So it's been awhile...

Hi folks!  Just wanted to write a short update since my last one in, uh, February...eep.

Well, I took an exam (PASS!), quit my job and started a new one, and knit one whole thing!  Check it out:

bulbous!

Woo hoo!  I finished my market bag!  It took me way longer than it should have, but I managed to do most of it on the plane between here and Puerto Rico and back.  Oh, did I mention I went to Puerto Rico too?  yup, it was beautiful.  Pretty flowers, but I was expecting less fried food.  The beach was gorgeous tho, for sure!  

oooo, so pretty!  Forest right until the beach!

Other than that, mom's socks are hibernating.  Turning the heel confused me too much, so I think I might just make her some normal ones with fun color-changing yarn or something.  Boneyard shawl is also hibernating.  I just got really bored with all of that stockinette stitch.  Especially because i don't know if I would ever wear something like that anyway.  I hope when I actually work on a sweater or something I don't get bored!!!  There are way more stitches on those!!  

Alright, spring has sprung in DC, and I'm off to enjoy more beautiful weather.  Have a nice day!

So about that "posting" thing

Sorry folks, too much studying to do.  Also, finishing old job, lots to close out, it's very stressful!

Will post next week for sure!  I take my test on Tuesday!!  :)

I leave you with a tiny dinosaur in a tiny hand knit sweater.  Doesn't he look warm?  :)

WHAT HAVE I DONE?

I have decided to finish ALL of my exams this year.  This is after multiple years of saying I'm not going to do them and fighting their existence (I was having an existential crisis, what can I say?).  I am going to take 5 exams this year.  5.  And I've already taken the one easy one, so I don't even get a break.  I feel my knitting will suffer, but I owe my mom and pair of socks, a small baby a bib, and myself something awesome.  Also, I really want to finish something for the KAL.  Because I signed up.  So I should do it.  On that note, behold, the beginning of a project:

There's a sock started there, I promise.

I have started the Lazy Lace Socks for my mom.  Stompy has taken a keen interest.  Actually, I stopped where I did because my fingers started tingling.  It was very upsetting!  hopefully I can knit a row here or there during study breaks or something.  This is the project I want to finish for the KAL.  This also means I will finish it probably right around when I take my first exam - I am planning to take that by March 6.  I'm going to Puerto Rico on March 7 or 8!  Yayy destination weddings!  Vacations in pretty places woo woo!

Alright, this was my study break, just a quick hello and project update.  The boneyard shawl is getting bigger slowly.  Maybe that can be study knitting since it's so boring?  but that's after I finish taking notes while reading.  I need to invest in a desk lamp and a task chair.

Goodnite!

Haha, so much for Mondays

Whoops, missed my Monday post - but there was foodstuffs to be made!  nom nom fajitas!  :)

Other than that, I had started an awesome post about redlining my knitting, but unfortunately I haven't finished it, and I have a lot to do, so I won't be able to post it tonite.  I'm also really tired for some reason.

Here's status updates about what I have on my needles (there are only two):

1) Boneyard shawl - I finished the first skein, and am now working on the second.  oof, this takes a long time!  I'm thinking maybe I'll add some sort of pattern during one of the repeats to spice it up.  I'm getting bored.  Plus, alpaca might be too itchy for me... oops.  The colors are at least super pretty!  I really like the deep blue on here.  I think I may overdye that other knitpicks yarn I got with blue and see what happens.  I really like blue right now.  (wait, I just realize I was at 50%! woo hoo! yea, I'm slow...)

Using an actual scaling device for scale - no bananas here!

2) Bike helmet earwarmers - hey look, buttons!  yayyy!  makes them look like anteaters or elephants or something else cute.  :)  I'm going to make the button loop tonite and give them back this week.  Yay!  One 2013 WIP complete!  :)

look like aliens... do do do do do dooooooooo ("x-files")

I hope to start my mom's socks this weekend.  I officially joined the My Sister's Knitter KAL, so I want to finish at least those! (I'll be really off my new year's goals if that's all I finish by then, though.  So I probably should have at least two done by March 15!)


Have a nice night!

The New Year Post

It's that time of year everybody - when we review what we've done and make goals to do it better this time!  I'm not going to lie, keeping goals is really hard for me, because I don't actually make them.  If I do, I don't remember them.  Whoops.  I wonder if I can add a gadget to this blog to keep track of my knitting goals on the side of the page?  I'll have to research.

Anyway, back to my review.  What did I knit in 2013?

From left to right:  Easy Leaves Scarf, Morning Walk Headwarmer, Purple Socks, Mile-a-Minute Scarf, Christmas Tree Pin, Bike Helmet Ear Warmers, Simplicity Cowl, Fingerless Mitts, and Christmas Tree Ornament (currently Flava-Fox's bling - yes, still working on a name for him!)

Oof, that is a tiny amount of things.  Also, most of them are tiny!  So my goal next year:  KNIT MORE.  Yea, like I said, not a goal setter.  Well, let me take a cue from Nerd Fitness on goal setting:  I would like to knit one more project than I knit this year, but more involved/complicated.  So, 10 larger projects.  Here are the for sure objects I would like to knit:

• A sweater
• A large, lacy shawl - because who doesn't need something awesome at work to cut the dreariness?
• A pair of socks - and not just the ones I didn't make my mom for Christmas
• A market bag - I bought cotton yarn, needs to be used up
• Hat(s) for charity - because I don't really wear toques myself
• Another object where the pattern is my own (intentional - not like the socks).  Not sure what this is yet, but it'll happen.  
• An object where the yarn is dyed by me.  Maybe that Bermuda color scheme will be my large lacy shawl?
• Other amazing objects.  Probably gifts, because I just realized everything up there is for me! Oops.  Selfish knitter here!  haha.

Now, I realize these goals are pretty big.  The sweater will probably take me all year.  So will the shawl.  But, I would like some wearable objects that make people go, "WOAH you made that?"  Plus, who knows, maybe it could lead to something bigger and brighter.  To keep me on my toes, I've decided to join the My Sister's Knitter KAL.  A "KAL" is a knit-a-long, where you knit along with others - and post onto the Ravelry forum as you finish.  Sometimes you knit the same thing as everyone else, and sometimes, like this one, you make personal knitting goals and try to meet them while cheering on everyone else's personal knitting goals.  The forum explains it better than I do.  Anyway, if you haven't checked out My Sister's Knitter, it's a great blog, with great knitting ideas, tasty looking tea, and lovely photographs!  The author seems very sweet too.  I think you should check it out!  I've added it to my sidebar too.  Plus, another thing I've liked about the blog, is she is constantly recommending other fun blogs to read - I get very distracted!!  :)

But back on topic - I have other goals for this year:

• Try to update this blog at least once a week.  I was really bad at this for these first few months.  But I realize, no one's going to read a blog if you post every two weeks.  No one's even going to remember you have a blog!  I'll set a schedule for every Monday (I'm always pooped on Sunday from climbing, then groceries, then the weekend), then hopefully add Thursday - the rest of my week I'm not home at a computer!
• Get my sleep schedule into some schedule format.  It's hard when some nights you don't get home til 11:30, but maybe those nights I just need to hit the shower then head straight to bed!  Trust me, that's harder than it seems - even tho I've been climbing and chatting for the evening, I need to sit and wind down and do nothing for a while before I go to bed.  Doesn't matter how tired I am on the train - I get home, and I stay awake.  I'm not going to aim high, but at least be in bed by 12:30, if not earlier.  On non-climbing days, aim for 12:00.  I think trying for 11:30 may confuse me too much.  Move the times earlier if it works.
• Update the blog format.  By February, I need a nicer format.  Although I love the bright green of Iceland and my sheep friend, it's not a pretty background.  I need to clean it up.  See what it looks like on other machines too.

OK - My goals seem huge.  I hope they don't overwhelm me.  They might, because these are only my knitting goals.  My life goals are pretty time-consuming as well.  Seriously, if I didn't have to work, I would have so much time!  Geez.  BF needs to make more money!  :) hee hee, just kidding (kind of).

What are your goals?  Are they specific?  Will you keep them?  DUN DUN DUN.

Have a great 2014!  See you next Monday!

The Christmas Aftermath

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas full of family and friends! I just got back from my vacation home, and I had a great time!  The gifts I gave were well received, those bought, those computer designed, and those knitted!  However, I need to work on my graphics for my knitting!  It wasn't clear enough that the card came with the gift, and that it indicated a hand-knit.  I've brought home some light cotton/linen cloth to try and make actual tags for my knits, I'll have to see what I can come up with!

The rest of my time at home was fabulous - I got to hang out with my good friends, try out a bunch of new bars, and eat some tasty home-cooked meals!  I also got to try my hand (again) at screen printing.  We did the easy way this time - no burning the image onto the screen, just using plastic sheet stencils.  Check out my bibs!

Butterflies!

Flowers!

My screen printing partner - not as useful as you would think!

I need to work on my screen print photography - those are terrible, eep.

ALSO - I did, in fact, FINALLY finish the Simplicity Cowl!  Drumroll please:

TA-DA!  Looks good, don't it?

Completed before I even made it home!  OH YEAH.  I think it looks pretty snazzy, here's hoping it gets good use!  

The fingerless mitts however, were not completed without a mad knitting session at the airport, on the airplane, and at 11pm on Christmas Eve.  But they were done before Christmas, and that's all that matters!  I did not take a photo, however, because I am a genius.  Oops.  I'll have to ask the sister for that as well.  She and her husband both liked them, I'll see what I can do for him.  It'll probably be next Christmas.  I'm not really what anyone would call, "Speedy".

In other hometown adventures, I took the parents to the Science Museum (since I bought them a membership last year and all).  I think this is some amazing wayfinding signage:

It's really well-balanced and instructional!  You can see the passage of time and the variety of the species on the planet, and it's a pretty graphic!  I love it!

While at the museum, we saw some re-created panels from the Lascaux Caves:

The Panel of the Great Black Cow, in the Nave of the caves

The newly renovated Hall of Egyptology:

This gave me some color ideas - should I ever start doing something colorful!

And some gems.  Lots and lots of shiny gems.  It was a little overwhelming, those gems.  I'm not as much of a fan as I feel I should be.  Oh well.  It was a good time anyway, and the parents got out of the house!

How was everyone else's Christmas?  Any awesome adventures or gifts?  Amazing food perhaps?  hmmm, food.....  :)

I'm going to coordinate my thoughts for my New Year's post and get that up as soon as possible.  Until then, I leave you with Glitter Dancer and Friends:

Meet Stompy the Parapalegic Trike, Glitter Dancer, and as-yet-unnamed Mr Fox.  They only came together this year to form my supporting crew.  :)

Have a great night!