"Friends of P" Swap!

Dear Anonymous Swap Partner,

You are amazing. Beyond amazing, really. I was really very excited when I got an email notifying me of a package this afternoon, but I had no idea how amazing the package would be. I picked it up, and have to say I got a silly satisfaction with having my first piece of international mail!



I took off the plastic, opened the box, and this is what I found:



To be perfectly honest, I believe I started to hyperventilate a little. The Knitter's Almanac? Seriously? First, I dare say I love you. Second, good job on the Ravelry forum trolling! I'm quite impressed! I was also pleasantly surprised to see the Jitterbug - one of my absolute favorite sock yarns! The first sock yarn I ever used, actually! And if things couldn't get any better, after opening the super cute bag, I found it was packed to the brim...





...with sugary goodness! UK candy! I am a very, very happy knitter! Thank you sooo very much! This is exactly what I needed to get me through midterms!

Destashing and Vacation Planning

So, I have decided to go forth with my destashing plan (which you can observe here), again to finance a vacation. This time, however, I've decided to go "home" to South Carolina for a few days. I'm really quite excited, now that I think about it. I went to middle and high school in SC, and I haven't been back in over a year. Once my family moved away and I didn't have a home base, it became much more difficult to visit. Now that I have my own vehicle again (I sold my car my senior year to help pay for room and board Freshman year), I can drive down rather than fly, which makes things much more economical. If seeing good friends and getting to have real sweet tea once again, there is an added awesome, planets aligning aspect to this trip - my best friend from high school, who now lives in Wisconsin, will also be in our hometown at the same time as I will! I'm a really, extremely happy camper at the moment!

Unfortunately no knitting content to speak of this post. I've been super busy with school, but I hope to have some decent progress on my Katherine Hepburn cardigan soon!

Happiness is a finished object!

I'm feeling a bit better, now that I've finished half of my photography assignment. I've also realized that my professor can't expect me to control the weather, so I'll get the rest of it finished when I can. And, since I finally fixed my scanner, I thought I would share my photograms with everyone!



These are small, semi-cloudy glass marbles - the places that appear blurred are where two marbles were stacked on top of each other. I think this is my least favorite, but that is not to say I dislike this print.



This print is of a tube of vanilla beans. I think the composition is somewhat lacking, but the label on the glass tube adds an interesting element. If you look closely, you can actually see some of the instructional detail of the sticker. The scalloped edge of the cap is really interesting, as well.



I really, really like this print. This is a case of clear plastic thumb tacks - I love how each tack both blocks and transmits light.



Both of these are dollar store toys supplied by my professor - the giant frog is a translucent green plastic frog that was once an anatomy tool. There were once organs inside, and if you look closely you can still see the heart in the center. Apparently I was the first person to use this in a photogram, and it turned out better than I could've possibly expected.



The thing I like best about this image is the fact that every little stray fiber coming off the yarn is visible. Its a Dream Swatch Headband in progress made out of SWTC Bamboo yarn. This kind of counts as knitting content, right?



I absolutely love this print - it is a bottle of perfume, and I love the play of the light with the liquid, and off the glass. The effect of the leaf and the print on the bottle are really nice elements, too!

A total disaster...

...or at least, that is what this week has felt like. My photography class continues to stress me out more than any economics or political science class ever has. We got our first technical assignment Wednesday, which was to shoot, develop and make contact sheets for three rolls of film. We also have to make 6 photograms for next week. My problem is as follows: the lab is only open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. It takes at least 45 minutes to develop film, and at almost an hour to make a print. So, totaling it all up, not including shooting time and test pages, I will need to spend a minimum of 8 hours in the lab. I had classes yesterday that prevented me from getting any of it done, today it is raining, and tomorrow I only have until 8 pm to work in the lab because of concert tickets I have. Assuming, of course, that the weather cooperates and I can actually take photos tomorrow. Simply put, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

I do at least have two of the 6 photograms finished, but it isn't doing much to relieve the pressure. I tried to scan them last night to show you, but my scanner was not cooperating. I'll try again at some point.

Oh, and contributing to my awful mood: the trip to London is off. I'm getting absolutely no help (not even advice) or support from my parents, it would literally drain all of my savings and it just doesn't feel worth it at this point. I will probably still destash a bit, though not as ruthlessly, just to get a fresh start.

Planning ahead

I had an idea this afternoon, while talking to a friend of mine who is spending the semester in Ireland. It was, how awesome would it be to spend spring break in London? My friend and I happen to have over-lapping breaks, so we're not thinking of meeting up. The question I have now, is, do I basically deplete my savings and go, or do I stay at home, work, and wait and see if I can travel after graduation? I would love to see her, and March is so much closer than June.

Then, I had a second, more radical, knitting related thought - how much is my stash worth? I have been thinking about destashing a bit, and this seems like the perfect excuse. I totaled it up, and save for the two balls of gorgeous green Koigu, and the purple and yarn I was given during a swap (would it be wrong to destash that? I guess people re-gift from time to time, but I was apprehensive about selling what basically equates to a gift, it would just be wrong, right?), I've come up with about $150-$200 dollars worth of stuff. I don't even want to think about how much money was spent on all of it to begin with.

But what do you all think? Ruthlessly destash to help pay my way to London?

Success!

I remembered a lovely bit of information yesterday while lamenting over my still WIP socks - I have two sets of US 2 DPNs! One is a partial set of only three or four, and though they both claim to be "US 2," they are not the same diameter. However, I did not care. And, voila!



I'm not entire sure when I started these - I'm guessing sometime in November or December, but I can't really remember at the moment. I really loved the pattern, but thought that the Louet Gems was a little heavy for a sock yarn. Or, at least, that is what I thought before wearing them. The hand feel was a little strange, but the extra dense fabric made for an exceptionally comfortable sock. Especially when stuffed into my sneakers.

I do have to say, that though the herringbone pattern is lovely, I don't think I'll be knitting these again. Not without some pattern mods, that is. I don't really care for the afterthought heel, to be honest. But at least I can say I've done it, right?

Hope you all are having a lovely week!

So very close!

I am all of 6 rows away from putting the toe and heel on my second GW-themed Red Herring sock. See?



Of course, the moment I sat down to work on them this weekend, I dropped my working DPN. Which rolled somewhere under my bed. Not to be seen again all weekend, hence my current frustration. I even dug the KH cardigan out of hibernation and finished a pattern repeat on the right front, I was so upset.

The good news is, I was back at home (rather than the dorms) this weekend, and had another WIP to work on - and finish!

(sorry for the wrinkled tissue-paper background)



Pattern: Short-Row-Hat by Véronik Avery, free pattern from Interweave Knits (link to PDF)
Started: After Christmas, December 2007
Finished: January 20, 2008

I love this pattern - it is really quick (only about 3 or 4 days actual work) to finish and a nifty pattern. I used Karabelle Aurora Melange, as I had enough of it in my stash and really no other pattern ideas in mind. I'm trying very, very hard to go through a significant amount of my stash this year. I would definitely suggest a stickier wool based yarn, and maybe something self-striping to show off the faux-argyle pattern. I bet Noro would be just lovely....

Also, I LOVE the 3 needle bind off used to seam the hat together (it is knit flat using short rows). The resulting seam is just so neat and pretty.



Hopefully there will be a finished pair of socks sometime soon. As soon as I find that %^&* needle....

Winter weather mash-up

This was the scene outside during my first class of the day this morning:



While we usually get a few sporadic snow showers during the winter here in DC, they tend to be of the light, don't-linger-very-long variety. The snow today began around 10 am, lasted a good 3 or 4 hours, before turning into freezing rain. The freezing rain then turned into normal rain, so it was a very wet day.

Unfortunately, my only water proof boots are still home in Virginia, which left me to try to navigate the slushy streets of the District in my black Converse All-Stars. Needless to say, I was a little soggy by the time I got home.

Hope you all had better days!