Just a Test

I'm attempting a new way to look at life, as per this quote (compliments of the Internet)

"Life is a test. It is only a test. Had this been a real life, you would have been given instructions on where to go and what to do."

Although I didn't find this quote until after completing this, my mini end-of-the-school-year project kind of reflects these ideas. See this?

It's a mini clothesline!

Up in the tree like this, it looks like a little elf went out to dry her clothes. It made me smile.

I wrote down the pattern for each piece, so I'll see if I can get the pattern out later. All yarn was handspun, including the clothesline itself, which was flax.

I tried to make it chronicle a woman's life, from her birth, to her first prom dress, to her wedding, to the birth of her first child. It's a tad existential, but it seemed appropriate, what with all of the changes going on, college apps and such.

Life...

...is getting in the way of life right now...but thankfully, life is working with knitting to keep me from going insane. ;) My enter key is not working, so there are going to be less paragraphs than there should be today.

Using a compilation of different fibers from my spinning career, I created a little shrug. It was just a rectangular piece of fabric that I sewed part of the long ways together. None of the fibers are dyed other than that big brown strip; that yarn was from a pair of socks I made for my mom a while ago. I am finding out I am actually quite enamored with the natural colors; I should buy more "regular" fiber! Every other strip was in k 2 rows, p 2 rows, and the intermittent strips were in garter stitch. It turned out rather well; this is the first shrug I've made that I wouldn't mind wearing in public.

I am also knitting a vest from the fall issue of Interweave knits; as you can see, the body is done. I just have to block it (the stockinette stitch really rolls!) and add the edging in the neck and arms. There also is supposed to be a strip to tie it off. I have found my interchangeable set, so the confusion of a straight needle being able to go around in a circle will not happen again. For anyone who is being super kind to me and continuing to read this blog, thanks so much for bearing with me. I have lots of other yarny "stuff" I'm working on, and will try to post as often as possible. I don't know how you seniors do blogging and knitting and school; I can barely keep up and I'm just a sophomore!

Priorities

School is turning into one big priority that, unfortunately, can not be ignored or pushed aside for a simple blog post. My goal was to post every day in December; I'm currently using borrowed time even as we speak.

How does posting every weekend sound? (WARNING: Feburary is going to be hectic.)

No blogging time does not mean no knitting time, however. 

I knitted 2 scarves for two separate friends of mine; pictures were not taken.

I have finished the super-secret presents, but haven't given them yet, so pictures will have to wait.

I am almost done with Ryan's vest, as you can see:

Unfortunately, the neckline is supposed to have ribbing. The pattern called for a circular knitting needle.

"No problem," thought I. "I can just use my straight needles. The fabric will be a bit stretched, but it will bounce back."

Allow me to illustrate. I thought that a straight needle could go around this.

I guess I figured it would bend or something.

which would you choose?

Right.

It's a good thing my birthday is tomorrow; I believe I need a size 3 circular knitting needle.

'Nuff Said

(above) purse, 5/8 done
(below) hat, done (and it looks weird on me--oh, well)

(below) handmade ceramic plate

(next post, after I find my good camera) the yarn and fiber I bought on an excursion today

Dyeing of All Kinds (Plus a FO)

Rewind, if you please, to the Saturday before last.
The day before, a certain ceramic hand was picked up from a certain ceramics teacher's workshop. This hand seemed to enjoy following me around, so I let it pose in some pictures.

Also finished around then was the Picovoli cardigan. All I have to do is steam the edges, and I'm done. One more 4-H project complete!

Anyway, back to the Saturday before last.....
Mom and I were at a spinning guild meeting consisting of fiber, yarn, and tons of dye.
We had lots of fun.
A pair of snow-white silk caps, bought on the first of this year....

.....are no longer snow-white, nor caps. The orange and yellow has already been spun, and is a hairband, and the blueish purple one will soon be spun. (The brownish hairband was also knit with handspun flax during the trip. In fact, I'm wearing it as we speak.) Some lovely alpaca, soon to be a pair of gloves... ...is now a brilliant blue (although it was meant to be lavender. I don't know how that happened.)
Mom even got in on the action, dyeing a beautiful silk scarf! Mom is very proud of her scarf, and I am, too. It's a wonderful creative endeavor. She says she's trying to keep up with me. I think she's doing a terrific job. The next day, we left for Wisconsin, with the gerbils in tow. Annie wasn't feeling very well, and we thought it wasn't right to leave her behind, to be fed by the neighbors every couple days.
She passed on on the way up, and is buried up there. It's really pretty, right by a little lake, with lots of trees and sunshine.
Be a good little girl, Annie. We'll miss you.

On a lighter note....
When we got to the cabin, I did a bit of dyeing. The first try turned out quite atrocious, but with some Rit dye remover, I miraculously got a second chance, which turned out a lot better, and is what you see here.
This yarn is for three super-secret presents, each a different color, intended to be finished before Christmas. Shouldn't be too hard, right? (McCormick food coloring and Kool-Aid. Never lets me down!)

And, hmmm....I suppose I'm all caught up. Great.
I'll go unpack the spinning wheel now.

A Camp Update

Well, I got back from camp on Saturday. It was only a week and a half session, but it was a lot of fun. We were in an outdoor cooking and building program, which meant starting lots of fires and (at least this year) lots of lashing. We made our own bridge, platform and tire swing, as well as a catapult that didn't really work (but it was fun anyway!)

I was with mainly guys this year, similar to last year, although this time I had another girl, instead of being by myself. We affectionatly called the program "girl boot camp", just because it takes a lot of energy to keep up with the opposite gender. :)

Next year, I hope to be a CIT (counselor in training). All of the counselors were so kind and helpful, it was great to get to know them!

I had a rest hour every day, which meant lots of knitting time. My brain was also on "get up early for school" mode, which meant I woke up an hour and a half early some days. As a result, I made this:
It looks done, but it's really a tad too short. I cast off too soon so that "the guys" could see that knitting an hour a day (give or take) really does amount to something. I wore it, loose ends and all the last day. A couple little ones who had watched me in amazement as I had knit throughout the session told me good job when they saw the finished project.

On the way home, I cast on another project:

The goal is to turn it into a shrug, one of those projects I've always wanted to try, but always got side tracked. The yarn was tie-dyed at camp. I spun it eons ago, it seems. It's so thin and weak, I doubted I could even knit with it. But it seems to be holding. The general idea is being adapted from this (minus the pretty lacey thing, I'll probably follow her pattern some other time, it's good) shrug. Perhaps I'll enter my version in Knotions Magazine, which I just found, something. Who knows?Speaking of dyeing, there's a dyeing workshop my spinning guild organized, so expect lots of prettyprettypretty yarn soon!

Oh, and I made this on the way to camp-

G'day all!

I Swore To Myself I Wouldn't Forget...

...but it seems Fate had a different idea. What am I referring to? Why, the first blogiversery of this here blog!

To see the first (lame) post I wrote, you can click here.
Now. Let's have some knitting info, shall we?
I knitted a scarf from that silk. This is the first scarf I've made that is actually longer than I am tall:

And I only had a bit of yarn left!

Remember that skirt I made out of the "scrap" yarn? Well, it turned into a tube top, then a tank top type thing. I'm hoping to get the pattern typed up in time for the fall Knitty (it really looks like a homecoming shirt type thing). If I don't get it done before May 16 (I think that's the deadline) you'll be seeing pictures soon!

I do believe a plan for summer knitting is due, seeing as school will be out in a month. (Eeeek! AP test next week!)

1) If I get to Jo-Ann's before the year's end, a certain guy friend at school will be getting a "flying" cape. If not, he'll have to get it next year. Seeing as I promised he would get it before we graduated from high school, I'm covered.

2) Ditto for my brother. Although, I'm guaranteeing him his cape before Christmas.

3) For the twins 1st birthday that is coming up, I have already made little ceramic shoes. They won't fit them, of course; it's just supposed to be a memento. I'm hoping to get something in the yarny nature snuck in, as well. After the AP test, I'll do some sleuthing on Ravelry.

4)I also have those two patterns for myself I'd like to sneak in.

5) My cardigan is simply screaming to be slightly redesigned; I'm imagining take two in a bright read Cascade 220.

6) A random piano scarf pattern keeps on popping in my head. The plan is to use the 100% alpaca my aunt gave me. I might have mentioned I wanted to dye it; that plan fell through. I have some extra white yarn from the cardigan I might dye at camp.

Well, that's all folks. In honor of my blogiversery, could any lurkers please make themselves known? I'm curious how many people are actually reading this here blog. Thanks!

Quick Meme Type Thing Before Bed

I'm expecting time for a yarn-related post tomorrow, so stay tuned!
In the meantime-
Tama has tagged me with this word meme, let's see how I do!

WHAT IS YOUR NAME: Heather

4 LETTER WORD: Honk

VEHICLE: Hummer

TV SHOW: Hannah Montana (my brother thought of that one!)

CITY: Houston

BOY NAME: Henry

GIRL NAME: Hailey

OCCUPATION: Housewife

SOMETHING YOU WEAR: Hat

FOOD: Ham

SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Hand mirror (does that count?)

REASON FOR BEING LATE: Honking drivers

SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: Help!!!
Oh, and people to tag:
It's time for me to go to bed, so if you wanna do this, you're in, if not, you're out.
Good night.

My Day In Pictures

Regarding the lace project: I didn't finish it, not even close. Will frog the several inches I did, since I misunderstood the pattern, as I so often do, and try again after life has settled down.
My brother's birthday went well. He got all sorts of cool sharp things to play with (seriously!) so I guess that's a sign he's growing up. He wants a black cape, and has given me time to make it past his birthday, especially since I don't have that kind of yarn right now. A guy friend at school wants a black cape too; not sure when I'll fit that in...I have plenty of other projects in my head, I hope to have a list tomorrow.
So. How was my day?
Well,
I went to school,

Made a lot of progress on my skirt (should be done by the end of the week)

(this was earlier than today) spun up all of that lovely silk, still deciding what to do with it,

When I got home, I:
Admired my new T-shirt (we all needed nicknames on the back, if you recall, my initials are HAH...my favorite that I know of is "Suspence" for a guy friend-not the same one who wants the cape; his name's Spencer...)


Played my cello

Now, instead of doing this:

I should be doing this:

Which is hard homework, but I'm rewarding myself with this:

I see lots of bitty knitted items in my future!(smiles)

As my dad would say, hasta lasagna!

In Which I Crawl Out Of My Black Hole Long Enough To Make This Post

WARNING: I AM TIRED. THIS POST, WHILE LONG, IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE CRAZY AND POSSIBLY MIGHT NOT MAKE ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER.

And then I'll be gone again for the next two weeks.
Blame The Play. The Play has taken over all waking hours of my day. Wednesday of this week, I had to get up at 4:00 in the morning because of The Play. The Play haunts my dreams, as well (or at least, the people in it do). Fear not, however; The Play will leave in two weeks time, and I'll be able to relax more.
And I still want to do all of this next year.
Can you say crazy? (as in, Crazy for You, the musical we're doing)

Well, now for some actual knitting.

Look!

I made a mushroom!
What do you think? Too corny-or is it mushroomy? (can you tell I'm getting tired?)
Well, I had fun making it.
I also finished the socks for my darling little brother. Thank goodness for that-the yarn was starting to get to me. I've gotta pick out happy, bright colors next time.

And that's why I did this!
I am completely and totally in lurve with this yarn. I have gotten more comments on this yarn than any other yarn that has been KIS. These colors make me very happy-just like the time I painted my toenails red.

This guy was finished in English today. I was so delighted, I put it on right then and there and did anything but shove it in my friend's face:
ME: "Look, Paige! I made a sock! And it fits! Isn't that great?"
*as "guy friend"/rubiks cube expert looks on* PAIGE: "That's great, Heather...why don't you go make another one now?"
Ah, well. *note: she's a great person, Paige. The statement above was said in kindness-I don't think Paige has ever said a mean thing in her life.

I also finished spinning the yarn for the blanket-knitting it will be the next step, but only after this weekend's crazy assignment: knitting a mitochondrian. (follow the link-warning: science content!)

And now, seeing as three people (Sarah from Mom's Knitting, Kaya from Sisterly Knits, and FiberFiend6891 from RAchel's RAmblings) tagged me on this, 7 random facts about me!

1. I get up at 5:30 every morning to catch a bus at 6:20 for school, which starts at 7:30. Logic? What's this you say about logic? I don't believe I've heard the term before. (I can hear you mothers out there-no, I don't usually go to bed at 10. This is just because it's a weekend and I wanted this on the internet before I went to bed.)

2. I don't have a boyfriend, but boys don't go below my notice. I have lots of guy friends, and have had several crushes (one crush at a time).

3. Unless I'm really really quiet, I can't sing. Any louder than a few decibels and I sound screechy and horrible and just...uugh.

4.Seriously? The only people who understand me well know how to knit.

5. I enjoy being called a knitting/yarn freak. (who doesn't?)

6. Without knitting, some days I would feel like I haven't accomplished anything. The reverse can also be true.

7. My little brother calls me Hee-duh. He's 11 years old and likes to be silly like that.

And I'll send this off to:
1. A Work In Progress
2. Gentle Sunset
3. Knittypants
4. The Twisted Hare
5. Tinky McFrog
6. Mad For Knitting
7. The Knits Of A Teen

The first appearance of The Play is next Thursday. I'll try to check in, but you know teenagers!

Oh, yeah, and for those of you counting at home?
I'm at 100 blog posts.

Good night, and have a great weekend!

Clarification

I just reread this post, and I realised: I am turning into a real, honest-to-goodness teenager. I have way too many capitalized letters, exclamation points, and starry things in my writing. *GASP!!!!!!!!!*

Know when I wrote that last post? All of that stuff that I didn't even have the yarn for yet? THAT was my Christmas list of things to knit. Therefore, I did NOT have even close to my Christmas list done. Sorry for instilling misplaced anger in anyone at me for having everything done already. Truth is, I was WAY behind. I guess I should have been a little more clear on that.
Now, however, I have almost everything done.(Yay!)
Sooo, may I introduce, the A-mazing, the IN-credible, FINISHED OBJECTS!!!!

(*Insert Cheering Here*)

This is the cotton hat for that good friend in California. As you can see, there isn't any cool, funky button on it. That's because I don't have the button--yet. Perhaps this will be her New Year's Present, yes?

John's missing Christmas present and I have been reunited at long last, and everyone is happy that it is back--even Mister Green Fox! (What? You can't see the absolute delight and joy on his little carved face? I guess not...)

Last but not least, these are BBR and BGR's Christmas presents from me. The blue one was started last night, and was finished 4th period today. The pink one was cast on shortly after that, and was done by 8th period. In light of the holiday break approaching, our teachers obviously gave us a lot of down time.

The reason for my hurry? I was going to see the twins next door today, after play practice. However, practice was late, so I was not able to visit *sob*. I wasn't able to stop over on Tuesday, either--the other day I usually help out. But don't fret! You'll have adorable pictures of babies in hats before 8:00 tomorrow, I promise.

Now, for two interesting websites:
How to you woo the love of your life using just a semester of Spanish? Watch here.

Want to improve your vocabulary and help people in third world countries have food? You can play this fun game!

A FO!

Yep!
I have something actually done!
True, it's done before #2 is finished (my super-secret presents for my close friends), but at least I have something to cross off my list, especially since I've joined Heather T's UFOctober!
Neat button, yes?
I am not sure how to add this to my sidebar, so if anyone has tips, I'm all ears! (UPDATE: I now have UFOctober on my sidebar! Thanks Janet!)
The pattern I ended up picking was doing the "fire" design for 20 inches, regular garter stitch for 17 inches, then the "fire" design again for another 20 inches. It turned out to be the perfect length to either throw around your shoulder, or folding it in half and feeding the two ends through the hole you end up with (does that make sense? I hope I'm not confusing anyone-I'll have pictures of the "styles" I'm talking about soon!)
Meanwhile, we've been cleaning up the old stasharoo here at Spin, Knit, Purl and be Happy-it's been tough, but I've been giving up a lot of yarn-acrylic, itchy stuff mostly, but hey, it's yarn, and it's been mine, at least for a while... :-(
I was surprised at the number of bitty little balls I have collected over the years. Dad had a big plastic tub that used to hold pretzels, so we're collecting all of the balls in there, as it's fun to look at each ball and remember the project it was used for...
I hope it's not weird how I have kept the little strings, some not even a foot long (that little yellow ball in the middle is one of them). Any one else out there who does this?!
While some people may hoard pictures or write in a journal to remember what they've done and what they were thinking, I have little balls of yarn. They remind me of the projects I have done, which I guess you could say gives me a little encouragement.
Come on, don't tell me you wouldn't feel good about yourself if you put all your mini balls of yarn into one place and you saw you had enough leftover yarn from completed projects to practically fill a pretzel jar. I'm sure you'd be as proud as I am now.
I'm willing to bet some of you have already done this!
(please? someone? anyone?)