A 'Short' Answer.

Hello, internet world!

Sorry about the lack of blog last week. There was confusion. And unsureness. This program seems to think 'unsureness' is a word, but I am unsure. Just go with it. Katharine will be blogging next week, so that will be an exciting change of pace! Meanwhile, you're stuck with crazy old me!

This week at Stitch n' Bitch, many exciting things happened- but many exciting things often do.

Clara was working on a smaller, and closed counterpart to her big papa tube. It looked like a sock, so she tried it on. Best.Sock.Ever:

I should also mention that this device is crochet, not knitted. This girl is the whole package! Also, Madeline was quick to point out that she is dressed like a pirate. All she needs is a parrot. or an eye patch. or a peg leg. or, you know, all of the above. Halloween is coming up!

Speaking of Madeline, here is an almost finished cotton-wool sweater!:

second sleeve almost completely finished! We won't get to see it finished next week because she's ditching the booming metropolis of Kirksville for a visit to Albuquerque (which I did not spell correctly without spell check. Close, but no cigar...) but the week after that, certainly. I wonder what her next project will be! whatever it is, it will surely involve new and exciting yarn to pet!

Mary's pile of accent scarf is getting ever so much longer:

I love it! I love it all.


Check out Katharine's progress on her fingering weight cardigan!

It's knit with palette (which I might have told you) and I was informed this week that she did not swatch. The daredevil. It will be a lovely cardigan regardless, though. She has some bulky yarn lined up for a cowl in the future, in case she needs a break from all that fingering weight.

Katherine is making speedy progress on her Halloween costume (she's got the right idea. Start early.):

It also has a matching skirt. Not finished yet, but she has a whole month, so progress is being made!

Megan is making a table runner:

Check out that lace pattern! I hope it's not a terribly long table!

We had two new people join us at Stitch n' Bitch this week:

Bri, who is making a brightly colored scarf:

Fabulous! Mary showed her how to purl, so now we'll be expecting great things.

And I forgot to ask our other guest's name: She was invited by Katherine (Katherine, not to be confused with Katharine, or me- Kat... there are so very many...) and was learning to crochet: she seemed very intent on her learning:

I am still working on my rainbow sweater- a little over 2/3 done with the back. I had a hiccup where the stripes didn't match up (which makes absolutely no sense, but it's yarn, and it does what it wants)... I seem to be back on track now, though. Soon, I'll be starting sleeves! I also got a new shipment of yarn in a few days ago- two pairs of socks, and two extra balls of rainbow for the sweater, just in case.

Group Picture! Everybody do something with your face!

And quite a group it is!

Jordan came a little late, and I forgot to snap a picture, but she is working on finishing up that set of golf club covers... and her Dad asked her to make another set! The nerve! We agreed that there has to be an intervention. Things are getting out of hand. However, in anticipation of being done For Good with the golf club cozies, she is excited to be thinking about knitting things for herself! In her excitement, she asked me a dangerous question: What kinds of yarn are there?

We were talking about Knit Picks, and other yarns, and where to get them, and how we knew they would be soft. Jordan enjoys knitting with Simply soft, and was worried other yarn would be expensive. We talked a little about it, but it was near the end-half of the group had left for the night already, and so today's lesson (remember my knitting history lesson?) is about my experience with different types of yarn!

A quick note on yarn weights. They go like this:
Bulky: is bulky...
Worsted: is average 'normal' yarn. A lot of sweaters are made with Worsted. Unless you're Katharine.
Fingering: one half the thickness of worsted. For shawls on the thicker-but-not-too thick side, and thin knits that could be accomplished with worsted as well. Holding two strands of fingering together will give you close to the same gauge as worsted.
Sock yarn: fingering weight yarn with a percentage of nylon in it. Nylon keeps your socks from getting holey. You can use sock yarn for things other than socks, I promise.
Lace weight: around one half the thickness of fingering weight yarn- this weight is good for wedding shawls and other very thin knits. Things knit with lace weight wool can still be surprisingly warm.


We'll start with animal fibers:

Firstly, and most obviously, Wool:

There's a million different types of wool, and some of it is best suited for carpets, while others are better for sweaters and hats. The most recognizable breed of sheep for garment yarn is the Merino, and its wool is very soft indeed. If you're going to knit something that will be next to your skin, Merino is a pretty safe bet. Softness can be affected by a number of things- if your wool is blended with something softer, then it will feel softer. Sock yarn can sometimes feel softer because there's a bit of nylon in it.
Also, if it is spun tightly, it might feel less soft than if it is spun loosely, and single ply yarns often feel softer as well, but are more likely to pill. There's a certain balance there, because the tighter it is spun, generally the more durable it is. If there's a micron number listed wherever you're buying your yarn, look for something under 30. Anything above that, most people find scratchy. A micron is a unit of measurement that is pretty standard for measuring the width of a single hair. Merino usually runs about 20 to 23, average.

Alpaca!!!

these guys are so cute. Also, they look silly when they're shorn. Alpaca yarn is very, very soft. Like, a lot. It has a bit more of a sheen to it than wool. It can't take the same beating that wool can, so I wouldn't use it for gloves. It tends to fuzz up, which is either very good, or very bad, depending on your project. If you want to make yourself a sweater that will make people want to hug you with a very strong magnetic pull, then Alpaca can do that job. It has a light halo of fuzz that will make you the softest person on the planet. It may pill a little, but you can cut off the pills, and they will stop after a few washes.  On the other hand, if you make a hat, it won't pill at all, because it's a hat, and hats don't rub against anything the way sweaters do. Alpaca can get as small as 10 microns, for those of you keeping score at home. It's pretty slippery to knit with, but not in a bad way. It's really just different. Awesome. It's important to swatch with alpaca because it is more likely to grow, shrink, or stretch than wool.

silk!

I've not shown you silk worms. You can look them up, if you like. They just look like caterpillars.
Silk is spun by silkworms, and is generally known for its drape, and its shine. Silk isn't especially warm, but if you want elegance, you've come to the right place, Unlike alpaca, it has an excellent stitch definition. It's very soft, but without the fuzzy halo. It can also increase the stitch definition of other fibers if it is blended with them. I like silk for shawls and wraps, but you can use it for anything you want to have excellent drape. I should also mention that the process by witch silk goes from those little white cocoons to yarn is some kind of voodoo of which I am not currently familiar. I had a friend who went to Japan and tried to explain it to me, but she didn't know yarn, and I didn't know silkworm-farming, so the whole thing ended with no knowledge gained. I've been told they unravel the silk in one long thread, but this sounds difficult.








Those are the major animal fibers, I think, so I'll move on to plants:

 Cotton! cotton is very practical, but a lot of people don't like to knit with it because it doesn't have elasticity. Things knit with cotton tend to sag, but if you account for that in your pattern, it's not a problem. It's extremely durable, and you can just throw it in the washing machine, unlike most other fibers. It may get a little fuzzy, but that depends on the yarn specifically. It has a pretty wide range of softness. I read an article in a spinning magazine earlier today about a woman who spun yarn out of cotton balls, which I believe is a crazy thing to do, but she did it anyways. One could make a light summer wrap out of cotton- drape wouldn't be an issue, and it would keep the sun off your shoulders without being too warm. Also, dishcloths, and face cloths.

Linen: Slightly less used, and sometimes expensive. Knitting with linen is like knitting with grass. Once you wash it, though, it magically becomes soft. Then, it magically becomes softer every time you wash it after that. It can also sag, and has little elasticity, but so many people love the feeling of it that it doesn't matter. Its heaviness allows it to drape a little better too. It's good for cool, summer knits.

Bamboo!! A personal favorite of mine. Bamboo is naturally antimicrobial and 10 times more absorbent than cotton. It can be processed a lot of different ways, so the yarn can be anything, really. It's good for baby clothes because it's super soft and low maintenance (did I mention super soft?) It has a drape and sheen like silk, and a pretty great durability as well, in my experience. A bamboo-wool blend is very similar to a bamboo-silk blend.



The most important thing when knitting with a new fiber is to swatch it, to see how it will behave. Or, not, if you're adventurous. Also, If you're not sure how durable something might be, you can make a little mini-hank (or swatch) of it, and attach it to your key chain for a week or two, and see if it ages nicely.

I'm sorry if you knew all that already. Also, I ramble, I know. It was a lot longer than my history of knitting...I don't know if I meant for that to happen. Mostly, I just really like talking about fibers- and that was the short version! Blame Jordan. She asked me that dangerous question.

Just one last thing: I learned to spin yarn properly a few days ago! I though I couldn't do it, but it turns out I was just doing it wrong. So, there will be many hand spun projects in my future!

I don't know what to do with my face!

Hello again! It's me again this week, because Katharine has informed us that she needs time to prepare herself for the great task that is blogging. Also, she just got new yarn, so we should probably leave that girl alone so she has time to knit. She's made some progress on her thrummed mittens, and rightly so, because the weather is starting to turn!

After that, a sweater will be on its way, as well as some socks, and even a cowl! She is going to (and I'm making it blog-official so don't forget, Katharine!) bring the new yarn to show us next week. If everyone else brings some exciting yarn from their stash, we can all pet new yarn, and take pictures! I think my whole entire stash is a little too big for transport right now, and I'm sure I'm not alone (I hope I'm not alone. It keeps me from having to admit that I have a problem...) but I'll probably bring some highlights!

In other Very Exciting news, we have a new member!

This is Margaret (Margaret, I'm sorry if I've spelled your name wrong, I didn't think to ask how you spell it...that's how my cousin spells her name though, so I took a guess...) Margaret moved here recently from D.C. (which is cool! Also it is bigger than Kirksville...) and she works at A.T. Still. She is working on a very lovely looking scarf, whose stitch pattern makes it look like it's made of a bunch of little fans! How neat is that!


Madeline is making pretty epic progress on her sweater- It's the cotton/wool blend that felt more like cotton, so its blocking behavior was pretty questionable. I bet we're going to find out how blocking went soon, though, because it's nearly finished!

I am so excited about that stitch pattern! I can't wait to take the first finished-object picture of the new school year! I wish I had as much time to knit as Madeline does. I am working on that, though. Also, apparently this sweater has been officially played with by at least one of Madeline's dogs, so I'd say its an official part of the family now! I think I'd be rather upset with my dog if she tried to play with something I was knitting...although she's not a huge fan of chewing things up, so much as just taking them, and keeping anyone else from having them.

The ever-persistent Clara has begun winding yet another ball of fantastic fun fur in a new color. The rather unfortunate side effect of this is that she hasn't had time to make more progress on the Tube.

Look! a new furry necklace in a new color!

Mary is working on making her accent scarf even longer:

Look at that! We're going to start approaching Doctor Who scarf length here before too much longer!

Lena is making a hat:

That yarn looks like it will make a very warm hat indeed! Also, according to Lena, apparently the french toast muffins at the SUB are quite tasty. Trust me, there was much excitement.
 Jordan is plugging away on those golf club cozies- how many cozies make a set? Six, maybe? Or does it depend on the set? I don't know much about golf, but thanks to Jordan, I do know a thing or two about golf club cozies. At any rate, one's done, and another one started, so I'd say progress is definitely being made!

I also took a group picture- I apparently was very thorough, and made Jordan nervous... she didn't know what to do for the picture, which led to the title of this very blog post- I think she did alright though:

"I don't know what to do with my face!"

everybody's faces look thoroughly occupied with their knitting, so all is well!

I finished the front of my sweater while we were gathered:

Rainbows are cool! I used just over 2 balls of yarn, although I really didn't want to go over 2... I was about to start the back of the sweater, but I realized that all my other balls of yarn are wound backwards! Instead of the colors going purple, blue, green, pink, aqua, they go aqua, pink, green, blue, purple! I guess I'm not an expert on yarn factories (other than that they are magical places and if I had to choose one place to live for the rest of my life, it would probably be a yarn factory...) but I'm a little confused at them for winding some balls one way and some backwards. Regardless, I have realized that I'm going to need more yarn to finish this project, especially if I'm going to make the stripes in the sleeves match each other like I am for the front and the back. That's been ordered today (along with more yarn. I won't admit I have a problem. ) but in the meantime, I need to work on getting the back of the sweater's stripes to match up with the front, which is proving to be a task in itself. I really want this to be done before it starts getting too cold out! I need a defense against the Kirksville winter!

Next week's blog will include a discussion on improvisational knitting tools, and little things knitters do that most other people wouldn't do. We talked a little about it this week as we were leaving, because I told a story about using a crochet hook as a cable needle, with most pleasing results. Also, I'd like to let you all know that I found a cable needle under my pillow today while I was looking for my glasses...I bet that doesn't happen to non-knitters...

By next week's blog I mean the next time I blog- unless Katharine would like to blog about it- if Katharine is blogging next week. You and I will both find out together- it's all rather confusing.

Dear Kaylin (and everyone, but especially Kaylin): if you would like to see pictures of a cute baby wearing a cute knitted thing, you should go to the yarn harlot blog, because there is a cute baby waiting for you there. I think it was the post on September 18th. That blog post makes me want to go make friends with the people that eat breakfast at the same time I do in the dining hall every morning. They have a baby. It too, is very cute, but I have not witnessed it wearing any knitted things.

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!