Nerdy Knitter

I'm not gone, just crazy

So work is crazy, which is no surprise since I work for a college, and school started last week. But boy, it's even crazier than normal--more students=more craziness at school.

Then there's real life, which is filling up with all sorts of fun things, including teaching 2 knitting classes this Fall, trying to design a pattern for my friend's upcoming knitting book, joining a flute quintet (yeeha!!), and taking a computer graphics class.

I know, I know--burning the candle at both ends. I just can't help it, honest.

I'll give more details of the pattern design once I have something to show. I'm really excited about it, but don't have a prototype ready yet.

If anyone has any suggestions for using hemp yarn, they would be appreciated.

Unfortunately, this is all I've got today--I have knitting to do!

posted by Nerdy Knitter @ 1:00 PM 3 comments

Check out my model

Hee hee--I finished my random wrap this morning, and Nerdy Hubby decided to wear it. Doesn't he look handsome sporting a pink/orange/purple fuzzy scarf/wrap?

It's from yarn I bought at the Sedalia Spring Fiber Festival. It's from Kid Hollow Farm, and the variety is called "Aunt Sadie." It's 2 strands of yarn--one mohair, and one cotton boucle. I love it! I think the skein had 240-ish yards. I cast on 42 sts and used US19 needles.

The "pattern" (if you can call it that) is 6 rows of garter, then a row with double-wrapped stitches, then 6 (or 5?) rows of stockinette, then a row of double-wrapped stitches, etc. I did it so that any time I did a double-wrap row, it was a knit row, whether it was wrong- or right-side.

It's not super long, but I haven't blocked it yet. It's enough to be a big, fuzzy scarf, but not quite enough to be a real "wrap." That's fine with me--it looks nice, and will feel warm & cozy around my neck.

Now I have to get back to the blasted Swirl Shawl...boring...

posted by Nerdy Knitter @ 2:44 PM 0 comments

My super-duper needle holder

This is the circular needle holder my swap pal made for me. Isn't it beautiful? The tote bag is just as beautiful, but I didn't get a good photo of that. I love them both!

posted by Nerdy Knitter @ 1:15 PM 2 comments

My swap presents

This is just a sampling of what I got from my Books n More swap pal--isn't it great? The yarn is for the Dogi pattern, which, as luck would have it, is one of the best ones in the book (in my opinion).

I also got a handmade circular needle carrier, a handmade tote bag, stitch markers, circular needles, and a set of sock-shaped point protectors. I'm a lucky nerdy knitter!

posted by Nerdy Knitter @ 1:13 PM 0 comments

I've been tagged!

I'm till here in San Diego, so for your reading pleasure, here's what I've got. My friend, Cindy, tagged me on her blog:

Rules are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their names. Then the player goes to each of the “named” people’s blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. If you’ve been tagged, you do the same, letting the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer. They, in turn, answer the following questions. Here we go!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? Exactly ten years ago this month, I was dating someone 2-3 hours away from me. That ended in September, however, and I met my husband-to-be in October, so everything worked out okay in the end.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today?
go to my last plenary session (I'm at a week-long conference)
pack, check for left-behind things, pack again, check again for left-behind things
meet up with my friend, Glenn, for a fun day in San Diego
get to the airport in time to catch my red-eye flight home to my honey & our poochie
take a shower soon--I'm procrastinating, and will probably end up running late!

3. Snacks I enjoy:chips and salsa (basically anything and salsa)

4. Places I’ve lived:Virginia: Afton, Charlottesville; New York: North Yonkers, White Plains, Albany, Geneseo; New Jersey: Highland Park (3 different addresses), Wayne, Haledon

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: I would support some grassroots organization doing something important like working with underpriviledged families to help them succeed and move forward, or a literacy program, or an arts program--or maybe all of them. I'm going to be a billionaire, after all. Then I'd start some sort of animal rescue thing. We'd buy the neighbors' extra land that is on "our side" of the stream to expand our "estate." We'd tear down our house & build a new one farther from the road. I'd go to the Folk School as many times as I wanted. I think we'd probably have to buy a boat to keep Nerdy Hubby happy. Oh, and a 2nd home somewhere near water.

So there you have it. Now I’m tagging Ellen, Cathy, Erin, Lesley, and Michelle. Tag - you all are it!

posted by Nerdy Knitter @ 9:27 AM 0 comments

Ever have one of those days?

You know, when everyone you meet reminds you of another person? I'm having one of those weeks--I'm in San Diego for a Nerdy Librarians event, and everyone in my cohort really, really reminds me of someone in my life, yet every last one of these librarians is a complete stranger to me. I think I'm living in a deja vu week, which is really unsettling, let me tell you!

I've been in San Diego since 11:00 yesterday, and am so incredibly exhausted, I can barely think straight. Our event is called "Immersion," and they weren't kidding! We've been on the go, mentally, since 8am, and we just now finished before 9pm. We have 3 more full days, and one half day, all with the same schedule. But it's energizing at the same time because we're talking about information literacy and instruction and getting cool new ideas, and learning ways to improve what we do. That's all good--just a lot of it to fit into a short time, and an already-full brain.

I brought my knitting, and (gasp!) haven't touched it. How's that for tired, huh? So what am I still doing awake, you ask? It might (might, I say) be the swim meet that's happening at the pool just outside the window of the dorm where we're staying at UCSD; can you hear the whistles and the shouting? I can!

So I'm going to entertain you with photos of things I've already mentioned, but haven't shown.

This is just complete silliness--it's a terribly fuzzy (fuzzy--that's a pun, you'll see) photo of Henry "wearing" the handmade item I gave to my secret swap pal. It's the Spiderweb Capelet from Stitch N Bitch Nation. Sorry it's not a better photo, but it still makes me laugh:


PS--making pompoms? Who knew it was such a time-consuming thing?!

Here's the not-so-mysterious "mystery" shawl I'm making for someone. The yarn is the self-striping JoJoland. Both the pattern & the yarn were gifts from a swap (Mystery Theme Swap) I did a few months back. Sorry the photo is a little blurry--I'm not doing very well w/my photography at the moment.



I'm not sure if I posted this, and I'm too tired to check. This is my finished Provincial Waistcoat that I'm calling my tunic b/c it blocked out really long. I might try to reblock it, actually, b/c it's pretty long. But then again, it suits me in a weird way, so I might wait. (aside--you know I'm tired when I'm second guessing the spelling of "wait.")



And here's the "Papa" bunny I made for an acquaintance's relative's daughter, if that makes sense (I'm too numb to tell):

So that's everything I have in my flickr "arsenal" at the moment. I finished a small project that just needs some buttons, and I'm working on the striping shawl. I haven't left the swirl shawl altogether, but I've had more pressing projects.

Stay tuned for more fun and games from San Diego (if I get a chance to breathe, that is).

posted by Nerdy Knitter @ 12:06 AM 2 comments

A photoless update

Well, here I sit, feeling a bit battered & bruised after minor laproscopic surgery yesterday. Sadly, no knitting happened yesterday, but I've managed to get back to it today.

The procedure was a success, so that's good, but my poor little nerdy body is a tad sore today. And, of course, the pain killer makes me itchy, so taking it is only for emergencies. I'm still itchy, and haven't taken it since 4am!

So we'll see how long I can go w/o any meds. The pain isn't really pain exactly, more soreness and discomfort, which isn't a big deal. I'll be fine.

I have knitting news, but no photos since I'm at home with good ol' dial-up.

I finished a Papa-size bunny stuffie for a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend. That went in the mail today. It looks a lot like the bunny I made a few months ago for Nephew3's 2nd birthday. Same yarn, different size bunny.

I finally finished the Provincial Waistcoat--put on buttons, sewed seams, and blocked the thing. I was a little nervous about it at first because it was veeery long, but once it dried, it shrunk back up a bit, and now it's not bad. I've only tried it on over t-shirts, not actual garments meant to under a vest, so we'll see how it looks once I'm properly garbed. Someday. I might get out of pjs sometime this weekend. Maybe.

I'm making my own version of a mystery shawl--my Mystery Theme Swap2 partner sent me a pattern designed by someone at her LYS in Florida. The pattern is for a shawl to highlight JoJoland's Melody Superwash yarn in a green colorway. So I'm making a lacy green shawl without any photo of the finished thing. It's kind of fun. I'm about 1/3 of the way through, so I have a pretty good idea of what it's going to look like. It's a stole rather than a triangular shawl, and I've already done the edging for the first short end, and the whole body is the same 14-row repeat, so it's pretty clear what that will look like, then I do the same edging for the other end and kitchener it to the body. Then there's a picot edging for the long sides, and that's "it." The body lace repeat is a bit tedious so I'm also working on a small portable project to break up the monotony. I'm about 2/3 of the way through with that, and will not post any photos yet because it doesn't look like much (yet).

I've been spending a significant amount of my computer time on my new best friend, Plurk. It's so fun--it's like instant messaging, but better because your little entries stick around and people can respond to them at their leisure. Check it out--I'm nerdyknitter on there. You can read some of my plurks at the side of this-here blog. If you join, invite me to be your friend and we can plurk together. Fun-fun-fun!

Well, I've been sitting up for as long as my belly is willing, so I'd better repair to my recliner and my knitting.

Happy Wednesday, everyone.

posted by Nerdy Knitter @ 3:30 PM 1 comments