Life in a small college town

All the undergrads have returned from their summer breaks and flooded this little town with their Bush stickers and large trucks, yeah it is a different crowd of undergrads from where I did my B.S. Apart from taking all the parking spots, crowding the gym, using all the ropes at the climbing wall, walking in front of traffic, and making loud ruckuses into the morning hours in my neighborhood on weeknights (yeah I'm old and no fun)... apart from all that, at least there is life back in this little college town. Without the students things sort of shut down, or at least adapt super lame hours. I am happy to say that I will be able to get coffee on campus after 2 o'clock in the afternoon (this is really the most import thing) and the gym will be open more regular hours, with lots of yoga classes offered. So I guess the point is that although annoying, the undergraduates here can be useful, I just wish they would stop giggling through yoga.
(This picture was taken one afternoon in Memphis, while taking a little break from the conference. )

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)