Next weekend I will be returning to my native land of Michigan.* London and Flint are about two hours away from each other, but getting home is always a complicated process. Unless someone comes to pick me up, I can either take the train to Sarnia, and have someone pick me up there, or I can take the bus to Flint. Now at first glance one would think, "Why, take the bus, of course!"

BUT! A Greyhound bus trip from London to Flint takes EIGHT HOURS, because the bus does not drive directly to Flint. The bus drives to Windsor, then leaves you in Detroit for three hours, and then another bus drives you to Flint! Utter silliness, in my opinion, but probably better for the bus line, money wise.

Anyway. It's more expensive to take the bus so I usually take the train, but I can't leave until next Saturday and there are only afternoon and evening trains on Saturday. TO SARNIA. What was I forgetting?

WINDSOR.

If I take the train to Windsor, I can get home a few hours earlier. And if I take the train to Windsor, whoever picks me up will have to drive through Detroit. And if we drive through Detroit, we can go to a yarn shop!

So, hopefully my mom picks me up, because she would probably humor me. She can knit too, actually. Sometimes I forget. It's not a regular hobby of hers (otherwise I wouldn't forget about it), but I believe I remember her telling me that she learned to knit and crochet in an after school class when she was in elementary or middle school.


Ahaha, as I was writing this my mom just called, and the "yarn shop expedition" (her words) is a go! Yay!



*Right. I was actually born in St. Catharines, Ontario, so if you get really technical about it, Michigan is not my native land. However, I grew up in Michigan and it is much more familiar than this silly Ontario place.

So I went to the yarn shop.

...


WHY DIDN'T ANYBODY WARN ME THAT FIFTY DOLLAR SKEINS OF YARN EXIST?


*deep breaths*


It was beautiful. But so expensive.

I really shouldn't have been so surprised. There's a high end and a low end to everything, right? The clothing store I work at sells twelve dollar pairs of sunglasses and the Sunglass Hut (or whatever it's called) by the food court sells one thousand dollar pairs of sunglasses. The shock was maybe more related to the sudden realization that I have developed a potentially very expensive habit that can only receive dubious, sporadic support from my bank account.

I did buy something. Three somethings, actually. One skein of Debbie Bliss pure silk in a very exciting pink colour (it doesn't have a name, just a number, and I don't feel like looking it up online), one ball of Jo Sharp kid mohair (it was fifty percent off, and actually it might have been Rowan, I don't remember now and it doesn't have a ball band), and one secret skein for my one skein secret pal, which I won't specifiy in case she stumbles unwittingly across my blog.

The yarn shop is not going to be a place I visit often. I just don't need to be tempting myself that way.

Friday I packed, Saturday I moved, Sunday and Monday I tried to recover...so not much knitting has been going on in my little world. Besides the whole moving thing, I have misplaced the piece of paper on which I was keeping track of my ribbing rows for the Sesame cardigan, and am now afraid to keep working on it. This has me really bummed out, because I was really enjoying working on it despite it being mostly stockinette stitch (at least it's not stockinette in the round). I half-heartedly started another Weasley square, and I pulled out the ribbon x-back (which I cast on for a few weeks ago and have since done nothing), but could not bring myself to deal with the ribbon yarn, so it is currently languishing on my desk.

So yes! A post about no progress whatsoever! They'll be calling for a book deal any day now.

I woke up at quarter to eight this morning, a feat I am incapable of during the school year, and have spent the last two hours or so reading Eunny Jang's knitting blog. If I find a blog I really, really like, I will go back to the very beginning and read the whole thing chronologically. Is that weird? Actually, I think it's weirder I don't do that with all the blogs I read. I refuse to read book series out of order, and I listen to all the back episodes every time I find a new podcast. This has nothing to do with knitting. MUST...STAY...ON...TOPIC! ugh.

Today I'm going to the yarn shop downtown to see if I can find some yarn for my One Skein secret pal. I'm kind of nervous about it. What if the staff looks at me and just KNOWS I usually buy yarn at Michael's? *shudder*

This has nothing to do with knitting, but I really like noodles.

My absolute favourite thing in the world is being woken up by construction in the apartment next door!

er...

Monday I had to go to Cambridge to help train people at a clearance center run by the company I work for. Cambridge is about an hour away from London, and since I and the other people going were travelling for work, we were paid for the time it took to drive there and back. Now I, of course, knit the whole trip, so you know what that means right? RIGHT? I got paid to knit!

I'll be a professional knitter yet.

I've had two people from work, after me telling them that I am knitting a sweater (cardigan, whatever), ask, "Is it for you?" And I feel guilty for saying yes, as if for some reason I'm not supposed to knit for myself. It seems like a strange question to ask. When someone walks into a clothing store you assume they're shopping for themselves, right? So why would making a piece of clothing be different? And it's not like there are any major gift-giving holidays coming up (ok maybe Father's Day, but my family's never done major gift-giving on Father's Day). Who'd want my first sweater anyway? The sleeves might not be the same length.

Today is my one day off before I move, and I will be spending most of it packing. But right now I'm going to knit. Actually, most mornings I start knitting right after I get up. I could write a book. Confessions of a Grumpy Morning Knitter.

hmm...

I just finished the back of the Sesame cardigan, hurrah. I'll probably cast on for the right front right after I post this, so I can start working on it on the way to work.

I signed up for the One Skein Secret Pal exchange, so I suppose I'll post the questionnaire here...

1. Which yarn is most like your personality (you can be specific or general with your answer- brand, type, color, fiber, whatever)?
Er...well...(stuck on the first question...) I suppose being a quiet, creative person, understated yarns would be most like my personality. Now, what's an understated yarn? You decide! *snicker*

2. What is your favorite color yarn to knit/crochet with? I like very soft pinks and any sort of green, except neon. I don't really like neon anything.

3. Have you ever used variegated, or magic, yarns? I've used variegated yarns but never the self-striping ones. They certainly seem interesting, though.

4. Do you tend to favor certain fibers when choosing yarns? No. I'm a university student on a budget so I only buy yarn sporadically, and I can't buy anything expensive. If I weren't on a budget I'd probably be open to anything, since I haven't knit enough to really have an informed opinion on any one fiber in particular.

5. Do you prefer to work with center-pull or traditionally wound balls of yarn? Either.

6. Have you ever worked with organic yarns or are you interested in trying them? No, I haven't worked with them, and yes, I'd be interested in trying them, just for kicks.

7. How many and what projects have you made in the last year? I've only been knitting since December, so not much. I finished knitting a Harry Potter scarf but I haven't blocked it or added the fringe on yet. I have an afghan comprised of 7" garter-stitch squares and the Sesame cardigan from MagKnits in progress.

8. Will you be knitting any gifts this year? It is a distinct possibility.

9. What is your favorite one skein project? Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to look at the book yet.

10. How much yarn do you have in your stash and how do you store it? Not a lot. I have a plastic storage cube (about 18" square) that holds all of it.

11. Do you have a yarn in your stash that you love so much you can never use it or part with it? No, although I do have yarn I'm not sure what to do with.

12. Do you knit less or differently in the summer? No.

13. Do you belong to any knitting groups (online or offline)? Online, the Sexy Knitters Club and Knit the Classics, although I'm mostly just a lurker.

I was almost late for work because I spent all morning laughing hysterically at this.

Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I KNIT IN PUBLIC.

On the bus.

Boy did I feel daring.

I did it again today.

*shiver*

I borrowed my roommate's camera...

In a couple weeks I'm moving to a new apartment, so I thought I'd start packing up some clothes I know I'm not going to wear any time soon. I pulled out the bottom left drawer of my dresser and found these:





Who knows how long they've been there, forlorn and forgotten! Oh evil Sassy, bringing about involuntary diaspora!

Um...actually, as of typing this, I still haven't pulled them out from under the dresser. Rather, my first thought was "Argh! Cat!" followed by "Hey, I should take a picture of this."

Then I went crazy and took pictures of other things too, like this scarf I started a while back and work on occasionally:




The yarn is from the frogged blanket.

The beginnings of Sesame, from Marji's yarn:



Squares for Ron's blanket (which I shall henceforth refer to as "Weasley squares"):



The Harry Potter scarf, obligingly modeled by my lamp:



Half of the back of this sweater...



...but I'm going to have to frog it because I messed up a repeat or something. Yuck. The yarn was, in its former life, a Gap sweater. Bet it feels silly now! I would...

Some ribbon yarn that was on sale at Michael's, for this tank, maybe:



The frustrating mystery ribbon yarn:



And the pink mystery yarn:

I've been feeling kind of down the past week or so, and can't think of anything particularly witty to say about knitting. I have been knitting, though. I now have eleven squares for Ron's blanket, and I just finished knitting a swatch for the Sesame cardigan, from MagKnits.

I put all the little balls of yarn for Ron's blanket in a mesh laundry bag, and Sassy sat looking at it disconsolately for quite a while.

Last week I was at Zeller's before work, poking around the yarn section for any yarn that looked like it might go well in Ron's blanket, when I stumbled upon a giant basket of bagged yarn marked "1 lb bags factory ends unknown fiber- $4.97." Mystery yarn! I bought a bag of some lilac ribbon yarn and some sort of pink yarn (acrylic, but it feels nice, and for five dollars...). I might make another Sesame out of the pink, but I'm not sure what I'm doing with the ribbon yarn yet. I tried knitting some lace with it today, which was actually looking neat, but the yarn kept getting twisted, and being in a bad mood, it was frustrating me to the point of tears. I put on a Harry Potter audio book and spent a couple hours winding the yarn around a piece of cardboard. I should probably be able to do something with it now.

There was some highly sketchy looking yarn in that mystery yarn bin, though. I might go back tomorrow, since I'll be at the mall for work, and see if there's anything else that wants me to take it home.

This is how stashing starts, isn't it?

I've looked up a couple of yarn shops in London, so once I buy a bus pass I'm going to go, just because I've never been to a real yarn shop. I think, as long as I keep myself busy, things'll be alright. At least school is over.

I'm finished the Harry Potter scarf! Well, not finished finished, but I'm done knitting it. I've just got to block it and add the fringe now. I might do that this weekend.

More about knitting when I never have to think about modern drama again.

only loosely related to knitting

Darth Knittress: I don't even really like Winnie the Pooh

Her Boyfriendt: you don't!
HB: why not savage?

DK: I don't know, it always kind of bored me

HB: is it becuase he wasn't knitted?

DK: oh honestly

HB: well I'm not knitted either
HB: oh wait
HB: I see
HB: you plan on frogging me and knitting me into the perfect boyfriend

DK: ...
DK: you are raving

HB: well at least I'm not some dark lordess of the knitting sith

I'm pretty sick of garter stitch. I'd like some lace to knit, lace is fun. Well, actually, I've never knitted something that was specifically lace, but the first thing I decided to try knitting when I experienced my random urge to knit over the winter was this scarf, which had a lot of yarn overs and decreases and things, and I hear that's all you really need to know how to do to knit lace, so I don't imagine lace knitting would be much of a problem for me. That scarf pattern was actually really fun, I'd like to knit it up again with some nice yarn, not the cheap icky stuff I was using.

Knitting artists have been catching my attention lately. Freddie Robbins knits weird sweaters, tree cozies, and murderous women's houses. I really loved the tree cozies. Germaine Koh has an ongoing knitting project that is really quite outrageous, and made from recycled yarn. I'm an art student, and I must admit, sometimes I feel pretty lame in regards to my own work. I think if I started incorporating things I was truly interested in I might be happier with what I produce. But before I get really serious and introspective, how about that recycled yarn!

I came across the concept of recycled yarn a few months ago, mentioned in passing in an article I was reading. The idea stuck around my head for a while, but I didn't act on it until a few weeks ago, when I had to do an art video for my media art class. I decided to film myself unraveling a sweater, so I went off to Value Village and bought one. I think, truth be told, I was more interested in the yarn I could knit something with than the actual artistic implications of unraveling a sweater, but unfortunately the sweater I picked out didn't end up giving me such great yarn. I'll probably give the yarn to my cat. Last week, however, I really wanted to frog another sweater, so I went to Value Village again, and this time picked out a sweater fully intending to knit something out of it. The sweater I chose was, in its former life, a magenta 50% wool, 50% nylon turtleneck sweater from the Gap. I frogged it (I really, really like frogging, is that weird?), got the appropriate needles, and actually cast on for the sweater last night (bad me! should have been studying!). It seems to be going pretty well, my gauge is just a tad bit under the specified gauge, but I don't think I really want a sweater 40" around. I think, if my calculations are correct, my sweater should end up being 37" around. Hopefully I got that right. It looks right so far, but I'm only 12 rows into it.

Today I received the yarn that Marji sent me (thanks Marji!), and it is very exciting. It's the sort of yarn that comes wound into those cute little balls with the tag stuck in the middle. Maybe a lot of yarn comes that way, I don't know, but the only yarn I've ever seen come like that is the stuff I can't afford at Michael's or Jo-Ann's. So yes, exciting! But I'll wait to start the intended sweater until after exams. I promise. Actually, since I cast on for the other sweater I've calmed down about it, I think I can now set it aside for the time being. I just really wanted to start it. And as far as the Jo Sharp wool from Marji...well, quite honestly, I really like looking at it, because of the way it's wound. Maybe I'll set it out on my shelf and enjoy its aesthetic appeal for a bit.

I will take this moment to say that bamboo knitting needles are the greatest knitting thing I have yet discovered.

In other news, blogger.com has THE BEST verification letters EVER. You can actually read them! It's so awesome.

To do:
1. Knit a lot
2. Write those essays so I don't feel guilty about #1.
3. Figure out how to post buttons on my blog

If only I could write essays and knit at the same time. I can read and knit at the same time, provided the book is kind enough to stay open by itself, which will make studying Elin Diamond's definition of hysteria so much more comfortable. I think I'm going to take the scarf to class today, I've got at least one class I'm pretty sure I'm not going to have to take notes for, since it's the last day of classes.

Last day of classes! YAY! That means...study like crazy until exams are over (April 28) and then KNIT ALL THE TIME!

I. Cannot. Wait.

Progress:

-Four squares finished for Ron's blanket

I haven't worked on anything else since my last post. The idea of a quirky blanket is way too much fun. Someone in the livejournal harry potter knitting group found a better picture of Ron's blanket in the Leaky Cauldron galleries. The new Leaky Cauldron site doesn't always play nicely with my browser, so I hadn't searched the rest of the gallery after finding one picture, since it was giving me a headache.

There's a LewisCraft store in the mall where I work that is closing, so all their stuff's on sale! I got some more yarn to go in the blanket, since it was pretty inexpensive anyway (it came to about two dollars a ball with the discount), but I think I'll keep checking back to see if there are any better sales later on. This is how stashing starts, isn't it? Haha. Anyhow, the yarn I got is Paton's Astra. It's 100% acrylic, but it feels pretty nice and it matches the yarn I had from the frogged blanket as far as weight and gauge. And with something like a blanket, I'd prefer to be able to throw it in the washer. Hopefully none of the mystery yarn from the frogged blanket is 100% wool or anything...that'd be really awkward.

Well, actually, if it was, I could probably just cut out the ruined square and make another one to replace it. Tedious, but not the end of the world. Why I am thinking about this when I am only four squares into it (out of a calculated 143) I really have no idea, but that's how my brain works.

...and I'll have to stop now because the cat is trying to eat the squares. Ack!

Ron's blanket

I found something to do with my little random balls of yarn from the frogged blanket!

Earlier I was listening to PotterCast, a Harry Potter podcast put out by the Leaky Cauldrom, and their fan interview this week was with a Harry Potter crafter! They talked about the general Harry Potter crafting community, and referenced a thread on the Leaky Lounge started by Harry Potter knitters! In this thread, I found links to Harry Potter knitting groups, Harry Potter knitting websites, and lots of Harry Potter knitting patterns. I have a new found love for the internet. Um, have I mentioned that I really like Harry Potter? So, anyway, I read through the thread and someone mentioned they were going to knit Ron's blanket from the Goblet of Fire movie, and I think that's a really fabulous idea, so I'm going to too! Obviously it won't be an exact replica, but from the picture I found you get the general feel of the blanket, and you can really go just about anywhere with it. Eventually I'll probably have to acquire some more yarn to finish it, but this should keep me busy for a bit.

Projects I have going at the moment:

Harry Potter scarf (almost done!)
random chevron-striped scarf (using the greens, light browns, and pinks from the frogged blanket)
thread crochet shrug
crochet afghan (started a few years ago)

The crochet shrug is barely, barely started, since the day after I started it I gave my left index finger a really nasty cut and haven't been able to hold the thread while I crochet. The crochet afghan is probably going to get frogged, I don't like it anymore. I'm just waiting to frog it until I find something to do with the yarn, so maybe in the mean time I'll like it again.

I'm going to cast on for the Ron blanket as soon as I publish this. Maybe I'll study for finals sometime soon...

My cat just tried to eat the Harry Potter scarf.

I am not kidding. She opened her mouth really wide and bit it.

Sassy is on drugs and right now she has the munchies.

I was going to work on the Harry Potter scarf, but Sassy decided that lying on me for eight hours while I slept wasn't enough together time, so now she needs to sit on me while I sit at my desk. I do most of my knitting sitting at my desk, actually. I like to knit while I listen to podcasts, but I don't have an iPod, so I listen to them on my laptop. I like to think of my laptop as my really big iPod...

It'd be fun to post pictures of the Harry Potter scarf and some other things I have going, but I don't have a digital camera either. I borrowed my roommate's to post pictures of my stash, but most of the time, when I think I might want to borrow her camera, it's at times when she's probably asleep, like right now, or yesterday at 5AM. My impulses need to get on schedule with everyone else. Actually, I'm supposed to be getting a digital camera-my grandmother bought me a very small digital camera for Christmas, but it was so small that it didn't have its own drivers, and, of course, the drivers included on the CD were Windows only. We called the company but they don't do anything for Macs (dorks) so the camera went to my little sister and my mom said she could actually find me a more versatile digital camera on eBay for the same price. I hate to pester her about it though, so I have no idea how that search is going.

I have to say a big "Thank you!" to Marji, who is donating, to my knitting cause, some Jo Sharp DK wool, intended for a sweater project. Marji has a very large, beautiful stash, and on Flash Your Stash day offered to donate yarn to someone with a needy stash. I shamelessly sent her a link and she decided that I qualify. Thanks Marji! I am thinking about making this cardigan. It should be exciting.

Ahh the cat has decided I am no longer interesting so now I can knit! Huzzah!

flash your stash

Today I learned that it is "Flash Your Stash" day, and that yarn-lovers everywhere will spend lots of time drooling over yarn porn. My stash hardly qualifies. It's more like yarn-Puritanism. But hey...I have a stash, no matter how small, pathetic, and ugly. It is my stash to protect from my cat and call my own.

secret pals!

This is such a great idea! I think my bank account can handle it, so as soon as I sign the lease on my new apartment I'm signing up (I'd rather actually own my new address before I start giving it out).