Sigh. This is where my sweater was left Saturday night, when I ran out of yarn in Boston. Which means it could have been done, had I remembered to bring another hank of yarn with me. Had I thought I needed it....oh well, it'll be done soon :) I'm still really pleased with the quick progress, though I may re-seam one of the sleeves. More details later.

I've been starting again on my Lady E, hoping to finish it in time for my mom's surgery in March. Without too much detail, she's really nervous and could certainly use a get well gift. So cross your fingers.

In another effort to clean out my tiny room, I'm getting rid of some yarn. If any of this interests you let me know, otherwise it's getting donated. Somewhere :) $1/ball, email me for details on yardage, fiber, etc at pacgirl44 at yahoo dot com.

Panic....

Um...Sunday? Why are you creeping up on me?

Remember all my complaints about grafting the Lace Leaf Pullover and how it was forming a line I didn't like because my tension was off? Well, I undid it. I put a lifeline in, pulled out the graft, and frogged the bottom half of my sweater.

The good news is I have one sleeve done.

The bad news is I don't have a bottom half of my sweater. And I'm flying to Boston tomorrow (if I'd been on top of it I would have seen who of the bloggers is out there - because really, how often do I go to the East Coast? Once a year, glad you asked). Which means alot of time on the plane. But with my wrists I don't think I can really knit nonstop.

It's going to be a photo finish. Assuming I remember my camera. Though since I tried to start my car by putting my key where my sunglasses are stored, I wouldn't hold your breath :)

Nah, it'll be ok. Those inches fly by, and the second sleeve doesn't have the leaf on it (like that really cuts down on knitting time). It'll be ok. Maybe I should leave work early and seam the other sleeve on, for peace of mind....

It's only 1:45...

Good luck to all you other knitting Olympians. It's looking good!

Knitting Olympics

I'm making good progress on the Lace Leaf Pullover - sadly, I didn't think to take any pictures yesterday. So you'll just have to trust me that I grafted the top and bottom together and have started to knit one sleeve. Would I lie about this?

I'm not entirely pleased with the grafting job. The first time I tried to Kitchner stitch it on the needles and it left a line of purl stitches. Then I tried it inside out - same problem. I dug out my Book of Finishing Techniques and looked up the KS - I was doing what it told me. However, they had an interesting illustration of what was actually going on - sewing through the stitches in a zigzag. So I strung in a lifeline and proceeded to sew. I like the results better, though I pulled a little too tight. Next time I make this sweater (if) I'm going to knit from the top down and add in the leaf at the bottom when I feel like it. No grafting for me!

In other Knitting Olympic news - the family I live with saved me this article from Time magazine:


I love that I've developed a reputation with them :)

meme Madness

I've been tagged by Sara and Teresa, so here goes:

Four Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:
1. Graduate student - going for a masters now!
2. Intern - five straight summers. Chevron and Intel.
3. Tutor - did for awhile to supplement my stipend, now I do it for rent. Sigh.
4. Student leader in a chemistry lab (*whip crack* Make that solution!)


Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:
1. Lord of the Rings (any of 'em)
2. Harry Potter (mostly the 3rd)
3. Princess Bride
4. Monty Python? Muppet Movie? Good Will Hunting? Good Morning Vietnam?


Four Places You Have Lived (only 4?)
1. Bartlesville, OK years 0-17
2. Berkeley, CA years 18-um, 24
3. Santa Barbara, CA years 24-25
4. Los Angeles, CA years 25-now


Four TV Shows You Love to Watch
1. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
2. Family Guy
3. Gilmore Girls
4. West Wing


Four Places You Have Been on Vacation
1. Germany - family
2. New Mexico - 10 summers in a row
3. Oregon - lived there for awhile
4. Hawaii - intern perk


Four Websites You Visit Daily
1. Yahoo/Gmail - compulsive email checking
2. Fark
3. Comedy Central
4. Bloglines


Four of your Favorite Foods
1. Edamame
2. Anything with Nutella
3. Pistachio ice cream
4. Cheese


Four Bloggers You are Tagging:
Well, if you haven't done this then what are you waiting for?

Three names you answer to-
Kate
Katerina
sigh. Katherine. Only if forced. You will all note Katie is not on here, nor my family nickname. Guess.

Three parts of your heritage-
German - 1/2
Irish - 1/8
Random European - the rest

Three things that scare you-
Death
Lonliness
Heights

Three everyday essentials-
Tea
Petting Marie the cat
Guitar

Three things you are wearing-
Denim skirt
White shirt
Safety glasses (hey, I'm at work)

Three favorite songs [by artists I’ve been listening to a lot lately]-
Walk away - Ben Harper
Love you madly - Cake
Bm slide - Angela Lum, co author.

Three things about the opposite sex that appeal to you
Humor
Patience
Eyes

Three things that you want in a relationship-
Friendship
Understanding
Support

Three favorite hobbies
Knitting
Guitar
Photography

Three things to do before you die
Graduate
Travel selfishly

Three ways you are stereotypically female/male-
I like shoes
I get emotional and talk about it and analyze it
I believe ice cream and chocolate are therapeutic

Two truths and one lie, in no particular order-
I've fallen down the stairs on crutches
I was a ballerina for 10 years
I knit with opposite hands

3 people you are tagging-
Tag on people.

Knitting Olympics update

When I first joined the Knitting Olympics, I said I was going to make a sweater from Rowan. That's right, a full sweater on size 5 needles.

Um, insane.

When I looked at the signup page, it just said sweater next to my name. Telling me I could go ahead and change "Rowan sweater" to "Lace Leaf Pullover"

Which I did.

Then the tough decision - what yarn? I had some blue Cascade Pastaza set aside for Lucky, though in all honesty it's too thick for that sweater. So I decided to do a test swatch. Hmm, too thin. Ok, I'll order some from Handpaintedyarn.com. I found a colorway I liked, ordered it, wound it into balls, and did a test swatch. Perfect.

Then I started knitting. Ew. While the yarn looks pretty on its own, it's going to be ugly as a sweater.



So back to Cascade I went. Much better. Though knitting, drinking beer, and watching the 40-year old Virgin will make you misread pattern instructions - I had to rip out 10 rows of the top because I wasn't increasing along the shoulders as well. Oops!

A few links

Beadlizard's knitting advice - she makes some very helpful suggestions.

LA Times article on the SnB controversy.

And the Yarn Harlot on NPR about the Knitting Olympics

Found on Professor Knitwit - what kind of knitter are you?


You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.
You are through those knitting growing pains and

feeling more adventurous. You can follow a

standard pattern if it's not too complicated

and know where to go to get help. Maybe

you've started to experiment with different

fibers and you might be eyeing a book with a

cool technique you've never tried. Perhaps

you prefer to stick to other people's

patterns but you are trying to challenge

yourself more. Regardless of your preference,

you are continually trying to grow as a

knitter, and as well you should since your

non-knitting friends are probably dropping

some serious hints, these days.
http://marniemaclean.com


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

While on break from knitting, I did a little sewing - here's a picture of the skirt I made:



And as I wait for my monomer to dry out, I've started working on my Lady E again - 5 balls down, 5 more to go!



I also notice I never posted a picture of the slippers I made for my mom:

The soles were improvised - I couldn't find any leather so I used the rubber grip mats for drawers. Seems to be working alright, though I like the look of leather better...