Tag Archives: shawl

exam (knitting) prep.

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So this morning I made an important decision: I settled on my exam knitting project. I know I said I was going to get going on the second sock, but I’m decreasing the first toe right now, and I just don’t think I’m going to feel like kitchenering and knitting the ribbing on sock #2 before Tuesday. Which means I need something pretty and soothing to knit on, just a little bit, this week.

Lately I have become obsessed with Veera’s Stripe Study Shawl, especially the versions that are made in neutrals. I want this one — but I want to knit it out of my stash. This morning I went stash-diving, coffee in hand. I came up with some gorgeous color combinations, but I’m just in love with the idea of natural/grey. Ideally, the grey would be less severe, but this Trekking Pro Natura in a charcoal-ish tone is what I’ve got in the right weight and yardage, so I’m going to give it a go. This natural yarn is local, organic wool, and I’ve got almost 800 yards, which means I’ll be able to use it again in another stripey shawl. Yay!

Unrelated, but I snapped some pictures of Boh making his crazy face.

It might look like he’s not having a good time, but trust me: this is the face he makes when he is very happy about being scratched. He almost looks like he has bug-eyes! Silly dog.

Last night some of my cohort got together for a delicious dinner at E.’s place: homemade pizza and two colors of Jello! I made salad with farm spinach I picked in the greenhouse last weekend, and it reminded me of how excited I am for spring and summer vegetables. Today I’m going to try to crank through the big ideas of a handful of books so that I can keep my plan of a book-free Monday. Knitting, dog-walking, yoga, good food: all of these are on the list.

(almost) FO: terra.

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Excuse the crappy late-night photos. (And the pjs.) I finished the sewn bind off on terra last night, and immediately draped myself in it. And when I woke up this morning, I wrapped it around my shoulders and made the coffee. Today was not the best of Mondays. Terra helped. And is helping, in just the way that handknits can.

There’s granola in the oven. And I might eat some for dinner. After that, I’m going to curl up with Boh (and terra) and prepare for Tuesday.

EZ’s sewn bind off.

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Alright, you’ve got me. I might have finished knitting my terra shawl instead of a book on the Gilded Age last night. I’m going to finish that book this morning. Really.

I’m not going to lie; all the way through the knitting, I had been thinking that there was no way I was going to do a sewn bind off for the hundreds of stitches in the last row of this shawl. And then, last night, I shamed myself into it. Don’t you always say that you love the process of knitting? Don’t you like learning new techniques? You’ll think about not doing the special bind off when you wear it, won’t you? Yes, yes, maybe…

I’m so glad I listened to myself. And, well, Jared Flood, master of lace and all things EZ. The sewn bind off isn’t hard. In fact, it’s pretty rhythmic and relaxing. And it looks gorgeous — even and polished. The catch? It takes forever.

You’re looking at almost two hours worth of binding off, and I’m just past the halfway point. (Granted, it will go faster as the tail of my working yarn gets shorter and shorter.)

Boh, as always, is humoring me. (Hey, this is what happens when you decide you don’t want to get off the couch so I can take a few pictures against a lighter backdrop.)

He has big plans for our Sunday: sleep, chase (his) tail, take a walk, practice his catching skills (he can now catch a tennis ball most of the time if I give him a nice underhand toss), sleep some more. Me? Back to the Gilded Age.

terra, tretorns, and everything in between.

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Literally. See, I finally uploaded about thirty pictures from my camera, and they start with my progress on terra’s lace, and end with my new rain boots, acquired in a ridiculous end-of-winter clearance. Let the show and tell begin.

Terra. I’ve got less than ten rows remaining, but these are some loooong rows. I am so excited about this shawl, but it’s probably going to be mid-March before I finish it. And I’m okay with that.

Homemade pizza with local swiss chard that I picked, blanched, and froze at the end of fall. Making pizza for one means leftovers!

Idlewood in action. Again. This might be the most wearable sweater I’ve ever knit, and is part of the uniform I think I’m accidentally adopting. Part project fake-it-til-you-make-it, part I-really-hate-it-when-winter-slush-and-salt-soak-the-bottoms-of-my-jeans, I’m realizing that some combination of leggings, boots, shorter skirts or dresses and slouchy, layered sweaters seems to be what I’m wearing most days. Somehow it seems to fit with 29. I can’t explain it.

Boh has the right idea. Usually he gets up with me, but lately, as soon as I groan and turn off the alarm, he settles into some part of the warmth I’ve generated, and I get up to make the coffee. Cuteness.

Yes, that’s right. I received a valentine in the mail from dear friend E., and this is what I found when I opened the rather battered and clearly re-taped envelope. At least the candy thief opted to reseal and re-mail the envelope. The valentine is of course the part that matters to me, and the whole thing gave me a good laugh yesterday, which might have been just what I needed after a long day on campus. Plus, it gave me a great story to leave on E.’s voicemail.

Rubber rain boots. Necessary for spring. Also, for lake houses. (Yay!)

The madness of desk #2, above, is a good indication of how frazzled things are right now. I’m not sure about my posting frequency these next few months — I’ll be here, but there might be lots more of these disjointed “show and tell” style posts for awhile, and a little less knitting. And I’ve clearly been more than a little delinquent in the land of comments. I’m going to do my best, but I have no idea what I’ll have time and energy for. I’m planning to read until I can’t read anymore for the next six weeks, and then my exams begin. Let’s just agree that if all goes well, there will be lots more knitting, spinning, cooking, and blogging come May! Thanks for being here in the meantime.

twenty-nine.

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Yesterday I turned twenty-nine. I’ve been thinking about this birthday a lot, and trying to come to terms with where I am in my life right now, versus where I might have loosely imagined I’d be when I turned twenty. I remember feeling anxious about twenty. I had just decided not to become a doctor, and so many things were unknown. It was exciting, but scary, too. And twenty, well, twenty marked the beginning of what then seemed like the decade that would determine so much of what my life would be: graduation, the start of a career, a family? The idea that this would be the decade for all of those things weighed heavily on me.

And now? Well, I have to admit, I thought I was beyond thinking about these kinds of expectations for myself, but this birthday has brought a lot of those thoughts back. Intellectually, I am quite comfortable saying out loud that I am happy with the decisions I’ve made, and the unexpected places they’ve taken me. Emotionally, though, I think it is okay to acknowledge that maybe I’m not where I thought I’d be at twenty-nine, at least in the non-academic parts of my life, and that I’m a little bit sad about that. And that’s okay. I no longer feel like my twenties will determine my future, and I have a much stronger sense of myself than I did at twenty.

So Boh and I celebrated quietly yesterday, with an extra-long frolic in the snow, and dumplings. This is the kind of meal I rarely prepare for myself — it is a lot of work for just me. But yesterday, I decided that I would give myself extra time in the kitchen, instead of putting something to simmer on the stove so that I could continue to read. (And I’ve got leftovers for tonight.) I’m sure I’ll do some celebrating with friends this weekend, but yesterday was what I needed. I crossed some things off of my to-do list, indulged a bit in the kitchen and outside, and knit a few more rows on my terra shawl.

Here’s to twenty-nine.

knits in the wild (and shh, don’t startle it — actual knitting progress).

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Yesterday. (Garter yoke cardigan.)

Today. (Idlewood.)

I’m about a third of the way through the first lace chart of the edging for Terra. I cannot wait to wear this — maybe it has something to do with the snow that just keeps falling? (I’m not complaining. I love snow.) Hoping to knit a few rows after I finish today’s reading. Stay warm!

(legs) outstretched.

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I snapped both of these pictures today, and only realized that they sort of go together when I pulled them off of my camera. It is officially long-underwear-season. At least some of mine is stripey. (Brrr!)

Here’s a broader view of this evening, if you will. Boh, asleep. Me, knitting and grading. A few more papers to go. And I’m on the last row before the lace section of terra. More soon.

fake it ’til you make it.

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That’s what K. said today when I tried to articulate that I felt the need to at least “look” put-together, even if I don’t feel like it right now. See?

Wednesday, before I got completely soaked below my raincoat and above my boots. Luckily, the torrential rains turned to snow for the walk back home.

And today, before bundling up in a down vest, handspun fingerless mitts, my handspun wurm hat, and my trusty pink spindle-spun cowl.  Hooray for the arrival of handknit weather!

And here is Boh. He doesn’t fake it.

I came home between commitments today to walk Boh, read for fun, and drink a pot of tea.

And start the last repeat of the basic portion of my terra shawl. Thank you all for your kind comments on yesterday’s post. As I work to process the end of a meaningful relationship, I am just so thankful for my craft and for my community, both here in blogland and in real life.

greens: avocado, kale, terra.

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Power breakfast.

Garlicky kale. (From this recipe.) Seems almost too simple, but this is delicious. (Well, I thought so. B was a good sport and had a bite, but his take on this kale was that it “feels like the skin of a bat.” More for me!)

Time for the second ball of Peace Fleece. I set aside a few hours on Saturday morning for knitting and podcasts, and made some serious progress on this shawl. I’m hoping to squeeze a few rows into my Monday morning to help me get ready for the day — last week’s writing is the subject of this afternoon’s discussion…

rewards.

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It is going to be another long day of writing. But I made good progress yesterday on my revisions, and last night I rewarded myself with sushi and yarn-winding.

And ten rows of Terra. Brokeknits is so right — this garter stitch pattern is rhythmic and restorative. Maybe I’ll knit a row or two after I adimpleate my coffee mug. (That’s the word I adopted yesterday here.)