Rhymes with Mango

When I was in high school I would hear the word matriculated bandied about. I knew it had *something* to do with college. It sounded so... important, complicated, and illustrious. I thought it might mean graduating with some sort of honor or perhaps at least making the dean's list. Imagine my disappointment when I learned from my trusty Webster's that all it meant was that you were accepted to a college or university and you had ponied up the enrollment fee.

Said fee is much higher now that it was the last time I paid one *cough cough* years ago. I just paid my $450 to UVM to enroll in the Computer Science degree program. I've been attending the university as a Continuing Education student for the past year; kicking the tires so to speak. I decided that I like it well enough to stick around. Plus it's less than half as expensive as the only other program in the area that appeals to me (Champlain College, in case you care).

So I'm matriculated. I didn't think I'd care this much. Heck, I'm on campus every weekday to pickup my partner, Rob, after work. I've taken three classes. But somehow it's different now that I'm enrolled. I feel more connected. And less like an imposter when I wear the UVM emblazoned gear that I've stolen borrowed from Rob.

My degree is several years off. It's hard to calculate as I haven't even started negotiating with them about what credits they'll take from my earlier educational forays. Probably in the neighborhood of 8 years at my current rate of 2 classes per semester. Yikes!

Sheep.

Last week I posted the Counterpoint scarf that I made for Rob. We took a quick but adequate photo on his birthday when he received it and I planned to get a better shot during daylight hours.

Well that turned out to take a long time. Thank the deity of your choice for digital photography. I could not have afforded to take as many shots as it took to get even a decent one.

I'm not a great photographer. I think most of the pix that I post are pretty decent, but it takes from a handful to a couple dozen for me to get a blogworthy shot.  Illusion knitting is especially difficult to photograph. I must have taken at least 50 photos of Rob's new scarf to get one that I considered good enough. And frankly, it's not that great.

First, a selection of outtakes.

I'm not 100% pleased with my final pix, but I ran out of patience. They'll do.

Thanks to everyone who left birthday greetings to Rob. He appreciated it lots.

The best part about making gifts for people who don't read my blog...

Is that I can show my projects to you right away!

That's Djevellue for Addie, daughter of my friends R & D. I picked up a  skein of Socks That Rock from Juno when she last destashed. Since the skein was from when the STR yardage was shorter it was thus not enough yarn to make socks to fit me - unless I wanted short cuffs which I don't. I loved the yarn and the color and so I've had my eye out for a pattern to use it. When I saw some FOs of this pattern at Ravelry, I knew I had to make it and that it would look terrific in this yarn.

I still have over half a skein left and will likely make another.

Specs:

• Pattern: Djevellue by Gro, size 2 years
• Yarn: Socks That Rock, jade ~40 gm
• Needles: 2.5mm & 3mm
• Gauge: 7 st/in

I am coveting some STR yarn to make socks for me, but am being good and knitting down the sock stash before replenishing. It's hard though.

Danish Earflap Hat

This one you've seen before. It's the Danish Earflap Hat for my mom by her request. It's been done for almost 2 months except for the ties which I finally finished last night. I made twisted cord; faster than lanyard braid and spiffier looking, IMHO.

Crown detail:

I think the snowflake crown was the feature that drew my mom to this pattern.

Specs:

• Pattern: Danish Earflap Cap by Charlene Schurch in Hats On!, size large
• Yarn: Plymouth Encore dk, red + ivory
• Needles: Size 4 & 5
• Gauge: 6 st/in
• Mods: I reversed the Main color and contrast color for the charts, otherwise the snowflakes would have been red.
• Etc: My mom chose the pattern + yarn.

Just started turning the heel.

Not that you can tell from this pic.

Rob suggested the name Nightfire. I think it might stick.

It may seem like I've been finishing a lot of stuff lately. Not so much though when you consider that yesterday's scarf posting was knit back in May.

Finished these yesterday.

• Pattern: My basic toe-up sock pattern with an afterthought heel.
• Yarn: Gurdy Run Woolen Mill 3ply alpaca/wool blend. 1.25 sk
• Size 3 needles, Brittany dps.
• Etc: Made as a Solstice gift for ************. Modeled by Rob. (If they won't fit Rob, they're not for you. Sorry.)

I decided not to tip the cuffs with the dark brown. As I speculated earlier, once the heels were done it would be obvious whether or not to do them. With one heel done I realized that the dark brown edge would look nice, but that the socks looked fine and were long enough without it.

I almost went back on my decision though when there didn't seem to be enough lighter yarn to BO both socks. I ripped my BO out twice on the first sock to use less yarn each time. My BO for toe-up socks is one described by Grumperina in this post. After running out of yarn using that BO, I alternated 3 stretchy BO stitches with one regular BO stitch. It looked fine, couldn't even tell. But I ran out of yarn again. So I used a 2:1 ratio and had juuuuuust enough yarn to weave in the ends of both socks. I had already hunted down the yarn ties to lengthen the yarn. Yes, I was *that* desperate but thankfully I didn't need it.

This was my first time using an afterthought heel. I like the way it looks and I enjoyed knitting it. Didn't like picking up the stitches - I think I knitted the waste yarn in too tight. I'll try it again and when I do I'll knit the waste yarn loosely.

You may know him better as my knit model. He's such a good sport. He's modeled knits made for people larger than I, or things made for me when I'm having a bad hair day and don't want to pose.

He's my gaming partner, cycling buddy, yarn hoarding enabler, knitting companion, blog instigator, carpooler, and sweetie pie. He's a lot of other things too but I promised him that I'd maintain some of his mystery.

I spent the weekend spoiling him rotten. Now that he's received his scarf, I can show it to you.

I think he likes it.

• Pattern: Counterpoint by Jennifer Crawford, published in MagKnits
• Yarn: Cascade 220, 8555 black and 8010 ivory
• Needles: size 6 Addi Turbo
• Mods: I added 9 stitches to make it wider, distributed proportionately across the center pattern panel.

2 socks from 1 skein of yarn.

13" left for weaving in ends. Breathing can recommence.

Don't know why, but I've been knitting nuthin' but socks for a couple two-three weeks now.

Basic toe-up socks. Made with the Gurdy Run alpaca/wool 3 ply that I fell in love with at Vermont S&W two weekends ago. I'm using the misocrafty method of short rows that I mentioned in my last post. I really like it. It's a little fiddly - I don't think it's possible to do short rows without any fiddlyness at all - but I find it much less cumbersome to execute than the techniques that require a P3 tbl (purl-three-through-the-back-loop).

The white/blue stripes mark where the afterthought heels will be knit in. The socks just need heels and for me to decide if I want to tip the cuffs with the dark brown so I can bind of the tops. Once the heels are knit with the darker color, I hope it will be obvious which will look better. Comments welcome - tipped or no?

The boy's birthday is tomorrow. We're celebrating his birthday all weekend long. I gave him some t-shirts last night. This AM we went to Farmer's Market and the pedestrian mall where we had refreshing chilled tea in a tea shop, purchased local produce; treats (samosas, kettle corn hot out of the kettle!) and books, and then made reservations for tomorrow night's birthday dinner at a Brazilian BBQ restaurant.

The most exciting part of the day was when we got stuck in the elevator at my workplace. I have free parking downtown and we were taking the elevator up from the garage in between shopping expeditions. My first thought when I realized that we were stuck was 'when was the last time I peed?'.

My second thought was that this would be a lousy birthday weekend if we were trapped in an elevator all weekend. My third thought was that this would be a good time to own a mobile phone. That's when I noticed the emergency phone. Yay! But then the woman at the other end of the line couldn't hear me - oh crap. She hangs up and then the phone gets caught in an endless loop of phone company disconnect messages for several interminable minutes. Finally that stopped and I tried again to connect with the emergency operator (I'm not exactly sure where the phone rang to) and talked REALLY LOUD this time.

Within moments of being assured that we would be helped, we heard sirens outside. Seemed a little overkill until they kept going past - er, that wasn't our rescue team. About 5 minutes later the elevator finally went up. And best of all, the doors opened.

We took the stairs for the remainder of the day.

The Cinderella socks are finished. I *think* they'll fit the person I had in mind but I won't know for about a month when I see her next.

The yarn is leftover from a pair of socks that I made for me.

I'm not thrilled with the short rows, the same technique I've been using all along made small holes in these. I'm not taking them out again; I'm chalking it up to my sock knitting learning curve.

Fortunately, I've discovered a new short row technique that not only looks better, it's a LOT easier and faster to execute. Tutorial here, courtesy of miso crafty. I'm using it on another gift pair of socks using the luscious Gurdy Run alpaca/wool worsted I picked up at the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival last weekend. Pix forthcoming.

You may recall the Rainbow socks that I completed about a month ago. I had a good-sized pile of yarn leftover, possibly even enough for another pair for me. Weighing the remains determined that I only had ~80% as much yarn as I used for the first pair. So I decided to make an appropriate sized sock to use up the yarn.

My plan has been to give them to the first person whom they fit which is why I've named them Cinderella socks. Of course I will select who gets to try them on; they won't go to just anybody. I started out aiming for a particular pair of feet. As it turns out, I guess I really want these socks to go to that person as I've ripped them out twice to start them over because they were too small for her -- I mean because they were too small to use up all the leftover yarn! Not buying it, are you? This is it though, not matter what size they are I'm gonna keep going this time. (Er. I said that last time too though...)

School's back in session. I'm taking a programming course. I don't know what that will do to my already erratic posting non-schedule, but I thought I'd just throw that out there. The class? It's online which I 'm mixed about. I like the flexibility, but I miss the classroom experience. I'm trying out a new school with this class to help me decide where to enroll for my BA/BS (haven't decided on a school yet).

So after reading Emily, Norma, and Naomi's posts with pix from VT Sheep & Wool fest, I felt like a slacker for not having posted any pix yesterday. Unfortunately, as I mentioned already, I forgot the camera, so you'll have to go see Emily for sheepie pix but here's most of my haul...

Green Mountain Spinnery Maine Organic worsted in an adorable little bag. The skeins are typical 4 oz sized, the bag is Lilliputian.

Gurdy Run Farm and Woolen Mill 3-ply alpaca/wool. This is the stuff for which I returned to the festival on the second day to procure additional skeins. I wish you could touch it, it's so yummy.

Patterns for me and the boy. The sheep for him, stocking for me. To knit that is - who knows who the recipients will be?

Scarf kit from Black Sheep Designs. The scarf and the roving are both closer in color to one another in real life. The roving is close to accurate. The roving gets felted into the scarf in diagonal stripes. I am feeling a bit daunted by the materials list which I failed to read until I got home (I know better now). Nylon curtain? Pool cover (seriously!)? I think an old sheet and a tarp might be called into service instead.

The Hebrides Sweater kit from Mostly Merino is on order and should be here in a couple of weeks. Margaret (owner/shepherd/dyer) is modeling the sweater on her home page if you want to go see. This is the item that I am most excited about. I have coveted that kit since my first S&W festival 3 years ago. So for the next week or two I will be busy clearing the needles so that I can cast on when it arrives and not be silently mocked by a huge pile of works-in-progress.

Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival was this weekend. Yesterday me and the boy went to pet sheepies and bunnies, fondle and procure fiber-y goodness and create general mayhem with friends. I forgot to bring the camera for the 4th consecutive festival, but Norma did a pretty good job of documenting the highlights in a fly by sort of way.

I'm pleased with my purchases: the Hebrides sweater kit from Mostly Merino (website not up yet), 3 sk of Maine Organic yarn from Green Mountain Spinnery, 5 sk of wool/alpaca from Gurdy Run Farm & Woolen Mill, and a silk/wool felted scarf kit from Black Sheep Designs. I may or may not have gotten some other something-somethings that may or may not be future gifts.

I usually only go to the festival for one day, but after I got home on Saturday I regretted my earlier restraint in purchasing only 2 skeins of the wool/alpaca yarn and I just *had* to go back on Sunday to get some more. I had to pay admission again just to purchase that yarn, so that gives you an idea of how much I coveted it. I've already wound up one hank and plan to cast on for a pair of socks soon.

Saturday night I hosted the annual post-fest pizza party which I just realized needs to be renamed as the festival isn't actually over yet on Saturday night. Anyway, several friends came over for pizza + knitting + games. It was a lot of fun.

My latest FO is a Grumpecue:

Here's a close up.

This is the second time I've used this pattern. It's for a specific couple that may not wish to be named at this time.

Specs:

Why is it that two skeins laid side-by-side can look exactly the same, but  when you knit them up, they look like this:

I suspect that the baby won't notice, right? Right?

Finished the seaming tonight. Now it just needs a little swish and block and some buttons and it'll be ready for Fall's chilly breezes.

Darn! I meant to take photos of the adorable buttons, but I forgot. You'll just have to trust me that they're perfect.  

My team placed 25th in the Dragonboat Festival last weekend. We were 24th going into the finals, the top 25 teams (out of 77) got to compete in the final round. Our poor showing in the last heat was for the most part due to timing. It occurred less than an hour after our previous heat; we hadn't had as much time to recover as the other teams.  After the initial disappointment of coming in last in a heat for the first time all day, we bounced back feeling proud that we'd made the finals. Not bad for our first year!

But we didn't leave empty-handed, we won first place in the Best Team Song category! And none other than your favorite tech-blogger Rob wrote the song! It was a witty sea shanty that poked lots of fun at our team captain and our (mostly fictional) capacity for alcohol. I knew we'd win when after our performance one of the judges told me that she was the songwriter for Dragonheart (the festival hosts).

*from the prizewinning Dragon Boat Shanty by Rob Rohr.

Our team photographer was using real film which has not yet been developed. Perhaps I'll share some pix when I get them from him.

On to the knitting. A pair of finished Fetching.

I started these last winter. They've been in time-out since then as the palm of the mitt only came halfway up my palm; uncomfortable and not very warm. Last week at SnB I ripped out the cables at the top and reknit adding at least an additional inch to the palm between the thumb and the final row of cables. I'm pleased with the mods, in case you want to try it.

Specs:

• Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath in Knitty Fall 2006
• Yarn: Cascade 220, bracken ~55gms
• Needles: size 5 dpns
• Mods: see above

My rainbow socks were knit mostly at Falcon Ridge and at the Dragonboat Festival (in between races).

We had a chilly & damp evening last week in which I tested them out. The verdict? Toasty!

Specs:

• Pattern: based on the Ribbed Sock pattern in Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch (sans ribbing)
• size: ~10.5
• Yarn: Opal 6ply, color 1125
• Needles: size 2 dpns (Lantern Moon ebony)

I think I may have enough to make another pair for my big feet! My initial weighing on my kitchen scale indicates that I used slightly less than half of the 150 gm ball. I want to measure the leftover yarn on a digital scale before I cast on for a new pair. If not enough for me, I'm sure I know a little person who would love a pair or rainbow socks.

Next up on the needles is a stashbusting project. I had originally planned to make haiku for my dear friends' daughter Addie, but it turns out that I don't have enough easy care yarn in a single color for her size. I was jonesin' to make the sweater, so I'm making the smaller size for an as yet to be determined child. Though I have a good idea who it might be.

I still want to make one for Addie, but I need to get some more yarn first.