Finals Time

It is amazing the amount of work professors throw at you at the end of a semester. I wonder if they forget that we're taking more than one class at a time. Or maybe they just like to burden themselves with a huge stack of 10 page papers just before Christmas so they can get out of hanging up the outside lights.

In any case, knitting progress has been crawling recently. I did finish off the last round of a crocheted granny square lap blanket this evening after chapel. Its very bright and cheerful (think safety neon orange and bright yellow)! I've also started a simple scarf for charity that I can work on while I'm reading theology. Our professor is writing the manuscript for our textbook and has been working on it for the past 13 years or so. This means that we get it in a huge notebook and it lays open very nicely so I can read and knit at the same time! I need more books like that.

In lieu of actually knitting, I've been feeding my yarn habit by plotting my knitting for Christmas break and J-term. In December I need to finish the two sweater projects I've got, then I don't have to take any J-term classes so I've got most of January open! I've settled on the Fir Cone Square Shawl from Folk Shawls as my major project. I just need to get needles for that. Its my first major lace project and I'm very excited about it! If anyone has any suggestions for books on tape that would go well with lace knitting, please let me know!

Yarn Shenanagins

This is what happens when craft stores have sales:

Yarnbee Mosaic Twist
Colorway: Fruity

Bernat Haven
Colourways: Cream and Peach

And this is what happens when a bunch of seminarians swap yarn:

Bernat Baby yarn in a couple of colors and some Yarnbee Highland Thistle in Shetland (not pictured).





Good thing I also acquired a new bin for the stash!


I'd say the yarn swap was quite a success! Good times, fun yarn, and pumpkin pie was had by all! We're all gearing up for Christmas break (aka: uninterrupted knitting time). I've been making plans with Rosemary for our after Christmas crafting plans. We both have plans to work on large square shawls in January and we both have some sewing and scrapbooking projects to finish. I think we'll be able to keep each other motivated!

Survival of the food coma

What a week! My family has been here celebrating Thanksgiving and its been crazy. I had never cooked for 11 before. Now I have! It was a lot of fun, even though very little knitting got done. I did finish off the last few rows of the sherbet scarf and it went to the charity knitting box. I worked on Bristow a few times, but realized tonight that I had done a cable on the wrong row and had to rip back several inches.

This just goes to show that food comas and knitting do not mix!

My mom brought me Folk Shawls and then bought me some yarn from Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart that was on clearance. I forget what kinds they were at the moment, but I'll get pictures and details up at some point. Cross my heart!

For now, just enjoy a picture of St. Francis enjoying the weather from this week.

Turkey Day

Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the US so my family is making the long trek from Indiana to come and visit me. I've been diligently working on my schoolwork this weekend so I can spend the rest of the week with them doing more interesting things (like knitting!).

Luckily, some of my homework was reading for my theology class and the text for that class is actually the manuscript of a book our professor is writing. It comes in a great big three ring binder and I can read and knit at the same time! Between reading theology at work (I work at the school library) and watching a couple of episodes of "Men in Trees" last night, I'm almost done with this furry beast:
Its a fun fur scarf, just plain garter stitch. The colorway, Copacabana, stripes itself and I think it looks like Rainbow Sherbet. Its bright and fun and will be perfect for some little girl somewhere. :-)

Sweater Fest

Somehow I have gotten myself into a lot of sweater projects this year. Top of my list is currently the Green Tea Raglan from Interweave Knits Spring '07 (minus the belt thing).


I'm making it from Knitpick's CotLin yarn which I am thoroughly enjoying. It gets softer as you work with it. I think the person I'm giving this to will really love it after its been washed a few times. It just needs a back and it will be good to go! I did the sleeves in between doing the second front/back piece so that I wouldn't get Second Sleeve Syndrome.

I had planned on casting on the last piece of this tonight, but I realized that this was taking up my size 5 straights:This is one of the front pieces of Knitty's Bristow. I'm making myself finish this piece before I reclaim the needles to start the last bit of the GTR.

Munkus finds this whole thing very amusing.

Savior of the Nations Come

I adore the season of Advent. The time of waiting before Christmas. The hymnody is hauntingly beautiful and the whole world seems to be anticipating something wonderful. In just a few weeks we'll have the Advent Lessons and Carols service at the seminary. I'm singing in the choir and playing handbells. The bells are doing a beautiful arrangement of "Savior of the Nations Come" which is now stuck in my head. I love it!

In the spirit of the upcoming season, I'm arranging a Stash Swap with the seminary knitting group. We'll all bring a skein or two of yarn we aren't going to use to our last meeting of the semester to exchange for something new and exciting from someone else. Hopefully we'll all find things to inspire us to do some holiday knitting during finals week!

In other news, the steering wheel cover was long enough and I did some minor surgery to attach it to the steering wheel today. I didn't have my camera on me so I'll have to show you a picture some other time.

We've got a break coming up next week and my family is coming to visit me for Thanksgiving. I'm hoping to have a lot of knitting time between the cooking and catching up. Look for more picture filled posts soon! For now, enjoy the yarn I'm going to turn into a beautiful shawl once my mom brings me the book with the pattern in it.

Jaeger Wool Silk
Colorway: Ageon Blue
8 oz/2540 yds

Its the perfect color for the season - the color of hope.

Handy Hats

Well, its a good thing we decided to knit hats for our newly-bald football players. Gettysburg was frigid this weekend! We won our first three games, but lost the championship to Chicago. Sad day. The hats were fantastic anyway. Stephen certainly liked his:

Most of the hats were solid red, but I liked the stripes on this one the best.

I don't think I explained before, but the guys auctioned off the rights to shave their heads for donations to Heifer International. We raised over $2800! I think Stephen's hair went for a llama. I and two other knitters finished 13 hats on the drive up there. We also taught someone how to knit, so we were quite proud of ourselves. It was a productive trip.

I had, of course, planned to knit a lot during the games, but unfortunately it was freezing and I kept my hands in my pockets whenever possible! That scarf is one of the first things I ever knit (knitted?). At one point I had a long sleeve t-shirt, a wool sweater (from a store, I can't knit with the stuff but I can sure wear it over things), a regular t-shirt, a hoodie, a rain coat, a hat, the big red scarf, a pair of gloves, a pair of fingerless mitts, a pair of mittens, two pairs of socks, and big waterproof hiking boots on and was still cold. Something must be wrong with me. I've been in the south too long.

Or perhaps I shouldn't stand outside in the cold all day.

I did accomplish some knitting during our inside times. I worked on these socks but haven't taken a more recent picture. The heel is turned now.

I also worked on a steering wheel cover for the woman who cuts my hair. She's also a student so we barter knitting for haircuts.

I'm pretty sure its long enough, but I have to try it on the steering wheel to make sure it fits correctly even though I measured carefully. Cotton stretches!

I'm glad to be back from my travels, even though I came home to an entire container of cat food all over the laundry room floor. I think Munkus was a bit peeved that I left him. He had fun nibbling on my needles while I worked on a surprise project this evening.