Bad Blogger, Bad!

Sorry... no one. Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis. All three of you.

School's been hectic and most of my knitting has been sort of put by the wayside. I started a pair of gloves (Knotty Gloves), but I had to rip back. It was my first time reading a cable chart and I buggered it up big time. So I have to rip back about 5-6 rows to the ribbing. It always takes me forever to put something I've ripped back on the needles, though. It's so tedious. Boring, boring, boring.

My main project at the moment is one that I just cast off yesterday: another cowl for me. The first time I just cast off the normal way, and it was too tight to fit over a human head. Well, I could get it on, but let's just say you haven't felt forehead pain until you've tried to shimmy a too-small cowl off of your head. Ouch. Or more appropriately, a quiet ow ow ow ow, trying not to alert anyone to your dumbassery. So, I undid it (teeeeeedious, so tedious) and re-bound off with Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. That worked fairly well, although I do need to block. Oh, and the pattern and the yarn and zee photos, of course! Please excuse the horrible quality, Myspace-y look, and end hanging out (klassy):

I know that I take an awful photo, no need to remind me.  And that I look like some sort of misguided yarn gangsta on the right. But a friend of mine said it showed the knitting better, so you all get to see my mug not once, but twice. Take it in, because I am usually fairly reticent to post my photo online. I don't photograph well, no matter how nice I may look in real life. Also, by the time I get home, it's dark, so I'm working by myself by the light of one dim lamp. A sad portrait of our stalwart blogger, huh?

The yarn is Malabrigo Worsted in Stone Blue (photo left is a better representation of the color) and the pattern is Crofter's Cowl by Gudrun Johnston. It is available on her blog, here: http://shetlandtrader.blogspot.com/. Look in the right column, you'll find it. The pattern is originally supposed to be done in two parts and grafted together to create a mirror image. Always the lazy knitter, I just did five or six repeats and called it a day. The lace pattern ended up moving around for no reason a few times. I think I missed yo's or did a single decrease instead of a double or something. It's certainly not the pattern's fault. But I wore it today (miserable weather here in Philly, just awful. Rain and wind and cold and sadness) and it was so warm and soft that I forgive it any mistakes. My neck was thanking me the whole day.

My other main project is for a Secret Santa, so I can't post about it here. Shh!

And contests. There is one for one of eight skeins of yarn over at Photo. Knit. Dog. Last day to enter is today, so hurry up!  Knittin Brit in WI is having a very generous giveaway as well. I won't ruin the surprise for you. Last day is Saturday for that one. Darcy's Knotty Knitter is having a Sari Silk giveaway, which expires tomorrow at midnight. As always, thanks for your generosity, giveaway people! It is always much apreciated.