FO: Commie Cowl

I promised myself I would stop talking about the weather so much in my blog, but I can't help it.  It is the first day of November and when I left to go to PT this morning it was a pleasing mid-50s something.  I was quite pleased.  And then I realized something.  My hair is short.  Yes, it's been short for a while, but in the upper 90s that really is not a problem.  But now it is a mite chilly around the neck.

So how fortunate is it that I finally put the buttons on my Shawl Collard Cowl?

When I first finished I was concerned that it was too big.  But after putting it on and going outside I've decided that it is the perfect size.  Made out of Knit Picks Decadence, a discontinued 100% pure alpaca, it is so squishy and warm.  And also itchy, as alpaca is wont to be, so the extra length is really nice.

The buttons are from a pack of Soviet uniform buttons that were a gift from a fellow grad student.  They're so shiny you can't really see the hammer and sickle on the button's surface, but they are there.  Very appropriate for someone who's basing her hoped-for career on the study of Soviet history, don't you think?

WIP Wednesday: Large Buttony Things

Wow, already time for WIP Wednesday once again. Like I said yesterday, things here are insane. On top of my work and the responsibilities of being a TA, I'm also the student coordinator (I think that's the best word, I have no official title) for our annual lecture next week. I'm supposed to do some grass roots promotion, so I've been sending emails and hitting the pavement with my posters. Fortunately, it will all be over soon. But I did not want to miss WIP Wednesday, so here we are.

Last night I gathered all of my wips (well, not all, but most. Some have become permanent wips and are decomposing somewhere in the apartment) to see them in one place.

I know this is not much for a lot of people, but for me, having six have-to-finish projects on the needles is a bit disturbing. Yes, there are four cowls in that pile, but only one is mine, the other three are commissioned or gifts. Same with the socks, only one is mine and it will stay in limbo until I have time for charted socks again (um, never?).


I'm still counting the Shawl Collard Cowl as a wip because it technically is not finished. I still need to weave in ends and add buttons. Back at the beginning of the semester one of the new grad students gave me these gorgeous buttons. They're authentic Soviet uniform buttons. The large gold ones are going to be perfect against this brown. Very shiny, making them the focal point of the item (as all good special buttons should be). The rest will go in my button box for now (meaning I will find a container and call it my "button box" so that they will have an official location).

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?