hummingbird knits

I'm alive, I swear

2009-08-31T15:55:00.000-07:00

It has been a ridiculously long time since my last post. I've gotten a bit away from knitting lately, but the college semester is starting up again and I think I'll be doing more of it now--riding the subway to and from my co-op research position. I've got a lot to talk about!

My only real in-progress knit is a pair of Pomatomus that have been going, in different incarnations, for a few years now. They're very nearly done though, so here's a shoddy webcam pic of the first. Soon there should be a shoddy webcam pic of the pair!

Additionally, I bought a fountain pen a few weeks back, and I love it. It's a Lamy Safari in special-edition pink.

I also got black ink refills because the pen originally came with blue and I'm not a huge fan of anything other than deep, dark black for writing in my journal. And this, of course, brings me to another point: I just entered a contest over on Denise's blog, Lost City Knits. Maybe it was the impetus for me to post...but hey, it was a good one! I want to keep going, I forgot that blogging is fun. Till next time...

I swear, knitting soon

2009-05-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

Physics is tomorrow at 2:30 pm, EST. Please be thinking good thoughts for me, or sending good physics karma my way if at all possible. This is a devil-class.

That is all.

Regular summer programming to resume shortly.

Aaah!

2009-05-04T14:31:00.001-07:00

It's finals week and I'm a little bit freaked out. All of the coursework for my fiction-writing seminar is done, and I'm currently studying for one of my three remaining finals.

Left to do are Molecular Analysis, Introductory Physics II, and Intro Statistics. I'll be sooo glad to be done on Friday, let me tell you.

My roommate just told me I'm a very violent typer. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the mental state brought on by this time of year...

Lots of Stuff

2009-02-24T05:10:00.000-08:00

I'm not feeling particularly verbose at the moment, so here are some photos for anyone who might stumble on my poor neglected blog:

Touch of Whimsy scarf I knit for this winter out of Cascade Eco+.

Baroness Beret out of KP Wool of the Andes in Mist.

Amazing swap package from bellasocks on Ravelry: Cookie A International Valentine's Day Swap.

A closer shot of the Koigu...isn't it beautiful?!

My first socks ever: Patons Kroy sock yarn that I dyed from natural with Kool-Aid and knit into toe-up short-row anklets. I like a heel flap much better, now.

Specific details are all on my projects page on Ravelry: I'm "socomfyhere" over there.

Going Back

2009-01-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

So my winter break is pretty much over: classes start up again on Monday. I did get a few things finished, knitting-wise, so I'll post pics and specs soon. Sorry I've been so quiet, there have been a lot of changes around here lately. First and foremost, BF has been out of the picture for a while now. I'm getting used to it, but that explains most of the silence. Also in that time I've gotten a haircut, knit a beret, and finished a scarf. So expect more from me, pretty soon!

A Finished Object!

2008-12-27T09:06:00.001-08:00

I'm rather bored of break, already. I know, that's totally lame, I should enjoy the time to myself. But BF went across a few continents and his internet access is spotty, BFF works a lot, and my family is driving me nuts. So I'm holing up in my room, knitting and listening to podcasts and reading. Not a bad way to pass time, but I sure do wish BF was here.

I finished this Gloria Cowl in about a day and a half, using the STR mediumweight that BF gave me back in September as a birthday gift. I *love* Chapman Springs!

And here it is on me. It took like 18 shots to get a good one, but once I started I couldn't just give up and use a crappy photo...

Finals Week...

2008-12-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

I've been pretty stressed lately, but luckily yesterday I sold back my Economics textbook and got surprised with $80 back! So I then promptly went to Ravelry and bought a skein of mediumweight STR in Bella Coola, as retail therapy for the stressed-out-ness. Then, looking through the other projects people have made with that same yarn, I realized how perfect it is for the Pomatomus pattern. Since I was pretty unsatisfied with my Pomatomus-in-progress I decided to rip it and got some further catharsis from the school-induced stress. Only one more test!

Cadence Tagged Me!

2008-12-15T10:12:00.001-08:00

And I've finished my toughest final, so I'm taking the bait. Here's how it works:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

MY SIX THINGS, from Girl Meets Needle

1. Whenever I walk down a set of stairs, especially stone ones (there are a lot on my hilly campus), I'm afraid that I'm going to fall down them face-first and break all my teeth. I categorically refuse to even walk fast down stairs because it freaks me out so much.

2. I'm a college junior and refuse to drink alcohol (wine at church, Bailey's drizzled on vanilla ice cream, all fine. But actually drinking? Not for me...and it's probably related to #3).

3. Vomiting is the most unpleasant experience in the world, in my opinion.

4. I go to church because I like to sing and I've been doing it my whole life, not because I feel particularly strongly about religion.

5. I'm pretty much a garbage compactor for my friends: any food they don't want, I'll try and probably eat. It's one of my principal skills.

6. John Mayer is my favorite musical artist of all time, and I don't care if people don't like him. If people try to convince me he's terrible, that's when I start caring, and being annoyed with those people. My mind is made up :)

Ahh! I don't know six bloggers! Anyone who reads my blog and wants to take this, you're welcome to it!

All that remains

2008-12-14T17:37:00.001-08:00

Cell physiology final tomorrow, 9 am. Hardest test all week.

Turn in English portfolio.

Find out about an off-campus study program that I applied to...acceptance letters supposedly will be out tomorrow.

Get a unit test grade back.

Econ final Tuesday, 9 am.

Geography final Wednesday, whenever I want.

Physics final Friday, noon.

Me and BF, figuring out the status of our relationship before he leaves the country for a majority of the break, Friday when I get back home.

The Final Push

2008-11-30T14:45:00.001-08:00

The end of the semester is fast approaching now that Thanksgiving is over, and I have three large written things, a presentation, a poster, a unit test, and four final exams to deal with in the next three weeks. For that reason, I will be trying very hard to make myself scarce on the internet. (I'm pretty much obsessed, so it'll be a tough task.) Have a lovely few weeks, all!

A Quiz!

2008-11-24T18:53:00.001-08:00

From Girl Meets Needle, my new favorite Massachusetts-ian whom I know from plurk! Not allowed to use more than one word for responses...I think it'll be kind of tough.

Where is your mobile phone?
Desk

Where is your significant other?
college

Your hair colour?
blonde

Your mother?
home

Your father?
ESPN

Your favorite thing?
sleep

Your dream last night?
none

Your dream goal?
graduate (x2)

The room you’re in?
combo

Your hobby?
knitting

Your fear?
many

Where do you want to be in 6 years?
married

Where were you last night?
homeworking

What you’re not?
dedicated

One of your wish-list items?
books

Where you grew up?
northeast

The last thing you did?
undercarboxylation

What are you wearing?
clothes

Your TV?
shared

Your pets?
none

Your computer?
wonderful!

Your mood?
ill :(

Missing someone?
BF

Your car?
trusty

Something you’re not wearing?
make-up

Favourite shop?
Borders

Your summer?
gone

Love someone?
much

Your favorite color?
blue

When is the last time you laughed?
minutes

When was the last time you cried?
days

I'm not sure who, of my readers, is into doing memes. But if you read this and want to join in the one-word fun, go right ahead and take it (but if you want to leave me a comment about it, that'd be really nice :))

I like to get mail...

2008-11-23T17:44:00.000-08:00

So the Ravelry Destash board is my friend, for its plethora of reasonably priced sock yarns in colors that I would never actively go looking for but that I end up loving:

This puts my sock yarn stash up to 5 pairs' worth, and now that I've got to make a pair for my godmother and I found out my little brother would love a pair, I've got to find some more! (None of these skeins would work for them...)

Lo Mein Brain

2008-11-10T15:13:00.000-08:00

So today's Econ test was tough--lots of nit-picky stuff that I would've known if I had spent more than 4 hours studying all weekend. Tomorrow I've got to make Cell Phys worth the sacrifice of Econ studying time...it's more important, anyway, being a 300-level class in my major. Econ is just a distribution requirement (liberal arts, yadda yadda, pain in my ass!)

In better news, however, I just got a call from the car people and they said that I simply broke a tube on the air conditioning system--not the entire radiator. Should be cheaper and quicker than what I had initially suspected, thank goodness. And some housemates and I (not including the cranky, defensive one) ordered in cheap-o Chinese food for dinner. Haven't had that in a long time, so the nice happy food-brain chemicals are getting me really pumped for cell phys studying...or something like that. Does MSG poisoning make you chipper at onset?

Procrasti-knit-ing

2008-11-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Of course, that basically means "hello self!" but I'll ignore that fact and pretend I have an audience...

This week I have an economics test on Monday, a cell phys test on Tuesday, a physics test on Friday, and I plan to visit BF that same afternoon. So after a friend and I went to brunch this morning, I managed to mangle my car's radiator by pulling too far into a parking space--lamest car accident ever. Hopefully it will be easily and quickly fixable, but I'm getting a little bit stressed out about that combination of things. Can't even go to yoga this afternoon because I should be studying.

I've been doing some knitting so far this semester, mostly to avoid schoolwork or to keep my hands busy during Grey's Anatomy. Nothing of it is very far along:

This sock is out of some Regia yarn that was gifted to me by a woman from whom I bought Louet Gems fingering over Ravelry for an eventual pair of Twisted Flower socks. It's cute and clown-barfy, and a nice brain-drain knit: no thinking, just stockinette.

I'm actually about twice as far on this scarf right now, but all the repeats look the same, so just imagine it longer. I really like the Cascade Eco+, as well as the pattern.

And last but not least, BF got me Socks that Rock for my birthday in September! I'm so proud. (I bookmarked it on his computer and put my favorite BMFA color in my facebook interests and told him to look there...but he did the actual purchasing all on his own. Nice job, male brain.)

So that's all that is interesting in my life right now...recently reached plurk nirvana and am hoping to reach academic nirvana just as painlessly, haha. Off to study...

Summer's Over!

2008-08-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

So I am back at school, getting ready to start classes tomorrow. I finished the birthday sock on time, and now just have to think of one more little cool gift-y thing by the 12th. I washed them and left them out to dry, which I will pick up this coming weekend when I have to go home to get a new retainer (ick!) The socks fit me pretty well too, so I modeled them on my feet:

I'm happy with how they turned out, but the second one was becoming interminable by the end. If it hadn't been for the deadline they'd probably still be on the needles. And the recipient already liked the first one so he should like the pair.

This semester I am taking a cell physiology class, physics, economics, writing fiction and urban geography. It's a pretty eclectic schedule, and 1.25 classes more than the average load at my school, so I'll be busy! I'm a little worried about the workload, but since two of the classes are introductory-level and there's no reading-intensive class (as far as I can tell--reading for a fiction class is all fun anyway), I think it should be alright. I go to a liberal arts school, can't you tell?

My blog posts aren't super-regular, so I don't think it'll be a huge change for anyone when they become even more sporadic. Also, do I even have any regular readers? The answer to this one could be interesting...

Anyway, the summer has been good, and I'll be doing what I can in terms of knitting and posting during the semester, so I might be back soon.

Realistically

2008-08-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

I have lost my mind! I don't know if I'll get the second gray sock done by the time I get back to school, let alone another Pomatomus or an entire sweater! Plurk, Ravelry, BF, and family are conspiring against me, clearly...

Photo Overload!

2008-08-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in the last entry, since my summer jobs have ended, I've returned home for a few weeks of relaxing and planning before returning to campus for the fall semester. I'm trying to pack as much as possible into that time, and blogging has slightly fallen by the wayside. Not knitting, or knitting-related activities though!

I got my Starbucks & Yarn swap package yesterday from anniebananie. What a lovely package!

One skein UrbanGypZ handpainted merino sock yarn in Electric Lizard: beautiful, machine-washable, and 560 yards!?!? AMAZING.

Some beautiful fingerless mitts which I plan to wear frequently while typing or researching in the chilly college library this fall/winter.

And pair of lovely drink cozies to put around the drinks I will buy with my $15 Starbucks gift card.

All in all, a fantastic package. Thank you so much Annie!

In other recent yarn-news, I purchased some Koigu on the cheap via the Ravelry destash boards.

In the end, I realized that it was from Nicole of Stash&Burn fame! And that was only my first brush with knitting celebrity: the second occurred on plurk, a site I tried resisting for nearly a month. It's a "microblogging" site where users just post quick blurbs and then can get quick responses. It's quite fun and tempting, with the concept of "Karma" worked in there. Anyway, I posted about an item I recently made for my swap send-to-partner, and Miss Violet of Lime'n'Violet responded! I'm still new to the plurk world, and not hugely chatty so I don't get a lot of responses, so I was way excited.

I think that about covers it, in the knitting realm. With all that lovely new yarn, in addition to my old projects, I sure need to get to work!

The month of August

2008-08-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

I am back home from my two summer jobs, and I have three weeks off until school starts back up again. It is great! I get to enjoy myself now for a little while, and hopefully will get a lot of knitting done. Which will be necessary, in order to complete all of the projects I currently have in mind:
the Pomatomus socks, the birthday Yao Ming socks, the August Lady sweater (that I truly have yet to even start...), and the sock-weight Mahayana Flying Gloves that I hope to knit in the Koigu being sent to me by Stash & Burn's Nicole.

Also planned: a trip south to pick up the Non-Husband DH so he can share in the delights of time off, a trip to a relatively-nearby amusement park, a concert with the Highly-Communicative BFF, and unpacking/repacking from the summer and for the semester. Should be an interesting three weeks.

Slightly behind schedule

2008-08-05T20:10:00.001-07:00

I finished this first sock of the Yao Ming pair (as I'm referring to them on Ravelry) last night while watching Conan...far later than I should be awake on a work night but I'm glad to have it done. I know it's not for me, but the recipient has men's size 9 feet and I have women's size 8.5...note the bagginess at the toe and heel. Not huge but it should be enough. And I'm particularly sure of that because I had him try on the 75% completed sock last Wednesday. I will soon cast on the second one, but not until I'm out of the campus housing where I've been staying for the past eleven weeks...

But of course, that's a whole story in itself. The lovely residential life staff has decided to kick us out four days earlier than they indicated, with the consolation of allowing us to move into another dorm for the interim. So basically I'll be moving out of this room tomorrow and living out of a backpack for two nights until I'm done with work and can leave campus for good (or at least for the three weeks before school officially starts on Labor Day, another joy).

I've set myself a goal

2008-07-28T17:28:00.001-07:00

I've decided that this sock should be finished by the end of July (yes, I know, cutting it close...but I have this Thursday off). Then I can finish the second in the month of August, along with my swap project and the other stuff that I want to get finished before the semester starts. Seems pretty reasonable, right?

In other news, I only have two weeks left in my summer jobs (including this one). It's very exciting, especially since I am taking some very cool classes this semester--more on that later! Of course, I'm also beginning to acknowledge the fact that hanging out with Mr. DH every weekend (boyfriend, please remember...) will not be happening during the year. It will probably take some adjusting. Poo.

A bit of progress

2008-07-25T23:46:00.000-07:00

I am plugging away on the birthday present socks, and have finished the heel on the first. At this point, I plan to finish the first before July ends, so I can have almost all of August to knit up the second. And yes, I am that slow of a knitter. Pictures soon, maybe even on the future recipient's foot!

Speaking of birthdays, my best friend Miss J. had a birthday today--I nearly forgot! Luckily (for me, not for my swap partner) I had just procured a Starbucks-related object that made a lovely gift for her. I will just have to find/buy/make another. (Secrecy because I don't want to give away the package's contents yet!)

Resisting because I must

2008-07-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I went to visit a friend, in a nearby city (huge compared to where I am, but not the biggest in central NY). It just so happened that I dropped said friend off for a two-hour gig volunteering at the hospital in town (pre-med) and had nothing to do in the interim. What's a girl to do but stop in at the nearby Barnes & Noble store--one of which is nowhere near her current residence--? I was sipping away at my innocent and cheap (compared to a book) tall non-fat iced caramel macchiato when I accidentally dripped a drop on the book I was perusing. Well of course, what could be brushed away and pretty much ignored in a library book (after notifying the librarian on duty, of course) COULD NOT be ignored in a store, so I just had to purchase the book--Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand if anyone's curious. Then, conveniently located in the center aisle on the way to the cash register, was a display of these huge volumes, multiple books by a single classical author bound together...and on sale for $8 a pop. So one of those came home with me too.

All of that leading up to my current resistance effort: not buying any Knitpicks Kettle-dyed Essential Sock Yarn, or Lisa Souza Sock Merino in "Miss Violet's Pink Ribbon" (both of which are available on Ravelry via stashes: cheaper and SO tempting) because that money is sitting on my bookshelf.

Time warp!

2008-07-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

My first experience with mobile blogging! Even after knitting all evening at trivia this past week, I felt that I had made ZERO progress. But now looking back at the picture from last time it seems that I have nothing to worry about.

Some New Progress

2008-07-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

I have been continuing to squeeze friends, reading, and knitting into my non-working time, and this past weekend I was very successful:

This is the many-times aforementioned birthday sock, knit on Takumi US2 dpns (2.75 mm) in Knitpicks Essential. I really like the Essential so far: not very splitty, good size for a tight knitter, and the fabric has a very nice texture. It might be the heathery color, but I have noticed that this yarn doesn't have the most amazing stitch definition ever, but for the price it can't be beat.

One finished sock!

2008-07-03T22:13:00.001-07:00

I have not done nearly as much knitting or reading as I would have liked this summer. I have, however, spent a lot of time with people who are very important to me, and I have listened to a lot of podcasts. I have also learned a lot about the job that I have long hoped to have when I grow up, and what I have learned has confirmed the initial thought--that it is what I want to do.

And there has been a bit of knitting progress: the first Pomatomus sock that I have actually finished. I started this pattern multiple times, but actually plan to end up with a full pair this time! Another will be following, as soon as I finish (and start!) a birthday present sock-pair with a September deadline.

Starbucks & Yarn questionnaire

2008-07-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

1. Name: Lindsay W

2. Ravelry ID: socomfyhere

4. Blog address: HERE :)

5. Handmade item you desire in the swap: cup cozy

6. Starbucks item you desire (gift card, mug, beans, etc.): gift card or mug

7. Favorite Starbucks beverage/bean: Triple grande stirred non-fat iced caramel macchiato (yep, one of THOSE)

8. Favorite snack food: baked or kettle potato chips, wasabi peas, anything dark chocolate or cranberry

9. Favorite color(s): Blue, or anything highly saturated (brights, jewel tones...just not pastels!)

10. Favorite fragrance: Anything sweet or unusual. I saw "celery" scented eau de toilette and it was the coolest thing!

11. What types of things do you like to knit? Socks! Any kind of smallish thing, like hats or mitts but not gloves! Don't think I'm patient enough to do fingers.

12. Do you spin? No. Not hugely interested in learning, either.

13. Do you dye your own yarn? I've done the Kool-Aid thing, but it didn't really catch my fancy.

14. Favorite yarns: any sock yarn except Noro (too skinny!) Also I love plain hearty wools like Patons Merino or Cascade 220.

15. Favorite needles: metal dpns are great, I've recently ordered my first set of bamboo (nice and cheap via Ravelry Destash) so we'll see how that goes.

16. Do you have any allergies? Yes! Allergic to cats

17. Would you be willing to prepare an angel kit if necessary? On my tight college-student budget, I don't think it's feasible :( Sorry...

18. Do you have any special requests: nope

19. Do you have any pets: nope

20. Is your home smoking or nonsmoking: Non! It's a dorm...

The best-laid plans...

2008-06-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

This summer, I set up some lofty goals for myself in the knitting and reading realms. As the semester dwindled, I bought myself a nice shiny new book each pay-period as motivation to get through to summer. It's exciting to have a lot of time to read, as I love to do it and have very little time during actual school months. I even went to the big beautiful built-in-2007 library on Friday and picked up five more that I want to read (mostly short stories this time, while the others were mostly novels). So I really need to get cracking....it's just that Ravelry is such a magical invention, it sucks away all my time!

Finishing that baby sweater also took a bit, though not too much. I knew baby sweaters were small, but I never realized how fast the whole thing would go! I recently finished the first Pomatomus sock, and now I just have to make the second (SSS, me? Nah...). But I also got some KP Essential in gray from a fellow Raveler (five bucks! super-cool) for some birthday present socks, with a planned giving date of September. So those should get started soon too, as I am a rather slow knitter. And I have to make something for Starbucks & Yarn soon, when I get the details of my partner. And I have some Ultra Alpaca (rav) that I sweaterified last summer and de-sweaterified pretty recently, waiting for inspiration and super-fast fingers to strike.

So I have a lot to get done, and not a ton of time in which to do it. New pics next post, I promise.

Some things just aren't for me...

2008-06-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

I gave the baby sweater to its intended recipient on Thursday, and she liked it a lot. I'm glad that she decided to keep working so close up to her due date, as it enabled me to finish the sweater in a comfortable amount of time--and of course this way she doesn't get too bored before the baby comes.

Having babies is a crazy thing. Two years out of high school, I know a lot of girls who graduated with me have already had kids--some intentionally. I know I could certainly not handle a child at this age, and I'm pretty sure it's not that I'm immature. I know, decades ago, it was common for an 18-year-old woman to have a kid or two already. However, now the average marriage age is 27, which sounds like a much more reasonable time for me to be having kids. For now I'll just make a nice quick easy sweater for those who want a more permanent cute thing in their lives.

Then again, I really want a puppy.

Starting up again

2008-06-19T19:53:00.001-07:00

100_1561
Originally uploaded by socomfyhere

Today I finished off a baby sweater I had been making for my co-worker Amanda (Rav link). She and her hubby want to be surprised on July 8, in terms of the baby's gender, so I tried to make sure it was pretty neutral. I wrapped it up and brought it down to the softball field to give to her, because her husband was playing with his local team very close to the building where I'm living. It was cute, and I felt distinctly like a suburban soccer-mom type. Working in a real eye doctor's office for the summer has done a lot for making this 19-year-old feel a bit more like an adult.

Of all the projects I mentioned in the most recent real post (nearly a year ago), I finished zero of them. School is not amenable to getting knitting done. I'm currently working on some Pomatomus socks (Rav link) but I'm concerned about the gauge, they might end up a bit small for me. I'm conflicted, since I love the pattern and the yarn--I don't want to ruin the allure of either. But I also don't want to rip out a nearly-whole sock. Any suggestions???

I have gotten so into Ravelry and knitting this summer, including the Starbucks and Yarn swap (hello fellow *buxers!) so I wanted to really get into the blogging thing too. I read so many blogs that I feel I should give back to the 'sphere.

Terrible timing

2007-08-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

So of course I am realizing that starting a blog at the beginning of a semester filled with organic chemistry, biology, classical studies and creative writing (not to mention labs) was a pretty stupid idea.

Let's start at the beginning...

2007-08-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

I am typing this first blog entry from a public use computer in the library at school. Seems an odd time to start a knitting blog, seeing as I don't have a camera with me to document the three projects I am currently working on--only one of which accompanied me to campus. But some of this blog will just be normal life content, without any knitting. Because sometimes I just like to write about things when they are stressing me out, and the public format of a blog opens up the possibility of other people joining the discussion. And if there's one important thing for readers to know about me, it's that I love to talk and discuss things. There I go again, already assuming I'll get readers. I'll just let that be my little delusion for now...and my motivation to stick with updating (and to make sure the updates are interesting).

So this morning I left at 8 and ended up driving a total of about 140 miles. That includes driving to DH's house (boyfriend's initials, not "darling husband") and starting out toward his school, turning around to get the pillow he forgot, then taking him about an hour and a half to his school. Dropping him off really sucked...basically being in a long-distance relationship in general sucks. But we did have a really great time together for the 10 days we had between the end of his summer semester and today, so I should really focus more on the goodness there. Or just focus on something else all together. So after I dropped him off I embarked for my school--the first time driving between the two instead of taking a bus. The drive wasn't too bad, slightly over an hour and a half. Unfortunately a lot of it was on twisty country roads so having my own car on campus might still not make visiting each other any easier once it gets snowy and icy (which it most certainly will, soon enough, this being Upstate New York and all). But again, the less I think about that right now the better. Not thinking about it means not being sad, and I'm all for not being sad.

I'll at least describe the projects I'm currently working on. First and foremost, the pair of Cascade Fixation socks I am making for my godmother in color 9245. I told her I would knit her a pair of socks in whatever yarn she wanted, so she picked cotton and elastic in order for the socks in question to become her gym socks. I honestly wasn't thrilled with the thought of my handiwork being used primarily for working out, but whatever. They're her socks, I can't stipulate what she does with them. Anyway, she has size 6 feet so I am using size 5 dpns and a 42-stitch toe-up template. I've finished one toe and am ready to unzip the provisional cast-on...that's a new technique for me so I hope I'm doing it correctly. The toe seems pretty small, but that might just be because I am so accustomed to my own size 9 feet.

I am also in the final stages of a self-designed cardigan in Berroco Ultra Alpaca (color Oceanic Mix). It was originally going to be a reverse-engineered version of the Interweave Sienna Cardigan, but my v-neck skills are a little lacking so it's more of a scoop-necked cardi. All I really have left to do is the collar (which is the part I most wanted to imitate from Sienna) but since I'm not sure whether it will work with the current neckline shape or not, I keep putting it off. Maybe I'll bring it with me back to school upon returning from Kentucky next week and finish up when I'm officially back on campus.

Last up I have a pair of Knitty Dashing armwarmers going, on size 7 dpns in Lion Brand Wool-Ease Rose Heather. All of these things I hope to finish close to the start of the semester, because while school is going I don't have much time to knit at all. And I'm taking Organic Chemistry this year so my time might be even more in demand. That makes me wonder about the logic of starting a blog now, because I don't want to ditch it after a week like I've seen happen (and definitely to myself). So I plan on being back next week with a better description of why exactly I'm on campus right now...maybe the suspense will grab me some more readers.