Å Strikke

Popped!

Published on 2009-07-01 15:17:00

So, a few weeks ago I finally warped the new loom, wove almost 10 inches, and...got the first contraction. Four hours later, Papoose was born. She's huge, abundantly healthy, and we're all doing great. Birthday was June 13. No idea when I'm going to finish weaving that first scarf, but the prospects for knitting while breastfeeding look pretty good!

Ready to pop

Published on 2009-05-28 20:04:00

Hello all!! Thanks so much to every one of you for the lovely comments last time - so wonderful to know I'm not posting into a void here, despite my hiatus! I missed you all while I was gone!My FO parade is definitely slowing...for which I blame both end-of-semester grading and my increasingly enormous girth and weight (I've gained 35 lbs and it's ALL in front!) But I did finish two more items recently:The Little Sister Dress:The Violet Sacque from Vintage Baby Knits:This may be it for my pre-ba

Yes, I'm still alive!

Published on 2009-04-26 15:09:00

Actually, I'm not only still alive, but I've gone and created Life! With some help from Hubbus. Yep, we're preggo:Aaaaaand...that's not my only excuse for having let the blog hibernate for months and months! I also started my new job in the fall, and then over the winter break we moved to Queens! It's been a bit busy around here - so much so that there was more than a month when I didn't even login to Ravelry! !!! My keeping up with other blogs has also been decidedly spotty - I try to catch up

Adding to the Fiber Stash

Published on 2008-07-26 15:23:00

It’s getting boring to start every post with an apology for how long it’s been since my last post, so I’ll just not. I’ll just show you some super-pretty wool instead, okay? ‘Cause yesterday I got another box from The Spinning Loft (yep, you can order online now). I know, I’m going there in August so why couldn’t I wait? Because I had to make sure I finally got my paws on some Abby batts, that’s why! They go fast. (They’re made by this Abby.) And then, Beth mentioned that she h

Pretty Pretty

Published on 2008-06-01 21:29:00

A few observations: 1. BFL is incredibly soft. Given its relative cheapness, it's incredibly soft. I could spin for the rest of my life with BFL and be happy. That is, I would if I didn't know about how shiny Wensleydale is. And about the even softer softness and pretty natural colors of alpaca. And the amazing way silk looks beautiful no matter what stupid things you do to it. Sigh. You see how easily this spinning thing can become an obsession. 2. Plying on a wheel is so easy and fast that it'

Some pictures and a meme

Published on 2008-05-28 22:37:00

Beth continues to prod me to blog even though I'm really much too busy spinning, and occasionally dyeing fiber. So here's a quick meme and some pictures before I get back to spinning. I can't stop! It's way too much fun! (To prove to you that I really am completely obsessed with the spinning, I'll confess that I've barely even logged on to Ravelry lately. I know, it's crazy. But that's how much fun spinning is, I tell you.)“The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers

Kromski Sonata (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Published on 2008-05-19 14:12:00

Um.....okay, I haven't posted in a long time, and I kind of have a hell of a lot to tell you all, most of which won't get told. Because I need to get back to my spinning. On my brand-new Kromski Sonata spinning wheel. Yeah, you read that right. I had to go home sooner than expected (visa issues, again) and as a reward I got my spinning wheel early. Sorry for just one bad picture from the whole receiving-opening-assembling exciting initial stage, but it turned out I had to charge my camera batter

FO: Boring Vest

Published on 2008-04-18 01:34:00

Alright, just because Beth insisted, here I am posting. At least I have something to show for myself!A vest!Sorry the picture sucks - it's 6 degrees celsius and drizzling outside (snow yesterday!) and I had to take it quickly while Hubbus was on his way out the door this morning. The vest is made out of the same 50% wool / 50% alpaca "Alpafina" yarn I used for the body of the Fair Isle 101, which I had loads of leftover of. Now I have about 20 yards left, at most. Score! (Yes, those last few inc

FO: Fair Isle 101

Published on 2008-04-04 04:23:00

I finished it!Actually, I finished it three full weeks ago, and have been dying to try it on and show it off but couldn't until now. What's my excuse this time, you ask? Actually, for once I have a good one: I got a hideous case of food poisoning AND strep throat at the same time and was completely out of commission until a few days ago, and even now I'm still not eating regular food (chicken broth, baby!). The good news is I lost about 15 pounds and by the time I could finally try the sweater o

Addendum

Published on 2008-03-04 07:52:00

Sorry to continue with yet more politics, and yet more apologizing for politics, but I want to put here my answer to a very good question that Beth posed in the comments on the last post. You are forewarned to skip along (again) if the whole reason you're reading knitting blogs is to avoid politics. (It's getting harder every day, isn't it? Sorry!)Although - quick! - before you leave, I want to announce that I just got to the raglan decreases on my fair isle 101 sweater! yay! It's finally going

Untangled

Published on 2008-03-03 01:46:00

I Navajo-plied on my turnip spindle: Contrary to expectation, I did not end up forever tangled in hopelessly screwy singles as a result of this experiment. I actually ended up with yarn. Hunh.And now for some more political linky-linky (which is very different from "hanky-panky" thankyouverymuch):If anyone was wondering precisely why I stopped reading the serious, topical Ravelry forums (in favor of the non-stop silliness at CPaA and LSG, the spinning groups, and, oh yes, the two groups I mod, a

Bah!

Published on 2008-02-26 02:27:00

Politics again. I can't help myself. Skip it if that's how you roll.I haven't been in the mood to say much lately. (I know - shocker!) I've been getting a lot of work done at the historical library (yay!) and some spinning (yay!) and also spending way too much time following election coverage and figuring out ways I can support the Obama campaign from afar (can't wait to get back home and get involved up-close and personal, but that's still a little ways off). I've also just been on such an emot

Fair Isle and Food

Published on 2008-02-18 03:27:00

I've been knitting and knitting and finally I have something other than a black blob to show you: It's my modified Fair Isle 101 pullover and it's actually pretty far along - the sleeves are already done. I did most of the colorwork part yesterday, during what Hubbster Hubbus and I declared our "khoziaistvennyi den'" or designated day for not leaving the house, instead doing things like laundry, cleaning the stove, and resting. This was partly because it was -22C with windchill yesterday. Brrr.

Today is Super Tuesday

Published on 2008-02-05 01:12:00

And I'm so excited I can't sit still. I can't even knit. This is all I have to show you, in all the time since I last posted (or the time before that, and before that, when I think I last showed any knitting):On the left is the soy yarn I found here. 100% soy. It's cute. Thinking I might make socklets. Or something. Don't really know. On the right is the hem of the Fair Isle 101 - I got a replacement needle, then realized I could possibly fix the KnitPicks one. The cord simply pulled out of the

A Raffle and Some Hose

Published on 2008-01-30 03:56:00

You guys are awesome! Huge, public thanks to those who volunteered to read The Brick! I hope it isn't too painful.In other news, I wanted to tell you about a couple of cool things. ~~Warning: slight political content ahead: ignore at will~~You may have noticed that I'm an Obama supporter. The man rocks my world, and I'm very enthusiastic. I've posted all about it all over Ravelry, so if you want to know why you can find out there (here's a starting point), but my point here is just to let any in

Dissertation is out there!

Published on 2008-01-28 03:42:00

No knitting content today. :-( Because I haven't been knitting - my US#3 KP needle broke in the middle of knitting the hem for my FairIsle 101 sweater. Argh!I was tickled today to find that my dissertation, which was deposited in September, finally made it up onto the Dissertation Abstracts database at UMI. Then suddenly seized by the realization that it's now totally exposed to the possibility of public ridicule. If, that is, anyone ever even looks at it, which now that I think about it is actu

Valenki (Russian Felt Boots/Slippers)

Published on 2008-01-18 04:49:00

There was a really exciting exhibit here that I'm really excited to be able to tell you about. We had actually tried to go to it twice - first, we came down with that coldplague, then we did actually go there, walking quite a distance in -18C cold, only to find out that an exhibit that was set up for only 6 weeks had decided to close for more than 2 weeks in the middle of that time. Such is life. The key point is that we finally made it there again, and they were open this time!So what the heck

3 FOs and a JOB!

Published on 2008-01-10 02:34:00

How's that for accomplishment? Okay, it helps that I've been waiting huge amounts of time between posts, and yes, of course two of the FOs had been languishers that I just finished up, but...3 FOs and a job! And pictures! (we finally got a few sunny days in a row...we paid the price of -18C temps, but it was worth it)So - first things first. The sweaters.No, okay, I'm kidding. As enamored as I am of the sweaters, I want to tell you about the job first!I got one! That's the most significant, shoc

How Did I Get So Lucky with My In-Laws?

Published on 2007-12-04 03:45:00

We went to visit Hubbster's grandparents and aunt in a suburb this past weekend. They got me a present in honor of my successful dissertation defense.Yarn.Are they awesome in-laws, or are they awesome in-laws? They bought me *yarn*!!!Let's look a little more closely at the yarn (click for slightly bigger).It's 100% wool, 2-ply, approximately a worsted weight at a guess. 9 balls at 151 meters per ball.The biggest letters on the label say, "Yarn." And it says it's made in...the RSFSR. That stands

Pictures - A Start

Published on 2007-11-29 04:05:00

I know, I know.I'm a total blog failure lately.And it's not really because I'm preparing for a campus job interview (yahoo!) which means writing a presentation/lecture, researching the school, and trying not to worry myself to death. It's really all about spending too much time on Ravelry. My alpaca leg-warmers. This is what I ended up doing with that KnitPicks Decadence I didn't know what to do with. Very handy here.Some spinning:The blue-ish stuff is the gradation-dyed merino I got at the Alle

Tagged

Published on 2007-10-29 17:00:00

So, Beth tagged me for an 8 random things meme. This finally woke me out of my stupor, so I'm going to post 8 random reasons I haven't been updating my blog. (Those aren't actually the official rules of the meme.) The official rules are: 8 Very Random ThingsOnce tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment le

Spin Out!

Published on 2007-10-01 12:31:00

So I managed to attend Spin-Out! Well...sort of. Actually, it went like this. I was going there with two friends, and we planned to eat lunch in the park, enjoy the spin-out for a couple hours, and then I'd go straight to the bus (a mere 20 blocks away) which would take me to Long Island. Sounds like a great plan, right? Except for the part about dragging all my stuff with me during this whole outing, including the 20 blocks of half-running to make the bus on time. And we started out late. And g

A Recommendation

Published on 2007-09-25 10:08:00

I'm afraid I still don't have my camera cord, so no pictures yet, and this post also won't contain any knitting, but I do have something quite special to tell you all about. My dad has started blogging!!I've been pushing him to blog for a while now, and for a long time before that I was pushing him to write a book (the blog is intended to be a sort of trial before getting into larger-scale writing). No, it's not about knitting. But I think some of you might be interested anyway, and I personally

A Good Cause (and good prizes...)

Published on 2007-09-23 11:07:00

I just donated my little bit to Heifer International as part of the Spin-Out charity drive. You can do it too, even if you can't make it to the actual Spin-Out in Central Park, NYC on Saturday. By the way, Heifer International is this really cool thing - not only did it teach me how to spell "heifer," not only is it a really good cause, but the way it's set up just tickles me. Cara from January One started a Spin-Out "registry" - and it works exactly like a gift registry. Imagine the Spin-Out ev

Thanks, guys!

Published on 2007-09-15 13:11:00

Wow!! That's certainly a record number of comments on my previous post!! Thanks so much, to all of you, for all your support - this blog definitely played no small part in helping me to finish, by getting my popka in front of the computer every day and putting me in a good mood for the day's writing. And it has been wonderful beyond words to get so many lovely messages of congratulation from so many people!! PS - oh, and did you see the new knitty? First, I'm just so glad there's *one* knitting