Out of town...

Hi everyone - I am leaving for my field methods mapping class in South Dakota and Wyoming. Since I really doubt I will be able to find a computer to post anything (or have the time to do it), I'll be bloggless (and knitless) until then.

I'll be back online June 11, and hopefully have some exciting stories to tell. Wish me luck!!!

I made Maggie's mousie tonight. The pattern is from Wendy's mouse-along (button to the lower right - I'm too lazy right now to make a link!) It just needs stuffing with catnip and sewing up. Here is a scan to give you an idea of what it looks like:

Pictures, Trip, and Mousies

I have added pictures of the two cabled dishcloths I've finished in the last week to the finished knits section of the gallery. There are also pictures of the basket and soap I made my Mom (to go along with the blue cabled cloth) for mothers day in the other projects section.

In other news... I almost have everything I need for my field methods class trip to SD/WY. 7 days until we leave! I need to wear my boots some more to break them in, read the "field geology" textbook, and start packing. (I know I am going to forget something...) I've never spent this long (two weeks) in a hotel before, especially not one in the middle of nowhere. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to bring/do??

I am going to Mouse-Along with Wendy (see link to the right) and make a cabled catnip mouse for the Mag-ster. Hope she likes it (...the spoiled rotten brat ; )

Hey there. I'm finally done with school for the semester, and I am at my parent's house until next Tuesday. Doing absolutely nothing at all, and it feels great! Actually, I am knitting a little; I finished the cable swatch/dishcloth and made another one for my Mom. I'll have pictures of them up in a few days when I get back to my computer. Besides that, I am shopping for things I need for my trip.. nothing else really interesing right now!

something different


This is what I have been working on for the past two days. I needed something new, different, and small to work on during finals week. It represents two things: trying to learn how to make something from a chart - type pattern, and my first cables. The cables haven't been a problem, but the chart keeps confusing me. I've frogged this little thing more than all my other projects combined I think. But, it does seem a little easier than reading all the pattern abbrev. for complicated stitches (or at least it will once I get the hang of it). The swatch is made out of cotton; the plan was to try out a bunch of stitches and then use them as dishcloths. Of course, I didn't do a border and put no thought at all into where the cables will fall in swatch (the one right on the edge for example) but thats ok. The pattern is calld "cables and stripes" or something close to that, from Barbara Walker's Charted Knitting Designs. I checked it out from the library yesterday and now I have to own a copy - its that cool.

site updates:
blog archive template added (but archives currently not working)
new links
100 things about me page
yarn dying experiments page
gallery sections: pets, yarn and stash, yarn dying
graphic link for this site (help yourself!)
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Summer!
yay saturday! I finished classes for the semester last week - got two finals next week and then its over! My environmental justice presentation went well, although I'm afraid I was rambling/babbling at one point. It's pretty interesting stuff, and I think I might put up a page or two about it eventually this summer when things calm down a little.
I am trying to order/find the equipment I need for my summer field class. I still need a rock hammer, leather belt/holdster thing, field notebooks (write-in-the-rain type of things) and boots/clothes/raingear. We are leaving May 27 for two weeks in South Dakota and Wyoming to do mapping and other various geoloic tasks. It should be fun but difficult. I'm really looking forward to two main parts of it: the one day we have off to go to Mt. Rushmore (I've been there before-its really incredible) and the stop made in an area known for being a great spot to find garnet and staurolite crystals. I checked out my GPS scanner and compass from the UI geology department yesterday. I think I need to read the instruction manual though - my GPS has been flashing "wait...locating satellites" for hours and hours now. I don't think they should be that hard to find...
Knitting content:
I'm very upset, but I think I am going to have to take apart the top of the dresser scarf sock that I finished. The whole thing looks too big... and I can't for the life of me pick up the stitches right around the bottom to attach the foot. grrrrrr! Best to leave it sit for a while and get over my issues with it before ripping the whole thing out.

I didn't get to give my power point presentation today. Yuck. I was hoping to get it over with. But we ran out of time before I could. Now, I certianlly don't consider myself to be an expert in these matters, but I have been around and seen things and well... almost all of the presentations I saw today were pretty lame. There were a few good ones, but the bad ones fell into two major categories (better know as the 'don't give a presentation like this' list): The person stood behind the computer, reading word for word off their slides. Exactly what was being projected on the screen and nothing else. Uh, yeah. I can read. The other people had an entire speech prepared and writted out on paper or notecards. They read straight from them to the point of forgetting to change the slides when it came time. Of course, when a slide did get changed, their place would be lost on the page. Throw in a few seconds of ummmm..... and we are all thrilled. Needless to say I didn't learn very much of anything today.

As for knitting, not much has been happening. I have worked a few (maybe two a night) rows on the suprise project the last few nights. Thats about it. Oh, and I got a really awesome deal on ebay on some Regia sock yarn. $12 for four skeins of the mini-ringel stripy pattern, in blue, white, green and brown. yay! and shipping 1st class was only a dollar something. Gotta love sellers who don't screw you on shipping and "handling" costs. I think thats enough rambling for tonight. I am going to go watch Nick @ Nite before I go to bed.

Have you ever spent a lot of time on something you knew you shouldn't be doing? I'm talking knitting related here now. After looking at the tiny sweaters and doilies on the blog I posted yesterday, I googled for "miniature knits". And I just couldn't leave it alone. So, at one a.m., there I was, with a size 0 addi turbo and a package of DMC craft thread.



Grant it, the gauge is still much bigger than the size 0000 needles used for the minis I was looking at online... but it satisfied my craving trying something tiny. Well, sort of. Now I think I want to get some teeny tiny needles and try some other things. The most interesting thing about this little hat is that it is basically the first thing I have ever knit completely without any kind of pattern, and it is the first time I have ever done two color knitting. Ever. I'm not even sure how I knew how to do it or why I tried ... it just sort of happened. So, I finished it tonight, and I'm pretty impressed with myself. = )

Now on to important matters, such as Are the Ideals of Environmental Justice Being Upheld? (power point presentation I have to give in a class on tuesday.)

Wow. You have got to look at this site. She's got photos of her incredible little miniature knits on her blog.

I worked for a little while on the surprise project tonight (I really wish I could say more about it), but got frustrated when I realized I had been working for 35 mins and had finished 3 rows. The pattern is not that complicated. I am just feeling kind of... blah today. Don't know how else to describe it. I kept falling asleep every time I sat in one place to long. Its too bad I have sooo much class work that has to be finished before finals. Maybe this is my body's way of procrastinating for me...

Here are my color quiz results ... kinda interesting since blue is my favorite color (tied with purple.)

BLUE You give your love and friendship unconditionaly. You enjoy long, thoughful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive. Find out your color at Stvlive.com!

New on the site today: I have added backblog comments (be sure to share your thoughts!), and gotten one chunk of the gallery section (finished knitting projects) up and running. In knitting news, I worked on the "surprise" project tonight. Can't really say any more than that for now! But it is going well... seeing how this is the second time around and I had to rip apart my first attempt. I got the summer 2003 issue of Cast On magazine at Barnes and Noble today. Somehow I missed the spring 2003 issue... If anyone has one they might be willing to part with... let me know!

I've decided that I'm going to make this nifty bag: Shopping Tote or Needlework Tote out of my KoolAid yarn. You use two strands held together, so I am going to use two contrasting colors at once. I'm also going to make it a little bigger by adding stitches to the sides. another project to add to the list...