Heading to the coast

It is time for my field season to begin, I am happy to get away from this computer for a bit and spend some time in the woods. This means that I won't have very many opportunities to post for a while. I will be back sporadically on weekends, but the timeline is quite uncertain. Hopefully evenings will not all be consumed with endless plant id, as they were last year, and I will have time to knit up some of those cute aminals.

I finally finished up my red gable and am happy with the final product. Unfortunately it is too hot today to wear it (before I go to the woods and have no opportunity to), but it needs to be blocked so I guess that's ok. I had to crop my head out of the picture, because that is just how it goes sometimes.

Until next time...

no sleep 'til...BROOKLYN!

It is so nice to be able to take a project off the 'on the needles' list the same day you put it up! Not that I am that great at updating my list, but it is exciting nonetheless. Last night I started the brooklyn cap from the latest interweave. It was a quick knit and all I had to do today was pick up stitches and knit the brim. Half an episode of that 70's show later, the hat was in the washer felting away, heck it was done before friends ended! The brooklyn cap is a cute little number with an odd brim, but I don't foresee getting a whole lot of use out of it down here in the south, especially in the summer. I was sweating just having it on for a few minutes while I stretched it out. Someday I will move back to the north where it will make a perfect fall cap.

I used a ball of brown sheep I bought a while back and I didn't do the needle felting line detail the pattern called for, just didn't seem worth the effort (or the cost of buying the kit they suggest).

Ok, now I really must concentrate and knit the rest of my green gable, must finish, must finish the endless stockinette - maybe I just need a good movie, or perhaps a movie with subtitles, THAT will make me appreciate mindless knitting!
This is the prefelted cap ->

mom, pet sitting, knitted animals

Now that my mom has received her mother's day gift I can finally post a picture of it. I knit it a while back, then it took me a while to get the nerve up to sew it together. After the purse was felted, the finishing touches weren't added until the night before I mailed it out. All-in-all I like how it turned out and the pattern was simple and easy to follow (it was from pick up sticks). I would still rather knit in the round in order to avoid all the seeming. But mom got it in the mail on Monday and likes it very much - hurray!

This week I have been housing sitting for a friend/woman who helps me out a lot at work. It has been great. She (and her husband) have a nice place in the foothills. It is in the woods and on a the banks of a stream. They have 2 dogs and 3 cats and lots of feathered friends, all need to be fed twice daily. So blue and I have been hanging out up there for the last three nights and although it is a bit of a drive into work, I am really going to miss it and all the aminals. My favorite of the bunch is the elderly female cat, yoda. She is so cute and dainty. She follows you around until you give her milk and cheese and after you do she follows you some more.

Keeping in the same animal vein, today I received a knitting book I ordered last week - world of knitted toys. There are so many great animal toys - penguins (I think there are 3 different ones), sea lion, walrus, duck billed platypus, pigs, sharks... I am looking forward to knitting up some of this over the summer.

favorites?

Last night the local knitters gathered for the ever needed communal knitting. The woman who hosted mentioned thoughts of opening a local yarn shop. I am soooo excited about the idea of not having to order EVERYTHING online (or drive an hour for a poor selection). I hope it comes to fruition. She asked me what kind of yarn I would like to see in a local shop which I have been thinking about ever since.

Yarn I like:
Beracco, foliage
Brown sheep, lamb's pride has a lovely luster and sheen
Cascade, 220 is wonderful, felted or not
Cherry tree hill, merino sock yarn
Karabella, aurora 4 &8, smooth and stretchy
Patons, classic wool, cheap colorful and feltable yarn (smelly though)
Plymouth, sockotta
Regia, striped sock yarn
Rowan, everything I have used was great

Yarn I haven't tried, but think I would like:
Artyarns
Blue Sky Alpacas
Gems
Jaeger
Lorna's laces
Manos del Uruguay
Noro
anything handspun/dyed

Needles:
addi turbos, they are the best
inox circulars make an alright cheap substitute
crystal palace, straight and circular are both nice
clovers are a good cheap subsitute
brittany, I like their double points
lattern moon, they are pretty, but I can't afford them

That is the list for now, I may think of more throughout the day.

side one, finally done.

This weekend I set aside the green gable, mostly out of frustration. Instead, I put some time into the wobbly circles tote and was able to finish the first side. The pattern says to make two of the same side, but I am thinking about making my own circular designs on the other side. We will see if I have the motivation if/when I get to it. I also worked on the beaded rib socks, but when I got to the short row heel, I wasn't understanding the directions and decided that after I read up on some tips/other directions I would finish it up. I am thinking about doing an afterthought heel.

Other than the small amount of knitting, I did a little shopping at a local used book store and was able to score the vogue knitting stitchionary for half price (yeah!). I also got some summer reading books including Breakfast at Tiffany's, which I read this weekend, and Islands in the Stream (Hemingway).

Saturday night, resulted in me consuming more than my fair share of bombay sapphire which made my Sunday more of a relaxation day than I originally intended. A leisurely trip to target resulted in some new placemats, a new shower curtain and some necessities. I resisted the weak urge to stop at Michael's. I have become a yarn snob, and more expensive yarn is all I crave. So I will scrimp and save and only make small things out of nice yarn because that is all I can afford.

locker room etiquette

Yesterday afternoon I headed to the gym for some elliptical training. I now feel fully trained on all things elliptical. Before heading out of the locker room I noticed a woman blow drying her hair infront of the mirror with only a nude colored bra on. Now why wear the bra if you aren't going to put on any lower body covering? If anything I think I would choose the opposite, especially in a gym locker room. Ladies please keep your muffs covered in public. Thank you. (Note: I do not regret having no photo to post)

my 'garden'

This weekend blue and I made a trip to Home Depot to sort through the picked over selection of herbs. We ended up with oregano, cilantro, rosemary, and habanero plant. They were out of basil so blue is sprouting the leftover seeds from last year, and it is actually working. Hurray. This assemblage of pots on a balcony will have to suffice for 'my garden' for now. Blue will end up tending them anyway as I am not at home for much of the summer due to fieldwork.

W.I.P. update

Now that the semester is FINALLY over I have been able to relax a little bit. I took a three day weekend. My last class ended 4:30 on Thursday and I promptly went to the bar with my classmates to celebrate. It was a beautiful afternoon and we downed a few pitchers of sierra nevada as the sun moved lower in the sky. Friday I spent the better part of the day cleaning my house (most things hadn't been cleaned in almost a month I am sure). It still isn't that tidy, but I can rest assure that it is clean.

On Saturday blue and I headed over to the greater Atlanta area to hit up the closest REI. We ended up with a few tidbits from there (I got a new nalgene cover and successfully converted my green nalgene into a packer nalgene - go pack). On the way home we stopped by the outlet stores that are clearly visible from the highway. My favorite store is the banana republic outlet - I can't afford and don't usually like banana republic clothes, but the outlet, I love it! I got some new cords and a couple of shirts (thanks blue). When we got home we watched Hustle and Flow, it was really good - thanks for the suggestion stitchkommander.

Now Sunday morning was probably the most excitement I had all weekend, and no I didn't go to church. Megan and I headed over to "the jockey lot" it is a gigantic flea market, basically a maze of connected pole sheds. There were chicks, ducks, bunnies, goats, wild turkeys, puppies, hot boiled peanuts, fresh donuts, rugs, shoes, furniture, tractors, cherry pickers, oh the list goes on and on. I picked up a few albums (yes, vinyl), a hiking book, fresh tortillas, and some hot boiled peanuts. What an event, I am making blue go next time even if he wants to fight me on it.

Oh, an update on the WIPS; I finished the IW lace socks and gave them to stitchkommander as a going away present. I finished the jaywalkers and I have been trying to wear them before it gets too hot here. I started a new pair of socks, a beaded rib - starting from the toe up. I am also almost finished with the first side of the wobbly tote. I have not received my yarn for the green gable yet, I don't even think it has been shipped and I ordered it a week and half ago, oh how I long for an lys... I think that is a pretty good update. Now that classes are over I should be able to knit more and write about it more - hurray!

ramp soup

I finally got the much anticipated ramp soup last night. It was delicous, a cream base with rosemary, mushrooms and potatoes. Nice work blue. It was complimented by some nice wine and take and bake bread. mmmm. 'Twas a great finish to a relaxing weekend (I have more ramp photos I was going to post, but blogger doesn't seem to think that they are too important - but they are on flickr if you are interested).