New Socks

I really don't know why it takes me so long to finish socks - in this case it was probably doing the cross-over stitch, which wasn't hard, but definitely fiddly. The yarn is Lorna's Laces, gifted to me by ReluctantMango, who had it left over from a beautiful shawl she made. With my size-5 feet, I had more than enough for a pair of socks. This was my first time using Lorna's Laces, which I've heard so many raves about. I though the colors were exceptional, very saturated and complementary. I've worn them 3 or 4 times, however, and they are getting something like a halo of fiber. I'm sort of concerned about this, since I think it might start obscuring the pattern, and might mean that they won't last as long as more hard-wearing sock yarns. Anyone else have experience with this? Otherwise, I'm very happy with them and look forward to wearing them, oh, in probably November when it finally gets cold enough in New Mexico. Darn you desert, you are thwarting my knitting!

FINITO!

I FINISHED GRAD SCHOOL! [Insert huge sigh of relief.] For two years I have been fantasizing about this moment, for a time when I no longer had any school work to do. In these two years, I have read THOUSANDS of pages, written hundreds more, spent over 1200 hours at assistantships, sat for hours and hours in classes, and have continually felt guilty during the few moments I had a break, because I "should be doing something." (If you were/are a grad student, then you understand this nagging guilt.)

But now I'm free!! Exciting times are ahead - in a couple of weeks I'll be moving 2,000 miles away to New Mexico, where I will finally get to live in the same zip code as my fiance. There's a lot of unknowns out there, but it just makes life more of an adventure, right?

In addition to finally getting to "read for pleasure" and settling into my new home, there is always more knitting on the horizon. I'll have to content myself with a pair of socks for now, though, since my yarn has been packed away in preparation for its long journey.

I finished Green Gable a few weeks ago, in time for Maryland Sheep & Wool. I was originally concerned about the fit - so I made a Frankenstein version. The top half is a size larger than the bottom half - to accommodate my bulging biceps, of course. I'm quite happy with how it turned out, and I will definitely be getting a lot of use out of this sweater in the future.

One of my little experiments over the past few months (mainly done while "working") was starting a blog of all the books I read. I'm not sure if I'll stick with it, but for now I thought I'd give it a shot. You can see it here: Read It Like You Mean It.

Also, one of my former roommates has started a blog. She's originally from Pakistan, and has recently moved back home to start a new job. Her writings are really interesting comments on a country that most of us Americans know little about. Check her out at: Thoughts.

Maryland Sheep and Wool 2007

I was able to get out of the house long enough to experience some serious yarn overload this past weekend. It was my second time to Maryland Sheep and Wool, where I was accompanied by some lovely ladies from my knitting group. Having learned how to improve our experience from last year (i.e. bringing our own lunch!), the girls and I left at 6:30am to get a good parking spot and first dibbs on all the yarn we could catch. I spent nearly three times what I did last year - although considering last year I spent $12, that's not really anything to brag about.

Of course, there were plenty of sheep to go around. I totally need a baby lamb now. I'll keep it in the backyard.

We were such amazing shoppers that we had to sit on a bench and rest to get our energy up again. Here are my knitting buddies, whom I'll miss very much when I move 2000 miles away in only a few weeks.

Here is my personal yarn enhancement. I love, love the Tess designer yarns sock yarn. At $15, it was the most expensive sock yarn that I've ever purchased. But one look at the colors, and I doubt you could turn it down, even if you are not a knitter. I also got some deeply discounted Regia sock yarn and some multi-colored yarn for a big scarf (which I'm sure I won't be needing in the desert.)

Check over on the sidebar to read the accounts of my fellow knitters: ReluctantMango, Yarn Mama, and the SmileSpot.

Walking in New Mexico

Wow, I've been missing for a while. The good news is that I've turned my thesis in, all 65 pages of it. It's a huge relief, and means that I just have to finish out the semester, and I'm well on my way to graduation. Three weeks to go, and two 15-page papers to write: so it will still be a little while before I can get back to real life.

Here are some pictures that I took while in New Mexico in late March. These are all along my new favorite walking route. How many of you can say that you can visit a donkey less than a mile from your house??

The rest of the pictures can be found on my Picassa site.

Procrastin-X

Thesis: due in T-minus 12 days.

(These comics saved my life. More at www.phdcomics.com)

Vacation & Knitting again

After my horrible airline experience last week, it was nice to see this:

We went to Ruidoso, New Mexico for a short trip - its hard to believe that this is only 3 hours from the desert (which is currently 85 degrees - yay spring!) This picture was taken from a fabulous casino/hotel on the Apache Indian reservation. It's surreal to see a giant casino, complete with an underground parking garage, in the middle of a rural mountain area. Of course we weren't staying there, but since the view was so awesome, and the building so relaxing (lots of comfy couches), I'm hoping to scrape together the cash to stay there on our next visit. (Inn of the Mountain Gods)

Since I am currently on spring break (ahh, my last spring break ever), I've had a little time to knit. I started Green Gable, which I've had my eye on for a while. I know from experience that ZephyrStyle patterns knit up really, really small, so I bought extra yarn - Cotton Fleece on sale! I'm hoping to wear this to Maryland Sheep & Wool in May, so I have incentive to finish it within a month.

Also, the socks in a 2-stitch cable pattern are nearing completion. I'm not sure how much yarn they will take, so I'm knitting them to the same length, then dividing the rest in half. Considering that its already 85 degrees in March, I'm not sure how much use I will get out of them in the near future.

Travel Hell

Why it took me 32 hours to get to New Mexico.

Thursday
8:30am Wake up

10:00 Arrive at school to wait for ride to airport

1:30pm Leave for airport

2:30 Arrive airport, start waiting

5:00 Find out flight is delayed 2 hours, so I'll miss my connection.

5:30 Am told that I only have two options: fly to Houston and stay there overnight, at my own cost, or leave the airport and come back in the morning. I call my roommate, who is able to drive to the airport to pick me up, but not until late. I also find out that my flight in the morning is at 5:30am.

9:00 Arrive back home (more than 12 hours have elapsed, and I'm back where I started.)

10:00 Go to bed.

Friday
2:00 AM Wake up

2:45 $86 airport shuttle picks me up

3:30 Arrive at airport, again

4:30 security opens - the line was HUGE, even though it was 4:30 in the morning

5:00 board plane

10:15am (mountain time) - arrive El Paso

2:15pm - arrive in Carlsbad

So, a journey that should have taken me 7 hours ended up taking me the better part of 2 days. I understand that airlines are delayed by weather, but Continental airlines refused to put me up in a hotel, either in Houston or Philadelphia, and offered me no other solution but to find my own transportation home again and then back to the airport at an ungodly hour. That was the only flight I could get on. I've flown a good number of times, and this was the first with Continental. I'm never flying with them again, and I hope you don't either!

House

See this? This is reason why I haven't posted in a while, and why I haven't knitted anything seriously in about a month. I'm currently in the midst of editing 28 pages about this house. "How is that possible, how can you write 28 pages about one house?" you may ask. And now you know why I'm going crazy. Oh, maybe I should also mention that this house was demolished ten years ago, making this project even more "fun!" The monster is due April 23, so talk amongst yourselves until then. I'll give you a topic: "Grad school seemed like a good idea at the time."

Two-in-One

I present to you a before and after. Before:

Yeah, it makes me look fat, just admit it. I did, which is why I took it out and re-knitted it into a fabulous sweater I'll actually wear!

(Picassa has some fun filters to play with.) Vastly improved, no? The yarn is KnitPicks Merino Style on size 9s, and the pattern is a motified version of the Minisweater. Also, you may notice that I have a new hat!

The pattern is Grumperina's Odessa, in some soft yarn I can't remember the name of . . . Katmandu something? I used a size 6 circular, and probably should have gone down a size for the ribbing, but oh well. I love how the beads turned out, but man were they annoying to push down the yarn the entire time I was knitting this (you have to string them all on beforehand.)

Bag-o-Rama

I finally busted out the sewing machine and finished two bags that have been waiting in the wings. The first is my sister's Christmas present (yes, I know its February), a bag made out of sails! You can buy them online for about $65, but mine was made for much, much cheaper, and (I think) is cooler! (Compare with these.)


The next bag was conceived when I saw this great fabric on sale for $1/yard. I have a thing for tote bags, so this was destined to become one. The picture's a little blurry (I live in a cave), but the bag is awesome and now follows me everywhere.

Next project: altering pants. Necessary but not fun or photogenic.