Chocolate Hangover

Thank you to everyone who sent along birthday wishes.  We had a really good time celebrating last night.  I was more than happy to be wearing a tank top as the amount of people in our tiny apartment combined with   the baking I did elevated the temperature by quite a bit, but it was worth it.  Plus there was cake! (made by my friend Sarah)

And even a few knitterly gifts.

Chris and I are spending the day in our pjs watching college football, but I may have cast on a new project already, so watch this space.  Happy weekend!

Starting 23 Off Right

I had a lovely birthday yesterday thanks to the kindness of friends and loved ones.  I like low key birthdays.  I enjoy a good party for sure (there are usually more gifts attached), but what I really enjoy is just the company of people I care about.  This year Chris brought dinner from a local restaurant I have grown rather fond of, some Baltika in various flavors (Russian beer seems to be a thing with me.  I'm more of a wine girl than anything else, but I like Baltika, though I don't get it enough to know what number I am), and a box of cupcakes in a variety of flavors.

We watched Castle, as is our custom on Mondays, and just enjoyed hanging out without the pressure of work or school looming over us.

Today I decided to start 23 off right.  I pulled on my running shoes, grabbed my windbreaker, and went for a run in the rain.  When I was on my unofficial hiatus I didn't run at all.  I really did not have the time with the thesis to do anything besides write.  That sounds like an excuse but it really isn't.  The last few weeks I was really struggling and burned through any cheeriness I could muster while I was at work.  And let's say nothing of my actual health.  My dietary habits were miserable and the one time I did try to go run to relieve some of the stress my hands went numb.  But it's better now.  I'm having to rebuild my base fitness after losing so much time, but I'm already feeling the effects.  I'm also running outside rather than on a treadmill, which makes for some interesting routs.  I've decided to pay no attention to distance but rather to enjoy just putting in the time.  Plus I don't run with my glasses on so I've gotten rather turned around in the suburban jungle I live next to.

Because my birthday and the break in my thesis writing have coincided I am spending a lot of time thinking about what I am going to do when I no longer have an academic goal to work towards.  Provided everything goes as planned I will graduate in December.  Then what am I going to do?  So I'm going to try to formulate some non-academic goals.  Nothing concrete at the moment, but it's the first time ever my identity will not be tied to my status as a student.  It's all a scary hazy blur, but I'm excited to see what new adventures it will hold.

Birthday in Paradise

It's my birthday!  Because I work tonight I have so far seen no other living soul save the UPS man who was delivering a package not to me but to my roommate (I still came close to opening the box.  What could she possibly want that came all the way from Texas?).  So I have spent the majority of my day working on this.

Nutkin by Beth LaPensee in Madelinetosh Sock, Cousteau

It feels appropriate to blog about this sock on my birthday because the yarn was an early present from my parents.  Last week my dad was in the hospital.  Yes, he is ok, and the waiting while he was in surgery was so tiresome that I knit an entire hat, but that is not the point of this story.  As anyone who has had a relative in the hospital can tell you, there comes a time when the patient just wants to be left alone and go to sleep.  So last Tuesday while my dad rested before a late discharge, mom and I went five minutes down road to the most glorious shop.

Really, the name says everything.  Yarn Paradise is one of those shops that seems to have enchanted a tiny house so that there really is no end to the yarn.  As soon as you go in the door you fall into a pile of Koigu, and the fun just continues from there.  Mom wanted to get me something from here for my birthday but the choices were so overwhelming that I hemmed and hawed for quite some time before suddenly I turned around and was presented with

An entire section of Madelinetosh.  Now I have seen Madelinetosh on the internet and heard many a podcaster extol its virtues, but I had never actually been in a shop that sold it.  Boy does it live up to the hype.  In addition to the yarn my mom bought, I also picked up a skein of Tosh Vintage in Steam Age, a lovely grey streaked with teal and purple that is destined to become  a cowl.

It wasn't the wool fumes, or the fact that I had not been in a yarn shop since May, that made me fall in love with Yarn Paradise.  It really is a lovely shop and its proprietors are that perfect blend of helpful and distant.  When they came to check on the loud crash that was me fainting from the sheer variety of sock yarn they just smiled, offered kindly to help if I had any questions, and then left me to my glee.  If you ever make it to Ashville, NC, you should really check it out.  Hopefully you'll be in the area to enjoy our area's lovely foliage rather than visit the hospital.

FO: Fiana

Today is my little sister's birthday.   She's twenty and I am still having trouble accepting that.  I had a hard time accepting when she got her drivers license or graduated from high school.  Now she's twenty and halfway through college.  It's just too weird.

Eva's always been the fashionable one in the family.  She's an expert with eye makeup and always wants to look well put together.  For her birthday this year I was at a loss, because I did not have a ton of time or money to put into a present, but I wanted it to be special.  I've made the unfortunate mistake of gifting handknits frequently to various family members.  Now I know.  Don't ever give anyone anything handmade ever.  Then you won't feel the need to live up to it again.  I had about 40 yards of Malabrigo sock in black leftover from a Christmas present, so I decided to knit a headband.  After much deliberation I decided on Fiana by Connie Stults (rav link, sorry), a great customizable pattern in fingering weight.

As you can see, Eva's hair is perfect for headbands.  She has both bangs and long hair, so a headband adds a little whimsy in all the right ways.

I picked up the buttons at Joann's (the closest thing I have ever found to an actual button shop in our area).  The little swirls and hearts are classic Eva.

I know she liked it because she tolerated me dragging her outside and posing her by a palm frond-esque bush.

Happy birthday, Eva!

WIP Wednesday: Something New

It's WIP Wednesday again and oh my gosh, Faith has something new to talk about! Yes, thanks to the finishing of the Featherweight Cardi, I now have moved on to other languishing wips.

First up, my mom's socks. This is the yarn that she picked out back in May for a pair of socks. The socks I tried to knit all summer and just kept screwing up. Yeah, those socks. I recast them on (again) after I finished the Fairytale Princess Shawl in DC making them super basic toe-up socks. And as you know, super basic toe-up socks, while pretty, can be very boooooring. So I often get distracted by other shiny projects.

But they returned to the top of the project pile in Austin as good plane knitting. And boy were they ever. I have to say that the colors looked rather puke-ish when I was knitting top down, but toe-up they are making these really pretty zig-zag sections of pink and red. The stewardess on the plane loved them (actually what she said was, "oh that's cool. Those aren't even knitting needles, are they. . . . They are? But they're so small!), so I hope Mom will too when I finally finish them.

Our fall break here was also this week, so I took some much needed time to rest from school work and travel and just do some knitting. I've had the yarn and really awesome buttons to make the Shawl Collared Cowl ever since the pattern came out, but I never got around to buying the pattern. Now I'm really glad I waited. Alana recently redid all of her patterns this summer in this new theme -- scrapbook pages! So the pdf I downloaded was just as pretty and personal as the actual print pattern.

I'm loving this pattern, and so is Mr. Irish Bear. I'm almost done with the middle section and will be decreasing soon. Mr. Irish Bear thinks that I should just stop here and turn the other skein of Knit Picks Decadence (sadly discontinued but oh so soft in its bulky alpaca goodness) into a blanket for him.

And since we're speaking of works in progress, let me give you a little update on a project I like to call Birthday Week! Last night a package from my sister arrived containing some items that we're swapping and my birthday present. Eva makes some really awesome jewelry, so while I was home we worked out a jewelry to knitting ratio. She's getting a cowl and beret and I got this gorgeous jewelry set that she designed to go with the Featherwieght (I actually gave her part of the yarn so that she could match the red).

Ok, maybe that's not the best shot of the jewelry, but I promised her a picture of me wearing it. Let me try again. Oh, and that creepy face on my mirror? Yeah, she freehanded that during a test.

Aaaaaaand it's not letting me rotate the picture. But I'm work so that's the best you get.

Matching bracelet. Yes, that's a C3PO head on the end. Because it's awesome. And you're getting a sneak peak at the Featherweight which you will hear more about after I have my photographer (Chris) here to help me.

And my actual birthday present. A new giant gaudy beaded ring. Isn't it gorgeous?

Birthday Week!

Ok, I know I promised an update today (I mean yesterday?) about my trip to Austin. But I got distracted by A. library studying and B. shopping trip with my pal Erica. Between Good Will and some nice sales it was an excellent start to the best week of the year . . . Birthday Week! I used to celebrate in a quiet, mature manner, but after turning 21 with a little too much class I've decided that that attitude is for the birds. My birthday is Sunday and pretty much everyone knows it. I love my birthday. But instead of boring you with the awesome purchases I made today (like a stunning black leather jacket - $11!) I will instead leave you with a glimpse of the woman whose laid-back approach to birthdays I aspire to emulate (though youtube has failed me in providing any of the clips I really wanted). I promise you'll get an Austin recap tomorrow (or would that be today).

Cast-On-Itis: In Search of a Cure

I have a confession to make. I've been casting on projects like crazy. I'm growing concerned for my workload. You think I'm kidding? Here's a picture of my project bag.



Still don't believe me? Inside are 2 gift projects, a shawl, and a set of fingerless gloves. Plus I need to start on a hat project for a friend. It's insane. Yeah, ok, so maybe this isn't a lot for some knitters, but I'm a pretty consistent monogomous knitter. I might have two projects on the needles at times, but never this many (did I mention that the Great Gatsby Dress hasn't been touched since July?) I have a case of cast-on-itis, and I have it bad.

In addition to these projects I've been pattern surfing again (I know I know. Just bear with me). The temperature dropped significantly this week going from 90ish on my birthday (Saturday) to the 50s today. And I thought I'd never get to wear my sweaters. Well I know better now. This drop in temperature has made me desperate to knit warm items. It hasn't quite been a year since I started this blog and that was the time I actually got into pattern knitting and such, so this is the first time I've really seen all these possibilities for what they are, possibilities. There are so many cool options and I just don't have the time or the needles to keep up with them all.

As I've said before, fingerless gloves have become something I'm desperate to make for myself. I actually cast on Fetching last night (and by cast on I mean there are about 6 stitches on one of the five needles). I'm going to use the other skein from my Summer Beret. The idea of soft green bamboo gloves is very seductive. I can't wait to get more done with them. But my love really is devoted to my Angela Shawl (aka, the Traveling Woman shawl that's such a big hit on Ravelry right now). It's an amazing pattern and looks so good! Plus, it's really not boring for what has got to be over 200 stitches per row (and still increasing might I add). I can't put it down. It's like a really bad habit. And the Three Irish Girls yarn is simply gorgeous. I can't wait to put up pictures when it is done. Blocking is going to be the hardest part but I've been told that's when the magic happens (my first shawl, what do I know?)

This obsessive knitting has gone great with my tv watching. Via computer, of course, because I don't have cable and my tv isn't digital so we get 0 signal. In addition to the myriad of programs I've been watching, I've also had a mini-obsession with the OC in the past months (don't judge me, I was in highschool when it was on). I picked up the first two seasons for $20 (which is a miracle for dvd sets) and am now in the middle of season 3. I had seen random episodes but didn't really get it. My geek girl friends kept telling me to try it so I finally gave in and am loving getting caught up. It's weird in some ways because I was talking to a student about a research paper and tv came up and I realized . . . she barely remembers it being on tv. That's so strange to me. I must be getting old.

But what sort of blogger would I be if I didn't brag about my birthday? I did in fact get some knitting goodies. My roommate, goddess that she is, bought me two GIANT skeins of Bernat Super Value. One skein of purple and one of teal (teal because it's our school color. She went there for undergrad so she's a bit obsessed). I was trying to decide what to do with them and I think I'm going to go with afghan squares. I think a purple and teal blanket would be pretty cool, plus it would match the color skeem that seems to be developing in my room. She also gave me one skein of Lion Brand Homespun but I haven't decided what to do with that one yet.



Also in this picture is the yarn I went out and bought today because I found a pattern I just had to have. These slippers over at French Press Knits are absolutely awesome. I love them so much I actually bought the pattern (I know. How long did I sit and ponder Whimsical Little Knits 2?) It was $7 on Ravelry but I think it'll be worth it. The yarn is a really pretty lavendar that photographs more blue than it actually is, but you get the idea. Plus, it's a felting pattern, so I get to try my hand at that. I really think these will be practical to have because my feet are always cold, but I can't wear socks around the apartment too much or they'll get holes. The only problem I can forsee right now is that they are knit with multiple strands held together and I'm not sure how to do that.

Overall the knitting prospects, while looming large, are pretty exciting. Plus, I'm doing this to myself so I might as well deal with it. And I have two new dvd sets to watch while making them courtesy of my fraking awesome boyfriend.



And maybe some pretty roses to try to keep alive.