for the next week and half, things are going to get pretty hairy. last few weeks of the semester and all... for my benefit i'm going to list the things i have to do over the next approx. 10 days, so by no means feel pressed-upon to read further. hopefully i'll be back soon with pretty knits and things.
paper 1: milton, dealing with labor in paradise lost (7 pages minimum). due ASAP (read: yesterday)
paper 2: hawthorne/bellamy socialist utopia/distpoia, affect of the capitalist market on morality (at least 5 pages). due tomorrow 4/28 (hell of a way to spend my birthday)
paper 3: coetze criticism essay (at least 5). due ASAP (read: last monday)
paper 4: final becket/coetze paper (at least 7). due sometime next week
paper 5: dreams in romantic poetry (at least 7). due 5/6
poetry response (one page, thank god). due 4/29
poetry recitation: thank goodness i don't have to memorize! due next week
independent novel project: read novel, give presentation. due next week
Ayn Rand/Fountainhead debate: stand up for individualism, tomorrow 4/28
Non-fiction essay revision (at least 8 pages) due 5/4
Non-fiction essay portfolio (2 essays, three shorter exercises). due 5/4
wish me luck.
a primarily yarn-related blog with lots of randomness thrown in for good measure.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
on couponing and cheap needles
i usually work sunday mornings. this has some pretty cool advantages to it: first, i'm up early on a day i would otherwise sleep in, and while some people may look at that as an inconvenience, i think of it as good time management on a day i would have otherwise wasted. two, sunday crowds are usually pretty nice. lots of old people wanting their sunday papers. three, the saturday papers. see, one of my jobs on sunday morning before we open is to pull saturday's papers and set out sunday's, which means the poor unbought saturday papers head to the giant recycle box in back, unless of course their innards are rescued by me. then, during the slow spots, i can peruse the ads and clip coupons, should i find any worth having.
maybe i'm speaking from the ignorance of the uninitiated, but couponing hardly seems worth it. i see the tv shows where people have three carts of stuff and only pay some ridiculously small amount, like $8.73 or something, and i just don't get it. these people may very well qualify as hoarders. one couple had 53 bags of assorted chips in their garage stockpile. how can one eat that many before they go bad? these people have to have stockpiles to get the most out of their deals. i don't know about you, but i couldn't fathom having an entire shelf of gatorade in my house, or 35 bottles of maalox.
Of course, the rationale is twofold - buy only stuff that won't go bad (which is a blurry line for some people), and then if you run out when something's not on sale, you can just get it from your stockpile.
i repeat: 53 bags of chips, 35 bottles of maalox, entire shelf, stacked front to back, of gatorade.
i'll stick to the occasional clip.
maybe i'm speaking from the ignorance of the uninitiated, but couponing hardly seems worth it. i see the tv shows where people have three carts of stuff and only pay some ridiculously small amount, like $8.73 or something, and i just don't get it. these people may very well qualify as hoarders. one couple had 53 bags of assorted chips in their garage stockpile. how can one eat that many before they go bad? these people have to have stockpiles to get the most out of their deals. i don't know about you, but i couldn't fathom having an entire shelf of gatorade in my house, or 35 bottles of maalox.
Of course, the rationale is twofold - buy only stuff that won't go bad (which is a blurry line for some people), and then if you run out when something's not on sale, you can just get it from your stockpile.
i repeat: 53 bags of chips, 35 bottles of maalox, entire shelf, stacked front to back, of gatorade.
i'll stick to the occasional clip.
as for the cheap needles thing? we're talking knitting needles. i bought a cheapy pair of circulars in my impatience (and stinginess) to complete a shawl, and they broke. in fact, the one side popped off so violently that the cable ricocheted in the other direction, leaving half my stitches stranded without a lifeline and a good half of those dropped down.
this was after i started to rip it back, but as you can see if was turning out to be a fairly pretty little shawl. i'm still thinking about using some of my tax refund to put together little comfort shawl kits with yarn and needles and instructions and leaving them around town for people to find. i would love to think i changed someone's life by putting needles in their hands. maybe i'm being a bit altruistic. it would've made my day, at least.
Friday, April 15, 2011
self-preservation?
or procrastination? anytime i get overwhelmed with something, school, work, relationships, whatever, i turn to knitting or crocheting, or sewing. this in and of itself isn't necessarily an unhealthy thing - however, the way i go about it, apparently, is less than productive.
see, when the urge hits me to escape, nothing i'm working on will do. possibly because they all have something wrong with them - they're too complicated, they're tedious, too monotonous, i'm at a spot where i have to sew before i knit more... at this point something new starts to sound really good. something quick, comforting, easy, perhaps repetitive but evolving. so i dig in my stash for some fluffy, slow-color-changing lionbrand homespun and some large needles, and i cast on for a shawl. that, and when i'm knitting, i can't really be doing anything else. if i could find any of these books on CD i'd be ecstatic.
yes, the pattern is simple (see below), but the yarn changes colors charmingly and it keeps growing, so it's not exactly the same every time.
i might actually see if the preemie project could use any of these as comfort shawls; it'd be a great opportunity to teach a beginning knitting class and do something good at the same time. check out their website anyway, they're pretty cool people.
crazy simple one-skein shawl
1 skein lion brand homespun, size 15 (29 or 36") circulars, stitch markers, 11.5mm crochet hook (optional)
abbreviations: k = knit, p = purl, yo = yarn over, kfb = knit front and back
cast on 5
row 1: purl across (WS)
row 2: k2, yo, k1, yo, k2 (RS)
row 3: k2, p3, k2
row 4: k2, yo, k1, yo, place marker, k1, place marker, yo, k1, yo, k2
row 5 and all WS: k2, purl across to last 2, k2
row 6 and all RS: k2, yo, knit to first marker, yo, slip first marker, k1 (center), slip second marker, yo, knit to last 2 stitches, yo, k2
finishing row 1 (RS): k2, kfb, knit to one stitch before first marker, kfb, remove marker, k1 (center), remove second marker, kfb, knit to last 3 stitches, kfb, k2
finishig row 2 (WS): knit across
repeat finishing rows once, if desired.
bind off *
* if you want to knit until you absolutely run out of yarn, do a crochet bind off, loosely with an 11.5mm hook. start at the opposite end than your working yarn, slip 2 stitches onto the crochet hook, pass the first (lower) stitch over the second (higher) stitch, slip one more from needle onto hook and pass the lower stitch over the higher stitch, repeat until you're at the end and tie off! alternately, you can skip the finishing rows and just bind off whenever you're finished.
see, when the urge hits me to escape, nothing i'm working on will do. possibly because they all have something wrong with them - they're too complicated, they're tedious, too monotonous, i'm at a spot where i have to sew before i knit more... at this point something new starts to sound really good. something quick, comforting, easy, perhaps repetitive but evolving. so i dig in my stash for some fluffy, slow-color-changing lionbrand homespun and some large needles, and i cast on for a shawl. that, and when i'm knitting, i can't really be doing anything else. if i could find any of these books on CD i'd be ecstatic.
yes, the pattern is simple (see below), but the yarn changes colors charmingly and it keeps growing, so it's not exactly the same every time.
i might actually see if the preemie project could use any of these as comfort shawls; it'd be a great opportunity to teach a beginning knitting class and do something good at the same time. check out their website anyway, they're pretty cool people.
crazy simple one-skein shawl
1 skein lion brand homespun, size 15 (29 or 36") circulars, stitch markers, 11.5mm crochet hook (optional)
abbreviations: k = knit, p = purl, yo = yarn over, kfb = knit front and back
cast on 5
row 1: purl across (WS)
row 2: k2, yo, k1, yo, k2 (RS)
row 3: k2, p3, k2
row 4: k2, yo, k1, yo, place marker, k1, place marker, yo, k1, yo, k2
row 5 and all WS: k2, purl across to last 2, k2
row 6 and all RS: k2, yo, knit to first marker, yo, slip first marker, k1 (center), slip second marker, yo, knit to last 2 stitches, yo, k2
finishing row 1 (RS): k2, kfb, knit to one stitch before first marker, kfb, remove marker, k1 (center), remove second marker, kfb, knit to last 3 stitches, kfb, k2
finishig row 2 (WS): knit across
repeat finishing rows once, if desired.
bind off *
* if you want to knit until you absolutely run out of yarn, do a crochet bind off, loosely with an 11.5mm hook. start at the opposite end than your working yarn, slip 2 stitches onto the crochet hook, pass the first (lower) stitch over the second (higher) stitch, slip one more from needle onto hook and pass the lower stitch over the higher stitch, repeat until you're at the end and tie off! alternately, you can skip the finishing rows and just bind off whenever you're finished.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
thrifting is kitschy
i made something today, and it only cost $3.75! i <3 houseworks...
here it is empty...
here it is empty...
and with my knitting notions on it...
and a side view... you know, i don't know why i couldn't put jewelry on here...
the whole thing is only and 7" high... here's the top plate in the palm of my hand!
good thing they're limited in their uses, or i might make more. unless someone wants one, of course... then i'd have a reason to make more...
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
tuesdays are the days for blogging
well, at least it looks like it is so. with only one class and a work schedule that often doesn't include tuesdays, here i am at my leisure to write a few paragraphs, as it were.
now only if i had something to say....
i started the garden of alla shawl on ravelry - it has it's own peculiar difficulties so far, but it being my first lace project i am going to withhold judgment until i've gone a little farther in the pattern. be ready for status updates and an eventual pattern review. it's a fairly popular pattern on ravelry, so i don't expect i'll be saying much of anything that's new, but, oh well, each person's opinion can add something to the pot.
i haven't been ignoring my new year's resolution, i just haven't done anything about it. nice save, hm? i plan on making a big dent in my work-less day today. i might even use sewing as relief from studying.
other projects proceed apace - there's the weekend cardigan from lion brand, i'm a few inches from adding ribbing to the bottom, then it just needs sleeves and bands, the garter-stitch scarf is still going, though mostly i use that at relief. i seem to exhibit an extreme inconstancy when it comes to knitting. i get sick of stockinette, so i switch to garter. i'm tired of endless simplicity, so i throw in some cables. i get weary of thick, heavy patterns and switch to some lace. sooner or later, something will get done!
i'd really like to try some lemon-vanilla-mint marmalade. i think that would be tasty, but i'm not sure what it would/could go on other than cake.
anyway, projects await.
now only if i had something to say....
i started the garden of alla shawl on ravelry - it has it's own peculiar difficulties so far, but it being my first lace project i am going to withhold judgment until i've gone a little farther in the pattern. be ready for status updates and an eventual pattern review. it's a fairly popular pattern on ravelry, so i don't expect i'll be saying much of anything that's new, but, oh well, each person's opinion can add something to the pot.
i haven't been ignoring my new year's resolution, i just haven't done anything about it. nice save, hm? i plan on making a big dent in my work-less day today. i might even use sewing as relief from studying.
other projects proceed apace - there's the weekend cardigan from lion brand, i'm a few inches from adding ribbing to the bottom, then it just needs sleeves and bands, the garter-stitch scarf is still going, though mostly i use that at relief. i seem to exhibit an extreme inconstancy when it comes to knitting. i get sick of stockinette, so i switch to garter. i'm tired of endless simplicity, so i throw in some cables. i get weary of thick, heavy patterns and switch to some lace. sooner or later, something will get done!
i'd really like to try some lemon-vanilla-mint marmalade. i think that would be tasty, but i'm not sure what it would/could go on other than cake.
anyway, projects await.
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