Death: Swift and painless

Well, I got home today (Thursday) to find this waiting ominously in the mailbox:

Now, I knew I was pretty much done for when my Sock Wars assassin emailed me for my mailing address on Monday. I thought about evading her, but that would've only bought me a couple days and a forum full of scorn, so I complied, knowing that I was assisting in my own doom. With great trepidation I opened the package, and out came the weapon of my destruction:At least I got to go down wearing some fabulous socks!I realize the socks look completely different colors in those two photos. I'd say in reality they're a mix of the two. The yarn my assassin, Denise from Kentucky, used is Andes, a 100% wool from Chile. It's a lovely handdyed yarn and I'm really happy with my socks. They're SO well knit. I was a bit afraid of what I might receive from this swap but I'm really happy with these. Thank you Denise!

I'm a little concerned that I haven't heard from my victim at all. I emailed her on Monday to say that I had sent her socks, and they really should have arrived by now as they weren't going very far, but still nothing. I hope everything is okay...

Funky Scarf Finished!

My funky scarf (for this swap) is finished! I love it. I really wasn't sure about it at first but it's grown on me during the knitting process. Here are some shots:
This is the 'distance for full effect shot,' and here's a close-up so you can see the detail. And yes, it really is that bright, well, maybe not quite so neon as the photos imply. I hope my pal likes bright colors!

The beads are shiny stars, in many colors that I thought coordinated well with the yarn. As you might recall, I dyed this yarn a couple of weeks ago for the swap, and although it's fairly funky on its own I thought it needed something, hence the beads. And the dropped stitch pattern. I started doing the drop stitches as a way to conserve yarn because I only had 200m, but I had tons left over after making the scarf a pretty good length. Probably not enough for another scarf, but maybe for some armwarmers. Has anyone else noticed I'm forever planning to make armwarmers? I should probably wear the ones I have more often before I make more!

Project Stats: Funky Scarf Swap scarf

Yarn: 100% thick and thin wool, purchased from Weaving Works and dyed by moi using Jacquard acid dyes. I think I used ~120m? I really have no idea, but probably a bit more than half of what I had. The beads came from Michaels and aren't anything fancy, just little metallic stars.

Needles: Size 15 straights, Clover bamboo

Pattern: I made it up, and I'm sure there's a better way to describe it. Basically, 15 stitches across. Row one, k1, wrap, k1, repeat across. Row two, knit all stitches, dropping wraps. Row three, knit all. I placed beads randomly on row one and because of the plain knit row three, they ended up on alternating sides of the scarf. The scarf is about 9 x 72 inches.

Time to knit: About 2 weeks, off and on. When I actually worked on this it went really fast, since every three rows was about 1.5 inches!

Happy: Yes. I hope my pal likes it. I'd like it if I received it, although it is a bit bright! Good for those dreary winter days though, right?

In other knitting news, my days in Sock Wars are numbered. My assassin sent word that my socks are in the mail (and they sound lovely, I'm actually excited to get them), so I'm just about dead. My victim (Jessica) should've received her socks today or maybe tomorrow, so that is all done. Thanks for all the nice comments about the socks! I really like them too. In case anyone is interested, and I think I forgot to mention it, the yarn is Regia 6-ply Crazy Color. Not sure which crazy color exactly, since the label is in German. Anyway, it's a wool/polyamide blend. While it's not as nice as merino, it should be durable and I found it pleasant enough to knit with. I actually wish I had another ball because I used less than half of my second and with another I could knit myself a pair of the Socks of Doom.

I'd also like to send some shout-outs to my fellow knitters who have been impressing me lately! To Shibani, who took to knitting like a fish to water, and just recently finished a lovely baby blanket in what I would consider to be record time. It looks great. Lucky Shibani is going to NYC next week and is excited to shop for yarn there. I have the jealousy upon me...

To Anne-Marie, who brought a lovely crocheted (I know, I know) blanket to knitting club tonight. This blanket was great, all bright colors and interesting patterns, but she has SO many ends to weave in. So, send good end-weaving-in vibes to Anne-Marie, I'm sure they'll be most appreciated.

To Daisy, who managed to have some serious issues with her Socks of Doom but is still pushing through (even though her socks also have to go all the way to Scotland), and to Rachel, who finished her socks quickly despite making them with thick cotton that about did her in.

And, last but not least, to Jennifer, who is the only one of the Fiberphiles who is actually working on (well, Daisy is working on her Potomatus(sp?) socks) her lace project. We all cast on back in July, but Jennifer is almost done with her shawl. Congrats on sticking to it Jennifer, you're a better woman than I!

Bring it on

My wrists hurt, my fingers are calloused, but I am finished with my first Sock Wars weapon! These lovelies shall go in the mail first thing tomorrow morning to kill off Jessica in Portland.

Yes, I'm in pain, and I'm tired, but it was worth the effort. After all, this is WAR!!! I actually really like these socks. They're so bright and cheery, perfect for cloudy winter days. I might have to get some more of this yarn - it was my first experience with self-striping yarn and it was fun. It was also great making socks with the DK(ish) weight yarn, as they went SO fast. I have a feeling this is going to be over very quickly, because it seems from reading the Sock Wars forums that most people spent all weekend with their socks, and several people mailed them on Saturday (which is insane, by the way, since we got the pattern Friday afternoon, and most of us didn't have our victim assignment/shoe size until Saturday). I'm sure I'll be killed quickly but my assassin is in Kentucky so that might give me an extra days respite unless she goes for the overnight shipping. I plan normal first-class mail; with my target only in Portland I think they should arrive on Tuesday regardless of shipping method.

There may be hiking photos tomorrow but for now I'm exhausted and off to bed. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Happy Fall!!!

Today is officially the first day of Fall, which is my favorite season. Now, I realize most people like summer, because it's warm, and sunny, and light late (yes, I like that too), but let's look at what autumn has going for it, shall we?
1. Changing leaves - I grew up on in PA, where the seasons are in your face and there are many shades of orange/yellow/red leaves in the fall. Very lovely. On the left coast we don't get the same brilliance of color, but there are certainly some trees that make a go of it, especially in the mountains where there is enough frost happening to really kick the color into high gear.
2. Halloween - Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, even competing with Christmas. I'm not sure why, but I like it. The candy is good, and decorations are fun, and I still, at 27, dress up every year and go to lab/class/the grocery store in full regalia. Why? Because it's fun!
3. New beginnings - Fall is back to school, and even when you're not really in school anymore there is still that desire for new stuff that comes around in September. I am still in school I suppose, but graduate school is different since I'm not taking any classes and therefore have little need for new spiral notebooks and pens (not that that stops me from buying them. I love school supplies). I also don't need new clothes, but...
4. New clothes - I don't need new fall clothes, but let's be honest. I'm going to acquire some. Even if I try to resist, I will succumb to at least one fall trend, because it's getting colder now, and this year's sweaters are enough different from last years that I really have to have something new. God help me I already bought (and wore) a pair of footless tights, which I swore a few months back I wouldn't do. Until I saw all the cute girls/women in London wearing them, and thought, hummm, I can pull that off...
5. Cyclocross - I love cyclocross. Really I love all bike racing, but cyclocross is my favorite because it involves mud and misery in addition to general suffering. I don't race myself, but I'm a big fan and a master spectator. Dave even bought me a cowbell so I can cheer for him without having to open my mouth (I'm a shy spectator unless I have friends with me).
6. Cross-country - Fall also reminds me of cross-country. I ran cross-country for 8 years, from 5th-12th grade, and although I'm sure I complained about it at the time, in retrospect it was great. I made a lot of good friends running, and I miss the camaraderie. Wednesday I ran through the woods a bit, and there were leaves on the ground and things were a bit damp, and I was immediately transported back to 10th grade, and wondering if anyone would ask me to Homecoming...
7. A chill in the air - I like that it's getting nippy at night. In Seattle it always gets a bit chilly in the evening, but now it's getting to the "I really need a sweater and maybe we should close the windows and have hot coca" stage of chilly. This implies that soon...
8. The snow will come - I also love winter. The snow will fall in the mountains and we will go skiing, and snowshoeing, and if we get around to buying tubes, tubing. I grew up where the snow comes down feet at a time, and I miss the snow. However, the great thing about Seattle is that you can go TO the snow, instead of it coming to you, which when all is said and done is much better.
9. My down comforter - Since we moved in together, Dave and I have been waging a war over bed linens. He is apparently a warm sleeper, or so he says. I don't believe it for an instant, since every night he steals all the blankets. Anyway, I have this down comforter that I love to curl up with, regardless of the ambient air temperature. Down is great. It's warm when you need it, and cool when you don't. All summer I was forced to use Dave's quilt, which is lovely but not cuddly! Now that it is fall I'm putting my foot down and insisting on the comforter, even if we have to keep the windows open to keep it cool enough for Dave to tolerate it...
10. Pumpkin Spice Lattes - Better than mochas. Try one. Even if you're not a coffee drinker (I'm not either) you will enjoy one of these. Starbucks are best, but Peet's is tolerable. Haven't tried anywhere else.

Whew! What a list. As you can see I'm excited about fall! Yesterday was an utter disaster in lab (and today's not much better, sadly). My normal response to such things is to, you guessed it, buy yarn (anyone else have this solution? I bet so). After work yesterday I went up to Weaving Works to pick up a copy of Wild Color, about natural dyeing. Rachel had brought it to lunch and I thought it looked great, and because I'm impulsive like that, I had to have one as well. I thought it was just me, but when I called the shop to make sure they had another copy, they said, yes, we do, but they're flying out of here today. I thought to myself, I bet Daisy bought one this afternoon, and sure enough, when I saw her today she had indeed! At least we won't all have to share :) They had also replenished their stock of undyed yarn, so I stocked up as pickings have been slim lately. Here's the haul:

We have a skein of the thick/thin that I'm using for my Funky Scarf Swap scarf (now almost 3 feet long), two big skeins of Kona superwash (for socks), a skein of (I hope) worsted weight wool/mohair to dye for armwarmers, and two skeins of Noro Kureyon for the start of the Lizard Ridge afghan. I'm excited. Much dyeing to be done!!!

Today was the official start of Sock Wars, and my arsenal is ready and waiting for me when I get home. It's my goal to get the socks done to mail on Monday. I'm sure some people will be mailing tomorrow, but I'm not that hard-core, and some of us have lives to work. From reading the forums, I couldn't believe how many people took today off from work for this. I mean come on, it's a knitting contest. I think taking the day off might be taking it a little too seriously...Me, I'm in lab today, I'll be hiking all day tomorrow, and I'll be going to Dave's race on Sunday. If I'm killed by a sock in the interim, so be it, at least I'll have gone down having a good time!

Yes, there has been knitting

Contrary to appearances, I have been knitting. In fact I've accumulated quite a few WiPs in the last few months, and there will surely be more before there are fewer. Let's go in order through the most recent beginnings, shall we?
First up is my swatch for the soon-to-take-over-my-life-and-cause-the-cessation-of-any-other-knitting Sock Wars sock. Now, don't feel the need to point out that my swatch is flat, and I should've knit it in the round if I was really striving for accuracy. I'm NOT striving that much for accuracy - I figure this is good enough since I hate making swatches in the round, and I can start the sock and then check the gauge to make sure it's right, without wasting tons of time now. Short-sighted? Maybe, but why waste time now when I can waste it later? The yarn I got on massive sale from Little Knits, only $2/skein! It's Regia something or another, more details later. Next in the started projects queue is the scarf for my Funky Scarf Swap pal. I'm not sure what I think of it. First off, it's very bright. And the beads are a pain in the @ss, and may have been a bad move. I got them to 'funkify' the scarf, and they do go quite nicely with the yarn, and they do add some funk, but beads (even large holed ones) do NOT slide slickly over the thick bits of the thick/thin yarn. So, dear readers, don't make this mistake, you have been warned! I've done a bit more since this photo and I'm going to perservere, so there will be more photos soon. Lastly, I've started my first Christmas knitting. Last year I went way overboard with the Christmas gifts, especially seeing as how I was preparing for my qualifying exams at the same time I was knitting seven hats for people in my lab as well as assorted other gifts. This year, there will be four (maybe five) knit gifts. And only one of them can be disclosed here, since I'm pretty sure the others are all going to faithful blog readers. Without further ado, here is the one you can all see, assuming my grandmother hasn't acquired a computer and internet connection without my knowledge. This is the start of her Christmas socks, which are the Vine Lace Socks from Socks Socks Socks (thank you again no-longer-secret Pal!).

I'm knitting these with KnitPicks Gloss, the 70% merino/30% silk blend, in Dusk. I really like the yarn so far. I started the sock on size 1 needles, but it was seeming very small and the stitches were so tight that it was unenjoyable (and sock knitting should never be unenjoyable!), so I've moved up to 1.5s, which seem better. About these needles - apparently I should guard them with my life, rare specimens that they are. I bought them at a fiber festival of some sort last spring, and now I'm wishing I'd have bought two sets, since none of the LYSs (and there are many, many in Seattle) sell them, and in fact several of the folks I talked to seemed unaware one could buy size 1.5 needles! These are Brittany, and I'm very happy with them. I'll be buying more if I can find them at a festival this year. However, only having the one set and not being able to find more did force me into dealing with the sock that was on these needles. As you might recall, I was making the Elfine socks with some yarn I dyed, and I had taken them to England with me, and was about to knit them on the plane (at 3:00am) when I took them out of my bag and realized that some stitches had jumped ship along with one of my (now precious) needles. It was months before I could face this sock, having tried to fix the mistake in the semi-darkness (I swear everyone on the plane but me was fast asleep). I was putting off dealing with it because I had built it up in my mind as some sort of huge problem that was going to require either a lot of tinking or some outright ripping, but in the end it took me about 2 minutes to fix it...

Tomorrow either more progress on the scarf or my thoughts on fall, depending how much knitting is accomplished tonight and how much science is being accomplished tomorrow!

Zucchini-fitti?

Last night, on my way down to the Burke-Gilman trail for my run, I encountered this:
Zucchinis! As graffiti! Can't tell? How about a close-up?
I LOVE this! How clever. I don't know who was responsible for this, but I think it's great. Here are some more photos, so you can get the full effect of the gourds...

An interesting statement:

And my personal favorite:

There has also been knitting, and I'll get to that tomorrow. I just had to share the graffiti zucchini in repose. Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!

Forever and a Day

I found this by clicking on Samantha's name in the Knitters Tea Swap participant list, and thought it seemed like a fun one to embellish and share:

If I had to choose one thing for the rest of my life, I’d choose:
Veggies: Carrots
Fruit: Blueberries
Meat: Chicken
Starchy staple: Pasta
Bread: Sourdough
Dessert: Apple pie
Chocolate: Cadburys milk chocolate, the real stuff made in the UK
Ice cream: Chocolate Fudge Brownie Frozen Yogurt
Ice: Cubed
Water: Still
Soda: Diet Pepsi (of course!)
Alcohol: Vodka tonic, with lime
TV program: What Not to Wear
Movie: Lord of the Rings trilogy
Book: Encyclopaedia Britannica (is that cheating?)
Animal: Cat
Color: Dark turquoise
Wood: Bamboo
Shoes: Crocs
Soap: Philosophy Cinnamon Buns
Medication: Advil
Metal: Platinum
Eyewear: Glasses
Washing up: Showers
Cold or hot weather: Cold
Living environment: Mountains

La Clapotis

May I present a finally finished Clapotis?

This took me forever. Forever. But it flew towards the end (funny thing about decreasing) and I'm really happy with the results.

Project Stats: Clapotis

Yarn: 100% merino, from Handpainted Wool (eBay). I think this yarn is single-ply and might pill like crazy, but for a scarf it's great. Very soft and cushy, and you can't beat the price. I used three skeins, or about 640 yards, with very little left. I was actually quite worried about running out of yarn but the panic was unwarranted.

Needles: Size 8 bamboo straights

Time: Hehe...April 15-Sept. 11, 2006. I'm not sure why it took so long, I worked on it quite a bit really, although it did occasionally get shoved aside whenever anything else took my fancy. That middle straight section is a time suck if there ever was one.

Impressions: I love my clapotis. Everyone and their mother and sister has made one of these, and the reason is clear. The pattern is brilliantly written and the end result lovely, although I have to admit it just dawned on me in the middle of the decreases that I was indeed making a rectangle. Not that I didn't know that going in, but there was so much fabric jammed on my needles that it was difficult to tell what I was really making.The dropped stitches were great fun to unravel. And I can't say enough about how much I love this yarn. I have more of it, in purple and white, that I bought at the same time as this because I couldn't decide which I preferred. I haven't decided what that will be yet (but not another clapotis, most likely).

What now you ask? I'm almost done with the lotus blossom tank. I'm at the short rows on the back/shoulder region, and I'm a bit lost in the directions and awaiting Rachel's sage guidance. Just realized I should've gotten that today since she's going out of town for the weekend...I've also been working a bit on the Funky Scarf Swap. I dyed the yarn for my pal's scarf on Monday, and here's a sneak peak:

I love this yarn. It's 100% wool, thick and thin. I bought it ages ago to make a plain ribbed scarf for myself (planning to let the interesting spinning do the talking), but I thought it would be perfect to dye for this swap. Of course now I really love it and don't want to send it away! What I plan to do is knit this with big needles for speed and airiness (is that a word?). I also intend to string funky star-shaped beads on it as I knit, but I'm not sure how that's going to look so I reserve the right to change my mind. It has to be done the first week of October, so I'd best get crackin'!

PS: I covet this...it's early, but we got our Land's End Christmas catalog (yes, in September) today, so...

Another busy weekend

This weekend was full of fun activities of the outdoors and fibery persuasions. Dave and I went hiking to Melakwa Lake:

Isn't it beautiful? This was a new hike for us, and it was a good one. Apparently there is even better scenery just a bit further on, but we didn't know that until we got back to our high-speed internet, and anyway this was far enough!Hike Stats: Denny Creek to Melakwa Lake

Distance: 9 miles, roundtrip, plus 0.5 mile because the trailhead parking was full

Elevation gain: 2600 ft in, 350 ft out (I swear it felt like more than that!). High point, 4909 ft.

Time: 1:48 in, 1:40 out (very rocky and precarious descent + fast uphill motion = similar up/down times)

Difficulty: Well, it was long, so in theory the elevation gain was spread out and shouldn't have been bad, but in reality the first 1.5 miles were pretty flat, and the last 0.5 was downhill, so the middle bit was pretty steep, and very rocky, with lots of rockfalls to clamber about in. It was also hot. And sunny. More so than we had expected from the forecast...

Worth it: Most definitely!

The Fiberphiles came over and we dyed some yarn. Daisy's going to do the full report on that, so I won't steal her thunder, but here is one of the skeins I dyed, which I'm calling "Vampires in Love," after a song I like by the now sadly defunct band Marvelous 3.

I'm loving this yarn. Actually, it's a bit ugly in the skein, but I think it's going to look really cool knit up. This is the new KnitPicks Bare superwash fingering weight, which is a great bargain if it ends up holding the dye well and knits up nicely. I dyed the yarn for my Funky Scarf Swap scarf and it's currently drying in my shower. It's so pretty, I can't wait to knit it up and send it off! Of course there will be photos, no worries!

I'm going to be out of town until Wednesday at our annual Microbiology department retreat in Leavenworth, WA. The retreat is always a fun time, where we get to meet the incoming first years, and catch up on all the department research, as well as just generally have a good time. I've been looking forward to it, and I'm sure there will be photos when I return!

Oh, the Clapotis? She is finished. Proof you say? I'm looking for a good photo spot, and deciding whether or not she should be blocked. And, the new Knitty is up, which was very exciting for me, since I wasn't expecting it until October for some reason! There are a bunch of nice patterns in this issue, but I especially like Lizard Ridge, Cable net, and Cactus Flower. I have several sweaters cut like the last one, and I really like that shape on me, so that is definitely going into the project queue...

Final SP8 Package Received!

I finally got my final "reveal" package from Kristen today. I say finally because we were both expecting it to arrive last Friday, maybe Saturday, and it didn't come until today! Without further ado, here are the spoils:

There were two skeins of KnitPicks Memories, in Rocky Mountain Dusk (great for me, since I'm on a purple kick and I've found that it's very difficult to dye dark purple yarn myself), a bright green/blue/turquoise skein of Fantasy Naturale, a Vanilla Leaf tea bag (vanilla is my favorite flavored tea!), and a Hershey bar that didn't make it into the photo shoot. She also sent me Alterknits, which arrived from amazon.com a few weeks ago and I posted about it then. Thank you for everything Kristen, you've been a great swap pal and I'm glad I finally know who you are so I can start reading your blog! I enjoyed all my packages and I see a lot of socks in my future, kindly provided by you!

I also want to share a photo of Felis bastardus in repose on my head:

Dave snapped this one night after I'd fallen asleep. Observe the beast. Most importantly, observe how much pillow he has, in comparison to how much I have. No wonder I keep waking up with a sore neck. What you can't tell from the photo is that he was probably purring away, and that soon after this he probably woke up and starting chewing on my hair. That's what he does. Looks all cute and cuddly, and then chews on my hair. So much so that I sometimes sleep with a shower cap on, which deters him until he starts digging hair out from around the edges with his claws. Now, of course we could lock him out of the bedroom, but he's just too cute to resist, don't you think?
Ooh, I forgot to mention that I, like a lemming, broke down and signed up for Sock Wars. Yes, I'm a joiner, but I felt like I'd be kicking myself for the duration if I wasn't a part of this great event. So, even though I'm not a fast knitter, and I doubt I'll make it very far, at least I'll get a pair of handknit socks! And who knows, maybe my assassin will be really slow...there's always hope, right?

Dummies in our Midst

There hasn't been much knitting chez Emily, mostly due to the purchase of a new computer and the playing of Civilization IV. I love all the Civ games (yes, I am a dork, and I'm fine with that). I had been wanting this new one, which actually came out last fall, for some time, but my old computer (which was on its last legs (I think), hence the new one) couldn't handle it. I played it once at my friend Rem's house, and liked it, although it's more complicated than the old versions (of course). Now that I have my own, I love it. The graphics are great, it's 3D, and you can zoom way in. Plus, you can build pastures around little horses, cows, and SHEEP. It's great. I was at it for over 4 hours last night, and I sense tonight may be the same...pathetic, I know...
But what I really wanted to show you all was what I did on Sunday. We made (well, Pam and Rachel made, and I documented the proceedings) duct tape dummies at Rachel's mom's house in Gig Harbor. Here are some photos from early on in the proceedings: Pam is looking a bit more cheerful than Rachel, although we were all having quite a good time. Here's Pam, just about finished, with Kristen (left) and Shibani:
Pam and Rachel got a little punchy in their armored suits!
Pam even did a bit of knitting in her armor, using some handspun that she's making on the wheel she borrowed from a friend in Portland. Between her and Rachel (and Daisy, but she's been very busy, as you can see on her blog, and not spinning so much these days) there has been a lot of spinning going on in the Fiberphiles. The bug didn't bite me, but maybe I'll come back to it in good time. Cutting off the dummies was quite a process, and ended up requiring four people - one to cut and two for leverage, plus Pam in the armor: The dummies came out really well, and should be quite useful as sewing forms. The impetus for making them was so that Rachel could cut and paste an old UFO to the right size. Due to the complicated pattern she decided that a form (and cutting and sewing) would be best, instead of trying (again) to rip it out and reknit it to size. Here are the finished dummies, in repose on the sofa, Pam's on the left, Rachel's (with more 3D territory, as Pam said) on the right. It was a really great time, and thank you to Rachel's mom for hosting us!

The "Tapers": Shibani, Kristen, Gretchen, Rachel, Pam, and yours truly

A hiking we will go...

Phew, I had a busy weekend! Saturday Dave and I finally went hiking. It's been a bad summer for us, outdoor activities-wise. The weather has been great since late June, but there just haven't been a lot of free weekends. We haven't gone camping once, which is a real shame. But, Saturday we dusted off the boots for the first hike since early July (JULY!!!), and went to Lake Serene. Here I go, striding purposefully across a bridge:
I admit, I put that up just because I think my calves look skinny :) I also posed for a photo:It was very hot. And humid in places. And rocky. However, the lake was quite refreshing (aka freezing!) and we spent quite a bit of time with our feet in it, although there were some crazy people swimming. This was the third time I'd hiked to Lake Serene, and the first time the weather was cooperative. The first time was in the fall a couple years ago, and it was very foggy so we couldn't really see anything. It was neat fog though, in that it was very swift. If you sat long enough, the lake would be totally fogged in, and then totally clear, all within a couple minutes. We stayed and watched that spectacle a few times that day. The second time I went it was cold and rainy. Here is a photo from that hike, with me all bundled up. It was a miserable day out. I'm not sure what we were thinking but it might have been reasonably nice when we started...










Here's a full lake shot. Don't you wish you lived in Seattle?