Was that midterm break?

Well, midterm break flew by. I found myself dogsitting for a friend of the family the whole week. That's right. Two straight weeks of dogsitting. These pups were geriatric French bulldogs. The characteristic raspy breathing of French bulldogs was helpful during the week. At night I just listened for their labored breaths to make sure they were both still alive. I'm not usually a small dog person, but they grew on me as the week went on. It's hard to complain about dogs that sleep 90% of the time.

Mr. Biz and Ms. Brighton

I've spent significantly more time with dogs than with people during the past few weeks. It's likely my social skills have begun to suffer. On the bright side, I was able to get a ton of knitting done and watched every romantic comedy movie on HBO. I'm pleased to present my finished Sedum:

I'm very pleased with the 3/4 length sleeves. I was terrified that it wouldn't fit in the end but was pleasantly surprised with the final product. I'm most proud of the color. Mustard yellow is so bold for me.

I received exciting news over break that I was selected for a summer internship in Boulder, Colorado. Aquatic mountain ecosystems might not interest you, so I'll stick to knitted related things: I've already searched for yarn stores in the Boulder area. There are three.

On Sunday I cast on for a hat.

This one is for a friend. I warned him that if I made a colorwork hat for him, we would have to be friends forever. There was no escaping it. He seemed fine with this agreement. When I realized I wouldn't be able to travel with the project easily (too much yarn to juggle) I panicked and cast on for a new shawl. Yes, I'm using the 11th Doctor sock yarn. I'm quite excited.

You might think, "Okay, Kaylin's knitting two projects. Whatever." But whatever is not an appropriate reaction, dear reader. I have never worked on two projects at the same time. Sure, countless knitters do it without incident. I'm just worried that I'll neglect one. In fact, I can't work on one without feeling guilty about the other for a second or two. I know this sounds strange. I'm working through it.

MOOG

There's yarn, and then there's yarn.

Anna's aunt mailed her some yarn. Actually, it was more than that. In my opinion, it was a Magical Orb Of Goodness (hereafter referred to simply as "MOOG"- sorry if you thought this post might be about a synthesizer).

We don't know who made it or what it's made of. We just know it's magical. How could it not be? Rumor has it there are more MOOGs on the way via the US Postal Service. Of course the MOOGs could probably just levitate all the way from Oregon to Missouri, but they don't want to freak everybody out.

Another treasure appeared at SnB. It's completely unrelated to knitting/crocheting, but humorous enough to warrant a mention.

"How to Defeat the Huns"

It's in black and white to enhance readability (yes, that is an actual word). The creator is obviously a humorous sort of person, so I'll excuse their affinity for hot pink ink on hot pink post-it notes.

I finished the Risk Management Hat but have yet to mail it off. I love receiving mail but, as a rule, I am very bad at sending it.

Perfect hint of slouch.

I'm dogsitting this week and it turns out Bella and Tilda don't like to be left out of photographs. They are skilled at popping into the frame.

Sometimes it was affectionate:

Other times it was just sneaky:

Creepers be creepin'

I relocated to the dining room to capture a shot of the Calorimetry I finished last weekend. You might recognize the K'acha yarn of Ugly-Cute hat fame. I considered referring to it as the "Phoenix from the Ashes" headband but thought that might be a bit much. A simple relocation could not deter the pups. Can you spot Tilda's nose in the photo below?

I also started a sweater over the weekend. I'm really enjoying the top-down construction. The seed stitch is yielding a wonderfully squishy fabric.

The pattern is called Sedum. I'll admit that it was the name that first caught my eye. Sedum is a large genus of succulent plants commonly known as stonecrops. They were some of my favorite plants to see last summer in Montana. I spent several weeks intrigued by a mysterious plant I kept spotting during field work. I knew it was a succulent, but no one could tell me exactly what it was. Finally my co-worker brought a field guide with him and the mystery was solved. It was roseroot, or Sedum integrifolium. Unfortunately the only picture of the plant I captured all summer was from the field guide.

I'm so excited that my midterm break starts in 24 hours. I plan on devoting much of my time to this sweater. And Doctor Who. Yup. Pretty much a repeat of Christmas break.

The Panic Inducing Yarn Store Trip

Last Friday, I decided to make a rather impulsive trip to my favorite yarn shop. The weather was beautiful, I didn't have class, and it was Gluten Free Friday at the Main Squeeze in Columbia. Without really telling anyone (okay, I sent my mom a text) I set off to buy some yarn.

Little did I know, my impulsive trip sent my friends into a panic. You see, when you're planning a surprise party for someone, you don't want them to leave town. While I was deciding between buying a sweater's worth of Cascade ECO wool in gray or yellow (shocker! I boldly chose yellow. Who do I think I am? ) my friends were frantically texting each other in crisis mode. One friend was even ready to fake an emotional meltdown if necessary to ensure I came back from Columbia that night. That's love.

Although I considered just driving home for the weekend, I eventually made my way back to Kirksville instead. To the relief of many, I showed up to the party and was, indeed, surprised.

So, the lesson is this: When planning a surprise party, you can't plan for the yarn buying appetite of the guest of honor.

Well enough about that. With this addition, I have successfully constructed a three post arc featuring my birthday. I'll shut up about it now.

The yarn store that was worth driving three hours round trip is called Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe. It's located just off Rangeline in Columbia, Mo. I was so eager to reach my destination, I even navigated the interstate. That's a sign of devotion if I've ever seen one. The staff is super friendly and the yarn selection is topnotch. Here's the yarn that was lucky enough to go home with me:

Here's the same yarn with the Eleventh Doctor yarn. It's to pretty no to be photographed.

Could I be shifting to a new yarn color obsession? Is mustard yellow the new charcoal gray? I used Madeline's swift to wind it all up. I figure I have enough yarn to last me through midterm break. So, three weeks.

This weekend I finished a hat for my friend Gina. It was a cool pattern called the Sideways Grande Hat from Boutique Knits. As the name suggests, it was constructed by knitting around the body of the hat, rather than from the bottom up as is the case for most hats.

Ready for seaming

The finished product. Gina will look much more posh in it.

I had planned to send it home with my sister during her visit this weekend, but I lost valuable knitting time during the surprise party and didn't complete the hat until this afternoon. Oops. Sorry. I said I'd stop mentioning my birthday.

Stay Golden

Don't worry, I survived the blizzard. My survival was largely due to the fact that Madeline and I skipped town to go visit our favorite SnB alum, Alex Klein. Now, Alex claims to be shaping young minds in St. Louis but don't be fooled. He's actually livin' it up in Miami with my favorite retirees Blanche, Rose, Sophia, and Dorothy.

College kids ain't got nothing on these ladies. They are wild. Upon our arrival, they gave us a quick tour of the city. Back at the house, we feasted on Sicilian and Scandinavian delicacies. Dessert was, of course, a delicious cheesecake. After dinner, we moved to the living room to play Charades.

Classic Madeline. So busy checking out the lanai she almost missed the picture.

Turns out Sophia was attempting to act out The Wizard's of Waverly Place. That's a tough one. The evening progressed in a calm but enjoyable manner until a misunderstanding involving peanut butter, a hairdryer, and the neighbor's cat landed Sophia and I in the slammer.

Thank goodness Dorothy knew to bring Peruvian Highland wool with her.

By the time the charges were finally dropped, it was time for Madeline and I to head back to Kirksville. The roads were so bad we had to parachute down.

All in all, it was a memorable trip. My brief incarceration allowed me to prepare for the tundra of Kirksville by knitting a cozy hat.

I imagine that if I had been in town, two snow days would have left me extremely bored. Who knows what I would have done to pass the time?

22

Twenty two is a fun number. Especially since it's the number of knitters and crocheters who attended last night's SnB meeting. Here are a few more fun numbers:

9: the number of those knitters I taught how to knit

6: the number of ECO members in attendance

5: the number of admitted Doctor Who fans present

17: the number present I think we could convert to Doctor Who fandom.

I'm sure we set some sort of Truman record last night. I doubt there's been a gathering of yarn enthusiasts that large on campus in some time.

We obtained a delightful spread of cheese, crackers, vegetables, etc. from a deity called Beth. It should be noted that cheese connoisseur Mr. John Nash found the smoked cheddar particularly delightful.

Now, I know I've said some things about crochet that have irked certain readers. Most of the time I'm joking. And when I'm not it's probably because I associate crochet with particularly awful acrylic yarn brands. I guess the real issue here is my yarn snobbery. Anyway, crocheting can be cool. If anyone can do crochet right, it's Jordan II. I didn't get a shot of the completed granny squares, but her color and yarn choices are spot on. I would be seen publicly with this blanket.

Two hats were completed during the meeting. Kat finished a very unique mohawk hat.

Teresa finished a hip hat for her niece. Best. Aunt. Ever. It's modeled below by Kelsey.

Since finishing my sweater, I've tried to move on to other knitting projects. I halfheartedly cast on for a new hat. Yawn. It's just hard to follow the excitement of sweater knitting! Even though I should probably finish a few projects (namely, the Give a Hoot mittens I promised a friend back in November) I can't help daydreaming about my next sweater. I think it will have to be Beatnik from the Deep Fall 2010 issue of Knitty. Go ahead. Click on the link. Do it. Explore the Knitty website while you're at it.

Well, I suppose I'll go work on my hat.

Chances are, I'll just sigh deeply until my roommate asks me what's wrong.

"I just wanna knit a sweater!" I'll yell.

I imagine she'll give me a sympathetic look before turning back to her computer.

Because she's a knitter now.

And she knows.