it's been awhile... i haven't posted in awhile, but that's not because i haven't been knitting. in fact, i've just had too much to blog about!! plus, i've gone back to school. this is my second year of college, and i'm a total nerd, so of course i love it. i've also started having meetings about work (we start next week. i work at an after school program for k-6th grades, have i mentioned that?) and i've just been busy...

speaking of back to school, have you seen the Seasonal Fair Isle Vests over at knitpicks?? Crayons and Chalkboard is the cuuuutest thing i have seen in my life. seriously, go look at it! i can think of a certain toddler who will be starting kindergarden in a few years (hint, i knit a vest for him already) who i would love to knit this for. i can handle fine gauge fair isle, no sweat, but maybe in the next two years i'll get knitterly enough for steeks? stay tuned...

have i mentioned i'm knitting a branching out

it'll look good when it's blocked, i swear!! it's in knitpicks shimmer (if you scroll down to my last knitpicks purchase, you'll see it in skein form) and when it's done i'll get a picture which actually shows how beautiful the color is. this is going to be a christmas present, but i can't disclose for whom, or i assure you fate will have it that they'll stumble upon the blog. i can't keep my own secrets at all. i've been trying to do a repeat a day on this thing, and i was suprised how error free i'd been. lifelines? pfft, i don't need lifelines for this! Yes, the knitting gods punished me, and instead of kniting a nice, relaxing, no-sweat repeat, i spent an hour tinking back today. lesson learned.

i've also started Kellen's christmas present:

yes, i will continue until it's a true-blue swatch, not my usual close-enough crap. i can't disclose anything about the pattern at this time, but stay tuned...although, who am i kidding? i already told him it's a sweater. and i was SO very badly wanting it to be a surprise. ugh. you see, i was measuring him (which i've done a million times. he knows what it's like to be with a Knitter. i measure him everytime i stumble upon a decent men's pattern. if i ever wrote down his measurements, i wouldn't have this problem, but that's not how i work) anyway, there i was, my purple measuring tape in hand, and he lifts his arms (see, he knows the drill) and i say, loudly, dumbly, "I need to measure you for your sweater.
"my sweater?" he asks, quietly. i think he may have thought twice before saying anything. he knew i was trying to keep it a secret, and i think he didn't want to burst my bubble. DAMMIT. i have such a hard time surprising him with anything! because in addtion to being my boyfriend of 4 years, he's also my best friend, so i always want to gush to him about whatever i'm going to surprise him with. thus, ruining the surprise. i really should talk to my girlfriends more. anyway, that's the begining of kellen's christmas sweater.

i also got a score of vintage kniting booklets from thrift stores last week:
all of them are campy and wonderful, but the most useful is the "handknits for men." in addtion to all the really handsome, very...uh..."cheerful" male models, there are a lot of great sweater patterns, including some handsome arans, and simple pullover and cardigan patterns for 3 different yarn weights. very customizable. very handy.


now, my current knitting dilemma. you may remember i was thinking about making my grandmother the branching out for christmas? in fact, that's why i chose the turquoise splendor, because it's her color. well...i changed my mind. i want my grandmother's present to be really perfect. because, really, she's a perfect grandma. i'm torn between two knits. Ene's scarf, from Scarf Style and Knitty's Starsky.. Ene's scarf is an estonian lace triangle shawl (do a quick google image seach, if you'd like) and starsky is a cabled cardigan. i HATE the pictures of starsky. with a passion. but that's a side note. the sweater is beautiful. Starsky is knit out of bulky yarn, and i'd have to find a suitable, machine washable substitution, since my grandma has pretty severe arthritis and doesn't need to be handwashing heavy wool. i think i'd probably go with wool ease bulky, which, although a lot cheaper than other yarns, would still make the sweater cost about $50. still, it's my grandma. i have no problem taking a little longer paying off my student loans for her.

she'd probably get more use out of starsky than an estonian lace shawl (Really, who wears shawls? they're gorgeous and i'd LOVE to knit one, but not even my grandmothers are really, truly shawl wearers.) but Ene is so beautiful. i'd love to give her something intricate (maybe not to an experienced lace knitter, but my grandma would agree with me) and beautiful, even if it only sits on the back of her chair. plus, i could easily find a great knitpicks yarn for this, since you don't really need to wash something that sits on the back of your chair. so it would be affordable.

both would probably take me an equal time to knit.

so...impressive, affordable, but less practical, or more expensive, still impressive, and more usable. what should i do??

and, finally, Jodie i received my scarf from you! it's SO beautiful, and so ME. the colors, the pattern, everything is perfect. i wore it on my first chilly day back to school. thank you so much! i'll get a picture when i look less terrible. thank you! (jodie was my one skein secret pal, and a wonderful one at that!)

if you read this whole thing, you deserve a metal. <3  ¶ 1:38 PM