What a mess

Hannah, Justine

It's been a busy weekend here in Kalamazoo, and I have the pictures to prove it. (Just don't ask how the Cabled Riding Jacket is coming along...it's not. Wool and humidity are not a good pair, as any sane person would realize.)

Eric and I housesat for Dr. Bruce Mills, one of our English professors here at K, and it was a truly enjoyable and relaxing weekend. Dr. Mills has a wonderful dog named Gypsy, an above ground pool, and air conditioning, something that seemed so wonderful and new I hardly wanted to leave the house! The Tigers were playing last night, pizza was ordered, and I had hours to dedicate to a new project.

I've been wanting to knit the Mystery Stole 3 since I first heard about it. I signed up for the knit along about 3 days before it closed, picked some lovely red laceweight out of my stash, and then thought about knitting it. I thought about casting it on, I thought about how long it would take, and I thought about how the clues were whizzing by faster than summer seemed to be. It wasn't until Melanie, the creator and designer of the MS3 declared the theme would be revealed this Friday that I got my ass into action. I cast on and spent all weekend shouting "As soon as I finish this row..."

But it was wonderful. I'm on row 140 and clue 2. Almost halfway to catching up, and I couldn't be more in love with this pattern!
It's addicting as everyone says, and as the stole gets larger and the stitch patterns become apparent, the thrill and mystery continue to grow. Stay tuned! I hope to be caught up to clue 4 by Friday, if not well before.


Another project that I have been working on is another R3 bag, this time for myself. My biggest complaint with the last one was how long it took me to cut and prepare the plastic bags, so this time I tried something different. Laying the bags flat, I cut off the top and bottom, rolled the bag into a long roll, and then cut it up like little sushi rolls. I am then linking the bags one by one, and crocheting those. It does mean I will have to use twice as many bags, but so far it seems sturdier than it's earlier counterpart.

It's also made a much bigger mess. The pile of spaghetti bags does not want to be contained, and to be honest, is kind of a pain in the ass. But I'm excited by how the bag is turning out - this one will hopefully be a little smaller and easier to wear and use.

I am a big fan of reusable shopping bags, no matter what they are made out of . Normally, I just take my backpack to Meijer and throw the groceries right into it, eliminating the need for bags all together, but there are always a few things left over, and some plastic bags find their home in my closet. I'm toying with the idea of knitting some of the new Everlasting Bagstoppers from Knitty.com, or following these instructions to use up the rest of my plastic bags. I also am tickled and intriuged by the these. The Morse Bag are part of Craftster's
challenge right now, and I'm glad to see reusable bags gaining such celebrity and wide spread use. Even my mother is thinking of making some!

Oh, one last thing - after last weekend's fiasco, we are all mended. Eric's tooth was fixed on Monday and his wrists are mending nicely. I did suffer some horrible heat rash (seriously, terrible, disgusting, awful and other colorful adjectives), and as of yesterday my arms were covered in tiny water filled blisters. Now they are peeling something wonderful. I do look like some sort of sunburned mutant lobster, but I am also on the mend. Remember, wear sunscreen AND a helmet! Take it from me. This has not been a fun week.

Catherine

Pumpkin and water

So I'm officially working again on 3 projects. It seems like a long and daunting task of trying to finish a blanket, sweater, and shirt before leaving for Spain, but I also know it won't happen, since I haven't even finished the trim on the sweater. So updates on each of these WIPs:
Pumpkin:
I have the two sleeves done, and they kinda have been for a good while. I've been working on the body part of the sweater since December (I remember casting on the 360 stiches in the San Diego Airport while my friend was in class). I've worked on it sporadically since then, but I doubt that it'll be half way done by the time LandSea comes around. I plan on taking this project with me to Spain.
Water:
That one blanket that I started over a year ago! I'm currently pulling this project out of it's bag ever since I moved into Dartmouth. I keep pulling it out every so often, and when I do I get like 3 or 4 rows done. It goes from my toes to my chin now, and I think I'll go so that it fits my twin bed here so that it could fit anyone.
Weird shirt thing:
I've got the back done, and I'm just working on the front, but I seem to not pull it out when I could... I guess Water and Pumpkin take priority.

I have to say, the R3 bag is freaking awesome, and I didn't know that you made it out of plastic bags. Ugh. that sounds like so much work, but freaking awesome in the green ways. If you ever think you need more plastic bags, let me know, because I have a major stash of them.

Keep Knitting!

To add to Summer Reading: Stardust (which will be a movie on August 10), and The Nanny diaries (Which will also become a movie this September with multiple changes). HPDH: Freaking awesome, and so sad.

Mayhem and Mishaps

Hannah, Justine,

This weekend did not go as planned. No camping. I cannot get my copy of Harry Potter until tomorrow morning when our Mail Center opens. Very little knitting.

Yesterday, Eric and I headed to Fort Custer, with the intention of biking, swimming, and hanging out in nature all day. It's about 17 miles there, so we got on our bikes and headed out. It was miserable, and I am burned to a crisp. Bending my legs is agonizing, and I have a farmers tan like no other.

But the real treat was on the way back. Going down a hill, Eric hit a bump in the sidewalk. The results, while they may be charming, ain't so pretty.

Yep, those are two ace bandages. Two (mildly) sprained wrists. And yep, that is a big gap in the front of his mouth. It was a nasty spill, and I guess we're just lucky it's only the tooth that got broken.

The only good news I can see in this weekend is that I am on row 70 of the body of the Cabled Riding Jacket, and on row 76 I begin the neck decreases. It's rolling along! But really, thats small consolation.

(I must say that he is taking this all quite well. I'd be pitching a fit if I were banged up so badly, and he's handled it all with a (toothless) grin.)

If I were wittier, this would have a title

In honor of there being a mere 7 weeks until my 21st birthday, here are 7 summer tidbits.

Starting with the saddest first...

1. Fishy Frank Sinatra passed away last week. For those of you familiar with me, you'll know he lived a long fruitful life. (Or, as long and fruitful as a betta fish can expect to live.) He was a present for my 19th birthday , a gift from a dear friend. During his fishylittlelife Frank Sinatra had many adventures. He traveled with me. He traveled on the Amtrak lines, by car, and by foot. This was sometimes a bad idea. (I once dropped his Nalgene and watched it roll for about 10 feet, fish flailing inside. He became the victim of our kitten, Stella, who knocked him out of water and left him for dead. But he survived two years of college, which is more than I could say at some points.

2. My mother has been making preserves all summer. Cherry, raspberry, strawberry, currant, and all sorts of other Farmer's Market delicacies have been boiled, canned, and stored. Imagine my delight when, upon going back to Chicago for a weekend, I received four jars (one already being eaten) of preserves. They're delicious!

3. The flowers you see were a surprise from my boyfriend. Lovely, sweet, and really put me in a good mood.

4. The Sidewinders I had been working on are no more. Back to the frog pond, due to my lack of row gauge. Luckily the flowers and preserves counteracted any woe on my part.

5. I've spent the last three days rebuilding the plaster in the hall of a house we're working on. I'm spending the summer in Kalamazoo, helping the College renovate houses built in the 1800's. This isn't as glamorous as it sounds - it's mostly just painting and sanding, but I like the job. We did have some amazing finds. One of the houses has a perfectly preserved dormitory room in it's attic. Three beds and desks jut out of the wall, all in dark, hardwood paneling. A flight of stairs opens into a low, wide table in the center of the room, and the windows let in just enough light to cast a gentle and eerie glow across the abode of K students past. It was magical, and still kind of haunts me.

6. I have been making amazing headway on the Riding Jacket from Teva Durham's Loop d Loop book. I started this lovely coat over a year ago, after my mom got me handspun merino yarn as a Christmas present. But I found the pattern trickier than meets the eye, and the coat sat in a bag for too long.
One of my goals was to try to finish all my WIP's and work through a lot of my stash before leaving for London. This was the big, looming and somewhat daunting task to finish, but I am quite happy that after only a few days I'm almost done with the body, and ready to knit the arms. And am I ever excited to wear this when it's done!

Now if only I could go ride the hunt in England, this jacket w0uld be perfect!

7. There is no real 7. I'm torn between Harry Potter coming out today, and the fact that we're going camping. Both are pretty exciting to me. So, number 7 will have to share. I am going camping and THEN going to read Harry Potter!

I return.

I should be working on Zodiac right now. I started it in June and then set it aside once work started at my old summer camp. The job keeps me busy and leaves me dehydrated and tired every afternoon (although I'm sure it's easier than what you're doing at facman, right, Catherine? I guess I'm just weak), leaving me with no desire to do any knitting.

The sleepsack was for my future nephew and I stopped working on it when I realized that I didn't know what zodiac sign to put on the bottom.. I thought that was a good enough reason to pause the project. I did have a tentative due date, but it was, well, tentative, and I knew better than to just go with that.

We went to Chicago last weekend for my oldest nephew's birthday party; a good time was had by all. On our last day, though, my sister announced that she had just started active labor- a good 3 weeks before her due date. Looks like I made the right decision with the sleepsack!

We're planning on going back to Chicago this weekend, leaving tomorrow to be exact, to visit newborn William. Unfortunately, this means I had to cancel my previous plans to visit fellow S&S bloggers Catherine and Hannah, as well as all my other friends in the Kalamazoo area, which is very sad indeed. :(

So... I guess I should be working on that sleepsack, right?

A little thing called Harry Potter is getting in my way, though. With the last book quickly approaching on Saturday, I've been spending all my free time rereading the books (in backwards order, because I thought that was a good idea at the time). Looks like i really have my priorities straight, right? I hope my sister forgets that I promised a sleepsack.

I end this post now with two of the cutest campers and thus knitting-distractors ever.

Bad week vs. good yarn

It's been an interesting week in Kalamazoo. (Okay, it's Thursday, but hopefully tomorrow will be uneventful enough to escape notice. Cross your fingers everyone.)

My trip to The Fold really was lovely. I came away with a pound of a silk/merino blend to spin up, and some adorable stitch markers. To me, it was worth the drive and the gas.

(Oooh, aaah. Shiny!)


The bad, since this weekend has been nothing but checks and balances hit as soon as I returned. Our original plan had been to drive, since my father wanted to come up to Kalamazoo for a while. This was unfortunately found to be impossible on Saturday. Amtrak was our second choice. Sunday morning showed all four trains to Chicago completely sold out! We ended up returning on the Grayhound bus, which was fine, until my laptop fell out of my bag (from above the seats) and clobbered me on the head. I fondled my wool.

The long bus ride had allowed me to work on my Sidewinders, which were going splendidly. I whizzed through the Prologue, and onto Act I, II, and III. I was in love (am in love) with the ingenuity of the pattern, the beauty of the yarn, and the overall project.

Until yesterday. They're impossibly small. Either I have man-calves like no other, or I made a huge mistake. I'm really hoping it's the latter, although the former is not entirely impossible.
I've set aside the disaster sock for now, so close to being done, yet so far from perfection. Once I summon the willpower, it will be back to the frog pond, unless I can discover my mistake.
The only good thing? Look at that stitch marker. Look at it! Even with the disaster sock breaking my heart, my new stitch markers make every row a little more exciting. (I almost wish I were joking. Who knew such a small thing could excite such fervor? But really...they do.) Now, I can wear my heart on my sleeve and on my socks!

Summer Lovin'

Home for the weekend, with Melissa and Jillian. It's been great. Every time I return to Chicago, I'm awestruck by how much I love it, and how much I miss Lake Michigan. Jill and I spent way too long contemplating how we could steal a duck for a pet, and at one point I narrowly avoided diving into the water below the pier. (The rocks were the deciding factor).

One of my favorite (and traditional) Chicago destinations is Ras Dashen, a wonderful Ethiopian restaurant in Uptown Chicago. I crave it when i'm in Kalamazoo, and gorge when i'm in Chicago. It was a lovely evening overall.

I've joined the Ravelry craze, and am really enjoying it. At first glance I thought the whole idea was well, a bit trendy and silly, but after receiving my beta invite I've become addicted. It's rewarding to see what I've knit already, and motivational to add to my queue. I'm chasingmyself over there, fyi.

One more fun weekend excursion before I head out to start Saturday. (The dogs and I are going to the beach for a while!) Melissa lovingly joined me in Marango, IL. From here you take I-90 for 100 years, or until Melissa starts complaining and threatening to hurt you. Then, drive through the boonies until you are almost lost and the GPS starts yelling at you. Finally, pull up to a beautiful but inconsequential house, ignoring the yells of Melissa that "you actually made me drive all the way out here for a house? It's her GARAGE? I thought you were JOKING!" and you will have arrived at The Fold, a personal Mecca for yarn and fiber. Toni is wonderful, the shop is overwhelming, and the sheep are adorable. More pictures and stories to come!

Catherine

Independence in more ways than one!

Happy Fourth of July! Today was not only a much needed break from work, but a lovely day of barbecuing, movie watching and crocheting. Finally, as America celebrated her independence, my "reduce, reuse, recycle," or R3 bag was freed from my hands.

1. This bag took over 75 Meijer bags to complete. I wish I had kept track. I want to make another one, but I'm not sure I'm up to all that cutting! 250,000 men served in the War for Independence, which is quite a bit larger (although after the first big bag cutting marathon, 25 really feels no different than 250,000).
2. As a rule, I don't crochet. I haven't actually crocheted a project, well, ever. I was unprepared, nervous, and naive. Luckily, like our Founding Fathers, it all worked out in the end. Not really how I'd envisioned it - it's larger, stronger, and not quite as pretty as I'd have liked it, but I'm satisfied.

3. I want to take this to a farmer's market. I have visions of this bag brimming with vegetables as I bike home to saute and chop to my heart's content. Too bad it's a Christmas present.

Remember,
"Three it's a magic number
Yes it is, it's a magic number
Because two times three is six
And three times six is eighteen
And the eighteenth letter in the alphabet is R
We've got three R's we're going to talk about today
We've got to learn to
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle"