Category Archives: grad school

booty.

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I’d prefer booties, but I only have one. See, I started (and finished!) this booty the same day I bound off the second unfancy sock in this gorgeous shibui sock yarn. And then I set it aside smugly, thinking that I had plenty of time remaining to finish the second booty in time for a baby shower that wasn’t until November. Except now it is November. And the shower is Saturday. Guess what I’m doing tonight and tomorrow morning, if necessary? (You guessed it.)

The front view is a little awkward, but I love the garter stripe. (In fact, that’s a big part of the name of this pattern: garter stripe baby socks.) I made a few modifications after looking at ravelry projects: basically, I eliminated the toe ridge and knit a regular toe, kitchenering when I had 12 st remaining (6 front, 6 back).

The good news? I think I managed to use my need to knit this booty to finish the revisions on my prospectus. It is sitting here, all pretty and printed out, waiting for me to read it one more time before sending it off to my chair. Sometimes I find it challenging to stop certain kinds of tasks from filling the time available (mostly my own writing, probably because it can always be better), and the deadlines I set for myself don’t always work. I may have met my (self-imposed) deadline for these revisions because of the firm deadline for the second booty. Maybe.

Anyway, enough rambling about that. Time to walk Boh and knit this (adorable) booty!

shake it out.*

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A slow start today, folks. Yesterday I managed to get some serious revision done on the prospectus. (The trick? A five o’clock latte. I think I’m starting to resign myself to the fact that I need an afternoon change of scenery and a fancy espresso drink to get shit done and feel good doing it.) Boh looks like he could use a latte, and it isn’t even noon.

I’m making slow, steady progress on that BSJ I started a few weeks ago. I love this shade of green — so bright, so happy.

Here’s the side view of that sweet pout. Looks like somebody needs to give Florence and the Machine’s new album a listen. Seriously. I downloaded it yesterday, and it got me through a whole sink of dishes. There’s something about Florence Welch’s particular brand of big and epic that I love. (*”Shake It Out” is the second track on Ceremonials.)

recalibration.

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Yesterday I made veggies and poached eggs, inspired by this recipe. I listened to loud music as I chopped veggies, and then sat down with the latest New Yorker on the porch to eat the first half of this. (The second half was dinner.) In between, Boh and I went on an outing, to one of our favorite places to walk. You know, before we had a path in the backyard. He needed an adventure, and I needed some spices from the farm market nearby. So off we went.

I think we both really needed an hour away from everything. We put our paws in the creek, and enjoyed the beginnings of fall colors. And the warmth of the sun. It’s going to turn cold again this week.

One more shot of Boh, ever vigilant at the door. He works so hard. And I’m trying to. I’d really like to send off a draft of my prospectus today. I was aiming for the weekend, but today’s a holiday (for some) right? So today would still count as making my self-imposed deadline…

writing is hard.

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Extra hard, you might say, with a work companion like this guy. I swear he gets cuter all the time. The good news? All those hours spent staring at my screen yesterday are turning into a bit more productivity today. And that’s despite having an absolutely lovely handspun sock to work on:

This might be the prettiest sock I’ve ever knit. It makes me want to spin sock yarn. Which I’ll do. After I’m done with this prospectus. Back to it!

agnes in action.

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I’ve been wearing Agnes pretty much since I returned home from last week’s research trip to the land of Mick. (How great is it that knitting friends live near archives?!) The weather has turned chilly and extremely fall-like, and Agnes is serving exactly the purpose I imagined for her: a cozy warm layer for mornings and evenings. (I’m wearing Agnes right now, and if I weren’t typing, my hands would be in the pockets.)

Stay tuned for some accidental socktober knitting — I’ve just turned the heel on my second unfancy sock!

almost agnes.

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Here she is, with pockets, and all bound off. I’m not sure they’re visible in any of these pictures, but I decided to knit the pockets in grey Elsa Wool cormo leftover from my Idlewood.

There might be a glimpse of the grey contrast color in this shot.

A very happy rooster. Also, I’m going to pretend that I had just returned from yoga or something, which is why I’m wearing leggings. That I’m working from home, and not planning to see anyone but Boh most of the time might be closer to the truth…

Blocking on the dining room table. (Finally! I have somewhere to block things!) I keep going in there to see if Agnes is dry yet. I am incredibly impatient to wear this. And maybe to make another…

Also? Oatmeal with a dollop of homemade jam is delicious. I’m just saying.

Back to work. This dissertation prospectus is not writing itself, though I’ve given it plenty of opportunity…

dog collar, wurm cowl.

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First, thank you so much for your concern about Boh. We both really appreciate it. He liked hearing your comments so much that he said it was okay for me to share more silly pictures of him in his ridiculous cone. (I probably would have posted them anyway…)

It is so hard to be this dog. Luckily, I’m not traveling this week, and had absolutely nothing planned for Labor Day except rest and recovery — for both of us. I did some knitting and spinning, went to yoga, and cuddled Boh (well, as much as one can cuddle a giant plastic conehead).

I finished my wurm cowl (though I still need to weave in the ends), and you were right — the colors aren’t too wild, and this will be the perfect cozy thing to wear with everything this fall. (And, since I’m paying my own heat at the lake house, I imagine this will help me to postpone turning the heat on until absolutely necessary…) I’ll take better pictures in good light with my real camera (instead of in a dark corner with my iPhone) very soon.

I also did some yarn untangling yesterday. I really should emphasize the “some.” This is a skein of malabrigo sock in Botticelli Red. I bought it right when this yarn came out — and the yarn universe wasn’t kidding when they said there were knots and breaks in this stuff. (ETA: I’ve heard that this was only really an issue with the early production of this yarn — I’ve wound skeins purchased more recently without a problem.) I first sat down to wind this yarn before heading to Chicago last month, and it was such a mess that I didn’t have time to tackle it before leaving to catch my plane. I did a bit more yesterday — but lost patience after about 45 minutes. Maybe I’ll try again soon, as this stuff is so pretty. I initially pulled it off the shelf to make Melissa LaBarre’s Skinner Hat, but that’s only going to happen if I can salvage most of a skein’s worth of yarn. Sigh.

By the end of the day, this guy was a bit more resigned to his fate: about ten days in the cone. I was so happy to see him sleeping/snoring in it, as I don’t think he slept much the night before. Sweet dog.

Hope the work week (or the semester, if today’s your first day back to school) starts off smoothly. I may be keeping my pajamas on for awhile longer, but I plan to be working studiously by the time 9 AM rolls around too.

shhh…

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Greetings, readers, from somewhere that is neither here nor there. I really have been meaning to blog, not least to share about the fantastic weekend I spent with blog-friends-turned-real-friends, Mick and Laura. (Would you believe that we didn’t really do any knitting or spinning because we were too busy talking, eating, and drinking?)

Anyway, I’m on a fancy bus pointed towards a city with a library that has some stuff that might be useful for my dissertation, and now seems as good a time as any to (a) try to get back into a blogging rhythm, and (b) learn how to use wordpress on my shiny iPhone. (I hate to admit it, but I do think the iPhone may be a factor in my recent blogging slump. The teaching definitely kept me super busy earlier in the summer, but I’ve also noticed that the camera on the iPhone is so good that I rarely reach for my regular camera, and I am not in the habit of daily syncing my phone with m computer. Bottom line? I’ve been slow to upload photos, and that seems to be disrupting my blogging routine.) I am going to try to be better- and maybe wordpress on the iPhone will help!

So, to connect back to today’s post title, does anybody recognize the knitting in my lap? That’s right, it’s my whisper cardigan, and it is almost done! I grabbed it because it is small and light, and at a place where the knitting is easy. Most of my WIPs are at stages that require more concentration than I have right now. I’m so happy to be knitting on this again!

More soon!

research.

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On Sunday, we went to the zoo to do research. (My friends and their children were so kind to indulge and accompany me.)

The penguins? Well, these guys were just for fun. (Side note: It has been years since I’ve been to a zoo, and I can’t remember the last time I went with little kids. Watching them was half the fun!)

After our research excursion, we stopped for lunch at a place that makes and bottles its own root beer, cream soda, and ginger ale. This ginger ale float was amazing.

I spent Monday morning traveling, and arrived back at the lake house after lunch. Time to focus on settling into a summer routine — which will most certainly include knitting! (I am so close to being done with my stripe study shawl.)