Allllll byyyyyy myselllllfffff

So my honey is gone back to Lakehead for the rest of the semester. It was both less hard and harder to let him go this time, because now I know that the time is half over (and that he's also not going away this summer OR for his Masters right away). However, I know how much I missed him before and that makes it difficult.

However, since I missed some midterms being sick last week I kept myself busy today studying for two of them (so far) and making dinner - parmesan chicken fingers. I'm also going to make muffins for school snacks. On Mondays I have class at 9:30 (up at 7:30 to get there), then I work until 1:30 with no access to a microwave. This means that by 11:00 or so I'm getting hungry, since I ate almost 4 hours before. However, with no access to a microwave I can't usually eat my lunch then. Also, on Tuesdays I have class straight from 8:30-1:00 (up at 6:30) which means I'm again starving by 10:30/11:00. Muffins should help bridge this gap :)

This is a picture with the Panta I made this fall, wearing my alpaca mittens and my Mrs. Beetons (since I didn't have good pictures of anything but the mittens). I'm also wearing my faboo coat from GAP that's cherry red with purple silk lining in exactly the shade of that panta. In consequence, I'm making another pair of Mrs. Beetons using that yarn to match my winter coat.


This is an apple cozy I whipped up last night while Sean and I went through and watched all the funny episodes of Stargate from each season. Since I like Red Delicious apples and Braeburns the best, it's a little taller than the average cozy (although I might make a smaller one for the Braeburns once they come back in season). I made up the leaf as I went along, and I ADORE the button. It's a single one that I got in a bag of vintage buttons from Value Village. Isn't it so pretty?

I'm also going to eventually get some yellow, brown, and pink cotton to make a nectarine cozy and a banana cozy to protect those fruits in my lunch as well. Maybe even a tomato cozy...

Sockapaloooza!

Yay for the socks! They're all clean and blocked, and I'm really happy with how they turned out. I hope my sockpal likes them! I hope they fit too...I'm a little worried they might be a mite too long for her, since they fit me almost perfectly and her feet are shorter than mine. However, they are slightly short for me so maybe they'll be OK. I can't wait to make a sock band for them and send them off.

I also finished the Fort hat (for some reason it said Fort Scarf in the side bar, I don't know why), but I have no pictures since Sean's not home. There likely won't be pictures for awhile because right now our schedules couldn't be different - I work 9-5, he works 3-12. The only time we get to have a conversation is when he drives me to work in the morning. However, I solved the getting home from work problem, since the lovely Crystal (I'm not sure if I spelled that right...) is giving me a ride home every day.

H is for Hoodie

Rogue! I know I'm slumping really badly in this pic, but Sean was on his way to work and we didn't have time to make a better pic. The light is also bad because we never have a lot of natural light in our apartment. Our big windows face just North of East, and our other windows near North, so there's no direct light of any kind. Nice to stay cool, but not helpful for picture taking.

*edit* I'm not throwing out the gorgeous beaded window hanging you can see sitting across the garbage can, it had to be moved off the table and is temporarily resting across that (paper only) garbage can.

I also got an interview at U of M!!! I'm so excited. I'm going to fly up on Tuesday, and my Mom is going to meet me so she can take me everywhere I need to go. We can visit Sean's family some more, and I can have a nice little mini-vacation with my Mom. I haven't been home since February, and I won't get home for a while yet, so it'll be nice to see her. Plus, it was her 50th birthday on April 6!!! I'm pretty sure I forgot to post it on the blog, although I made sure to call her. I havne't finished her birthday present yet, so it'll be a wee bit late.

What happens when you don't know your own gauge...

Same pattern
Same wool
Same needles
Same number of cast on stitches

Seriously. Even though I'd checked gauge before I started, my gauge was very super-tight in the first mitten. I loosened up TONS and that helped a lot in the second mitten. It fits very well.

I still think this is a gold medal, and I hope the Harlot thinks so too! It is a finished pair, down to weaving in and sewing up the hem. I'm going to keep the smaller mitten, and start another to match the big one (since I have LOTS of wool left). In fact, you can easily make two pairs of mittens from one skein of each colour (like I had).

The specs:

Snowflake Mittens from Patons Cabin Fever booklet
4mm dpn's
Briggs & Little Regal in Lilac and Plum (1 skein each)

Olympic Mittens

FINALLY a picture! However, the mittens are not turning out like I hoped. First, the tension was too tight in the foreground light purple, causing the fabric to buckle. Then I fixed that, and my tension became too tight in the dark purple (I think I was tugging too tightly at the DPN ends to stop the loose stiches I was getting) and it buckled again. Consequently, despite my swatching the mittens are a little warped and MUCH to small (I have big hands though, so even at proper gauge they mightn't have fit). I will finish the other, but I'm also making Natalya gauntlets in the meantime to protect my forearms between my parka and my mittens in this icy weather. - and Jayne, thanks for the tips on keeping tension well. I think I've got my tension resolved in the left hand, now I need to loosen it in the right. I think I was getting the hang of it right at the end of the mitten :P

I also have a picture of the Noro hat I made.

You can't see the gorgeous colours very well because it's dark in the house and the light is super yellow. But it is a cute hat, although a little too big for me. I also don't like the shaping at the hat too much. I can look bald and pinheaded in hats, and this top shaping doesn't help ANY of that at all. Next Noro hat I make (oh, there will be more. One skein? Who can say no to that?) I'll figure out a way to make it smoother at the top.

Back to Dryden for part of Reading Week this week, leaving tonight. The kitties are going to Laura and Allison's hopefully they can handle them! I have tons of assignments and reading to do (surprise surprise) but I'm going to aim for my gold medal.

FO and Rogue

Well, I finished another project (I'm on a roll!). Not that it was hard, because I'd already finished the first sock. Now I have a fraternal pair:



Yarn: Regia Ringel - Clown 5048
Pattern: Stashbuster Spirals in Children's Med (CO 52)


I like fraternal socks, because then I can get a pair of ankle socks out of only one ball of sock yarn. I'm cheap, I know.

I'm also continuing work on Rogue, as seen below:



I've split the back and front, and am 1/3 way up the top back. I hope to finish the top back this weekend. I can't wait to be able to wear this sweater!



This is the side cabling, that creates the waist shaping as well. 10 points of you can spot the mistake - but since it occured on both sides I'm leaving it in. Besides I hadn't noticed it until I was WELL past it, and there was no way I was going to frog it back.

Mrs. Beetons

Oh it's so PRETTY and quite soft. I can't wait to start the next one. Of course, it's going to wait now until I work LOTS more on Sean's scarf. I hope I can finish it soon.

Koolaid Thrummed Mittens

Finished thrum mitten. Just need to do the other! Cute, huh?

*Edited much later to add: I finished the other mitten in fall 2006 and gave them to Becky*