Well, I didn't finish my sweater back last night....but I did finish it this morning! Here's a quick pic before I scamper off to school:


It's not a straight-on shot so the dimensions might not look like they actually are, hehe. It seems a little short to me, but it is right with what the pattern says so I am just going with it.

I am continually amazed by people...and not in a good way. Today as I was walking into the store this lady had just finished loading up her car with her purchases and was dealing with putting her cart back. Seeing me coming, she says "Ma'am...do you need a buggy?" Now why the hell would I want to push the buggy all the way through the parking lot into the store if I don't have to. It's not because I am being lazy that I wouldn't do it (I might do it) but the fact that she was too lazy to walk ACROSS THE ROW (there was a cart corral across from her car) disgusted me to no end. Ugh.

Am about 10 rows from shoulder shaping the back. Maybe I can finish that up tonight...yay.

I can't wait til it gets cold out...so I can wear this:

The picture isn't coming out so good, but the colors you can see below. The green part is purled and the multi is knitted (except the bottom is garter stitch)...I just started armhole decreases before I abandoned it for analysis...fun stuff (the decreases not the analysis).

Guess I'm still in rip mode. I ripped out my Crocheted Homespun Jacket today. Well it's not completely ripped, but all the seams are out. I tried it on and decided it was just too heavy to wear. So I am going to make a sweater for myself and either a blanket or another sweater for someone else out of it (the jacket took 9 skeins and I have 3 more in the closet). Here is the sweater I am thinking of making, although I might change my mind. Who knows? I love this shade tho and didn't want it to go to waste on a jacket I wasn't going to wear.

I started my sweater last night and attempted to take pics but they came out too dark. Oh well.

Woo I just finished up the second glove...so here they are:

Fun fun. Actually, not fun. Gloves are NOT fun! I think I will stick to mittens, they fit much better. Anyways, time to swatch for and start my sweater now. Now that IS fun!

TGIF

Woohoo, it's Friday! And for once I am actually happy about that! Usually I just have tons of work to occupy me all weekend but since I did so much all week, I have some free time! I do still have some work to do, but I will have lots and lots of time to knit! Tonight I will begin my sweater...fun fun! Can't wait!

Just to back myself up, I ripped out the schizophrenic scarf. I think I just wanted to play with the pattern. The reason I ripped is that despite having the yardage the pattern recommended, I know I would have run out before it was sufficient scarf length. Plus it was a bit too skinny for my taste. The pattern is so easy tho, great plane knitting!

Itis-itis

I've been suffering from startitis lately. First I stopped the scarf halfway to make gloves. My justification was that I wanted to use up all the yarn so I should see how much the gloves take, blah blah blah. Now I've started a new scarf...my schizophrenic scarf (aka the much less interesting multi-directional scarf). My justification here is that I needed an "upstairs knitting project" and I couldn't work on the other scarf cause the gloves weren't done blah blah blah. The truth is I had 2 balls of variagated I've been dying to use...and this is perfect for them. I am also planning on starting my sweater this weekend regardless of where I stand elsewhere. Bad me! At least I should have a decent amount of knitting time this weekend, yay.

Besides startitis, I am suffering from ripitis. I am wanting to rip out all these old projects I've made and make different things out of them. Because I either don't have a use for what I made or have found a better use for the yarn or whatnot. Arghhhhhhhhh. So I guess I have Itis-itis.

I finished part one of the white gloves to match the russian hat. Here it is:

I'm really liking it, despite the fact that it's knit in white (not a fan of white knitting...it just looks cheap for some reason). Can't wait to finish up the pair and then the scarf so I can start my sweater, woowoo.

Reincarnation

After ripping out all my winter stuff, I decided what I am going to do with it. I stopped by the store on my way back from studying expecting to buy more of the same color and whip it into an afghan. Instead I picked up the booklet "Homespun 8 Knits for the Family" and decided to buy some green and turn it into the two-tone pullover.
Either this or my jacket (or both, eeps) will be my next project to start. Yay. Here are the colors:



Here is what I am going to make with it:


It's the one with the number 13 in the corner. The green will be the main color...can't wait to start!

RIP Winter Warmer Set

Yes, I decided to rip out the 2 hats, the mittens, and the scarf that was in progress. It was a pain to work on and, while I love the colors, I decided that since I want to make the jacket with a matching scarf I don't need ANOTHER set. So instead I may use this yarn to make an afghan. I have about 3.5 skeins that I have selvaged (maybe a little more), so I will probably pick up 3 or 4 more. So that comes off my WIP and what else? The Black Boa! No, not because I ripped it out...because I finished it! Here it is:

It's kind of hard to see cause it's black, but believe me it is like the others. On this one I used TLC amore since my local craft stores didnt have Boucle in Black. It wasn't as poofy but there was extra yardage so I was able to add an extra row of loops, so it's all good. This baby will be making it's way to Calgary come Monday.

Avast Ye!

Arrrrrrr, on Fridays I often be swingin' the lead and spendin' the night knittin', doin' NO real work. Today I may have to buckle down for a bit, thanks to the scurvy curr's at GT. Me thinks I shall study from 2-4, be attendin' a review session from 4-6, and then take a caulk and knit. I hope so! BTW ye bloody thieves best be noticin' that today be Speak Like A Pirate Day!

Been very busy trying to get work done and not actually getting anywhere. Well I finished the White Russian Hat...here is one pic of it:

There's another pic of it (with Julius modelling) on my Knit page.

Remember Me?

I posted this awhile back as something I wanted to make:

Well I mentioned it again last night to Janine and she wants to make one too! Woohoo! Maybe we can start a knit-a-long out of this. Anyways since my local Jo-ann store is closing (*sigh*) I went and bought a bunch more yarn for it (I already had some random pieces) and here is what I think I will use for it. Some may come out (particularly the forest caron wintuck and the green caron dazzleaire) and some may be added (Like purple funky fur...all the other eyelash is pretty short). I know there's a lot here but I am thinking of also making a long and skinny matching scarf, woohoo.

These are Lion Brand Woolspun in sage, TLC amore in celery, Caron Dazzleaire in green, Lion Brand Kool Wool in an olivey green, Paton's Cha Cha in Jazz, Bernat Boa in Purple, Chenille Sensations in a denimy blue, Caron Wintuk in forest, and Lion Brand Homespun in a purpley color. Fun fun.

Finished a few things up the last few days and finally got around to taking pics. First, I knit a klein bottle:


Also I used up the rest of my sapphire fun fur and some blue heather woolease and knit these:


Started on another Russian hat, this time in white, with several modifications. Will see how this goes.

Freaky Friday

I feel like I am living in a parallel universe, these days. Today 2 very strange things happened: 1 sad and 1 creepy. First the sad...

I am signed up to receive Joann's mailers and I get them about every 2 weeks or so. I had set out this morning to class with my recent mailer tucked into the visor in my car, so that I could stop by after school and use it up. When I pull in there are big signs all over the store saying "Store Closing". WHAT?!?!?! How can this store be closing...it's my lifeforce here in Atlanta! They can't not be getting enough business...I give them all my money! I sadly moped around the yarn aisles before selecting a few things (everything was 20% off). Of course there were all these annoying vultures there trying to capitalize on this sad situation. Perhaps I will go back in a week or so and see if there's anything left that calls my name.

And now the creepy...

After that I went to the supermarket to pick up a few things for the weekend. As I am getting back into my car the guy in the van next to me is getting out so I kindly wait for him to close the door before I back out (I'm not always rude). He gets out and knocks on my window. Ugh. After quickly checking that my doors were locked I rolled the window down just a bit to see what he wants. I thought maybe I had a light out or something and he was going to tell me.

Him: "Where are you from?"
Me: "Ohio" (Can't you see my plates?)
Him: "Oh Ohio. I am from the British."

Ok, here I have to take a moment out to comment. If he's from "the British"...wouldn't English be his first language? And wouldn't he know "the British" just sounds silly?

Him: "Well I just saw you walk by and I said 'What a beautiful girl!' And had to meet you."
Me: "Uhhhhh Ok."

Now I'm getting creeped out cause this guy is at least 2x my age and has this big, lecherous grin.

Him: "Do you live with family here."
Me: "No."
Him: "Oh what do you do? Go to school?"
Me: "Yes I'm in grad school."
Him: "Oh grad school. I'm a doctor...I teach at the university."

I thought about asking which university, but figured if it was at my school that would be additionally creepy. I thought the fact that he claimed to be a doctor might make him slightly less creepy tho.

Him: "So do you have a boyfriend."
Me: "Yes." Oh god, please take that as a cue.
Him: "Are you going to get married?"
Me: WTF? "Yes" Please go away.
Him: Starts talking about being from the British and all the interracial couples there and how his wife is German and he has lots of white relatives.
Me: OK he's married...this might be a 'phew'...but why is he trying to sell me on the interracial couples bit (BTW he's black...not that I'm racist but that just makes this make more sense).
Him: "So how serious are you and your boyfriend?"
Me: "VERY serious" Get the hint yet?

I think at this point he finally introduced himself as Richard. I think he wanted to shake hands but my window was NOT going down anymore.

Him: "So you're serious?"
Me: "Yes very."
Him: "Aw, ok then. I just wanted to meet such a beautiful girl."
Me: "Have a nice day." Read that as: end of convo. Go away creepy guy
Him: "Be careful."

That entire exchange creeped me out, but none so more than the last exchange. Needless to say my eyes were glued on my rearview mirror on the way home. I don't know what this old, married guy had in mind. The only possibility that wouldn't be creepy would be that he was trying to find a date for his son or something...but that's still a little off. I'm safe at home now and I think i won't go out for awhile.

Ooooooh

Look at me! Can you guess what I am?

No? Well that's because I'm wrapped up so nicely!

Anyways, my Denise Interchangeable Needles came today! Yays! I ordered them off a guy on ebay last weekend (i think sunday) and I got them today! Wow, pretty quick. And they were wrapped up so nicely with tissue paper and pretty bits of yarn. Now I know why this guy has 100% positive feedback, good stuff.

Thanks to my new needles, knitting has resumed on my Klein Bottle Hat! I am almost done with the long tubey bit and ready to pass it through the hole. After that I just have to increase back up, knit a few rounds, and join...yay.

Jan 1, 1974

I don't know what happened on this day, or the days leading up to it...I wasn't born yet. But sometimes I find myself wondering. You see, I have this set of very old stationary that my Grandma probably got from a garage sale or thrift store. Or perhaps it was hers all along. It is a very pretty set of paper (4 different designs) wrapped with a satin ribbon with plain envelopes. The paper is beautiful, being embossed along the left edge, corner, and top and then shaded in sort of a watercolor fashion. Here is a picture:

The "delicate rose fragrance" which the box advertises has long since faded, now sharing its scent with old, cherished books. It is still quite lovely, nonetheless. When I got it, it seemed like a full set. I'm not sure it was ever used, except for the first piece of paper having Jan 1, 1974 written across the top.

I don't know who did this. I suppose I should have asked at the time, but it didn't occur to me. My Grandma has since passed away and i doubt I will ever find out. It's nice, though, to think that it is a moment frozen in time, when someone was about to reach out to someone else and share their life.

It's 4AM...where are you?

I'm still up, working on my assignments I have been busying my butt over. I think I will have one of them done in full to turn in. The other may be missing a bit. Tomorrow I have tons more work to do...oh yay. I love my life :-P.

Only knitting update is I stuffed my mousies. I also ordered a set of Denise Interchangeable needles cause I was sick of needing different sizes. I got them off ebay. Am still trying to solve the 2 decreases back to back dilemma. Please let me know if you have any ideas.

ya hatchu sneig

It's finally here! The fun & funky Russian hat. I decided t give Julius a break...cause he doesn't really aspire to be a model. Also, the hat is kind of large and would fall down onto his head, hehehe. Here it is!

Not a good angle for me but a great one for the hat, if I do say so myself. Next time I work it I will def do it in the round, i HATE sewing! The fun fur was fun to work with, but the Boucle kept splitting and being a general nuisance.

A Knitter's Plea

Right now I am working on a pattern which has 2 decreases back to back in several places (and is in the round, and these 2 decreases come in the same spot on every round, thus are stacked). I tried K2tog, Sl2K but it is pretty holey. K2togK2tog is even more holy. Any suggestions?

Woohoo! Hat is just about finished! Knitting is done, and I have completed my first handknit i-cord. This is good practice for the Kureyon bag. I didn't have DPNs in the size I needed for the cord tho and I didn't wanna buy them just for that so I just did them on straight needles. Instead of pushing the stitches to the other end I just slipped all 4 as if to purl and continued on that way. Voila! I don't need no stinking DPNS when I can do everything on straight needles and circulars. Just need to sew up and stuff the hat, pictures maybe tomorrow. I'm too tired to be witty or wordy tonight...I'll leave that for when I am putting off doing work (presumably tomorrow).

The Continuing Adventures of Crafty Tifff and Irritating Belligerant Guy

Well, things continued per usual in Analysis, but in Algebra something new happened. Belligerant guy was shot down by the prof! Sweet justice! When he made a comment to the effect of "WAIT! *I* don't understand that!" the professor replied with "Well if you had been here for the first lecture you would know that...". Now normally this would irritate me about the prof, but in the case I will make an exception. Afterwards, he was his usual self tho. I'm also happy to report that I got to Algebra early enough that I got a seat near the front and sniffle/hacking guy was behind me, which didn't irritate me as much. However, I got so absorbed in the lecture that I forgot my jacket. Hopefully it will still be there when I go back for it.

Well, yesterday my AC broke. Not broke as in stopped operating, but I heard a *drip drip drip* coming from the maintenance closet and, sure enough, a pipe was leaking. So I turned off the AC to stop the leak and called the emergency number. They wouldn't come out (dammit, it was more than 85 degrees outside, that qualifies as an emergency!) and said they would be by first thing in the morning. Worried they might come at an inopportune time, I showered the night before and vegetated on my bed with the fan blowing on me for a bit of cool. Of course they didn't come til 11am the next morning. I wish that was when MY day began. Anyways, it seems fixed now and my apartment is slowly cooling down to its usual temperature. Maybe tonight I can actually get some work done.

Fun Fur
Really IS fun. I am really enjoying working it up. I have never used eyelash yarn before so this is a real treat. So soft too...my hat is going to be super fun. I wish I could make a matching coat in the Boucle with fur trim....that would be faboo! Despite being absolutely luscious and satisfying to work on, the fun fur has inspired me for something I may work on soon. If it turns out well, I will post a pic. If not then it never existed, hehehe. It won't be for awhile tho (if I can remember this inspiration that long).

Nihilistic Tifff

I think I would call today a bad day...altho it's tough to say. I had trouble falling asleep last night for some odd reason (I should have been exhausted after 2 straight days of nothing but Analysis problems)! When I woke up not only was I tired, but I soon developed a stomach bug. It has since been bothering me on and off all day...ugh. Some good things did happen...my Analysis prof told me that I did well on my homework (despite getting a 0 on one problem...apparently most people did), and a guy in the class asked to work on homework together. Fun fun. Howeverrrrrrrrrrr, everything agitates me. OK, not everything, but enough that I can just round up. Let me begin with last Fall...

Last Fall was my first semester at Georgia Tech and I signed up for more classes than normal (with the intention of dropping one...which I did). In addition it was my first time teaching, so I was quite the little busy bee. Which is why it took me awhile to notice the annoying guy in my Complex Analysis class. Actually there were 2 annoying guys...one is an undergrad who would try to ask all these questions to make himself seem smart...when the answers were all completely obvious anyways. Whatever. The other guy is fond of arguing with profs (they have Ph.D's...they probably know a thing or two) and even when he is not arguing the tone of his voice is so belligerent that it is insulting. Ugh...I was so glad when I was done with that class and thought I would never have to see him again. And since that semester I haven't really...except a few times in the hall. This semester so far has been V. busy for me...with my research and tough classes...and TODAY belligerent guy shows up in my analysis class. *UGH* Every time he doesnt understand something he asks a question...fine...I have no problem with that. But he does it in that tone that is like "NO! Of COURSE I don't understand because YOU didn't explain it well!" I just want to smack him. The sad thing is I like Analysis...probably my fave course this semester...so I was sad to see it ruined and thought this might make it take a back seat to Algebra. But alas, that won't happen! And why not? Belligerent guy showed up today in that class as well.

Of course that's not the only source of my annoyance today. In Algebra I normally sit in a row that is all the way to the side. Last class he had mentioned that he wanted to use the side chalkboards and everyone should gravitate towards the middle. So that's just what I did, being the diligent person I am (or something). Of *course* noone else did, so it was all in vain. That was a tiny annoyance. What made it worse was the guy I was sitting behind. First he was moving his head all around so that I had to keep moving my head around to see around it. Ok, maybe he can't help it, whatever. Then he starts making this sniffling noise...ok...maybe he is sick. But then when he sniffles he does that thing where he sniffles hard and it makes a hacking noise...ewwwwwwwwww. And he did this ALL through class. I wanted to grab him and say "go blow your damn nose!" Was that all he did? Of course not. About halfway through class he apparently decided he was tired or antsy and decided to stretch. He throws his arms up, moves them all around, leans back so he almost knocks into me...just acts like the nuisance he is. At this point the little homicidal devil on my shoulder was calling to me..."Stick your pen into his neck...you know you want to...you know he deserves it". I'm sad yet proud to report that I refrained from assault. It did take all my conviction to do so. There was none left to resist buying yarn...hehehe

On my way home I stopped at joann and bought the yarn for the Russian Hat I posted a few days ago. I bought the bouclé in shades of blue and green and blue fun fur. This will be my first time working with both of these yarns, it will be interesting to see what happens. Now I just need to buy the pattern and find time to knit it up. If I like the result I may make an all-white version...using my White Frost Wool-ease instead of Boucle and perhaps held together with the fur...will have to see how the pattern goes.

Here is a fun site that I have found solace in for the past 2 days. It has been a good tension releaser when otherwise I am stressed to the max. I laughed, I cried, I shuddered in disgust. Check it out and you will see what I mean.

-This link brought to you by my good friend who works in a video store and wanted me to know what she goes through.

Bleh

Been working basically nonstop for 2 days on my Analysis assignment...this is NOT fun. I am almost halfway through, altho I am to the pt of just writing down junk cause I am exhausted. Oh well. Here are my socks: