Procrastination and halloween parties

Wow....it's been a crazy weekend. Between friday and saturday night, I hit 7 parties dressed as both a vampire and Marie Antionette, met 3 guys, and broke 2 toes after slipping while dancing on a bar. Needless to say, I haven't had much time to knit the past couple days. (pictures soon... there's a great one of me as Marie Antionette drinking a margarita straight from the blender)

I'm still trucking along on the birthday stole, I want to get it done something this century. I'm down to a yarnball and 1/4 to put in it, but it seems to be moving at glacier-speed. I've gotten to the body part of the pink malabrigo sweater and forgotten where I've put it...note to self...clean room before it swallows me whole.

I also need to whip up a cup cozy tonight that I've messed up on at least 5 times. I'm dropping it off tomorrow to be sold..yay! money!

That's about it for right now. Sometime this week (probably friday or next monday) I've got to send a knit-package home containing the glacier-speed stole, a Kate (kitten in britches) for the neighbor, a baby kimono for the girl at work (was supposed to be done by beginning of august) and the colts purse. So I've got my work cut out for me!

Will keep you guys updated on the progress...and until then... a strange picture.

Fighting = Speed knitting

I've been fighting alot with my roommate lately over the typical, money, her f*&^ing Diet Coke cans laying all over the appartment, and that she wants me to get a dog (and pay for a dog) after she made me get rid of my cat, Roxstar. So, instead of letting my tongue fly and say what I really want to (which is mostly screaming puncutated with F words) I'm taking it out on a new project. I know, I swore no new projects but desperate times call for desperate measures, and if this stops me from breaking her nose, then it will have served its purpose.

The project is a top-down raglan sweater with no actual pattern, just increase for sleeves and front and back when you feel like it, and when it meets under your armpits, start making a tube for the body, then tubes for the sleeves. No counting, no carrying patterns around, just plain old knitting that goes a mile a minute on magenta malabrigo (it's right next to orgasmic.....grrrr...love it!) No working camera today, so no knit pics, but here is your moment of zen... an alpaca.

The Countdown begins

So I've set a time and a place for studying abroad...August '08, Cork, Ireland. So what does this mean? I've got less than a year to finish ALL my projects, because I plan on coming home with a giant pile of yarn and a new love for aran sweaters in green and creme.

So, thanks to ravelry, I've decided what I'm going to do with the yarn from the million projects I have frogged over the past couple years. So, here's the plan as of 4 minutes ago.

5 skiens hot pink malabrigo worsted...will become a plain old top down cardigan with flower buttons. Serisouly...a hot pink cardigan needs something a little cooler than plain buttons.

6 skiens turquoise lamb's pride worsted...will become a central park hoodie. Same with 5 skiens of off-white Classic Merino from Pattons. Buttons will be shell and coconut.

I will finish that damn birthday shawl. Hopefully in the next week sometime.

I will also finish that damn baby kimono...maybe during Gray's anatomy tonight. I've only been working on it for 3 months now. It's about time to suck it up and finish it...and tell my mum to drop it off at the appropriate recipient on saturday when she comes to Purdue to see me!

I will finish my 2 blankets. This is problematic as I know someone else who really wants on right now, which I really don't feel like starting another blanket for.

I will hope my cousin does not get pregnant before I leave. She has way too many baby knits picked out.

I will finish Mariah. I got close this summer but ended up ripping the most time consuming sleeve in the world out. I will hopefully finish her over Christmas Break.

I will finish all the other sweaters I've started, like Isolde and the Tomboy sweater. Hopefully they will both be done before December, as it is getting to be a bit chilly on campus.

Will also start over on the lotus top that I failed at this summer.

Then I will use up all my sock yarn. That shouldn't actually be too hard, I've only got 6 or 7 different sock pairs I want to make before I go.

I will finish up all my baby yarn and try to Ebay my blankets so I have the money to blow on yarn in Ireland.

That's my knitting goals from now until next August. Completely diminish all projects and stash. That being said, I should note that all of my lace-weight is an exception. I've learned to NEVER EVER EVER rush the lace. Ever. Good thing I've only got 4 skeins.

1 FO, 1 UFO

Firstly, I'm pleased to say that I finally found the pattern I was using for the Panda Cotton socks and have actually finished them! I finished the actual knitting two weeks ago but finally grafted the toe the other day, taking a 2 minute break from the GD MF-ing Birthday shawl. So, here is a picture of the FINALLY finished Panda socks. I also wore them today and got tons of compliments while running around the dance building in them.

On to the dissapointment. I knitted very long into saturday night but just couldn't get to five feet in the birthday shawl. So, I gave it to my mother on Sunday with the needles still in it, explaining that I just needed another day. Then she told me that she wanted it to be more like 7 or 8 feet. I told her it would have to be her Christmas present then. So here it is, the GD MF-ing Christmas shawl, in all it's cat-hair covered glory.

My mum is coming up to go to the Purdue game on Saturday, so I will try to have this and the Colts purse done for her to take home with her. I will make her take pictures of the FOs so I can put them on Ravelry. That's all for now! Have a great day and go and get your knit on!

Project Manogomy

SUCKS! At least it did at first. Now this staying loyal to one project is growing on me, and I'm starting to understand why people do it! You get farther every day!

So how far am I?

Not nearly far enough. My mum's birthday is tomorrow, she will open the wrap on sunday and it is supposed to be around 5 feet long (that's average wrap-size, right?). Right now it is almost 3 feet. I would knit all tonight but I'm teaching classes, and tomorrow is filled with Feast of the Hunter's Moon and then the drive back to Indy for the B-day bash.

So, being true to the wrap I haven't touched anything else....but I'm working on a couple patterns to post on the blog so I can be a ravelry designer too!

More soon...including some pictures!

ps. I got an A on my Beowulf/Chaucer exam...yay!
pps. Robert just e-mailed me. Is that regret Robert? It might be...

things I've learned

Things I've learned about knitting lace:

1. It requires 110% of your attention. So don't knit during lectures or you'll have to frog it.

2. It does not make good television knitting. I just want to watch my McDreamy and knit my flippin' lace but I had to frog it again.

3. Lace requires it's own traveling bag... where car keys can't catch it and destroy your two feet of lace.

4. Don't knit black lace. You can't see when you screw up.

5. Don't knit lace on a deadline. Especially one that is less than a week away and you are starting over for the 6th time.

6. Don't knit lace for non-knitters (aka muggles) because they have NO IDEA how much you will hate lace by the time you present thier lace stole to them on thier 50th birthday. Not to mention they have no idea how much a cashmere/merino blend costs...especially when you are buying 11 of them. Then there's the time....but I'm not going there.

That being said, I'm almost a foot in. If I knock out another 2 feet today and have it about 4 feet by the time fall break is over...I should have a chance at having it done by the 13th...maybe? I will try to post pics before I head back of the recently finished Panda socks and wooly bowl and talk about the sudden (and unexpected) success of my knitting classes!