I've Got the January Blues

Hey folks, know what's a riot?

-15 windchill. Love it. So cold I can't feel my feet in the car, or my fingers when I'm walking the dogs. So cold horseback riding has been canceled for two weeks in a row! So cold  I'm fairly convinced that Illinois fell asleep one night and woke up in the tundra!

Rawr. I am a penguin. Maybe like this little guy: 

In all seriousness, I've got a bad case of winter fever which is why I've been lying low lately. I haven't been inspired to haul my ass to work in the morning, much less write! However, that cabin fever is getting to a point that if I don't break out of the cabin I may end up becoming a little insane.

Courtesy of winter in the Midwest!

Luckily winter leaves much time for knitting, couching,and cuddling. Most nights find me cuddled on the couch with the two dogs and two cats draped creatively over me. There are certainly worse things!

I'm a little ashamed to say I'm still finishing my "Christmas" knitting. It's turned into New Years knitting, and may soon become Valentines Day Knitting! But, my recipients are generous in their waiting and little by little the gifts are growing.

The Binary Scarf in particular is one of my favorite projects to date. Maybe it's because as I age I embrace my geekiness more and more, or maybe it's the incredible satisfaction all the little carefully knit 1s and 0s line up, making a perfectionist giddy with glee.

It's also taking me a damn long time to work on this scarf! Since it's knit in the round it's taking twice as long as it would if it were knit flat. However, knitting it in the round is infinitely quicker than double knitting, at least for me! I shudder to think how slowly I'd be going if this scarf were double knit rather than knit in the round.

I'm also using Worsted Weight wool on size 5(US) needles for this project. I knit loosely, so for most people that might be like using size 4's. The pattern is coming out beautiful, and the fabric is dense while still having a nice drape. The whole thing is turning out quite well -- it's just slow! 

Now I'm back to that puppy pileup on the couch! I've got my knitting, my beer, and my animals. Bring on the Friday movie watching!

happy weekend to all!

Christmas Knitting- Let's wrap it all up!

Since I am pretty much an archetype for "broke college student living in London", Christmas has been on the cheap side this year. Which is fine, because I enjoy crafting much more than buying, and I am always looking for ingenious and inexpensive gifts to give to people. Hence the felted soaps I am giving to grandmas, aunts, and other loved women, and the knitted gifts for my uncle, father, and grandmother.

Then came the question of wrapping, which honestly, I have never stewed over before in my life. Being the daughter of a Martha Stewart devotee, previous Christmases have been a flurry of paper, scissors, and curling ribbon as far as the eye can see. One could also say I am a bit obsessed with presentation, whether food, gift, or just my life in general. (This rule does not apply to my wardrobe. I have been wearing the same pair of jeans for 4 days. mmm, all nice and broken in.)

But, the fact that I don't want to waste money on a whole roll of wrapping paper for about 3 gifts made me think, no pun intended, outside the box. And then I started thinking about the bags of wrapping paper we throw away every year, and how environmentally irresponsible that is. I mean really, it just started to seem wasteful. Armed with that mentality I scoured my room.

It's amazing what some newspaper, copier paper, and a pen will get you. I mean, it ain't fancy, ritzy, and it certainly wouldn't meet my mother's standards, but for this broke, London-living college student, I'd say I've done quite well. *Dusts off hands.*


In other news, I am working on the yoke of my dad's sweater. It's gone quite fast! You know, if you don't take into consideration that I had to rip it out several times, make a special trip to Liberty's to buy the damn Rowan, and bankrupt my soul frogging the last disaster of a sweater. Yes, it's going swimmingly.


And with all that delicious blue, you almost could swim in it! I'm hoping I can somehow get it done by the end of the weekend, and have all my gifts in the mail by Monday. But, my best friend is on a plane right now, headed from Madrid to Jolly Ole England. I doubt we'll have much downtime, so wish me luck on getting this damn thing done!

Good luck on Christmas Knitting everyone! Remember, it's supposed to be fun. Or something like that.

And now for something a bit different...

May I present you with a rose?












Because as they say, a rose is a rose is a rose

and that which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet...

But when does it not? When is a rose not a rose? And I assure you, no sweet smelling roses here. Nope, just the earthy, damp smell of maple leaves.


You see, it all started with an innocuous project I spied over on Craftster. The goal was to make a bowl using only newspaper and glue.

I succeeded. See? A bowl.












Glamour shot of aforementioned bowl.











Aerial view.












And then I had a bowl. It sat on my desk for a few weeks, looking sad and lonely. I moved it around occasionally, but it remained empty. This bowl needed a purpose. Obviously I could not eat from it. I could not use it in the kitchen in any way. I could store things in it, but had nothing that needed storing. I couldn't put my basil plant in it, or I wouldn't be able to water the plant ever and it would die.

What is a girl with a bowl to do?

Pshaw. Go outside, and when she thinks no one is looking run around like a maniac picking up maple leaves. Rinse, repeat. (I got a few stares... no harm though. This isn't my real school. In six months I'll be gone and we'll all just be fond memories.)

And then, make flowers. There are 10 in the bowl, and maybe more on the way. There are a LOT of maple leaves here.

Now, the bowl has a purpose. The bowl has flowers. Lovely, antique looking flowers. Sort of vintage, literary roses that live a double life. Perfect for the desk of an English major with an affinity for Gothic literature. They are Gothic flowers. Gothic heroines in their own right.

But what really matters, is that they are flowers.