Sockapalooza Socks

Sockapalooza! Yes, here are the (almost) finished socks! It looks like the bottom sock is much bigger, but it isn't, the camera was at an angle. I still think I'm going to unpick from the cast-on edge on socks one (the bottom one) and redo the ribbing, because it's alittle loose.

This is the top of the socks. Do we notice something? The *@&# yarn is flashing! It didn't do it in sock one? Why did it do it in sock two? At any rate, since this yarn is so varigated I'll just leave it that way, because it's not really noticeable.

Must.....Write......Essay

I have this essay to write. It's 3000 words on Mass Differentiation. I also have a chance to go out tubing (going down the icy slopes of Northern Ontario in inflated tubes). As per my friend Elizabeth's suggestion, I shall try to write some of the essay, until I find out if I am going tubing tonight or not.

*Sigh*

If any of my readers are geologists or astronomers, any tips on writing a paper on the theory of Mass Differentiation and the formation of the earth and solar system?

Stealing blog ideas :)

I borrowed this little consumer inquiry from Fibrephile.

Grooming Products

Shampoo-- Now: Alberto Strawberries and Cream
Fav: Garnier Fructis for fine hair
Moisturizer-- St. Ives Facial
Cologne-- None
Razor-- Venus
Toothpaste-- Colgate Sensation Sparkling White

Electronics

Cell phone--Motorola 120e
Computer--Dell Inspiron 5150 Notebook
Television--JVC 24"
Stereo--My RCA DVD player

Home

Sheets-- Cotton 400 thread count from HBC
Coffee-maker-- Don't drink coffee
Car-- Alas, I have none
Stationary-- 1950's Notecards with fabric patterns

Beverages

Bottled water-- Tap through the Brita
Coffee-- Don't drink it, but I love Vanilla Steamed Milk
Vodka-- hardly ever, but if I do it's Skyy
Beer-- If I HAD to drink it it would be Guiness

Clothes

Jeans-- Bluenotes, believe it or not
T-shirt-- I like babydoll style in bright colours from GAP kids or Old Navy
Briefcase or tote-- MEC Messenger bag or Backpack
Sneakers-- Sketchers

Favorite Places

My Cabin, Edmonton, the East Coast of Canada

Necessary Extravagance

Chocolate, Yarn, Tea varieties

No new knitting

No new knitting news...ooooh very nice alliteration. I've managaed to pick up a cold so I'm tired and a leeeeeeetle cranky right now. However I'm really excited to find out who's going to win the bracelet, we should know in the next few days.

Tomorrow I need to work on my essay on mass differentiation, and my sockapalooza socks. They're getting near done!

Finally, here's the picture of the bracelet I'm giving away.

Bracelet

Here's the bracelet I'm probably going to send as the MSF/KWB prize, unless I get the posies bracelet done. My picture program, Hello, is acting up, so I can't post the picture here. Ironically, although the other looks more complex (see link from a few days ago), this bracelet is incredibly difficult. The weaving method is really hard, and you have to pass through each bead many times. The flowers are actually a beautiful clear purple, and the seed beads inside then are gold-lined. The flash from my camera washed out the colours a lot.

It's my sockapalooza socks! Or rather, sock and heel+ankle. I learned a new cast on technique from my new book (Stitch n' Bitch Nation), so now I don't end up with a loopy cast-on edge. However, the first sock was done BEFORE I knew this technique, so I may go just below the ribbing and pick up my stitches, then knit my way back up to the top so that it'll match the other sock better. Double cast-on RULES! Except that I don't have the hang of how much tail to leave yet, which means I often end up casting on three times before I have enough yarn to cast on all my stitches.

Here's the wool I'm planning on using to make the monster slippers from Stitch n' Bitch Nation. I think they look pretty cool together! I don't think I'll make them into monsters though, just regular cool slippers.

I didn't post yesterday, unfortunately, and I won't be able to post again until at least next Friday, because this DUMBASS COMPUTER is not working, so I have to mail it to Dell to get it fixed.

In other news, I'm still working on the hat, but I also started a bracelet that I think I'll send to Stephanie for TSF (Tricoteuses Sans Frontierès/Knitters Without Borders).

I started a hat using the beginner's hat pattern on 'the blue blog'. I'm making it using Paton's Classic Merino in a deep navy blue, and Cascade 220 in Ruby. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it or if I'm going to donate it as a prize to "Knitters without Borders".

This is a very short post, because I'm exhausted from school today. My classes are going to be much harder than I'd originally thought.

Amalgamation

All right. I'm thinking of amalgamating my two blogs (I have one knitting one, and one 'other' one). Now the question is, do I have enough non-knitting readers on this site that I would bore them if I amalgamated? Cause if not, my life will be easier if I join them together. Besides, I'm afraid my knitting readers (I SWEAR there are some! I swear!) will get bored because I don't usually have enough new knitting news to post every couple days, and then I could intersperse with regular life.

Any thoughts? Leave a comment! Otherwise I probably will just do it. (Hey, 1990 Nike flashback)


--> Of course, in direct contrast to my last point, I have minor knitting news. "Thursdays are for knitting during CSI" got off to rather flat start, because I've been fighting one heck of a cold (being that I'm just starting to get over the mono, but I digress), but CSI was good at any rate. Today I also got yarn and needles for sockapalooza! Hopefully the colour/fibre will work for my sock-buddy.

Fuzzyfeet

This was my sister's Christmas present this year (lucky girl, two hand-knit Christmas presents in a row!). Fuzzyfeet, which I poured MUCH work into. I dyed the wool myself, using Fruit Punch koolaid. I then knit the slippers. I realized that I'd made a mistake in the heel turn of the first slipper, so I knit the first one twice. After all that they looked boring, so I picked up all the cast on stitches, and added about 8 rows of the yarn plus a purple varigated eyelash. Then I felted them (mostly) by hand, although I finished the felting in the washing machine. Phew!

PS/CoS Gryffindor Scarf

This is the Gryffindor scarf I knit for my sister Christmas before last, and it's sitting on top of the puzzle my Mom is doing, which is incidentally the world's most complicated. Not only is it over three feet long (ie, that scarf is about 9ft. long in total) but the pieces are all almost indistinguishable except for colour. Kudos to Mom for getting this far.

Sockapalooza!

Well, I don't have any new knitting news today except that I joined the Sockapalooza! I may have said that already, I'm not sure. I also wasn't sure which group to sign up with! I have done a fair amount of dpn knitting before, but it was somewhat large gauge, since it was Fuzzyfeet and my Thrummed Mittens. I also have done at least SOME knitting before, ie many scarves, a few hats, some more slippers, etc. But I put myself in the beginners because I haven't yet mastered the art of Fair Isle, and I figure that once I know how to do that, then I can consider myself "experienced". It's too bad there wasn't an "Intermediate" group. That'd be me!

I am fixing up all the sidebar stuff, since some of it is out of date.

Here's a wishlist of things I want to make this coming year, during "Thursdays are for knitting while watching CSI"!

1) MaryElla
2) Rogue in Cerise
3) Psychedelic Afghan in Blues, Purples, Greens, and Pinks

Here's (most of) the front of the first sweater I have ever knit. You can see that there's some mistakes in the left cable, and on the right one there's something that just doesn't look quite right. You can also see the line of stitches that had my lifeline in it. Oh well. Hopefully after it's done a wash will help things along a little. The sweater is much darker than this, it's more of a dusty heather. It's also acrylic, unfortunately.

I was supposed to post today but it'll be tomorrow instead.

See you then

A New Year's Post

Happy 2005! We have more snow forthcoming here in the great land of Northwestern Ontario. We got about 25-30cm two days ago, and are supposed to get another blizzard with 15cm again tonight.

New Year's Resolutions:
1) Write in blog Monday, Wednesday, Friday
2) Take my vitamins/eat healthy every day
3) Excercise more
4) Lose 5 lbs - what this actually means is lose 5 lbs of fat, I don't care if I end up weighing more due to muscle mass later on
5) Knit more
6) Snowboarding as soon as I'm allowed to again

Hopefully these things working together will make my year a more healthy one than the past year. I have three words for you: appendicticis, pneumonia, and mononucleosis. And that's just a start. Mom thinks I'll be a good teacher, because I've already had almost every childhood disease known in Western countries. Excluding mumps *knock on wood*

Some accomplishments this year:
I learned how to knit cables
I learned how to drive a boat
I got an A+ in a University class
I hiked over 10km in one day
I went to the Calgary Stampede
I worked for a multi-national corporation (and made a discovery, that if it pans out, will make them millions of dollars)
I saw a funnel cloud
I learned to ballroom dance
I went to Hawai'i