Faithfully Geeky

Week of Fun

2012-01-26T19:27:00.000-05:00

It's been a crazy week of fun. I just dropped my dear friend Taryn (she of the My Little Pony cocktail recipes) off at the airport for her flight home and am just beginning to process the amount of fun we had this week.

Here are some of the highlights:

Knitting at the North Carolina Museum of History

And spinning!

Evidently hanks of yarn in the 1800s were much larger than modern skeins. Unless maybe you are buying Miss Babs' Yowza.

Brownies!

And crafting. I did a lot of cabling . . .

. . . and Taryn cross-stitched a masterpiece. I have to say, I'm a little jealous.

It was a ton of fun. Taryn and I haven't hung out this much since school, and I wish she could have stayed longer. Hopefully I'll be able to hike down to Atlanta some time. I miss having friends outside of my apartment.

Knitting ADD

2012-01-22T09:10:00.000-05:00

The other day I described myself to a coworker as having knitting ADD. She was asking what had happened with some socks she had seen me work on on a previous day and when I told her they were at home waiting to be knit on again she just shook her head and laughed. It seems that having multiple works in progress is something that is frowned upon by your average non-knitter. Just like having extra yarn is seen as obsession rather than preparation.

But here's the thing. If you're privileged enough to be in a first world country, then you probably have more of a lot of things than you can use at one time. You have extra food that you don't plan to eat all at once (and probably several things of leftovers that are arguably meals in progress). You might own movies, which you really can't watch all at one time. You even own more clothes than you can reasonably wear at one time. So why should I not have more projects than I can knit at one time. After all, this is a leisure activity, so I should do what I want if I have the resources. It's not ADD, it's getting the maximum enjoyment out of my sticks and string.

At least this is what I tell myself as I cast on another sweater.

Friday Wedding Update: Week 28

2012-01-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry I have been so low on posts this week. It's just that after working my third holiday weekend in two months I was in danger of writing posts about bad customer behavior or how I almost got run over by a car and a Christmas tree in the same hour. My happy just was not at the forefront of my creative mojo, so I retreated into work and my knitting and lots and lots of Charmed episodes.

But it's time for this week's progress report on operation Rutabaga 2012, and I have actually done some work (most of it today). It is hard to work on the planning when I feel like I am operating in a vacuum. Chris is still in school and so has not really been available for strategic planning sessions and plus, as the bride, it really is up to me to do most of the heavy lifting. Overall I have felt very supported in this process by everyone involved, but at the end of the day the real decision making is up to me, and that's a little scary.

It's no secret that we are trying to do this as cheap as possible. The area that is making this difficult currently is the reception. What do you serve for food? Is there anyone who could help out? How many people are we having to feed and what are the expectations? Since the wedding is on a Friday night the timing has worked out that we really do need to serve some sort of dinner. I am not really into big elaborate meals, and I have no intention of hiring a caterer. I just don't have that kind of funding. So today I sat down with a notebook and did some free association and word mapping exercises that I used to do when I got stuck working on research.

I started with the main concept. No, not "cheap", but rather the feel of the wedding. It's a small country church and based on my dress and current flower ideas (more on that later), I'm aiming for "storybook". So, what food seems like it would be at a small country wedding in a fairy tale. For some reason the first word that popped into my head was "chutney", which really makes no sense. But from there I moved to cheese and once I got on the idea of cheese plates it all sort of spiraled from there. When I was a kid my parents would do family movie nights that involved picnicking on the living room floor munching on nice cheese, crackers, grapes, and apple slices. Those have always been some of my favorite meals, and in my mind they are tied to stories like Pirates of Penzance (my original pirate loves -- go watch the video, I'll be here when you come back) or The Jungle Book. It just makes sense to take that memory and build a menu around it, because in the end that's really what this is going to be -- a reflection of the past 23 years of my life, honoring that, and celebrating the beginning of a new chapter.

And, as has become my mantra when I'm stuck making decisions, it's my wedding. Even if I don't get to eat the food myself I still have to pay for it. If people don't like it they can do something different when they get married (that sounds really mean, but sometimes you just have to stop considering everyone else or nothing will get done).

Down the Rabbit Hole

2012-01-17T16:54:00.001-05:00

So... have you seen the new Whimsical Little Knits? I know, right?! It's, like, so awesome and pretty and it has that whole whimsical thing going for it... It's pretty much the cat's meow of accessory collections.

This is the conversation I imagined having with my knitting bff. The one who keeps up with Ravelry and indie designers. The one I essentially do not have in my corner of the world. One day that will change, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, back to Whimsical Little Knits 3. It dropped like an atomic bomb on the knitting community the other night. I was just sitting there on the couch, knitting on my sweater, when suddenly Ysolda tweeted a link leading to the preorder of WLK3. A link I immediately jumped on with much flailing and enthusiasm. And then I found out that not only was it a preorder, but that the digital copy was immediately available for download.

I don't remember much after that, just a blur of flailing and yelling and casting on. All I know is that I barely slept that night and somehow the rest of the yarn needed for that second Kristi sock I still need to knit is now becoming this:

Roisin was released last year in Interweave Accessories, but I somehow managed to resist and wait for WLK3 instead. I'm so glad I did. I'm trying to track down the yarn I need to knit Hendreary. A hat with a giant button motif? How can I refuse?

The Joy of a Well-Tended Arch

2012-01-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

As a sock knitter, it could be implied that I like my feet. But if you actually spent time with me you would assume that I don't. I don't moisturize, paint my nails, or do any pedi-spa type stuff. And I certainly don't buy myself nice shoes. My mother raised me on the principle that our feet are important. They are what connect our bodies to the ground and carry all of our weight. This was especially important for me to learn as a kid because I inherited my father's flat feet. And when I say flat I mean it. If I go barefoot or wear shoes with little to no support my arch completely disappears. Luckily for me, my mom recognized this and made sure to send me to school or outside to play in well-made shoes. The added benefit of this is that well-made shoes last a long time.

Exhibit A:

You may recognize these shoes from previous FO posts. They were the first shoes I bought for myself back in high school when our lovely uniform committee decided that navy blue shoes were no longer allowed and we could only wear black or white. I can remember going to the shoe store and trying on everything that was solid black (solid white with khakis and my crazy socks would just look stupid) and finally deciding on these, buying them with a good chunk my summer savings because I knew I would wear them every day for at least the next year.

Fast forward six years and I am still wearing them consistently. My current job requires me to wear closed toed shoes and to frequently stand most of the day, which eliminates most of my other shoe preferences. Mom came to visit a few weeks ago and realized that the shoes were probably passing their wearability point and so bought me a new pair as a graduation gift.

Five years on the market and Keen has only improved their offerings. I love these shoes (Harvest MJ). Seriously, I can't stop talking about them. They are completely different from what I had originally wanted, but they are so much more fun. The bright colors go well with the environment I work in and the arches only took one day to break in. I've worn them for several days straight with no problems. I'm not a big shoe purchaser (which is why Mom thought to buy me these as a gift, because they are not something I would splurge on myself when I have other shoes in the closet), but these are so nice I may save up for another pair to have in the rotation.

And they go well with hand knitted socks! My size US 8.5 feet fit comfortably with enough wiggle room that I can wear the socks I make, which just adds to the color fun. Everyone has been commenting on them. Though that might just be a side effect of wearing the same shoes every day for six months. In any case, I highly recommend them if anyone is looking to invest in a good wearable shoe. There are a lot of varieties to choose from, including many more practical hues if you're not as colorful as I tend to be.

Friday Wedding Update: Week 29

2012-01-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

This post is not about the release of Whimsical Little Knits 3 that went live last night. It is not about the fact that I flailed about frantically and immediately cast on with yarn that was already half a pair of socks, meaning I'll have to buy more. It is most certainly not about the fact I stayed up till almost midnight knitting on said item, though I was mostly ripping out. No, this post is about a little even I like to call Rutabaga 2012.

In exactly 29 weeks (yes, I counted) I will be getting married. It's a scary thought that has often sparked a whirwind of panic when I think about the fact that I have done nothing about the food, the order of ceremony, purchasing rings, etc. I have this really long check list that really doesn't fully apply to me because, frankly, I'm not spending a lot of money on this. Both Chris and I are extremely broke and though my parents are helping with much of the financial expense, I am too budget conscious to let them spend much.

What most people probably find amusing about this is that I have been engaged for almost 13 months, but until a few weeks ago I had absolutely no interest in working on my wedding. I was too focused on school and trying to find a job that would cover my rent to really care about the finer points of florists, photographers, and my adamant stand against djs. But then it hit. About 12 hours after graduation I suddenly cared. A lot. Which is good because I now have less than six months to plan and execute this sucker.

But fear not. I have thrown myself into wedding planning with more than a little gusto. My mom and sister came up for two days before new years and within about 30 hours we had tried on and purchased my dress as well as both bridesmaid dresses. Having the bridesmaid dresses gave me a color scheme. Having the wedding dress has given me theme influencing ideas. I have no pictures to offer because Chris often reads the blog and the one thing I have been very particular about is that he know nothing about my dress. I took no pictures of my own and my mom took it home so that he won't stumble upon it when for some unknown reason I send him to my closet to find a pair of shoes because I'm stranded somewhere and have a gala to get to (hey, a girl can dream).

In the past week I have also confirmed a photographer (so far the most expensive part of the wedding, but I know it'll be worth it), figured out what to do about flowers (more on that later... I hope), and gone with Chris to create a registry at Target (fun, but not nearly as fun as everyone leads you to believe). Next on the list is to create a wedding website and figure out a headcount for the guest list. Are you not just dying to know more? Yeah, me neither. Who knew there was absolutely so much to do. I'm sure you'll hear more about the stuff I've decided to cut out in the days to come as the crazy truly starts to sink in.

Geektastic Thursday: Pretty Little Award

2012-01-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

If you were not on the internet last night you may not have heard news -- Pretty Little Liars won the People's Choice Award for best cable drama! Yep, that's right, I'm a fan girl and I am so glad that this show is getting the recognition it deserves. The show returned two weeks ago with a bang that left glass in my hair and Andrea and I both yelling at the tv "No!" and "I knew it!" at the same time. And nothing beats a show that gets us to yell at the tv all night.

I am a recent PLL devotee, as of last summer. Soon after we moved in to our apartment Andrea sat me down in front of the tv, queued up the pilot, and thus began our obsessive rewatch. There was no turning back. The writing is smart -- very very smart, actually -- and the plot is the perfect balance of outrageous teenage drama and chilling paranoia. The idea that A is always watching and always waiting to turn your every move against you is just brilliant. It takes all of the pressure of high school and amplifies it to the point that actual high school seems to be no big deal.

My only complaint about the return of the show has been the serious lack of knitwear. Season one was filled with so much -- Spencer's crazy sweaters, everyone's hats, Aria's crazy fashion choices -- that it seemed to reach the level of actual knitting porn (Hey, this scene has no knitting in it. WHAT? NO KNITTING? Quick, put Aria in a ridiculously chic knit belt!). In the past two weeks we've only been treated to one knit beret. I hope this is not a sign of things to come, because if Spencer stops making her own clothes I may cry. The next time one of them is in the hospital they should take up knitting to pass the time rather than digging around in the morgue.

Back to the serious stuff, I want to point out that it is about time Pretty Little Liars got some recognition from the establishment. It really is the best show targeting a young adult market on the air today. Glee may claim that it is addressing issues for today's youth, but Pretty Little Liars actually deals with them. Bullying, peer pressure, broken homes, and being gay in high school. It's all there and addressed with a realistic candor that, frankly, is very refreshing. And it is all dealt with by characters who are growing up to be strong, independent young women. It just can't get any better, right?

Miscrossed Sleeves

2012-01-10T15:42:00.000-05:00

My current favorite WIP to work on when home is the Gramps Cardigan, a design by Kate Oates. I bought the pattern during her Black Friday sale and have to say, I am really enjoying it. I am using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Opal Heather which has turned out to be a much softer wool than I had thought it would be. I decided to try something new and not only knit the sleeves first, but also knit them two at a time.

I finished these on Saturday. Like most knitters I am not a big fan of sleeve knitting, so it's exciting to have that part already out of the way. The back and fronts are knit seamlessly and then the collar and button band are picked up. I love having cables to knit again. I had started out knitting without a cable needle, something I do a lot because of my socks, but I've discovered that in this case I prefer to have one around. Makes things look much more even.

And yes, that is a miscrossed cable there. I started the sleeves the night before my defense. I noticed the mistake early on but decided to leave it. It's a nice reminder of what I have conquered.

Farewell

2012-01-09T13:49:00.001-05:00

Last night I laid to rest Martin, beloved and seriously annoying mouse. Martin led a good long life, living with me for over a year with his squeaky wheel. To the best of my knowledge Martin was a year and a half old when he died, which is a good long life for a food mouse. He was buried in the dumpster along with George, the Christmas tree, and took with him his favorite sock and his prized squeaky wheel.

Martin came to live with me on my 22nd birthday. He was the child of terror and was confused as to how to behave around humans. Mostly he just hid from me. See, Martin was originally intended to be food for my brother's pet snake. But somehow Martin escaped in the van on the way home and spent hours eluding my family until my sister found him doing battle with one of the cats. She took him hostage and refused to give him back, but because she lives in a dorm she couldn't take him with her and so the crazy thing came to live with me.

Martin and I had an interesting relationship. I'd buy him food, change his litter, and let him live in an old sock. In turn he'd smell bad and run on his wheel in the middle of the night so that it made the most horrendous squeaking noise. But we grew fond of each other. Our real bonding moment came the day I got so annoyed with him that I spontaneously yelled at him in Russian rather than my intended English. He froze and looked up at me in a sort of understanding. That's when it hit me. Martin was no ordinary food mouse, he was a Russian speaking food mouse! From that time he became my little myshka and I became the insane person who had a pet mouse she only spoke to in a foreign language. But we were a good pair.

I wish I had a picture to post of Martin, but he hated cameras in a way only the Amish can truly respect. So instead I'll just say good bye, moya malenkaya myshka.

Wrong Frakking Apartment

2012-01-08T19:45:00.001-05:00

I totally meant to start the Friday Wedding Updates this week, but my car decided that it felt unloved. Evidently if I spend the money to repair a problem with the computer I need to spend an amount equal or greater on Glinda. She decided to throw a tantrum on Friday and suddenly activate her check engine light for no apparent reason, the car equivalent of a three year old suddenly falling on the ground crying with no visible cause. It's just confusing and scary as anything. Fortunately Glinda is in no danger of exploding, but it took a lot of running around after work to make sure I can get her fixed tomorrow. Here's hoping she matures a bit more as she ages into the second half of her second decade. It really is time for her to put her priorities in order.

So after fun car craziness on Friday (hopefully not to be continued in the expensive car craziness sequal tomorrow), I came home for smoothies and tv night with Andrea. We watch a lot of the same tv shows, often together. We especially watch our creepy tv shows together, which is why we were in the middle of The Secret Circle when someone tried to open our door. Being the deductive individuals we are and understanding that even with our limited mathematical skills we can still count to two, we immediately took action. The oh my gosh someone is breaking into our apartment kind of action.

Let me preface this by saying that we live in a very nice apartment complex and do not have a need to constantly fear someone breaking in to our apartment. There was that one incident in which the maintenance man came in while I was in the shower, but at least the leak in the kitchen sink was fixed by the time he left and we both had a funny story to show for it. It should, however, be abundantly clear by this point that Andrea and I are paranoid individuals. And when I say paranoid I mean that the one time I decided to try taking a bath last month I brought in the rock salt as a precaution to slow down angry spirits if I needed to get out the door. So when I say we took action, it isn't just a peak out the window and see if someone's out there kind of thing.

To my memory the following took a total of twenty to thirty seconds (which I acknowledge is far too long if serious danger presented itself. We may be enacting drills to improve this):

1) Random sound of door knob trying to turn. I jump off the couch and go look out the peephole, taking care not to actually touch the door and alert anyone to my proximity. I see a strange man.

2) I whisper to Andrea that said strange man is outside our door and we race to the end of the hall where she hands me the Jackle (a prop replica knife from Buffy that is seriously sharp) and I run back to the door.

3) Man is still standing there and then appears to lean something against the door and walks out of my field of vision.

4) I glance behind me and see Andrea standing there with her costume props of an airsoft rifle and giant sword, one in each hand, pointed at the door. I wish I had taken a picture.

5) Man is back at the door. He still has not knocked but he also hasn't tried the knob again so I decide not to confront him with our stabbing implements. Suddenly the door across from ours opens and I hear a lot of noise and the dogs start barking. I hear a woman call to the man, who picks up his stuff and goes in.

6) I start laughing hysterically.

Apparently our neighbor had someone over but did not tell him which door was hers. The current theory is that she told him the door was open and that is why he tried to just come in without knocking. I can only imagine what would have happened had we opened the door. The sight alone would probably terrify anyone, not because we're intimidating but just because it is probably scary that we would be that quick to arm ourselves. At least it's nice to know that we are prepared, even if it is just another way we weird out the neighbors. Honestly, I'm just glad I was knitting on my sweater and not a pair of socks. I would have no qualms about whipping my Hiya-Hiya's into action, but it would have been a big tangle to clean up afterwards.

Miraculous Computery Goodness

2012-01-05T21:04:00.000-05:00

Tonight is a very special night. And not just because of the return of The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle. And not even because Heather Hogan just posted her Pretty Little Liars recap, which is usually reason enough. No, tonight is the night my computer was reborn.

In the past year and a half my computer has suffered numerous problems. The fan shorted out, then the internet stopped connecting, the headphone jack broke, the keyboard decided to stop using key letters, like "r" and "c" (oh yeah, my first draft of my thesis was missing these letters. Can you imagine how that went?), and then, the screen cracked. It's been a dismal time for my computer and me, but honestly I guess that's what I get for naming my computer after my favorite Dollhouse doll. They're always a little broken.

Yesterday the last piece of a working computer arrived in the mail. My new screen.

Thankfully I live with a techie genius. First she dismembered it.

And then she tore it to pieces.

And then . . . magically . . . it came back together. And it is beautiful.

FO: Time of My Life Socks

2012-01-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

Oh look at the pretties!

These are my Time of My Life Socks (Cat Bordhi's Darjeeling from The Knitter's Book of Socks). I had a lot of fun knitting these as my lunch break socks at work, but I'm having even more fun wearing them.

The appeal of this design is the deceptive simplicity of them. This is my first Cat Bordhi pattern and I have to say I am understanding everyone's praise of her genius. The arch expansion and heel construction are pretty genius. Unfortunately it's still a little baggy on my heels. My current theory is that I have really narrow heels, which is why I love short row heels so much.

But it was still really fun to learn a new technique.

The real joy of these socks is the yarn. I bought this from Unwind Yarn Company during a sale and it does not disappoint. The twist holds up well to my crazy tinking needs. Some yarns start to fluff up after a while, but I didn't have that problem. This was also my first time knitting socks out of a cashmere blend and they are just as soft and cozy as promised. Add in some lovely splashes of color and this really is an awesome yarn to work with.

Because I tend to knit shorter socks I have almost half a skein leftover. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I'm thinking yoga socks. It is finally getting cold here and I'd like to be able to keep my feet warm without wearing out my regular socks. We'll see what I come up with.

Refocusing

2012-01-03T09:51:00.002-05:00

Today's post is just a small bit of housekeeping. I promise I'll post my final FO from 2011 tomorrow (hint: it's more socks!). In two weeks Faithfully Geeky will have its third year anniversary. I started this blog my last semester of college as a way to chronicle my growth as a knitter, and it has gone through fits and starts as I tried to continue blogging my way through grad school, language school, and the many many projects I made on the way.

Don't worry, this is not a good bye or a change of location. I have loved keeping this blog, but I don't think I have expressed that very well. There have been times when I have been so busy I let the blog slide and didn't update for months on end. So I've decided that it is time to refocus my efforts and to assure this I'm going to try some new things. This has nothing to do with the new year but is driven by the fact that I have found myself in a much different place in my life than I was last year and so want to change things up to bring a better product.

First up, I'm going to start planning more. I often plan out posts in my head, but I never actually write out a schedule, which is odd, because I am very much a schedule driven person. I start each day by making a mental to-do list and have an obsession with writing everything down in my planner (you never know when you'll have to testify as to where you were three years ago on Jan 3 at 9am). In an effort to bring better quality to the blog I am going to do this.

Also, I am going to allow myself to write posts that deal more with my personal life. It's hard to find a balance when this is, after all, a personal blog. It may center around knitting, but my life does influence the way a lot of my knitting turns out. This is nothing extreme and will not be like keeping a diary. I'm going to start by doing a Friday wedding update. If you don't want to read about it, you can skip those posts, but for those who care I am getting married the first Friday in August and this will be a fun way to count down through the planning insanity.

The last change I'm going to make is a complete no-brainer. I'm going to return to some of my geeky roots. This blog has the name it has for a reason, but I often leave out the real geeky part of my personality. Part of this is because for much of the time I have been running this blog I was involved in geek-related podcasts and so got most of my chatter out there. However, I am currently podcast-less and I am starting to feel the void, so look out for some sort of weekly geek obsession in the near future.

I'm making these changes in the hopes that I can better improve this space. My only resolution for the new year involved spending more time writing, an activity I really miss now that I am out of school. Hopefully you will stick with me into this new phase of Faithfully Geeky. I have some of the most awesome readers in the world, and want to honor that with a more serious approach to the blog.

Ok, now back to my normal random insanity.

Eva secures uncooperative kitty.

Nothing New Here

2012-01-01T16:23:00.002-05:00

Happy new year! I hope everyone had a fun new year's eve. I rang the new year in the way I love best -- sound asleep. I know, I'm lame. But we had a crazy week at work and I was tired. Plus as a student my measure of time has always been August, rather than January. I'd say this year is different since I graduated, but I'm getting married in August, so it's still the milestone month for me.

I wasn't going to do a year in knitting review because I have just been too caught up in crazy wedding planning, but last night I was struck by the need to leave no loose ends from 2011. Obviously I could not finish all my lingering WIPs, but I did pick one. My Vampire Academy Cowl only needed the ends woven in, so I took the loose end thing literally and finished it off.

This makes for 40 FOs in 2011. Which is a lot more than I thought I would knit. According to my Ravelry notebook this makes for:

7 pairs of socks
2 scarves
8 hats
5 cowls
6 shawls
4 small random gifties
and 7 (!) sweaters

Excuse me while I pat myself on the back. One of my biggest knitting goals this year was to knit things I actually liked. I did some major frogging this year and I think I really learned that truth. If I don't like it now, I won't wear it later.

I don't have any real knitting goals for 2012. I know I'll be knitting somethings for the wedding, though I'm not sure what exactly they will be. Mostly I plan to just continue as I have. It's been a pretty lean year for me financially, and that won't be changing any time soon. I'm going to keep stashing when I have the funds and not feeling guilty for the occasional splurge. If there's one thing I know now that I didn't know last year, it's that the stash can save my sanity. It's ok to add to it because it, like a savings account, is a measure of security when the yarn money runs out.

FO: Cria

2011-12-28T22:45:00.000-05:00

This is the story of a sad ~~little~~ giant sweater that grew up to be something great. Our story begins in October 2010 when our intrepid knitter saw a yarn sale on twitter that just so happened to fall around her birthday. Now our knitter, being the knitter she is, decided that this was the perfect time to invest in some nice yarn and so ordered a cone of Marr Haven Organic Mull Sport in a lovely shade of green. The yarn arrived, she reveled in its sheepyness, she swatched a bit, and then she put it on a shelf to be admired and generally become one with the furniture. The poor cone of yarn watched other skeins come into the knitter's life and be loved and cherished while it sat lonesome on its shelf, feeling it would never become a real knitted item.

Many months passed and the knitter acquired a new knitting book (as knitters are often apt to do). This book gave many helpful tips about the magic of sweaters and held several beautiful patterns. The knitter turned to the yarn and said, "Well, I'm all out of sweater wool, so I suppose it is your lucky day" (she was obviously forgetting the discount tweed she had drooled over at the fiber festival). So the knitter swatched again, blocked her swatch, and managed to find the time to plot out her sweater. It is here that she made her fatal error. We like to think that it was due to the thesis clogging up her brain, but the knitter decided that to make a properly fitting cardigan under which she could wear proper long sleeved shirts she would have to knit a bust size that gave her three inches of positive ease. The poor yarn tried to protest, undoubtedly certain that it would wind up yet another cast off hiding in the closet corner, but it was all in vein. The knitter had gauge, her numbers, and a sensibly confusing sweater construction and so could not be deterred.

Though the knitter found the sweater more than a bit large very soon after casting on, she continued to knit in the hopes that the designer's ingenious construction would make it all better. It didn't. After months of slaving and swearing (We are really not sure how many, she won't even tell us when exactly she finished it. We know it was sometime this month), the knitter finally decided to at least shorten the body and the sleeves for the sake of the sanity of all involved. She then tried on the sweater, knowing it to be too large, and proceeded to stare in the mirror, willing it to shrink or at least not hang like Phoebe's wedding dress when Cole mucked it up. Suddenly she was struck by inspiration. To this day we believe it was the yarn speaking to her through it's new snuggly sweater form. She unpinned the sweater and moved the buttons to the side of the neckline, giving the sweater more of a military look (it quite suited the Soviet military buttons our knitter had set aside for this purpose). She also discovered that with the addition of the buttons the weight of the sweater shifted ever so slightly and it suddenly became a very comfortable, drapy cardigan, rather than a potato sack.

To this date we do not believe that the knitter has taken off the sweater. If you happen upon her (the wool fumes got to her and she's run off again), you'll undoubtedly see her, wearing her now almost stylish green sweater, snuggled under all that wool that is finally loved the way it deserves.

FO: Eva's Buttony Cowl

2011-12-27T21:57:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas weekend. I got to go home with Chris to visit my family. It's always fun when you stick all six of us under one roof. We didn't get snowed in this year, but now that Chris and I have been engaged for a year the atmosphere was much more relaxed than last year's unspoken pending proposal.

This was the first year that I did not give everyone hand knit gifts. Every time I mentioned that I was considering it someone on twitter would remind me that I had vowed never again after all of the Christmas knitting I did last year. I had that last minute family add-on that just did me in (though it was for my grandfather and was probably the last time he truly knew who I was so it was totally worth it). In any case, despite my solemn promise to not knit for anyone for Christmas (I went so far as to make a formal no-knitting declaration to the family), I still managed to fit in some last minute Christmas knitting.

I've mentioned before that my family is very knit-worthy, and while I did not knit for anyone else, I felt inspired to knit for my sister. I love knitting for my brother because he wears my hats all the time and I love knitting for my sister because she sticks her feet in people's faces to make them feel the softness of the socks. I've had two skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in my stash for at least two years. They were a part of an ill-advised attempt at leg warmers (I've learned that with a few notable exceptions I am quite fine to buy rather than knit my leg warmers) that has long been abandoned. The buttons had also been long time members of the stash, actually I think they were founding items of my very small button box, and are part of the set I used when I repurposed my Wicked Vest for her as well.

Lucky me, my sister's color of the season is this shade of blue. Her ability to look completely put together is perfectly suited to the funky look of this version of the Traveling Woman Cowl. I knit the small, fingering weight, flat version and just shortened the stockinette section and the number of lace repeats. I wish I had made the button holes smaller, but it still came out nicely and I'm quite pleased with my last minute Christmas knitting for the year.

Girl with the Botched Trillian

2011-12-22T23:07:00.001-05:00

I just got back from seeing Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (US), which was pretty much awesome. I highly recommend it to those who like that kind of intensity in their movies and strongly caution those who do not enjoy as much raw and gritty storylines (to you I say go read the book. They're always better than the movie anyway). I don't think my flatmate will forgive me for a while, but she got a good laugh after it was over when I showed her how badly I mauled my Trillian (side note: Trillian is my current move knitting, which is why you haven't really heard about it. The only other movie I've seen lately is MI4. Also awesome but in completely different ways)

Yep, I spent the ENTIRE movie tinking back to fix a section I dropped stitches in. Take my word for it kids. Unless it's a stockinette tube, this is not a movie for knitting. I leave tomorrow for Christmas with the family, so I will be up way too late packing, which is going to work out fine because I am seriously paranoid (then again, when am I not?)

Completion

2011-12-20T22:41:00.000-05:00

I've been putting off writing this post both partly because I don't want to admit that I've reached this point and partly because I was trying to give myself distance to absorb it. But as school has still been plaguing my dreams, I guess there's nothing to do but say it -- I graduated.

I know, I know, I sound ridiculous. But think about it. My entire life has been about school. From age four to last week school has been an all-consuming obsession. I've never gone more than two months without attending school. And my fiance has never known me when I was not stressing out about something related to graduate school. School is was basically my life and I have no idea who I am without that.

When I was in tenth grade I realized that I had a knack for history. Ever since I was a child my dad told me stories and read books to me, introducing me to two very important world, that of literature and that of history. He read to me not only the classics, but long forgotten books of his own childhood, some written by members of our own family. I love a good book, but I quickly realized that what I really love is uncovering fantastic stories that were actually true. By middle school I had read the entire children's biography section at my local library (which is surprisingly extensive) and had moved on to more advanced material. In sixth grade I was assigned a biographical essay on Aristotle that involved digging through the card catalog for hours on end. On that fateful day when my teacher (who would leave our school soon after to go pursue his own masters degree) assigned our first book review I went home and asked my father for suggestions. A year later I was in need of another historical text, which he supplied with The Devil in the White City. I received the history award for the second time that year and decided that not only would I be majoring in history in college, but I would go to graduate school.

In college I was almost derailed by the kind of life events that every young adult must face, but I survived and thrived in an environment that supported my love of research and telling stories. I met two amazing women, Dr. R and Dr. S, my English and History professors, who made such a big impact on my studies that they drove two hours to attend my graduation. They became not only my mentors, but also my friends, and I found great support for my goals through my academic departments. Three years after the start of college I graduated, moved to the coast, and started grad school, immersed in a new library and finding new ways to tell the stories I uncovered in archives and library repositories. I found new friends who were just as passionate as me, new mentors who would push me until I would reach my breaking point and then finally break through to new understandings, new students who would challenge my patience and make me realize why I love what I do, and new stories to share with those around me.

So, you see, this graduation isn't just the end of grad school, it's the end of 17 years of work, pushing myself to get to this point. My thesis is not just the culmination of my own achievements, but has been my chance to tell a truly unique story that had been largely overlooked. It is a connection between me and all of the storytellers that have come before and will follow me. And when our department chair asked us to look around at the people who had supported us through this process, I saw my dad and started to cry, because this was just as much a culmination of his legacy (and tons of my mom's patience) as it has been my effort.

I have no idea where I go from here professionally, but I am determined to keep finding ways to tell new stories as well as the old ones I love so much, even if it is just right here in my little corner of the internet.

Graduation Eve

2011-12-15T17:36:00.000-05:00

So tomorrow I drive down to school and everyone will applaud while someone does something with a big thing of fabric around my shoulders. Honestly? I have no idea what happens at these graduations. I've never been to one before.

I didn't work today and so I have been trying lots of things to keep myself busy and stave off the end of school blues. These were bad enough when I finished each school year in high school, I'm not sure yet how hard I will crash now that I'm done with school probably forever. I've cleaned the apartment, then messed it up, then mostly cleaned again. I've watched way too much Charmed, took a nap, and have started some way last minute Christmas gifts. One is for my thesis adviser as a thank you for heading my committee and dealing with me during this process.

I used the pattern that came with my sock blocker key chain from Knit Picks (excellent Christmas pattern, by the way). For some reason though, a nice alpaca ornament wasn't enough, I had to add to it. When my grandmother died this summer I inherited some of her cross stitch and mending supplies.

I don't know what any of the technical terms are for what I did, all I know is is took me forever to embroider that little 11 on that little sock. Luckily there was still some white in the box, though it appears that my grandmother was in the middle of a project that used a lot of purple. I'm pretty pleased with the result, so long no one tries to look inside where all of the ends live.

FO: Steam Age Thermis

2011-12-13T08:45:00.000-05:00

I have developed an affection for cowls. Part of the reason, I believe, is that unlike sweater sleeves, mitts, or socks, they do not come in pairs. I bought this skein of Madeline Tosh Vintage at Yarn Paradise back in October and spent the rest of the afternoon on my dad's hospital bed trying to find the perfect pattern on my phone. I burned through the entire battery, but I did decide on Thermis by Kris Knits.

Side note: I did not use a filter or anything on this picture. The sun just happened to peak out at just the right time and create such a cool effect.

This is an awesome final product and really shows off the verigation in the yarn nicely. I really enjoyed working with Madeline Tosh and one day when I have that kind of money I totally want to make a sweater with it. Possibly even in this color. I picked the yarn because A) I liked all the color changes and B) it goes really well with my winter coat.

The buttons were an impulse buy that I made last month while playing on Etsy. They come from Worldknits & Handspun, who sells a lot of different products, including buttons from places other than the US. These came from Russia and were just too nice to pass up. The purchase of these, plus another set and shipping was still about the same cost as a few sets of not as eclectic buttons at the craft shop, so they do make for a really good buy.

Parts of this pattern do not make sense, specifically the button hole parts. The patterning does not quite match up to the written instructions, and the button hole row includes one too many stitches for the section. I fixed this for myself by removing the extra stitch, but I know that if I had decided to knit this pattern at this time last year I probably would have spent a lot longer looking for a solution. I did check the pattern page on Ravelry, and not only is there no errata, but there are comments over a year old asking about this line in the directions to which there has been no reply. This was hugely disappointing because this is a pay-for pattern, so one would expect that either the directions be fixed in the pattern or that the designer would address this herself. Obviously this is a small error that almost two thousand knitters have found a way to deal with, but it was disappointing to see when I had heard such great things about the pattern. The pattern itself was beautifully put together, and I still love the end result, which is a gorgeous cowl for those hoped for cold mornings to come.

As part of the finishing I learned how to do Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewn bind off, which may be more sadistic than the kitchener stitch, but not as much fun. It took me two and a half episodes of Grimm on tivo to get through, but the end result is quite lovely.

Fashionable Holiday Fangirls

2011-12-12T12:03:00.001-05:00

So with grad school wrapping up for good I am finally admitting that it is almost time for Christmas. Just in time, too, since it is only two weeks away. But as I am not knitting for anyone this year it has become a lot easier to really get into the holiday spirit. We bought a tree, his name is George

And I broke out my favorite Christmas Album, Christmas in the Stars (Seriously, it is my favorite. If you're any inch a Star Wars fan, you should check it out. Especially if you have kids).

Speaking of the holidays and Star Wars, have you seen the new holiday update from Her Universe? I blogged about my hoodie that I bought last year at Dragon*Con, but I have accumulated several more pieces since then.

(Star Wars hoodie, BSG Red Spine Shirt)

For Cyber Monday Ashley put together a new product update that is truly awesome. In addition to the free shipping code that I believe is still good through the 14th, she also built on some great ideas. You can kind of see the progression of the products. For example, last year for the holidays there was the Boba Fett pj set, a tank top and underwear set that I really love and have gotten a lot of wear out of. This year she created the Viper pilot pj set, a tank top and shorts set based on the BSG viper pilots. Mine came in the mail the day I defended my thesis and it was the perfect thing to relax in after such a long ordeal. I don't normally go for shorts that say things on the bum, but these are too cute to pass up.

(I Know tshirt, Viper Pilot tank, Boba Fett tank)

There are still some products I don't have that I have on my wish list for Christmas (if you're still short on a gift for me), like the rebel alliance and imperial logo earrings and the "Daddy Issues" hoodie. Both are great ideas and illustrate two sides of the spectrum for fan girls, the overtness and the more subtle appeal.

(Eureka Holiday Tote Bag)

It also bears mentioning that even though I met Ashley at her booth during D*Con 2010, I did not really expect to see her there again this year because the company has become such a hit and was actually a sponsor of the con. But on the last day Andrea and I were wandering near the walk of fame and happened to see her helping women try on samples and chatting with everyone who came by the booth. It really means something to meet someone who actually puts in that face time with us fangirls and who genuinely cares both about the quality of her product and the fanbase she is creating these items for. I really get the impression that it is not about the money, but rather about addressing a real need that is still very strong in the geek community.

Cria Into the Black Hole

2011-12-10T18:30:00.000-05:00

Have you ever sworn at a piece of fabric? Have you ever done it multiple times? Two years ago I spent months mentally haranguing a pair of gloves. I have only knit mitts since then, having sworn off of gloves for the rest of eternity. Chris loves his gloves, but they remain my single most painful piece of knitting -- ever. Until now.

I mention this because I've been working on my Cria and it is bringing back memories of how much I struggled to get through those gloves. I've been working on the second sleeve, which has really thrown me into the black hole of knitting. The last one took three days tops and this one is taking over a week. I'm at that point where time and space have no meaning and I'm just knitting and knitting and getting absolutely no where.

I love this sweater, I really do. But right now we are so not on good speaking terms. I'm just going to sit and knit and not move until it's done or my fingers fall off. Honestly, I am already googling good doctors to reattach my appendages. The outlook for work tomorrow does not look good. I'll keep you posted.

A Masters-Prepared Student

2011-12-08T21:39:00.001-05:00

So I'm sure judging on the fact that I am in fact still alive you have surmised that yes, I did indeed pass my thesis defense on Tuesday. Thanks to everyone for all the supportive comments (even to those I accidentally deleted because I was trying to publish them on my phone while my hands were shaking). The whole day is a little bit of a blur, what with the major stress, freaking out, and not eating thing. A few times my hands were shaking so bad I couldn't even knit, though I did make good progress on the foot of the second Time of My Life sock while waiting five million hours for my defense to start.

Luckily for the documentation of the day, I did tweet quite a bit, so I'm going to post a few excerpts here in hopes that I can reconstruct it all.

6:03am - It's today. Today is here. #defense
8:07am - Got a parking spot in the free lot! #goodthings #cometothosefivehoursearly
8:16am - Sitting outside Dittos waiting for it to open. There's a dude snoring on the couch in front of me.
8:21am - There's a crowd gathering. We're all subtly vying for places in line.
8:30am - I'm in! This is a competitive time of year.

It all spirals from there, getting more panicky and less informative, culminating in hallucinating seeing Sandy Cohen and a sudden need for a gin and tonic, despite the fact I have never in my life had either gin or tonic.

After I survived the defense (which I really do not remember, so don't ask. I know it went well, I know I stayed calm, and most importantly I know my skirt was not wrinkled), I packed my weary self back into my car and drove the 2+ hours back to my apartment. Where I pretty much passed out on account of that aforementioned no eating that had lasted the past three days. Yesterday I had the day off work and so of course my body woke up on time and would not go back to sleep. So rather than laze around the apartment and enjoy having no defense to work on I sat at my computer, finished correcting the few typos found in the text, and then scurried all over town to find a place that prints on 100% cotton paper (just go to FedEx business. Don't even try to find another place because they won't be able to help and are not nice about it). End result? Yesterday afternoon I was able to send this in the mail.

The past two years in 94 pages. It is done and I am left with nothing to do before graduation next week. I may have to create a self-assigned reading list to survive the transition from student to real grown-up. Thankfully I have work to keep me busy, just not busy enough.

Here We Go

2011-12-05T07:55:00.001-05:00

In a little over an hour I will load up my car and head back to school for my defense tomorrow. I have my presentation outfit hanging up to avoid wrinkling my skirt and have packed clothes to wear before the defense, again, to avoid wrinkling my skirt (the majority of my defense will be spent standing behind a podium, but I'm still greatly concerned about the wrinkling of the skirt). I have my box of research to write last minute notes for the scary question-answer portion. I have my presentation and thesis saved in two different places as well as emailed to myself, because you don't go through 17 years to school without becoming a little paranoid. I've got my running stuff, should I wish to taper out some nerves on the nice flat ground. I have my own pillow and blanket so that I can minimize my presence at my cousin's house and thus minimize the amount of cleaning I will have to do. On that note I also have a packet of Starbucks Via from my mommy, guaranteeing coffee for the morning, and my fully loaded tea wallet, to help me stay calm. I've packed not one but three different knitting projects because I don't want to run out of things to do on an overnight trip, after all. Just one sock and a pair of sleeves isn't enough. I need a cowl project too. And then I've got my comfort items (knitting, obviously, is a necessity, not for comfort). My Star Wars hoodie for the 70+ degree weather. Hand-crafted accessories from family members that will go with the I outfit I picked to wear to my defense. The latest Yarn Harlot book, which I have not reread enough times. And Pretty Little Liars season one. Because nothing helps you sleep before a scary, life-altering, working to this your whole life, terrifying day like the sheer terror that a teenage psychopath will find you. And Esbians.

KIPing with the Canes

2011-11-30T14:10:00.001-05:00

Last night I had the good luck to be able to go to an NHL game. The museum was accepting a donation and so we got a block of seats for whoever wanted to go. I brought Chris with me, who might have had even more fun than I did (didn't hurt that we could actually see things from our seats).

Our team lost, but not without putting up a good fight, including a rarely seen penalty shot.

He shoots, he's blocked! The crowd went absolutely nuts.

There was a lot of knitting related fun as well. I dressed for the cold that hockey rinks are known for and I think Andrea and Chris are now having a competition to see just how much or little knitwear they can find me in. I can't help it if an alpaca sweater and a knitted jacket were perfect for the occasion. I should have dug out a pair of mitts, though, because by the end my fingers were a little too stiff with cold to keep working on my Time of My Life socks. You'd think no one at work ever saw me knitting on my lunch break or had noticed the brightly colored knit socks I wear every day. But I got almost all of the cuff done!