mmmm Cheesecake

I finally used my springform pan, a gift from sweatergirl, to make my very first cheesecake. It turned out deliciously! And there is another one in the works for the weekend. This week I am having my final summer visitor, my little sister (only because school has started here which marks the end of summer :( Post summer visitors are always welcome!

We have been hanging out, last night we went to spintoono
and drank some PBR. This weekend my neighbor is hosting a party in my sister's honor, where keg stands of PBR will be had. Today we are going to head to the hills and maybe go for a dip in one of the local swimming holes.

people's court

Right now I am "in the field" on the coastal plain (middle of nowhere). This week I have been spending my days in the woods and my evenings channel surfing. The most exciting events so far have occurred in the woods (not so surprising considering when I am not in the woods I am locked in my hotel room). Yesterday I saw a cool new snake, an eastern hognose. Turns out that if we had taunted a little bit it would have done this cool cobra thing with its neck and they apparently rarely bite (and aren't venomous) so it would have been worth it. Another armadillo appeared on a plot the other day too, but she quickly ran away.

Last night I got some knitting in and managed to get hooked on Project Runway (there was a marathon on). Tonight it is looking up plants on the internet and Grey's Anatomy (yes).

The only interesting thing that has happened outside the woods is that the TV in my room has spontaneously turned on 2 mornings in a row at 4:30, which is down right annoying when you have to be up by 5:30, if it was later there would be a possibility of falling back asleep. So I fumbled through some menus and I think I managed to shut it off. Apparently someone was using the tv as an alarm clock, or playing a cruel joke on me. Hopefully I will be able to sleep in until 5:30 tomorrow.

(this is what I woke up to)

Oh, Fizzle Sticks!

Last night, while watching the Constant Gardner (again), I sewed up the seams for my Sizzle. Unfortunately it turned out as I suspected - TOO BIG!!! My last shirt (the green gable) gave me loads of trouble because size 34 was way too small, this size 34 is way too big- and both gauges are spot on. Other than the size, it looks great. I think I will finish this shirt up, it is almost done after all, and if I can't figure out some way to shrink it, I will have to give it away.

I spent most of the weekend recovering from the conference/memphis experience and ended up sleeping waaaay more than I ever thought I could. I also got in a game of tennis over the weekend (it had been too long).

Memphis was great, the conference went really well, as did my poster presentation. However, there was not a single Elvis sighting. And we never made it to Graceland, but every evening was spent on or near Beale St. We found a bar with a good draft beer selection - The Flying Saucer Drought Emporium. But if you get a hankering for a delicious gin and tonic, go elsewhere (Seagrams was all they had). The last conference I attended was also in Memphis so we revisited some sites, like the Juke Joint Blues House- featuring some Memphis style blues. Late nights and early mornings were the norm, but at least ecologists have a high standard for morning coffee, making the early mornings easier.

black shroud

I just went to you knit what, only to discover that they won't be continuing their blog anymore. Oh sadness, I will miss the hideous pictures and witty comments.

On a lighter note, I am off to memphis for a week, can't wait to see Elvis!!!
(check out this great pic I found of Elvis, nice knit sweater!)

The poster is finished!

After long grueling hours of statistics, creating numerous text boxes, reinserting graphics, over and over, and one false send to the printer (there was an extra G in the title...), the poster is finished. While creating my debut poster, I actually had time for knitting, and climbing (my latest addiction). They both are very effective means of relaxation during times of stress. I would have been attending yoga classes too, but the instructor was out of town for a conference (so they say).

Next week it is my turn to go out of town for a conference. Everyone in my lab is going to Memphis for this years ESA meeting. It should be a fun 9 hour drive in a minivan... And my advisor cheaped out so instead of staying conveniently downtown near the conference center, we are staying in west memphis (aka Arkansas). You would think that he would be staying there too, but no, he and his family will be staying downtown, near the conference center. The conference itself should be fantastic and I am looking forward to it and presenting my poster. My next dilemma is figuring out what knitting project to bring (I should have sizzle near completion when we depart) - I am thinking a new pair of socks...


Here is a snapshot of my poster (blogger wasn't too happy about importing a jpeg of the whole thing)

poster avoidance tactics

I actually have been knitting lately and have also acquired more yarn for my stash. However, I have been busy with work or busy avoiding work and have been feeling too guilty (about not being productive enough at work) to post. But it is towards the end of the work day, there is nobody around to make me feel bad for not working and I have used up all the steam I had today for the poster I am making.

Since my last post I have seen Jolie Holland and it was a great concert. I snapped a few pics, but not many of them turned out very well. Here is the best one. I have also received a shipment of yarn from knit picks and knit up half of my sizzle top (I haven't taken any photos of it). My stash was also enhanced by a beautiful yarn present from skatergirl and stitchkommander (and chris) - it is artful yarns sock yarn, in nice blue colors. I will have to pick out a cool sock pattern for myself.

Other than that I have been house sitting up in the mountains, which reminds me - I saw a bear! It gallumphed right across the road in front of me when I was driving down from the mountains on Saturday. It was so cool, but it scurried into the woods before I was able to snap a picture.

steps towards a new project

Last week I purchased sizzle (which I am excited to get started on). The yarn Wendy called for was way out of my price range so I conceded to get my yarn from knitpicks (I ordered shine worsted in grass- hopefully it will work). Some of you may remember that I was curious about why their yarn is oh soo cheap and hoped that it wasn't because of animal cruelty or for want of better working conditions. Well, while checking my order status today I came across this and it seems that there isn't much more evil than globalization going into this yarn (that is what they are saying anyway), and I am quite sure globalization is unavoidable when it comes to yarn anyway. Just thought I would share.

This week stichkommander and skatergirl are in town. Hopefully we will get some berry picking in. Tomorrow night stitchkommander and I will be attending the Jolie Holland concert at the Orange Peel in Ashville NC. I am really excited, she always puts on great shows.

(Oh and I finally did the afterthought heel on my first beaded rib sock. It was way easier than I ever thought it could be.)

Arnie Armadillo

While working on the coast this week I saw an armadillo playing in the mud. It was sooo cute. I just uploaded my first video to youtube.com. Here it is!


And I uploaded a second one which is also fabulous! Check it out.

Penguins

Oh and I finished the Penguin mother and child.

continued vacation

After returning from vacation for over a week, the 4th of July arrived, as did my friend Katie. She stayed until this morning and successfully extended my vacation for about a week - thanks katie. Since she is a woman of the north and had never been to the south I did my best to show her the colorful palette of the south. On the fourth we went to Hill Billy Day in Mountain Rest where we had boiled peanuts, homemade ice cream and enjoyed some local bluegrass. Thankfully we missed the greased pig contest and greased pole contest (where they pin $100 to the top). I also showed her some local sites and we tasted some not so local ale. We teamed up to play cornhole last night and were better than we thought we would be - came in second place for the neighborhood cornhole tournie. Over the last week we discovered our sneaker talent to team up whilst drinking at pool, cornhole, and dominoes. Ah pabst where would we be without you.

While spending time in my yarn laden apartment Katie caught the bug - the knitting bug. She learned some new stitches while making a swatch washcloth and also made the kitty wonton for her kitty Royal. Blue told her that the bug will fade once she is out of my presence, I'm not sure exactly what is meant by that.... hmm.

Over the last week I received my waylaid knitting bag (pictured below). It is one of those marvelous bags created by Jordana Paige. Now it is happily full of yarn, notions, and needles. I hope to have a chance to use it soon.

Back in the south

I have only just returned from my trip back home. I had the most wonderful time hanging out with family and old friends (well they aren't that old, but the friendships seem to be aging - in a good way). For the first time in my life I played tourist in Madison and actually took photos and walked through the capital building. There were also cows all over town. I still haven't figured out exactly why they are there, but they enhanced the aesthetics anymoo.

In Madison I was able to quickly stop by my most favorite yarn store in all the world Lakeside Fibers, it always has what I am looking for, with the addition of coffee and a view of the lake - can't beat it. While I was there I finally picked up some Gems opal, a pattern to make some felted daffodils, size 2 turbos, and of course - more cascade 220 (for the daffodils). I didn't get much of a chance to knit and only worked on small easy things like felted coasters and washclothes.

This week I have a friend in town so I don't know how much knitting I will get done. I plan to show her the upstate's finest. Tomorrow there is supposed to be a Hill Billy Festival in Mountain Rest with a greased pig and all. Should be a wonderful cultural experience and hopefully delicious boiled peanuts will be on hand.

donovan mp3s disappear

The yarn I ordered back in May arrived while I was working. Thankfully blue delivered it to me when he came to visit. Not that I have used any of it yet, but it is so nice to play with recently acquired yarn. Last night I pulled out the swift and baller and got it all ready to go. I am thinking of taking some of it with me back to Sconnie to work with. The little cream colored ball is Blue Sky Alpacas organic cotton and on the left is a cute scarf my mom sent me for my birthday.

I have been busy this week, but not with knitting. I have a baby penguin just waiting to be sewn up, but there are so many little pieces that I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. I completed the adult penguin over a week ago and discovered that a (prefelted) felted coaster works wonderfully as a sombrero for all of my little critters. I have been placing all of these friends on blue's lap while he watches tv - I know he appreciates it.

Last weekend I went to a local folk festival in the nearby
'lost village' of Newry. The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show played bluegrass as we ate boiled peanuts, enjoyed our fresh squeezed lemonade, and wandered around the old mill (aka lawsuit waiting to happen). Megan took some pics with her new camera.

If yahoo ever gets up and running today I can attempt to finish scheduling my precious time back home. Otherwise I have a trillion things to do here before I take off - isn't that always how it goes with traveling? And the stress of leaving something behind that you will 'need' especially when it comes to knitting stuff. Sighhhhh.

Back at it

After 3 weeks away from the computer/internet, it looks like I haven't missed too much in the world of knit blogging. However, I have discovered a new pattern that I would love to make when it comes out. Perhaps another mini knitalong is in the future? I do hope I can find a cheaper yarn substitute - $15 a pop is a bit rich for my wallet (although it might only take two...).

I haven't been knitting in the last few days, and lately I have mostly been working on mindless washcloths. I have been using the vogue stitchionary to come up with new designs and basically make usable swatches. I am happy to be back home for several reasons, but having my knitting library and stash on hand is wonderful.

I did manage to take a few days off while down on the coast and hit the beach. Unfortunately the wind eventually drove us off every time.

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).

Amanda, I miss you.

Rampin'

This weekend didn't yield a lot of knitting, but I am about to start the toes on the second sock of two different pairs (if you follow). Instead of knitting, I was playing in the mountains, the flora is quite a bit behind up there and it is so much fun to see all of the spring flowers. There was loads of trilliums, violets, trout lilies, and others that I can't recall or didn't (couldn't) identify. I was helping to collect data on ramps (or wild leeks for us northerners). There are many people that collect leeks for personal use or festivals; the project monitors the ramp densities and it looks at the effects of harvesting along with other implications. For me it was a great chance to take a break from school and get out into the mountains. We also collected a few ramps and blue is getting set to make a ramp and potato soup. I'm looking forward to it. I will post some pictures when blue returns from the mountains with the camera.
Last friday I purchased the green gable pattern as well as the appropriate needles and yarn to go along with it. I can't wait for my yarn delivery so I can get started. We (the girls of for the love o' knit) along with madisonienne (hopefully) are going to have our own mini knit-along. Should be fun.
(This pic is a drawing I found online of a ramp)

knitting a PhD

I was thinking about school and how it distracts me from my knitting. For the last two weeks I have hardly worked on anything. My wobbly tote is still sitting there, looking at me every time I walk by. My jaywalkers... almost done, but I just haven't had time to finish them and then there are the others, they are behind the backburner. But all of this distraction, keeping me away from my knitting, it got me thinking- would I consider getting a PhD if there was a program for knitting? Honestly, if I could afford it (the yarn, books, etc...), I think I might actually do it. I guess that would put this master's in forest ecology a little out of place. Maybe I could just knit myself a PhD, how do you think that would go over? I have recently discovered (thanks to stitchkommander) that there is an academic knitting blog ring. I am contemplating joining, but they want you to talk about the world of academia that you are involved in, I guess complaining is talking (writing whatever) isn't it. Alright, I don't always complain about it, especially when I get to go and play in the woods. However, my classes have been bringing me down, not only do they distract me from my master's project (you know the whole reason I am here), but they have been keeping me away from my knitting for far too long. I think I might take Friday afternoon off (after I take my test and hand in my paper) to knit, hang out with skatergirl and stitchkommander (?) and maybe have a cocktail (gin&tonic and bloody mary sound equally good).

on the outs

Knitting and I were on the outs for a few days, not because we weren't getting along or anything. I was just really busy with school stuff and I stayed home to work. Usually when I stay home to work my knitting just stares at me until I sit down and knit a few rows or inches, but this time we had a little heart to heart and I let my knitting know that I had other really important things to do. But after a week long dull headache I decided to take a night off from the studying and reading and thinking. Instead, I sat down in my favorite spot and watched my Thursday night shows. I worked on the wobbly circles tote and my jaywalkers when I got sick of reading the chart. They are both coming along slowly due to the fact that I only worked on them twice last week. It might be a while until they are finished due to the end of the semester crunch I am experiencing. Thankfully this is my last semester of classes and I have next weekend to look forward to, I am supposed to go up to the mountains and help blue with some plant surveys!

knit 1, felt 2

This is my latest ( not accomplishment, project). I am using slightly different colors and it is only a few inches of confusing-looking-intarsia. So far no big hang-ups, but I did have to start over once due to doubling back on half of it. I think next time I try to watch a movie with subtitles I will knit something more simple, or at least something I am more familiar with (or maybe I just won't stop in the middle of a row ever again). When it is complete I will try and find an ikea-esque chair to set it on for the photo shoot, then we can do a comparison.

Over the weekend a lot of cleaning, a little schooling, a little knitting, and some felting took place. The patons wool I have been using lately has a worse smell than cascade 220, but wet wool never really smells that good. And the price difference ($2-4) is worth dealing with the temporary bad smell. It felts up pretty well and I am happy with the results.

Last night stitchkommander delivered gin and tonics right to my door. We ended up knitting, drinking g&t's and watching Breakfast at Tiffany's (due to the fact that Grey's Anatomy does not come in at my house and inspired by the 60's knitting mags). It is just one more reason that she is not allowed to move to Louisville!

Blue is out of town for most of the week, as is stitchkommander. Instead of getting lonely, I am going to get some work done. Hopefully it will be productive week (unfortunately I am not referencing knitting...).

Is walking and knitting really possible?

I received a walking and knitting sachel for xmas, thanks to (sweatergirl and her mom). I have used it a few times to knit in public (and on the couch too) and it works really well to contain the yarn and keep things untangled. But tonight is the relay for relay for life and I am wondering, is it really possible to walk and knit at the same time? I am thinking for a really simple pattern that it is possible, but not for anything that I am working on right now. I think the stitches on socks are just too small to concentrate on both the knitting and the walking. So I will have to leave my knitting aside tonight and just do some walking. Plus blue said that he will not walk with me if I am knitting, apparently he has to deal with that at home too much (the knitting, not the knitting and walking).

flea market

Yesterday morning I went to the flea market with stitchkommander and skatergirl. It was my first time and very entertaining. There was a suprising amount of guns, an expected amount of knives, and a lot of over the counter drugs. But best of all was the late sixties needlecraft magazine scores. I have only made it halfway through one of them, but the patterns look pretty sweet. There is this one hat pattern that looks like a helmet with a chin strap and I think it was in basketweave. I definitely plan on making that!
I also took my car in yesterday. Turns out that the horrible clunking noise coming from the front right wheel well was a rock stuck between some stuff. They took it out and I kept it. hee hee hee.
This is one of the magazine covers and my toes (see flickr for more images).

manic monday

Although I was at the library studying last night, I did manage to get a little knitting in before going to bed. A few more hours on the feet of these socks and they will be complete. After knitting them on one circular I am thinking about lifting one and finishing them one at a time, it's just getting annoying. I was also considering comparing my speed both with the magic loop and with double points. Not sure I want to get that involved though.
Last night some tremendous storms rolled through. I love listening to a hard downpour while drifting off to sleep. I am pretty sure it made for some crazy dreams though. It is still rainy today and I am not sure how long it will continue. This is what my backyard looked like this morning. You can't really tell it was raining. On a less knitting related topic, I officially joined the Natural Resources Graduate Student Relay for Life Team. I have been helping out with fundraising breakfasts, but I noticed today that they needed one more team member to reach their team member goal and I thought, "why not me?" So if you are able to donate click here to go to my donation page.
This weekend is the overnight event where we walk in circles for 12 hours (taking turns of course).

april already?

Once again april fools day escapes me without a prank. I always mean to plan ahead, but it never seems to work. Maybe next year.
Another, more recent, april 1 tradition is flash your stash which is what crazy yarn obsessed people do in order to make themselves feel better (or worse?) about their unhealthy obsession. My favorite yarn stash flash is this one. What a great photo, very American Beauty.
My most recent knitting project is the simply lovely lace socks in the newest interweave. I decided to use my debbie bliss cotton cashmere dk weight (purchased on sale of course). The dk weight is such a fast knit compared to the fingering weight I have been using for socks. The larger yarn added with the shorter sock pattern makes this pattern a quick knit. I am half way through with 2 socks. I would suggest that knitters apprehensive of sock knitting to try a dk weight pattern for their first attempt.
Now concerning my other love - burning the woods:
Last Thursday I got to participate in another burning of the woods. Instead of lecture and lab, we went out into the woods and watched it burn. Seeing fire instead of hearing about it in class was great.

a postponed post

Well, I had a lovely springbreak. The weather wasn't anything to write home about, but the company was wonderful and we definitely enjoyed ourselves. We had a few drinks, saw a few sites, and did some shopping, but mostly we knit and ate. On Tuesday we met up with the stitchkommander in Charleston. We did not put on our best show for her due to our hangovers, but we had a nice day anyway. Sweatergirl flew out early Thursday and I went to work, I measured some sites and got to watch a prescribed fire. It was beautiful. Then I suffered a sinus infection for the rest of my break, but was feeling better by yesterday afternoon. So blue and I met up with stitchkommander and fam for a stroll through the botanical gardens and came across the most unusual dwarf conifer.

swift, baller, socks

I don't get to use my yarn baller and swift as much as I would like (mostly because I can't afford any yarn, especially hanked yarn). But I have had this hank of cherry tree hill yarn for a couple of months and decided it was time to make it into something. I had a few hang-ups, cutting the ties keeping the hank together. Apparently with this particular one, there is only 2 that you are supposed to cut and 2 you are supposed to untie. So I ended up with one large ball and 2 tiny ones - oops. Over the last few days I have been working on the jaywalkers by grumperina. It is a pretty cool pattern, simple, with nice results, and this yarn... ohhh, it is lovely. There are these little pools of color that collect (maybe you can see the river of blue running down the middle?) and they make it so fun to knit. It makes me not want to stop knitting, just so I can see where the pool is going next or if it might disappear. There are several different color pools going on with this sock and it is way more entertaining than you think it would be.
In other events, tomorrow I am off to Savannah. Sweatergirl is flying in and we are going to hang out and knit, and go to yarn stores. We were hoping for some beach activity, but it is looking like rain. Stitchkommander is also going to meet us in Charleston for a day/evening. We are going to go to knit, which is also where I purchased the yarn for the jaywalkers. Oh, I am sooo excited!

Sanguinaria canadensis, of course

It was bloodroot! I didn't even recognize it because I rarely see if flowering, but it is a really cool plant, with very distinct leaves, and if you pull it up, it looks like the roots are bleeding. This picture is pretty close to what the bloodroots looked like this weekend. How statisfying it is to figure out that plant! (yes, I am a plant dork, and I am ok with it)

A warm spring weekend!

I had a nice weekend and it consisted of: sleeping in (2 days), one cookout, one visit to a tavern with outside seating, one visit from a neighbor cat, and one visit to the local botanical garden. The garden was beautiful. The cherry trees are in bloom, the painter and box turtles were out on their usual log, and there was some cute white flowers blooming in the woods that I feel I should know not only the common name, but the latin name of, and do not. Oh well, one semester worth of memorization vanished. Yesterday it got into the low 80s here, it was humid and hot and felt wonderful! (we will just see if I am saying that in a few months)
I finished odd fellow #2 and he is looking stylish. I am still working on the mini-sweater, but finding other small projects to distract me from it. I am also realizing that I will need another ball in order to complete it - huff. I'm thinking I need to put my new Sensational Knitted Socks book to use and start on a pair for myself with my beautiful cherry tree hill yarn.

two socks, check

I finished these fine socks a few nights back at about 1am. I was tired, but also determined to finish them, I was just too close not to. I would have liked to have knit both socks at the same time, but since I used only one ball of yarn, I decided it was best to do them separately. This way the striping is the same on both and I didn't get into a tangled mess either. Yeah!

Last night I started odd fellow #2 in baby colors, for a friend's baby. I am making this one on smaller needles and not doubling the yarn so it is going to be very petite.

The minisweater is still in the works, but has made me realize that I just don't like purling, and only purling, for long rows. So it is going slowly and I have been starting other small projects on the side.

other important matters, trees

After celebrating at a rockin' 3 year old's birthday party, blu and I headed down to the coast. We didn't make it to the ocean or do anything other than work (and watch the oscars), but the weather was beautiful, as were the trees. We measured the burn severity on my plots that were recently burned and we installed some tiles with heat sensitive paint (see picture) on my plots that will (hopefully) be burned soon. The tiles we collected off of the plot that was recently burned did not work, I think it had a really fast residence time (aka it moved too quickly to register on the paint). I am not sure if this is typical, but I really want the paint to detect the fire on the remaining plots.
On the way there and back I worked on the minisweater, and blu's sock. I'm not too far from completing them, but I will have to find the time... I'll let you see them when they are complete. For now you will have to be satiated with pictures of the forests.