FO: Orange Tweed Boatneck

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Got this one in just under the wire! It's been done for a week or so, but I needed to to some finishing and some serious blocking before I could blog about it. It's a very simple sweater - top-down raglan with garter stitch cuffs and a ribbed hem, and the rest in stockinette - but I really like the way it turned out. I'm realizing more and more that I like to wear fairly simply looking sweaters (though more interesting construction is always a plus), but I like to knit crazy-intricate stuff that I don't ever seem to actually wear. Cruel twist of fate, I guess.

Yarn - 6 skeins of Classic Elite Skye Tweed (100% wool, 110 yards) in MacAlister Orange. This yarn is beyond awesome! I got it on closeout from Webs a really long time ago, maybe a year or so back, to make a sweater vest and just sat on it. An then I decided I should make an actual sweater out of it and had just enough for elbow-length sleeves.

Needles - 24" size 5 Inox grey circulars I think. Hmmm....I should resize and sort my needles.

Pattern - Made it up as I went along, but as I said, it's got a really basic construction and no fancy stitchwork anywhere. The garter stitch cuffs on the neck and sleeves were knit flat, and the rest of it was worked in the round. The mother-of-pearl buttons were salvaged from a shirt that got caught in a nasty flood when I moved ot Michigan for grad school. I used these buttons for my very first sweater ever, too.

PS - if you have a more creative name for this sweater, let me know, because I clearly don't.

Christmas Hermit: Day 6

Today has been....odd.

• Last night, I kept myself up until 4:30am writing posts on the Jarthenpedia (and I am now completely caught up with that, so woot) and then couldn't sleep. So I started Part III of Book I, which I have been dying to do since Thanksgiving.

• I worked on Jarthen until about 8:30, when the benedryl I took kicked in and knocked me out until 3:30ish. I am not a person who takes naps and I have developed a rather high tolerance to benedryl over the years, so this was surprising to me.

• I have spent the last 7 hours in a writing cocoon. Turns out I have three different storylines to write over 4 chapters, so I picked storyline and wrote it chapter by chapter (calling Jon a lot while doing so with such important questions as "can it be the brothel's Madame?" and "do you think satyrs should have an accent?").

• I have not turned on the TV once today, played warcraft, or knit anything, and spent most of the day with few lights on. All of that is very odd, too.

• Now, I'm going to shower and start the next storyline. Go go sleep deprivation!
  

Christmas Hermit: Day 5

The Good:

• Heard that people received (and enjoyed) their gifts. Woot!

• finished blocking my sweaterand finished knitting a sock for Dani. Expect pictures after I come out of my fortress of solitude.
  

• organized my research stuff, which sorely needed it.

• found myself transfixed by the living train wreck that is a The Real Housewives of Atlanta marathon.
  

• New posts are up on Jarthen and the Jarthenpedia!

The Bad:

• I am almost out of soup: the squash soup is gone and I've already eaten 2 out of the 3 jars of tomato soup mom gave me for Christmas

• I didn't brave the outdoors and feed my advisor's cat, though I probably should have.

• I bought The Women off payperview last night. It was definitely too lame to stay up late watching or spend money on, and I'm not entirely sure why I did either.
  

Christmas Hermit: Day 4

Not that much to report on:

• Watched Zodiac and Priscilla Queen of the Desert last night. Both were excellent - especially 70s-out Mark Ruffalo running around in bow ties.

• finished the last of the now-famous squash soup

• woke up around noon today and have been watching House and make a budget for me and Jon's finances until now. Realized going through our records that I eat a lot of tacos and Jon tends to buy a lot of stuff under $10. Exciting way to spend boxing day.
  

Christmas Hermit: Day 3 (the big day, as it were)

I woke up late again, around 2 pm. Probably not a habit I should get into, but hell, it's Christmas! why not?

• blocked a sweater I haven't yet blogged about. Expect pictures soon.

• now halfway through 77, seriously considering leveling more tonight.

• been watching the 3rd season of Dexter all day on demand. Jimmy Smits is sleezier looking than usual with a tiny mustache. And Vince Masuka is the shit.

• have not been paying much attention to the cats, but they also seem less whiny and attention starved than when other people are here. Will ponder this paradox later.

• ate delicious soup but no noodle bowls. Only one bowl remaining of the butternut squash soup.

Now for presents!

• thank you Dani for Mamma Mia and The Happening, both excellent additions to my now very organized DVD collection

• thank you Sanders/Mesler/Cantu clan for the following:
• • the three jars of amazing tomato bisque from La Madeline, my very favorite soup ever
  
  
  • this awesome monkey hat for Jon
  
  • and the best gift ever....ROBO-DUCK!
  
  

Christmas Hermit: Day 2

I woke up very late today - about 2:30pm, which means I got about twelve hours of sleep. Sleep is so awesome.

• In the last 24 hours, I have watched The English Patient (which I love, and I had totally forgotten Naveen Andrews played Kip. I was all, what the hell is Sayid doing in this movie?), The Road to El Dorado (which I also love. Re-watching it, I also realized that the I totally ripped off the dynamic between Tulio and Miguel and used it as the starting point for Nel and Lem. And if you don't know who they are, go read yourself some Jarthen.), and The Lions, The Witch and The Wardrobe (the one with Tilds Swinton. Honestly, I don't know why I'm watching this, I really hate everything about it except Tilda Swinton, and Narnia-related things tend to just piss me off. I mean, have you read The Last Battle? And what's up with the Calormens totally being Muslim and constantly called 'evil' and 'dirty'? Ok, I'll just stop there.)

• I leveled my priest to 77 today and got the cold-weather flying skill. Think I might need a day off of levelng, as it's starting to feel more obligatory than enjoyable.

• I took a shower and messed around with my hair. I wondered what the fauxhawk would look like without the natural texture in my hair, so I flat ironed it. Turns out I look like a Dragonball-Z character.

• Worked on some Jarthenpedia posts about the Border Wars, which I may finish tonight.

• Ate some squash soup and noodle bowls. The soup running low, which saddens me.

• Completely and totally reorganized my DVDs. And they needed it badly, because Jon has this habit of just shoving discs in random cases. So mostly, I just put the DVDs in their right cases and then put them back in a different system (which fallows below).

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Christmas Hermit: Day 1

It's that time again! Really, it was a half-day today because Jon left this afternoon, but whatever. Because this whole hermit-thing seems mysterious and concerning to come folks, I've decided to demystify it by noting what I do while everyone's gone. It'll be a boring few posts, so I'd suggest only reading it if you feel strangely compelled or are actually interested (though the latter case may be more odd than me actually spending the holidays alone). Today:

• Jon drove me to my advisor's house and I fed his cat. I also removed a dead mouse from his basement. I should go again before people come back here, but there was (no exaggeration) a foot of snow on his landing, and conditions were such that I left a ridiculous amount of food for the cat , Clara, in case I couldn't bring myself to go back out there again.

• I ate some delicious butternut soup, generously made for me by Jon last night from a recipe of Van's.

• I completely reorganized my yarn stash, which was quite satisfying.

• I moved my desktop computer to the coffee table, the better to watch TV and play warcraft from. I kind of like it here.

• I watched the first season of Entourage on demand. I like it more than I expected.
  

Stay tuned for more boring stuff tomorrow.

FO: Rhiannon Knee Socks for Mandy

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These have been done for awhile too, although not since August, like Sam's. More like late-September/early October. These socks will be showing up for Mandy at Christmas, which I feel a little bad about since everyone else has had their socks for awhile now. But it is a more appropriate time to get knee socks....so I guess it all works out. And now for the really satisfying part of finishing them:

1. Charade socks for Brian
2. River Rapid socks for Jennie
3. Vinnland socks for Van
4. Millicent socks for Sam
5. Rhiannon socks for Mandy
6. Spiral boots socks for Leila
   
7. Socks for Mom
8. Socks for Stepdad
9. Something sockish for Dani (possibly booties?)
   
10. Indestructible socks for Jon

On to the knitting specs!

Yarn - maybe 3 1/2 skeins of possibly Lang Jawoll Cotton (49% new wool, 35% cotton, and 16% nylon)? I'm really not sure about the yarn. It's a great thing black and green tweed with a strang of gold running through it, and I know I picked something with a decent amount of cotton in it so that Mandy's legs would bake in the socks. I'm pretty sure that it's Lang Jawoll because it came with reinforcement thread (which I totally didn't use), and I think that brand does that. Note to self - take better notes.

Needles - addi turbo 1's, same as Sam's

Pattern - Rhiannon by Cookie A. Again, I didn't actually read the pattern, just references the charts (noticing a pattern with this?). Here are the mods...well the one's I'm aware of and remember making:

• worked it toe up with a short row heel. Woo! Toe up 4-eva!
  
• according to Mandy's measurements, I bet the calf shaping got tweaked a bit. I ended up increasing every other row about 2 inches past the ankle
• I didn't knit foldover cuffs, just ribbed ones
• I threaded elastic thread around the top edge of the cuffs to prevent them from falling down, like Leila and Sam's reportedly have been doing (Note to Leila and Sam: check out the inside of Mandy's socks to see how you should fix yours, if you so desire).

FO: Millicent Knee Socks for Sam

So.....this is really old news. I finished these and gave these to Sam (along with the socks I made for my Mom, stepdad, and sister) when I was visiting Texas way way back in August. Sorry about the hold up. Wait! You know what this means:

1. Charade socks for Brian
2. River Rapid socks for Jennie
3. Vinnland socks for Van
4. Millicent socks for Sam
5. Rhiannon socks for Mandy
6. Spiral boots socks for Leila
   
7. Socks for Mom
8. Socks for Stepdad
9. Something sockish for Dani (possibly booties?)
   
10. Indestructible socks for Jon

Woot.

Yarn - Knitpicks Risata (42% Cotton, 39% Superwash Merino Wool, 13% Polyamide, 6% Elite Elastic) in Navy. I thought knitting with this yarn would be weird and awkward - that it would be to springy to get in the groove with - but it turned out to be kind of nice to knit with. And good sock yarn, though, in hindsight maybe not the best choice for these socks (the elastic makes it slightly nubbly, which makes stitch definition on the laces cuffs less than awesome). It wasn't quite stretchy enough, either, probably due to the high cotton content, and the cuffs sag like all hell¹.

Needles - Hmmm....it's been awhile now, but I think I made this using size 1 (which is really more of a 1.5 compared to my other needles) addi turbo circulars.

Pattern - Millicent from Cookie A. I really didn't read the pattern at all (even though I bought it), just knit it toe-up using the pictures. I just looked really closely to figure out the toe, then it was golden. I increased 2 at the center of the back of the leg every 5 rows to make the calf shaping starting an inch or so into the leg. I did read the charts for the lace cuff.

¹Sam, I'm including some elastic thread in the pickage of christmas stuff for you and Leila to fix the cuff problems with. Just a heads up.

My new haircut: El Cockatiel

Yep, I cut it all off again. I've been cutting my own hair for years (because when your hair is thick and curly and you can't afford to/are too lazy to find anyplace better than Supercuts, you learn to cut your own or die trying), and it's basically one of those things I do when I'm bored or frustrated.

I had been thinking about a sort of fauxhawky-crestish thing like this (but, you know curly) on and off since I first saw season 3 of the L Word:

this, by the way is the only likable thing the character Jenny has ever done on that show. Also? It took me forever to find a picture of it on the interwebs

I just decided to go with it one day a few weeks ago after I had been laid up with a migraine and was officially done teaching. I was afraid that if I had cut my hair dramatically different twice in one semester it would scream FLAKE to my students. And it would have if I had stopped halfway through:

it's like Simply Red, but brunette...and with Jon's foot

Right? Anyway, this is the finished product:

by the way, that's my office in the background. Exciting, huh?

I have to say, I really love it. It's very much the result of knowing the peculiarities of my hair like the back of my hand, though. I cut the back and sides just short enough that they wouldn't curl, and kept the crown about and inch longer than that so the natural texture of my hair would do it's thing. I sleep on my side in such a way that cause my hair to stick up like that already, so I really just have to slick down the sides and back and stick some styling wax in the hawk part to keep it as is and I'm done.

By the way, this is the origin for my personal nickname for the 'do.

Elvis's pompadour

+

the crest from a cockatiel

=

my new hairdo

Other interesting tidbits that transpired during FGFO

1) I got a new iPod because Jon's ass made a slow, steady progressive attack on it that resulted in a more and more busted screen that recently became unusable. I am seriously considering not letting him touch the new one (which has DO NOT SMASH ME! engraved on it) as it seems more delicate than the last.

2) I wore the most ridiculous outfit ever to escort Dani to the car to get diet cherry cokes from it to feed her horrible addiction. See?



Yeah, bet you're glad that's burned into your retinas. Best part? I totally almost got hit by a car. Could've died....in that outfit. what a way to go that would've been.

3) My friend Cathleen and I carved small melons well after Halloween. Belated Melon O'Lanterns, Huzzah!

We had pumpkins but didn't get around to carving them. Now squirrels are harvesting the seeds from them and becoming strangely domesticated outside our front door.

4) I saw Joan Baez in concert (with Dani again - she's a fixture of these fun things, huh?)!! It was so awesome - she totally made digs at Bob Dylan and played a lot of songs I was really hoping for. And Dani and I were possibly the youngest people in the audience by a margin of about 25 years.

Next I shall discuss my new hairdo in depth. So stay tuned for that (if you're interested, I mean).

Jon is so weird.

Exhibit A: Magical static-y hair.



Exhibit B: Comatose warcraftin'.



Exhibit C: He swoons when exercising his core.



Exhibit D: He hangs out bare-assed on the toilet...for no reason.


Exhibit E: All of this was posted with his full knowledge and (enthusiastic) consent. True story.

Never a dull moment, right?

A brief glimpse into the future...

Now that all the FGFO madness is done, I've got some catching up to do. Notably:

• A new haircut. Yes, another one.
• Awesome knee socks.
• More awesome knee socks!
• 3/4 of a sweater I haven't ever posted about.

Exciting times.

FGFO part 4

Here we wrap up this year's fierce competition - but stay tuned, because I'm planning on posting something at the conclusion of this crazy odyssey (like all good reality TV shows have)!

FGFO part 3

Witness the athleticism and grace with which the competitors shovel watermelon into their faces. Truly a sight to behold.



Stay tuned for the inspiring conclusion, which will be posted soon!

FGFO halftime show: My birthday!

I turned 24 last week! That means I'm in my mid-twenties, and I have been warned by several people independently that it's all downhill from here and to prepare myself, as best as one can, for the dreaded quarter-life crisis which is surely lurking around every corner. So far so good, though.

I took my birthday totally off from school. Moved office hours, refused to come in for meetings, the whole shebang. I slept in (which was great) and then popped in Excalibur¹ and chopped my hair off. See?


I think it was time. The long hair was a hassle, what with it swallowing pocket change and clogging shower drains.

All in all, very successful, but more because people are awesome than that I gave myself a haircut. Aside from the lovely posts Jon wrote for me here and Dani wrote here, along with some mushful emails from Jennie and Tamar, Jen and Van came to visit! The best part? They made the foor of the gods - cashew cookies. Seriously, I beg them to make them every time I visit them.

Last but not least, my friend Cathleen surprised me with this:


There's a running joke in our research lab that I have a sketchy van that I use to lure unwitting naive data into which I then have my way with. This thing is going proudly on my desk forevermore.
__________________________________________________________
¹I just got this back from Tamar last month. For some reason over a year ago, a CD of her dad's musical stylings would up in the DVD case and vice versa. Basically, she highjacked it from me.

The saga continues

Yep, I'm serving you up another piping hot round of Fat Girl Face Off '08! Let me tell you, this one's a doozy, too. Chock full of twists and turns. Enjoy!



Don't be fooled though, anything can still happen! Stay tuned for the next installment to follow one fat girl on her epic journey to victory!

Not knitting, something much much better

Well, it's tangentially related I guess. It features lovely people that I've knit for. Anyway, I bring to you the FIRST INSTALLMENT OF FAT GIRL FACE OFF '08!! WOO!!

To those of you new to this annual celebration of the competitive spirit and love of eating, every year in Texas we hold a number of trials to determine who the fattest fat girl of the year is. It's phenomenal and we take it very seriously. I've mentioned it in passing before, but I'll catch you up real quick.

1st annual - Sam and Mandy compete, Sam reigns triumphant becoming the first winner of the face off.

2nd annual - Jon is allowed to compete as long as he is in drag and soundly trounces Sam and Mandy in a dark horse victory. As his coach¹, I was elated.

3rd annual - Jon grows overly fat and complacent, fails to listen to his coach, and is bested by Sam. I adopt Mandy as my protege.

4th annual - There were questions about Jon's eligibility to compete due to his apparent lack of coach (which were resolved when Leila's boyfriend Gio took on the challenge²) and weight loss, but when Sam and Mandy heard about the stewardess who kept telling Jon she couldn't give him anymore food he was allowed back in.

So here's Heat 1. I'll get the rest to you as soon as I'm able.



_________________________________________________________________
¹I should say that I am indeed qualified for such a post, as I have actually won multiple eating contests. I am retired now.

²Gio didn't actually have to be pushed into coaching Jon at all. Hopefully Jon will drop by and tell y'all all about their bromance.

Updates abound!

Oh, knitting blog (and the odd reader who may or may not be perusing this), I have so many exciting things to tell you about! I'll keep it short and sweet though and get straight to the point, though.

1. Knitting News
I started the last of the need-to-be-knitted-ASAP socks of the sock queue, and I'm making pretty quick progress on them. They're Rhiannon knee socks that are destined for my sister's best friend's sister, Mandy, who is awesome, and very much deserving of such cool cabled knee socks.


I'm finding the cable charts way easier to memorize than the lace chart for the Millicent knee socks I just finished, even though the snaking side cables are worked on a different number of rows per repeat than the main cable which can be tricky to keep track of. More proof that cabling comes a lot more naturally to me than lace knitting, I guess.

2. Face News


Check it out! My super-fancy new glasses finally arrived! Aren't they awesome?? I've wanted a pair of white framed for awhile now, although I'm not really sure why. They fit well, I love them, and feel like it was totally worth it to splurge on literally the only thing I am guaranteed to wear every day for the foreseeable future.

The coolest thing about them, though? Definitely the back/top. See?


3. Best Souveneir Ever News
After hanging with Jon's family last week, we went to New York to visit Tamar and whisk her away to the house her family owns in the Hamptons (yes, THOSE Hamptons. How badass is that?). Our many adventures frolicking along the seashore will most likely be detailed by my esteemed guest blogger, Jon , so stay tuned for that. The reason I'm bringing this up is that at the beach house, we stumbled across the following book:


Quite a title, right? Intrigued, we starting reading it and found out that it was a Cold War era novel written in the most heavy handed style possible in the mid '60s. Let's just say that it really should have had a subtitle along the lines of "Or, Why ICBMs Totally Suck and Endanger the Free World." This just about sums up the tone of the book:


Seriously, though? Grab a copy of this if you ever get an oppurtunity. It has characters named Skipper and Pixie! And sometimes the characters use the term 'balls' as an exclamation of skepticism and/or disbelief, which Jon and I totally have adopted wholeheartedly. Here's an example of how best to use it, in case you're interested:

Me: You know you really need to watch your portion sizes.

Jon: My portion sizes are fine! I don't eat that much....

Me: Balls, man! In the last three hours, you've eat four sandwhiches! Unless you're in the Olympics, you can't possibly be that hungry.

Jon: Touche.

4. Cat News
Last but not least, I have a video for you! During his last trip to the vet, Fatty was deemed truly deserving of his nickname and we were warned that he was in danger of becoming diabetic if he gained much more weight. So we decided to take action! We've spent a good portion of the summer acclimating Fatty to a harness, and then holding him out on our landing, in order to prepare him to start being walked on a leash. Recently, we've made great progress on that front.

So close, and yet so far away

The millicent socks should be done, and technically, I guess, they are. Sadly, in their current state, they don't actually match. After finishing the lace cuff on the last one, I triumphantly started the lace cuff of its mate and merrily knitted away at it during the long drive from Michigan to Maryland.

Then, I ran out of yarn. No biggie, I thought to myself, I'll just knit as far as I can and unravel the first sock to match.

Yeah...I totally left it back in Michigan. Lame.