "My colors are blush and bashful." Just because I have a hard time finishing projects doesn't mean I don't like to start them! (I remember that I wasn't going to buy more yarn, but crochet thread isn't yarn! Okay! Okay! No more, I promise.)

Summer Reading Challenge 2006
I must admit that reading has been taking away serious knitting time. This past week I read Murder after Hours by Agatha Christie and The Time Traveler's Wife. I just started A Million Little Pieces last night as well. Murder after Hours was your typical, fun Agatha Christie book with humourous and slightly annoying Poirot. Christie is great because most of her mysteries are short and don't have too much in the way of side plots; they're just about a murder. I really like Christie's books, but I also consider them palette cleansers in between heavier books. The Time Traveler's Wife was really great. It was a love story but it wasn't overly sappy or anything. Everyone I know who has read it said they had a hard time with it at first, but the book really pulled me in from the beginning. I would definitely check it out if you are interested in sci fi-romanticy books.

Now to the controversial book...I bought A Million Little Pieces after the story broke about Frey's lies. I was curious to read it. I left it on my shelf for months, because I decided suddenly that I didn't want to read a bunch of lies. When I picked it out of my suitcase this weekend, I decided to suck it up and read it. After I started reading it, I realized that I shouldn't be surprised that he lied. My participants lie all the time and I take it as a given. Why should I expect more from Frey? I will say that it is a little weird reading the book, because I can imagine any and all of my participants as characters in it. I am just finishing the first 100 pages and nothing so far has shocked me. I guess my take home message is if you are interested in the book, read it. Ignore the fact that he does embellish the truth. I also read Dry by Augusteen Burroughs and found it an interesting account of going through a treatment center if you want something that The Smoking Gun hasn't discussed (at least to my knowledge). ***Disclaimer*** I don't work in a treatment center and know very little about them. These comments are simply opinions on what I think happens in treatment centers and how people deal with their addictions.

-SAK

Knitting Television:
Kiki's Delivery Service

Filbrina Is on Her Way to Her New Home!

Miraculous news! I actually sent off Filbrina! I finished my little turtle for S! It's amazing! Here she is in all of her adorable fugliness. I can't explain it, but she really is cute even with the crazy color combination. I think I didn't want to finish her, because it meant she had to leave me, but I know she is going to a happy home. Even if S doesn't like Filbrina (she has a real live tortoise named Filbert), I have bribed her with handknit dishcloths, so she will have to take Filbrina into her happy home. :)

Now I need to be honest about something. I didn't work on Filbrina last night. In fact, I completely forgot my pledge to work on her and worked on the Mystery Stole instead. Yeah, I am a commitmentphobe. In my own defense, I just did the "provisional cast-on" (I started on two different ones, but got impatient since I was in a different room as their instructions and just cast on with scrap yarn instead), the anchor row and the center row. No "real" knitting has commenced.

No knitting yet today, but I might do some before I go see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 tonight! Yeah, moving stress requires Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. They're practically medicinal.

Okay, off to find some grub and possibly work on Twizzler!

-SAK

Mystery Stole 2, Here I Come!

Before I talk about knitting today, I just have to say that I love knitters. They are the friendliest bunch of people that I have every met. Remember when I said that RI Hospital won't let me read knitting blogs and go on sites like yahoo groups (they are classified as "message boards or clubs")? Well, today the first clue of the Mystery Stole KAL was posted on yahoo groups and I could not retrieve it, because it was on a banned site. This normally wouldn't bother me, but my printer is packed away and to get the PDF document printed out, I would need to download it to my home computer, email it to myself, and then print it at work on Monday, since I can read email still. Instead of doing all these steps (since I want to start NOW), I emailed the listserv. In under an hour, ten people emailed me the PDF document. Thanks again to everyone who emailed me the PDF document!

Now, on to the knitting. Last night not only did I knit, but I knit a swatch! I know, you are amazed. I am too impatient to knit swatches normally, but for the Mystery Stole KAL, you don't have any recommendations for yarn or needles or anything, so you want to double check that you are making good decisions. The swatch doesn't look too exciting (yes, that is a tissue underneath the swatch, it wasn't until after I pinned it to the bed that I realized I couldn't see anything with the dark sheets); however, it does show me that the size three needles work well with the KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud yarn that I bought. The YOs are clearly visible in comparison to the St st. At first, I thought the flowers were supposed to look like flowers, but after seeing everyone else's swatches on yahoo groups, I realized that this is not the case.

I have to say that my confidence in knitting has really gone up in the past couple of months, especially since starting all these lace projects (namely Twizzler) and learning all sorts of new and different increase and decrease stitches. This time last year, I would never had even considered knitting something as delicate as a lace weight shawl with all sorts of increases and decreases in it.

Tonight, however, I cannot work on the Mystery Stole until I finish seaming S's overdue birthday present. I am going to mail that package tomorrow no matter what. Maybe as a reward I will start the stole tonight. I wonder if it okay to take the reward first and then do the work? Ugh! It is that kind of thinking that gets me into these messes! :)

-SAK

Knitting Television:
EdTV

Too Hot to Knit

For once I am looking forward to the AC in my apartment in Florida. The past two days in Providence were H-O-T and H-U-M-I-D! I spent most of it swimming from AC building to AC building. I did work on Twizzler a bit since I realized the only way that he was going to be finished in the near future was if I actually worked on him! Here is a picture of him. Yes it is an old picture, but really the progress is hardly worth taking a picture, uploading the picture, uploading it to photobucket, and then to my blog. Tomorrow I will take beautiful and exciting pictures. Tonight I will bow to the gracious gods that decided a cool breeze and low 80s with little humidity would be nice.

-SAK

Update Monday!

Amazing Lace
I worked a bit on Twizzler but not more than just a few stitches. It is ridiculously hot in RI now. The summer has officially come and knitting in wool is just about the least desirable thought at this moment. I literally feel like I am slowly yet surely felting the piece when I am just holding it in my sweaty hands. I did write a poem about my darling Twizzler for the Amazing Lace though.

Other Projects
I started another Rose-of-Shanon hat which I worked on when I was in Boston, but sadly I ended up frogging it when a chunk of stitches slipped off and they were sadly lost. I was only on row four, so I decided to frog instead of saving it. I didn't really like how the cast on row was looking anyhow.

Branching Out and the swatch for the Mystery Stole have yet to be touched, but who knows maybe they will get sorted out this week. :)

Last Yarn Hurrah (or my trip to Boston)
On Saturday, I decided to do my last yarn crawl. I was planning on officially going on a yarn diet after the trip, but I want to have the option of buying yarn on the trip down to Florida, so I am going to hold off but no more yarn buying for me!

I started my visit over at Windsor Button. I picked up some needles, knitting accessories, and some glorious yarn. I got some sock yarn, cashsoft for a hat, and cotton ease! I didn't buy all the cotton ease because there were mismatched dyelots and the colors that I didn't buy were these weird pastel popsicle colors that I couldn't imagine being worn by anybody.

Next on the trip was Woolcott in Harvard Square. I picked up some more sock yarn (yes, I haven't finished a pair of socks, but I am planning on it soon!) and some lace weight yarn. I love the fact that I can get away with knitting in wool in Florida; I just need to be willing to knit with dental floss is all. :) The salesperson was talking up this camel yarn, and at first I was interested in it, but then I smelled it. It still smelled like camel! I quickly put the yarn back.

After this trip, I met up with my friend M (not the M who gave me the knitting magazines and yarn) and we went to lunch. Afterwards, I got him to come to Circles with me! I think M has knitter's blood in him, because he loved touching all the yarn and wanted to buy a pile to just lounge in! I picked up some Fleece Artist sock yarn and some bamboo yarn for a decorative scarf.

After the yarn expedition, we hit the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) and saw an exhibit on cloth! It was simply faboo.

Oh, here are some pics to prove I actually went to Boston for those of you who feel I never leave Providence, let alone Rhode Island. It is true that we Rhode Islanders don't like to travel far, but we can when yarn is at stake. :)

Here is the recently frogged Rose-of-Shanon hat on the steps of a Harvard building.

Don't believe me? Well, I think this picture shows it the best. :) If you can't see what the bike says, click the image.

Summer Reading Challenge
This was a productive reading week. I couldn't seem to do anything but move my eyeballs in the heat. I read Heart of Darkness, Memoirs of a Geisha, and The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Maybe I will finish all the books in my suitcase!

Happy knitting!

-SAK

Challenge #3

It is time once again to compete against my fellow lace knitters in the Amazing Lace. I know you are all excited to hear about my final stash enhancement trip but you will have to wait until tomorrow. I WILL say though that I got my hands on some Lion's Brand Cotton Ease. :)

Challenge #3


slip slip knit
slip slip knit
i like the sound of the
slip
slip
knit
(on my addi turbos)

slip slip knit
slip slip knit
twizzler likes the sound of the
slip
slip
knit
(on my addi turbos)

yarn over (knit)
yarn over (knit)
i like the intended mistake of the
yarn over
(knit)

yarn over (knit)
yarn over (knit)
twizzler likes the intended mistake of the
yarn over
(knit)

i like how the red of twizzler's namesake gets more and more
obvious!
as he gets bigger with the knits and purls and slips and psso

twizzler likes how he snakes across my needles and curls upon himself
he waits to get bigger and cover my lap and keep me warm as we sleep

but we have miles to go before we sleep
we have miles to go before the needles are dropped
and only then can we stop
(listening to the swish of the needles)

slip slip knit
slip slip knit
yarn over (knit)
yarn over (knit)

Rhode Island Hospital Is Becoming the MAN!

Sorry for the blogging delay. Rhode Island Hospital has decided to put more web filters on their internet network. I can't read blogs, I can't post to my blog, I can't listen to streaming music or books, and I can't even read my Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley fan fic. What does the hospital expect me to do during working hours? ::sigh:: If you have a blog I regularly post to, expect a little hiatus for the next couple of weeks until I get a more reliable internet source.

Now, what has been up with me for the past couple of days? Well, I got to go to another free concert with VIP service (free food and drinks). This time I went to a Hawthorne Heights and Yellowcard concert and handed out fliers for my marijuana study. Yellowcard was amazing live. There was definitely energy in the air when they came on stage. I ate, drank, and was merry. It was a perfect Thursday afternoon.

In knitting news, I have a few fabulous stories. First, my friend M is moving to Oregon for med school and had to destash and get rid of a few knitting magazines. Guess who the lucky recipient was? I thumbed through the magazines during lunch and found at least one thing in each of the magazines that I want to knit at some point. I really lucked out in the Knitters magazine, because it has the patterns to three of the purses I really liked in their "Purses: A Knitter's Dozen." Now I don't need to buy the book!

While I was looking through these magazines, I also realized that I have been making a consistent mistake in Branching Out. In the Sl2K1psso, I have been slipping the two stitches individually and not together. I started freaking out about this and then I came across an article by Meg Swansen about fussy knitting. I realized that a consistent mistake is a design element and to go with it. The scarf looks great and an extra twist isn't going to make a difference.

Finally, I am totally pumped about tomorrow! I am taking a day trip to Boston. I am going to go to a few yarn stores and do some final stash enhancement before the big trip, check out the MFA, and maybe do something else touristy. I am really excited about taking a day just for me and visiting some of my favorite places. With the weather (finally) getting better, I am in the mood to roam, and Boston is a roaming type of town!

-SAK

Another FO!

The past two days haven't been devoted to knitting (gasp!), I am sad to say. I started reading Memoirs of a Geisha and haven't been able to concentrate on anything else. I had seen the movie and wasn't that impressed, but the book is fabulous and goes into detail about how and why geishas did certain things. As much as I have been enjoying the book, the dirty looks Twizzler has been giving me, has been making me slightly guilty.

I did complete my dishcloth though! (On the right, you can see the stitching close up!) When I bound the dishcloth off, I realized that I knit a really long rectangle instead of a squarish dishcloth. I promptly sewed up two sides and now it is a mitt! Now that I finished the four dishcloths, I need to finish up that turtle that has been sitting patiently waiting to be completed, so I can send him and the dishcloths on their merry way.

I am all excited about this Saturday. This is going to be my final stash enchancement trip before Florida. I am going to go to Boston and visit a couple of yarn stores and then go hang out in a museum or do the Freedom Trail. According to the weather report, it isn't supposed to rain on Saturday (the one day in a really long time) and I am keeping my fingers crossed, because I need to get outside!

Update Monday!

The Amazing Lace
I am finally on pattern #2 for Twizzler! Hurrah! In fact, I am halfway through the first repeat. This pattern is far simpler than the first and I am zooming though it. This pattern is a multiple of 6 stitches instead of 14.

In regards to Challenge #3 for the Amazing Lace, I am slightly stumped. I need to write a poem devoted to Twizzler and I can't seem to think of something. Maybe something will pop into my mind while doing mindless data entry at work.

Other Knitting Projects
This past weekend was an interesting one for knitting projects. I decided to frog a few that I felt that I would never ever finish. I frogged the purse I started over a year ago and the second pink hat I was knitting. I feel relieved. Now I just have Branching Out, Twizzler, Sock (and Second Sock), the turtle, checkered grey scarf, a dishcloth, and a fun fur scarf. I am planning on finishing Branching Out and the dishcloth and then working on the other UFOs.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I am knitting a swatch for the Mystery Stole 2006 KAL? I haven't gotten too far. I am starting row 3 of 30. I am exciting about this KAL, but this is the first time I have knit with lace weight yarn and it is like dental floss! I am at a complete loss for how tiny and skinny this yarn is! The first pattern is going to be given to us on July 7th and so I need to get my act together and finish this swatch.

Summer Reading Challenge 2006
I finished The Lovely Bones this weekend. I enjoyed it, but it is a sad tale, so I was left with almost a bittersweet enjoyment of the book. I am going to pull out a new book out of my suitcase of books tonight. I wonder what I am going to get this time!

Completely Unrelated to Anything
I know this is random, but look at my cute sandal purchase! Florida here I come!

-SAK

Weekend Knitting & Other Related Activities

This weekend was all about the knitting and the yarn. Even though RI seems to be having typhoon weather, I got out of bed at 8AM on Saturday to go to The Fabric Place in Warwick for their 25% off sale. As I was driving and cursing the trucks for spritzing my car with MORE rain, I decided that maybe this wasn't the best idea. Of course, that idea was pushed to the side when I thought about the yarn.

I picked up some needles, knitting accessories, and wonderful yarn. I bought Noro's Silk Garden Lite, some Cascade 220, Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece, and some others. I would show pictures, but I spent today cleaning up my room, so I can repack everything I own into different boxes (don't ask, it makes sense, but yet at the same time it doesn't). At first I was amazed that all of my yarn fit into one 2x2x1 box and then I realized that I forgot about my four storage containers filled with yarn. To be honest, it kind of frightened me out of taking pictures of the yarn and then I became ashamed of my stash. I am planning one last hurrah in Boston and then I am closing up shop. Well, I am closing up shop until my Dad and I do the drive to Gainesville. Yarn bought on the way can be considered souvenirs and therefore not true yarn purchases. I know I should feel guilty about the yarn shopping, but once I get to Florida, my budget will be tighter (which is sad since a research assistant's salary is tiny enough as it is) and yarn purchases will be few and far between.

Besides purchasing yarn, I created an extensive chart of all my knitting needles. I used all those work-related Excel classes to organize my needles to great heights. These are my headers: needle type, US size, mm, length (inches), length (cm), company, brand, material, and number of needles. After I entered all of needles, I selected my headers, went to data, and clicked autofilter. Now I just select the arrow next to brand (for example), select addi turbo, and then just my addi turbo needles are shown. If I want to see all the needles again, I select the arrow next to brand and select all. You can select multiple arrows and really narrow your searches. Yeah, I am a dork, but now I know exactly what needles I have, what size, and what company.

I also found a really cute purse pattern from the latest Creative Knitting that I might knit up as a side project to my shawl. I realized that I need a fast project to break up the monotony of Twizzler. It is hard to stay inspired on Twizzler when it takes so long to see the patterns arise from the yarn. 401 stitches are a lot to knit. As you can see on the right, Twizzler is coming along, slowly yet surely. Who knows, maybe I will finish him by the end of the summer. Maybe I will use my brand new bed in Florida to block him!

-SAK

Knitting Television:
The Fellowship of the Ring (extended version...oh so good...much better than the theatre-movie version)
Arrested Development (Season One)

A Fabulous Day

Today was a positively wonderful day and I am planning on having two more perfect days. Today, my fellow research assistants and I went to WBRU's Guster concert to hand out fliers to potential research participants. You read right, I got to go to a concert on company time! I should also mention that we got VIP passes, so we could go backstage and eat free food and drink free drinks (including beer, if you are oh so inclined). So let me recap, I got to go to a concert for free, eat free food, drink free drinks, even drink alcohol on company time (not that I drink alcohol, but I could have), and get out of work early. Yes, I did have to hand out fliers for 45 minutes, but I can handle that for all the freeness. Okay, yes, it isn't really free, since my office is paying WBRU to be at the events and advertise on the radio station, but it is free for me!

In knitting news, when I came home like the good girl that I am, I worked on Twizzler for a bit. I just need one more knit row and two more purl rows and then I can move on to pattern #2! Here are two pictures of my progress. If you combine the two pictures in your head, you will get the actual color of the yarn. I must admit that it is slightly disheartening to knit only two rows and see that an hour has passed. Maybe I will knit another hat this weekend and remind myself that yes I can complete an object every once and a while.

-SAK

Knitting Television:
Law & Order: Criminal Intent

A Finished Object!

So I thought I would start this post with something I seldom do, I am going to show you a FO! This is my Rose-of-Sharon hat from Magknits. I must say, I love this pattern, because it was easy to remember and quick to knit up. Heck, I will say it, "I love knitting hats!" Hats are so quick to knit and I love the fact that most patterns say something like "knit this pattern eight times and then start to decrease." Right from the beginning of the pattern, you are already counting down to the end. I love the immediate and obvious goal.

When I wasn't knitting, I was scouring Myopic Books in Wayland Square. Check out the knitting book finds! Altogether, I spent about $25. If I had bought them full price, they would have cost twice as much. I am really excited about the plant dye book. The author discusses planting your own garden specifically to grow dyes (well, plants with good dyeing ability). Once I get down to Florida, I am going to have to try my hand at dyeing my own yarn. I guess this desire is no surprise, I did love dyeing Easter eggs when I was little.

Not too much knitting to report, I have been exhausted when I come home from work and knitting lace has been a little too much for me. This weekend, I am planning on spending some uninterrupted knitting time over at Brown. I need to soak in as much New England weather I can get before I leave!

-SAK

Update Monday!

Another Monday, another set of updates...

Twizzler Shawl
Yeah, um, so I wrote an Amazing Lace challenge post about him. That counts, right? ::sigh:: This week, I promise I will work on him.

Other Projects
The Feather & Fan scarf has yet to be blocked. The more I think about it, the more I feel it will be better to wait until I am in Florida to block the scarf. What is the point in blocking a scarf just to smoosh him and have to redo it in a month?

I worked on Branching Out this past week. I am about a third of the way. The scarf has been slow in coming since I do need to pay a certain amount of attention to the project and I have just been plain tired, but I am planning on him in the near future.

I should be honest thought, the real reason that I have been ignoring my two main projects is that I have found a new love: the Rose-of-Sharon hat from Magknits. Isn't it adorable? As soon as I saw it, I had to knit it. Hey, the hat is made from cotton and I must promote cotton knitting. I am really happy with the hat and I am almost done, but as you can see in the picture on the right, I am not pleased with the yarn I chose. I am using handknit cotton from Rowan. If I ever use this yarn again, I am going to wind it, so I can check for knots. In the first ball I used, there was only one knot, but on the second, I had to start and stop three times! The yarn is DK weight and I am afraid that I am going to have these huge bumps from all the weaving I am going to have to do to my poor hat!

I should note that I like the way the yarn knits up and even though I had to frog the hat several times (I would tell you why, but I can honestly tell you that I can't remember, I am living in denial apparently), the yarn still look brand-spanking new. I think I am going to finish the hat, since I am so close to being done and decide what would be the best move: frogging from the second ball or weave in the loose ends the hat.

Summer Reading Challenge
I finished The Woman in White! No more Wilkie Collins for me. I started reading The Lovely Bones and am about a third of the way done. Even though the plot of the story is sad (fourteen year-old girl is murdered), I really like it and I know I will have it finished by the end of this week.

-SAK

Challenge #2

It is time once again to post about about one of the Amazing Lace's challenges.

**********

It appears that Twizzler (aka the Sampler Shawl) has taken matters into his own hands. Over the past week or so, I have been drawn to Branching Out and to Rose-of-Sharon, because knitting a wool shawl in hot weather just wasn't doing it for me. I didn't realize that ignoring Twizzler would cause him to take eXtreme measures.

Don't believe me? Well, today I decided to rest in the wonderful air-conditioned library about a mile from my house. I thought since it was a nice day, I would walk. While I was walking to the library, I noticed that my backpack was really heavy. Why would it be heavy? I knew I had my laptop, but I just brought Branching Out and Rose-of-Sharon with me. I decided that I must have forgotten to check the front pockets and there was probably a paperback or something in there.

When I got to the library, I set up my laptop and direct my browser to bloglines. While everything was loading, I went to take a peek at the knitting books. When I left my laptop, my campout looked like the following. Everything looks fine right? Just my laptop and knitting blogs waiting for me to return.

When I returned to my seat, things had changed dramatically. Take a look for yourself. Twizzler had snuck into my backpack and brough Folk Shawls with him. As you can see from the photo, he tied up Branching Out and Rose-of-Sharon just to show me he meant business. I guess I know who is in charge now.

"Yes Twizzler, I'm coming! I am going to stop reading knitting blogs and work on you right now! Please stop teasing Branching Out and Rose-of-Sharon! They are smaller than you!"

-SAK

Yeah for Hot Weather!

I decided to pick up Branching Out tonight after a couple of days of ignoring him for Twizzler. I just discovered that we are going to have a heat wave (in the 90s) starting Sunday. I want to finish Branching Out and take advantage of the heat to block the Feather & Fan scarf and Branching Out. I feel a little weird looking forward to being utterly miserable in 90 degree weather with little hope for a breeze but here I am jumping for joy.

I am a bit stymied with my Amazing Lace Challenge. I need a picture of eXtreme Knitting and I can't seem to figure out what would be a good picture. Maybe I will walk around Providence this weekend with my camera and try to feel inspired. Actually, speaking of pictures, if you have any Knitty pattern knitted goods, take a picture of it in a cute artsy way and submit it for the 2007 Knitty Calendar contest. Yeah, I totally became a sucker for KALs and knitting contests this summer. Maybe it is the realization that I am going to grad school this fall and I am only young once? Okay, so that sounds weird to you too, right?

Back to Branching Out and Six Feet Under!

-SAK

Knitting Television:
Six Feet Under (Season Three, Discs Two & Three)

More Lace KAL Fun!

Today I am posting about a very important event. Why is it important you ask? Well the deadline to join is tomorrow, so this announcement is important in an ASAP sort of way. Melanie from Pink Lemon Twist is doing a Mystery Shawl KAL. Every week she will send out the instructions for a part of the shawl. At the end of six weeks, you will have completed half the shawl (or you can knit the two piece shawl simultaneously on two different sets of needles and then graft them together at the end of the six weeks). Since this is the summer of lace, I thought I would tell you guys all about it. Doesn't it sound like fun?

There are tons of other lace KALs happening right now. There is the Knit Your Own Adventure which is happening on the EZasPI yahoo group . It has already started, but the hints are still up, so even if you can't bond with the usergroup, you can still have some fun. How do I know about all these KALs? Well, I got a little over eager at Yahoo Groups last night.

In other news, check out my new knitting bag! The Brown Bookstore was having a sale and I thought it would be the perfect memento from my time at Brown. The picture is the Van Wickle Gates (not to be confused with Van Winkle) in the front of Brown University. This bag is great, because it is canvas and has no zippers or anything to snag the yarn. It is also quite roomy as you can see from this picture. It is currently holding Branching Out and Twizzler and random containers of yarn goodies.

-SAK

Knitting Television:
The Closer
Law & Order
Without a Trace

Update Monday!

I have all sorts of updates for today!

Twizzler Shawl
Twizzler and I are living in perfect harmony. I ended up working on him a bit this weekend and now I am on the second repeat of pattern #1! I keep going back and forth about whether I should get another skein. I think I am just going to bite the bullet and do it. I know I should be living on the edge for the Amazing Lace and all, but working with two different dye lots is enough for me.

Other Projects
I finished the feather & fan scarf on Saturday. I used just one ball of Silky Wool for it. I love the fact that I can make a beautiful lacey scarf with just one ball of this stuff! Silky Wool has the perfect yardage. I still need to weave in the ends and block the scarf, but I am holding off. Yesterday was beautiful, but it wasn't hot enough inside my house so that the scarf would try in the near future. I might end up blocking this scarf in Florida if we don't get several hot days in a row here in Providence.

I didn't touch the dishcloth that I wanted to finish this weekend. Instead, I started on Knitty's Branching Out. I am having a hard time with the pattern (thank goodness Twizzler's been behaving), but I LOVE the way the pattern has been coming out. I am using Silky Wool in a dark blue-purple and the pattern is just coming out so lovely. Don't the "leaves" look like grapes? This is going to be a pain to block with all the holey parts, but I don't mind. This pattern just makes me so happy.

Summer Reading Challenge 2006
I thought I was going to finish The Woman in White this weekend. I have less than 150 pages to go; however, I just can't finish this book. At this point in time the only thing keeping me going is the knowledge that the book will be over in less than 150 pages. Hopefully I will finish this book and start something more fun soon. The book is interesting. The mystery is still mysterious with only 150 pages left. My problem is that I don't care enough about the hero (and his crew) to want them to "win." Oh well. No more Wilkie Collins for me.

Amazing Lace
Nominations for the best Challenge #1 are up. I didn't get nominated but my friend E was! See her entry here and vote for her here!

-SAK

Knitting Television:
The Closer

Project Ideas and Happy Twizzler News!

So Twizzler and I are totally rocking out together. I haven't made a mistake in about 5 rows! Amazing, huh? The beginning edging and pattern #1 are really starting to show. I have wonderful and glorious lace. In all fairness I should admit that all I do when I knit Twizzler is knit Twizzler. I do watch Six Feet Under while knitting, but I remain locked in my room counting stitches very carefully. I think my plan to work on something more "sociable" this weekend is a good idea. I can't let Twizzler think he can have all my attention all the time. A girl needs space.

I am concerned that I didn't buy enough yarn. I made sure to buy more than enough yardage, but I didn't check for gauge. Instead of frogging (or knitting a gauge swatch), I might order a skein or two more. This would give me an excuse to get some yarn to dye myself. Doesn't dying yarn sound like the perfect summertime activity? Hmm, maybe it is time to join the stashalong.

I can also attest after doing MANY ssks, t2togs, and sl1 k2tog psso for Twizzler that I love the ssk. There is something simply wonderful about the gentle slip, slip sound that happens and the the ease of picking up these stitches and knitting them together. I used to enjoy the k2tog, but it doesn't feel as elegant to me as the ssk now. Of course there is much more room for error in the ssk, but I think it is now my decrease method of choice.

In other project news, I think I have a project idea for Knit the Classics. For those of you who don't know, Knit the Classics is a knit along in which people read a prechosen book and then knit a project based on the book. I knit the knecklace from Knitty for Pride and Prejudice last month. This month we are reading Wuthering Heights. I wanted to knit a shawl, because it can be very cold walking on the mores. I thought I would knit Icarus, but now I think I am going to knit the Candle Flame Shawl from Knit Picks. The reason for this shawl is because there seems to be many times that the characters need light. People keep walking around in and around houses late at night. In addition, the story is a dark romance, the story as a whole seems some friendly and sunny light.

Here are some gratuitous shots of my current dishcloth and the Feather & Fan scarf. I don't want Twizzler to think that he gets all the press and photos. I just need a few more pattern repeats for both the dishcloth and the scarf and I shall be done with both. If I get my act together, I could finish them this weekend. With the crummy weather New England has been having recently, there isn't anything better to do than curl up in a cozy blanket and knit.

-SAK

Knitting Television:
Six Feet Under (Season Two, Discs 4 & 5)

You and Me and Me and You...

Twizzler and I appear to be getting along fairly well. It might be the fact that I renamed the Sampler Shawl Twizzler, or that after every pattern repeat I double check that everything is okay, or that I am wider awake while working on him than I used to be. Whatever the reason, we are bonding well. I am a little nervous that I didn't buy enough yarn, but since this
is being knit length-wise and not width-wise, I can stop whenever I want. I might skip a couple of pattern repeats and then it will just be a wide scarf and not a shawl.

With the horrible weather New England has been having, I have had no motivation to leave my house and I have been spending my time knitting. After I come home from work, I usually have an hour or two free before my housemates come home. I use this time to sit in my room watching episodes of Six Feet Under and knitting Twizzler. Once my housemates come home, I eat dinner and then pull out the Feather & Fan Scarf to knit while watching tv with them. This weekend I will post pictures of Twizzler (if he continues to behave himself) and the (most likely finished) Feather & Fan Scarf.

Knitting Television:
Six Feet Under (Season Two, Disc Three)
Primal Fear