Resolution

1. The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.

2. A resolving to do something.

3. A course of action determined or decided on.

I am so very sorry to any of you guys who regularly read! I disappeared for a month, I know. School got really hectic and the holidays are always more stressful than they need to be. But I have made a resolution (see? I can title things cleverly!) to not do that again. Hopefully I will be able to post at least once a week from now on.

So, as far as school goes (not the focus, I know, but I feel like rambling), I finished last semester with 4As and 2 A minuses. Pretty good, and my GPA is now 3.88. Could be .02 higher (no matter what Boyfriend tells me about how it's 'close enough,' I want that 3.9!), but I am overall pleased about how it shook out, considering I had a very, very stressful semester. I finished scheduling classes for this semester. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will be taking six courses again. It's a large load, but I'm doing it so that I can take less credits next semester when I am doing my observations (go and observe/talk to a teacher in an actual school environment), to give myself more time to soak in the experience. Anywho, I'll be taking (as I know you are so interested): Survey of English Literature I, Beg-1660, Survey of English Literature II, 1660-1900 (yes, concurrently, I am an English BAMF), Intro to Inclusive Education, Mosaic II (a general Humanities course), The Universe as We Know It (fills my science requirement) and Myth and Symbol. My schedule is sort of full, but not unmanageable. And better than last semester, when I caught the train at 7 AM and got home at 9 PM on Mondays. My longest day is Thursday, where I'll be taking the 1 o clock train and getting home around 9 PM. And I don't have to get up at 6 AM at any time this semester! Wooo! The earliest class I have is one at 10 AM.

Xmas went alright. I spent Christmas Eve with my family and brought Boyfriend along. First, every year, we go to my grandmother's house. She passed years ago, but two of my dad's brothers still live there. We played pool and horsed around. My uncle Calvin gave me a really neat wicker box that stores my sock yarn and half-balls and bits and bobs admirably. Then we went to my aunt (mother's sister)'s house, where I hid and pretended I wasn't related to these people. Christmas I spent with Boyfriend's family. Boyfriend's cousin (my friend, my ex, yadda yadda)'s mother got me a piggybank shaped like balls of yarn that says "Knitting Money" on it. It combines my love of knitting, money, and really kitschy shit, so it was a great success. On Boxing Day Uncle Calvin, Boyfriend and I went to go see the Nutcracker (ballet). It was a fun day. If it hadn't been raining, we might have paid Loop a visit, but alas, it was not to be.

Knitting! That is what this blog is about, isn't it? You wouldn't know by my rambling thus far, I suppose. I have not finished a project since I saw you all last. Shameful, I know! I've started a few, though!

First is my first garment. I decided on St. James and set to work, my heart ablaze with zeal and expectation. I was knitting a sweater! I was doing it! On I knitted, through not one, but two versions of Jane Eyre, watched in the wee hours of the morning. On I knitted, through Pan's Labyrinth. I tried it on, I made adjustments (one more waist decrease, for example), and hoped that everything would work right. It didn't. When the actual body knitting was done, there was far too much fabric in between the neckline and boobs. While I was able to add a decrease in the waist and shorten the waist-hips section, I somehow did not realize that the area from neck-topofboobs was petite as well. Enter crushing disappointment. Enter asking for Rav help. Enter snipping a stitch in my sweater. On Christmas Eve, no less. That was a horrible idea. The idea was to ravel upwards and re-knit the top from the top down again. I could not get it to unravel right. As hard as I tried. Eventually I got it unravelled, but as great yarn expense. Also, I was lazy and didn't want to graft stitches all around a sweater, so I just started from my live stitches and knit up. Since it was just seed stitch, I reasoned, it wouldn't show. Stop and think about it. I knit a top down raglan upwards. Instead of increasing, I decreased. Of course, decreasing is enough of a pain in the arse in seed stitch without the added "must get this the right length" bits. I had to decrease more quickly, and to be honest, my sweater looks a little messy as a result. I half-assed it and it shows. I don't have a good picture, hard to do without natural light, but you can sort of see it in the one I chose. However, I have decided that it is good enough. Most people aren't knitters, and will just be impressed I knit it myself. I think I can camouflage the goofs well enough. I've decided to do elbow length sleeves and have about a sleeve and a half to go. I just ran out of steam on this one.

After that debacle, I wanted something easy and fluffy. So I cast on a hat in Mal in Azul Bolita. I chose the Columbia Beret because it is simple enough to let the yarn shine but has a little bit of detail to it. I'm leaving off the top doohickey. Haven't finished that yet. But look at the gorgeous color of the Malabrigo. Had a little project photoshoot today with a mirror, and I'm fond of the way that that one came out. Capturing the color of the yarn is very difficult, since I wasn't working with natural light. This came the closest. The color is about that saturated, but a little more purple and a little more dark. I'm working on it, but put it down for a bit because I have knitting ADD lately, it seems.


My last real current project is a felted bag, using the Not Your Grandma's Carpet Bag pattern. I'm knitting it in that green/navy yarn last seen in little brother's garish earflap hat. I'm hoping that felting will make the colors more palatable. If this works, it will be my first felted project. I haven't picked up any handles yet, but I hope to soon. I'm hoping to find some at Michael's or AC Moore. Sort of ugly, isn't it? I sort of love ugly things, though, as the size ten lime green zebra striped pumps in my closet can attest to. ...I wear a size 7.5.


Besides all of that, I've taught myself the Norwegian purl, which is awesome and really interesting, and cast on a pair of socks using my 9 inch size 0 Hiya Hiyas. I'm finding them difficult to use, but I think I'll acclimate. I pretty much picked them up for shits and giggles anyway. I also have some more yarn giveaways to share. At Alaskan Purl, Allison is giving away a skein of Kangaroo Dyer's Merino/Alpaca/Silk yarn in the Caliph's Sunset colorway. This DK weight yarn looks gorgeous! Thanks Allison! Jeff at Yarnstasher is also starting off the New Year on the right foot with a massive giveaway. Check it out; you won't regret it, I promise. Thanks, Jeff! Finally, again, sorry for simply disappearing, but here's to a more productive and bloggy 2010!

Colorwork: Or, Look What I Did!

Hello, all out there in blog-land!

So, as you can see by today's title, I have tried something new: colorwork! I got tired of the endless yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog of Wisp, so I decided to start something new for the moment. I want a hat with earflaps. I've wanted one for a while, and the fact that they seem to be in style right now (although fuck me if I really know, because I am the least fashionable person around) was a plus. So, I started browsing Rav for patterns, and I kept coming back to the Norwegian Star Earflap Hat. I liked the design, but I wondered if I could really do colorwork. I've never done any sort of it before, not even stripes. After some encouragement by a cotillion of internet buddies, I decided to take the plunge. I went with the two handed method (or, as it could be less eloquently described, double-fisting), and it was my first time really using English method. I found it pretty easy, except I couldn't find a comfortable way to wind the yarn around my finger. Also, my right hand is still sort of idiotic when it comes to these things.

So, the colorwork turned out pretty darn well for a first try, but I can't get the damned thing to fit properly. First the earflaps were more like neckwarmers, so I frogged back and tried again. Still too long, so I frogged back and tried again. And now... it's too short. Looks like a damned toddler's hat. I should have put in a lifeline last time but didn't, so I'm going to have to painstakingly frog yet again. Do you know how difficult it is to A. Keep track of the beginning of the round B. Get all of the stitches back on the needle and C. Orient them all correctly? It's a giant pain in the ass. Giant pain. I'd give up if this weren't my first colorwork, I swear. As it is, I am quite proud of it, so damn it, it . will. be. perfect.

And as for the yarn and pattern. The pattern is pretty much impeccably written, but the hat runs a little deep (which is why I unsuccessfully tried to shorten it). I would definitely recommend it. Clear directions, nice chart, and everything is laid out beautifully. The purple yarn is Malabrigo, worsted, and it is a joy to work with. The stitch definition is fantastic! The blue is Universal Yarn Deluxe Worsted Tones, which is a decent wool. Seems to have a lot of lanolin, but it's nice enough.

Wisp is slumbering right now, but it will be finished! I just needed a break. Also, in blog giveaways recently, Simplified Bee is having a $25 gift card giveaway to one of a few craft stores in order to celebrate 100 posts! Congrats! Audrey's Give Aways is having a giveaway of an Atomic Mushroom painting. Normally, I would not mention a non-yarn giveaway, but Boyfriend is quite the amateur mycologist and this would be great for him, as sort of a jokey gift. And finally, SadieKate is giving away 3 skeins of yarn from 100 Pure Wool. What pretty yarn! As always, I thank the bloggers and their sponsors for their generosity!