Foiled again!

I've been wanting to plant this year's veggie garden for weeks now. First it was too cold too late in the spring, so I had to wait. Then it was warm enough, but I had no free time. Now I have a few days with spare time, but it's supposed to rain all weekend. Even if I did decide to just tough it out and garden in the rain, I wouldn't want the rain to wash away the newly planted seeds. Darn you, weather! I'm shaking my index finger angrily at the sky. Cause that will help. Sure.

I did nearly finish the moss stitch pullover, though. By which I mean the pieces are complete, and they've been sewn together. I still need to weave in some of the ends, add a button loop closure, and block the whole thing. (Yes, I block after I do the sewing. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense to me, because how do you know how best to adjust the shape to make the garment fit you properly?) I'm hoping with this particular sweater I'll be able to blockify it so it's a little more flattering on me (can't put my finger on it, right now it's just... meh), but I haven't got my hopes up because the yarn isn't wool, so I doubt it'll be overly responsive to blocking. Wish me luck!

In Progress Pictures!

How far will my procrastination take me in avoiding school work? So far that I'll break out the digicam and take pictures of my current knitting. That's some serious procrastination, there.

So, here's a shot of the sweater I'm knitting, as it's designed to look, according to Phildar. I'm curvier than the model on the page (well, than any model), so I've no idea how the sweater will look actually on me. Just smashing, I hope!


And here's what the front looks like as I've knit it. A different color, obviously, and I think I may have made the arm holes a little wonky, but hopefully it'll turn out to be a minor error when I put the pieces together. I also added more waist shaping than was called for, as I always do. Mmmm, waist shaping.


And lastly, here's what the moss stitch looks like up close. As I said before, this will most definitely not be part of my next project. For this one sweater, though, the effect is kind of cool.

I've decided I don't like moss...

Hello, all! Well, all however many of you actually read my blog, anyway. How's things with both of you? :)

I've made a fair amount of progress on the phildar moss stitch pullover I'm working on. The front and back pieces are complete, and I've done about half of the first sleeve. Even better, I had been thinking that I'd have to turn it into a short sleeve deal because my available yarn was in short supply... and then, aha(!) I found a missing piece of an unfinished (and never will be finished) garment in the same yarn, so I can make the 3/4 length sleeves as called for.

I've already determined, though, that my next project will NOT be in moss stitch. So annoying, that moss stitch, with the switching the yarn placement before every. single. stitch. I think I'll go with something in stockinette, knit in the round: still mind-numbing, but much faster results. Aw yeah.

Happy Sentence Day!

Today is one of the coolest days all year. Why? Because today, and today only, the date is its own complete sentence. Think about it. What's today's date? Say it out loud... that's right, "March fo(u)rth!"

Yes, I'm a big nerd. But if you're reading this, you probably knew that already. :)

Anticlimactic Snow Day

It's snowing like mad outside, and school's been closed down. I don't have classes on Fridays anyway, though, so I'm not really affected. I am, however, making soup in honor of the blizzard. And by "soup" I mean "chicken broth with onions, potatoes, and corn." Not overly ambitious, but it'll do.

I'm also curled up on the couch with my latest sweater in progress. It's a (translated) Phildar pattern - ooh la la! - for a 3/4 sleeve pullover in moss stitch. I tried to find a picture on the Phildar site or elsewhere, but no dice.

And obviously, my hands can't type and knit at the same time, so... back to the needles!

Still Haven't Fallen Off!

Today at the gym, I finally had a successful treadmill outing. I used to treadmill all the time and prefer it to running outside, actually (how far have I gone now? ok, how 'bout NOW?). At some point, though, I got accustomed to running on the street, in part, I think, because by running away from one's final destination, you're somewhat guaranteed a more respectable amount of total miles because, hey, you've got to run back to your starting point before you can stop. Otherwise, I am NOT good at making myself keep running when I don't feel like it.

This street running worked splendidly through the middle of January (I know, I was amazed, too!), but now the air is consistently below freezing and the roads are snowy, icy, and generally slippery. So back to the treadmill it is.

The transition hasn't been fun, to say the least. Either my calves were in pain because of the adjustment, or I'd get this weird motion-sickness thing, or I'd just plain get BORED without changing scenery to look at. But today, today, it finally clicked again. My MP3 player, set to shuffle, gave me a bunch of high-energy songs to keep me motivated, and I pushed myself to run faster, rather than just going through the motions and calling it a day.

And I managed not to fall off the back of the 'dmill, slamming into the concrete wall in an amazing display of klutziness. I always consider this a victory.

The New 'Do

I just got back from getting a HAIRCUT! Yay! Goodbye, long, stringy hair that only looks good for about two seconds after I brush it. Hello, cute, fun, more professional look. I feel so much lighter! My hair swings and moves now!

!!!! Yay!

Before and after: