Crisis averted?

Sorry to be so whiny. I don't know what I was whining about. After all, I've gotten into my second-choice school now and will be enrolling there for law school.

I'll be really, really close to Threadbear up there. No, this was not what made my decision, but it certainly helped make the city more appealing.

Epic fail

I thought I had one up on the ladies in the Argyle Vestalong: I didn't use Knitpicks Merino Style to make Eunny's Argyle Vest. I mean, the archives told me that this would mess up the row gauge, making it too big! So a solution was obvious: use Knitpicks Telemark, a lighter-weight wool. It seemed flawless! Swatching told me to up the needle size a bit, but this is no big deal.

To further complicate things, I had gotten this great hot pink yarn at the Michigan Fiber Fest which was about the same weight as my telemark. And how could I resist the temptation of a black and hot pink version of Eunny's vest? It would be so sexy! So complex! So... me!

But alas. No amount of swatching could prepare me for a problem I assume is caused by my hot pink yarn being somewhat lighter than my telemark. I thought my mad 1337 skills as a knitter could overcome this obstacle. But:



Yeah. The fair aisle isn't very fair; in fact, the tension is impossible to keep even. I can do fair aisle well; this I know, because I have a lovely pair of socks in my pile of UFOs. However, I've always tried it with two or more colors of the same. Never have I before tried fair-aisling different types of yarn. I didn't imagine it would be so bad.

Even though the color combination is fantastic, the unevenness does not do justice to Eunny's design... the other colors of telemark just don't have the same sort of "pop" to them as this pink does. NOTHING can live up to this pink, because it is my absolute, hands-down, favorite shade of my favorite color of all. Knitpicks, if you can hear me, make this color!

Indeed, this project has become an epic failure on top of an already crumbling life. Since taking the LSAT in September, everything has tumbled down...

You see, the day of the LSAT, I got my first-ever parking ticket. There were a million other cars parked where I was, but I paid it up anyway. Little did I know that was a sign of things to come. I was testing in the mid 160s; fine scores indeed! However, Kaplan has rated the test I took to be the hardest ever administered; and my scores that came six weeks later certainly reflect that. Every study buddy I had, every person I know who took it that day scored about ten points under what they were testing. Some gave up.

Me, I cried, and submitted applications to schools that I hadn't considered before. You see, I would have had a shot at great schools if I'd have gotten that 165-or-so. However, I now had a shot at good schools, or so I thought. In December, I submitted my applications and waited.

I graduated college. My thesis sucked.

I still waited and then some more until February.

I got into my third (last) choice school, which any literate and moderately motivated individual can get into. The thing is, they figure most people will flunk out and only the best will graduate (true).

I waited some more.

Even with a good scholarship, I calculated that if I pay the minimum on my student loans each month, I'll be paying them for 28 years.

Last week my top school, which had initially been my bottom school (back when I thought I had a shot) rejected me. When I told a colleague, she said, "Who the hell gets rejected from WSU Law?" I said, "Apparently me." How tactful. This spun me into a fit of depression that I haven't been able to shake since.

My second choice school is out there. It's not well-known for its law program. It's more well known for the hijinks of its fraternities full of overactive undergrads. But, it is a law school. I've only wanted to be a lawyer since I was twelve. Call it a childhood pipe dream, but all the choices I made were made with this goal in mind. It has crumbled before my eyes, and I'm left to disappoint all of those who believed in me. If fate is trying so hard to tell me not to do it, what the hell am I supposed to do instead? I have never even stopped to consider other possibilities save for the pipe dream of becoming a sales rep for Lorna's Laces...

So tell me, fellow knitters... Do I frog the vest?

On assignment

Thank you everyone for the kind words about my kitty. I tried to reply to them all, but found it kind of weird; one thing that still confuses me to Blogger is replying to comments. Sometimes more savvy bloggers send me a reply to a comment via e-mail, and I'm, um, not sure how to do this. There seems to be some way because there's always the name of the blog in the subject heading and whatnot. Plus, I only receive a few of the comments that actually get posted via e-mail. Anyone know what the deal is?

Anyway, I've not been knitting much. Finals and such, culminating in a minimum of 80 pages for me to write this week. I'll do it, but it feels suspiciously like pulling teeth. Thank goodness it's the last time; if I were going, I'd be walking in my graduation ceremony on Sunday... except I'm not going! Don't want to, don't have to... I'm such a rebel. I can find better things to spend $30 on other than a black gown. Heck, that's almost enough to get the Knitpicks Andean Silk to make Knitty's Tubey!

Yes, yarn diet.

Oh, um, I knitted one of my final exams. The assignment was for my WGST/AAS course, Black Women: Politics and Racism. The assignment was to create a collage or other artistic rendering of Black womanhood. So, I decided to knit Angela Davis and talk about political power and subordination... you know, the usual stuff.


Random bits of Red Heart I had laying around... matte board... and a hot glue gun. I didn't really have time to make her into a purse or pillow or something, so I figured that a panel on a board would do well enough... right? My professor seemed happy enough about it. Now if I don't ace this assignment, someone is most assuredly going to be toast!

All my classmates were like, trying to get me to commission sweaters or sell my work/designs. You know, make a living off my knitting? If only that were actually possible...

This makes my head spin.

So, a peace sign wreath is A SYMBOL OF SATAN? What the HELL? This just dumbfounds me. I guess anything that goes against their narrow beliefs and MAYBE questions the war is now satanic. I guess in that case I've been worshiping satan for a long time.

No, jerks, did you forget that peace is one of the central themes of Christmas? Listen to your Christmas carols! Peace on earth, goodwill to men? A peace sign wreath fits nicely with what the holiday has always symbolized to me. Kudos to the couple for sticking to their guns. I, too, would keep the thing up through the holidays and refuse to pay the fine. And then perhaps I would accuse a bitchy neighbor of worshiping satan who owned black cat or something equally ridiculous.

And what the hell happened to "love thy neighbor?"

Okay, yeah, I think this proves that I could NEVER live in one of those ridiculous subdivisions with the ridiculous rules about how one's house is supposed to look, what color the blinds are supposed to be, how nice your garden must be, etc. I'd be sure to get in trouble and make the neighbors hate me.


...


I didn't get the Google job, either... I thought everything went well, and I got one of those vague rejection letters in my e-mail late Saturday. I did reply and ask for a more concrete reason; I've always done that, and it's always been some sort of trite bullshit. I expected better from Google, but I guess this shows that they're no better than any other large company. I'm kind of pissed that I put so much energy into all the ridiculous things Google makes you do for weeks before you even interview only to have it all shot down.

Oh, erm, knitting?

I started my fourth pair of knucks. A friend's birthday is coming up.

WIPs, mostly

Not as much on the knitting front lately as I'd like. I'm pretty sure that this semester is topping last Winter as far as difficulty goes. Back then I had nineteen credits, and I ended up writing about 300 (yeah, I counted) pages worth of papers because most of my classes had weekly assignments.

Now, I only have fifteen credits. However, after Thanksgiving, I have two twenty-page research papers, a thesis, and two projects to turn in. Okay, so one of said projects is my first ever lost-wax casting project for my jewelry class... Fun, but still lots of work. The worst of that is behind me though: carving the wax model. It's a squared-off ring with an abstract (because I can't carve very well) star on it. It's taking 28g of silver (for a size 5 1/2 ring... yeah, it's bulky), which is every scrap I have from every other project I've done this semester, so I guess I budgeted well. That, the amethyst brooch, and the earrings I did will be the three projects from this semester that I'll probably wear regularly. I'll post photos when I get everything back at the end of the term...

The holiday gifts for a few lucky ones this year will be Felted Furry Foot Warmers from SNBN. I don't think the recipients look at this blog, and if they do, SHAME ON YOU! I haven't felted them yet, and they look kind of funny.



I haven't quite finished the second one of the first pair; they're deep green LP Bulky with black LB Fun Fur. It felt weird to buy Fun Fur, but it feels like one of those yarns that can be used in moderation only.



They're huge now, 16" long to be exact. The recipient of this first pair wears a size 12 women's shoe, so hopefully they shrink accordingly. Depending how it goes, I may shrink the pattern more for the recipient of the second pair which I haven't started.



The other major WIP is a pair of two-at-once toe-up magic loop socks. I've never done two at once or magic loop before. It's slow going and fiddly, so I'm not sure if I'm going to want to continue doing socks this way. I'm already crying for the DPNs and I'm not that far in! Anyone else feel this way?

Best secret pal ever!

While I was out shopping for an interview outfit, shoes, and makeup (and therefore singlehandedly holding up the American economy), a package arrived.

Somewhere in Maine, someone loves me. I know, I know, everyone goes on about how they have the best Secret Pal ever. But, seriously, to have a Secret Pal who seems to know me and my favorite types of yarn intimately is just... wow.



A bright pink with bits of subtle purple wool/silk from the Purled Llama. The yarn is called Melena. It has a really nice sheen to it like nobody's business. I'm almost thinking it'd make a good one skein wonder. We'll see. If not, Sexy Scarf #3,000,000. There's not much better than sexy scarves, really.

Also, a skein of Perchance to Knit's Foxtrot! Buaaahhh! If any of you are wondering, this stuff is more gorgeous in person. What sock pattern would do it justice?

And last and totally not least, two skeins of Bernat blacklight. If I don't do a shrug with the Melena, this is totally becoming one. Actually, it should be about right for the Anthropologie Inspired Capelet from Peony Knits. Bulky weight, soft, and washable. As much as natural fibers are nice, I still enjoy being able to wash things with a machine as opposed to by hand. My handwashing piles up and stays in a pile for a while.

Besides, I tested it because of the name. It IS blacklight reactive. Secret Pal, you just rule.

I really need to do homework instead of knit, and if I were to knit, it would have to be on those holiday gifts... I'm finding comfort in knowing that I am graduating from college in exactly a month, and that after that I can knit, sew, and do whatever to my heart's content.

Said job interview is Monday. It's with a large computer company that you all use every day. In fact, they own blogger's servers. I'll give you a hint: It starts with a G, and ends with an "oogle." I really want this job. Hope my interview outfit is as hot as I think it is.