Did I mention the knitting?

Because there was knitting.  This whole time.  Not a lot of it.  Not by a long shot.  But certainly SOME.  Wanna see?

I finished Red Light Special and its awesome.  Seriously.  I’m super proud.

Red Light Special. Ain't he a beaute!

Aerial shot! Actually on human head!

And there’s more.  My head was freezing a few weeks ago when our sultry Charleston weather dropped down to the teens, so I whipped up a quickie hat out of scrap yarn.  It was touch and go at the end b/c I wasn’t sure I had enough, but I just made it!

Floppy Hat. Boo-Yah!

Finally, my current project is inspired by the success of Red Light Special.  I’m knitting my first pair of mittens and so far, so good!

Ain't they purty! After I saw the pattern, I couldn't NOT make them.

The pattern is called Isidora and its by SpillyJane.  Check out her blog and her etsy pattern shop.  They are all so LOVELY.  Also, the pattern calls for all of this gorgeous yarn from Sunday Knits.  So good!!

Hi. And sorry. And Hi.

So, I’ve been a bit AWOL.  For realsies.  But I’m making it up to you with a whole series of posts.  And pictures.  And I’m ditching Facebook so, in theory, I’ll have way more time for you.  You little rascal.

***Warning: this is the part of the post where I hide my flimsy excuses in the form of an update.***

I graduate in May.  This makes me very, very busy.  Also, I interviewed for an internship at the local digital library and they went and hired me.  Then they went and hired me again (starting on Wednesday) as a Digital Initiatives Archivist or possibly Archival Assistant.  I’m a bit fuzzy on the title.  All I know is that I’m grant funded, I’ll be officially listed on the website as existing and I’ll be helping with a Fedora Commons install and (possibly) migration.  FUN!  Actually, I’m a total nerd, so I think this stuff is fun.  And wicked good experience.  This is all good news, but its kept me away from the ole blog and that’s no good.  Also there was tiling of floors, parental illness, better-half family illness, all sorts of nonsense that kept me away.  Sorry.

But look:  I provide proof of the tiling.  That’s something, right?

Proof that there was tiling. This used to be vinyl. Honest.

Again. Tile. And dog butt. Ha!

Red Light Special, etc.

Knitting has been happening, but slowly, so slowly.  I’m working on Red Light Special by Jared Flood right now and I love color work!  (Sorry its a bit fuzzy, I really need a new camera)

This goes nicely with my new plan of only knitting small things that require a bit more attention, aka I am going to blow my brains out if I have to knit anymore stockinette after Estelle.  So I’m enjoying this a lot.  Next up may be a lace cowl….I’m not sure.

In non knitting related news, I’ve been busy.  I graduate in May so now is the time to get all career oriented up in the hizzy.  As such, I’ve been yammering on panels and securing internships for the Spring.  In the process I even found myself a part time job.  A very part time job, but viable work experience nonetheless – HUZZAH!

Square Foot Gardening – Week 2

So let's check in with the great Square Foot Garden experiment!  There has been no weeding necessary this week and I have only had to water 2-3 times, each time using VERY little water.  Its amazing how much its all grown in 1 week, no?

 

I know the bottom row still looks empty, but trust me, there are both beet and swiss chard sprouts just peeking up!

School De-Stress

So this semester is going to suck with an emphasis on the uh-uh-uck.  Not b/c its boring or the instructors are bad, but b/c it will be a ton of work.  School started in mid-august.  SO that's where I've been.

But, as school is entirely online and work is mostly online, my brain begins to pickle in its own digital juices after a while and I need a break from the virtual.  It helps maintain sanity and reduces the intensity of my glare-induced headaches.

Thus, I have a few FO to share!  YAY!

First off, my progress on the much neglected and often forgotten Estelle.  I'm so close, I can taste it.  And it will have short sleeves, so I've only got about 5 more inches on the body to go and I'm practically finished!

 

Also, summer is ending, even though its still bloody hot out so its time to think about a fall garden.  Since SC was like living on the surface of the sun these last couple of months, there was no summer garden for me.  I would've been tending a patch of scorched earth and that's no fun for anyone, especially if, like me, you like to eat what you grow.  So this year, we are trying something different.  After much raking, weed pulling, mulching, etc.  We made our back patch into something relatively tidy and we installed a raised bed for a square foot garden.

 

From back to front we have:  cherry, solaris and beefsteak tomatoes, basil, red cabbage, butter crunch lettuce, collard greens and red leaf lettuce.  The front row has seeds for swiss chard, carrots (we'll see about those) and beets (yum!).  I'm very excited.  I haven't really grown any of this before (aside from the tomatoes and basil) so it will be exciting!

Finally, something for Quincy.  Quincy is crate trained, but we never kept him in the crate.  The crate is big and ugly and he would never hurt anything in the house anyways, so the crate stayed in the garage.  Then one stormy day, I came home from running errands and found Quincy in the small, dark, guest bathroom.  He popped right out when he heard me.  No problem.  A few days later it was thundering again and the same thing happened.  So I though that our Quincy might like a small, dark little hideaway of his own when it storms.  So out came the ugly crate.  He loves it.  Which left us with an ugly crate in our living room.  Well, ugly crate no more!  I made Quincy a crate cover in brown tweed with a navy cotton lining.  The whole thing is machine washable and even has room for the crate handle to poke through the top for easy transport.

 

Here's a detail of the top.  See the handle?  Love it!

 

So that's what I've been up to.  That and watching seasons 2-4 of Angel.  What have you been up to lately?

Jil Eaton’s Knitting School

Look what I got in the mail the other day!  The book fairy has been especially nice to me and dropped off an advanced copy of Jil Eaton's Knitting School: The Complete Guide To Becoming A Confident Knitter. 

This is a great little knitting book for a beginner.  In this book, all the basics of knitting are covered in one of those obligatory "how to" first chapters, but then the patterns themselves add to the basics chapter, skill wise.  I love how the patterns progress in difficulty from the easy-peasy pom-pom scarf all the way up through pullovers and cardigans.  I wish I had had a knitting book like this when I first started out.  The patterns overall are very simple, easy to personalize and super utilitarian.  In theory, if you work your way through this book, you'll be quite the skilled knitter indeed!  The book officially goes on sale 8/24/10.

Here's a peek at some of the patterns I like best:

 

This Is Made Of Awesome

From Deviant Art – If Stargate Was Made Of Yarn…..

Learning to Install A Zipper = Nook Cover!

I learned how to install a zipper the right way and I am very pleased with the results.  At first I was going for a simple zipped pouch, but then I added a cut little tab and lining and then I made it book sized and what do you know?  I've got a Nook cover!

 

 Now, I already have a case for my Nook that I like quite a bit, but It's always nice when a little project which was meant purely to teach a skill yields a useful result.  Yay Nook Cover!

Stats:  body and lining  7" x 9" (2 of each), zipper 7", 1/4" seam allowance, tab can be whatever size you live.  Sew it all together and wham, bam, thank you maam – you've got a Nook cover!

Vacation Re-Cap

Did I mention that we went to Philly and NYC?  I think I mentioned it, once in passing, but did not elaborate.  Which was very bad of me.  But, whilst fighting with my phone (my very naughty phone who did not want to relinquish pictures I took) I found some blog worthy shots!

So, we went to Philly and saw all of our friends…..and I forgot to take pictures.

And we went to beautiful and amazing museums and ate in wonderous restaurants…..and I forgot to take pictures.

We stayed in a posh hotel with a stupid name and I even got to go to the very famous Magnolia Bakery…and I forgot to take pictures.

We saw H. H. the Dalai Lama speak (which was amazing!) and I got to take a picture of the stage….before he arrived.

 

And, while looking for Tibet House, we stumbled upon the Lion Brand Yarn Studio and it really is as pretty in person!

 

 

PRETTY!

(next week:  what I made my mother for her birthday.  Spoiler Alert!  Its a jacket and it doesn't suck!)

Citron In Progress

Did I mention I started Citron?  I thought I mentioned it.  I was looking for travel knitting and I thought…Citron.  And I had this lovely Schaefer Nichole in Mary Walker Phillips and I figured it would all work out.  I cast on just enough to get me started and then off we went to Philly….with Citron.  And I hated her.  Here I had a cute pattern and a lovely yarn and together they were sooo very bad.  Don't believe me, do ya?  Well look:

 

Ugh.  Double Ugh.  And what a waste of time, good pattern and lovely yarn.  No, it would not do.

Luckily my friend Rachael *twisted my arm* into popping into Loop in Philly and picking up the greatest thing ever – a Zauberball!!  Somehow I missed the Zauberball.  I don't know how or when, but it escaped me totally.  It might have a lot to do with the fact that I do NOT knit socks.  Never ever.  Ever.  But look at the prettiness:

 

And doesn't this look sooooo much better for Citron?  I mean really, really better?  Its a Schoppel Wolle Crazy Zauberball and I want to keep a big bowl of them on my coffee table.  Well, I did get a few odd looks, so it may not be to your tastes but I love it!

 

Just wait until it's finished!  I've got one more quick trip next weekend and I hope to finish it up then – YAY!