i shouldn't be left alone

with my crazyness for too long.




Cause that's when I physically cut up my thesis and rearrange it while whistling bits and pieces of songs to myself. I went from having an introduction and literature review to having a shorter introduction and literature review and part of my conclusion.

Now to reproduce the mixup on my computer.

DISASTER!!!

When I put these socks, that I knit with my own two hands, the very first pair of socks I knit that fit me, and the second ever pair of socks that I knit, these socks that I love and are beyond comfortable, when I put these socks in my laundry basket they were WHOLE SOCKS. When I pulled them out of the laundry basket to go into the laundry machine, they were HOLEY SOCKS. Gigantic holes in both heels, at the same spot, one slightly larger than the other.

These socks weren't wearing out. There were no thin spot, and if anything the heels had felted slightly and were quite sturdy. So the only thing I can figure is this.

SOMETHING ATE HOLES IN MY HAND KNIT SOCKS!!!!!

And just these socks. My other hand knit socks that were in the laundry are fine. I also didn't find any multi-legged culprits that would have eaten the same spot on each sock for just this pair of socks.

The damage is fairly extensive. There's a large chunk of the knitting missing from each area. I don't know if I'm going to be able to fix these poor socks. They've had such a short life, too. I finished knitting them in July of 2009, so they only had two seasons to keep my feet warm, which they did admirably.



And before you ask, no, I haven't found any yarny bits in a certain someone's litter box.

Things I Learned Today

1. Quarters are no longer the gold standard at the local laundromat.

2. Standing and typing makes me antsy.

3. It takes less than 30 minutes for my duvet to dry in a commercial dryer, and the spot came out even without detergent (which I forgot).

4. The coin machine at the bank eats money (I brought in $2.75 of carefully counted nickles and dimes and the machine said I had $2.55).

5. I shouldn't book things while in a vegetative state. Note to self, cancel study room for Friday, I'm already busy during that time.

6. Theses don't write themselves, no matter how hard you think about it and wish for it.

7. You can't get at a person's innermost workings through two vague questions.

8. I have the willpower to resist free popcorn while doing laundry. This will come in handy when I start doing my laundry here weekly.

It's Getting Busy

Sorry I missed last week's post. Things are starting to heat up around here, some things fell through the cracks.

I have two important announcements.

1) I have a set date for my thesis defense: Monday, April 25th.

2) I'm moving! Move date is set for March 26th. My new place is about half again as big as this little studio, and it has a separate bedroom, a real kitchen, and a SINK in the bathroom. I'm very excited, but moving out of a place this small is presenting some challenges.

These two things together have me in a near petrified brain state of "way too much" which is why some things have slipped. But I've got a list this week, I'm feeling energized (cleaning the kitchen last night helped) and I'm ready to do this thing.

I do have pictures for you, though, so don't despair. First up, an update on my WsIP. First off is the long anticipated (by me) Whale Watch Hat from New England Knits. I've made some progress on it since this picture, but you get the idea.



I'm using Louet Gems fingering. It is a very fun knit, and all of my floats along the back are just right to not pucker the knitting but not be loose and sloppy.

Next up is the start of my Summer Vest (ravelry link). I like this one for the shape, so I've ditched the lace and am working plain stocking stitch since my yarn is variegated. The yarn is Cotton Twirl by Crystal Palace Yarns (the same stuff in the last actual blog post).



The next series of pictures are my goodies from the Portland Yarn Crawl (whose website has mysteriously disappeared).











And finally, I'll leave you with a series of pictures of Westley helping to open a package that I got in the mail. He's such a good helper. I'm off to finish the results section of my thesis. Hope you're enjoying the start of spring, and stayed tuned for another day in the life.

Why does it have to be Monday?

Say It With Pictures

It's Been Quiet

I don't have a whole lot to show today, due in large part to the migraine I had last week that knocked me out for days.

First, I've finished half of my Camilla mitts.


I'm pleased with the actual knitting and the colors of both the Koigu and my hand dyed brown. Unfortunately, it's too big for my hand.


It is especially baggy at my wrist. I'm considering several possibilities, the top one is finishing the pair and gifting them to someone with larger hands. Who knows, though, blocking may help if I stretch them a little lengthwise. The other option is to knit the second one on US 0 needles and see if that fits better, and if yes, re-knit the first one. I'm not as fond of this option.

Second, I started a new project last Tuesday because I needed a simple project on large-ish needles for my headachey-migraine state. I chose the eternalism vest from KnitScene winter/spring 2011. I'm using my Malabrigo in Hummingbird. This is a remarkably quick knit. In less than a week I'm more than 50% done. I've gotten several inches further from when I took this picture, which was just a few hours ago.



The Malabrigo is wonderful to knit with. I found it's extraordinary softness very comforting last week in my semi-vegetative state.

My final crafty item is some pictures of my painting. Below is the color wheel that I painted, for which I mixed all of the tertiary colors.


Last night I was feeling fairly abstract, so I put that impulse into my first abstract painting.


My photograph doesn't do this painting justice, but it gives you an idea of my mental state.

Other than a little bit of knitting and an abstract painting, the only news I have is that Westley has been officially tagged. We went to the bet today and he got microchipped. I'll be sending out the registration paperwork tomorrow. I'm off now to wash dishes, which piled up alarmingly last week.