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?

More Google love

You'll notice in the sidebar that I now share stories and blog posts that I like with you all!

Oh the joy of it all.

Oh Google, how could I have ever doubted you?

Have no idea how the interview went. Will probably be hearing something after the holidays. Until then, time to stress out.

I think the most exciting non-homework non-career related thing to talk about is reading blogs. Before you turn away like this is the most boring thing you've ever heard, let me confess something: RSS feeds scare me. I have a few on my livejournal friends page, but these are already-created click-to-subscribe sorts of things. The code doesn't always render nicely, but such is life. Anyway, as far as blogger goes, I wasn't really sure how to synthesize and read my favorite blogs. So, what did I do? I clicked the links off my homepage to check for updates.

I asked the boy if he had any ideas, and he told me that Trillian Pro and Mozilla Thunderbird both have RSS reader things, but I decided that wasn't the route to go, as their setup was pretty clunky.

My life was pretty much saved when I stumbled upon Google Reader. To think, just today, I was listing off Google products I was familiar with, not thinking that they had an RSS reader. Oh, I was sooooo wrong. Google, I'll never doubt you again.

The thing is, it's so easy. You can type in a blog's name and it'll fetch the feed. You can type in "CNN" or "NPR" or "fark" and get the feeds from those sites. Or you can just be a nerd and type in a feed URL.

....

All right, I'll just shut up and talk about knitting. Felted Furry Footwarmers for gifts, magic looped socks, and too many projects in the queue. I'm actually on a self-imposed yarn-buying diet. The boy set the parameters: I have to finish five projects before I can buy more yarn. Here's hoping I don't break down and do five dishcloths.

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.

Gothic washcloth?

Behold, the gothic washcloth!

I laughed for far to long at the meaning of a "Bauhaus washcloth."

But then, I came up with my own:



Much better.