Fiber Salt

In the Highlands of Santa Cruz

2012-01-29T14:50:00.002-05:00

Our campsite in the Highlands.

Camping inthe highlands of Santa Cruzwas an adventure: we were told very little about what we were doing and whattype of camping it was, only that we were to pack a daypack, overnight bag, andwe were going to see tortoises. Therefore, us all being more intense outdoorsytypes, we all expected that we would be hiking up to our campsite, setting uptents or something in the middle of the woods, and camping. Well, it turnedout, we were at a lovely campsite with three cabins and two huge family tents that we took taxis to,and could drop off stuff before we went on our hike, which was really justwalking down the dirt farming road down the mountain. Again, Dr. Meltzoff wasin the last car to arrive, leaving all of us in standing around confused,trying to figure out what was going on until she got there (this has been arecurring theme).

The elderly tortoise hanging out at the campsite.

Once shearrived, and we figured out who was sleeping where and took pictures of anolder tortoise that was hanging around camp, we were introduced us to two ofthe three horses that our guide, René, who owns the place, has. Initially, weonly interacted with two of the horses – two males, a larger beige one, who wasabout five, and a smaller brown one, who was about a year and a half old. Allthe horses had a white stripe down their face, and they were all siblings. Theguys immediately took to the horses, and the beige horse was extremelyinterested in Tom, or more specifically, Tom’s rain coat. He kept sniffing,licking, and even nibbling at Tom’s coat, to the extent that Tom had to take itoff and put aside to keep it from being destroyed. When René brought out asaddle, we all joked that Tom should be the one to ride the beige horse,because it took such a liking to him. It turns out, Tom is from rural southern Illinois, and actuallyknows how to ride a horse well, and was able to trot circles around us.

Tom and Rene with Tom's new horse friend.

While Tom was all set with his newhorse friend, René mentioned towards the third horse, a female beige separatefrom the others, and wanted to know who was going to ride her. We all madehuge, sidelong glances towards Marc – I think because he’s the onlynon-American, and adventurous besides, we automatically volunteer him for themore ambitious tasks – who then proceeded to lead the horse out of the brushfor saddling. Initially when Marc climbed on, the horse started to bucknervously. René calmed her down, but, it turns out, after the rest of usstarted on the hike, she threw Marc off, and would only accept René as herrider. This made sense after it was explained that a little while ago, thehorse had escaped, was found by people who abused her, and was only returned toRené two week prior. The plan was to have everyone switch off and on bothhorses as we went along, but we were only able to do so with Tom’s horse.

The mudpool of tortoises we meditated around.

The entire hike was wet (because itwas raining the whole time), and full of tortoises. The Galápagos Tortoises on Santa Cruz are thelargest of all the species: we saw males as big as the garbage bins out put outon the curb. You can tell males and females apart in two ways: the males arelarger and have bumpy shells, and the females are smaller and have smoothshells – worn down from being mounted while mating. At one point, we left thehorses tethered to a tree, while we ventured down what was either a longforgotten trail through the underbrush, or a path René was making up as he wentalong with his machete. Then, at the direction of Dr. Meltzoff, we meditatedaround a big mud pool full of tortoises, which was… interesting. That night wehad a huge tuna – roasted over the campfire – for dinner, and did some amazingstargazing. I saw more stars that I’ve seen in my entire life that night, andyou could just almost see the milkyway.

Anita Chapi, in the doorway of her home.

In the morning, we walked along theroad for about an hour to René’s mother-in-law’s house. Anita Chapi is eightyyears old, still farming and lugging her pineapples and plantains down tomarket every week, and was one of the first settlers on the island. She’s beenthere since 1959, and before that she lived in the Andes.She has six daughters and one son, all of whom still live on the island, mostdown in Puerto Ayora. She has twenty five grandchildren and six greatgrandchildren. She is one amazing woman, and we go to talk to her for an hourand a half, and sample some of her amazing pineapple. I know we could havestayed much longer, but we had a boat to catch to go to Isabela. After a littlecab fiasco (one of the cabs drove off with a bag or two of ours, which waspanic-inducing, but we got them back), we all gathered down at the port, loadedall our bags onto the boat, and we were off to Isabela!

Bienvendio a la Galápagos

2012-01-26T09:09:00.001-05:00

It hardly seems possible that aweek and a half ago I was frantically submitting REU applications and eating atthe Pandan Room restaurant in Hackettstown. Really, it hardly seems possiblethat I’m studying abroad in the Galápagos Islandsat this very moment, it is so fabulous. Yet here I am, sitting in this lovelybreezeway on the second floor of IOI¸ on the island of Isabela,having the time of my life.

The room at La Casa Sol (top of the staircase)

Monday was a long day – a very,very long day. It started at 5AM to leave at six to drive to Laguardia for my10AM flight. We anticipated quite a lot of traffic, it being a Monday morning,rush hour, and going through New York City, but ironically, there was no traffic to speakof. Security was a breeze (even if the layout of the airport wasn’t), so I wassitting at my gate for a good three hours before takeoff to Miami. Almost everyone in the program was onthe same flight to Quito (save Marc, who’s Dutch, and took the later flightbecause he was flying in from Europe), so we all were delighted when there was something wrong with the plane, causingour flight to be delayed two hours while they found another one. The airport inQuito was alittle confusing, but everything got through OK, and we set off to hour hostelfor the night, La Casa Sol.

La Casa Sol is this adorable littlehostel in Quito,with a lobby building in front, and a courtyard with all the rooms surroundingit. There were tiny little side offshoots, and probably about three buildingstotal made up the establishment. The lobby building includes a kitchen, diningroom, souvenir shop, what appeared to be a small internet café, and a sittingarea, complete with fireplace and library. I ended up rooming with Alex, in oneof those offshoot rooms on the second floor, with our own staircase up to ourroom. I am really glad that, on my post-Galápagos with Elise and Amanda, whenwe’re in Quito,we’re going to be staying here. It was really a shame that such a lovely placeserved only as a pit-stop hotel.

The next morning, oh, the nextmorning was a mess. Breakfast was fine – delicious actually. In Ecuador, itseems, the standard breakfast is granola, fruit, and something that seems likea thin yogurt, with a side of eggs, juice, and bread or toast (with butter andjam). I could just have the granola part every day. I might switch to it,actually, when back in the US,if I can figure out how to make my yogurt that consistency. We loaded all ourstuff into the two vans, and took off through the busy Quito morning traffic to the airport. What wedidn’t realize until we got there was that we had somehow left Amanda, andSarah Meltzoff, our professor and guide, at La Casa Sol. We all instinctivelyturned to Marc to lead us, mainly because he has the best Spanish (languagesmust come naturally to him – he’s fluent in three), and also because he has themost experience in international travel. Of course, he really didn’t have anyidea what he was doing, because Galápagos flights have special rules, inaddition to the Quito airport being confusing and a madhouse, but he could bestunderstand what our drivers were saying to us.

First we had to go through aspecial inspection station, to make sure we weren’t bringing in any plant oranimal material that might get onto the islands. That part was obvious. Afterthat, we just sort of stood around confused until Dr. Meltzoff got there, andthings didn’t really get any clearer. There was a lot of standing around andblocking lines while Dr. Meltzoff got all of our paperwork “clear,” and then weall slowly had our bags checked. Then there was a fiasco where the airlinepeople at one desk were telling us to go to another desk for our boardingpasses, but that was really just for overweight baggage people, and we shouldhave gone to another desk, etc. etc. Let’s just say, when we all got throughsecurity and all we had to do was boardthe plane, we all cheered.

Ready to snorkel!
Left to right: Marc, Tom, Katie, Amanda.

We were all scattered throughoutthe back of the plane, though Elise and I both had aisle seats in the same row,so that was nice. The result of the aisle seat was that I couldn’t plaster myface to the window as we approached the islands, and had to be content withcatching glimpses of the islands from three seats over at the right angle. Whenwe were all off the plane and on the tarmac (the airport on Isla Baltra ispretty much a runway with a little open air building that resembles a picnicpavilion to serve as the terminal), we all let out a celebratory cry, doing alittle happy dance as much as we could laden down with luggage. After passingthrough the park desk with our special paperwork, we grabbed our snorkel gearout of our bags, and set forth on a bus to the dock while our bags went aheadof us to the hotel in Puerto Ayora on Isla Santa Cruz.

Yes, all snorkels are like this.

The snorkeling was excellent, evenif I was a little cold in just my dive skin (the water in the Galápagos comesup from Antarctica on the Humbolt current, sodespite being on the equator, the water temperature is in the 60s). You knowhow everyone is always so enthralled with the terrestrial life of the Galapagos– the tortoises, iguanas, finches, etc? Well, the marine life of thearchipelago blows it out of the water (no pun intended). On our first snorkel, there were comb jellyfisheverywhere, the several species of the biggest parrotfish I’ve ever seen in mylife, angelfish of all kinds everywhere, other species of fish besides that Ican’t ID, a friendly sea lion, and a school of white-tip sharks, which ispretty rare, even for the Galápagos. The second snorkel was too deep with toostrong of a current to see anything, though apparently that’s the spot to see schools of hammerheads.The third snorkel was just as spectacular as the first. I kept waiting to wakeup from the amazing dream I was having.That night, after we checked into thehotel, we went to the local restaurant strip, where you could only find locals,tourists “in the know,” and, of course, our big, obvious group. We stuck outlike a sore thumb, but we didn’t care. We were having the time of our lives.

The view from in the water on our first snorkel.

In the morning, we went on a hikeup to a canyon just outside of town filled with seawater. The landscape of theGalápagos, especially the lowlands and the smaller, more desolate islands, isstriking, especially when seen from the water. Across the landscape are dozensand dozens of tree and candelabra cacti, with the same sort of arid brush andthorns you expect out of a dessert. Below them lie lava rock and soil, andbelow that the sea. To see all that in the same picture, it’s confusing, anddoesn’t not really compute the first several times you lay eyes on it. It’ssomething about seeing a cactus surrounded by a huge body of water that justdoesn’t make sense. This expanse of cacti was what we were supposed to beseeing on our way up to this canyon, but we were all to busy watching our feetand trying not to trip over the lava rock all over the path.

The fabulous canyon swimming hole.

Eventually we reached the canyon:the walls are ten metres high above the waterline, and the water is supposed toextend thirty metres down, though it looked like much less due to a densesulfur and salt layer that formed about ten metres down, which resembled whitesand. The water was cool, but refreshing rather than uncomfortable. We swamaround for a good hour – us, the other tourists and locals, and the parrotfishand blennies that occupied the pool. Almost all of us clamored up the wall todesignated jumping ledges in order to throw ourselves in the water: on highone, one low one, with the high one being the only one anyone used once it wasdiscovered we could get up there. I went off the high one, which was about twothirds of the way up the canyon wall. There’s nothing quite like jumping fromeight metres up off a canyon wall into a deep, saltwater pool in the Galápagos.

A sea lion that played with us for the longest time.

After ourfun in the canyon, we went on another snorkel trip. These three snorkels werejust as amazing as the previous day, this time with particularly playful sealions, and the dynamic of a sea lion family – which, probably not surprisingly,resembles any sort of human situation involving a small child whining for aparent to do something with them, the parent eventually does it, and suddenlythe child has lost interest. We also caught a marine iguana under the watereating algae, and exceptionally rare event that many that make it to theGalápagos never see. We snorkeled along the shallows with an abundance of sealion pups and rays, and in a couple of large sea caves with astounding rockstructures (Michelle, if you’re reading this, that’s for you). That night, wehad Galápagos pizza – which is, sadly, better than any pizza you can get in Miami (Dear Miami,Pizza is an American food. You’re an American city. The Ecuadorian people inthe middle of the Pacific Ocean can makebetter pizza. What’s wrong with this picture?) – and then, gelato. I, and manyothers, had the most amazing passionfruit gelato on the planet; I would not besurprised if the passionfruit were picked in the highlands that morning. It wasa great ending to an amazing first two days.

And the next? Camping in thehighlands.

Reasons Why Christmas was Awesome

2011-12-26T16:10:00.000-05:00

Yarn:

Doctor Who:

I have a thing for daleks if you couldn't tell.

My brother and I with our matching dalek shirts and our respective sonic screwdrivers (I have the 9/10 version, he has the 11 version).

SO MANY MOVIES:

And this. Especially this:

If you haven't seen it, and have Netflix Instant, go watch it. Watch it now. It's amazing. Think you like Robert Downey Jr. Holmes? This one is far superior. This isn't just me speaking - this is everyone who's ever seen this. Seriously, go watch it now.

Oh, and there was this other stuff that was awesome too (missing: my amazing gifts from Catie and Mahati):

Also:

Explaining what a MMORPG is (along with other types of video games) to my parents when they've had too much wine over diner.

No dud gifts (no, really, not one. It's a true Christmas miracle).

Assassin's Creed Revelations. I don't actually play, but my brother does, and the story is so darn good, and the graphics and fight sequences so amazing, plus the fighting style is one of my favorites, that it's ridiculously fun to just watch (while spinning or knitting, of course). It's what we did last Christmas: he played Assassin's Creed Brotherhood his week of break, while I figured out the whole spinning thing, having just received my first spindle.

Harry Potter. We re-watched Deathly Hallows Part II last night. I wasn't too thrilled with it when I saw it in theatres, but enjoyed the film so much more when we watched it last night.

Beat that.

Rhodion

2011-11-15T17:20:00.000-05:00

It's done.

And it's gorgeous.

Pattern: Rhodion Lace Shawl, by Elizabeth Freeman
Yarn: Knit Picks Shimmer, in Spice

Almost

2011-11-14T12:39:00.000-05:00

It's blocking.

And it's almost dry :)

Delicious Weekend

2011-11-13T21:14:00.000-05:00

This weekend was filled with exceptionally yummy food. Here's a sampler:

These were gluten-free cranberry-lemon corn muffins for Lindsay's Classy Sunday Brunch this morning. I used this recipe, and added chopped cranberries, lemon zest, and a touch more sugar (including a sprinkling of sugar on top of the muffins). There was also sparkling apple cider, and champagne, as today is Michelle's 21st birthday. I didn't partake in the champagne, but everyone else had mimosas.

Tonight's dinner:

Standard baked acorn squash with butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup. It's one of my favorite things in the whole universe.

Yesterday I made this gingerbread cake box mix thing from Trader Joes' that my mom sent me:

It's delicious - just like everything from Trader Joe's is.

There were also multigrain biscuits yesterday (courtesy of multigrain Trader Joe's Bisquick), but those are already gone, so no picture.

Wetsuit Burn

2011-11-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

So, I went diving yesterday. No pictures, sadly, because it was a skills dive for my Advanced Open Water certification, and I had other things to focus on (like maintaining my buoyancy and remembering how to properly use a compass... underwater). Somehow, on my second dive, my wetsuit got all awkwardly bunched up at the back of me knees, and now I have this nasty wetsuit burn there that's irritating every time I bend my legs. Compensation: a stingray, a sea turtle, and praise from Richard (the instructor) that I did everything perfectly.

Friday was the peak of the Homecoming festivities (FYI, last week was Homecoming week). The parade every year stinks, and the usual lakeside viewing for the boat burning and fireworks was going to be restricted to at least a quarter of the usual area - i.e. everyone's packed like sardines - so Jen and I opted to watch from the top of the parking garage at the UV. The Towers blocked the view a bit, but it was still enjoyable, if a little long.

On the knitting front, I've mainly got socks. Two pairs of socks and my lace, actually. Socks are coming along well, and so is the lace, except for the fact that I discovered I dropped a stitch in the middle of a cable and now there's a large hole in the middle of it, but it should be relativity easy to fix(?). All I can say is, thank goodness for complicated knitting, because without it, that stitch would have run all the way down the piece in no-time, but the cable turn stopped it in its tracks.

Pair #1 of the socks is for my comparative physiology reading:

And pair #2 is for class:

Oh, and there's a Jackalope:

Pattern: Jackalope, by Hansi Singh

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver, in Painted Desert

Caron Simply Soft, in Blue Mint and Off White

The Jackalope's for my physics TA, Nick.

Let me tell you about Nick: this semester, for the first time, he decided to take on not one, but two, discussion sections (a mandatory homework review session each week where we turn in our homework and take a quiz) because he needed the money. This entails giving up up at least an hour of your life each week (three for Nick because he took on two sections), plus you also get to grade part of the tests for the class. Nick is a last-semester PhD student, meaning that this is the semester when he's writing/finalizing his thesis, and defending. In sum he's really pressed for time. And what does he do? Halfway through the semester he decides to hold extra two-hour sessions every week (that he's not getting paid for), because he feels like the class really needs it. I know if I hadn't gone to the one he held right before the last test, I wouldn't have done nearly as well as I did (did I mention he's also a really good teacher?).

Therefore, Nick deserves a Jackalope.

Stranded

2011-11-02T13:11:00.000-04:00

I apologize for the silence (no, not that kind of Silence) for the past week and a half. I kept meaning to do this really well thought-out and intelligent discussion of the tubular cast-off vs the invisible cast-off, with comparison shots of my endpapers and the latest socks. Never got around to taking those pictures.

So, here you go, they've been done for about two weeks, just didn't get around to posting them:

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts, by Eunny Jang

Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll, Bare

Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball, color #1702

They're my first go at anything stranded. It's not as bad as I thought it was - the last time I tried was over two years ago when I was just getting into the world of crazy knitting - but still not my favorite thing. I think I'll stick with intricate cables as my crazy-knitting-of-choice.

Comparative Physiology

2011-10-23T12:08:00.001-04:00

The past few weeks have been sort of nuts, namely in the form of scholarship essays, physics, physics, more physics, music compositions, physics, well, you get the idea. Which meant comparative physiology kept getting pushed aside, and only half a chapter of reading got done.

Leaving three and a half long, complex chapters on neural firing, synapses, sensory processes, and endocrine systems to read before my exam Tuesday, starting on Saturday. Clearly, the only way to get through this much reading (and I mean, all I did for three days was eat, sleep, and read comparative phys. I read for about 10 hours straight each day, at least), was to knit a pair of socks while doing so.

Start, Saturday afternoon, halfway through Neurons:

Saturday night, done with Neurons, halfway through Synapses:

Sunday afternoon, done with Synapses:

Sunday night, done with Sensory Processes:

Monday night, 2/3 of the way through Endocrine Systems (sock #2):

At this point, I was done with the material for the test, so ended my frantic weekend of Comparative Phys. I took the test, got an A, and was happy.

However, the socks still needed to be finished...

And textbooks don't suddenly get more interesting just because you've taken another exam...

Done with Endocrine Systems and Intro to Gas Systems:

And finally, done with Breathing Physiology:

Pattern: The Universal Toe-Up Sock Formula, by Amy Swenson

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Louet Gems Fingering, in Tropical Storm

Nerd Humor

2011-10-16T21:24:00.002-04:00

Normally, I detest puns in any way, shape, or form. But I make an exception for science puns, just because, well, geeky humor amuses me.

Lately I've run across so many funny science things, I just have to share them:

My AP Chem teacher apparently, on occasion, puts her fish bowl on a a magnetic stir plate, drops in a stir bar, and has her goldfish do laps. At least, this is what she told my brother's AP chem class.

Sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium, sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium, sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium BATMAN!

Know any good sodium jokes?
Na

Want to hear a potassium joke?
K

Two chemists walk into a bar. One of them tells the bartender, "I'll have some H2O please."
The other chemist, thinking this is a good idea, says, "I'll have some H2O too."
The second chemist dies.

What's a frat guy's favorite element?
BROmine!
(thank you Julie Sanders)

A cop pulls Heisenberg over on the highway. He says to him, "Sir, do you know how fast you were going?"
Heisenberg replies: "No, but I know exactly where I was!"

At a Galapagos Study Abroad info session earlier this year, two weeks before the application deadline, Jen and I were talking with Dr. Peterson, the director of the program. He said to us: "Study abroad is freaking out because there are only six applications in. I'm going, 'Six applications! That's great!' They clearly don't understand how scientists are with deadlines."

Yo mama's so ugly, even Flourine won't bind to her!
(again, courtesy of Julie Sanders)

That's all, for now!

Long Weekend

2011-10-14T20:54:00.001-04:00

I have the apartment to myself this weekend.

Therefore, I made pizza.

Why You Really Should Rewind Your Sock Blanks

2011-10-13T01:35:00.000-04:00

Start with this:

Which turns into this:

Then becomes this:

And finally this:

Some instructions are not meant to be followed.

Poor Carnivore

2011-10-10T02:12:00.003-04:00

Being a typical college student (aka pretty much flat broke,with almost all money I earn going towards paying for school), I’ve had to makesome cuts to my diet. Namely meat.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m actually quite the carnivore (PIGSARE DELICOUS), but meat is expensive. I’ve mainly been getting my protein frombeans and rice, but there are only so many bowls of it that you can take. So I’vebeen experimenting with how to veggie-ize some of my favorite meat-basedrecipes from home.

Basically so far I’ve discovered that beans and lentils makea great substitute for ground beef; lentils make a better loose ground-beefsub, and beans make better patties (it does require some food processing to doso, though). But today I moved beyond this: I discovered eggplant makes a greatsub for chicken breasts.

My mom makes this great chicken dish – OK, well, it’s reallyjust chicken breasts flattened with a meat tenderizer, breaded, and pan fried. Butit’s SO GOOD! And great for picky small children (it’s one of the few things mybrother would eat after he moved past his ‘chips with melted cheese’ phase as asmall child to the more adventurous eater that he is now – it’s still one ofhis favorite meals). Well, it turns out that eggplant tastes pretty darn goodwhen prepared the same way, minus the meat tenderizer.

Not that I was thinking this when I picked up an eggplant atthe on-campus farmer’s market Wednesday (I’m really ecstatic that the markethas made it’s return – I love the thing) when I picked up the eggplant and acouple of zucchini for zucchini bread. I just love eggplant, and hadn’t had agood one in a while, since all the dining hall ones are super seedy and tough. Thiseggplant was awesome though, and really made me remember how much I love thelittle vegetables.

To make this, it’s really just your standard bread-and-fry. Cutyour eggplant into aprox. ½-inch slices. Flour both sides of your slice, dipboth sides in beaten egg, and then coat each side with breadcrumbs. I usedItalian-style panko breadcrumbs that had been languishing in the pantry for acouple months, plus some grated parmesan & romano cheese. You couldprobably just use normal bread crumbs, but if you’re feeling like some moreflavor, you can just add some Italian seasoning to the crumbs (and cheese ifyou want it – I couldn’t taste it in the end, and would probably leave it outnext time).

Heat up a skillet with a thin layer of oil in the bottom –not piping hot, probably around medium to medium-low. I used a combo of canolaand olive oil, but that was mainly because we’re almost out of canola, and Ididn’t want to use the last of it because I don’t know when someone’s going togo grocery shopping next. Though the olive oil did add a nice flavor. Cook eachside until the crumb crust is golden brown. Remove from the skillet onto aplate with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Let it cool a little bit before eating. I served mine withone of those box rice mixes – long grain white and wild rice – because that’swhat we do for the chicken at home, but it’s really up to you. Enjoy!

Tuesday

2011-10-05T03:06:00.000-04:00

't was an interesting day today:

1) Amaranth porridge is disgusting. Don't try it. I had to resort to a couple of spoon fulls of peanut butter as my breakfast this morning.

2) It's mandatory for anyone working in a lab to take this general lab safety seminar. The good thing is that it's a Webinar, so I could theoretically stumble out of bed, sign in, and listen while brushing my teeth, eating breakfast, etc. Except the only times these things are held are at 9AM on Tuesdays.

I have class from 8AM-9:15.

Which, of course, meant me awkwardly opening my laptop on the middle of ecology (not really that awkward because most people take notes on their computer in that class), having my attention split, then closing the laptop, shoving it my backpack, riding my bike back to my apartment, all the while hoping the wireless connection stayed on so I still get credit for this thing. Luckily, it worked, and I set up my laptop in my room while going to find something else for breakfast because that peanut butter wasn't cutting it.

3) I had the strangest dream involving some odd change to the Gaia layout - I haven't been on that site in years - stumbling upon my old physics problems in my room at home and bringing them back to Miami for Jen, RSMAS events at a fancy-ish Publix courtyard across from the Brickell metro station, and a strange mash-up of the 6th and 7th Harry Potter books in a tropical rainforest.

4) I rode my bike to Winn Dixie, for the first time acting completely as a vehicle, and not going on the sidewalks. It was fine - no one even honked at me. The only issue I had was that traffic was terrible, but that would have happened if I was in a car.

5) Coming back from Winn Dixie, I encountered the stupidest Ferrari in the history of idiotic fancy cars: the guy attempts to do a U-turn on US1. At the intersection of US1 and Red Road. Right after the light for US1 turns green, and he pulls up far enough so that he's sitting literally smack in the middle of the intersection, perpendicular to traffic.

NJ people imagine someone trying to pull a U-turn on 206 at the intersection with Flanders-Netcong Rd right by the high school at rush hour, except Flanders-Netcong has four lanes instead of two, and the drivers are reckless, inattentive, and highly aggressive. Doesn't work too well, does it?

6) I made yogurt rice to go with my lentils. Well, my very altered version of yogurt rice extracted from recipes on the internet. Basically I cooked white rice with some bay leaves, basil, and red pepper flakes, added plain yogurt to the desired consistency, and threw in a little bit of ginger, dry mustard, and parsley. It wasn't Mrs. Mokkarala's, but it made me happy.

7) The new info desk is here! And it's an office desk, rather than the booth or kiosk that is actually needed. And I didn't even get to sit at it, because it came in this morning, and nothing is set up. I was in the back out of a sketchy, probably former ticket window or something. I just felt like I was working the middle school snack bar.

8) My brother just realized that my dad was totally a hipster in high school. Because the pictures of him in hipster clothing and long hair, his eclectic music tastes, and boss four-channel stereo system that he had in high school (and still has) weren't enough of an indicator.

And there was knitting in here somewhere...

Blue Heron

2011-10-02T18:13:00.000-04:00

Waking upat 7AM on a Saturday is never a pleasant experience. But it is quite worth itwhen it comes to diving, especially a dive as awesome as Blue Heron Bridge. Consideredby many to be the best shore dive in Florida, and Harris to be one of the bestdives he’s ever done (which is saying quite a bit – this guy lives and breathesdiving), I count it among one of my favorites as well. It’s free, shallow(meaning the equalization issues that plague my right ear aren't inhibitory),and rare creatures seem to view this as their Mecca. There’s a new assortment of creaturesevery time I go, and some old familiar favorites as well. What better dive totry out my new camera and underwater housing?

This divehas two parts, the fishing peer and the wreck. Usually I do the peer first andthen the wreck, but Keith – the Dive Master for our group – decided to do the wreckfirst. On the way over, I just kept snapping pictures of everything I saw, exhilaratedby the idea that I had a digital camera ten feet underwater:

We finally hit the wreck, which is really just asmall little dingy.

It was exceptionally populated with fish this time.

Next to the dingy, there is a collection of shopping carts:

One of the locals steals (or used to steal – I can’tremember if he’s been caught or not) shopping carts, and sinks them to createartificial reefs. It’s one of the small quirks of this dive.

We saw a couple puffers and batfish over here, but noseahorses, sadly.

After we were done here, we headed over to the fishing peer.

The most noticeable thing about this area is the plethora ofhuge sea stars and urchins:

These sea stars are the size of dinner plates, or bigger. Andthey really are everywhere.

I saw my first jellyfish while diving, but they were hugeand pink and really easy to see and swim around.

Under the peer there were some huge schools of tiny silverfish, more batfish, and even a lobster!

I was a really horrible dive buddy, as I was adjusting toboth a new camera, using in a housing, and taking pictures while floating and gettingpushed by the current. About halfway through the dive I realized I forgot toset the white balance, and slowly got used to the odd way you have to adjustthe F-stop and aperture. It was really hard to see the digital screensometimes, and the constant light-shadow-light-shadow was really messing withme. But now I just want to go on more dives, and take more pictures, as if divingitself wasn’t it’s own motivation.

If you want to see the rest of my pictures, they’re in aPicasa album here.

Secret Treasure

2011-09-29T23:17:00.000-04:00

Thursdays are physics days: while I might not have physics class, I do have my discussion section (where we ask questions about the homework, hand in the homework, and take the weekly quiz) and my lab two hours following. Now, two hours isn't really enough time to make going back to the apartment worth it, and I still had to read the lab for this week, so I decided to bunker down in the really awesome physics library:

The architecture and building design on campus (and all of Miami really) is very geometric-modern: lots of squares, angles, stone blocks, etc. Admittedly, it goes very well with the tropical-palm tree environment. However, the physics library is a little window into old-fashioned northeast academia: wood chairs and shelving, some fancy chairs in the corners, etc. The view out the windows even hit more deciduous-like trees rather than palms. It's like I've been transported to Cornell.

An added bonus is that the physics building is in a more remote corner of campus, and the library is hidden away (the only sign is right outside the library, naming it the "Friends of Physics Library") on the third floor of the building. The only way you would discover it is if you needed to go up to the physics department office for some reason, which is right across the way on the third floor. This means that there's hardly anyone in it (well, it's a small library, so it couldn't fit that many people).

On my way up to the physics library - my discussion section is on the first floor - I decided to take the long way around and explore the building a little bit.

I found a really cool hallow walkway thing:

And the second floor was lined with windows (instead of just being outdoors), like you would find up north:

I stumbled upon a little lounge in the middle of the second floor, complete with fridge, microwave, and toaster oven:

It even had a spiral staircase. I think it's for the TAs, because the TA offices were down a hallway to the right of this lounge. And there were undergrad lab notebooks sorted by section stacked on the table next to the microwave.

There was even a quiet little nook by the windows with a super-comfy looking chair. The only downside of this spot is that it looks down the above-pictured hallway. Though I've never really seen anyone down that hallway...

This might be a new in-between classes knitting spot.

Basically I think I've established that the physics building is my new favorite building on campus. I think it's because it departs from the standard Miami architecture and building design, and much more resembles the northeast Ivy layout that I like so much more. It's my new little hideaway.

Two Years Later

2011-09-27T20:52:00.000-04:00

Today, on one of those few occasions that I actually take the school shuttle back to my apartment instead of riding my bike, I ran in to my roommate from my first semester freshman year, Kiara. "Ran in to" is really the wrong phrase - I was sitting in the back of the bus, and she was standing at the front of it. I say first semester because, in the spring, she switched to a different room. Nothing personal - we lived together fine - it's just that our personalities were such that, had we not been roommates or on the same floor, we would not have known of each other's existence. She talked to me about the switch, and I agreed that she would be happier with living with the other girl down the hall, and I got a new roommate (whom I would be very happy never to see again... I'll not delve into it).

Anyway, during the semester that I lived with her, she was trying to maintain a secret (ie her parents didn't know), long distance relationship with a boy from back home. It was driving her mad - the boy was very clingy, and kept her on the phone every waking moment when she wasn't in class or doing something aquatic. Her phone became an awkward extension of her face, and her neck was eternally crooked keeping her phone propped up to her ear with her shoulder. She would be talking going to the shower, coming back from the shower, while doing homework, while trying to go to bed, but the boy would just not let her rest. She even broke up with him in order to get him to stop the endless, continuous phone call, but to no avail. This continued throughout the following semester, and, the few times I saw her in the beginning of last year, the phone was still plastered to her face.

Today, on the bus, there was no phone. Instead, there was a guy. A different guy. Probably a football player or track runner based on the Nike athletic backpack with a number embroidered on it.

And no phone.

I'm insanely happy for her. Happy that she finally got herself out of that terrible, life-sucking relationship, and found herself [what looks like] a stable, healthy relationship.

Congratulations, Kiara.

Life has a lot to give, and now you are free to take it.

Best Wishes,

Your Former Roomie

Crêpes

2011-09-24T16:11:00.000-04:00

This morning, I was at a loss as to what to have for breakfast. Jen was making some shortcut pumpkin rolls (think cinnamon rolls with a pumpkin filling instead of cinnamon), but both the filling and the frosting for those was loaded with cream cheese, so I wouldn't be partaking (I despise cream cheese with a fiery passion). However, it put me in the mood for cinnamon rolls.

Then I remembered cinnamon rolls are a yeast dough, which meant that my cinnamon rolls would be ready in three or four hours. So I nixed that idea, but stumbled on a brilliant one:

Crêpes.

I've only ever made crêpes with a crêpe-maker, and the only recipe I had on hand was the Better Homes and Gardens one (ie not French), so it took a bit of tweaking. But it did work eventually, and they turned out wonderfully:

Crêpes
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup flour
2 Tbs oil
1/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl with a wire whisk. Grease a 6"-8" skillet (measuring the diameter of the flat bottom part!), and heat on medium-high heat. I had a 5" and a 7" skillet, so I used a 7". If desired, you can put a tablespoon of butter on the skillet and melt it, but I found it messed with the cooking process. Add about 1/4 cup of batter to the skillet (use less for a smaller skillet, more for a larger one), adding it first in the middle, then swirling outward. Swirl the pan to get the batter to coat the entire bottom (it's going to be thin). Cook until the edges are dry and the very ends of the edges are browned (the bottom should be browned as well). Remove from skillet onto paper towel (READ: DO NOT FLIP!). I put a small piece of paper towel in between each as I stacked, but you don't have to.

Fill with whatever you want. For these, I did some with Nutella and strawberries, plain yogurt and mixed berries, and Nutella and peanut butter. I also am a fan of Nutella and bananas, but we didn't have any bananas. You can make them savory with a seafood or veggie filling, or dessert with ice cream, chocolate, and whipped cream. Just make sure to top any sweet ones with powdered sugar.

Old Standby

2011-09-20T16:13:00.000-04:00

Socks are done.

Pattern: The Super-Simple Knitwit Sock Pattern, by Terri Lee Royea
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft, in Blue Mint

I love this worsted sock pattern. It's the first sock pattern I've ever used, and I've made countless pairs of socks with it. I highly recommend.

Game Day

2011-09-17T15:37:00.004-04:00

It's game day here in Miami: first home game of the season, against Ohio State. Personally, I think we don't stand a chance of winning, but it's going to be a fun game to go to, and of course, I still bleed orange and green. I even made []_[] pancakes:

Today I was lazy and used Target pancake mix (Jen's, who was also craving pancakes, and said I could use it). I have a stash of food coloring for yarn dying, and thought this would be fun. And of course they're chocolate chip.

Speaking of the game, it's at 7:30, which means I'm leaving to go to the buses at 4, and won't be getting back until midnight at the earliest. I really don't feel like paying $10 for a small, crappy piece of chicken at the stadium, so I made some onigiri to bring along:

Onigiri are really perfect for this situation: they're small, but super filling, so when I'm starving in the middle of the game, these will fill me up nicely. You're technically not even supposed to bring a bag into the stadium, but in the student line, they just sort of glance in your bag, and wave you through. I've brought my knitting several times, so I don't think they'll object.

Yesterday I got an exciting package in the mail: my underwater housing for my camera!

Well, the camera's not here yet - housings don't exist for my current camera, so I had to get a new camera in addition to the housing - so no underwater pictures quite yet. Once the camera gets here, Julie, Lindsay, and I are going to have goofy underwater picture funtime in the pool at one of our swimming sessions. I'm super-excited for this camera - it's a really high-end point-and-shoot, so it's really like a D-SLR in point-and-shoot format. Important for underwater photography, so I have control over the white balance, but also it means I have a smaller camera to take with me to events where I don't want to take my larger (and nicer) camera. Like, for example, football games.

On the knitting front, I've been fairly productive. I contribute this to class starting and comparative physiology reading - knitting keeps me focused in class, and prevents me from falling asleep while doing all the reading. These socks can be largely attributed to the reading, with a little bit of class time thrown in:

Pattern: The Universal Toe-Up Sock Formula (with a JMCO toe instead of short row)
Yarn: Schoeller+Stahl Fortissima Socka, in Bestell-Nr

You can't really see it in the picture, but the yarn subtly vertically zigzags up the foot. It's awesome.

These socks should be finished by Monday:

They're a pair of worsted socks. The heel turn to the toe grafting on the finished one was knit all in a Galapagos study abroad info session Thursday. I think it was maybe an hour-long session.

And rhodion is coming along well. I'm almost at 5 repeats out of 9 for this side of the stole, and then I start the edging, and then on to the other side! I had to pin it out to get a good picture though.

Everyone be sure to tune-in to the game! It starts at 7:30EST on ESPN!
GO CANES!

30 Years

2011-09-05T21:57:00.000-04:00

My mommy's gloves are done:

Pattern: Crazy Ribs Fingerless Gloves, by Laura Peveler
Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering, in Just Plum

It's a wonderful coincidence, because today is my parents' 30th wedding anniversary.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad.

Loves you both.
Miss you lots.
Enjoy Atlantic City.

I'll see you in December.

Craving Raisins

2011-09-04T19:41:00.000-04:00

So, along the lines of my last post, I was craving raisins all last week. Really, specifically in the form of oatmeal-raisin cookies, but any form of raisin would do. Friday night, I was originally going to do lentils with garlic and onions, but that wasn't feeling right when it came time to make dinner.

I wanted raisins.

And then I remembered that raisins go really well in curry, so I decided to go with a lentil-raisin curry. An Internet search turned up nothing, so I decided to go with a lentil curry recipe and add raisins to it. Well, I found one that sort of worked, so I modified it to what I had in the fridge. And the fact that we don't have any curry powder at the moment. It turned out quite well.

Raisin-Lentil Curry
1 cup dry lentils
3 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped potato
1/4 cup raisins
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Combine lentils and water - bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer & add remaining ingredients. Cover and let simmer 45 min, stirring occasionally and adding more [boiling] water if necessary. Serve over white rice (though yogurt rice would go quite well with this).

Old Family Recipes are the Best Kind

2011-09-03T15:45:00.000-04:00

So, a few days ago on Ravelry - the HPKCHC Hufflepuff UnCommon Room, to be exact - a discussion evolved that was centered around oatmeal raisin cookies. It went on for a few pages, and it became a mini-joke to ask the new firsties about their stand on oatmeal raisin cookies (the sorting was right after the conversation). It took a day or two, but that conversation started me craving oatmeal raisin cookies. FOR DAYS. This was mainly due to the fact that I didn't actually have time to make them, as I had more imporant things to do such as homework and staving off total and complete annihilation in the MSC tank.

So, yesterday being Friday, and therefore not requiring any homework to be done, I made oatmeal raisin cookies. But not just any oatmeal raisin cookies: I made my Great-Great Grandma Heinrich's oatmeal raisin cookies. These cookies are ridiculously fabulous. They're my grandpa's favorite cookie, which is really saying something. My grandpa is one of the biggest chocoholics on either side of my family - it's one of his four food groups (the others being ketchup, gravy, and dill-pickle ice cream). For him to have a non-chocolate cookie to be his absolute favorite, well, it's got to be good.

And I'm going to share it with you.

Oatmeal Cookies
From Great-Great Grandma Heinrich to Great-Great Aunt Ida to Great-Great Grandma Miller circa 1912
With additional instructions and clarifications by Sarah Miller, 2011

3/4 cup margarine or softened butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 cup quick oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp mace
1/2 cup raisins

Note: If you don't have mace (I think it's one of those spices that used to be a staple in spice cabinets, but has since fallen out of use), you can use allspice or cloves instead. I used cloves in this batch.

Cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients save the raisins. Add the mixed dry ingredients to the wet, and mix well - until you get a standard cookie dough consistency. Mix in raisins. Chill for 30 mins.

While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350F. After the dough is done, drop by teaspoon-full onto an ungreased cookie sheet, spaced about 1.5"-2" apart. Bake for 10-12 mins. I like a softer cookie, so what I do is bake for 8 mins, switch the racks, bake for another min, then take them out at let them cool on the hot cookie sheet, completing the baking process. The bottoms should be a [very] light brown.

Hard

2011-08-28T15:19:00.001-04:00

It is a personal belief of mine that nothing in knitting is "hard:" there are things that are more fiddly than others, things that may cause a project to take longer than it otherwise would in plain stockinette. But really, when you come down to it, it's all just really two stitches (and their variants), taken, at most, a few stitches at a time. Easy to comprehend, and - when you get enough experience - easy to tell why you're doing what maneuver when.

Lace cables are hard.

No, I do not mean a piece which has lace panels and cable panels - I mean lace in the cables. See swatch:

This little swatch (only 3" square) took me at least two hours. TWO. HOURS. It's tiny. I've got the movements memorized at this point, but I still don't know why I'm doing them exactly, and why I'm doing them when. I really have no clue - I'm just blindly following instructions at this point. I think the last time this happened was when I learned how to turn a heel of a sock, well over three years ago, and even then, I saw the reason for most of it shortly after. Still stumped here, but you know what? Rhodion is going to be beautiful (it's just is going to take three [very long] months).

Oh yeah... yarn.

2011-08-25T11:56:00.003-04:00

I feel bad, because the name of this blog is Fiber Salt. Fiber Salt. When’s the last time I’ve talked about any sort of fibry thing? Months and months and months ago. And I mean, I bet a lot of you are reading this because I was published in Knitty, for goodness sake! Well, I’m going to remedy that now.

Here it is:

The current project. Crazy Ribs Gloves for my mom. I'm done with the first one, and just started the second. I wasn’t blogging about them because I wanted them to be a surprise, but then I realized that she picked out the pattern, and knows what the yarn looks like. And they’re awesome, and I really want to share them. They’re the first pair of gloves I’ve made where they actually fit like they’re supposed to (aka the finger joins aren’t a half inch above the finger splits on your hand). I really, really like them, so I might just have to make a pair – or some sort of variant of it – for myself.

On the cooking front, I know in real life I’ve expressed my deep love for my crockpot, but I don’t think it’s been adequately expressed on the blog. I. LOVE. MY. CROCKPOT. I use it for practically everything: steel-cut oatmeal, dry beans, soups, etc. I use it so often it earned a space on the countertop instead of hidden away in the back of a cabinet.

My theory is, if it cooks over a low simmer on the stove, you can make it in a crockpot. So, yesterday, when I made the Trader Joe’s 17 Bean and Barley Soup recipe from the back of the bag of the bean medley, I made it in the crockpot. I also might have modded it a little. But either way, it was super delicious.

17 Bean & Barley Soup [crockpot]

2 cups dry 17 bean & barley medley
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1-14.5oz can diced tomatos (plain), drained
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
6 cups water
6 veggie bouillon cubes

The veggie amounts are roughly equal to ~½ a jumbo onion or ~1 regular one, ~3 whole carrots, and ~4 stalks celery. If you want, instead of water and bouillon, you can use 6 cups of veggie broth.

The first, and really vital step is this: bring a large pot of water to a boil – think you’re making a pot of pasta. Now, add the beans, and boil them for 10 minutes. This isn’t vital to the cooking process, but it is important for your health: red beans can have a toxin in them that can cause severe symptoms after eating just a few beans where it’s present. The boiling denatures (for not-science people: kills, destroys, renders useless, etc.) this toxin, as crockpots don’t reach temperatures high enough for denaturing. Don’t forget this.

Drain your beans, and then – are you ready for this? – put everything in the crock pot. Stir it a little bit to mix. Cover. Cook on high for 8-9 hours, or on low for 16-18 hours.

Yes. That’s it. It’s magical, wonderful, and fantastic. Long live crockpot cooking!

Carrots and Oatmeal

2011-08-21T20:39:00.000-04:00

We have a plethora of bread in our refrigerator. We have bagels (not real bagels - grocery store bagels. Real bagels don't exist in Miami), english muffins, tortillas, whole wheat bread, and beer bread. Despite this, I felt the need to make bread. Mostly because we didn't have any sort of white bread. I like whole wheat bread, but there are some things that it just doesn't taste as good with whole wheat (in contrast, there are some things that taste a gazillion times better with whole wheat, and should only be made with it).

I had previously made King Arthur Flour's Classic Sandwich Bread, which is very good, but I wanted something a little different. I have a ton of quick oats in the pantry (which are being neglected due to my switch to crock-pot steel cut oats), so I decided to make oatmeal bread. The recipe was King Arthur Flour's Oatmeal Toasting & Sandwich Bread.

This picture was taken about an hour after it was taken out of the oven:

It's at least half gone. It should be gone within 24 hours. Probably. And then I'll make another loaf.

Yes. It's that good. I highly recommend.

For dinner, I pulled out one of my favorite recipes from home: Carrot Patties. It's wondrous and delicious, but requires a food processor unless you really want to shred two cups of carrots by hand.

Carrot Patties
5 medium carrots or 2 cups shredded carrots
1 small onion
3 Tbs flour
2 Tbs cornmeal
2 eggs
2 Tbs milk
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp pepper (roughly equal to a few turns of a pepper grinder)
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs veggie oil

Shred the carrots in the food processor. Note that '5 medium carrots' is roughly equal to about three of the carrots in the bags at the grocery store. I shredded '5 medium carrots' from this bag of carrots in the food processor, and ended up with 4 cups. Anyway, finely chop or mince the onion. Again, you can do this in the food processor. I was lame and forgot about this (the food processor is new), but it makes things so much easier. Beat the eggs, lightly. Add everything except the butter and oil to a bowl, and mix to combine.

Form in to patties (they should be the size of normal burger patties). Put on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least an hour (they can be in the fridge for up to 12 hours). Yes, the liquid parts are going to be dripping everywhere, and it won't really feel like you're making patties, but rather, flattish piles of carrots and onions, but that's how it's supposed to be.

After the patties are chilled, put the butter and oil in a 10" heavy skillet, and heat until sizzling (aka good enough for frying). Add patties.

Cook for about 5 minutes each side, until they're blackened/dark browned. They are quite fragile, but if they fall apart when flipping, just sort of push them back together again. They'll taste good regardless. Mine were actually quite sturdy today, despite my momentary panic that all the binder was leaking out of them.

When they're done cooking, plate on a plate with lots of paper towel to drain.

Enjoy the yumminess. These things are one of my favorite side dishes from home, and I feel mightily empowered to have the recipe and ability to make them for myself now.

At some point, I was going to post my mom's infamous chocolate chip muffins, but we ate them all too fast for them to be photographed. Next time I make them, I'll post the recipe, I promise.

This recipe was originally posted in Food Digest.

In a galaxy far, far away...

2011-08-14T13:57:00.000-04:00

Be jealous.

I have Star Wars pancakes.

Wikipedia

2011-08-10T14:55:00.004-04:00

Wikipedia is often dismissed as an unreliable source, and nothing on it should be trusted. However, all of you know if something's on Wikipedia, it must be true. Hence, lots of random things get looked up on Wikipedia, and it's actually quite a good place to start your research for a paper, because of the compilation of actual sources in the references and bibliography section of each article.

Today, however, I used Wikipedia in a way I

thought I never would: recipe searching.

This morning, before I left for work (in a last minute, panicked kind of way, because I thought of it while brushing my teeth, then quickly forgot due to exhaustion and only remembered while waiting for Hannah to leave), I threw some pinto beans in the crock pot. I'd been using a lot of black beans and lentils lately, which was making me feel a little guilty every time I looked at that little Tupperware of pinto beans sitting on my shelf in the pantry. I had no idea what I was going to make with them, but at least I'd have something ready to work with when I got home.

One of the things that goes best with pinto beans is cornbread, or some sort of variant of such. Butter and cornbread and pinto beans, and salt are a marvelous meal, but hard to eat (despite my compartmentalized stomach, I eat these all together). I've tried corn meal mush to make it easier to eat, and I've tried crumbling the cornbread up and stirring with the beans in a bowl (or Tupperware... you know, if you're at work and eating lunch). Today, I decided I might try corn fritters.

There was, however, a problem. Corn fritters actually 1) are deep fried (not the way my mom does them) and 2) don't actually involve cornmeal, but rather creamed or fresh corn, and a flour dough. This was not what I wanted (though they still sound delicious). I was looking for something like fried corn meal mush, but made straight from a batter. So I google fried corn bread. First result? The Wikipedia cornbread article. I figure, What the heck? and click.

On this Wikipedia page I learn of the history of cornbread, and a bunch of different variants of cornbread, all of which I had never heard of. I read the descriptions, pick one that sounds good, and google that. Voilà! I find exactly what I was looking for, which is this wonderous Fried Cornbread recipe.

It took a bit more water to get the batter consistency like the recipe called for, so take note.

For the pinto beans, I caramelized some onion (about 1/4 of a jumbo one) in a tablespoon or two or butter, added the beans for a little bit, then transferred to a bowl.

The goal here is the pinto bean version of mashed potatoes. I added salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and butter (aka veggie oil spread stuff), then mashed.

You like the potato masher? I got it for my birthday. It's already been used twice, and it hasn't been in this kitchen yet for 24 hours.

Anyway, the way you eat this is you spread the bean mixture on top of a 'corn meal fritter' (as I'm dubbing them), and enjoy. They're quite awesome.

Oh, and my new plates for my birthday are awesome. Yay for Macy's.

The Slight Genesis of a Spectrum

2011-08-03T00:18:00.002-04:00

Today, I saw a rainbow.

I had just awakened from a short nap, being that I cannot knit while the plane is taking off or landing, and I usually opt to sleep. I almost forced myself awake, unconsciously, because some part of my body could sense that the accent had stopped, and I was so desperate to finish what I was working on, for it needed to be done two days before.

"What would you like to drink, miss?"

"Hot tea, thank you."

...

"Oh, and with sugar."

The Styrofoam cup with the tea - already brewed (one of the reasons I really like American) - is passed my way, along with far too many of those AA packages of sugar, and a lack of a stirring stick, to my minor annoyance. I stare at my little disposable cup full of delicious hot leaf juice, knowing that all of the sweetness has sunk to the bottom, and what remains in most of the cup is only slightly sweetened and bitter (and not in a good way).

*Shrug* Oh well.

I sip my tea and my eyes wander out the window of the plane. It's amazing how clear the stratification of the atmosphere is when you're in the sky: below us lie large, poofy cumulus clouds, and above are wisps, tendrils. As I gaze down, a million different analogies come into my head at once, simultaneously consciously and unconsciously trying to grasp just what floating upon water or glass these clouds resemble.

A flash of color.

Only for a second..

There? There! You see? It was a rainbow, a snippet of a rainbow in a cloud!

I've never looked down upon a rainbow before.

Look again!

There it is - longer this time, perpetuated by the mists of the cloud as it breaks apart.

And now we've passed the cloud.

Sadness.

...

But what's this?

Another cloud?

This one is a shade of gray, and distinctly more wispy than the rest below us.

There it is again!

The spectrum dances in the genesis of rain.

Bye now. Bye now, as an expanse of blue lies ahead.

Adventures in the Kitchen

2011-07-31T14:20:00.002-04:00

For the past two or so months, ever since I moved into a new apartment in May after finals (oh yeah, I moved into the UV!), I've been meaning to blog about my kitchen adventures, considering I now have a kitchen. Oh, and since I started working full time, the knitting time has been severely slashed, so in this two and a half months, I've made a few things, but not many. Perhaps I'll update you another time - probably after I get back from a stint at home for my birthday.

Important knitting news though:

1) I'm in Knitty! You can find my sock pattern, Primrose, here :)

2) I also got a pattern into the Knit Picks IDP program. Here's Pagoda.

Anyways, last night I decided to try a new veggie burger recipe. It was a long week, and I decided I wanted something deeply comforting and satisfying for dinner. Being that I'm poor, and didn't have any ground beef, what was a girl to do? Make veggie burgers of course!

I used this recipe for the burgers, and I have to admit, the patties didn't stay together very well, or cook really well, and ended up just tasting like slightly grilled black bean dip on a bun, with avocado and muenster cheese. And it wasn't that spicy either (though this might have to do more with the fact that I was supposed to mix everything by pulsing in a food processor, which I don't own).

However, since there isn't any egg or anything in this, you can eat it raw, and therefore it would make a fabulous black bean dip. But I won't be making it again for burgers.

The buns, however, oh the buns! The buns were absolutely fabulous! So fabulous, when they came out of the oven and cooled a little, I just grabbed one and ate it by itself (OK, I split it in half and gave some to Jen, who was cooking right next to me, but she was eyeing them too). This is all that remained this morning:

I used this recipe, and just didn't do any sort of wash on the top, because I really love that dusty flour look on bread, rather than a golden or brown finish.

This morning, it being Sunday, and my day off, I decided to make something nice for breakfast. I was going to make an omelet, until I realized I had extra buns, and the burger patty fodder would go excellently with eggs.

Therefore, I fried up two eggs, seasoned them with paprika, freshly ground pepper, and salt. Then I scooped some of the patty fodder on top, flipped them over to grill it a little, flipped it back over, and topped with cheese.

Notice how the muenster is cheese, and the american is processed cheese food? I looked on the back, and the only ingredient in the muenster is muenster cheese, while in the american, there's american cheese plus some other... stuff. Yummy.

Anyway, our toaster only has two slots, so I sliced the buns in half and put them in the oven on broil to toast.

Then I stacked.

In hindsight, I think that the patty fodder would benefit from a strong dose of taco seasoning, and perhaps some more breadcrumbs,an egg instead of the flax meal. But these brunchish sandwiches only needed a nice mug of black tea (sugar only) to really make them shine.

Dreams and Musings

2011-05-07T21:59:00.005-04:00

I'm in the library, wandering the shelves of the 4th floor stacks, trying to comprehend the organizational system, when suddenly, the lights go out.

Not all the lights - just half of them. The ones on the other half of the aisle. The silence is sudden and deafening. I'm frozen, hand half on a book a century old, eyes wide staring at the shadows. The air is stagnant; not a person flips the page of their book, or types a word on their laptop. And there is that shadow at the end of the aisle. I keep watching it, afraid to look at my own shadow. For a second, I thought I heard someone say, "Hey, who turned out the lights?"

I'm in the library, looking for a book to read. I think I've finally cracked the system, and found where all the fiction has been hidden away. I have the call number of a potential author as reference. I find a book, and then, reveling in my newfound intelligence, decide to look for another book, all on my own. The author is British - Gaiman, Niel - so I head to the section marked 'English Literature.' I find last names close in the alphabet, and I turn down the aisle. I immediately notice something is wrong. The books here are all old and faded - Gaiman is a contemporary author. I glance next to me: the spine is ornate, and it is one of many volumes. The size is only that of an index card, and the print seems archaic, the spelling outdated. The system here shows the publication date in the call number, but I still can't believe what I see. I take the book off the shelf, and gently open to something resembling a copyright page. There it is, plain as day: 'Published 1802.'

I exit the library, books in hand, marveling at what I was able to find after wandering the labyrinth of the tower. I step out the door, and the wind hits me, almost pushing me back inside. It carries with it the strong scent of nicotine from all of the smokers banished to patio. For some reason, it seems like proximity to the library is enough to motivate ones self to do their work. The smell is sweet and toxic. I cough, and hurry on.

The sky is orange. Not the blood red orange of a burning city, nor the brilliant orange of a dazzling sunset, but the grey, electric orange of a street lamp on a highway. The sky is covered in clouds - unusual for this area of the world - and they trap all the light that usually escapes into the night sky, obliterating the stars. Two bright lights dance on the clouds - spotlights, for something downtown, no doubt. As I walk with the warm breeze, I come to the realization that night can never really fall in this city. Here, the dark sky is merely an illusion.

Up the Suwannee

2011-03-16T22:58:00.002-04:00

First, I must ask that we take a moment of silence to mourn the death of my dear Nintendo DS. I dropped it today, for the gazillionth time, but it was one time too many. For while this fine piece of machinery could handle many a blow (it was the old silver, brick model from at least six years ago), when I dropped it today, a crack appeared on the inner body just above the touch screen. Not just any old crack, but a monster that seemed to completely disable the touch screen. And since you need the touch screen to turn the thing on... we shall mourn its loss (this is especially troubling because Pokemon Black and White just came out, and now I have no means to play them).

Anyway, today we had a little adventure: we took the small boats up the Suwannee River! At first it was a little scary, us being in small boats on a large body of water (aka the ocean), with six of us in one boat:

But once we got into the river, it wasn't nearly as terrifying. It got fresh pretty quick, much to Dr. Brand's dismay (we were in the river delta/salt marsh area and you couldn't taste salt in the water). We went a couple miles upriver, taking samples and CTD casts wherever it was deep enough (according to Dr. Brand). It was pretty amusing: we'd be cruising along, and then all of a sudden Dr. Brand goes, "I WANT TO TAKE A SAMPLE!" (<--- dramatization) and we'd screech to a halt. We saw some pretty cool river-side houses and docks on our way up the river, including this one, which has it's own home-made water slide into the river, complete with dock and lounge chairs to aid in parental supervision:

It got pretty windy on the way back, and Dave pretty much forced Katie and Chris into some of the rough seas gear he had stored on the boat, even though they insisted they were fine:

They called themselves "Deadliest Catch Wannabes."

The Walt Smith was beautiful in the setting sun on our approach back. Dave was nice enough to indulge us in a run around the ship for a photo-op, and this is but one of the awesome pics I got of the Walt Smith at sea:

Finally, we have an update on the Green Flash Watch: conditions today were almost perfect, with a little bit of atmospheric haze on the horizon. Katie, Chris, and I all watched the sun as it set intently from the bridge, where the crew was nice enough to loan us a pair of binoculars to see the flash (which they all thought was going to happen). Chris and I (Chris, of course, was the most desperate to see the flash), were without binoculars when the sun dipped below the horizon, and didn't see anything. Katie, however, was looking through the binoculars, and saw just the tiniest flash with their aid. Let's just say Chris and I were super-jealous. Oh, well, at least I got some more great sunset photos!

Epic Sunsets

2011-03-15T23:17:00.003-04:00

So, last night yielded one of the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen. Add that to the fact that I recently learned what aperture and f-stop are and how to use them, and you get some pretty awesome photos:

And then I cranked up the ISO for a shot of the moon:

NOTE: It takes about an hour to load three photos due to limited bandwidth. The photos above were me seeing how long it took. Therefore, the photos will come slowly, when I have time. Don't worry, they will come :)

According to Dr. Brand, the green flash (a la Pirates 3) really does exist. It's an atmospheric phenomena that occurs in the tropics if the conditions are just right (ie cloudless). What happens is that the rotation of the earth is must longer, and more horizontal, so in addition to getting the reds, oranges, and yellows of the regular sunset, you get green too, but only at the very, very end, just as the sun is about to disappear below the horizon. Because the time period where green exists is so short, it manifests itself in a flash. Chris (short for Christine), Katie, and I are determined to see the green flash before the end of the cruise.

Today we did our normal surface water sampling procedure, plus an additional product with some reagent to account for the type of plankton. We also started using the CTD, but the small one (we won't be using the rosette for a few days yet - we're still doing coastal sampling). We also did sediment samples today, to look for the cysts of some juvenile stage of K. brevis. We had a little sediment sampler, and the big sampler that needed to hoisted with the... wench? Crane? I forget the official ship term, but it takes an operator on the upper deck. Anyway, it was cool (the guy with his back to the camera is Dr. Brand):

Dr. Brand lectured to us today about his research. It was really cool, but the main message I took from it was this:

1) Cyanobacteria (aka blue-green algae) bloom with high nutrient input, mainly in bays.

2) Some species of cyanobacteria excrete a substance known as BMA, a neurotoxin.

3) BMA has been found in the brain of people with non-genetic degenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer's and Dementia) in significant amounts, but not at all in people with genetic degenerative diseases (such as Huntington's). It is hypothesized that it is one of the major environmental factors that trigger theses diseases.

4) The Chesapeake Bay has lots of blooms of these cyanobacteria.

5) Blue crabs eat these cyanobacteria, storing it and biomagnifying it in their bodies, without adverse affects.

6) Politicians from Washington frequent seafood restaurants while in DC, where the main, prized, popular dish is blue crab.

7) Therefore, our senators are ingesting lots and lots of a degenerative neurotoxin.

8) This explains quite a bit.

We had another awesome sunset today, though not quite as spectacular as yesterdays due to the lack of cloud cover. However, this increased our chances exponentially of seeing the green flash. Unfortunately, there was just a slight bit of cloud cover off in the distance right at the horizon, preventing the flash from happening. Still pretty photos though:

Tonight, I discovered that, while a genius in the kitchen, Chef Matt's expertise doesn't extend to the baking realm. His proficiency is only as good as box mix. He was making brownies and carrot cake, and I commented that I loved to bake, and he invited me into the galley as the "Chef's Assistant."

It turned out more to be the role of an unpaid intern or grad student: you do all the work while the mentor "supervises." I didn't mind though: this was the first time I had been in a nice, big kitchen since winter break (yeah, I cooked in the apartment with Jen, but it's not the biggest kitchen). I only helped with the toppings (chocolate chips, crushed oreos, and walnuts) for the brownies, but I pretty much made the carrot cake all on my own (apart from Matt telling me where stuff was in the galley). It was really nice. The carrot cake still needs to be frosted, and whomever made the brownies did the cakey variety rather than fudgy (I like my brownies fudgy), but it all turned well.

There's a bunch of fish following the boat because of the lights, and a bunch of terns following the fish, and therefore flanking the boat on either side. It's pretty cool. We're being escorted across the water by a colony of gulls.

I'm on a boat!

2011-03-14T15:54:00.003-04:00

Last year at this time I was at Walt Disney World for Spring Break. A ton of fun, but a little pricey (though, that being said, doing Disney for five/six days for only $250 is kind of unheard of...). I had to scramble to get the funds, and really save up. I had to sacrifice diving and snacks and all sorts of other things because I was spending money on this trip.

This year, I had planned on staying in Miami. Yes, I would have to spend money on food, but at least I had a kitchen to work with (even if it was a few floors up), unlike last year, where I had to live out of a microwave for four days post-Disney. I was going to get a ton of work done, do some extra shifts at the Info desk, and the rest of the time either work at Dr. Fieber's lab or Aplysia. Cool. Then, I got this email from Dr. Fieber:

"Dr. Larry Brand’s RV Walton Smith cruise is in need of student volunteers. He can take 4 to 5 with no problem. The dates are March 14 – 19 /20 (Spring Break) and March 19/20 – March 25. The ship will leave RSMAS and change scientific crew in Ft. Myers and then return to RSMAS. Transportation is provided. This is a great opportunity for UM Undergraduate or Graduate students."

Since I really didn't have any plans, and had never been on a research cruise, I jumped at the chance. I emailed Dr. Brand immediately, and got a spot on the boat. Needless to say, I was ecstatic.Last night, I arrived at the RSMAS dock at around 10PM (thank you Jen for the ride!). I was one of two people, aside from crew, sleeping on the boat overnight (everyone else would arrive in the morning, half an hour before departure). I found out my bunk assignment from Dave (the second mate), and proceeded to move into the lovely Stateroom 7:

That's about it. The bunks are to the left, and there's a cabinet next to the desk. The door leads to the head (bathroom), complete with shower. Yes, the Walt Smith has WiFi (through which I am typing to you now), hence the laptop (and, you know, move-in music). I quickly unpacked my duffel and my backpack, and everything easily fit into what seems like a small space. There are drawers under the bunk that easily fit a ton of clothes, and the closet has three shelves. I decided that one would be shared with my roommate for toiletries, and we would each have our own shelf for our other stuff. It's quite cozy and homey.The door to our stateroom opens up to the dry lab:

This is where all the data-collecting and experimenting happens. We're filtering water from our samples to collect algae (Dr. Brand studies Karenia brevis, which causes red tides in Florida), and when the samples get back to the lab at RSMAS, they'll be measuring chlorophyll and something else (sorry, it was a technical term) that indicates the presence of cyanobacteria. Today we're collecting surface water samples along the keys, and tomorrow we'll start with the CTD. Samples are collected every hour, on the hour, so we've (as in, all the student volunteers), have decided to break up the day into four hour shifts, so each person collects four water samples. Tonight I have the 11:30-3:30 shift, which sounds ouchy, but I actually enjoy being up that late (it's quiet and peaceful). I'm just grateful I don't have the following, early morning shift).

The rest of the boat is quite awesome (I have other pictures, but I don't want to suck up the limited bandwidth, so you can see them in either a Facebook or Picasa album when I get back to shore on Sunday). In addition to the staterooms and the dry lab, there's the wetlab (completely different from The Wetlab) where you get all the surface water samples via the sink (it's connected to the water below the bow). There's the back deck, with all the big scientific machinery (such as the CTDs), the bow (which is just awesome, especially in rough seas, because it's like a roller coaster), the upper deck, and, my favorite, the mess hall and galley. But really, the galley has to be my favorite. It has one of those intense professional fridges (you know, those massive stainless steel ones that are huge with three different doors), a huge pantry, a pantry basement, random assorted spices and cabinets all over the place, and a basil plant in a pot.

In addition, Chef Matt has to be the best person on the face of the planet. First, he made "MattMuffins" (a bad pun off of McMuffins...) from English muffins, poached eggs, American cheese, and Canadian bacon (in a cast iron pan!) this morning for breakfast, and just kept giving them to people. Then, for lunch, there's smoked turkey breast, baked beans, a lovely salad with hard boiled eggs, tons of greens, tomatoes, and carrots, and avocado slices, and a noodle and beef soup he whipped up! It was AMAZING! (Jen, you were totally right) Then, I'm sitting in the galley, knitting with a cup of tea between samples, while some other people are playing some random card game. They struck up a conversation with Matt about whatever snack food they were eating. It was some sort of peanut butter stuffed pretzel bit, so I went over and tried some. They were really good, so I went back to my spot to prevent myself from eating more. What does Chef Matt do? He gets me my own bowl of the things, and takes my teabag and bowl that I was storing it in and throws away the teabag (and takes care of the bowl) for me! Super nice and an amazing cook! Did I mention that he said something about salmon with a teriyaki glaze for dinner?

Anyway... on our way out of Biscayne Bay, we passed through Stiltsville. What is Stiltsville? It's a collection of houses off of Key Biscayne that look like this:

Yep, they're houses. In the ocean. On stilts. Hence the name. There's a whole bunch of them! I've only seen Stiltsville from a distance before, never actually gone through it, so this was pretty cool.

Apparently tonight we're watching some really hilarious movie with Bill Murray about a group of marine scientists and a research cruise. According to the crew, it's just generally funny, but especially funny if you are a marine scientist who's gone on a research cruise, because a lot of the details are actually accurate. So, it seems that it's some sort of sacrilege to go on a research cruise and not have seen this movie. Whatever, should be entertaining.

I'll end with a gratuitous shot of the ocean:

Oh, and Happy Pi Day everyone!

Halfway

2011-03-08T16:54:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the lack of activity lately. I hit a snag of exams and didn't have time to update, and then they just kept coming. I thought it was all going to be fine after that second week in February, but the next week there was a paper and oral exam in French, then a midterm in French, and now there's this week, where I just finished my rousing round of three tests in 18 hours (that includes sleep). I think (hope?) they went well, but you never know.

In terms of yarn stuff, I was working on something super-secret for almost the whole month of February. I can't show you any pics now, but I should be able to in a month or so. In the meantime, enjoy this lovely dishcloth:

Pattern: EXFOLIATE!
Yarn: Lily Sugar 'n Cream Twists, Taupe

Because really, who doesn't love a good Dalek?

I've also been working on Gail:

I'm at 50% yarn wise, and 7/10 pattern repeats (before edging) in. So, I'm at that stage when you think you only have a little bit left to go, but it's really a ton because of the whole rows-that-take-an-hour thing. *sigh*

And then there's the spinning...

All are a 2-ply light fingering (~17wpi), around 50-55yds each.

The colorways, from left to right:
Sunshine
Miami
Springtime Dandelions
Bear Cut
Dustland Fairytale

All were spun on my Turkish, which sadly had its shaft snap in an awkward place. However, because it's a Turkish, I was still able to spin on it because the cop doesn't depend on the shaft, but on the arms. So, now it's a midget spindle. It's actually quite convenient for travel (aka throwing in my backpack to go to class) because it's so compact, so I don't have to worry about the shaft snapping.

However, I did get a new spindle:

It's a SpinZone top whorl, made out of Israel Olive wood. It comes in at a whopping 0.8oz, but I love it. I only wish it had a notch, but it still spins great. I'm currently about 2/3 of the way through the first single of a 3-ply I'm spinning out of the roving pictured. It's turning out much more subdued (aka less pink) than I originally thought, which is fine by me. My original aim with this roving was green and brown with subtle hints of pink, so the overwhelming pinkness that resulted wasn't exactly pleasing. I'd much rather have the pinkish gray that's resulting instead.

Well, I've still got two (really 1.5) lab reports to do for tomorrow, then some math, then some physics, so I really ought to be going. Really, the week's only half over. If I can get to Thursday, it's smooth sailing (oh, and spring break) from there.

Getting in the Swing of Things

2011-01-31T21:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I finished an awesome tank top that I've been working on since Wednesday. It's been a bit of a ride: I had gotten about halfway through Friday night when I tried it on, like the pattern recommended. Well... the neckline went about down to my belly-button. Obviously not good. The pattern wasn't very good at specifying the size (the real sizes were in italics under the big SIZES section... -_-), so I had to rip the whole thing out, and start over, going down two sizes (I knit a small?! I think this is the first time I've ever been a small - usually it's a medium due to wide shoulders). Then, for some reason, I was able to crank it out in two days. Go figure.

The pattern is Coachella, and the yarn is Knit Picks Comfy in Fedora (a colorway they're discontinuing in that line, unfortunately, because the color looks great on me and the yarn is fantastic... and machine washable).

I love the racer-back: it leaves my scapulae free to move, which I greatly appreciate (you get addicted to the freedom after racing suits).

The only thing is, due to the design, you need to wear a halter bra with this tank. And you know what that means... BRA SHOPPING. Duh, duh DUUUUUH! Luckily, Target has a decent selection, and I am now +1 convertible bra.

As for the semester, all labs have started, almost all my books are here (unfortunate incident with two of them, but my friend Kim graciously copied the pages with the assigned problems for me. Kim, you're the best!). My work schedules are all adjusted, and I'm getting into the rhythm of the semester. Now, I just have to bug Dr. Olson about my personal statement, submit all my internship apps, and start working on my honors research paper for Dr. Cosner, and then I'll be all ready to go.

Fountains and Frisbees

2011-01-27T15:44:00.012-05:00

I decided, on my way back to my room from physics today, to take a photographic record of everything on my route, because it's a nice day, and I love the physics fountains. You can see a map of my route above (click to make it bigger), with each letter representing the spot to the corresponding photo below.

A: The Physics Fountains. These are my favorite fountains on campus. Small, tiny, just randomly coming out of the ground in a random courtyard in a remote part of campus. It's so peaceful back there, and it's one of my favorite spots on main campus.

B: I decided at this point to record every fountain I pass on my way to and from physics. This is the fountain in front of the engineering school. I've walked through this one.

C: People playing Frisbee in between Memorial and Ashe :)

D: The awesome twisty, knotted, huge canopy trees all over Coral Gables.

E: The area around fountain #3 - palm trees and more twisty trees. Very pretty.

F: Fountain #3, in the "Humanities Courtyard," as I think of it.

G: Random party thing at the business school being set up. Lots of tables and chairs, etc.

H: At this point, I realized I passed four fountains on the way to and from class. It's a tad ridiculous how many fountains are on this campus.

I: The canal, at low tide. Home to many pipefish, egrets, ibises, herons, weird Florida ducks, and the occasional manatee. Awesome spot.

J: Last, but not least, the very sketchy Behavior Medicine Building, that's made of concrete, always dark, and no one ever comes in or out...

Zombie-mode

2011-01-26T16:42:00.000-05:00

Magic Mirror is done:

The right sock is a little longer in the leg than the left, but that's because I forgot to write down what row I started the heel on, so I started it a little earlier than the other socks. Pattern is Magic Mirror, yarn is Knit Picks Stroll in Dusk. The leg is a bit longer than I usually like it, but hey, I'll sacrifice to have a nice transition.

I haven't gotten more than 6 hours of sleep a night since last Thursday, so my head's spinning a little bit right now. Of course this occurs right when I need to catch up on homework due to my books not getting here until quite a few classes have gone by. And when I need to get all the internships submitted. And get everything else on earth done. It's crazy. Last night I was up until 2 getting everything done. It's crazy. As soon as I'm done with this blog I'm going to take a little nap. It is much-needed.

Though I did tye-dye last night, which means this zombie-week has something going for it. I also donated blood after tye-dying, which was amusing because all the people working the blood drive initially thought I had blood all over my hands, when it was really dye. Pretty amusing.

OK, nap time. Happening now. Have a good week everyone.

Weekend Work

2011-01-22T22:42:00.002-05:00

Well, this weekend kind of stinks. Mostly because I'm working most of the time. And I mean most of the time. I had a shift this morning from 11-5 (but really 5:45 because person with the next shift didn't show... new kid...) covering for someone else, then in the morning I work at aplysia from 8 until around 1 (but really, I have to get up at 6 to get to the metro on time, and then I won't get back until 2, because the person who I was getting a ride with is studying abroad this semester). Then tomorrow night I work 5-11. So... basically, if you don't count time for sleeping, I have maybe around 8 hours that I'm not working this weekend. And you know, I have to eat, shower, swim etc. Just not cool. The good thing is though, I find out what I'm doing for my project out at aplysia tomorrow.

The only thing that didn't stink about this weekend was last night. I can always count on good old Friday night. First, I went to the yarn store, which is always a plus. Second, I had a gift card to the yarn store, and they were having, not only huge sale buckets (clearly stuff that they're de-stocking because no one was buying), but a post-inventory sale on top of that! Unfortunately, my slight obsession with long-color-changing yarns (a la Noro) prompted me to get the mini-mochi instead of the Dream in Color Smooshy (but really, quite clearly I'm making some awesome socks out of the mochi, and I had no clue what I would make with the Dream in Color. Plus, for $22 normal price, the Dream in Color was quite scratchy). I also got the most gorgeous roving ever:

Drooling? Want to pet it? I understand.

But then, when I got back, there was cake on top of the microwave (which immediately tipped me off that Shannon was going to come into the room at any time - that girl has a cake detector in her head, I swear. Plus, Bree's shoes (Bree = Shannon's roommate) were on the floor). We actually ended up watching the Guardians of Ga'Hoole and eating cake, once Shannon got back from fencing (turns out, in addition to her obsessions with cake and clownfish, Shannon also has a thing for owls). I've read the books Guardians of Ga'Hoole, and I have to say, they messed up the plot in the movie in the same way they messed up the plot in the Eragon movie, which drove me crazy the whole time. Luckily, the plot line they invented with the characters from the series was actually quite good, and quite a clever (if slightly annoying to those of us who've read the books) way to mash the first six or seven in to one movie (Eragon was just terrible in all respects).

At work this morning I watched Watchmen (I have 12 hours of info desk this weekend, and the only homework I have/can do is read genetics and write a page of French, which will take about 4 hours, max), and while I was watching, I finished the first January sock, and started the next one:

I'm doing good. The only thing is, I also want to knit a tank top (though that pattern is supposed to be super-fast), and make some headway into a shawl. Plus the spinning. And, you know, class. And research. Etc. It's going to get busy.

Day 2/1

2011-01-19T19:15:00.003-05:00

The roving is all dry, and you can see the results here:

I had intended it to be mostly green with splashes of brown, and little bits of pink where green and brown meet. BUT the plastic wrap sprung a leak, and the pink was at the opposite end, so as the green dye flowed out, it sucked the pink dye through most of the top. I had also intended the pink to be a dust rose, and this well, a pink-purple cross. McCormick lied to me.
However, I still like the color, which is strange because pink is normally what I run away screaming from. But I think I figured it out: It's the exact same color-scheme as my first blanket on my first "big girl" bed (which is the bed I still have at home, and the blanket now lives in the basement, because it's really getting old and ratty, but it still works. Also, pink and green don't go with a blinding, bright orange and yellow sunset over the ocean). So it's a childhood nostalgia that's keeping me attached and not over-dying (plus I needed to propose my OWL), and I feel like it's going to be much, much, much prettier spun. I'm actually really looking forward to it.

Today was technically the second day of class, but I like to think of it as "First Day of Class, Part 2." I mean really, you have all new classes because it's Wednesday instead of Tuesday, and it's still the first class for all of these Wednesday classes.

So, the class low-down:
1) French. The big shocker was the professor: not only is he in a wheelchair (a pretty badass wheelchair at that), but he's Irish. Teaching a French class in the United States. It sort of boggles my mind. My french is pretty rusty, but luckily the little diagnostic assessment thing only tested the present and passé compose (which I learned in what, French II?). There was also a little bit of subjoncif, which I know I did already in French IV, but it's been three years, I only sort of learned it in the first place, and I haven't spoken French since May 2009 (yeah, I too the final in June, but really, Mme Van Stone had a baby right after the AP exam, so I really wasn't speaking French after that). But I remembered the conjugation for faire, so I was fasse-ing it up all over that question. Don't remember when you're supposed to use it, or any of the conjugation, but whatever. It worked, and I have a sneaking suspicion that Dr. Finn thinks I should be in the next higher class (I probably should be, based on my fluency, but I'm just getting a requirement out of the way, and I don't want to kill my GPA on a language...)

2) Differential Equations. Dr. Cosner reminds me of Mr. West. Quite a bit, actually, which is really awesome. Apparently this guy has a reputation for being awesome, but that reputation circulates mainly around engineers and math majors, so me the little marine science student had not a clue (but Dr. Olson did, that ol' Physical Oceanographer, who recommended the class to me). The one thing I'm slightly scared about is that it's heavily based on Calc II. Now , Calc I I have down, Calc II was a bit random and unstructured, so I really don't remember much of it. So I plan on spending some time in the library with a calculus book reading up on what I should have learned from Mr. Lucid (apparently I did learn something, because I got a 5 on the AP exam). Also slightly panicked because we have homework already (due, but not really due, because it's not collected, Friday), and my book is currently in transit, and will probably, along with my Physics textbook, get here over the weekend. Also, Kim's in my class, along with a bunch of other random people I know from other classes I was in where you don't expect a marine science student.

3) Physics. My professor is Italian. Heavily Italian. Name, Dr. Galeazzi. Stereotypical Italian accent. It's pretty badass. But he started out the class saying, "I know that this is a tough class and that most of you are not here by choice, you have to take it." And there I am, sitting there, me who had the option to take College Physics instead of University. Hmm.... Also, thank goodness there was someone in the class I knew. Granted, it was Geoff, and I don't know him that well, but then again, what better opportunity is there than to have a class with someone. So, yeah, I'm hanging out with the marine geology kids in University Physics. Today it was pretty dry (syllabus, scientific method, units... *headdesk*), but luckily, it was a big lecture hall, and I didn't feel bad about working on these:

Don't worry - it's mainly a twisted rib, with an occasional yarn-over. Not totally mindless, but pretty close. Perfect class-knitting material. I did well relegating my more mindless projects to the time of the month when I'd be in class. And I'm going to need it tomorrow to get though Chem O...

Stripes

2011-01-18T15:35:00.000-05:00

Classes started today, and I must say, Chemical Oceanography was not the entertainment I thought it was going to be (Dr. Millero posted a fake syllabus on Blackboard, which was one of the funniest things I've ever read). A little dry, a little heavy on the diagrams. I'm going to mess with my OneNote and Powerpoint software to see if I can export the slides to OneNote (because note-taking is so much better there than under the slides in Powerpoint). Genetics was packed: I was borderline late, due to having to switch computers three times and figure out where the other paper slot was on the printer in the marine science lab and only having 15 minutes between my two classes, and I open the door to Cox 126, and I can't see a single seat open. Really, there were people all the way off to the awkward seats at the side, even. I did find a seat, but this was a lesson to just go straight from Chem O to Genetics, since they're right next to each other, in order to get a good seat/sit next to someone I know.

In other news, over the past two days I've
- flown to Miami
-unpacked
-cleaned the bathroom
-cleaned the fridge
-cleaned the microwave
-cleaned the top of the microwave and my food-shelf
-brought my finances up to date
-gone grocery shopping (during a tornado watch)
-dyed some roving (pics will come after it's dry and braided)
-watched some Mr. Bean for the first time with Jen and Robbie (Robbie has been trying to get both of us to watch these since October, and we finally had time to sit down and watch)
-been introduced to The Mighty Boosh
-watched Mega Piranha (highly recommended if you're a fan of so-bad-they're-hysterical movies)
-played Super Smash Bros. Melee for the first time in years (but I've played Brawl, does that count?)
-started a swatch for a shawl (Ancient Runes OWL)
-started January's Sock for the Self-Imposed Sock Club (it's Magic Mirror)

Oh, and finished some of the greatest socks in the history of the universe:

Go ahead. Be jealous.

Rainbows

2011-01-15T14:28:00.000-05:00

Just a quicky, for I'm leaving to go back to Miami tomorrow, and need to pack, finish tweaking internship application essays, and fill out all the stupid application forms.

1) Got through the heel on sock #2:

I've got mixed feelings; while the first sock had the heel split in the Zauberball, causing two different colors within the same stripe, driving me crazy up close, from far away, it makes the sock blend and transition more. With the split on the second sock being in the white, there's no color-conflict within the stripe, but I went from red before the heel to blue and yellow after the heel. It's a little awkward. But, hey, it's the price I pay for really awesome striped heels.

2) I had much fun dying 10g segments of roving yesterday (for the CoMC OWL):

I used the ol' food coloring and vinegar, though we had hardly any red left due to Christmas cookies, so my final color (a green/dusty rose/light brown combo), will have to used on the big skein in Miami with my food coloring there (I really, really want this colorway to happen). The orange and green one I actually dyed Monday, but they look so pretty together. The colorway names, starting with the orange and green, going clockwise, are as follows: Miami, Bear Cut, Sunshine, Dustland Fairytale, and Springtime Dandelions. I am so ecstatic to start spinning in something other than white, you have no idea.

3) Speaking of spinning, latest mini-skein is done, just having it's twist set at the moment. Pics will probably come tomorrow after I'm in Miami.

Now, I really have to go pack.

Negative Feedback Loop

2011-01-14T16:11:00.000-05:00

So, there's this one female cardinal that has wintered in the woods behind our house for several years now. It looks like a perfectly ordinary female cardinal, the right coloring, feathers all correctly aligned, etc. The thing is, I'm pretty sure it has permanent brain damage. Every year, without fail, we hear this TWACKing a the living room window every couple days. At first we weren't sure what was causing it, and then, one day, I spied a female cardinal ramming herself into the window. Clearly, she saw her reflection, thought it was another cardinal, and was fighting for territory. OK, we thought, it's annoying now, but eventually she'll figure out that it's a window, not another bird, and stop trying to give herself a concussion.

Well, it's been a few years since then, and the cardinal is still ramming herself against the window. We've all come to the conclusion that this is an exceptionally stupid cardinal, and all secretly hope that one day it'll whack itself a little too hard. But I recently came up with a new theory: Negative Feedback Loop. It's like this: the cardinal thinks there's another bird in her territory, so she attacks, only to ram her head into our living room window. She doesn't pick up on the fact that it's a window very quickly (she's a cardinal, after all), so keeps doing it. Pretty soon, she's rammed her head into the window so much that she's actually damaged her brain, so she can't figure out that it's a window, not a bird. So, she keeps ramming herself into the window, and damaging her brain even more. It's a vicious cycle.

In other news, somehow, without fail, every night, my bed ends up looking like this:

and I have to clean all of it off if I want to sleep. I really try to not pile junk on my bed, but it just happens. This is one reason why my bed's lofted at Miami: no piles of junk (on the bed that is, there are certainly piles of junk on the desk, chair, ottoman, and dresser, but those would have happened with or without loft).

I finished experimenting with navajo ply a week or so ago, see:

I'm currently plying another mini-skein (the one pictured is about 10g, 16yds, worsted or DK). The current one is also navajo ply, mainly because if I did a 2-ply it would turn out laceweight, and 3-ply it's a light fingering, so I might be able to use it for mini-socks. I'm quite proud of being able to spin lace-singles on my fourth go, even if it's not entirely even yet (I'm working on it).

Also, I finished the first sock of my epic Zauberball stripes. Go ahead, be jealous. Who wouldn't want socks this awesome?

So long, 2010

2011-01-08T16:12:00.006-05:00

As you could sort of tell, I've been rather busy, with no time really to think (that's a lie, by the way - all I was doing was thinking... and writing papers, and final lab reports, and studying for finals, well, you get the idea), let alone blog. You've already seen my obsession with mini-sweaters, so here's a look at what I knit up to the plane ride home:

Starting in the top left, working down and left to right:

Ishbel Remnants: Mini-sock, for PrincessOnica

Traveling Scarf section, the outer cable from Hera

Purple: Turn a Square in purple Patons Classic Wool; Ethan's Christmas present

Hands of Wooly Goodness: Mittens for Dad in steely blue Patons for Christmas.

More mini-sweaters...

Nottingham: Hat for myself. I love it

Miami Mitts: They're freaking awesome. Need

I say more? The []_[] is duplicate stitch.

Zigzag: Cowl for Mom for Christmas in a burgundy heather Patons.

Then, I got home, and started knocking out WIPs left and right (with an occasional small project for pacing purposes... or for making-Aqua-even-more-adorable purposes...):

Again, starting at the top left, working left to right and down:

SHROOMS!: I made a mushroom... "^^

Mini-socks, for a swap.

The Thing: A mini-shawl for Aqua.

The Right Side of the []_[]: Worsted weight socks. Wearing them now.

Blue Marl: Lovely shrug, to keep me warm in Cox (where I'll be living next semester)

Hourglass: The second pair of from a failed Arithmancy OWL. They're awesome.

Exams: Plain vanilla socks that gave my gauge issues... (we won't talk about that).

Speaking of The Thing:

For Christmas I got a Turkish spindle, plus a bunch of roving. I've been experimenting. The obviously-worse mini-skein was my first, using pre-drafting. The second skein is when I figured out how to draft while the spindle was spinning.

Right now I'm working on my third mini-skein: the single is done (and much thinner and more consistent), and I'm navajo plying (which is great fun). The only problem I'm still having is how to fix yarn when it breaks - I've resorted to spit-splicing, which I know isn't right, but I don't know what else to do at this point.

This morning I unpinned another Ishbel, made with Alina Shea Creations Waxing Moon in Royal Ravenclaw. I looooooooove it! And snow is an ideal picture-taking medium.

I've finally gotten to my ball of Crazy Zauberball, and am making some epic striped socks out of it. See toe here:

I get to see a bunch of HPKCHC people tomorrow, which is super-exciting, and I fly back to Miami a week after that. Break has sure gone by fast.

Zimmer-minis

2010-12-12T13:43:00.010-05:00

Adapted from:
Alison Hansel in Charmed Knits
Elizabeth Zimmermann in Knitting Without Tears

It started with a gift. One, simple gift, from my friend Blaire for Christmas. It wasn’t much, but the fact was, she had gone through the effort of making me a bag of granola, and I hadn’t done squat for her. So I picked up my copy of Charmed Knits, and proceeded to make her a mini-sweater.
Three hours later, I had finished, and I was very frustrated with all of the seaming, all the ends I had to weave in, and all the little pieces and complicated joining. I knew that, if I could make these little sweaters in a seamless fashion, they would be so much more fun. So I picked up my copy of Knitting Without Tears, had it open alongside Charmed Knits on my desk, and began to merge Elizabeth Zimmermann’s brilliant seamless sweater recipes with the proportions from Alison Hansel’s little sweaters. And I couldn’t stop making them for a week.
Be warned: while these sweaters take out the seaming aspects, they make the knitting itself much more complicated (there’s a bit of short rows and quite creative grafting involved). If you would rather keep the knitting itself plain and simple, and seam quite a bit, go with Alison Hansel’s pattern. But if you want to try your hand at some Elizabeth Zimmermann brilliance, dive right in. But beware! They’re highly addictive!

Needles: Whatever you use to knit on the round, US5/3.75mm if you’re using DK or worsted, US3/3.25mm if you’re using sport or fingering, or whatever size you’re comfortable with for your yarn.
Yarn: 25yd/m, 10g of whatever you have lying around :), 1yd/m of contrasting color for letter
Gauge: Does it really matter? They’re mini-sweaters.
Notions: Waste yarn, scissors, tapestry needle, stitch markers (locking or split ring if making hybrid)

Abbreviations: I use Knitty’s List of Standard Abbreviations

S2KP: sl2 as if to K2tog, K1, psso the two slipped sts over the K st together.

For all variations:
Body
CO 28sts. Join in a round, being careful not to twist.
K 14 rounds.
Put on waste yarn.

Sleeves (make 2)
CO 12sts.
Work 2x2 rib for 4 rounds.
K 10 rounds.
Put on waste yarn.

Joining
Starting at the beginning of the round for the body, K the first 12 sts of the body on to the needle. Put the next 2 sts on a short length of waste yarn. K 10 sts from one sleeve on to the needle. Place the last 2 sts on waste yarn. K the next 12sts from the body onto the needle; put the last 2 body sts on waste yarn. Put the first two sts of the second sleeve on waste yarn. K the last 10 sleeve sts on to the needle. 44 sts total.

Shoulders
Work desired shoulder choice (Yoke, Raglan, Saddle, Hybrid; see below)

Neck
K 3 rounds.
BO loosely.

Finishing
Graft together underarms (this is going to take a little fudging – use your instincts!).
Hybrid only: Graft together shirt yoke on the back.
Weave in ends.
Bottom and neck edges should curl. Sleeve cuffs should be folded over.
Duplicate stitch letter. I fit all my letters in to a 5st wide by 7st tall rectangle.

Shoulder Variations:
Yoke
K 4 rounds.
Round 5: *K3, K2tog* five times, K4, *K3, K2tog* three times
Round 6: *K2, K2tog* five times, K4, *K2, K2tog* three times
Round 7: *K1, K2tog* five times, K4, *K1, K2tog* three times
Neck Shaping: K15, w&t, P5, w&t, K6, w&t, P6, w&t, K11

Raglan
Round 1: *K12, PM, K10, PM* twice
Round 2: *K to 2 sts before marker, SSK, SM, K2tog* four times

Round 3: K
Repeat rounds 2 & 3 once more, then repeat round 2. After you finish the last round, w&t, P14, w&t, K14. K1 round, picking up and knitting the wraps as you go.

Saddle
Round 1: K
Round 2: K 11, K2tog, K8, SSK, K10, K2tog, K8, SSK (the last SSK is going to include the first st of the next round)
Round 3: *K10, SSK, K6, K2tog* twice
Round 4: *K10, SSK, K4, K2tog* twice
Round 5: *K10, SSK, K2, K2tog* twice
Round 6: *K10, SSK, K2tog* twice
First Saddle: K11, SSK, turn, P1, P2tog, turn
Second Saddle: K13, SSK, turn, P1, P2tog, turn, K2
Neck-back: K17, SSK, turn, P6, P2tog, turn, K to end of round.

Hybrid
Round 1: K
Round 2: K10, S2KP (placing marker in this st), *K8, S2KP (placing marker in st)* three times (last S2KP will use first st of next round)

Round 3: K
Round 4: *K to within 1 st of marked st, S2KP* four times (last S2Kp will use first st of next round)
First Saddle: K to second marked st, SSK, turn, sl1, P to marked st, P2tog, turn
Shirt yoke: BO4, K2, SSK, turn, sl1, P3, *K3, SSK, turn, sl1, P3* three times, BO4
Second Saddle: K to second marked st, SSK, turn, sl1, P to marked st, P2tog, turn, BO4, K4
Neck Set-up: K4, pick up 4 sts where first saddle is bound off, pick up 6 sts along neck yoke, K4 on second saddle.

Startitis

2010-11-01T21:02:00.001-04:00

Friday night, I opted not to set an alarm for the morning, because it was the first time I got to sleep in since September. As a result, I woke up, like any good college student that went to bed at 3AM, at 2:30PM. Since the dining halls stop serving breakfast at 1 (which is perfectly reasonable), and I didn't want oatmeal, I made these:

Well, double these. At this point half were already eaten (mainly by me, but one by Jen). I used this recipe from the Splendid Table, which pretty closely resembles the one I use at home. I also learned how to cut shortening into flour using only your hands (!), very valuable skill, and way faster than the two-knife method (and the pastry cutter method, for that matter). I had to use a little bit of baking know-how, because it was rather humid on Saturday, and instead of slowly adding the milk like I should have, I just dumped the whole thing in, getting a way-too-sticky dough. So I added flour until the right consistency. These were a bit more delicate than the ones I make at home, and I attribute that to the higher moisture content. They were still yummy though (and I made my suite mates, and Robbie, very happy).

Later Saturday, I went grocery shopping with Jen and Robbie (we were initially just dropping Robbie off at his house, because he rode his bike to campus for a leisurely bike ride, when he got a flat tire, leaving him stranded, but then we invited him along to Publix, and he actually did need to pick up a few things, so he tagged along). I had intentions of getting shortening, flour, and peanut butter, and ended up with (in addition to the aforementioned items), honey vanilla chamomile tea, apple cider, and a pomegranate:

The pomegranate is especially exciting, because I haven't had one in two years. They're only in season for a month or two, and I missed them last year because I didn't have a knife to cut one open with. They're my annual treat, and I usually only manage one because they take so long to eat. But I love it (and I loved them before they were popular too! Just like Twilight).

Hourglass is going semi-well. I tried to have the pair done before today, but, well, it just wasn't going to happen. Instead, I'm about halfway through the leg on sock #1 (something tells me I'm not going to get my OWL this term, considering I have a month to make 5.5 socks, two of which are very similar to previous pairs that have taken me a month on their own). It's looking quite nice, and I can't wait to wear them!

And then I started another pair...

Just my standard vanilla sock (JMCO, short row heel, 1x1 rib cuff, invisible BO). I can do this without looking, and it keeps my hands busy when doing lots of reading for all my exams (Seriously, it's like finals, but worse, because during finals, the tests are the only thing you have to worry about. Now I have to worry about tests in all my classes, plus homework and lab write ups at the same time. GAH!). Love the color of the yarn (the yarn itself is meh, mainly because it's being irritating and not letting me get my normal gauge when I knit continental, with means I'll have pierced skin on my index finger if I knit to aggressively...). It's Silky Sock from the Great Adirondack Yarn Company, in Serengetti II.

Oh, and today I cast on some mittens. It's terrible. I have so many WIPs going, it's getting so confusing and clutter-tastic. Must kill pile of WIPs in basket. Getting tangled with all my needles....

Insanity, with a Head Cold

2010-10-28T17:43:00.001-04:00

Tuesday night, I carved a pumpkin:

It's a fish, couldn't you tell? This is what happens when pumpkin carving is during Aquarium Club... Sadly, the pumpkin was already smelling today, and since I'm in a dorm, with no front porch to put it out on, I had to pitch it. Before Halloween. It was tragic.

Today marked the beginning of testing-insanity. I had a midterm in marine biology today (went eh... all I can say is, thank god for curves and bio majors taking the course thinking it would be an easy A), and then a test in geology lab right after (which went swimmingly, love that class). I have an exam in the geology lecture Monday, in religion Tuesday, and one in orgo Wednesday. So, it's going to get a little crazy around here.

And did I mention I have to finish the sock pair by Monday? And that I've only just started the heel flap on the first sock? Tomorrow would be knit-like-a-mad-woman, but, that's when we're doing our Halloween celebrations (Halloween being on a Sunday). So, that involves getting stuff for costume, making costume, and going to Rho Halloween Party.

To top it all of, I feel terrible. I have a cough (nothing major, but obnoxious), I feel my sinuses pressing out of my face, and my entire body just feels sore and weak. It doesn't help that I've been running on minimal sleep for the past week, well, really the past month, because I haven't had a day to sleep in since September. Which is actually the highlight of my weekend: sleeping in Saturday. Anyway, right now, since I'm done with exams for the day and don't really have anything going on tomorrow, I'm sleeping, and drinking some of this fabulous stuff before said nap:

Warm, of course, because that's how you're supposed to drink it when you're sick, and let me tell you, it works wonders (Old Michigan family medicinal, you know?). Oh, and I'm listening to some classical music. Very calming, and exactly what I need right now.

It would probably be in my best interest not to go to Rocky Horror tonight, but you know, it's Rocky Horror, and it only happens once a year. Let's do the Time Warp again!

His Holiness

2010-10-26T18:18:00.001-04:00

Last night, I finished a pair of socks:

Pattern: Lace and Cable Socks, by Wendy D. Johnson (in Socks from the Toe Up)
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll, in Terrain Twist
Needles: US1.5/2.5mm 40" fixed Knit Picks Options

They're currently soaking with some eucalan (and boy did they need it - the water turned cloudy as soon as the socks hit it) - so should be ready for wear in a few days (I'm working on making sock blockers, but until then, I'm reduced to laying them flat, without a fan to speed up the process, and in the humidity of South Florida, drying takes a while...)

Today, I had the honor of attending a lecture by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Not only is this man the Dalai Lama, he's logical, wise, caring, compassionate, and hilarious. Man, I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at a lecture before (seriously, he made French jokes, in addition to a bunch of other things that are only really funny when he says it, the way he says it). And his laugh is amazing - it needs to be made into an app or something. Sorry, I have no pics (cameras weren't allowed in if they had a video record function), but it was pretty awesome, let me tell you.

Oh, and when I was waiting for the thing to start (they said get there 90 minutes ahead of time to allow for security, which took... 2 minutes -_-), I knit quite a bit on this sock:

It's Hourglass, in some more Stroll, and converted to toe-up. I've got to say I'm loving it quite a bit - very pretty, and not all that tricky. I'm basically following the charts, and using Wendy's Generic Slip Stitch Heel. A bunch of people have said that this pattern is really finicky, but clearly they've never made a pair of complex cable socks. A few minor cables and P2togtbls? No problem. Actually, the only real problem is that I need to get this pair done before Monday. And I have a gazillion exams. I don't really know if I'll be sleeping at all for the next week...

Monday

2010-10-25T22:56:00.006-04:00

I like the Harlot's idea of Random Monday, and I've been meaning to post all weekend. So...

1) I made an Ishbel. I love it. The yarn is awesome - a perfect shawl yarn (don't you try to tell me it's really sock yarn, because it has too much drape to be sock yarn).

Pattern: Ishbel, by Ysolda Teague, made in the shawlette size

Yarn: The Unique Sheep Tinsel Toes, in Prince of the Wood Elves

Needles: US6/4.00mm Boye Interchangables, 32"

2) I have a Marine bio exam Thursday, a Geology Lab exam Thursday, a Geology exam the following Monday, a Religion exam the following Tuesday, and an Orgo exam the following Wednesday. So, basically, I have five tests in a week, and I'm here blogging.

3) I get to see the Dalai Lama tomorrow :D

4) I finished two pairs of socks. One is super secret. The other will have pics tomorrow or Wednesday.

5) I have 20 minutes left at work, and I still haven't written my marine bio abstract. I spend most of my shift messing with charting fonts and excel. So... I'm going to be up unnecessarily late tonight.

6) I should really get on that abstract. Kthxbye.

Mango

2010-10-13T16:24:00.002-04:00

Today, there was a farmers market on campus. That in itself is awesome, but what's more awesome is that it's going to happen every Wednesday from now on! I'm talking fresh cheese, pasta, soaps, teas, baked goods, orchids, honey, little potted herbs, kettle corn, and, of course, Florida fruits and veggies. Which leads me to my purchase:

That would be five mangoes, a lemon, and a lime, which got made into this:

I've determined that mango pie is the tropical equivalent of peach pie; it smells almost the same, and it tastes really similar (no, I haven't actually eaten it yet, but I was using a 9" pie recipient and my pie pans are 8", so there was a little left over to make a sloppy turnover-thing, which I have eaten). I can't wait to try it.

In the process of making this pie, I've discovered how to have pretty crusts without a pastry cloth: plastic wrap. Yep, you use it just like a pastry cloth, and it works wonders. Wish I had had the insight to figure this out two weeks ago when I made that blueberry-strawberry pie (which was my first, ever, BTW, making this one my second ever). I've also become much better at the whole two-knives-as-a-pastry-cutter-replacement thing. So, this pie went a lot faster than the last one. I had my first mango-prep experience (those slippery little devils). The best part? I have a leftover mango :D

Speaking of making things, last night I dyed yarn:

About 13 yards of each color, Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool natural as a base. I used food coloring and vinegar to dye, with really concentrated dye, with microwave for heat. The colors are just the mixes you find on the back of the box - 20 drops green for the green, and 17 drops yellow plus 3 drops red for the orange (technically it's orange sunset, or something like that). I'm going to make white mittens, each with a little U on the back of the hand :D

I also finished this mini-laminaria shawl Monday, and it was done blocking yesterday:

I used Knit Picks Shadow, what was leftover from the aeolian; I split the plies to get cobweb weight, and then knit the setup, one star repeat, the transition, then the edging. The thing that took forever was splitting the plies, because the singles for this yarn are really delicate, so I had to split it like DNA - breaking the strand every yard or so to relieve twisting tension, then spit splice it back together. And then sometimes the yarn would pull apart while knitting because it was so delicate. But it was really worth it - it's for the Reducio Sock! swap, so I hope my spoilee likes it!

Gray Friday

2010-09-17T17:50:00.001-04:00

She wakes up this morning feeling refreshed. She is confused, knowing that it is not her alarm that woke her, but just a feeling of wakefulness. She glances at the clock, eyes still with sleep, and sees that, indeed she has an hour or so yet to go before it is time to wake. The day is a glad one, for it is not often that one wakes to have discovered they have awakened too early.

This is a good thing, because it means that now her body will feel rested on a good amount of sleep. It came at the price of tiredness through the rest of the week, but it does not matter, because now is the important day, the day of the test. The terrible test, that has caused much anguish, but yet, when it is over, will cause much joy, because everything will move on, back to the joyous things that are much loved in that world.

So she sleeps for the extra time she has, and wakes even more refreshed than before. She dresses, she eats, she makes herself lunch. She starts her day, furiously typing about the earth, then spends hours giving direction to those who are lost or do not know what they want. She helps her boss in creation, and sees the joy on her face when it is a success, and feels happy.

She leaves to go to the test, and discovers that it was not worth the worry, and she was well prepared for the endeavor. She finishes early, and heads home. What a joyous day, to be done with the days trials so early, in the middle of the afternoon. She rejoices at the time and freedom she now has - committing to a book that has been bugging her incessantly to be read, but that she did not have time to read. So she reads.

After a time, she is done with reading, her craving for words satisfied, and still, the hour is early. But she did not emerge from her reading refreshed, as she usually does. She emerges somewhat saddened. The silence in the room is oppressive, and she feels she must not talk, for fear of disturbing something delicate, yet fearful. It saddens her. Her mind is empty. She does not know what to do with her time. The skies gray, and it starts to rain. She knows the sun will come out soon, but it does not help alleviate the sadness.

She feels trapped - her friends have all planned to cook that night, something that could potentially be great fun. But she was planning on something else. She was going to go out, and see friends who she has not seen in two weeks. But if she is to do that, she cannot be with her friends and the cooking. Which saddens her. If she stays, she cannot see the other friends. The cooking will make her miss her family, miles and miles away. It will make her miss the kitchen, and all the things she's used to having. She will want to add, and create, and make joy with her friends through food, but it will not happen. Such conflict in the soul.

What she really wants is to cook now instead of later, and then after to head out to see her other friends, the ones she has not seen in two weeks, with one of her cooking friends, who also knows these other friends. And be happy and joyous together. She wants her cooking friends to stop their work on this Friday, because Friday is the day of rest. Friday is the day to relax, and let the work rest aside. She cannot adapt her day of rest to be the same as their day of rest, because habit will not let her. She tried changing months before, but was unsuccessful.

For now, she can only hope for the best, because she felt like this the week before, and it all worked out well. And already the clouds are clearing.

Real Quick...

2010-09-06T21:34:00.004-04:00

Shall I emulate the Harlot with Random Monday? I think I shall.

1 - I just switched to Google Chrome. About an hour ago. I love it.

2 - Started school about two weeks ago now. Life went from monotony to super-busy. No real time for an in-depth blog post.

3 - I should be doing my Marine Bio reading right now. I have a quiz tomorrow.

4 - And, after I get done with my not-being-done marine bio reading, I should be doing orgo. I have a test next week.

5 - There's lots of thunder and lightning outside right now. This could be why:

6 - I have lots of knit stuff to show you, so I made a movie for your viewing pleasure:

7 - I went on a dive this weekend:

Jealous?

Social, Lack-thereof

2010-08-27T23:36:00.002-04:00

Today, in the shower, while I was listening to at least one of my suite mates getting ready to go out for a Friday night in Miami - with more of my friends, but to which I was not invited, nor really wanted to go to anyway - I came to a conclusion: I simply never learned the ways of a teenage social life.

Sure, I had play dates, went over friends houses, etc. when I was in elementary and middle school, but most of those were arranged by my mom or my friends' moms. I never really figured out how to approach the "let's hang out" bridge - it's always seemed awkward to me. Then I hit high school, and my life outside of academics dwindled down to a sparing school play or something similar. It didn't seem odd to me - after all, it wasn't like I never saw my friends, it was just always in an academic setting. We hung out at lunch, at the various club functions we were forced to go to if we wanted to retain membership, had fun in the classes we had together, made a comedy routine out of doing a big group project; we just, never "hung out." I didn't have time. Most of my friends never had time, either.

I thought this might be the root of the problem: while I was a tad socially awkward, well, so were my friends. My close friends anyway - we were all so busy that the art of socializing like a normal teenager never really developed. Like I said, this never seemed to be a problem, because we all saw each other and talked in school.

Then college came around, and this came back to bite me in the butt: more free time meant much more time to socialize like a normal teenager, something at which I was totally unskilled. I did accomplish some things, but felt left out of a lot of the fun (or at least events). Some of this I blamed on lack of texting. Some of this I blamed on my over-courteousness, never just barging into rooms, always waiting to be invited. I thought I was out of the loop because I wasn't in the middle of the party, if you will. So I decided to surround myself in it in a suite this year.

I don't know if it's working (though it's only day four). Well, it's working a little: I know when we're going to dinner, and have many more opportunities to talk with everyone and find out what's happening over the course of the week. But... I'm still out of the loop. Maybe this is on purpose: my friends know I won't enjoy staying sober and watching them all get wasted, but there's no way I'm getting wasted along with them, so no fun all around. Maybe they're doing me a favor. But there's still something, something that I'm missing. Maybe it's that the means of communication were just established, and not everyone has gotten around to adapting (I'm talking about you, JKL). It just feels weird, being one of the two people that initially met, causing the pre-nuclei of the group that formed (the true nucleus formed later, but I was part of that), and being so out of the loop.

It wasn't my friends in high school that caused me to be this way, it was me. Perhaps I just don't have that teenage social instinct: I fear that what I like to do isn't what everyone else wants to do. My tastes range in small child and middle-aged to old woman. My personality has a singularity right around my current age, causing extreme awkwardness. Maybe I would have broken some of that if I had slowly developed the social skills along with my peers in high school, but there's no way to ever know.

For now, I have to find a way to make me happy.

Monotony

2010-07-30T20:48:00.002-04:00

So, I haven't been here in a while. I apologize. My life's been a little monotonous lately:
wake up, take a leisurely breakfast, lifeguard, come home, shower, bed

-OR-

wake up, lifeguard, come home, shower, hang with family, bed

All the while knitting.

And knitting.

And knitting.

Please enjoy a movie presentation of what I've been knitting since my last post (all available on my rav page)

Oh, and an Aeolian.

I'm really proud of it. I think the only reason I may go to my step-cousin's wedding in October is so I can wear it in all it's glory.

The End

2010-05-13T21:44:00.002-04:00

1. Semester is over. Thank goodness. I survived.

2. Knee socks are done, they work wonderfully.

3. Gloves for Mother's Day done. Felted. Given to Mom. She loves them ridiculously.

4. Done test-knitting new Malabrigo sock yarn. Love it. A little splitty. A little slippery (wood needles are good for this stuff). We'll see how they wear...

5. Made a market bag. Love it. Best. Bag. Ever.

6. I made cookies. Welcome home.

Overwhelmed

2010-04-13T11:05:00.002-04:00

So, I was minding my own business, happily going along with the semester, when, all of a sudden, the semester hit me.

It hit me hard.

It all started last Monday, which officially marked the "four weeks left of classes" mark. I went from happily trotting along to drowning (how I went from walking to being under water, we will not discuss). I thought last week was bad, but it turns out this week is worse. Here's the rest of this week's work (take note that it is Tuesday and I was up until 1AM doing work yesterday, having started at 2:30PM):

Not to mention all the other things I have to get done before the end of April.

I have to read these:

Library books, so I have to get them done because I can't take them home with me (only so many renewals my dear...). I have to play this:

OK, it isn't extremely vital that I play this before I go home, but my brother got the corresponding game, HeartGold, at the same time, and is already miles ahead of me. Normally I kick his butt at Pokemon games (and it's the one game I do; I used to own Mario Kart, but we're now even at that...).

Oh, and then there's these:

Socks need to get done before Sunday. I'm not going through another week of boot-rash. I'm about halfway through the calf increases on sock #2, so hopefully, with class-knitting and the LYS, I'll get it done. The other ball of yarn is for some felting stuff I need to get done.

My only compensation for all of this is that, 1) On Saturday I'm going on a coral restoration dive, and, 2) after I get all of this done (as in, everything for the semester), it will be summer, and I'll be home.

Wish me luck.

Voluntarily Bedridden

2010-04-10T22:48:00.002-04:00

See the FOs! Revel in their glory! Because I haven't been able to upload pics until recently! For more detailed narratives of each project, see my Ravelry page.

On the note of knee socks, I've finished the first:

and am on the ankle part (pre-calf-increases) of the second part. Not particularly helpful because I really need the socks in the morning, but oh well - I'll have them for next week. Well, that is, if this week isn't as horrid as the last. I think I got a couple inches of knitting in, at most. It took me three days just to get through the cuff and BO of sock #1, I was so busy.

!!!EXCITING NEWS!!!
So, I went to my LYS yesterday, like I always do, every Friday, and while knitting away at above-mentioned knee socks, one of the owners asked if I would like to test knit something. I asked what, because I was under the impression it was a pattern, but it turned out to be yarn. Testing yarn. New, MALABRIGO sock yarn. That, if I decided to test, I would get for free.

Um, yeah. I took the yarn. And was giddy. And happy. And apologizing to the hanks of yarn I was planning on knitting into socks, because this hank immediately shot up to the top of the queue. Oh, and I have to rate it, give comments, feedback, etc. We'll see how it does.

So...

I've come to the conclusion that my roommate has voluntarily made herself bedridden. She lives in the bed. My evidence:

I am surprised when I come back the room, and the door is locked, because it's never locked when she's in there.
The huge pile of Special K bar wrappers in the little nook next to her bed. Clearly she can't be bothered to get up and go to the trash can, which brings us to
the overflowing trash can, which she cannot be bothered to empty.
The sitting in the room in the dark all day. (OK, I don't really know how this is evidence, but it's weird)
Always asking me to turn off her light for her (I realize this contradicts my thesis, because she does have to get up to turn the light on, but she also has to get up to go to the bathroom, so maybe she does it then).
The boxes of granola bars next to her bed, along with drinks, and the ability for her to reach across the small space separating the bed and my loft to reach into the fridge.
The laptop that's always on the bed, her lap, or the little ledge next to the bed.
Her towel never moves from the drying rack. Does she not shower?

I'm glad I'm only her roommate for another month. I'm starting to feel Josh's pain (but at least I'm not a gay guy living with a room-bound homophob).

The Kindness of the Internet

2010-04-06T14:26:00.005-04:00

Sometimes, software and such doesn't work. It's not our fault. It just happens. And then we leave it, and move on. About a month ago, I had written up two posts that got eaten by the Internet, Picasa, blogger, whatever. I spent a great deal of time on them, and was upset that they disappeared. Well, today when I logged into blogger, there they were. Sitting there, as drafts. Where they've been for the past month, I do not know, but I've been avoiding posting because there was no way to post photos. I'll probably do a big catch-up post a little later.

A few things now (I'm copying the Harlot, if you couldn't tell):

1) I'm knitting a pair of knee socks. I need them done before I go to bed on Saturday. With my self imposed schedule, I should have been done with sock #1 yesterday. I'm an inch or two away from the ribbing, and will probably finish tomorrow or the next day. I guess I'm getting rubber boot rash for one more Sunday.

2) I'm a little worried about my roommate. All she seems to do is sleep, and sit in her bed with her laptop, either on facebook or skyping or talking on the phone. She never seems to change positions on her bed, or move from it at all. I mean, I guess she can move around when I'm not in the room, but it's a little worrying.

3) Speaking of stuck in a cycle, she never seems to do any homework either, and then (when she has a test) complains that she is in so much trouble because she hasn't taken the plastic wrap off the book. Well, that's your fault now, isn't it? Stop complaining.

4) One last thing about the roommate, which I don't quite understand. She likes to close the hurricane shutters and sit, on her bed with her laptop, in the dark.

????

Oh, and then, instead of opening the shutters, she turns on the light, which isn't as bright as the, you know, sun. I really don't get her thought process.

5) I got Pokemon SoulSilver on Sunday. Love it, almost to the first gym, but I have no time at all to play it. Busy week. In the meantime, my brother got HeartGold, and is on spring break, so it zooming ahead. Wish I had the time.

6) Going on a coral restoration dive on the 17th. Should be fun

Yep. Think that's it. Have a good week.

Random Strangers

2010-03-09T16:53:00.002-05:00

Well, a week and a half ago, at work, I wrote up this wonderful post on all my Olympic endeavors. I detailed every project I had made during the Olympics: the yarn, pattern, how long they took, etc. I hit "Publish Post." And then the Internet decided to stop working, and eat all that work I had put into the post. Needless to say, I was devastated, but I was not going to write that thing again. I detailed everything in Do the FO Dance, except for these:

May I introduce to you Midnight Water? Made out of a hank of Malabirgo Sock in perisa, these are a glorious treat for the feet. I loooooooove them, and they made me discover the Universal Toe-Up Sock Formula, which is what I've been searching for for months. Yay! Excpet I use JMCO instead of short rows for the toe, but that's just because it's that fantastic.

Speaking of socks, I'm working on these:

The blue-ish ones are out of a hand of bare I dyed with food coloring and vinegar (because the must-desired blue kool-aid is avoiding me), and are the only ones actually in progress. I actually almost have the toe done on the second sock, but it wouldn't have looked very good in the picture, so I left it out. The red ones are actually hibernating. I'm going to pick them up again once I finish the blue ones, a pair of red ones of my own design (!), and a pair of knee socks. The fit well though, and I love them. Can't wait to have them done. Also dyed this yarn myself, with red and orange kool-aid.

I got a starghan finished for my grandma, and sent it off to Petoskey today. I know she'll love it, and it warms my heart to make something for her before... you know... she... I can't say it. She's old, has health problems, and time is limited.

Finished these a week ago:

They're my "outdoor gloves" because they're the warmest, even though they don't really cover my wrists.

Finished this on Saturday, and wore it out today:

Strangest thing today: it must be "random strangers talk to me" day. Seriously, I was in CVS, picking up some sunscreen for my trip up to Disney World for spring break on Friday, when some random guy walks past me in the aisle, stops, and said he liked my "handbag."

????????????

Sketchy all by itself (and the fact that he called it a handbag, but that might be what they call purses in Florida), my gay-dar wasn't even going off. So, random straight guy telling me he likes my purse and asking me where I bought it, then walking off, leaving me standing in the aisle annoyed that CVS doesn't carry NO-AD sunscreen.

Then, on the way back from Target on the metro (nope, Target doesn't carry NO-AD either...), some guy asks me what knitting technique I was using. This is more normal, because I was standing, waiting, and knitting a sock. I get questions about my knitting when I knit in public all the time (once had a very interesting conversation with a guy on the trolley who thought it was physically impossible to knit a cabled sweater). Anyway, I was confused by the question (did this guy really know enough about knitting to know that there are three different ways to knit on the round, and wanted to know which one I was using?). I asked for a clarification, and it turns out this poor, misinformed civilian was under the impression that crochet was a type of knitting. I quickly set him straight, but it was still odd that in a single day (within two hours actually), and was asked random, atypical questions by random strangers.

Olympic Ventures

2010-02-27T19:50:00.001-05:00

I was rather productive during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, despite my inability to watch most of it (I've seen a little curling, freestyle skiing, and nordic combined on TV, and the men's snowboarding halfpipe full replay via NBCOlympics.com; I plan on catching up with figure skating shortly). My one and only goal for the games was to finished my Laminaria, which was easily achieved:

I actually finished it in a little outside a week, though the first and last day of the endeavored consisted solely of casting on and casting off/blocking respectively, so I don't know if they really count. It's a shawlette, made out of some lovely Malabrigo Lace in the mariposa colorway. It's the perfect size, and I love it (so do all the people at the LYS)!

I my mad Laminaria knitting, I also knocked out a dishcloth:

... ... ... ...

I can't believe I made a dishcloth either, but I needed to use up half a ball of cotton that was driving me batty, and I needed something to clean the whiteboard on my door.

Moving on:

Yep, that's a mug cozy. I've been meaning to make one for ages, and I finally got fed up with not being able to drink my tea at the hot temperature I like it without burning my hands. Stupid conduction. I knocked it out in an hour or two, after I had finished my laminaria and in the middle of these:

You remember these, right? From the last post? I almost had them done the day after that post - I was short by the inch of cuff on the second sock. Knocked that out the day after that, and wore them yesterday. Heel already looks worn, but that happens to all my socks (my heels are hot and sweaty and not hand-knit-sock friendly); I don't blame the yarn. The rest of the socks are just peachy though, and I looooooooooove them. I will gladly trade all my stash in for some more Malabrigo sock (or I'll just use that gift certificate I have for the LYS).

I'm gathering many imaginary awards for my Olympic-knitting feats. See those red badges on the left? Those are my Ravelympics 2010 badges, signifying my knitting awesomeness in this Olympics. And the LYS is having a similar type of this, except with less categories, you have to use yarn from the store, and there are prizes, in the form of coupons! A gold medal in a category is a 20% off coupon! I'm banking on my Laminaria for that coupon. The socks are entered too, but they're just your basic socks, nothing special (except they are super awesome, but not in the prize-gathering way).

With not-enough time left for something else in the Olympics, I've gotten back to my two WIPs (we're not counting the granny square blanket at a WIP - THAT'S an extended, I'm-bored-and-feel-like-making-a-granny-square project): my Bayerische socks, as seen in the previous post, and a starghan for my grandma. I'm focusing more on the starghan, because I feel like a grandma project should come first, AND it's a destash blanket, and I want this yarn out of here! But, the thing has gotten too big for travel, so it sits on my under-loft chair, and I work on it while I watch Heroes. The socks come with me, and I expect the second sock to go much faster than the first now that I practically have all the charts memorized (except chart D, but I can live with that). I'm going to need these two to keep my sanity this week: bio test coming up, and it's one of those that we're expected to know every minute little detail of the powerpoints. I'm going to need more chocolate...

Socken

2010-02-23T18:43:00.000-05:00

I'm surprising myself greatly with my knitting speed this past week or so. Really, I am. I mean, it took me about two weeks to get this far on a single sock:

OK, granted these socks are covered with cables and it takes a while to complete a round, but still, that much on a single sock, my only project, took two weeks.

What happens now?

Well, I started these Saturday night:

It's Tuesday. I have a sock and 40% of the other one done. It's been four days. I think I'm going to finish them on Thursday, at the latest. Last week I knit an entire shawlette, when it took three weeks to knit a different one right before it. For some reason, I'm knitting at super-sonic speeds, and I'm good with that. I mean, I'm dying to wear these socks (hint: if you want a pair of some of the most comfortable socks ever, make some out of Malabrigo sock), so it's a good thing I'm knitting these at super sonic speeds. I suppose it also has something to do with the fact that these are plain vanilla socks, and that they're toe-up with a short-row heel, which, in my opinion, is a lot faster than the heel-flap and gusset of cuff-down. Ironically, the warm weather decided to come back to Miami today, so I don't know if I'll even get a chance to wear them when I finish.

Oh, and you're not crazy. You haven't seen those red socks before; I've only got the first one done, and promptly used the needles for the speedy socks (LYS is having an Olympic event: knit something in the span of the Olympics with yarn bought there). A non-FO does not belong in the FO montage.

Do the FO Dance

2010-02-22T22:52:00.003-05:00

You see that? That collage of knitware right above this sentence? Well, that's pretty much everything I've made since last posting an actual blog post (not a pattern). When was that, waaaaaaay back in mid-December? And it's about two months later, and now I'm posting. That's not to say I haven't tried, but Picasa doesn't like to post more than four pics at a time to the blog, and the Miami Internet connection doesn't like me to upload photos with the blogger software at all. So I had to figure out how to get all of these pics up. Well, guess what? There's a neat little thing under the "create" tab in Picasa that allows you to make a collage out of any pics you select. The solution to all my problems! Let's get to the details, shall we?

Going in the order like you read a sentence:

Girder socks: made them over break; my first fingering weight socks, and I went a little high with the stitch count. Found a formula now, and making a better-fitting pair out of Mmmmmalabrigo sock (yum!)

French Press Slippers: Well, had a couple of leftover balls of Wool of the Andes from Dad's sweater, so I made myself some awesome felted slippers! They are now my regular dorm footware.

Ethan's Sweater: A curly-edge pullover, my first sweater. I thought it would be a bit big on him, but it fits him just right. Makes me a little concerned about how long it's going to fit him for. But it is snuggly, warm, and machine washable!

Dad's Sweater: Yay for cables! My second sweater, and he loves it! Stayed up until 3AM the night before my flight back down to Miami to finish it for him (and so I didn't have to lug the thing down to the tip of the country for some seaming and ship it back).

Hydrogen Bonding: Technically a water-bottle holder, because the little part that connects the lid to the bottle of my RSMAS nalgene broke off, and I needed some way to carry it. Actually made this before break... >.>

Spiral Soap Scrubby: This probably looks familiar, considering the pattern was the last post. It's working out well, though I'm trying to figure out the logistics of washing it (I know, seems a little odd to wash a soap bag, but trust me, it's needed).

Swallowtail: My first true lace project, complete with nupps (pronounced n-oo-ps), in laceweight alpaca. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find laceweight in brown. It's gorgeous, and I love it, but I think the humidity is making it lose it's block :(

Grandma's Socks: I made my Grandma Gifford a pair of socks back in September 2008, back when I first learned how to make the things and was on a kick. Well, they got holes in them about a month ago because she wears them so much, and she asked for a new pair. Ask, and ye shall receive!

Cables for Tea: Made this last night, because I'm tired of scalding my hands on hot mugs. I memorized the cable after a single repeat.

Mom's Mittens: Yet another one I made before break, but I didn't post here for a good reason: they were a Christmas gift for Mom, and I couldn't post about them until after Christmas, because she reads the blog. Waaaay too small for my hands, but the fit her.

Dishcloth: ... ... ... What?! It's the only thing that can effectively clean the whiteboard on my door, OK?

Flour Amour: This one should look familiar too, as a believe this pattern is, two posts down? I love the things to death, and they keep my hands super-toasty! Still a little bummed that I just barely didn't have enough for mittens, but these worked out nicely (NOTE: if you make these, please consider yourself warned that they take days to block; stupid chunky cables...)

Laminaria: Promptly after making the Swallowtail, I made a Laminara shawlette, which seems to be holding the block better. They're both gorgeous, and I would love to knit some more lace, except I don't really know what to do with the two of them now (ignore the two unused hanks of laceweight in my stash... >.>)

That's it, for now. Expect a post-Olympic update in a week or so. I have to detail all my Olympic speed-knitting adventures! (and how I did it in the midst of test season)

Spiral Soap Scrubby

2010-01-29T22:24:00.001-05:00

Yay for soap! Instead of a washcloth, loofah, or a bath poof, why not have a little bag for your soap that’s like a dishcloth on the round? Just stick your soap in, and scrub, generating lots and lots of suds for a nice, squeaky clean! You no longer have to get frustrated with the little slivers of soap that always seem to get lost and break: when the soap runs, out just open the bag and put a new bar in – it’s that simple!

Needles: US5/3.75mm; DPN, Circ, whatever you need to knit on the round
Yarn: Cheap Worsted Cotton (I used Lily Sugar ‘n Cream), around 50-75 yards
Gauge: 5sts/inch, in stockinette

Spiral Rib Pattern:
Round 1: *K2, P2* K2, P1
Round 2: P1 *K2, P2* K2
Round 3: P2 *K2, P2* K1
Round 4: K1, P2 *K2, P2*

CO 39 sts, join in a round, being careful not to twist the stitches.

Work pattern twice.

Next round:
Round 1: K2 *yo, P2tog, yo, SSK* P1

Continue with the pattern stitch, starting on a row two, until the whole scrubby is six inches long, ending on a row three.

Next round:
Round 4: K1, P2 *K2, P2* K2, P2tog

Arrange your stitches to graft (19 stitches on one needle, 19 on another, with the yarn at one end). Graft the bottom together. Weave in ends

For the i-cord tie:
CO 3 sts. Work i-cord for 14”

Thread i-cord through eyelets. Insert soap. Pull tight and tie. Enjoy!

Flou Amour

2009-12-26T12:16:00.007-05:00

Flou Amour” is French for “Fuzzy Love” (at least, I think it is. I couldn’t remember for the life of me whether amour was one of the words where the adjective goes before or after, so I went with my gut). Why fuzzy love? For the wonderful 100% baby alpaca of the yarn of course! When I first went into my LYS, I came across this yarn, and knew I had to have it. As soon as I had the funds (college student budgets are not yarn-friendly), I picked up a skein. Now, what to do with it? I already had too many hats, and a cowl that simply gathers dust. So I went for mittens. Unfortunately, I ran out of yarn right after the thumb gusset on the second mitten. Therefore, the mittens were frogged, I divided the yarn into two, equal balls, and proceeded with these. For the sake of saving yarn, they have neither fingers nor thumbs (that’s right, there’s just a hole where the thumb goes through, no gusset). Designed to use exactly one skein of Misti Alpaca Chunky, with only a few yards extra, they keep your palms and wrists marvelously toasty!

Needles: One US8/5.00mm, 32” or longer circular needle for Magic Loop, or two US8/5.00mm circular needles for double circ method (you could also use DPN, but the pattern is written for ML or two circs), cable needle/spare DPN
Yarn: One skein Misti Alpaca Chunky, 108yds/100g
Gauge: 4.5sts/inch, 6 rows/inch in stockinette st

CO 38 sts
Join into round
1x1 rib for two rounds
Work pattern below on 1st needle three times, ending on a round 7 for the last repeat, and K on the 2nd needle.

Pattern (round)
Round 1: K1, P1, K3, P4, 6-st RC, P3, K1
Round 2: K1, P1, K3, P4, K6, P3, K1
Round 3: K1, P1, 5-st LPC, 5-st RPC, 5-st LPC, P1, K1
Rounds 4 and 6: K1, P3, K6, P4, K3, P1, K1
Round 5: K1, P3, 6-st LC, P4, K3, P1, K1
Round 7: K1, P1, 5-st RPC, 5-st LPC, 5-st RPC, P1, K1
Round 8: K1, P1, K3, P4, K6, P3, K1

5-st RPC: Sl 2 sts to cn and hold to back, k3, p2 from cn.
5-st LPC: Sl 3 sts to cn and hold to front, p2, k3 from cn.
6-st RC: Sl 3 sts to cn and hold to back, k3, k3 from cn.
6-st LC: Sl 3 sts to cn and hold to front, k3, k3 from cn.

Right Thumb
Work 8th round of pattern on 1st needle
K4sts, K2sts, use these last two sts to BO1, K to end of needle
Now you’re going to be working flat, but in magic loop at the same time. Make any sense?
Work pattern on 1st needle, K4 on 2nd needle, TURN, P4 on 2nd needle, work wrong side of pattern (see below) on 1st needle, P14 on the 2nd needle, TURN, K14 on 2nd needle. Repeat this 8 times.
Now, work pattern on 1st needle, K4 on 2nd needle, CO1, K14. You’re working on the round again!

Left Thumb
Work 8th round of pattern on 1st needle
K14sts, K2sts, use these last two sts to BO1, K to end of needle
Now you’re going to be working flat, but in magic loop at the same time. Make any sense?
Work pattern on 1st needle, K14 on 2nd needle, TURN, P14 on 2nd needle, work wrong side of pattern (see below) on 1st needle, P4 on 2nd needle, TURN, K4 on 2nd needle. Repeat this 8 times.
Now, work pattern on 1st needle, K14 on 2nd needle, CO1, K4. You’re working on the round again!

Pattern (flat)
Row 1 (RS): K1, P1, K3, P4, 6-st RC, P3, K1
Row 2: P1, K3, P6, K4, P3, K1, P1
Row 3: K1, P1, 5-st LPC, 5-st RPC, 5-st LPC, P1, K1
Rows 4 and 6: P1, K1, P3, K4, P6, K3, P1
Row 5: K1, P3, 6-st LC, P4, K3, P1, K1
Row 7: K1, P1, 5-st RPC, 5-st LPC, 5-st RPC, P1, K1
Row 8: P1, K3, P6, K4, P3, K1, P1Rep rows 1–8.

Cable Crossing remain the same as in pattern on the round

Post-Thumb
Finish current pattern repeat.
1x1 rib for one round
BO using Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretch Bind Off

Make sure to block so that the thumb edges lay flat instead of doing the standard stockinette curl. I suggest turning the glove inside out and being sure to pin down those edges to they lay flat.

Sixty Stitches

2009-12-21T14:04:00.006-05:00

I've been knitting socks for over a year now. I started waaaaay back in August 2008 with a plain, white practice pair. I've knit about eight pairs total, all in worsted or DK weight on needles no smaller than threes. Now, I'm embarking on my first "true" socks: fingering weight, Knit Picks Stroll sock yarn on US1s. I've read all over Ravelry how pretty much most of the sock-knitting population's stitch count is around about sixty stitches.

Um... excuse me?

As I've been knitting socks, I've adjusted stitch count several times until I've finally found an ideal stitch count in worsted: 56 stitches (as seen in my newly-finished ski socks):

That's only four stitches less than the stitch count for sock in sock yarn for the rest of the population. Now, on my new, sock yarn socks, my stitch count is 84 stitches. A whole, whopping twenty four stitches more than the standard stitch count. This leaves me wondering, how in the world do people squeeze their feet into such tiny socks??!?! Sixty stitches only covers my first four toes, leaving my pinky dangling. Granted, I do have wide feet (and I mean super-double-extra-wide feet, thank you genetics), which is where the difference comes in.

However, this leaves me with a dilemma: most sock patterns are around this sixty stitch count, completely excluding me from the wonderful world of sock patterns unless I come up with my own. Bummer, because there are some really gorgeous socks out there. This is why I'm making it my mission to come up with some beautiful sock patterns myself for people with huge feet, like me! Sorry, narrow-footed people, but you're going to have to make some adjustments if you want my sock patterns.

On another note, my time has been eated up upon arriving home from Florida for the holidays. I thought I was going to have tons of time to sit in front of the TV and knit, just like the summer. Haha, WRONG! My time has mainly consisted of helping my dad out with finishing the basement. We're on the ceiling. In the past few days we've snapped chalk lines all around the three sub-rooms of the basement for ceiling height, and hung the border girders on the walls for the suspended ceiling. We're not quite done with that yet, but we need another 12' girder to finish, and we're car-less at the moment, so today we moved on to the girders in the middle of the ceiling! We're starting with the gym area. Hopefully we'll finish before Friday (aka Christmas), so when by brother gets a bunch of new video games, the Wii and the TV it's hooked up to won't be squished together with the couch, table, trunk, etc. and under a drop cloth, and he can play his games, and I can knit while watching him.

Oh, be on the lookout for a new pattern, entitled Flou Amour, coming soon. It's a fingerless mitt pattern for bulky, alpaca yarn. I've finished the first mitt, and I'm halfway through the second. As soon as I finish the second I'll take pics and release the pattern ;)

Warning: Photo Heavy Post Ahead

2009-11-30T22:03:00.007-05:00

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

2009-11-13T22:16:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-04T00:08:00.003-05:00

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

Liberation

2009-10-17T13:56:00.001-04:00

Who's happy that it's fall break? I am!!! Well, mainly because SCUBA has eaten up my life for the past month (not to say that SCUBA is a bad thing, it's just that I do like to sleep every once in a while). So sleeping in today and yesterday was absolutely fantastic. Of course, the world can't all be happy at the same time, so life decided to give me a wicked scratchy throat to compensate for my ability to sleep in this weekend...

On the knitting front, all it well. I finally have my knitting in order. You see, I'm a very monogamous knitter, as in, I can only really work on one project at a time, and work very intensely on that project. With the House Cup on Ravelry, I am required to work on more than one project at a time, which has messed with my knitting brain. It has caused me to not really knit my awesome rainbow scarf at all during the month of September, and as that needs to be done by 29 Nov (so I can block on the 30th), I sort of went into panic mode. From the first of September to last Tuesday I knit up the first set of yarn bobbins. In the past week and half (last Tuesday until last night), I knit up the second set of bobbins. Essentially, I knit the previous month and a half's worth of work in a week and a half, so I'm now at 29" out of 72".

You can attribute this massive increase in pace to a few distinct things:
1) I ordered my knitting schedule so I'm knitting the scarf four days in a row, encompassing some of my most knit-friendly days.
2) I ditched the flexible straights thing, as they were just catching on the yarn constantly, and went for a circular needle, which has worked much better.
3) The scarf has gotten to the length where I can roll it around the yarn when I'm not knitting, greatly decreasing the tangling of the yarn while traveling.

All of this allows me to get into a knitting "groove." Aka, I doubled my knitting speed on this scarf (1"/h to 2"/h).

I also made a wonderous fish hat for the cup, and everyone loves it. I have a theory that if I wear it to a football game I'm going to get on TV...

I mean, seriously, what TV camera guy would be like, "Girl with fish hat!" (it helps that the fish also happens to be in Miami colors...)

On a sad note, the RA on my floor had to resign due to personal issues that made her feel like she wasn't being a good RA anymore. I made her a Hugo as a goodbye gift:

It was only after I gave it to her that I realize he was the color of an alien, and that our floor's theme is outer space. I'll miss our RA so much... <3

Well, I know it was a short entry, even though it's been a couple weeks. That's what happens when I have big, long term projects to work on, and not the million free knitting hours of the summer to get them done. 'Til next time!

La Mathématique

2009-09-30T13:54:00.000-04:00

I am supposed to be studying for my linear algebra exam tomorrow at the moment. If you are reading this, you can obviously tell that I am not, in fact, studying, but writing a blog post. Much better use of my time, don't you think?

Good news for a special friend in Arizona! I finished her moomoo:

She needs it so badly, because her anxiety and depression are really getting to her. I can only hope that this adorable, turquoise moomoo cheers her up and alleviates her pain for at least a little while. I really wish I could be there with her, but it just isn't possible. I really hope she is, if slowly, getting better, because she really needs it.

You know what was extremely frustrating and sad a few days ago? Well, I was on the bus to lab at the marine campus, and was planning on finishing Kevät, my first prayer shawl for quidditch in the HPKCHC. I only had about four more pattern repeats to go (two repeats is one center diamond). So, I reach into my bag and pull out my shawl, noticing that one of the needles had "screwed off" (yay interchangeable needles...). So I pick up the point from the bottom of the bad, and to my horror, discover that it hadn't screwed off, it had broken off with the little screw part with the threads from the cable stuck inside! Not only could I not finish my shawl on the bus (or back at the dorm for that matter), but I now have to wait 4-6 weeks for the replacement cable and needle tips to come in! So Kevät is currently sitting on a looong piece of waste yarn, waiting for my shipment of replacement parts.

Luckily I was using two joined cables, so one of them was fine. The other shawls I was planning on knitting used a different size cable, so I rescued the living cable from Kevät and cast on Arrowhead. I'm only one repeat in and it is looking gorgeous. Luckily, someone from the Hufflepuff Common Room is sending me another cable, so I can hopefully finish this shawl, and others, while my points and other cable ship.

Other than that, I've made some awesome progress on my OWL:

I'm a mono-knitter (aka I can only really focus on one project at a time), so I was having trouble getting around to knit it. Yesterday I divided up the week so I have OWL knitting days and days for everything else, so hopefully now I'll get some real progress in :) I'm about 1/6 of the way into it, not including blocking and weaving in ends, and I'm still on my first bobbins. I'm going to have a ton of leftover yarn from this, but I don't mind since I'll have yarn in all the colors of the rainbow! That's all, for now. ;)

Étudier, pas Tricoter

2009-09-23T00:01:00.002-04:00

It may seem like I haven't written in forever, and you would be right in making that assumption! My knitting pace has slowed down considerable, mainly due to the fact that I don't have endless hours to sit around, watch TV, and knit like I did during the summer (best summer ever BTW). I do have time to get projects done here and there though, mainly at work. I work at the info desk in the University Center, and there is always one day I work when it's too busy to just do my homework, yet not busy enough that I'm constantly running around. Those days I bring my knitting. I can get a few rows/rounds in, put it down, and then when I'm free again, come back to it. This means, of course, no fancy intarsia, fair isle, or lace work will be brought to work, as that requires more serious concentration (which spells trouble for my rainbow scarf, as I can't really take it out of my dorm room due to the amount of bobbins, and all my knitting time seems to be outside the dorm). Here are a few things I've accomplished though:

A single (that's right, single) cable-lace short fingerless glove (the pattern can be found here). I had knit the first one from the original pattern for Catie, but they didn't have a thumb gusset for some reason, so I didn't bother with the second. Catie, however, still like the glove (it fit her hand a little better than mine), and took it to college with her, and I promised I'd knit her a second. So I redesigned the pattern, giving it a thumb gusset and making it a little more DPN friendly, knit the second glove (which I think turned out nicer than the first), and sent it off to her. She hasn't written me yet, so I don't know if she got it. I would think she did, and people just procrastinate writing letters back (I know I do). Plus, it took at least two weeks from when I sent a package to another friend to get her thank-you letter back, and it hasn't been two weeks yet.

It's a Utopia Hat! Except it's knit in Red Heart Super Saver Mexicana (aka rainbow), so you can't really see the cables that well. I knit it for potions homework for the Harry Potter Knit & Crochet House Cup on ravelry, but I didn't know who I'd give it to (goodness know I have too many hats already). Fortunately, my new friend Joshua (who is very into the whole gay-rights thing :D) wanted it when he first saw me knitting the first few rows of ribbing (best part is - he knits too!). So he's happy with his rainbow hat :)

Exciting venture for me: my first pair of toe-up socks! I'm now a total toe-up convert: they fit so much better than cuff-down!, and are fairly simply to make (best part: I don't have to carry around a ruler to make heel and foot-length measurements). I was originally steered to make these because I was going to make a pair of wavy socks using a lacy pattern I found for Charms. Unfortunately, the pattern didn't work backwards, as I would have needed for cuff-down, so I learned how to knit toe-up. I'm not going to knit those socks anymore (for charms, anyway), but now I have a nice new pair of purple socks!

Last, but not least, this little guy. Yes, another Hugo. You see, Joshua's birthday was Sunday, and I'm in college, so I wasn't about to go buy him anything. Since he enjoyed the hat so much, I decided to make him a Hugo out of the scraps (I ran out of yarn just as I finished the first foot, so the second foot is green). Even better, this also doubled as DADA homework :)

As for stuff I'm working on right now, I've made some progress on my rainbow scarf (it's 16cm long, so I'm 8% done!), but that's suffering because I can't really take it anywhere due to the massive amount of bobbins. More critical than the scarf is a moo moo I'm making for Sam. She needs it badly, because she's been having some bad episodes of anxiety and depression. I've filled my queue with a bunch of moomoo-related items to send off to her in Arizona. I've also started on my quidditch prayer shawls. I've never made shawls before, and I'm wondering how I'm going to block them (and they will need blocking bad, I can already tell). We do have a carpet in the room I can block it on, though then it will be in the middle of the floor. Perhaps my bed? Then comes the problem that I don't have any pins or blocking wire (never blocked before)...

That's about it. In all: expect less frequent posts, because, as a college student, I won't have that much time to post, and I'll have less to post about. I bid you adieu! (for now)

Tout

2009-08-29T22:22:00.003-04:00

I am so sorry I haven't written in forever, but I wanted to finish Joanna's second pair of gloves before I posted again, and of course, I finish them, and then I have to pack madly for college, drive down to the university (with a stop in South Carolina along the way), move in, go through orientation, the first few days of classes, etc. - more on that later. Anyways... here are Joanna's lovely Natalya gloves:

I must say that though these took quite a bit longer than the lace-ups, I like them much, much better. They're more practical as well. The proccess of knitting them also taught me so many things. I can now knit on the round with two circular needles (which I will not be doing again unless absolutely neccesary). I can also now cable without a cable needle, a very handy skill to have. I know a new way of binding off that is much looser than the one I was using previously. I also now know how to knit fingers on gloves. Overall, it was a very educating experience. (Sorry for the over-exposed picture BTW).

So... I'm at college :D. Not telling you where, because there are always weird stalking people out there that want to kidnap you, but here are some pics of campus:

Yes, this is a college campus. Great huh? My classes are absolutely amazing. I know this might sound mean, but I enjoy having teachers that are actually competent and know their material. Dorm life is good too. I'm good friends with at least half my floor; I'm so glad we all get along, for the most part - it's amazing. I've also made some really great friends in my marine program (I'm a marine bio major); we had this s'mores BBQ (basically you roast the marshallows over a grill) the other day, and the four of us just clicked right away. We spend the next hour and a half talking outside, then moved to Michelle's room and talked for at least another half an hour, if not another hour. It's absolutely great.

Speaking of the dorm life, I've discovered that the bowls I use to microwave my morning grits get really hot in the microwave (yay Walmart dishes), prompting me to make these:

I tried knitting a potholder using double knitting, but quickly discovered that I despise double knitting. I figured that a potholder would be something you could crochet in about two seconds, so I searched online and found this wonderful pattern. I love the things! They're so great!

More exciting (and geeky) news. So, I'm in this group on Ravelry called the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup. Term starts in a few days, and when it does, I'm going to attempt an OWL in potions. The potions OWL requires a large project with creative and complicated use of color. I'm going to knit a Persephone Scarf, except that each "rope" in the cable is going to be a different color, and the border and backgrounds are different colors. Here's my rainbow circle of yarn that I'm using for the project:

And my pattern swatch, in the lovely iris shade of Caron Simply Soft:

I simply can't wait to cast on, and for term to start. Everything is so exciting right now! :)

Birthday Bash

2009-08-07T15:46:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted in a while, mainly because, in the back of my head, I wanted the next post to be when I had both of Joanna's gloves finished. Well, I finished one, the lace-up opera gloves.

Let me tell you, I do not like this pattern. It's made for someone with twigs for arms. If I ever make this again (highly unlikely), I'll add at least ten more stitches, and buy a bunch more ribbon. I also have a sneaking suspicion that Joanna will never actually wear these. Mind you, she'll think they're awesome the first time she lays eyes on them, but she'll never actually wear them. It's like me and the cowl. I thought it was awesome when I was done, but then I felt stupid every time I wore it out in public.

The other pair is proving interesting. I don't own a pair of size 8 double points, but I did have two size 8 circulars laying about. Well, I discovered I vastly prefer double points to two circulars, and I am a huge fan of metal needles. One of my circulars is bamboo (mainly because it was the only 16" I've ever found, for hats), and it was driving me nuts. I was really grateful that I soon acquired another metal circular needle (more on that later). Other than that, the pattern is pretty, and I have no clue what increases they're referring to for the thumb gusset, so I'm experimenting with different increases each round until I find the one best suited for the glove.

Speaking of frustrating patterns, yesterday was my best friend's 18th birthday. I realized the day before that I didn't have a gift, so I thought I'd whip up something nice on my needles. I saw this awesome, seemingly-simple-and-quick, fingerless glove pattern.

Not only was the pattern complicated and time-consuming, but the designer has no clue about glove construction. There's no thumb gusset, the thumb hole wouldn't even fit my pinky at first (I had to frog the thumb rounds and just bind off the live stitches in order to make it wide enough), and the rest of the glove is HUGE. It's really too bad because I used a really pretty blue - actually my first ball of yarn ever. Now there's not enough on the ball to make anything really other than a granny square or a Hugo. I decided to re-structure the pattern. As soon as I knit a pair of the restructured gloves, I'll post the pattern, don't worry.

Anyway, instead of the ill-fitting gloves, I made my friend a starfish instead.

Quite lovely, and it almost used up the rest of the awesome multi-color yarn I had purchased for my squid and lobster. He came from a book I recently purchased, and I can't wait to knit more of the little guys that are in there. Speaking of which...

Monday was my birthday!!!! Of course, I got lots and lots of knitting related items, including these:

I also got some stitch markers (though they weren't actually what I wanted; they'll probably remain unused) and a set of stitch holders. The biggest things I got were a set of interchangeable needles :D

And with some of the money I got, I went to Barns & Noble and bought this book:

which is where our delightful starfish friend came from. That's all for now. Back to knitting those cable fingerless gloves for Joanna...

Cable-Lace Short Fingerless Gloves

2009-08-05T14:15:00.022-04:00

Why is it that all these patterns for fingerless gloves completely forget about people with large hands? I went to go knit some fingerless gloves for my best friend's 18th birthday. I realized I hadn't gotten her a gift the day before, so I found this pattern, thinking that it would take two-seconds based on the picture (the picture had these short, uncomplicated, fingerless gloves). Boy was I wrong. These things were not a fast project, and they were a tad complicated (I've never knit anything with both cables and lace in it before). Then, of course, when I finished one glove, I tried it on, and my thumb couldn't get through the thumb part. I ended up frogging the separate thumb rows and just binding off those original live stitches. I could now get my thumb through, but it was extremely tight. The lack of thumb gusset also made anything below the thumb very, very loose on my hand. I was so frustrated, because the pattern was pretty, so I decided to re-structure it.

Here is my re-structures, re-named glove pattern. Sorry for the charts, but the original pattern was in a couple charts and I figured it would just be easier to photoshop them than to write them out. Oh, and I decided to knit a starfish for my friend instead.

Cable-Lace Short Fingerless Gloves

Needles: four US 3/3.25mm double-pointed needles

Yarn: DK weight, probably less than half a skein

Also Needed: two stitch markers, cable needle or an extra DPN, stitch holder.

Pattern :)

CO 53 sts

Distribute as follows:

-Needle 1: 18 sts

-Needle 2: 17 sts

-Needle 3: 18 sts

Now that's the end of the similarities between the left and right gloves.

Right Glove

Knit Chart A for the right glove once

Knit Chart B for the right glove three times, but there are some special instructions (aka thumb gusset):

When you get to the sixth round (row six on the chart the first time you're knitting the chart), follow the chart to the last seven stitches. Place st marker, Krl, Kll, place st marker, then knit the last seven stitches according to the chart. Then, for each successive round follow the following instructions in between the markers, but follow the chart outside the makers:

Round 1: K

Round 2: *marker* K1, Krl, Kll, K1 *marker*

Round 3: K

Round 4: *marker* K1, Krl, K2, Kll, K1 *marker*

Round 5: K

Round 6: *marker* K1, Krl, K4, Kll, K1 *marker*

Round 7: K

Round 8: *marker* K1, Krl, K6, Kll, K1 *marker*

Round 9: K
Round 10: *marker* K1, Krl, K8, Kll, K1 *marker*

Round 11: K

Round 12: *marker* K1, Krl, K10, Kll, K1 *marker*

Round 13: K

Round 14: *marker* K1, Krl, K12, Kll, K1 *marker*

Round 15: K

Round 16: *marker* K1, Krl, K14, Kll, K1 *marker*

Round 17: K

Round 18: remove marker, slip 18 sts on stitch holder, remove marker

Knit chart B for the right glove one more time, then chart A for the right glove one more time,

BO in pattern, and weave in ends.

Left Glove
Knit Chart A for the left glove once

Knit Chart B for the left glove three times, but there are some special instructions (aka thumb gusset):

When you get to the sixth round (row six on the chart the first time you're knitting the chart), follow the chart for the first seven stitches. Place st marker, Krl, Kll, place st marker, then knit the rest of the round according to the chart. Then, for each successive round follow the following instructions in between the markers, but follow the chart outside the makers:
Round 1: K
Round 2: *marker* K1, Krl, Kll, K1 *marker*
Round 3: K
Round 4: *marker* K1, Krl, K2, Kll, K1 *marker*
Round 5: K
Round 6: *marker* K1, Krl, K4, Kll, K1 *marker*
Round 7: K
Round 8: *marker* K1, Krl, K6, Kll, K1 *marker*
Round 9: K
Round 10: *marker* K1, Krl, K8, Kll, K1 *marker*
Round 11: K
Round 12: *marker* K1, Krl, K10, Kll, K1 *marker*
Round 13: K
Round 14: *marker* K1, Krl, K12, Kll, K1 *marker*
Round 15: K
Round 16: *marker* K1, Krl, K14, Kll, K1 *marker*
Round 17: K
Round 18: remove marker, slip 18 sts on stitch holder, remove marker

Knit chart B for the left glove one more time, then chart A for the left glove one more time, BO in pattern, and weave in ends.

Thumb

Divide sts on st holder onto two DPN. Pick up 3 sts on the thumb hole edge with a third needle. Knit five rounds. BO purl wise. Weave in ends.

Notes

Krl: Knit right loop. Video here, but it is only the increase part.

Kll: Knit left loop. Video here, but it is only the increase part.

*marker*: Just signifying where the st marker is on the needle. Nothing special.

Click on Links for Charts

Right Glove - Chart A

Right Glove - Chart B

Left Glove - Chart A

Left Glove - Chart B

All charts, in one, convenient single-paper-sized image

Original Pattern: http://www.living-at-knits-end.blogspot.com/2009/05/quidditch-gloves.html

Yarn Sales

2009-07-30T16:09:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell anyone reading this blog how exciting a yarn sale is. Especially when you're about to go to college and are a little short cash-wise. It didn't help that they had my favorite kind of yarn, Caron Simply Soft, on sale for two-fifty a skein. Of course, I spent most of my time in Michael's contemplating bulky yarn prices, because I'm planning on knitting my first sweater, the Curly-Edge Pullover found in Kids Knitting, by Melanie Falick, for my brother for Christmas. I now know why sweaters are so expensive in stores: the cost of yarn alone for a single sweater can run around $20-$40! Lets just say I'm waiting for my birthday and the Michael's gift card that will come with it to purchase that yarn. Anyway, I got these two really shades of Caron Simply Soft: Persimmon and Sunshine (I think you can figure out which is which). I think I'm going to use them in these fingerless gloves that were on the back of one of the labels. Also, really exciting, I finally found a 16" circular needle! And it was even in size 8, the size I've been looking for. Which means, I can now knit a bunch of hats without having to translate patterns! So I think whatever color I don't use for the gloves will go for another Utopia Hat.

Also exciting, I got my first serious knitting request from a friend yesterday (I've made Hugo's for people, but that's not the same...). I'm knitting Joanna two pairs of fingerless gloves: these lace-up opera gloves, and another cable fingerless glove set.

I always tell my friends that I'll knit them something for free, as long as they provide the yarn and whatever other materials are needed. Plus, that way they can pick out their own yarn, which is really sort of a personal thing (don't worry, I always specify how much I need and what weight of yarn I need, with idiot-proof instructions). Joanna picked out this really pretty Caron Simply Soft Heather. I guess since she got two skeins she wants both gloves in the same color. Also, for the lace ups, she got a really pretty purple ribbon (I totally guessed she would go for purple; it's her favorite color).

And, on actual knitting, I got my socks done. They turned out well, though I can't wear them for more than ten minutes because it's in the mid-eighties and really, really humid right now. I'll have to wait until night to wear them for a longer span.

Well, I need to get to rolling all of those skeins into balls (skeins always tangle on me halfway through a project), which is going to eat up at least another hour. Adieu!

Fancy Trellis Lace Fingerless Gloves

2009-07-27T13:06:00.011-04:00

I did it. I finally designed a pattern. The structure of these gloves is based off of SmarieK's Persephone Fingerless Gloves, but I edited the length, needle size, yarn weight, and thumb gusset. The Persephone gloves are really pretty, but they restrict the use of my pinky greatly, therefore, in my mind, totally defeating the purpose of fingerless gloves (which is, of course, to be able to use your fingers while they're nice and toasty). So I made these shorter, and made them fitted a little. I also gave them a pretty lace pattern.

Fancy Trellis Lace Fingerless Gloves

Needles: four, US 5/3.75mm double pointed needles
Yarn: about half a standard big-box sized skein of worsted (upon reflection, I think I actually used DK... [4/11/09])

Also needed: two stitch markers, stitch holder/waste yarn

Gauge: 8 rows & 6 sts in 1"

Size: Women's large hands (8" circumfrence around the widest part of the knuckles, not including the the thumb)

Pattern :)

CO 48 st
Distribute as follows: Needle 1, 24st; Needle 2, 12st; Needle 3, 12st

2 by 2 rib for 9 rounds

Row 10: K1, Kfb, P2, continue 2 by 2 rib

Now, for the rest of the glove until the finishing ribbing, on needle 1 you will be knitting the pattern below, and on needles 2 & 3 you will just be knitting, unless otherwise stated.

Fancy Trellis Lace Pattern
1: K2 (K2, K2tog, yo, K3)x3 K2
2: K2 (K1, K2tog, yo, K1, yo, K2tbl, K1)x3 K2
3: K2 (K2tog, yo, K3, yo, sl1, K1, psso)x3 K2
4: K
5: K2 (yo, sl1, K1, psso, K5) x3 K2
6: K2 (K1, yo, K2tbl, K2, K2tog, yo)x3 K2
7: K2 (K2, yo, sl1, K1, psso, K2tog, yo, K1)x3 K2
8: K

Repeat pattern above twice (remember, pattern is only on needle 1; needles 2 & 3 are knit).
Repeat rounds 1-3 from above pattern.

Alternative Wrist
Instead of knitting stockinette on needles 2 and 3, continue the 2x2 ribbing as long as dictated above (two pattern repeats + rounds 1-3), for a better fit. The palm will still be knit as per original pattern.

Right Glove
Round 4: Needle 1 - 4 from pattern; Needle 2 - K6, Kll, Krl, K6; Needle 3 - K11, Kll, Krl, K1
Round 5: Needle 1- 5 from pattern; Needles 2 & 3 - knit

Left Glove
Round 4: Needle 1 - 4 from pattern; Needle 2 - K1, Kll, Krl, K11; Needle 3 - K6, Kll, Krl, K6
Round 5: Needle 1- 5 from pattern; Needles 2 & 3 - knit

Thumb Gusset - Right Glove
On needle 1, continue the lace pattern. On needle 3 knit. The instructions below are happening on needle 2.
Round 1: K7, place st marker, Kll, Krl, place st marker, K7
Round 2: K
Round 3: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 4: K
Round 5: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K2, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 6: K
Round 7: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K4, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 8: K
Round 9: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K6, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 10: K
Round 11: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K8, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 12: K
Round 13: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K10, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 14: K
Round 15: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K12, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 16: K
Round 17: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K14, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 18: K
Round 19: K7, remove marker, slip 18st onto stitch holder, remove marker, K7

Thumb Gusset - Left Glove
On needle 1, continue the lace pattern. On needle 2 knit. The instructions below are happening on needle 3.
Round 1: K7, place st marker, Kll, Krl, place st marker, K7
Round 2: K
Round 3: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 4: K
Round 5: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K2, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 6: K
Round 7: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K4, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 8: K
Round 9: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K6, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 10: K
Round 11: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K8, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 12: K
Round 13: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K10, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 14: K
Round 15: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K12, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 16: K
Round 17: K7 *marker* K1, Kll, K14, Krl, K1 *marker* K7
Round 18: K
Round 19: K7, remove marker, slip 18st onto stitch holder, remove marker, K7

Repeat Lace Pattern one more time (remember, needle 1 has pattern, needles 2 & 3 are knit).

End Ribbing
Round 1: K2, P2tog, continue with 2 by 2 rib
Continue with four more rounds of 2 by 2 rib
BO in 2 by 2 rib pattern

Thumb
Distribute 18sts from st holder onto two needles
Pick up 6sts around thumb hole for third needle
K four rounds
1 by 1 rib for three rounds
BO in 1 by 1 rib pattern
Weave in ends

Notes
K2tbl: knit 2 together through the back loop; knit two together, but from the back, not the front. Video here, just scroll down and look for "k2tog tbl."
Krl: Knit right loop. Video here, but it is only the increase part.
Kll: Knit left loop. Video here, but it is only the increase part.
*marker*: Just signifying where the st marker is on the needle. Nothing special.

Excess and Decision-Making

2009-07-26T18:06:00.002-04:00

So, a few weeks ago I went to Michaels, with the intention of purchasing yarn for a lobster and a squid. I really didn't know how much yarn I needed, so I guesstimated, and decided to buy two skeins just in case. I went with my brother, and we picked out this really awesome multi-colored yarn. It would, we decided, make the best lobster and squid the world had ever seen! We bought two skeins (same dye lot of course). Of course, it turned out I only needed about two thirds of a skein, so I had too much on my hands now. It was not a problem, as I soon found other uses for the yarn . I knit my lobster, named Lobster-friend, and my squid, names Bloop-bloop. My brother desperately wanted an animal out of this yarn for his own, so I knit him a kiwi that I'm going to give him for his birthday. When the time comes, he will name it. All three of those animals only ate up one of the skeins, so I've moved on to socks. I think I'll be able to get at least two pairs out of the second skein, which makes me super excited to have such awesome socks. I'm only about halfway through with the first sock, but I did that all yesterday, mostly during a swim meet, so they should be done soon.

I'm sorry I've been so lacking in posting. I have had time and have meant to post more, but I hate, hate, hate typing out patterns. Since none of the patterns I've posted so far are actually mine, I've just been reproducing them, I've decided to heck with pattern writing, unless, of course, I developed it myself. From now on, this will be more of a standard blog.

Anyway, I've finished a bunch of things since last writing, including everything you saw above, plus a bunch of things you'll see below. I don't have pictures of everything, but they include: grey Persephone fingerless gloves, a pattern of fingerless gloves I developed, based on Persephone, in light purple, a clutch for prom, a hat for Mom, a whole bunch of Hugo's for my brother's friends (all proceeds go to his eagle project), and a big, lovable caterpillar named Leopold, for a favorite teacher of mine upon my graduation from high school.

I've recently acquired a new laptop - essential for college. It's a Dell Inspiron 1545, in aqua blue. I also have a matching wireless mouse with a pretty floral pattern on it from Logitech, and an external hard drive. I still need to get a surge protector, but for now I'm just using a power strip. With my new computer, I've discovered the wonders of Picasa, and how easy it makes to post pictures onto a blog (that was another reason I wasn't posting, it was too big of a pain to upload pictures). Now everything is super easy, and it seems to me like I have more freedom. Hopefully I'll post more now!

In another college and knitting related train of thought, I now have an excellent aqua blue ottoman, which will act both as storage for my knitting and a footrest for my chair (that I will hopefully be able to use if the loft situation works out). I also recently joined Ravelry. I haven't really done much with it besides post projects. I need to get all of my yarn stash and everything loaded, find friends, start discussing, etc. I've got a long way to go on ravelry... but because of ravelry, I've become active again on devientART. An excellent thing, because almost instantly after I uploaded pictures of my knitting and some photography, the pieces got favorited. Such a good thing. Perhaps I'll be active on Gaia once more in the near future...