About yarn

Well, this is new. I usually get really excited to read the Stitch n' Bitch blog post- and, if such a thing is possible, now I'm even more excited to write it! And so...without further ado...

This week at Stitch n' Bitch, the theme seemed to be new projects: Katharine has begun thrumming her second mitten:

Check that out! Progress is being made!

And while she's working on that, she's waiting on a whole bunch of yarn to come from KnitPicks! There will be a new sweater, new socks, and lots of other stuff too! We will be informed of the colors and types of yarn next week when it gets here. I get so excited about new yarn- even when it's not mine! (More on that later. Yarn is very exciting stuff.) Clara was hard at work balling her new eyelash yarn so that it can be added to the tube:

The ball is getting bigger!

That stuff seems to be rather unruly, but she worked hard the whole time! I'm sure its contribution to the tube will be well worth her efforts. Mary is making an accent scarf, that is more or less just something that this yarn wanted to be:

Check out that cable! And such a pretty color.

Mary also gave Clara a lesson on sleeping during class in high school. The key is that you have to be able to get away with it! I'm pretty sure the key to all good things in life is not getting caught.

 While I was admiring the progress that Aric was making on his scarf, Mary commented that the stigma that the world puts on male knitters is so unfortunate. Come on world! It wasn't always that way. During the Renaissance, workers were divided into guilds according to what they did: there was a woodworker's guild, a stone carver's guild, a weaver's guild, and even a knitting guild! Of course, that was back when women weren't allowed to work, so only men were allowed to knit. They mostly knit woolen stockings to combat the cold winters. It didn't take long for women to start knitting too, but that doesn't mean men stopped- If a man wanted a sweater, he could make his own!
I did some research because I was curious, and it looks like it was around the 1940s that knitting became strictly feminine. Girls were taught how to knit in school until the 1980s, and the rest is history :) Speaking of men who knit, here's one right now!

Scarf progress!

His first scarf is coming along nicely- Did he mention he is using the Norwegian purl? It's this clever little twist thing you do so that you can hold the yarn at the back for knitting as well as purling, instead of switching it back and fourth. He says he knows some physics friends who knit, but let's see if we can get them to come to Stitch n' Bitch!

Meanwhile, Jordan has informed us that she will be doing yet another set of golf club cozies (covers? I don't think a golf club necessarily needs to be cozy...) for her very lucky father. That man must collect golf clubs the way I collect yarn! I think Jordan's the one that needs to knit things for herself now!

Look at that smile! Despite knitting the same thing again and again!

At least this set is supposed to be his Christmas present. One less thing to worry about!

I've been hard at work on my rainbow sweater. I'm very worried that I won't have enough yarn, but on the other hand, I've never not been very worried that I won't have enough yarn- and I think it might be too early to tell at this point. I'm also lucky to be able to work on it during at least one class every day. Jordan and I discussed an idea that came to me while I was there- I have a plan for my rainbow sweater. Last week, Madeline posted the picture I took of my sweater progress next to my fabulously decorated hot chocolate from Costa Rican- well, it turned out to be really good hot chocolate, so I'm going to make a weekly thing out of it- to go and get hot chocolate there, and take a hipster picture of it next to my sweater progress. This way, I'll have a week by week account of the growth of my sweater! The very last picture will be when I finish the sweater, and I'll be wearing it while drinking my hot chocolate! It'll be cold enough for that, by the time I finish. I like this plan very much.

I'm having a very hard time not starting other projects right now- I know my sweater will never get done if I do. I have all this yarn and it's just staring at me...waiting to be something warm and toasty.

I did something bad the other day. I was on Ravelry, and I clicked on one of the ads. You should never click on yarn ads unless you have miraculous amounts of money in your yarn budget to spend. But I clicked anyways. here's where I went: http://shop.nerdgirlyarns.com/ And it was magnificent! All the yarn colors she sells are colorways inspired by nerdy TV shows and movies! There are some Monty Python yarn colors- my favorite is the red and white one called 'it's just a harmless little bunny'- and there are some Firefly yarns (yayy!). Mostly and very importantly, there are a whole lot of Doctor Who yarns! Colors for every Doctor, a lot of the companions, a selection of different sonic screwdriver colorways, and....drumroll... A TARDIS color! TARDIS blue. The very best blue of all. I am keeping myself from buying some until I finish the rainbow sweater. The last thing I need right now is more yarn to distract me...

So! How'd I do? I tend to ramble a little when I start having conversations with myself, which is basically exactly what a blog is.  A conversation with yourself that involves pictures.

Is this thing on?

Well, Stitch N Bitch has seen a lot of change since May.  First off, we started meeting again, that's been going well.  We switched our meeting days to meet at 7pm on Tuesdays (still in the SUB HUB-come join us).  We lost some members (we're looking at you Kaylin) and gained some.  Finally, we're going to work on a rotating blogger plan.  I'd say I'll keep you posted but hopefully we all will.

Our first meeting was quite exciting, there were firemen, sirens and mass hysteria!  OK, that last bit was an exaggeration.  There was a fire drill in the SUB and I panicked a little bit when I couldn't find everyone post evacuation.

Lena & Mary knit right through the fire emergency.

Luckily, it just took a bit of wandering around the outside of the SUB to find our crew comfortably knitting on the grass.  Apparently, I just missed Sweet Nothings finishing up their practice just behind our knitting circle!  Darn the luck!

I did make it in time to catch up on everyone's summer vacation report.  Mary & Clara both agree that while their summer was relaxing their dog had the most enjoyable time.  Kat stayed in Kirksville (what bravery!) and worked for JBA and on arty things.  I was around, mostly working, but with some fun having!  The rest of the night proved to be less excited than watching the firemen wander around on Franklin with axes but it sure was wonderful to see everyone again!

On Friday Kaylin arrived all the way from Murray, KY to visit for the long weekend & of course to knit.  Everyone who stayed in Kirksville for the weekend met up at Costa Rican Coffee to knit away a good portion of a drizzly Saturday afternoon.  There was delicious food, hot drinks and great conversation.  

Clara impressed everyone with her tube!  Even me, though I look furious in the background!

Kat captured the feel of the gathering & her stripey, cabley rainbow sweater.

It was just a wonderful weekend.  We hung out with friends, stuffed ourselves with gluten free blueberry cake and watched so much BBC we may have developed accents for part of Sunday!

Sadly, we did not recreate this moment, no matter how much Bella begged!

Yesterday we had our 3rd meeting of the semester (wow already)!  Katherine was kind enough to bring some delicious oatmeal caramel bars, I even brought one home for Mr. Nash, who was quite impressed.

Jordan II showed off the amount of hair she can grow in a summer.  Cute!

Jordan is making great progress on a crocheted blanket (and growing hair) to keep her warm in her big kid apartment this winter.  Katherine has started on her second of her maybe not so doomed thrummed mittens.  Clara continued her tube, it might well be a house cozy soon.  Kat is working on the third starting of her rainbow sweater--I forgot to snap a photo of the progress, I owe you!  Aric is plugging away on a scarf.  Mary has been experimenting with linen blend but it has not yet revealed its final destiny.  I've been working on making a not your boyfriend's sweater while debating the merits of doing so in a wool/cotton blend!

Typical and exciting all at the same time!

All good things

Greetings! It's time for a long awaited blog post! 

Let's review what's been happening in SnB land. 

In April, Madeline and I met up with Allison in Columbia to attend an event hosted by Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe. I believe it was called a trunk show or something like that, though really it was just knitting and good food at Les Bourgeois Winery. 

Madeline and Allison knitting up a storm

Blurry shot of other knitters

We had a great time looking at yarn and chatting with other knitters. I spent some time working on the socks shown below that I'm STILL working on, thanks to a missing size 1 needle that was recently tracked down in the Nash household.

By the hammer of Thor, I will finish you!!!

At the last SnB meeting of the year, Clara showed off some of her new projects. Check out those adorable vegetable earrings. I'm so proud of how her creativity shines even brighter now that she can knit on double pointed needles.

 She also brought Gerard, her handknit pencil. Yeah, she's the coolest kid I know.

In non-knitting news, Jordan III showed off her AMAZING BALD HEAD. She shaved it for St. Baldrick's, a charity that funds research to help find cures for childhood cancer. Everyone kept rubbing her head for good luck. 

In other news, I GRADUATED! Here I am with my favorite set of Nashes. Yes, that's a small smile on  John's face. 

I know, you're thinking, "Awwwwww!"
"Awwwwww" indeed! 

Graduating has been a strange thing. I'll be leaving Kirksville and SnB behind. But I'm leaving you in very good hands! Madeline, Katherine, and Kat will be taking over blogging responsibilities. I am extremely confident that this group of ladies will do a fantastic job with the blog. And hopefully together they'll be able to post more than once a month. 

I've spent a long time writing this blog post in my head, wondering what I would say about my SnB experience. I've taken so long, in fact, that I'm finally finishing it in a hotel room in Kansas on my way to Colorado for the field season (I won't be more specific, on the off chance someone is planning a time-sensitive kidnapping). What I would like to say is that my time with Stitch 'n Bitch completely shaped my college experience. I began attending meetings my sophomore year when I was down in the dumps, so to speak. Meeting the lively members of SnB at the time (Madeline, Alex and Jordan I) brought me out of my slump in a supportive, hilarious environment. I might not have been able to control all of the things happening in my life, but I could control where I would be on Thursday nights: the HUB of the SUB. My knitting skills drastically improved too, which was a bonus. Over the past three years I have valued my time at SnB more than I can really describe. Thinking of all the people I have taught to knit is a great source of pride, as is this blog. I enjoy scrolling through past posts and remembering all of the hilarious moments I've shared with fellow group members. I have forged friendships that for once I am certain will stand the test of time and space (they're bigger on the inside!! AMIRIGHT fellow Whovians!?!?). I will be lucky if I can find a similar group of knitters who can tolerate my theatrics for as long as my fellow Stitch 'n Bitchers have. I've threatened to Skype in on a meeting or two next year, if they'll have me. 

Ugly Pinky Jumpsuits, among other things

Salutations devoted readers! Please stay tuned for a Stitch n Bitch update! First, I'd like to share some exciting personal news. The day after finishing my last blog post, in which I whined about not knowing what to do after graduation, I received an email that would result in exciting graduate school plans.

I've been accepted as a graduate student in the lab of Howard Whiteman at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. (Save your Kentucky jokes for someone else!) During my time in the Whiteman lab I'll be working towards my Masters in Watershed Science. My research will involve the role played by tiger salamanders in a stream food web. The particular stream I'll be working in is located at the High Lonesome Ranch in western Colorado. Less than two weeks after graduation I'll be heading to Colorado to begin the field season. I'm am so thrilled that I was offered this position and can't wait to get started! I'm sure I'll be taking lots of yarn with me to keep myself preoccupied during downtime. (Good knitting segue, no?)

And now for some SnB pictures!

Clara has proven to be quite the entrepreneur. She's been selling "Ugly Pinky Jumpsuits" to her classmates so they can cover their least important fingers. They are selling like hotcakes!

Clara modeling two UPJ

Kat has returned to knitting with a vengeance. In addition to working on a sweater for herself (finally!), she turned out these adorable felted bunny slippers. Kat has proven to be a more reliable blogger than yours truly, so I encourage you to check out her many projects over on her blog. 

Adorable. In-progress sweater in lap! 

 Kat and her friend Lauren are currently enrolled in a printmaking class. They've been wowing us with a few of their recent projects.

Lauren's creation. Drawn with a BIC pen!

A print by Kat. 

 During Wednesday's meeting a representative from the Residence Hall Association stopped by to tell us about an event they're hosting this week. This Wednesday and Thursday they'll be holding blanket making events in the Georgian Rooms from 12-3pm. The blankets will be donated to Project Linus, which provides blankets to children in need. On Wednesday the event will be in Georgian Room B and on Thursday it will be moved to Georgian Room A. They will have sewing machines and fabric available. You can also drop off your knitted or crocheted creation (measuring roughly 36"x40").

Before I leave you, here's a shot of an (alleged) Southern Bog Lemming we trapped during my mammalogy field trip this weekend. It was so calm and sweet!

A lack of knitting

(If you missed knitting on Wednesday, you might not know that boy bands are making a comeback. This was basically the best news Katharine had ever heard)

I'm going to distract you from the fact that I don't have any new SnB photos to post by sharing some pictures of my dogs when they were puppies. Plus I kind of miss them right now. 

They were so sweet as puppies! 

Baron and Dad, co-napping. They have the same color hair!

Obligatory Santa pic

Benny was as adorable as his father (who is Baron, if you're not up to speed with my dogs' genealogy).

Probably why we picked him

This captures the dog I'm familiar with

They're still moderately adorable these days. Mostly they do this: 

Or this: 

And occasionally I'm lucky enough to receive picture messages like this one:

Now that I think about it, I don't think I ever requested an explanation.

You don't even miss the knitting pictures, amiright?!? (Apologies, I'll be more diligent at next week's meeting!)

I run a knitting blog, but I haven't been doing a lot of knitting. During the last Stitch 'n Bitch meeting I spent the majority of the time untangling a ball of yarn. I'd say I'm working on the hat for my sister still, but honestly it has just been sitting neglected in the corner of my room. Like a few of my friends, I'm in full fledged "I'm graduating and I don't really know what I'm doing after May 5th" mode. After several applications went unanswered (believe me, not hearing anything is worse than hearing no) I'm basically a ball of nerves. My friend Donald is in a similar boat, and we often discuss a need to eat pancakes and cry (I don't even like pancakes very much and it still seems like a good idea!).

 I know you're all fascinated by this peek into my psyche, but I swear I'm going to bring it all back around to knitting. Because that's what I SHOULD be doing! Knitting has calmed my nerves countless times before, yet here I am flat-out avoiding it. My current evening routine involves compulsively checking my email and every ecology job board I know until I push it all aside to escape into whichever television show Netflix has recommended for me. I think I've avoided knitting because I do some of my best thinking while knitting and, frankly, the future isn't something I want to think about right now. 

But personal crisis aside, my sister still deserves a hat! So this weekend I'm going to make an attempt to knit a few rows. This should be easier since I'll be camping with my mammalogy class and unable to mindlessly watch television. Who knows, I might even finish the damn thing! 

30 minute power post!

Hello! Prepare for another 30min procrastination blog post!

First let's look at a bunch of projects other knitters at SnB have finished!

Katherine's perfectly slouchy hat.

Kat brought in some silk she dyed with indigo.

This one was my favorite. 

Some of the knitted squares Clara and Mary made for the animal shelter!

Clara in her new sweater! Awesome work! (And props to Mary for seaming the whole thing)

Jordan III, Pom-Pom Queen

Mary acting nonchalant, but in reality barely tolerating the musical guest that took over the SUB and made conversation near impossible at the last meeting. 

I have nothing new to add to the finished projects photo stream right now because 1) I still have not bought blocking wires for the stole (snowy conditions meant I had to drive right through Columbia without any stops) 2) My sister has been finicky about her hat.

I suppose that's not being fair. She wasn't being intentionally finicky. I will say that when someone sends you two pictures of the same hat with varying degrees of slouch and you say "The first one," make sure the picture shown first is actually the one you meant. When I showed up at her apartment for my birthday visit I probably only had an hour of knitting left. When I let her take a look, she mentioned she wanted the finished hat to be extra slouchy. I blinked a few times before reminding her that the picture she indicated was actually the less slouchy version. Texts were reviewed to see who was correct (yours truly). To make a long story involving the location of extra yarn and annoying decreases very short, Jackie didn't get her hat that weekend. To pacify her, I gave her an extra hat I had with me. I actually made two of these suckers since the pattern was so fun and I had extra yarn. After spending five minutes deciding if she liked it, Jackie finally came 'round when she realized the colorwork made little hearts. I believe her exact words were, "THERE ARE HEARTS ON IT!?!?"

Content with her substitute hat. We are now non-matching twins with matching hats. 

Time to get back to my mammalogy review. I must admit I'm more of a fan of invertebrates, but I see the importance of certain mammals, if only for their contributions to the yarn industry.

I wrote this to procrastinate.

I'm writing in an attempt to keep from studying (or really, to take a break from it) so I only have 30 minutes to churn out a satisfactory blog post! 

Today I finished my stole (cheers! ovation!) while watching season two of Downton Abbey (watch this!!!). Given that I have a moderately stressful week ahead, I really shouldn't have been watching TV at all and I should have been saving the knitting for times of great need. Despite knowing this, I could not help myself since both the pattern and show are so addictive (why do you stir up such trouble Mrs. Bates?!?).

It's off the needles! Now to block to the "Six feet by 17inches" dimensions

Anyway, it should be no surprise that to further delay studying I dunked the stole in the bathtub as soon as it was off my needles. Only afterwards did I remember that most of my blocking pins were at home and I only had one box with me. Since I had a soggy mass of wool, however, I had to figure something out. 

I tried to block best I could using Madeline's "edge of a towel" trick. The truth of the matter is that I'm just not very good at blocking. The pattern insists that you use blocking wires to achieve the best results but of course I ignored this (why didn't I order them with my yarn shipment?). In the end I got an undesirably scalloped edge. Arg! I remembered reading about the Yarn Harlot using string to block her shawls out (I'm sure this is a widespread practice, this is just where I learned of it). I decided to try that on one side at least and use the rest of the pins on the other. By this point I was sick of the blocking process, but I rather enjoyed threading my scrap yarn up the length of the wrap. The lighting in my room isn't great right now (reminder: replace two lightbulbs that have gone out) so I had to dig out my headlamp to do a proper job. In the end the yarn helped, but it was impossible to stretch the project wide enough. Things weren't looking particularly neat around the edges either.

Threading up one side

One straight side + one wonky side= fail

For the next few days I'll have a room I can't walk in that smells of damp wool. I don't mind the smell really. I associate it with achievement, perhaps because of how long I was trapped in a room with my first sweater as I tried to block it out. 

The whole experience was a bit annoying, but the brilliant thing about knitting is that I can just reblock it later! I plan on stopping by Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe on Friday to pick up some blocking wires (here's hoping they have some!) and frustrating my mother by blocking on the guest bed at home this weekend. I'm rather excited to do a proper job at blocking it. The pattern (Guernsey Wrap, in case you don't recall) has been a blast to knit. I could see myself making a few more as presents, especially after I've invested in blocking wires. 

Up next on the knitting docket is a hat for my twin sister who has a birthday on Thursday (I'll let you connect the dots). The yarn shipment came in on Saturday and I have to admit it helped motivate me to finish my stole. 

Okay, back to studying plant anatomy. I promise an update on SnB activity will come soon! For now, look at Katherine's finished sweater!

Note to self: knit sweaters that fit this flatteringly

My 30 minutes are up. I was only able to proofread twice, so pardon any grammatical errors.