Getting there

It's beginning to feel even more like fall around here. Fear about finishing papers and assignments on time is settling in and my desire to snuggle on the couch with some tea and knitting is increasing. Thankfully it's not snowing here yet, but the temperature hovers around freezing for my morning walk to the bus and it's becoming increasingly uncomfortable to carry a coffee. Enter my Fiddlehead mittens.



I really need to get finishing these. I'm halfway right now (excluding lining) and I'm pretty sure the fiddliness of the thumbs made an inch of thumb knitting take longer than the whole project itself. I was really worried that they wouldn't fit properly, since I have really long fingers, but they ended up being perfectly snug in the end.

I also found the answer as to the perfect study knitting: seed stitch cowls. In my last post I was trying to work out a funky cowl to be crocheted, but that failed miserably. I think I had crocheted each ball of yarn twice and it just never came out right. So, I switched over to some 8mm needles, cast on 131 stitches and went until I ran out.

Pattern: Gap-Tastic Cowl
Yarn: Bernat Roving in Low Tide, 2 balls

I love it so much that I've started another one in doubled Malabrigo worsted and have some Thick and Quick earmarked for a third. Readings, here I come.

I was also surprised by a lovely yarn treat from my Dad yesterday. He went on a road trip and stumbled across a shop in Brooks, Alberta selling mostly felted things but some yarn too! He didn't ask what the content/yardage was, but it's the most lovely hand painted shade of orange gold that wouldn't photograph to save it's life. What would you do with this? It looks to be around a worsted weight. I'm thinking a small shawl? That answer seems too easy, though.


James and I have been trying to enjoy the river valley as much as possible before the snow flies, and I had a day off school so I picked him up super early and we went for a 9:30 walk with the dog. It was perfectly calm, the dog park was void of dogs and small children, and the sun was shining. What more could you want?




I'm off to make more tea, read more boring textbooks for my least favourite class ever and knit with some yummy Malabrigo. Oh, and make sure James stops eating all the Halloween candy. We've had a box of it for a couple days and we already need to get more. I think this is the first year I haven't been inclined to eat any chocolate bars, too. Weird. Are you guys doing anything exciting for Halloween? I'm planning to camp out in the living room with Netflix and feed the masses until the candy runs out. And I'll wear my sheep hat for good measure.

Happy (almost) Halloween!

Copycat

I've eluded to my epic procrastination skills before, and I'm sure this is something any student reading this can relate to. Here we are, at the end of October, midterms and assignments looming, schools to be applied for, supervisors to befriend, and I started a new project. 

When I was small and first started playing with yarn crochet was my go-to skill. My ten-year-old self found the two needles far too clumsy and slow so I learned to crochet like the wind. Since I picked up knitting seriously in the last 4 years my crochet hooks have been covered in dust and languishing in a jar. After all, I certainly can't multitask while crocheting the same way I can with knitting. I found myself at a breaking point last weekend where my brain literally felt full. I had spent an hour reading a single page of a journal article and absorbed nothing, so I abandoned all schoolwork and picked up a hook and some fat yarn to re-create a cowl I saw on Tania over at What Would a Nerd Wear



The yarn is Bernat roving, an 80% Acrylic and 20% wool blend that leaves something to be desired. I bought it mostly for the lovely teal colour that I imagined in a highly textured cowl, but I didn't think I'd be crocheting it, that's for sure. I've been experimenting with different stitch patterns to little avail. Trying to find the balance between loose and fishnet, firm and rigid, seems to be something my brain isn't doing too well. Also, there's the problem that my swatches have been lying to me. The micro scale just isn't working out in macro, and so far I've crocheted the equivalent of 1.5 cowls and I still haven't settled on a stitch pattern I like. In the photo above I was experimenting with a linen-type stitch that came out to be so stiff I inadvertently made myself a Miss Universe sash. 

Hopefully I'll find time to make some progress which will probably mean picking up a new hook in a size between what I have handy. That is, if I can finish my paper, study for my next skeletal anatomy exam, read a book and prepare a presentation. 

Happy Wednesday! And happy midterm/paper/project/surviving to all students!

(Long Overdue) FO Friday

I pulled this cowl out of my closet this morning and realized that it never made it up to the blog in it's full form. So, without further ado, here's my Wicker Cowl!


Pattern: Wicker Cowl by Kate Gagnon Osborn
Yarn: Savannah DK by the Fibre Company

The only modifications I made to this were to add repeats to use up my yarn, since I didn't really feel the need for leftovers. I ended up adding about 1.5 extra repeats on since I'm not picky about symmetry in a piece like this. I love this thing! It's a great transitional knit for fall and keeps me warm in class without the bulk of a scarf. The content of the Savannah (wool/cotton/linen/soy) is great for the transitions I make from a freezing cold building, to the sauna portion of the building, then back outside. (Who doesn't love underfunded arts buildings?) 

Also, the stitch pattern reminds me of thistle. 


I hope everyone has a blast at Rhinebeck this weekend, for those fortunate enough to visit. For the rest of us, I hope your weekend is full of all the delightful things fall has to offer. I'll be imposing some serious study time on myself to get some assignments out of the way, but I'll be supplementing with lots of knitting and perhaps trying my hand at baking some Apple Pie Cookies with the apples from the tree in the backyard. 

Happy Friday!

New Favourites

I don't have much in the way of knitting content to share. I've been plugging away on my Kerrera but some of the shoulder directions are seriously messing with my brain, so it's in the timeout chair. Given that the weather has taken a turn for the autumnal around here, I've picked up my Fiddlehead Mittens and am burning through them.



I'm using some Manos Silk Blend as a contrast and Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran as a main. I picked up both while on holidays and didn't have anything in mind for either when I bought them, so I'm pleased with this mini stashbuster project. Not to mention the soft hand of the silk is a great contrast to the roughness of the Scottish Tweed. I'm not sure what colour I'm going with for the lining, but I'm thinking a light grey might look nice, but that's a bit boring. Maybe a green? If you guys have any suggestions that would be awesome.

The only other thing I have to share with you my new favourite breakfast food ever. Quinoa.



I use it a lot for dinners and salads, but today was the first day I tried it with a breakfast spin. I used the recipe from Dinner at Julie and it came out perfectly. Hopefully it will fuel my day of writing grad school statement drafts and reading my neglected sociology textbook.