the usual?

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Things have been rather quiet around la casa Rooster this week. We’re in transition: I’m trying to wrap up some applications and a chapter draft, and I’m also trying to get my house ready for a subletter and my life ready to move to DC for a couple of months. All that means I’m also gearing up to take Boh to stay with my parents. I know he’ll love it there, but I’ve been realizing that “the usual” — which mostly consists of quiet dog-cuddling while I work — is going to change, at least for a little while.

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Also, it’s cold! Hence knits in action. I also recommend squishy garter stitch blanket knitting.

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I love the way this is knitting up.

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One more sweet Boh picture. Yesterday he figured out that this corner of the coffee table base is the perfect size and shape for his head. Silly, silly dog. Okay, back to the to-do list!

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umbrella, -ella, -ella.

I have no idea what Boh was thinking — except that it must have had something to do with that Rihanna song from a few years ago. To this day, when I hear it, I think of a friend of mine who made it his goal of the summer of 2007 to turn that into a campfire song. I love my silly dog.

The good news? Yesterday I needed the umbrella (-ella, -ella), but today I was in flip-flops! I knit these legwarmers back in 2007, and I wear them all the time — to yoga, when I get out of bed in the morning, when I just need a little extra warmth. They might get more use than all of my other knitwear combined, come to think of it.

Also, I turned in exam #2 this morning! One to go. I’m taking the night off.

fruit cup.

Fruit for breakfast, in all forms. Soon the strawberry rows will be open for u-picking at the farm I belong to, and I can’t wait.

The professor I TAed for this spring invited me to join his neighborhood coed over 30 soccer team, and yesterday was our first match. (Nope, I’m not quite 30, but apparently being a woman trumps being old enough, and my “extreme youth” is not a problem.) Let me just say that I didn’t FEEL any younger than anybody else on the field yesterday! Despite today’s aches, I had a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to my weekly summer soccer game — something I haven’t done since I was a little girl.

I’ve made progress on legwarmer numero dos, thanks to a laid-back un-birthday bbq for a knitterly friend on Saturday night, and a This American Life listening gathering, complete with beer and dessert, last night.

And now, some Boh to help with Monday morning. I did not do this to him, but once it was done, I couldn’t help but take a picture. Poor Boh. Life is so hard sometimes. Time for more coffee and a little bit of knitting before I start today’s reading.  Hope your week is off to a good start!

half-calf.

I crack myself up. And yes, my coffee is fully caffeinated this morning (and every morning). More pictures of legwarmer numero uno? Why, of course!

I have not yet mastered the art of photographing my own legs. Clearly. I bound off very loosely, and I’m thinking that when I block these, I’ll tug a bit to get the ribbing a tad more snug. Otherwise, I’m thrilled with the length, the shaping, and the stripes! I’ll post my cast on/increase numbers when I finish numero dos.

After a very productive lunch date (and delicious sushi), a grad-student friend and I wandered over to a little antique shop downtown. Not only did I score a sweet, ruffly, polyester shirt in this adorable red print, but I also found these pins, which I intend to use to secure the many shawls I am going to knit this summer and beyond. Aren’t they gorgeous?

Also, this excursion solved a lingering dilemma. Remember my shalom button problem? (You know, four button-holes, three buttons, only two of which match each other?) Check out these glittery big red buttons. I’m planning to sew these onto shalom this afternoon, and send those orange buttons back to the jar. Hooray!

Happy Friday, folks! Hope your weekend is filled with sunshine and knitting.

Oh, and popcorn, popped on the stove. Definitely popcorn.

smarter?

Boh: Umm, do these make me look smarter?

Rooster: Most definitely.

I’m almost to the cuff of legwarmer numero uno, and if I can keep up this knitting pace, I should be able to wear these to yoga next week. (The class I like to go to on campus starts up again for the summer session on Monday, and the room is always cold. These will be perfect.)

from scratch.

Time to stop petting my handspun and start knitting with it! Boh and I spent our lazy, rainy Sunday morning listening to podcasts and winding yarn into cakes. Well, and then taking pretty pictures of them. I have plans to cast on projects in all of these yarns…this week, even!

Following Adrian of Hello Yarn’s recipe, I cast on a legwarmer out of my Hello Yarn patchwork merino 2-ply handspun. This stuff is super soft and squishy, and I am obsessed with the way it is striping. (It has doubled in length since I snapped this photo.) I cast on 48 stitches to start, and will post my notes once I finish the pair.

Here’s another shot of those stripes, against a less busy (Boh) backdrop.

Making yarn cakes is exhausting, clearly. Alright, time for some coffee and morning knitting. I can’t wait to get back to my legwarmers — and then, back to work. Happy Monday!

high.

You know, like alpine.

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I absolutely love the way the browns and golds interact with the blues in this skein. So pretty.

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203 yards of 2-ply romney, from Hello Yarn, in the Alpine colorway. Romney is not as soft as the other fibers I’ve been spinning lately, but oh, that sheen. I wonder if this should become something sturdy, like mittens.

quiche

Yesterday’s quiche, and legwarmers:

legwarmers

Believe it or not, it was chilly enough to warrant wearing these around the house as I made coffee and rolled out pie crust yesterday morning. People routinely find their way to my corner of the internet by googling “legwarmers” and related terms, so I figured I’d announce that, yes, the mornings are cool enough that legwarmer season is officially open, at least for around-the-house wearing.

More soon, as I desperately need to make more progress on the wedding shawl…

new scarf in progress

I have been wearing my new legwarmers non-stop. They are so cozy and warm, and thin enough that they can either be concealed under jeans or used to display my love of the 80s. Now that they are finished, I am out of knitting sans counting — I need something for after a long day of work or for before my coffee has taken effect in the morning. Enter Purl Scarf #2, intended for a friend I will see later this month, stage right.

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I started this last night while watching an episode of Heroes (via Netflix), and I already have about a foot completed. The jury is still out on Heroes — I am a bit lost now that I’ve finished all twenty billion episodes of Twin Peaks Season 2 (and caught up on Stash and Burn).

Details: Manos del Uruguay in a dark blue (color A?), Madil Kid Seta in an electric blue (no tags) and Knit One Crochet Too Douceur et Soie in Color 8645. I think. I’m using size 13s instead of 15s and I cast on 20 st instead of 16, just like the one I made for myself.

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Also, in green Debbie Bliss Bolero Jacket news, I have finished the back and the right and left fronts. On to the sleeves. I like how quickly this is knitting up, but my progress also means that soon I will have to learn how to seam…

legwarmers and sugarplums

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When I was a little girl, I took ballet lessons. I dreamed of Balanchine, of Coppelia, of tulle and tutus. I practiced A LOT. I danced en pointe; my toes bled; my body ached. I pulled on these legwarmers last night around midnight, having just woven in the ends, and felt the urge to “gran ron-de-jaum”, to “jete”, “gran pas-de-sha”; to waltz through the kitchen the way I used to do just before dinner time, forks and knives in my hands. (It was far more fun to set the table while waltzing.)

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(Apologies for the dark, grainy picture. The urge to plie struck late last night. This was taken in the mirror.) These legwarmers are looooong. 26″ in length! I thought about binding off many times, but I am glad that I persevered: these are long enough to be scrunched and still reach up to my knees. They are incredibly soft, have a nice depth to the color, and are very warm. The nights are getting colder here, and I decided to wear them to bed last night. I woke up with the sun, about ten minutes before my alarm, with a cold nose and toasty calves.

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