Ladybugs & Yarn

I’ve given the blog its own subdomain. Please change your links to http://ladybugs.seventybyheart.net, and I’ll see you all there. <3

Yarn: Regia Tweed 6ply
Pattern: 60 sts + stockinette heel with garter border + flat toe + stitch pattern
Needles 3.0 mm KP circs

I was going to wait until after my Dad’s birthday to post photos, but then I remembered that my Dad doesn’t read my blog unless I specifically ask him to go see a photo I’ve posted or something. So! Socks. Thick house socks, specifically, because the flooring in the family house is rather chilly in the morning and evenings, especially with winter approaching. Plus, wool socks don’t get damp from the patio dew as quickly as regular store-bought socks when the dog needs to be taken out at six a.m. I’ve been meaning to knit my Dad socks for ages, and have started/frogged a couple of pairs, but it took until now to find a yarn + pattern combination I thought he’d like.

The Railway stitch pattern was borrowed from Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks, and I’ll be using it again. It’s easy, memorisable, and interesting enough to keep the sock-knitting motoring along. I taught myself to knit by touch alone with these socks, too, which is different from just knitting without looking. I wondered why I’d never been able to manage to just knit along for more than a few plain stitches without looking down for a moment, until it hit me that I needed to be far more tactile and really use my fingers to feel the stitches as I was knitting them.

If Dad likes these, I’m all set to make him another pair, only with thinner yarn (and knit a lot longer in the leg, obviously) so they can be worn like normal socks.

Pi seemed to like them, anyhow. He tried to make off with them, and although he didn’t succeed, I caught a photo of the attempt:

Foolish kitten.

Pi knows that he’s supposed to stay off the kitchen table. But if I’m sitting at it doing a pharm math assignment, and he jumps up, takes my pen from me, throws it on the floor, then wraps his paws around my neck while purring… how, exactly, can I possibly scold him?

Stupid cat.

Like I mentioned in a one-line offhand comment at the end of my last entry, making soap always makes me feel a bit like an alchemist. I’m not making it from scratch–I have bricks of clear meltable all-natural glycerin soap–but still, it’s neat to be able to prepare all the little extra ingredients, mix it together, and then be able to pop it out of the mold a while later as a lovely little bar.

Today, I added olive oil to the base to make it super-moisturising, plus eucalyptus oil and crushed dried spearmint leaves for scent. I didn’t use any dyes or colourants.

Isn’t it cute? I used a couple of round molds with raised flowers on.

I’ve been reading up on using more “advanced” techniques for soap-making, and also how to do creams, lotions, and lip balms, and a lot of it uses the same techniques that I’ve been doing in labs at college, compounding medications. Because of this, the processes are easy to understand, and I’m already familiar with suspending agents and emulsifiers and the function of different ingredients. Fabulous.

There’s a place along Highfield Street that sells the biggest brownies in the universe. I put it next to my hand for size comparison purposes:

It’s also delicious… soft and chocolatey and even still a little oven-warm. Mmm. I cut it into four normal-sized brownies and have put three away for later/tomorrow.

I went for a walk today in a part of the city with which I’m not familiar; it’s full of beautiful old houses and huge oak trees and centre-square parks. There are a couple of tiny restaurants, and a couple of martial arts schools, but other than that it’s almost exclusively residential. The trees are all red and gold now, so it’s the perfect time of year to go walking through pretty neighbourhoods. I should have brought my camera.

While I was walking along and wishing I had my camera, I stumbled across Cricket Cove, a beautiful little yarn shop. I don’t know how I didn’t know it existed before. I fell in love immediately, and it pleases me greatly that I’ve found a local source for brands like Rowan, Opal, Brown Sheep, Araucania–ones that I’ve only been able to get through the internet thus far. There was one ball of sock yarn that had to come home with me:

It’s such a bright, happy green. I’m thinking that I might knit a pair of Tidal Wave socks with it, which may be only about my third time using the recommended yarn for a pattern.

I’ve been wondering for the past couple of weeks why the Elmwood TH never called me back about the part-time job application I sent in (I was going to check on it–all sorts of things can happen), but I’ve decided it must have been fate. I noticed a “Part-Time Help Wanted” sign in the window of a fabulous little place today, so I’m going to print off my resume, cross my fingers, and call on Monday.

Randomly, making soap always makes me feel a bit like an alchemist.

I have generally well-behaved cats when it comes to yarn. They might occasionally paw at the dangling tail from a cast-on, but don’t attack my projects nor pounce the balls of wool. So I was unprepared to get out of bed this morning and see this:

That atrocious tangle was formerly two balls of KSH. Augh. It’s no use disciplining Pi (I am under no illusions as to which cat is responsible), because the damage is done and he wouldn’t understand, but augh. I’ve laid the mess in a drawer until I can face the thought of sorting it out. *flails*

Onto better things. I have a book of vintage doily patterns, and I went looking for it today to see if one of the patterns in it was, as I suspected, the doily that the popular Hemlock Ring Blanket pattern had been based on. (It was!) But while skimming through it, I noticed that there were a lot of large doilies in there that would probably make gorgeous lap blankets if worked in heavy aran yarn rather than fine crochet cotton.

I also, randomly, think that My So-Called Scarf has a lovely stitch pattern. Anything that’s almost-mindless-but-interesting and makes handpainted yarns looks gorgeous gets my vote.

I cannot find my 6mm needle tips, and of course that’s a) the only size missing from my Options binder; b) the size I need right now. I don’t like you very much right now, Mr. Murphy. I tried casting on with a 6mm Susan Bates circ, and for the life of me I can’t figure out how I ever knit with them before. I’ve been spoiled, I guess. Still, in this apartment, there are a limited amount of places those tips could be hiding. They’ll turn up soon.

It’s raining outside. Pouring, actually. I like autumn rain–I like how it makes the leaves stick to the sidewalk and/or gather in the currents and float down the river. I like how it makes the trees look after dark when there are only streetlamps for light. Rain at this time of year, like snow in winter, makes me want to curl up on the sofa with tea, knitting, and a warm cat, and I think as soon as I’m done here that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

One more thing. I went to a blood donor clinic at the local air force base this afternoon–where I used to live, there was one once a year, but the size of this new little city of mine means that the clinic comes once every two months. I strongly encourage anyone who can get to a donor clinic in their own area to do so, as it doesn’t harm your system to donate (actually, it’s beneficial in some ways) and, of course, it saves lives.

Right! Tea. Knitting. Cats.

Pharmaceutical Mathematics I
Assignment #1 — A+ (100%)
Assignment #2 — A+ (100%)
Assignment #3 — A+ (98%)
Ch. 1/2 Test — A+ (104%)
Ch. 3/4/5 Test — A+ (95%)

Medical Science I
Ch. 1 Test — A+ (98%)
Ch. 2 Test — A+ (100%)
Ch. 3 Test — A+ (100%)

Keyboarding
Final Mark — A+ (100%)

I have no scores for my current lab course (Non-Sterile Compounding) yet; the first practical exam is tomorrow morning, and the written portion is Thursday afternoon. As far as Keyboarding, I’m pleased with the score but glad the module is over–I’ve had computers in my home for twenty years and am quite comfortable with my skills, so the basic learn-to-type exercises and speed tests were boring. I made a comment last week that my keyboard was missing a foot, and the teacher replied that I’d likely burned it off by typing too fast. =D

We’re starting Pharmacology next week, and although it’s supposed to be challenging, I’m looking forward to it. I think. Eeek. Fingers crossed.

So! Now onto the stash enhancement. Not mine, however, but yours. I’m going to link you all to a few of my favourite yarn-ogling sites, because I like being an enabler and/or watching willpower crumble.

– Colorsong Yarn — Devoted exclusively to Handmaiden and Fleece Artist yarn and kits. Mmm.
– Emtnestr — An absolute ton of Lorna’s Laces and Cherry Tree Hill, plus much-coveted CTH mill ends.
– Pick Up Sticks — It’s Canadian, and it’s awesome. Lots of sock yarn, and other goodies as well.
– Simply Sock Yarn — Much loveliness here, like Claudia’s, Koigu, and Shibui Knits.
– Webs — Uh. Do I even need a description here?

There’s nothing better than yarn p*rn on a Tuesday evening. Or any evening. Or afternoon. Or morning. Or… well, you get the picture.

Because I haven’t done so in a while, I’ll leave you with a photo of cats.

Edited October 10th, 2007 @ 05:56 pm:

Aced my lab practical. Woohoo!

… are ladybugs and yarn. I was looking to give the blog a makeover and a name of its own, considering a) the shiny new index page on the main site; and b) that I’ve been formatting my patterns under a similar name. So! Now I have both.

When looking for beads last week, I went into the biggest arts & crafts store I’ve ever seen, and in the process rediscovered, in a sense, all of the crafty pursuits that I’ve let languish since knitting elbowed its way in. I’m not drifting from knitting by any means (as it seems to be the one craft I honestly feel that I’m good at), but I do think I should get the rest of my craft supplies from my parents’ house soon, so I can dabble here and there. I seem to have packed rather randomly (read: extremely quickly) when it came to those things, too. I have my fabric stash, but no sewing machine at the moment as Mom took it home with her the last time she was here. I have my brushes and dabbers and stencils, but no box of paints. I have beads and wire and crimp pliers, but no findings. I have pretty papers, but no paper-slicer or flat glue to collage them onto boxes.

I also have cats on my feet, but this is unrelated.

The first tweed sock is done and I’ve started the second, but photos will have to wait until they’ve been gifted. They’re on Ravelry, for those of you with access–I’m seventykay there. As far as my Juliet sweater, I frogged it. Loved the yarn, loved the pattern, but didn’t love them together. I think I may try again with some medium slate-ish blue Cascade Pastaza.

Happy Canadian Turkey Day!

Pattern: Felted Tote from Fleece Artist
Yarn: Fleece Artist BFL Aran in Seashore
Needles: 32″ 6mm circ

I cannot manage to photograph this tote in a way that a) makes it look as cute as it is, or b) makes the lovely, subtle colours show up. Natural light would help, but it’s evening and I’m too impatient to wait until morning. So! I actually cast on and knit the base before I moved, but I got sidetracked and forgot about it until a few days ago. Then once I’d almost finished, I had to rummage around in the yarn containers to figure out where I’d put the handles.

I haven’t figured out what I want for a lining yet–I’m thinking that since the tote has a square bottom, it’d be cute to keep that shape all the way up and have a drawstring top like those cute Lantern Moon baskets.

At the moment, though, I’ll put all thoughts of linings aside and focus on the medical science test I have tomorrow.

I discovered tonight that felting knitted items in communal washing machines tends to draw strange looks, at least if you repeatedly lift the lid to poke the fluff within with a wooden spoon. I also discovered that Fleece Artist BFL takes an eternity to start felting, so after my tote bag emerged from the washing machine looking only slightly smaller and a lot fuzzier, I tried something else: hand-felting! It’s a great workout for the arms, plus getting to flail around and fling water everywhere is kind of fun, too. And it does work–there’s no stitch definition left on the tote, although I have yet to decide if it’s felted quite as much as I’d like. I may stick it in the bucket for another go-round tomorrow.

Socktoberfest is starting off well. I’ve just turned the heel on the first of a pair of gift socks I started Sunday night. I know Dad’ll like the navy blue Regia tweed I’m using, and I think he’ll like the interesting-but-unfussy railway stitch pattern on the leg. I’ve been meaning to knit him a pair of house socks for ages, and his birthday is the perfect excuse.

I may possibly have taken the bus all the way up to Trinity yesterday in search of beads for a Black Sea hat. And I found them–perfect little pearls to go with my light sage green Baby Cashmerino.

It’s getting late, but there’s some lovely soft instrumental jazz on the radio, and I think I have time for a cup of tea.