Warning: Photo Heavy Post Ahead

Yep. I got a lot of knitting done in the past two weeks (really, has it only been two weeks since I last posted? It seems like forever ago!). Lots of little things, and lots of big things that I've been knitting for a while and finally finished. I attribute this massive upsurge in knitting activity to the completions of my Rainbow Scarf, Kevat, and Arrowhead. They are all done and blocked. Yay!

Oh! Speaking of my cabley-rainbowness, I won a prize in the House Cup for my OWL!

I've already started it, and it's going to be gorgeous (and match most of my dressy wardrobe, which was missing a necklace, actually).

My art project went well. I finished another animal to go into the arrangement, a starfish:

I finished the actual project a few days ago, and had the critique today. It was funny, because it was too good. It made it unexciting and boring because it was so well made and perfect. Everything went together just right and it just didn't have that crazy wacky factor that all those other projects had because of my awesome craftsmanship.

I think it's like Gordana on Project Runway: she's an amazing seamstress, but none of the designs really *pop* out at you.

I got a few other small things done as well. A birthday present for Michelle (she turned 19 on the 13th):

and a good luck charm for my roommate for her calculus class:

Hmmm... what else? Oh yeah! I started a pair of ski socks for myself, out of the Wool of the Andes in hollyberry I posted last time. I'm done with the first sock, and have about an inch and a half to go before the last inch of cuff ribbing on the second sock.

I'm going to be posting my sock methodology here soon, because I like my combo of doing things and want to make it available to others. So stay tooned for a sock tutorial featuring some Stroll Shoreline Twist!

But wait, there's more! I've finished my Movie Knitting, but that's a super-secret Christmas present for a family member (none of you click that link!), so no pic here until after Christmas. Also, rather large increase in stash happened recently. I got some Alpaca Cloud, and Stroll in burgundy, african violet, and shoreline twist from Knit Picks. I also got some Malabrigo Lace, Malabrigo Sock, and Misti Alpaca Chunky from the LYS (big thanks to the grandparents for funding this yarn splurge!). I can't decide what to make with the alpaca. It's so soft and I just want to pet it forever!

Productivity

AHHHHHHHHHH! I'm so excited! I just finished binding off my Rainbow Cable Scarf half an hour ago at the Knitting Garden:

All it needs now is to have the ends woven in, a wash, and blocking. Then I'll be done! It's such a huge relief to have finally finished this. I feel like it's been hanging over my head (why I don't know) for forever. This has got to be the longest project I've continually worked on, ever. Two and a half months! Yes, I know to many people that seems like a very short amount of time, but when almost 100% of your knitting energy goes into one project for that long, it drains you.

In other knitting news, I was a happy participant in the Fox Trot Challenge last Saturday, which required me to knit my quidditch prayer shawls for two hours that day (hence the phone in the picture).

Well, I finished knitting up Arrowhead, and now all it needs is blocking. I was amazed at the yarn transformation with a wash. Pre-wash, this yarn was scratchy and annoying and a pain in the butt to knit with. I felt bad that I was giving someone such a cruddy-feeling shawl. The I washed it. Oh. My. God. I was taking the load out of the dryer, and my hand fell upon the shawl. I immediately wanted to snuggle with it to no end. It was warm, and soft, and almost fluffy. I would never wear a shawl (expect perhaps a really gorgeous lacy one with my prom dress on a cold night at a formal event), so I'm glad this lovely thing is going to a good home.

I also rescued my Kevat shawl from the clutches of broken cables and needle tips; it's all better now and well on it's way to completion! I have plans of finishing it and another project before Thanksgiving so I can have a four-day blocking session in the room (the roommate will be home, so I'll have lots of room to spread out).

But wait, there's more! I have completed Nessie, George, and Ganesha, all for an art project, meaning they will all be dismantled and combined in some wacky, crazy way!

A starfish is going to be thrown in there too, but he's not done yet ;)

Last, I got my first Knit Picks order in the mail the other day! Feast upon it's yarny gloriness:

Why do I need all the yarn? Mainly for a sweater I'm knitting for my Dad for his birthday (shhh! Don't tell!), and for some ski socks for myself. Can you guess which color is for which ;) ? I got a pair of Addi Turbo circs today for the socks, US5/3.75mm and 40". Wow, the cable is supple and flexible! [or perhaps my other circs just have stiff cables...] I can't wait to get started on them, but I have to finish my other WIP's first!

How Harry Potter Helps Me Keep my Sanity

You think I'm joking? Twice in the last three days this happened. I suppose it's analogous to the old "walk away from it and breathe" methodology, but sometimes, you need something specific to walk away to.

Let me explain. Twice in the last three days, I reached a roadblock, a frustrating point, a point that made me want to cry on an assignment. And twice, in the last three days, I turned to Harry Potter, and my brain started functioning normally again. The first was a lab in marine science. I procrastinated for a good four hours on this lab. Why? Well, we had to research a species of zooplankton we observed under the microscope, and silly me didn't write down the scientific names of anything I observed, making it nearly impossible to find any information, let alone anything substantial and concrete. After striking out on all but one zooplankter, I finally found some info on the most common of the observed animals, but didn't think the information was substantial. I was frustrated, and was driving myself insane (can anyone say perfectionist?). You know what I did? I said, "Screw this, I'm going to go see Harry Potter."

So I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with some floor friends at the campus cinema, getting a good deal of knitting done while there. I sat down, relaxed, enjoyed the show, and afterwords made fun of how Harry was high on liquid luck, how Ron was drunk on love potion, and how Slughorn was some combo of the two by just being himself. I was at peace. I got back to the dorm, sat down, and cranked out the lab in two hours (compared to the four I had spend procrastinating before). I was done and it felt awesome.

Now to the more substantial of the two situations. English paper. I had three reviews to look over. Two were peer reviews, and both of the reviewers loved my paper. I get to the third, more important one, the one from my teacher, which basically said I interpreted the text we were writing the paper on wrong, I don't understand the argument the author is making, and essentially, I'm an idiot (OK, these are strong words, she didn't really say that, I'm exaggerating, but that's how I felt after reading her comments). I really did want to cry. I wanted to hug my mom, have her comfort me, and tell me everything was going to be alright. Just looking at the paper made me want to burst out in tears. I thought I was going to have to rewrite my entire paper, and I didn't know where to start. I was just overwhelmed by the entirety of the comments. Tears are coming to my eyes now just thinking back to a few hours ago (yes, this was today).

I covered up the paper, the assignment, everything that made me hurt, climbed up to my loft, grabbed my copy of Deathly Hallows, and proceeded to finish off my latest re-reading. My mind returned to peace from the unruly chaos it was in, my emotions calmed, and my brain became rationalized. As I closed the book and scampered off to the bathroom, I knew what I had to do with my paper. The solution was so easy. I simply had to mess around with the parts where I mentioned the author's argument, and add in a paragraph explaining the similarities and differences between our subject positions (OK, perhaps this doesn't sound easy to you, but trust me, it is quite the simple fix).

Now, my world is at peace, and I can go to bed with a smile on my face and happiness in my heart.



bijou