Updates
I have to start by alerting you all to the fact that our science "experiment" has concluded. Why? Because we found out (thank you, J!) that those "tadpoles" were mosquitoes!!! EEEEEEKK! So the water has been dumped, the baby mosquitoes killed, and we're back to our regularly scheduled blog. Phew. (Ick!Ick!Ick!Ick!Ick!)
I am in love with my latest mini-project, which is the Cabled Newsboy Cap (or something like that) from Stitch n B*tch Nation. It only took a day, it's super easy, and it fits! AND (this is particularly fun) I think it looks kinda cute on this nerdy knitter. Here's a snap:
I know it's kind of a weird perspective, but when the photo is taken from farther away, the hat blends right in with my hair. Don't believe me? Here you go, you doubting Thomases:
What do you say now, hmm? Yup--I'm wearing the hat, honest. I also finished TWO MaryElla bracelets, but haven't attached the snaps yet, so I'll do photos later. I made one full-size bracelet, then another one with only the 2 center bead strips. I'm pleased with both of them; I think the thinner one will be a gift for a friend and the thicker one will be for me. We'll see.
I really want to try to thread some ribbon through the holes, and have ordered a few different ribbon options from Reasonable Ribbon, so I might be changing them when the ribbon arrives.
So now I'm working on a sock, using Regia Cotton in "Surf" colorway. The stripes are all beachy, sandy colors, with a little bit of water splashed throughout. I'm using a free pattern from OnLine--I remember seeing a sample sock at the Fall Fiber Festival & really liking the way it looked, but the only way to get the pattern was to buy the yarn (which I did, of course). Turns out it's a pretty basic pattern, but I don't regret buying the OnLine yarn, which became some sort of lace sock (Monkey, I believe).
The sock is to keep me company during my next week of interminable meetings...it's "Planning Week" at work next week, and we sit in multiple-multiple-multiple meetings. I would usually be very cranky about this use of my time, but it means I get to knit for all of those hours, so I'm changing my tune. I should be able to crank out a good portion of a sock considering the minimum number of hours I'll be in meetings is 6, and it could be as much as 10. Don't you want to be me? I bet you do, I can just tell.
Meanwhile, yesterday was Nerdy Hubby's birthday. Happy birthday to my hubby! We had a nice evening of dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant & a movie (Midsomer Murders: Bad Tidings) at home. We're such an old married couple! And when I say old, I mean OLD: Nerdy Hubby just turned a whopping 38. Phew! It's surprising he can still walk. Hee hee.
Now it's off to work on a few rows of sock before lunch ends. I doubt I'll post this weekend--we're going to see the Nerdy Nephews and other members of the Nerdy Family. I'll be knitting on the last clue for MS3, so sometime next week I should have a photo of the completed stole. I can't wait! I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat in anticipation, too.
What's my excuse this time, I wonder...
Wow, it's been a long time since I posted!
I won't bore you with excuses (I can't quite recall the reasons for my absence, honestly).
So I'll just start fresh with the fun things on my plate:
1. I finished (but haven't blocked) my Trellis Scarf. I think it might become a future gift...not sure for whom yet.
2. I finished 2 bath mats (Absorba the Great from Mason Dixon Knitting, and a plain garter stitch rectangle)--1 was the stealth project posted earlier.
3. I finished a baby sweater (1-piece Kimono sweater from Mason Dixon Knitting) for a friend whose wife is due in just about 6 weeks.
4. I have 1 clue left to the Mystery Stole3 project--we've learned that the theme is "Swan Lake," which makes me very happy as I was once completely obsessed with all things swan. It's an asymetrical pattern in that the ends are different. I don't know how I will feel about wearing it, but I'm happy to be making it that way.
5. I've started making MaryEllen from Knitty--it's a beaded bracelet using crochet cotton thread and 000 needles. Oh, and about a million little, tiny beads. It's very pretty--I'm already toying with the idea of doing it again, but alternating bead colors to make a pattern within the beaded sections. Not sure if my little brain is up to that, though--you have to pre-string the beads. There's no way to do the cool crochet-hook method I learned in doing MS3. I'd have to have the pattern all worked out and then make sure I strung them in the right order. Hmm...I'll let that one ferment in my brain for a bit.
6. Oh, and my knitting class? The one I haven't mentioned on my blog at all? Well, I've got 7 students! That's the minimum required for the class to happen. Hooray! So now it's official: I, Nerdy Knitter, am going to teach Knitting for Novices at my local community college (it's part of their non-credit department). Hip-hip hooray! It's going to be 4 Saturdays, 2 hours each session, and it begins October 13. I'm a little nervous, but also very excited.
7. I'm in love with two patterns from MagKnits, but don't know if I have the yarn to make either one, and I'm still knitting from stash. . . for another 2 months. I want to make Lemonade & Sunny Sky (not sure if I got that name correct). I love them!
8. For some reason I'm obsessed with the idea of making a shrug, even though I have no idea if a shrug will suit me. But I want one!
9. I've been Big Mean Doggy Mommy since Thursday evening; I'm ready for a little non-dog time, which I'm getting this afternoon when I go to knit with my friend, J. (My opinion of the Beast has been colored by a barking episode at 1:30am...and his need to go to the bathroom right around the same time.)
10. I have been so lax about grocery shopping (see, it's not just the blog that I've been ignoring), that there's no bread, no eggs, no cereal, and no something-salty or something-sweet in my Nerdy House. That's not good! So, it's a trip to the fun grocery store after my knitting date.
11. Henry & I have discovered turtles hiding in the weeds 3 times since Thursday. Oh, no--once the turtle wasn't hiding--it was right under the pine tree next to our driveway. It's so weird to me to discover turtles just hanging out in various places in our yard.
12. We're conducting a science "experiment" to find out what type of critters are swimming in our rain water on the lid of our recycling containers. They swim around like tadpoles, and are TEENY. But I don't think the're frogs...we're wondering if skinks might start out that way--we know we have a skink living under the deck. So, we're watching them to see if they live long enough to show us what they're meant to be. The "experiment" would go a lot better if we could convince the Beast to stop drinking the tadpole water when we come back from playing in the yard! Ick.
13. We have a family of deer visting us every day for whatever yummy weed grows in our lawn. There are 2 fawns and at least 2 bigger ones (adolescents? parents? not sure) eating our lawn every day. The fawns are soooo little, all covered in their little spots. Oh, so cute!
14. I'm currently obsessed with Jersey cows. Why? Because we went to the animal tents at our county fair last week and I saw one up close. So beautiful! And they're dairy-only cows, so my vegetarian self wouldn't feel sorry for the cow, destined for slaughter. AND we learned that Jersey cows produce more milk-per-pound-of-body-weight than any other type of cow. And they're beautiful! The look like the cow version of a deer, if that makes any sense. Their coats are fawn-colored, they have big beautiful eyes, and they're just so sweet. So, in my next life, I'd like to have a small farm, with a Jersey cow or two, some alpacas, a few goats, and a few donkeys. That's not too much to ask, is it? I didn't think so.
15. Wednesday is Nerdy Hubby's birthday, and I don't really have a present for him. I think I'm going to give him a 4-week class in creating your own organic butterfly garden, but that's not very fun--he kind of picked it out. I'm funny that way--I like to surprise people with their gifts; it makes me sad to just give something the recipient knows he's getting. But I don't have any brilliant ideas, so I think he's just getting the class. Sigh.
Wow--lots of random thoughts running through my brain, and I didn't even know they were all in there.
Ooh--it's time to get upstairs (I'm writing in my office, of course. So cheery!). I've got to forage for lunch-making material and get the Beast outside for a run around before I leave him (hooray!) for my play date. Hooray--getting out of the house is a good thing. Here I go...
