Brrrr!

Well, it's the second day of spring. I left school with only my fleece windbreaker on. Now? It looks like this outside.Ick.

Well, at least I have some knitting and spinning I can get done. I don't have any school today or next week for "spring" break. I might get my cardigan done by the end of the week!

can you see the "wave" that I see in the ruffles from this angle?

The sleeves are already done, and I'm at the armholes with the body, which is being knit in one whole piece. I did a lot of knitting during school this week, since we didn't have much to do, it being the week before spring break and all. If I don't get this thing finished by the end of break, I'm not going to bring it to school. It's getting a tad bulky.
I'm having lots of fun with this. There's these really cool color variations popping up all over, like this:

I'm also getting some spinning done. 2 thirds done (above)

This is a silk/merino blend I got on my birthday. I'm thinking of making little sweaters (example picture at the end of the post) and giving them to my teachers at the end of the year, maybe with some sort of design on them depending on the teacher. I also might knit some for the teachers who helped out in the play. We'll see how much yarn this'll make.

3rd third (above)

In light of no school next week, I'll see if I can post more often. Who knows? Maybe I really will get 10 posts by the end of the month!

Oh, and whoever is hiding the second ball of yarn for my favorite socks? Can you get it to me ASAP? Sock 1 is getting lonely, and I won't be able to bear its sadness much longer before I crack and see if I can get another skein.

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!

Does Anyone Else Feel Like It's Thursday?

I'm barely into the week, yet I still feel like I haven't posted in at least seven days! Maybe my knit-picky (pun most certainly intended) self is beginning to make sure I post more by making time go faster.
Hey, I'm not complaining!

I have been knitting up a storm, which might account for feeling like every second is a minute....


I have successfully completed yet another pair of socks:
These are for Mom, but are on my feet, which explains why they might look a tad stretched.
It took me several tries to get the foot to be the right length; I am happy that they are finally done!

Now, it's on to Dad's socks!
He has a 11 inch foot--I'll be knitting for a while, although not as long as I thought I would be:

I've done all of this today, and I'll probably be doing a lot more tomorrow, as I have a Spanish test that I'm a tad worried about.

Aaaand spinning progress:
Getting closer! I might be able to achieve my goal of getting all of the spinning done by February!

Who Knows About Hydrocarbons? Raise Your Hand!

That's what my science quiz tomorrow is about, so this is going to be quick--
Nothing new on the blanket front, but I did get some knitting done!
Ta Daaaa!
Bye-and if you didn't notice, the January 12th post was published yesterday....that one is a whole lot longer and has a whole lot more pictures!

I'm Baaaack!

And hopefully, I'll post more often in the future.
Thanks for your encouragement; I got good grades on all but one midterm, and the bad one didn't even knock me down a grade level, so I'm good and happy.
I have not one, not two, but two and a half, count 'em, two and a half, pairs of socks.
The socks I made from yarn I got from Christmas from a friend:They have afterthought heels, which I won't be doing again any time soon, but it was fun.
These are for me:
A little big, but they are comfortable.
Currently, I'm knitting my mom's present.
See? I already have a sock done!...and a quarter!
I got a $25 ebay gift card, which I hope (since the money goes through paypal) that I can use on etsy to get sock yarn for my friends' presents, and white yarn for a surprise (for you guys) project.
I am also getting some progress on my blanket:
This is the second third, FINISHED!!
And this is how far I am on the 3rd third.
I'm crossing my fingers on getting all of the spinning done by the end of the month.
Hopefully sometime next week I'll have some information about my brother and his recent introduction to the spinning world. (!!)

Pictures and A Meme

Well, here's the socks:

As you can see, one heel was knit differently than the other-I misread the instructions for the first sock--oops! Then when I got to the heel on the second sock, I didn't remember how I made the first heel, so I couldn't even copy the first to look like the second!
Of course, it's not a big deal. Now I know when I knit socks, I should completely ignore SSS at all costs and make the second sock right after the first-at least I'll remember how I made a mistake in the first sock, so I can have socks that look more or less alike.
As for knitting progress..Zip. Zilch. Nada.
Now, for the meme
7 Random Things About Me:
1) My first pet was a newt. We didn't know its gender. At first, we called it Curious George, but then I read something about how the size of a newt tells the gender, we decided it was a girl. The name was changed to Curious Georgina, or GG.

2) My first knitting project was neckwarmers for some friends I had in a retirement home. I got six done in four-five months!

3) I knitted with mainly acrylic yarn for at least five or six years before I realized there was nicer yarn for just a little more

4) I learned to knit on circular knitting needles (they were the only ones Grandma had on hand)

5) Before I knitted, I did a lot of hand sewing-didn't get very good at it, though.

6) When I was born, the two names that were tossed back and forth was Sarah and Heather.

7) My initials spell HAH (on purpose) My dad thought that was hilarious-my mom didn't notice till I was a couple years old.

Now, for the NaNoWriMo update...
I have written 6,843 words-I should be on 10,000 by now. What with life, school, cello, eating and sleeping, I haven't found much time to write. I've changed my goals so that my personal goal is 30,000-40,000 words. I may not win NaNoWriMo, but I will get a lot of writing done. Perhaps next year, I'll try for the gold!

UFOctober Wrap-Up

In light of Tinky McFrog's final contest, here is what I have accomplished in the month of October:

Before UFOcober:
-Get Mom's scarf done
-Knit 3 "Super Secret" presents for friends for Christmas
-Finish my "Cut Your Teeth" socks
-Exception: work on dyeing and spinning my blanket

After UFOctober:
-Finished Mom's scarf
-Knit 2 of the 3 "Super Secret" presents for friends for Christmas
-I did not finish the socks, but I did get far enough that I finished them last night! Yay! (pictures to come when I'm not 1,000 words behind in NaNoWriMo
-Exception: I dyed 2/3 of the roving, and began to spin the first third

So, there you go. In my (humble) opinion, I really enjoyed UFOctober and I hope I can do it next year as well!

My NaNoWriMo word count so far is 3,594 words. Seeing as it's the third day, I'm not too worried about being 1,000 words behind, but I probably should be working on it anyway! See ya!

I Found The DPN...

Happy Halloween!(turn your sound on after you click "done"...)

Off to finish homework, then knitknitknitknitknitknit..
NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow-oh goody!

I Should Be Knitting Right Now...

But I can't.

As you can see, I'm getting along with my sock. Not as far as I'd like, but I'm getting there.

"Why aren't you knitting right now, then?" you might ask. Well, it's because of this:

At first glance, this picture just looks like another one of the progress I've made. It takes new meaning when I tell you one startling bit of news: the dpns in this picture are the only size US 0 dpns I own. In other words, I have lost a size US 0 dpn. I can't knit anymore until I

A) Get more dpn, or

B) Find the lost dpn

Unfortunatly, Option B isn't possible, as I lost the needle at school, somewhere. Guess it's a trip to Michaels for me!

End Of (UF)October Rush

I only just realized yesterday that the end of October is in a week-and I don't have my socks done yet!(That would be my second sock-cast on this morning!)
So I'll be knitting like crazy to try and get one more WIP in the FO pile before this cool game called UFOctober is over.
I am also working on my exception for UFOcober, my blanket. This is how far I am on spinning the first third of my roving:The color is a bit brighter than that...but you get the idea.
I'm hoping to get all of the spinning for my project done by the end of this year, then actually do the knitting bit next year-think I can make it?

The really observant of you readers can see I have a new button on my sidebar for some strange thing called NaNoWriMo. November is National Novel Writing Month. The challenge? Try to write a 50,000 word novel just in the month of November-no later, and no earlier. The cool people over there have this website where you can keep track of the number of words you have done, meet other people who are working under the same self-imposed stress as you are. I'm gonna try and do it, so if my posts get more erratic and less often than they usually are, that's why.

I have been planning my story (which is allowed before November starts, thank goodness), and it's turning out pretty good. I can't wait for October to end so I can start it for real!
But first, I should really get that sock done.....

UFOcober, Day 8

I have another WIP going into the FO pile!
Unfortunately, it's one of those "super secret" gifts-and now, I'm working on a second "super secret" gift, using the same pattern, different yarn. (I'm considering my "super secret" gifts WIP, because I have already bought the yarn and I want to have them done soon so that I don't have to worry about not getting them done..)
I also would like to finish my socks.
My plan? I'll let myself start working on my second sock after the second "super secret" project is done.
I realise that on my knitting to-do list I have my blanket before finishing the socks, but I currently don't have the roving to dye or spin, so I'm in limbo for that project. In UFOcober it's my exception, and starting it in earnest will be my reward after all of my WIP are done.
I seem to use the carrot-in-front-of-head tactic quite often...
Now if you excuse me, I am off to study--and after that, I can sit in the rocking chair, listen to a new book tape and knit!

Just Pictures Today!

TA DAH! I knitted this stitch too loosely-what should I do?
I have a really long foot-the sissors are regular size.
After ripping back... This is the design I'm planning for my blanket-I want to make sure you can tell what it is, so in the comments, could you please tell me what the pattern looks like to you?

Happy Labor Day!

In light of not having school today, I did do some knitting-however, my camera doesn't seem to want to talk to the computer right now, so we'll just have to live with verbal explanations, won't we?

I found the blue yarn ball for my sock, and one sock is finished, and fits perfectly. However, its mate will have to be put on hold, as the yarn (not me, the yarn) forgot to make an edging for the cardigan, so I had to visit the frog pond for a while, but now I'm back on track.

Remember the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the summer?
Well, I've been updating them, and adding a few, but in recent weeks, I suddenly found I had a lot more projects than I have written in one place. So, seeing as my planned post (that was complete with pictures) has been ruined, today I will make a list of my knitting goals for the 2007-2008 school year. It is in order of when I plan on finishing them, not necessarily the order I plan on starting them! :)

1) Finish BBR's sweater and put buttons on both his and his sister's ALL DONE!!

2) Make presents for 3 close friends (No, I'm not even going to hint about what they will be-these WIP will be strictly off-blog until they are given to their recipients!)

3) Make a Phoenix scarf for my DM (I just got the book!)DONE!

4) Dye, spin, design and knit a blanket of my own creation. I am planning the design now, but will have to wait for the resources to start the spinning/dyeing. This will probably be a 4-H project.

5) Finish the "Cut Your Teeth" socks

6) Knit my own pants-4H project?

7) Knit socks in school colors using the Quidditch Socks pattern from Charmed Knits

8) Make two Sheldons for BBR and BGR-this doesn't have to be by this year. They probably won't be able to play with it or be cute with it till they're 2 or 3....
Thanks to Knittypants for her post on the cute turtles to introduce me to them!

Stolen Time

I don't have much homework today, but the past few days have had lots of homework in various classes-I guess that since it's the middle of the week, the teachers are giving everyone a little break.
I'm happy about that. My knitting is happy, too!I am right at the heel, which is supposed to be blue. I'm searching for the blue ball of yarn-I had it Sunday, put it down...and it seems to have decided to wander off.
"Here, yarny yarn yarn.....I've got some needles that are missing you! Why don't you come back?"
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I've started a new project. Well, yes and no. Yes, I just cast on another project, but no, this isn't a new one. This is the friend to the pink cardigan I finished a week or so ago. I can't wait till they are both done, so that I put them next to each other and coo. However, the cardigans aren't the same as seeing the babies to which the jackets will soon be owned by.
I stopped by our neighbor's house, where the twins (which I will call Baby Girl R, or BGR and Baby Boy R, or BBR) were. When I came to help, both were asleep, with BGR drooling (but it was very cute drool). Their mother was holding BBR, and I got to hold him. I accidentally woke him up, and he fussed quietly until Mommy was within reach. He (and his sister) are so adorable-I can't wait to see the cardigans on them. However, I still need to get buttons for the pink one, and, as you can see, I have a lot to do on the boy cardigan.
And now, it's time for "School Conversations"
Several people observed that I would get suspended if I kept on bringing my knitting needles to school. (I haven't, and I've talked to several teachers about knitting, so I guess I'm safe!) Other people asked me to knit them sweaters, and one boy swore at me when I said I wouldn't be able to-but hey, it's just the life of a freshman knitter.
PS: I have a new addition to my sidebar-a poll. If you're reading this, could you answer the question? Thanks.

Time For School!

Tomorrow, that is. I am going to be up at 5:00 am tomorrow to get all ready for my 6:20 bus time. Oh, goody.
One thing that is a real good thing-(please excuse the blurry picture...)I finished the girl baby sweater!
Well, I actually just got all of the knitted part done. I'm still debating what to put on for decorations...Initials? Stars? Flowers?
And above, you can see Sock #1. I finished spinning the yellow yarn today-it's a little thinner than I expected, but not too bad!
In the pattern, there's a ribbing just after the cuff, and you fold the cuff over the ribbing when you're done. I'll have quite a bit of time on the bus tomorrow to knit, so let's see how far I get!

Time For Laughter

I was really looking forward to showing everyone a finished ball of yarn, ready for knitting for my socks, and saying how I can't wait to go and knit at Rain Day again this weekend....but I haven't even started plying yet.


Next week, perhaps?

So here's some shirts I found on the internet, featuring knitting. (Please note: some of the shirts/bags/magnets I found on the site were ones I didn't find appropriate for a 7-year-old, so therefore I didn't put them here. If you go farther than where I linked, there may be some weird stuff. I'm just showing you the safer jokes-and by safe, I mean REALLY safe.)
Here's the links:
This one I want!
Just knitters would get this joke..
Heh.
One of those things I'm suprised I didn't think of earlier
Ineresting...knitting does promote peace and love, so I guess it counts, right?
Ha
For the punks..
I'll never see road signs the same way again!
Have you knitted too much when you recognise the yarn?
Aaand one last link.
See you next week!

Yay!

My homework is finally done.
I am the happiest person on Earth, as now I only have 5 work days left before school starts, and I can spend most of that time knitting, spinning, writing, and helping my dad with "Rain Day" on the weekend. Above is my finished 4 1/2 pages of answers for my science homework.
On the subject of school, here's one of my new notebooks-I usually get plain notebooks, but this year, this will be my Spanish notebook.Below is the body of the baby girl's sweater. I think I will block it before I finish the sleeves, that way, I'll have something to do while the sleeves are blocked.
I am still plugging away at my spinning for the socks. I still have a lot of roving to spin. It appears that this third spool will have a bit more thread than the other two, but you never know!

Lotsa Updates

Sock update first:

I have knitted together the squares for one sock, and I'm as far as I can be without using the yellow yarn, which is a work in progress, still.

I weighed the already-done thirds...and they're the same weight as the third I hadn't started at the time. Huh. I guess I made thinner yarn on the bigger spool. Like I said before, however, I don't think I will even out any spools until all of the roving has been spun.

Aaand here's the info on Ravelry:

You signed up on July 19, 2007
You are #18748 on the list.
10495 people are ahead of you in line.
4980 people are behind you in line.
33% of the list has been invited so far.

10495 people--hmm. Shouldn't be too long now!

OK, now for the baby cardigan info:

The bitty sweater has been started, but I will need another ball of Bernat pink to finish the one for the girl. Since I'm using this pattern, I am also debating whether I should add the flowers (for the girl)/snakes (for the boy). I have A LOT of little bits and pieces of yarn I could use, so that's no problem. What do you think?

I am also being crazy and REALLY thinking ahead-to when I have finished all of these projects, and I need something for 4-H next year.

I've decided on a lacy shawl made by the late owner of Copper Moose. The pattern is in the book Spin To Knit, which I recently checked out of the library. I am planning on dyeing my own roving, then spinning it, then knitting it. If I get started soon (as in in November or December), perhaps I will be able to steal enough time to start the knitting in, like March.

Before I finish, or even start, any of the above, however, I should probably get my summer homework done, so in the next week, I can at least say I have some sort of FO!

Confessions Of A Teenage Knitter

I. Am. In. Love.

No, we are not going to discuss my past and present crushes today--we are going to talk about the BABY SWEATER!!
I just want to hug this thing every time I look at it! It's beautiful! It's exquisite! It's what every baby girl wants........but it's too small.
No, I have not tried it on the baby yet, but it was supposed to be 10 inches long, and it's 8 1/2.
Obviously I did not check the gauge well enough. But, don't worry! Your Fiber Chic has a plan!
I will keep this sweater for my Hope Chest, and I'll make two more sweaters, in this pattern, for the twins next door.
Perhaps this new pattern will work up faster...I'll probably have enough yarn left over to make little mittens to go along with the sweater!
In other news...
This is 2/3 of my yellow for the socks. Notice how the third on the left is a whole lot smaller than the third on the right? I'm going to have to even out the spools.
I'll wait till I have all three spools, then weigh each one and divide the thread accordingly. My logic is, if the third spool is too small, I'd have to redivide everything up anyway, so why not wait? Here is eight, count 'em, eight little squares. They are for the cuff of my socks--as the spinning for the yellow is taking a while, I can work on the blue cuffs in between spinning spurts. Logical?

Yay For Pictures!

http://mitstitchingnut.blogspot.com/

That's the link for the blog which mentioned the "Cuts Of Lamb". She also has a link for where to buy the shirt and bag with the pictures on it, if you're interested...
Aaaand, here's the wonderful, the fantastic, FIRST SLEEVE!
I'm around 1/2 way done with the second sleeve. This sweater took a bit longer than I expected, so I might use a different pattern for the boy's sweater, even though this one is adorable:)

Below is my current spinning progress for my socks:
I am about halfway through with the second bobbin. Here's to hoping I'll be able to finish the spinning part of my socks before school starts (although the third homework book is calling to me!)