Incessant Knitting

Still checking in on me?

2007-12-19T13:43:00.000-05:00

I've started a new blog. Sort of like starting over, a fresh start, a new page. Anyway, the new blog will chronicle not only my knitting, but also my favorite books, stories I've written and my adventures in life after college graduation. I hope you come see me!

http://www.readwriteknitlive.blogspot.com

Liz

Sorry!

2007-04-22T21:37:00.000-05:00

I may be talking to no one, but I apologize for not posting in a while. College is kicking my ass! I mean, it's going great, but my studies are verrry time-consuming as of late. BUT, in the last month, I have been able to pick up a new fiber-related hobby--SPINNING! Here's some pics:

This is my Ashford student spindle and my first wool. So pretty!

And here's my very first attempt at spinning.

Not bad if I say so myself! I think it looks cool in a homespun way, although it's very chunky. I've made a few more skeins out of this wool and some lavendar and deep purple wool, I just haven't taken pics yet. It's funny, right now I have no interest in knitting, just spinning, but that will probably change soon. I'm just having fun with this new hobby for the time being :)

Back from a great vacation!

2007-03-15T18:26:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

Well this week is my last spring break of college ever (how scary!) and one of my roommates and I decided to head down to Florida to catch the Braves playing in spring training and while we were down there, it just so happens that Hootie and the Blowfish were playing in the middle of our vacation about an hour away from our hotel.

The first game we went to was on Saturday against the Blue Jays at Disney's Wide World of Sports. Here's a pic of the Braves starting line-up:

Now, while I try not to support Disney and it pains me to say anything nice about them, I have to admit that the stadium at DWWS was fantastic--clean, well-designed and not a bad seat in the house. Our seats were in the upper deck on the 3rd base line, but our view was perfect and we still felt very close to the action. The Braves won, of course :) and the weather was beautiful, so it made for a perfect afternoon. Plus, my wonderful roommate, Elizabeth bought me this:

It's the Braves Sunday jersey. I've had my eye on it for quite some time, but haven't bought it because I couldn't afford it, but Elizabeth being the wonderful person she is, surprised me with it while I was getting us some snacks from the concession stand. I love it and I feel like I could go out there and play in the game myself!

After the game, we headed out to the Florida Strawberry Festival where Hootie and the Blowfish were scheduled to play. It was a weird experience going to the festival, to say the least. First when we arrived, there was no designated parking--people who lived in the houses around the fairgrounds were having people park on their yards for 5 bucks. We were understandably a little nervous--I mean, they seemed like nice people, but there is something about off-roading through someone's yard and parking next to the mailbox is not an everyday occurence for me. In any case, we headed off to the fair grounds and decided to make the most of our time before the concert started (we got there about 2 and a half hours before the show was going to start). We walked around for a little while until they opened the gates and we went in and found our seats. I got this t-shirt which is oh so retro:

In short, the concert was absolutely amazing. There aren't adequate words to describe it--I know a lot of people don't take HATB seriously, but those people are truly missing out--they are not only amazin musicians, but they are among the best performers I have ever seen. I know this isn't the best picture, but it will give you an iea of about how close we were to the stage.

After two hours of music (three encores!!!) we headed back to the hotel in Orlando, absolutely exhausted to get ready for our next day o' fun.

On Sunday morning, we woke up early and headed down to Jupiter, FL to watch the Braves play the World Series winning St. Louis Cardinals. Here's a picture that I took right outside of the entrance to Roger Dean stadium in Jupiter. Obviously it was an absolutely gorgeous day:

The drive was a little tedious--close to three hours, but it was totally worth it because when we got there we discovered something we had not planned on--Our seats were only three rows back from the field on the third base line and three seats away from the Braves dugout to our right--we could actually see right in to the dugout and watch all of our favorite players sitting there! It was FANTASTIC! Chipper Jones (the Braves 3rd baseman and very popular baseball player) was literally about 40 feet away from us the whole game. We were so close that when I yelled (not very loudly) "Good game Ryan!" to Ryan Langerhans (left-fielder) as he was running off the field he turned around and made eye-contact with me and through me a peace sign!!! The Braves fell behind 3-0 but soon caught up and overcame the Cards 6-3. Go Braves!!

Later that night, we went to play some putt-putt and then just went back to the hotel to relax. Monday morning we headed back home with a ton of new memories and stories to tell our friends. All and all, it was a fantastic trip, probably the best of my entire life and I wish that we could have stayed longer. Maybe next time!

I'll leave you with a picture of my favorite player, Brian McCann chillin' in the dugout:

Update!

2007-02-25T15:22:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone!!

Sorry I didn't post last week, I was sick with some kind of stomach flu and was having a hard enough time keeping up with other life responsibilities. And I just haven't done much knitting lately, but I think that I might have a small contract project (my first!) coming up, so that will be exciting, I'll keep you posted (promise!)

In knon-knitting knews, one of my roommates and I are going down to Orlando for Spring break to see two of my favorite groups of people: The Atlanta Braves and Hootie and the Blowfish!! Since both the Braves game and the Hootie concert are happening in the same day, I think my head my pop, fizzle and break off from sensory overload, but it will all be totally worth it! Hopefully I can get some awesome pictures to share with all of you.

Anyway, I'm going to do my very best to do something knitting related this week. Hold me to that! :)

Liz

I've been tagged!

2007-02-11T21:09:00.000-05:00

I was tagged for the very first time today! Thanks Chelle, I feel so important! (Pathetic, I know :) )

Six Weird Things About Me...THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. I have never tried a lot of condiments. For example, I’ve never tried mayonnaise, salad dressing of any kind, whipped cream, etc. and the last time I had ketchup was 18 years ago, when I was four :)
2. I don’t know how weird this is, but I have 6 brothers and one more on the way. One is biological, five are step, and the last will be coming into our family in September or October through an adoption (I’m so excited!). So I am the only girl, but I’m not complaining.
3. I have a sock graveyard under my desk. Every night, I manage to kick off my socks while I am sitting at the computer, most of the time without even realizing it until I notice that I am out of socks and have to go digging. Usually I come up with a whole pile of stinky, old socks from who knows when.
4. The first song I ever knew the words to by heart was Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty in 1989, again when I was four—apparently this was a big year for me :). From that point forward I was obsessed with Tom Petty, and I pretty much still am…weird, huh?
5. I am 6’2” and my dad is 6’4” but my legs are a full two inches longer than his. Apparently, I am very leggy.
6. I remember my dreams every single night, they are always vivid, always in color, and usually mildly to very disturbing in some way or another, in addition to being funny as hell, looking back.

Yay! So here’s who I’m tagging, and I apologize if you have already been tagged, I’m a little behind: :)
Aquaknits,RheLynn,Whit,V,Jessamyn,
Nederlass

Yay! Oh okay in other knitting news:
I'm working on a mitred felt square bag, here's a pic:

And here's a pic of one of my housemates snarling (but looking cute nonetheless):

Slowly but surely...

2007-02-04T22:22:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. Knitting is happening....a little. Most of my time is devoted to classes right now, but I'm going to try to picture update in a few days.

Happy Super bowl Sunday!! (Actually, I couldn't care less about the Super Bowl, but oh well) :)

No new knitting news (nope, none...)

2007-01-21T20:02:00.000-05:00

I haven't had a chance to do any productive knitting this past week, and I have a feeling that might be a theme this semester, but I'm going to do my best to get something done every now and then if for nothing else than to try to preserve my sanity.

In baseball news:
2 months, 1 week and 5 days until the first Atlanta Braves game of the season! I can't wait!

I am sad that Giles, LaRoche and Ramirez are gone :( ....but I'm still excited. Go Braves!

A day late, but here I am!

2007-01-15T14:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I know I said Sunday was my day to post, but I have a good excuse, really. The truth is, I could have posted yesterday, but I totally forgot that it was Sunday. This whole three-day weekend thing is completely throwing me off. Here are some pictures as promised:

Here are the hedgehogs I made for my roommates for Christmas. The first one, Skullcrusher, belongs to Elizabeth, the second one has not been named as far as I know, belongs to Stephanie, the third, Harvey, is mine, and the fourth who I believe is Henry, belongs to Kathleen. They were fun to make, but a mishap in the felting process resulted in butt surgery for Henry and the unnamed, but all turned out well in the end.

This is an experiment in pattern making for me:

I don't know yet what it's going to be, but I have an idea. Maybe that's a bad way to start, but it is a start. I'll let you know more about what it's turning into, the farther I get.

New in '07

2007-01-07T11:53:00.000-05:00

Well, like everyone else, I've made a few New Years resolutions, so I thought I would share them here:

First and foremost, I'm graduating from college in December and after that I will be applying to graduate programs for Social Psychology, so I may not know for sure by the end of 2007, but my first resolution is to get into a program to start on the path towards getting my doctorate.
Second, of course, is to get in better shape physically, and I mean it this time! :)
Third, I would like to become better at saving/budgeting my money. I'm going to need it when I graduate from college and have to go out into the real world

Okay, that's enough regular resolutions. Here are my knitting resolutions:

I think it would be great to design an original piece for one of the online knitting magazines that I read---I want to be published!
In order to accomplish this first resolution, my second resolution is to branch out from patterns and explore more what I can do on my own. I know the techniques, I know how certain stitches affect the piece, the only thing holding me back is my own uncertainty.
UPDATE this blog at least once a week. You know what, today is Sunday, I'm going to go ahead and say that Sundays are my "must update" day. That's not to say that I won't update more than that, but looking at my track record lately, I think it's good for me to commit to once a week.
Use the yarn I already have. For a long time, I would visit other blogs and look with envy at what nice stashes all these seasoned knitters had built up. I still don't have a large stash, but with the types of yarn I like to buy (simple, natural, versatile, and NO novelty---unless of course, I'm making something like Harvey the Hedgehog :) I have enough to play with without buying a whole lot more.
Complete a project at least once a month. I have a busy semester coming up, but knitting has always been a source of calming for me, so it would do me good to stick to this one.

I think that's enough for now. I start class on Wednesday, so wish me luck. And if not before then, see you again next Sunday!

I'm a Bookcrosser, are you?

2006-12-10T17:01:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a long time and I know I write that nearly every time I post, so I apologize. I also apologize that this is basically a non-knitting related (for the most part) post. I just stumbled across a really cool website/concept/hobby last week and I thought I'd share.

It's called BookCrossing (www.bookcrossing.com) and what happens is, someone releases a book somewhere. On that book, it has a tracking number and information explaining that the book is not lost, it has been left there on purpose for someone else to pick up, read and rerelease "into the wild". It's an amazing concept and such a cool idea that I just had to be a part of it. I became a member earlier today and I'm now waiting for my "book releasing kit" (which consists of book plates, sticky labels and bookmarks, all explaining the philosophy of BookCrossing) in the mail and then I'm going to go to town (literally and figuratively) and start dropping off books in random places! I'm excited and admittedly nerdy, but mostly excited.

I'm also very excited about the new issue of knitty! Woo hoo! I think that this issue is the best there has been in a while and I'm overjoyed by the amount of winter accessories pattern this time around. Being the poor busy college student I am constantly reminding you all that I am, I have very little time and even less money to spend on knitting, so I like quick projects that don't require much yarn or other pricey materials.

I hope to be updating very soon (within the next few days) with pictures of what I've been working on, and you can hold me to that. In fact, please do, I need some knitting/blogging accountability as of late.

Until next time,
Lizzie

I present to you....

2006-11-11T19:57:00.000-05:00

Harvey the Hedgehog!
He's actually been with us now for over a week and a half (I know, I'm sooooo bad at updating these days, please forgive me)...That's him with the happy father, Darrell, and here's one of my roommates Stephanie successfully demonstrating how not to handle a newborn hedgehog:

In my next update, I plan (God-willing) to show you a completed Sockto--err--Sockvember sock. Until next time!

Socktober Fest is Over...

2006-10-31T20:57:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I'm a little ashamed that I didn't even finish one whole sock during the month of october:

But look what I did manage to make:

I'm so excited about this little guy! (He's actually purple but you can't really tell from the picture) I got the pattern on Saturday, started him on Sunday night and finished him a few hours ago. That has to be the quickest, most fulfilling project I've ever done and it was so easy! Granted, he's not quite finished yet, he's drying right now, then I have to add eyes and a nose, stuff him and sew him up. You've probably noticed by now that I'm referring to this little one as a "he." I'm pretty sure his name is going to be Harvey. I think "Harvey the Hedgehog" has a great ring to it, don't you??

I stole this from the KnitOwl, RheLynn :)

2006-10-23T15:38:00.000-05:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
38
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Sockapalooza Update

2006-10-17T20:14:00.000-05:00

I have not gotten as far on my Sockapalooza socks as I'd hoped by now, but none the less the first one is coming right along:

I had a little trouble accepting that the heel method I used would work. I think some people refer to it as the "Sherman heel" some others just a short row heel but basically I worked it the exact same as the toe. I was concerned that it wouldn't work (so concerned that I ripped it out the first time) but it looks good and hopefully it'll work.

In other news, I don't usually like to brag about my gardening skills (mostly because I hardly have any) but I have to say that my dear little Begonia, Augusto is doing quite well under my care. He is the second plant I have ever owned. The first I received as a graduation from high school gift, and I can't remember what it was but it doesn't matter too much, because I promptly killed it (on accident of course). Please observe: Before....

...And After

I wish that I could have gotten a better shot of Augusto but I'm too impatient to wait until tomorrow to capture him playing in the midday sun.

Until we meet again....

P.S. I would like to mention that I got gas for $1.85 the other day. One of the pleasures of living in Georgia

Sockapalooza Update

2006-10-08T08:52:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the short post, life has become unexpectedly busy these past few months. I hope everyone is having a wonderful beginning of fall!

I started my first sock in celebration of Sockapalooza this past week. I absolutely love this yarn, I'm a big fan of all the bright colors.

So, I'm ready to do the heel, but I want to try a new method than I've done in the past, so I wanted to ask you, faithful readers, what is your favorite type of heel?

Finally back!

2006-09-28T20:49:00.000-05:00

Hello again.

So I'm very frustrated with my knitting lately. I started working on the shawl I talked about in the last post, got to about round 50 (out of 98) and made an unfixable mistake---so the whole thing got ripped back. I've been too uset to even look at yarn that I haven't tried. Instead, I did some of one of my other favorite crafts: Collages!

I plan to do more, because i have an empty wall in my bedroom that I need to fill, but I'm kinda low on magazines (only have Martha Stewart Living left, which, while beautiful, not always collage material).

In other news, guess who I saw in concert last Friday?

None other than Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers! They were absolutely fantastic (as per usual) and Stevie Nicks even made an appearance.

That's all for now, hopefully knitting and I will start getting along again this weekend when I hope to go home and visit my favorite yarn shop.

Take care!

Got my computer back!

2006-09-16T12:22:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,
Wow, I realize that it's been almost a month since I last posted, but I finally got my computer back from HP and will be posting regularly again from here on out!
Sad news however, when HP fixed the problem with my System Board (whatever that is :) ), they erased EVERYTHING from my computer: music, word documents, pictures (ack!) it's all gone. I'm thankful to have my computer back, but I REALLY wish that I had been able to save all my documents and important stuff before they erased it all.

In knitting news:
I haven't been knitting that much lately (which I think may be a direct result from my inability to blog/surf everyone elses blogs) but I did do something knitterly that I've never done before. Get ready--this is big:

I bought a pattern online.

Okay, I know this is nothing that big, but for me, it's a step. I have generally found that if a saw a pattern for sale online, with a little bit of research, I could find something similar for free. Plus, with online knitting magazines like Knitty and MagKnits, my pattern craving has always been sufficiently fixed. Sure, I've bought plenty of knitting books, but when I do, I always work out the # of patterns to price ratio to make sure I'm getting a good deal (yes, I am ridicuously cheap, though I prefer the term "miserly").

But the time has come: I found a pattern that I had to have on KnitPicks. It's a shawl pattern--I can't remember the name, but its in the Fall 06 catalog. I'm excited!

Anyway, that's all for now, I'll be back later with a better update!

Back....sort of...

2006-08-21T08:15:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,
I apologize for the lack of updates lately, my computer has been in the shop for several weeks now, so I am not able to provide you with a decent update until I get that back. Let me say, however, that knitting has occured and I will update with plenty of pictures as soon as I am able.

Happy Monday!

Candy Stripers Bag Finished

2006-07-30T15:19:00.000-05:00

(For some reason, Blogger isn't letting me upload pictures. Check back later and hopefully they will be up and running!)

Well, I know I haven't updated on it in a while, but I have been working on my Candy Stripers bage from S&B Nation.

The reason I haven't really written about it is because it has been a complete pain in the butt, through no one's fault but my own. I deviated from the pattern a lot, without bothering to check gauge or anything like that and I deliberately did not photograph it pre-felting because it looked terrible. I thought for sure it would look awful felted as well, but surprisingly, it turned out really well, with the exception of it being slightly squattier than I wished, but perhaps it'll stretch out a little bit with use. Of course, I probably won't be using it for a while, since I hardly even want to look at it after all the frustration it put me through :) But I learned something new: if you're going to deviate from a pattern (or create your own) you really need to do your research before jumping in. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I absolutely hate making gauge swatches. Actually, I should say that I hate the idea of making gauge swatches since I can't recall ever actually making one. Anyway, one day I'm sure I will get burned and end up losing a lot of hard work and money because of my unwillingness and impatience with gauge and then I'll really learn my lesson.

In other news, my first square for my log cabin blanket has been completed.

I decided to do either 4 or 6 (depending on how much yarn I end up having) squares and stitch them together with a log cabin border around the whole thing so I don't get burned out on making one giant square. Now that the newness is wearing off on this technique, I'm starting to find myself getting bored whenever I pick it up, so I really hope I will follow through with this project.

In case I'm starting to sound too negative in this post, I would just like to mention that I received my beautiful Collegiate Bag from Spunky Eclectic (www.spunkyhats.com).

If you've never seen Amy's amazing bags, yarn, fiber, etc. I highly suggest you go take a look, all of her stuff is absolutely amazing. My bag came with several little pockets on the inside for needles, scissors, small skeins, etc. and it was extremely affordable (hence, the Collegiate model). Plus, it came two days after I ordered it and she sent a Dum Dum lollipop along with my order, such a lovely addition :).

Well, that's all for now. Happy Sunday afternoon!

P.S. - I meant to take pictures of my completed Summer of My German Socks. Remind me to do that next time.

Big update with lots o' pictures

2006-07-22T17:17:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!
I finally got around to getting new batteries for my camera, so here's what I'm working on:

Here's my latest Knit Picks purchase, it's Gossamer in Caribbean.

I've got two more skeins on the way, since I dont thing these two will be enough for this:

It's a somewhat lacier (lacy-er? I don't know :) version of Cozy from the Fall '04 issue of Knitty. I'm really please with how it is going, here's a close-up:

And although my recent experience with my attempt of making Branching Out (also Knitty) socks with self striping yarn, I'm liking the variegated stripy-ness of this yarn against the lace pattern. I think the difference may be that with this pattern, you're not really looking for a specific design (like with Branching Out, you can see leaves in the pattern) so it's a little easier on the eyes.

And in other news, I've jumped on the Log Cabin knitting train with this:

(Note: The colors are not quite as pictured above, the yellow is not as washed out as it appears in real life)

I hadn't intended on starting a Log Cabin blanket this soon, I actually bought this yarn--

...with the intention of experimenting with some of the washcloths in Mason-Dixon Knitting. But as I was working on a Ballband Washcloth, I kept finding myself flipping over to the Log Cabin directions longingly looking at the beautiful color transitions. So I ripped out the washcloth and started on my Log Cabin. Needless to say, the above yarn purchase was not going to cut it, so in a highly uncharacteristic move on my behalf, I hightailed it to Michaels after work today and picked up five more balls each of the solid colors, went home and admired the pile they formed when dumped out on my bed:

Well, I hope this post somewhat makes up for the complete lack of posting I've been doing lately. Good luck in all of your endeavors!

Back in Town

2006-07-20T09:28:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! I'm back after a very nice vacation at the beach. Not much knitting got done (with the exception of the second Summer of My German Sock) and while I would love love love to post pics not only of the socks but also of my new yarn that just came in from KnitPicks and the progress I'm making with that, I keep forgetting to go get new batteries for my digital camera :(. I'm also housesitting this week, so I'm without my computer and camera anyway until tomorrow night.

None the less, I am super exciting about purchasing this last night:

And I was going to write a post about all the projects that I wanted to make, but then I realized that I pretty much am going to want to make every single project at some point or another. It is amazing to find a book where every single pattern is desirable to me. I think it help that there were almost no "clothing" patterns--instead sticking to home-type patterns- blankets, washcloths, rugs, etc. I now that everyone probably already has this book, but if you don't, you should get it, it's definitely worth it!

Goodbye Rome, Hello PCB!

2006-07-07T12:21:00.000-05:00

Sorry, no pictures today....

I'll be gone to Panama City Beach all next week, but when I come back hopefully I will have much knitterly news to share. Have a great week!

Sock Update

2006-07-01T09:11:00.000-05:00

Okay, so do you remember this?:

Well, now it's this:

Like so many others before me, I decided that self-striping yarn just isnt the best for a Branching Out pattern. I still really want to do it, but I'm going to wait until I can get some solid sock yarn. Anyway, as you can see, this is just a basic stockinette sock. I needed something mindless to do while I was at work on Thursday and Friday. I've never attempted to knit at work before (I work at the library at my college) but we've been so slow lately that I figured it would be alright.

I'm tentatively naming this project "Summer of My German Socks" because, mysteriously, this yarn was sitting by itself, a single ball, in a corner at my LYS. I had never seen it before and the label was almost completely in German. It was weird, because the colors in this yarn would normally turn me off, but there was something about this yarn that I couldn't resist. Very strange...Oh well, sock #1 is happily resting on it's new owner, my left foot (I know that socks aren't made for specific feet, but whenever I've knitted socks, I always make the first one with the left foot in mind. Maybe because I'm left handed?)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pictures...as promised

2006-06-26T19:27:00.000-05:00

Pictures of the newly completed Zig-A-Zig-Ah! with its happy owner, Jenn:

And with Marilyn, of course:

And here's my new Braves good luck charm from Saturday night:

Keep it real!

Zig-A-Zig-Ah!

2006-06-26T08:31:00.000-05:00

I had an amazing weekend that I wish had been longer. On Friday I took a (much much much needed) day off from work and went to the lake with my family. It was a lot of fun, swimming and tubing all day, but I've been sore ever since. Came away with a pretty nice tan though :). Then on Saturday, my family came up to my college town to attend a minor league (Class A South Atlantic League, for those who are interested) baseball game. Not only was it Brian McCann (refer to the post below from the first week of June) "bobblehead" night, but it also threatened to rain the entire night. It never did rain, but it cooled the weather from 91F to 75F, which made it perfect baseball watching weather. AND, our team won the game! So perfect weekend all around.
I also started working on my very first colorwork project. I have no idea if what I'm doing is intarsia or fair isle or a strange combination of both. I read the directions for intarsia, interpreted them my way, and ended up doing something that looked more like the diagram for fair isle in my Stitch n' Bitch book. Anywho, I'm making an MP3 cover (picture to come) for my roommate Jenn and I asked her to think of a name for it. She chose "Zig-A-Zig-Ah!" (from the Spice Girls song a waaaaay long time ago) because it is purple and orange zigzags. This is one of the many reasons why I love Jenn.
I'm at work now, but I'll try to remember to post pictures when I get home tonight. Have a great day!

2006-06-22T18:57:00.000-05:00

Bee Season Part 2
I watched Bee Season yesterday afternoon and I have to say, I'm not overly impressed with the film adaptation. Of course, I have to consider that the movie is almost NEVER anywhere near as good as the book, but there were some things that I wish the movie had handled differently. Without giving too much away about the plot of either the film or the movie, here goes:

The filmmakers did a great job with the character of Saul. He was pretty much exactly what I had been picturing in my head and aside from the fact that in the book he's a stay-at-home dad and in the movie he's a college professor, he was pretty much dead on. I feel like they did a good job with Eliza as well, no complaint there.

The character of Aaron in the movie, however, did not impress me. In the book he is described as very skinny, little, and pale-pretty much a punching bag for the school bullies.

Not exactly what I was picturing, which brings me to another disagreement: You see that face in the righthand corner of that shot? That's Chali, a spiritual leader whom Aaron meets in the park one day. Chali is supposed to be a man, and while I'm sure that Kate Bosworth is a great actress, she's no man. The reason this irritates me so much is because by making Chali a female, the movie makers are trying to add something that wasn't there in the book (i.e., physical attraction). The whole point of this subplot is that Aaron is earnestly seeking out God, and the movie almost makes it seem like he's earnestly seeking Chali. At one point Chali actually kissed Aaron and I thought I was going to throw something at the screen. But hey, that's Hollywood I suppose.

Miriam was portrayed as the main caretaker for Eliza and Aaron which she definitely is not in the book. But I suppose in order for Saul to be the professor, someone had to watch the kiddos.

Even though it seems like a lot of complaints, the movie was actually quite well done. However, I feel like I would probably been lost watching it had I not read the book first. There were a lot of things that went unexplained and some key moments that didn't make it into the movie. I was particularly impressed with the ending of the movie because it confirmed (at least to some degree), my speculations about the ambiguous ending of the book. One more key difference, however: The end of the movie version was very reaffirming: you know, family gets separated by circumstance, but in the end everything comes full circle and you're left with the feeling that everything is going to be alright. Not so with the book, which ends somewhat abruptly (yet thoroughly appropriately) in dispair and hopelessness. But that's only my interpretation--others may have felt differently.

Anyway, kudos to anyone who actually took the time to read that. I hope that if you get the chance you'll pick up Bee Season (the book) and read it before watching the movie. Both are worth it.

'Til next time.

P.S. Now that my paper is turned in (!!!) I will be reading like a mad woman, because that's what I do. On to Sula by Toni Morrison.

Mmmm....booky

2006-06-20T14:13:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading Bee Season last night. I have to say for the dollar I paid for it at Barnes and Noble last winter it far exceeded my expectations. I actually forgot that I owned it until I saw a copy of the movie here at the library. It was extremely well written and the only problem I have with that is my confidence in myself as a writer took an extreme beating as I realized that I couldn't write like that if I had a gun held to my head (well, that's not really fair--if I had a gun held to my head, there are probably a lot of things I wouldn't be able to do), but it does give me something to strive for in the future. This is from the Amazon.com review and pretty much encaptulates the essence of the novel in a sentence: "An eccentric family falls apart at the seams in an absorbing debut that finds congruencies between the elementary school spelling-bee circuit, Jewish mysticism, Eastern religious cults and compulsive behavior."

Well said.

I'll let you know how the movie turns out...

Playing with my new toy

2006-06-17T16:22:00.000-05:00

Knitting this week has been dedicated to finding a way to cover and protect this:

My new MP3 player! It's a Toshiba Gigabeat (10 GB) and I absolutely love it. I especially love the $100 off through Circuit City part. Yes, that was tasty.

So this is what I came up with. Simple and sweet, and you can't see it but there is a button in the back. I've been attemping to make one with a window so that I can still see the screen, but thus far attempts have been unsuccessful (both knitted and crocheted), but this definitely works, so I'm very excited.

That's all for now folks, have a great weekend!

Okay, I'm Back

2006-06-10T11:18:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've had something knitterly to show you. Now that I'm starting to have some time on my hands, I've been knitting just a tad more. Here's what I'm working on:

The laptop bag is moving along slowly (Actually, to be quite honest, I haven't worked on it in about a month, but there's been a little progress

I'm experimenting with this sock pattern. It's a slight variation of the Branching Out (from Knitty) lace pattern with just a few stitches changed here and there. So far I think it's turning out pretty well, though after I'm done with this pair, I want to try the pattern with a solid color sock yarn. I'm trying to "branch out" (ha-ha) from simply blindly following patterns--and this is a step in the right direction, I think :)

Also, on non-knitting related news, I got to meet my FAVORITE baseball player this past week, Brian McCann from the Atlanta Braves! I was so excited, I was literally shaking. Here's a picture:

It's funny, because I look like a giant next to him because he's down on the field and farther away from the camera, but nonetheless, an experience I will NEVER forget.

Peace

Update for the sake of updating

2006-05-23T23:19:00.000-05:00

Dear friends,
Thank you for faithfully stopping by every now and then to see what I've been up to. I apologize both for my serious lack of exciting news in the past few weeks as well as ending my previous sentence with a preposition. I make a solemn promise to you, the reader that as soon as my summer class is over, I will be posting and knitting like a mad woman.
Sincerely yours,
Lizzie

Movin' on Up

2006-05-07T13:52:00.000-05:00

I moved into a new building on campus this weekend and it is deluxe (well, compared to your average dorm living...) Here's a pic of my side of the room. It looks small and cluttered, but trust me, there's a lot more room than it looks:

Also, here's a picture of my progress on the Candy Stripers Bag. I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. The only problem is, I'm using worsted weight yarn instead of the called for bulky weight. So after some minor adjustments (no gauge check on account of my hatred for gauge swatches and my further hatred for losing much needed yarn to felted gauge swatches) I'm hoping that it will all turn out good. I'm not worried about the shape or size so much as running out of yarn, which is one of my fatal flaws as a knitter.

In other news, summer classes start up tomorrow, I'm only taking one, but I'm a little nervous because it's an upper level psych class and I've never taken a class in the summer before, so I don't really know what to expect. Luckily though, I have had several classes with the professor, so at least I'll know what to expect on that end somewhat.

Happy knitting!

P.S. I got this done on Tuesday. Hurt like hell, but I'm glad I did it. Sorry the pictures blurry, I was having technical difficulties with the camera.

Project Spectrum May

2006-04-30T11:36:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited about this next project. I guess this would kind of count for April, May and June (and August, I guess if you want to count the cream as neutral :) )

The yarn is Cascade Quattro (except the cream which is Cascade 220)and I plan to make this from Stitch n' Bitch Nation:

It's called Candy Stripers and I'm doing the laptop bag on the right, though I have no intentions of using it for my laptop (because it probably won't fit--if it does, hooray!) and if I have enough yarn left over, I'd like to make a flap top rather than a zipper top.

All for now, happy knitting!

So I sew...

2006-04-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

Finals are over! Yay!!! Here's a little project I did today. $1.29, my friend. And about 2 1/2 hours of work. My first complete sewing project! Sorry I'm so fragmented....my brain stopped working at about 4:23 p.m. yesterday afternoon which would be the exact time I turned in my last paper.
Here's some pics of my friend, Erin, modeling the purse:

Project Spectrum Year

2006-04-20T21:19:00.000-05:00

Haven't had anytime to knit/craft with finals going on but here's a sneak peek at what I'm working with for my project spectrum grand finale incorporating all colors of the rainbow.....

Activism

2006-04-10T13:40:00.000-05:00

I went tothe Georgia Walk For Women's Lives yesterdayand I have to say that it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. It was my first march/protest/public activism and I couldn't have had a better experience. For once, I was surrounded by hundreds of people who think like me and believe in the same things that I believe in--a welcome change from the mindset of the typical conservative southerner. I got to meet with so many people from Planned Parenthood, Feminist Outlawz, Georgians for Democracy, Atlanta WAND and so many more. Everything took place right in front of the capitol--it was so cool!!

Anywho, hopefully I can write more about this experience when I have some more time. Adios!

Project Spectrum April #1 Finito!

2006-04-03T09:24:00.000-05:00

Here's my Orange You Glad bag blocking on the floor....I really need to figure out how to take more attractive pictures....oh well, maybe next time....

Happy Monday!

Project Spectrum Socks and Womb done!

2006-03-25T15:38:00.000-05:00

Well, today was pretty productive. Here's the completed stripey socks for Project Spectrum (I know the picture isn't the best, especially against the backdrop of the junk underneath my bed, but you get the picture, they're sweet):

I also finished Womb from Knitty which I guess would also count as a smaller Project Spectrum for March:

That's all for now, short but sweet. Have a good weekend!

Rollin', rollin' rollin...

2006-03-20T12:30:00.000-05:00

Well, spring break was pretty good to me, knitting-wise. I didn't finish my second project spectrum sock, but I did get started on some other projects thanks to my favorite yarn shop The Whole Nine Yards in Woodstock, GA. I love this place! I love it mostly because it isn't completely consumed with novelty yarns like so many other places. Plus the owner and the employees are really nice and treat me like a human being, whereas my old yarn shop (by distance default, not by choice) could smell that I was a college student and wouldn't be spending hundreds of dollars everytime I come in. Yeah, maybe I only spend $10 here, $20 there, but I'm very loyal, and recommend my favorite places to all my friends (you know, the ones with the hundreds of dollars to spend.) Anywho, off of that soapbox. Here's what I've been working on:

Project Spectrum sock #2:

Womb from Knitty (so excited about this!):

Orange You Glad bag (from Happy Hooker):

Yep, I'm slowly bringing myself back into the world of crochet. I'm finding it a lot easier now that I understand how it works. Happy Hooker does a great job of explaining things with pictures.

Well, thats all for now. Happy first cold, rainy day of spring! (If you are in the southeast that is :) )

Edit: I forgot to mention that the Orange You Glad bag is part of my Project Spectrum April. I know, it's still March, I'm kinda cheating, but I'll make this promise--I will have another mini project for April in orange or yellow. I just wanted to get a head start on my big project spectrum project because April=FINALS and I don't know how much free time I'll have that month :)

Sock one done!

2006-03-12T00:33:00.000-05:00

Wow, the difference between my first pair of socks ever and the second is absolutely amazing. Here's a side-by-side comparison (I'm almost embarrassed to post the Crusoe because it's such a weird, ill-fitting shape):

Here's the first Color Spectrum sock on my foot. I love it, because I made the foot part a couple inches longer than most of the patterns suggest in order to make it fit my extra long foot. I think it's the first sock that I've ever had that doesn't seem to pull at the toe. It never takes me long to wear out the toe on a pair of socks, but with this the fit seems just right. I'm so excited!

I also went to the bookstore today and picked this up:

can't buy my love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel by Jean Kilbourne. This woman is a complete genius. If you have never seen any of her documentaries (Killing Us Softly and Slim Hopes to name a few) go to your library and check them out, it will totally change the way you read magazines, watch t.v., pretty much change the way you see everything. I can't say enough good things about Kilbourne and I can't wait to read this.

Happy Weekend!

Crusoe and Project Spectrum Update

2006-03-11T00:03:00.000-05:00

Well I finally finished sock #2 for Crusoe. I'd like to say that I was really excited about completing my first pair of socks, but I'm really not that psyched about it.

The socks are a lot bigger and thicker than I had wanted, but I guess for my first pair its okay. After I was done with the second Crusoe, I immediately cast on for my first Project Spectrum....um..project. I decided to try my hand at another pair of socks, this time using my own pattern. Well, it's based loosely on some other patterns I've seen, but there are only so many ways to knit a sock I suppose.

I'm using Palette from KnitPicks in red, dark pink, and light pink (those aren't the official names, I'm just to lazy to look them up right now :) ) So far I'm loving this yarn for socks. It's stretchy, doesn't split easily and unlike the yarn for Crusoe, when I drop a stitch it doesn't drop four or five rows before I can say my favorite expletive.

NEW COMPUTER!

2006-03-05T22:25:00.000-05:00

Well, I got a new computer this weekend! It's super duper! Finally, here's some pictures of the Crusoe sock #1 and the blanket I'm making.

More to come later!

2006-03-02T09:54:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the slow updates again, the ole' computer is officially fried. (Well not officially yet but I've had some choice words with it, and its at least dead to me) So, until I can get a new computer, I won't have any picture updates, which stinks, because who wants to read a blog without pictures? Anywho, still working on Crusoe sock #2, yet something strange is happening. I'm using the same needles, same yarn same amount of stitches yet the second sock is noticable smaller than the first. Very odd indeed.
I also bought this the other day:

Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller. Love it. It will be the book that gets me "hooked" again on crochet. Okay that was lame, I know. Can't beat the price either.

Though this isn't in the book (well, not technically) I was definitely inspired to make a patchwork crochet "quilt." I've got 1/25th of it completed (one big square made up of nine tiny squares) and I hope to have it done by summertime so I can use it as a picnic blanket. I'll try to find a way to post pictures from someone elses computer.

Anyway, as anyone who comes to this site can see, I'm often in the habit to ask advice from my visitors, so here is what I am asking today. I am computer shopping and ideally, I would like to purchase a laptop computer. Does anyone have a really great computer that they can recommend to me? I'm going to try to stay away from Macs because a) they scare me and b) I scare them. So any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks and have a great Thursday!

Olympics Update

2006-02-23T10:09:00.000-05:00

Well, sock number one is just about off the needles. I tried Kitchener stitch for the first time, and while successful, it's a little tight, so I'm going to try and go back and do it a little looser, but hopefully still retain a tight bind off. I'm so excited about my FIRST sock being done (almost)! When I was knitting it, it looked pretty big, but fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it :) ) it fits like a...a sock should fit. YAY! Even if I don't end up finishing the second sock by the end of the Olympics, I still feel like I've accomplished something big. Four+ years of trying to make socks and I finally get it!

Extra Extra! Read all about it!

2006-02-16T10:07:00.000-05:00

ROME,GA. Fans in the Knitting Olympic community were shocked to find out today that promising shawl being knitted by Lizzie decided to pull herself out of the race. During an interview, the shawl remarked, "It's unfortunate, but I just didn't have enough left in me to finish the run." Experts in the field say that while the shawl was about a quarter of the way completed on Wednesday night, she only had about half a ball left. While this spelled the end of the shawl's olympic career, the unfortunate event did give cause to celebrate. It was decided that the Crusoe socks, the alternate that just barely missed making the trip to the olympic needles this year, is slated to make her debut appearance tonight. Our reporters caught up with Crusoe and asked her about her outlook for the next few weeks: "I'm starting the game late, but I feel confident that I can catch up and finish strong," the young Crusoe remarked bravely. We will all be interested to see how Crusoe does at the Olympics this year and we wish her the best.

Knitting Olympics Update

2006-02-12T17:36:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

Well, I lucked out because the yarn I dyed for the Knitting Olympics that I was really disappointed with looks pretty darn good all wound up and pretty good knitted as well. I'm knitting my first shawl with a simple lace pattern that I designed last week and so far so good. I'm going to estimate that this weekend I was able to get about 15% done, and depending on whether or not I'll get much time to work on it tonight (probably not--HUGE test tomorrow) I may be closer to 20%. It's moving along faster than I expected, but I am discovering quickly that when you increase by two stitches every other row, it takes longer and longer each row (do you like my mad philosophical/mathematical skills there?). Anyway, computer is still out of order, so pictures may not be happening until later in the week.

Good luck to everyone in the Olympics! Woo hoo!

2006-02-08T10:16:00.000-05:00

Please excuse my lack of updates. My poor computer is very ill right now and will hopefully be fixed on Saturday. It contracted a bad virus so I have to reformat it (read: start all over again) so that makes me sad :(. But, on a good note:

1. I'm getting ready for the Knitting Olympics - I dyed some yarn the other day (the dye job is not what I was wanting at all, but you learn from your mistakes, and I'm going to try and make it work anyway) and now I'm just waiting for it to dry so I can wind it up into a ball and prepare for Friday night!

2. I finished my second armwarmer and have been wearing them all week. I also made a matching (well, as much as the second half of a ball of Noro can match the first half) hat to go with it. The armwarmers are a huge hit among my friends and coworkers, so I know what I can do for Christmas gifts...(way planning ahead here)

3. I also got some sock yarn in the mail from KnitPicks the other day, it's Simple Stripes in "Sweet Tart" and I love it! I'm working on Crusoe from Knitty right now and I hope and pray that this will finally be the time that I am successful at making socks. Keep your fingers crossed!

4. I signed up for Project Spectrum and am very excited for that to be up and running in March (see sidebar for more info).

Hope everyone is doing well! Happy Knitting!

proof that I can get things done when I put my mind to it

2006-01-31T22:47:00.000-05:00

Not only did I finish nearly everything on my "to do" list of things that need to be done by friday as evidenced below:

But I also finished my first armwarmer!

Yay!

In other news, whenever I try to type a capital "p" my windows media player pops up instead....wonderful

First ever Noro purchase and my new toy!

2006-01-29T17:59:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

Sorry I've been slow on the updates so far this year, time has been quite a precious commodity so far.

Yesterday I bought Noro for the first time! I've always admired Noro from a distance, but luckily my lys The Whole Nine Yarns (http://www.thewholenineyarns.com) is amazing and actually offers decent prices on all of their yarns. So I carefully picked out my Noro, colorway 165, and started on making the "Hurry Up Spring Armwarmers" from Stitch n' Bitch Nation (no, I can't get over that book, that's just the way it is...). I've got about two and a half inches stitched on the first armwarmer and I can't wait to see how all the colors work out.

Also, on Thursday night, I got with the times and bought an MP3 player! I'm very excited at my find, because not only is it cuter than an Ipod (imho of course), it was a heck of a lot cheaper. For the same amount of space as an Ipod Shuffle, my SanDisk is 40 bucks cheaper, has a screen, and has an SD slot that can hold a memory card up to 2 gigabytes. I don't really know what that means, other than, it has the ability to hold a LOT of songs.

So yep, this is me, one happy, hip, knittin' girl!

Should I buy this?

2006-01-21T12:35:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to buy this book for a long time now. Does anyone have this book? Is it worth the buy? It's not very expensive, so it wouldn't be a huge loss, but I wanted to see if any of you guys had an opinion on it.

Have a great weekend!

Books!

2006-01-19T17:26:00.000-05:00

For my birthday, I received some awesome new books that I can't wait to make use of.

1. The Pattern Companion This looks like a great book for building my technique and learning how to put together garments. Until recently I stuck to relatively "square" items that didn't require any seaming and very little increasing and decreasing. This book should help a lot. It has a little bit of everything, from men's and women's sweaters down to baby stuff and accessories.

2. At Knit's End What a cool little book! I love the quotes and how to tell if you're knitting too much. I just received it yesterday and already I feel so much more wise :)

3. Sark's Journal and Play!Book Do not let the title fool you. This is an AMAZING journal that people of all ages can find enjoyment in. It's a book with all kinds of inspirational messages and instructions on how to fill up the journal and it definitely encourages you to let your inner child come out and play. I've found this journal very empowering and any book that encourages you to bust out your crayola markers and draw all over it is definitely for me.

Lucky progress and new WIP

2006-01-16T12:56:00.000-05:00

I know this isn't a great picture or anything, but I just wanted to document the fact that I am in fact working on Lucky and making some good progress. So here's the back, and then the two front pieces completed. I casted on the first sleeve last night and worked through about 20 rows.

This morning I started a scarf using the Star Stitch II (thanks to Marnie at Marnie Talks for posting the pattern on her site. See sidebar for link ----->) and that's coming along pretty fast.

Back to Lucky--I'm a poor college student who cannot afford a blocking board, much less find a place in my cramped dorm room to house one. Does anyone have any ideas for a cheap, easily storable alternative? I'd love any advice.

I hope everyone is doing well and is finding time to knit this week!

2006-01-13T19:02:00.000-05:00

Here's some pictures of a gift I made for my friend Brittany. It's the Spiderweb Capelet from SnB Nation. Fun, quick project that turned out pretty well. I had to add another repeat to get the length I wanted, but other than that, it was pretty easy.

I'm back!

2006-01-09T10:27:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Back from the holidays and I will hopefully get some pics up of the FO's new UFO's and insights accumulated over the holidays.

Happy Monday!

'Tis the Season

2005-12-13T09:01:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm at home for the holidays and have limited internet access, as well as no ability to post pictures. Sorry folks! I have finished Clapotis as well as the back and front right of Lucky. I'm also playing around with a few techniques trying to figure out an original out-of-the-box scarf for someone for Christmas. Other than that, I'm just having fun not working and not studying!

Happy Holidays!

Update

2005-12-05T08:54:00.000-05:00

Well, finals week starts today (yikes!) so not much knitting done this weekend. I did, however, manage to get out of the straight rows on Clapotis and I have to say: This is a really repetitive (I don't want to say boring, but...) project and the only reason I can think of why I would do two Clapotis' is that the end product is just so darn cute.

Look what I made today!!

2005-12-01T18:16:00.000-05:00

The leader of the Presbyterian Student Fellowship at my school is going to get me some wool from one of her friends so I can practice spinning, so I thought it was about time that I made one of these:

Simple and cheap, the perfect thing to practice spinning for the first time!

Lucky Update

2005-11-29T11:39:00.000-05:00

Sorry no pics this time.

Lucky is coming along quite nicely. The back is finished and I've started the right front. I am not able to block it for a few weeks (that is, until I find a cheap substitute for a blocking board....any ideas?)

Clapotis II is going smoothly as well, I'm about 65% done with it. The Branching Out scarf is on hold until I regain my interest in it :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Best Five of '05

2005-11-27T16:26:00.000-05:00

I've read a lot of good books this year, but these are my five favorites: in countdown order:

5. Life of Pi by Yann Martel I read this book as part of the book club at my college this summer. Great, detailed, unemotional prose, however, at times the writing seemed repetitive, however, overall a fantastic read.

4. Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher Being the militant feminist I am (wink wink -- no, seriously) and a long time victim of verbal assault about my weight and appearance, I found this book very refreshing. It discusses in detail the plight of young females in America falling into the beauty trap set by their peers, parents and media. A must read.

3. Mama Day by Gloria Naylor A read this book for my Women's Literature class in the spirng and had an incredible impact on me. Anyone interested in African-American Cultural Studies and Hoo Doo will really enjoy this book.

2. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd One word: Breathtaking. This book is incredibly magical and spiritual and like Mama Day, emphasizes the interpretation of God as Mother. I sat down with this book one day and took breaks only to sleep until I finished it. Beautiful and captivating.

1. Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini I finished reading this book yesterday and I have to say that everything good that has been written about this book is true. It is both unsentimental and emotional at the same time and paints a painfully accurate picture of Afghanistan before the Taliban and during it's reign. The book focuses on the story of Amir and his friendship with his family's servant Hassan. Read this book, you won't regret it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-24T09:05:00.000-05:00

I'm going to New York today! See you in a few days!!

Okay, okay, me too!!!

2005-11-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

So where are YOU from??

Quick Update

2005-11-17T08:41:00.000-05:00

Here's a little bit of what I'be been working on:

Here's a swatch from the yarn I dyed last week. I really like it for my first try, but next time I will definitely use more packets of kooliad for better saturation.

I decided to start a branching out with the yarn and I'm really really liking how it's turning out. It will be great for those spring morning when it's still too cold to go outside without a coat and scarf.

Here's Lucky!! I'm about 1/3 through the back (I think) and I'm enjoying it a lot. I've had to rip back several times which is always annoying, but going quite swimmmingly in spite.

Have a great day!!

Clapotis and Dyeing Fun!

2005-11-11T18:09:00.000-05:00

I started my second clapotis a couple of days ago and it's coming along quite nicely if I do say so myself. I'm using Cascade Quatro 220 in color number 9433.
The yarn is a bit lighter than the picture shows, but it still a great rich, deep color.

Today I finally got to dye my yarn from KnitPicks!!! It was a fun process. I used green, blue, and yellow Koolaid.

I was really happy with how the green turned out, but the blue is not as saturated as I had hope, but I still love it!!!

Now the real challenge is going to be winding it when it's dry. Eeek!

FO's and new WIPS

2005-11-07T13:36:00.000-05:00

*Picture-Rich Post*

I finished off the second handwarmer and I'm so excited. Too bad that the high today is 80 DEGREES. yeah. Georgia is great.

Even after finishing the second handwarmer, I still have about half a ball of the yarn left. It's never ending. But I'm not complaining :)

I also got my yarn for the Lucky Clover Lace Wrap from Knit Picks on Friday!!! Woohoo!

I got "Palette" in Pool color. Yes I know it's 100% wool, yes I know that it will be somewhat scratchy, but hey, it's my first big clothing project and I figured that rather than spend the fifty or more dollars for the Rowan 4-ply cotton, I should fork over the fourteen dollars for the Palette.

I also got some "Color Your Own" that I can't wait to play with.

Actually, I can wait. Actually, I'm terrified to use it. Past dyeing experiences have not gone well, so I'll have to read up on how to do it proper before I start. And if I mess up, well it's only 3 or 4 bucks down the drain.

This is my second gauge swatch. The first one didn't work, needles were too small, so I tried it with US 3's.

It's not done yet, but it looks like it will be a pretty close match. I've never done a gauge swatch before. Just how accurate do you have to be? What if, for a 4" X 4" swatch, you are one stitch off? On size 3 needles, I wouldn't think that would be a huge deal, but maybe it is, I don't know...any suggestions?

Hope everyone is doing well!!

Handwarmers progress

2005-11-01T16:46:00.000-05:00

The second handwarmer is coming along quite nicely, here's a pic:

A couple of days ago I hurt my back (I have no idea how) so I've been laid out since Sunday. Yesterday, my boyfriend brought me flowers in a pretty purple vase and Wellpatches and York peppermint patties and a get well soon card. He is so sweet!! Here are the flowers:

To top that off, my friend Emily brought me some books and a movie so I wouldn't get bored watching mindless t.v. all day. And on top of that, my friend Jenn came to see me annnnnnd I got a surprise call from my friend from home Jake! Man, I should try this debilitating back pain thing more often!! Just kidding! But this is how happy I was:

One down, one to go

2005-10-28T14:43:00.000-05:00

I finished my very first handwarmer ever! Woo hoo! I tried looking at some patterns online and in some books that I have, but it all seemed so complicated for my first mitten-type project, so I just made it up as I went along and it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. The only problem that I had was there was a small hole between the thumb gore (I think that's what it's called) and the rest of the hand, but I just stitched it up a little and it looks great. I used some sock yarn that I got a little while back, I lost the label and I can't remember what its called, but I kept trying to make socks with it and it wasn't happening. I think I'll call these "Handwarmers a la Liz"--maybe that's conceited, I don't know. I'm just proud I made somthing that works, other than a scarf or a blanket or something else of the rectangle variety, haha.

Anyway here's some pictures:

The finished product

A close up view

Me wondering when I'll find the time to finish it's twin

No new news...

2005-10-25T19:27:00.000-05:00

...I am working on some things, but I'm not able to take pics right now...
Hopefully in the next few days I'll have some picks of the armwarmers I'm making!

As it turns out...

2005-10-17T08:56:00.000-05:00

I work in the library where it is absolutely freezing in the morning. I'm talking sub-zero tempatures here, folks. Okay, it's not that bad, but it does give me an excuse to make my first pair of gloves EVER! Preferably, I'd like to make fingerless gloves just because they are so in style right now, and it would be easier to type without my fingers sliding all over the place.

Does anyone know of a good beginner pattern for gloves? I would like to not have to knit on really tiny needles, if possible. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

You be the judge

2005-10-12T19:37:00.000-05:00

Well, having two whole days off from school I was able to get some knitting done, yay! Here's a scarf I started about two months ago that really only needed about an hour of work to finish, so I sat down and got it done. It's a simple garter stitch scarf and I used black Lion Brand microspun held together with purple matrix yarn (I think it's Bernat?). I really am not a fan of novelty yarns but, I felt like the matrix was not so noveltyish that I couldn't put it to work. Here's some picks of the scarf starring my suitemate, Dana:

And now I need your opinion: Which coffee cup holder do you like the best? The first one has a simpler, more clean-cut design...

...while the second one has a more textured, thick feel.

These will probably be Christmas gifts for friends at school, so let me know your opinion! And if you have any advice or suggestions, let me know that too!

I should be studying, but...

2005-10-05T07:15:00.000-05:00

Alright, I know I have a huge Social Psych test tomorrow. But studying can wait. I had the sudden urge to drool over some books/dvds that I can't afford, so bear with me.

I started watching this show about a month ago because the library I work at has the first three seasons on DVD and I thought, "Hey, it's an HBO show, I've heard good things about HBO shows." So I picked up the first season and boy oh boy I was hooked from the very first episode. It took me about four days to finish the whole first season. I picked up the second season and liked it even better than the first and finished it just as quick. And then tragedy struck: I went to check out the third season and found out...(cue horror movie music)...that it was out on InterLibrary Loan!!! Even worse, it's not due back until December 22nd!!! I leave town for Christmas break around the 10th and I won't be back until January 9th!! ACK!!! That's way too long to be without this show!! Anyway, long story short...I really really like this show...a lot.

This is the first time I've seen or heard about this book, but it looks pretty awesome. I am very much a pattern person, but a book like this could help me break free!

Since I've just recently begun experimenting with lace, I would love love love to own this book, and hopefully, one day I will.

My dog would lose all respect for me if I dressed her up in something that I knit, but for the three seconds she would tolerate wearing a cute little doggie sweater, I think it would be worth it!!!

Okay, I guess I really do have to go study now. Adios and have a good Hump Day!!

One of those months

2005-10-05T07:03:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have those days when your trying to knit something waaaay out of your league and it seems like your never going to understand how to do it? Yeah, having one of those months with this lace shawl pattern I'm trying to work up. I feel like I have the basics of lace down pretty well, and even designing my own pattern has not been too bad--I mean, it has taken me about 10 drafts of something before I get the spacing and shape down how I like it, but I don't think that's too bad considering I've never designed a pattern before. But it seems that everytime I go to knit, I either do something wrong, or I forget one little thing on my chart and *poof* (or rather, *ribbit*)

Well, this weekend is my fall break (four whole days without school/work!!) so hopefully I can find my happy place and pick up those needles once again.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Hmm...

2005-09-28T13:34:00.000-05:00

Okay, so the Branching Out "shawl" is not going as intended. I've decided that since I am not very experienced with lace or designing my own stuff, or working from charts, I should try something a little simpler and of my own merit (however small my merit may be :) ) I'm currently working on a design with a heart border and I'm not sure what else, just now testing the heart portion to make sure it works. Wish me luck!!!

Liz

P.S> -- Meaningful pictures to come!!

Branching Out Shawl?

2005-09-23T22:16:00.000-05:00

Okay, well I'm having trouble loading the images of the chart I made, trying to transfor Branching Out from Knitty into a shawl pattern. I'll try again tomorrow :)

No pics today

2005-09-16T12:29:00.000-05:00

Where did all my knitting time go? It was frightened by the textbooks, hilighters and notebooks and has left me :( (nerdy, I know...you don't even have to tell me)

I have had a little bit of time this week to start working with the Alpaca Cloud I bought about a month ago and I'm so scared I'm going to mess up, because I have not done very many lace projects before. (only 3 or 4 and they were relatively small projects) So wish me luck!!

2005-09-10T13:34:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm back to loving knitty again! The new issue is sooooo refreshing! Yes! Okay, I can't wait to make this:

And I love that it's named Josephine because that is my all time favorite girl name. It must be fate :)

Yay an Update!!!!

2005-09-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the short post, heres something I've been working on, can you guess what it'll be??? :)

2005-08-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the lack of updates, it's been pretty hectic for me the last week or so for several reasons:
1. School started on Monday and though I am grateful for the recent influx of knowledge being shoved down my throat, I have had no time to even think about knitting.
2. My computer is having some issues and is going into the shop this weekend, so I wouldn't be able to put any pictures up anyway.
3. Even if my computer WAS working, the internet in my dorm has been down and will probably be down until I graduate in two and a half years because that's just how private institutions choose to operate their IT department and subsequently drive us nuts.

So, apologizes all around and hopefully in a few days I can update for real!

No New News...

2005-08-19T10:08:00.000-05:00

Well, trying to wind that first ball of Alpaca Cloud was an absolute nightmare. I lost about a quarter of it in a gigantic tangle and the only thing keeping me from pulling my hair out is knowing that I only paid $3.98 for it. I'm probably going to have to order some more and just pray that the lot is either the same or very similar :-/...

I haven't had a chance to do much knitting lately, my job has had me working like a dog the past week and school starts on Monday (yikes!) But hopefully I can sit down for a little while and at least HOLD my needles if not knit with them :).

In the meantime, here's a book I just finished reading that my lovely friend Justine lent me.

It was a great book, gut-wrenching and shocking at times, but the strength of the main character, Dinah (Jacob's daughter from the book of Genesis), was inspiring. I highly recommend it!

It's Here!!!

2005-08-13T08:33:00.000-05:00

I got my new yarn from Knit Picks yesterday!!! It's sooo pretty, but I have a problem (wow, I'm always needing advice aren't I) I am so scared to try to wind it because I'm afraid to tangle it up!!! I guess I'll just have to be very careful. Anyway, here's some pictures. Enjoy!

Thank you, thank you!

2005-08-11T08:10:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates and pictures, my internet connection has been down ever since I moved into a new building last weekend.

I've decided to go with The Queen of Snow Cows suggestion and go with Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in "Tide Pool." I can't wait to get it in the mail and I'm even more excited that I was able to buy enough yarn for the project and it cost less than even one ball of KSH. I hope it comes soon!! I'll post pictures when I can!

Yarn Substitution? Help!!!

2005-08-04T11:38:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

As some of you may have noticed by now, I do a whole lot of knitting with Lion Brand yarns. This is partly because there are no yarn shops with in an hours distance of me in any direction (you'd think I live on the North Pole, but no, it's a place much more yarn barren than that--Northwest Georgia--eek!) but it also has to do with the fact that I cannot afford nice yarn (I really spoil myself when I allow myself to spend $6.50 on a hank of Cascade 220) so here's my dilemma:

I want to make Kiri for my stepmother for Christmas and it calls for 3 balls of Rowan Kid Silk Haze. Does anyone know a good, cheaper substitution for this yarn? I really want to make this and make it right, but I just can't afford Rowan KSH! Can anyone help?

edit: I found this online. Has anyone used Le Fibre Nobili Imperiale? It's 80% Kid Mohair and 20% Nylon. I don't know a whole lot about fibers. Would this be a good substitution? It sure is a LOT cheaper...

Selling Test

2005-08-03T21:23:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm testing some HTML so that I can start selling some of my stuff online, so either ignore this post, or if you're interested in an Atlanta Braves player, try the links :)

A Little Break

2005-08-01T09:42:00.000-05:00

I did absolutely no knitting this weekend. I tried on Friday night, but I was only saddened by my depressingly small and worthless stash. Therefore, I have no news to update you on, but I will be back to the sticks shortly!!

On the Shelf

2005-07-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

Being the poor college student I am, I rarely can find the money to buy new books, so I thought I'd make myself feel better and review the books I do have.

Stitch n'Bitch by Debbie Stoller

Ah, my first real knitting book. I remember when I got this book I was so excited to make every last thing in it. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time/skills/materials to make it all, but I have had many a success with the scarf and hat patterns. The thing I love most about this book is that the patterns range from super easy to difficult and whenever I learn a new technique I go back and rediscover a pattern from this book.

Stitch n' Bitch Nation by Debbie Stoller

Of course, I had to get this one as soon as I saw it at the bookstore and it's probably my favorite knitting book from my small library. It's a lot like the first one only with A LOT more patterns and full color pages. Like the first one, the patterns range from easy to difficult and there's a wide range of wearable patterns as well as bags and other fun stuff. It was so cheap too, definitely worth the money.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Okay, so this is not a knitting book but it is by far my favorite read so far this year, and definitely ranks up there with my favorite books of all time. The main character of the novel is a 14 year old girl named Lily raised in South Carolina who is coming to terms with her mothers death (for which Lily was the cause a decade earlier). I can't even begin to describe how much I loved reading this book.

Anyway, that's just a few from my library. I'm thinking about doing a book review once or so a week, so come back often!

Ha, wish I could afford some of myself...

2005-07-28T09:36:00.000-05:00

You are Mohair.
You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with
others, doing your share without being too
weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely
refuse to change your position once it is set,
but that's okay since you are good at covering
up your mistakes.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

For my Housemate

2005-07-27T18:42:00.000-05:00

I decided to give the Nautilus to my beautiful housemate and friend Jenn. It's her favorite color and now it matches the flip-flops I made her a couple of months ago. Yes, I know that you aren't supposed to wear flip flops and knit hats together, but I'm a rule breaker :) Here are some pics:

Pass the Potato!!!

2005-07-25T15:45:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!
Help my Potato make it through all fifty states by clicking on this link:

Liz's Potato

Go Super Spud!!

Super Duper Project Weekend

2005-07-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

I am taking full advantage of summer this year knitting-wise. Since I don't have classes right now, its the perfect time to get some Christmas gifts/things to sell completed and I'm having a blast doing it.

First, my second attempt at the Nautilus Hat (see Marnie Talks website over in the right side bar) was a quick, fun and easy lace project. My first try was waaaaay too big, so for this one, I scaled it down a bit and it fits perfect. One of these days I'll start taking gauge seriously--but not today :).

Then today when I was at Wal-Mart, I found some fleece material that was only $3 so I thought

I'd jump on the bandwagon

and make one of those pillows where you cut strips

and tie it up all around the edges. Its so cute and only took a half hour to make.

In other exciting news, I finally made it in to the Knitting Bloggers webring. Yay!!! I love this ring because it is so huge and all of the coolest knitters on the web are apart of it. I feel like I've been initiated into a prestigious society, hehe. Anyway, I guess that's all I have to say tonight. Tomorrow I'll have to figure out what my next project will be. Hmmm....the possibilities...

Completed Clapotis!

2005-07-22T23:52:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally finished Clapotis tonight and I absolutely love it! It was starting to get boring towards the end of section three but then the last two sections flew by. Here are some pictures. I think I had more fun playing with it wrapped around my head than anything else.

I tried to make it do that poofy thing that the picture on Knitty shows it doing, but no such luck. Oh well, guess I just have to play with it some more :)

I love how it looks as a wrap too. Now I just have to figure out what to wear it with...

Close up on the detail

And of course, my lovely roommate and photographer, Christen!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

My Weekend!!

2005-07-19T20:11:00.000-05:00

I got a big surprise on Friday when my boyfriend called me up and said he could come visit me! This is awesome because I haven't seen him in almost three months :(....It was so great to see him and I know that our patience in a LDR is paying off. Anyway, here's some pictures from this weekend:

Okay, okay so the pictures don't really explain anything about this weekend other than Darrell and I spent a lot of time together taking goofy pictures...

Oh yeah, and here are a few pictures of the progress of Clapotis. Sorry they are kind of fuzzy. I don't really have a flat, light surface to take pictures on, but I'll work on that :) peace...

Edit: I took out the picture where I looked like a man...nuff said.

Sorry

2005-07-15T15:26:00.000-05:00

No pictures of the Clap yet (can I call it that? haha). I haven't had time to work on it in the past few days, but hey, what are the weekends for anyway? I'm going home (that is, my home away from college) this weekend, so I'll be visiting my favorite new LYS "The Whole Nine Yarns" and maybe I can actually afford to buy stuff this time! haha....maybe.

Have a great weekend!

Test?

2005-07-12T13:19:00.000-05:00

Hello all!
I'm not sure how many people actually read this site, but if you could be so kind as to leave me a message letting me know whether or not you can see the "Summer of Lace" button over there on the right side bar I would greatly appreciate it. Everytime I think I have this HTML stuff down, I'm wrong. This time though, I think I did it right! Did I? Let me know!

Thanks!!
Liz

Finally, Clapotis

2005-07-09T22:14:00.000-05:00

Alrighty, I had a little help figuring out how to do a pfb (thanks to those who helped on the knitty message board) I started today after two "false starts" and i've done two of the dropped stitch rows. I'll try to have pictures up tomorrow.

Happy Knitting!

Winterwear for a Georgia Summer...

2005-07-04T18:33:00.000-05:00

I spent the better part of this fourth of July holiday working on the Bzzz Hat for Queen Bees from Stitch and Bitch Nation. (Yes, I know this is sad, but in my defense, it was thunderstorming and one of the few days in my lifetime that I had completely to myself with no obligations to anyone else.) Anyway, you may remember (but you probably don't) that I attempted to do this hat last winter and did something drastically wrong. Actually, it was two somethings, 1, I didn't check gauge before I started and ended up with this giant rasta hat and 2, it was my first knitting in the round project and I didn't understand that to do a stockinette stitch, I had to do absolutely nothing but knit. Anyway, learning from my mistakes, well, sort of learning from my mistakes, I cast on only 80 stitches instead of the 100 that the pattern listed and went from there, this time understanding reverse St st, and regular St st. The result was a perfectly cute pinkish, grayish, red beehive hat! Yay! I do plan on making one in the traditional beehive colors complete with the bee buttons, but this one is pretty just the way it is, in my opinion.

I also turned in inside out to see what it looked like, and I think it looks cool that way too. Woohoo!

Edit: I am fully aware of how creepy/scared I look in this second picture...stop laughing...

Change of Plans...

2005-07-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

So I did four squares for my blanket and decided I didn't want it to be a blanket. So I stitched the four squares together and am trying to decide whether to stop here and make it a pillow with a black cloth back, or make four more squares, a strap and turn it into a bag. What do you think, bag or pillow? pillow or bag? Let me know!

new project

2005-07-02T18:20:00.000-05:00

I made a few test squares for a nice, easy project I can do for a break inbetween more difficult projects.

This first one is going to be ripped out as soon as I finish writing this for two reasons. One, the cast on edge is awful. For some reason I was having a really hard time with the one needle cast on last night, so I did my fallback two needle cast on, hoping that it would look alright. No such luck (see how loopy two of those sides are, yelch) The second reason I'm frogging it is because I used size ten needles and the yarn really works better on size fives (it's Lion Brand Microspun).

This is what my second square looks like. It's much tighter and the edge is MUCH better. I had to go back and actually read step by step how to do the one needle cast on, even though I've done it for several years now. Weird. Overall, this square is just a lot neater and won't require blocking, which makes me very happy.

2005-06-29T07:21:00.000-05:00

I just got finished reading "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and I must say-

I did not enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, it was very clever and extremely thought out, but the plot was weak. However, it was interesting in the sense that it was the narrative of an autistic boy--something I know very little about--and if the author was accurate, than I know a little more than I started out with, and that's always a good thing.

Anyway, on to The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (just to see if it lives up to all the hype :)

I will not gloat...

2005-06-28T13:44:00.000-05:00

I think I have these buttons up and running again (cross my fingers) so lets see how long they stay...

In knitting news, Branch Out is coming along quite swimmingly. I've done somewhere between 23 and 25 repeats (can't remember off the top of my head) and its close to being halfway done--It's going to end up being at least 550 rows I think (yikes) but the pattern is absolutely wonderful, because it is easy enough for a first lace project, but not so easy that I get bored with it. (I mean, 250 rows and it still seems new and exciting.) Other than that, I did something potentially stupid. I ripped out all of my WIPs except for one because (a) I was tired of looking at them and (b)most of them had just been sitting around untouched for the past 4-6 months.

Ahh...a fresh start of sorts :)

Liz

Mixed emotions

2005-06-27T09:26:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading The Secret Life of Bees and I can't decide whether to cry because it was so good and beautiful or cry because its finished and I never wanted it to end. I can't even think of the words to type right now, other than I can't believe how much a single book can affect you, and even though it's only been in my possession for two and a half days, I know that it's a part of me now. I'm being completely serious. I love this book.

Just hand me the books and no one gets hurt...

2005-06-24T14:26:00.000-05:00

I'm glad I did not have to fulfill the vow I made to my roommate this morning that if I didn't get at least one of my two books in the mail today that someone was going to feel my wrath. Much to my happiness/surprise/elation, I got BOTH books in the mail!!! So without further (french word for delay that I'm not even going to pretend i know how to spell), I present to you:

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Okay, I'm about 65 pages in already and I am loving this book! Its one of those novels where you read and time escapes you. Before you know it, you've read a fifth of the book without blinking an eye.

And of course:
Stitch n' Bitch design journal

Which I haven't looked at much yet, just kind of flipped through, but I can't wait to start using it this weekend.

Well, that's all for now. Have a great one!!

Lizzie

HTML Coding: 1 Liz: 0

2005-06-24T10:10:00.000-05:00

Apparently I need to retract my previous post where I laughed in the face of HTML and shamelessly gloated over my mastery of this beast we call formatting. As you can see, the two buttons that i literally spent hours trying to put on my site yesterday are now replaced by two little red x's. If anyone can help me i would greatly appreciate it...