Snow?! WTF, mate?

Apparently, it snowed / hailed/ sleeted just about every day in Portland last week.

It snowed / hailed yesterday and today as well. There was even accumulation (a dusting, as they say). WTF, Portland? I'm ready for magnolia blossoms, sun, flip flops, daffodils, leaves, and sunglasses. And more than ready to put away the socks & fleece jacket!

Let's revisit spring break, for some sunny goodness.





PS- If anyone reading this is thinking about moving to Portland, but scared to because it might not be as sunny and wonderful as California, please pretend you didn't read this, and continue wanting to move to Portland.

FO: Hexacomb Cardigan

Pattern: Hexacomb Cardigan, from Interweave Spring '08
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft, in grey and blue.
Needles: Clover US 6 circular
Size: 35" (M)
Cast On: February 16
Last end sewn in and button sewn on: March 21



Notes: The pattern is great and well-written. When blocking, the sweater looked like it would fit a seven year old, and I bet it would. However, it fits this 24 year old, and I"m going to wear it.

I wore it from the moment I sewed on the final button, and approximately every other day while on spring break.

I only button the top two buttons, as the model in the magazine does, because the fabric is stretchy and the button band bulges and gapes with all the buttons done up.

The bad parts of the sweater are entirely my own fault: different dyelots in the top of the back and one sleeve. I keep pointing it out to people, but I'm sure no one would notice if I didn't. I am also likely the world's worst stitch-picker-upper, resulting in some holes along the neckline and uneven edging. However, I count this among the three wearable sweaters I have made, each with their own quirks.

I also cast on for a pair of Embossed Leaves, in my Hazel Knits yarn in Beachglass. The leaves are a lot bigger than I expected, and the heel in the pattern just seems lazy. I may rip it out and go with a tried and true (and less baggy-saggy) heel instead.
Coming back from spring break (and break itself, spent in the old stomping grounds of Berkeley) makes me detest school all the more. I long for a life of sun, restlessness, walks in the hills and flowers, baking, and time spent knitting, chatting, and giggling with my dearest friends.

Knitting for Change

These Boot Socks were made for walkin'...

Yes we can, si se puede.

We were lucky enough to get tickets for Obama's speech, kicking off primary season in Oregon. And, just before we left to go this morning we heard on the radio that Bill Richardson would be joining Obama for a surprise announcement... He endorsed! Hooray!

No Country for Old Sweaters

I sewed on the sleeves last night while watching "No Country for Old Men." That's a crazy movie. This morning, I finished sewing allllll the ends.

I spray blocked it and it is now pinned out (just the body) and drying on my desk.

We're going to a viewing of a house today - thinking about going in with a friend of ours on a large house for an investment / communal living. It seems a little surreal to be considering this while in the middle of grad school, but everyone else thinks it's a great idea. Also, it's a beautiful house, in our neighborhood, and it'd be so much fun to do.

This afternoon, I plan to head to the button store to finish off the cardigan.

Dirty Pretty Things.

Guess which is which.Pretty tulips and sun.

Dirty ends. All of them. This sweater looks like a fringe coat. Ugh!

Pretty no-knead bread! (But not the 24-hour one)

Pretty new skis and a view of Mt Hood. (This isn't the best picture- the skis fell over right after I took it- augh!- but I like how it shows how clear the day was!)

Uh-oh

I finished a sleeve! Stockinette goes so quickly. But... do you see the problem? No? Look closer...
Can you see it now? That faint line right in the middle of the photo... How about if I hold it up to the light?

The dreaded wrong dyelot!! Noooo! (Cue crash symbols and lightning flash!)

I'm not sure what happened, though, as I double checked and I got all the same dyelot! The shoulder of this sleeve is still slightly greyer than the rest of the sleeve and body. Ugh. At least it is only slightly off, right?

Kitchen Surprise

I had a wonderful evening in the kitchen yesterday.
A friend of mine had a birthday yesterday, so after class I whipped up two dozen cupcakes.
But first, I needed dinner.

Rosemary-garlic roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, and brown rice. I think this might be the first ime in my life I've ever made rice correctly. It's a very difficult task for for me.

Don't you agree that wisks (whisks?) are the greatest kitchen implement? I have a whole jar of different sized whisks- extra large, medium, small, tiny, and baby. Ideal for a plethora of kitchen tasks! (I just like this picture. I didn't actually use any whisks for dinner preparation.)

Ok, now that the tummy is satisfied, let's get to the good stuff. Cupcakes!!

On the left, S'mores Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. And on the right, Fireworks Cupcakes from my new cupcake book. Both are vegan, although I think there might have been a typo in the recipe for the Fireworks... I'm pretty sure they needed eggs to be the right consistency. They were good, but the texture of the batter was not what the recipe specified.

And in Very Exciting News, I bought skis today!!! They were super on sale, end of year clearance, and I got skis + boots + bindings for less than the original cost of the skis! Pictures when I get them from the shop. (They're these ones, for the curious.)

Progress

I made a commitment to knitting progress this week, and it got me a cardigan!


Well, an almost cardigan. At least the hexagons are done and it's just stockinette for the sleeves and garter for the border. And then the ends... all the ends!

Mike has also been crafty this week. Our house is quite lacking in the closet department (one in the bedroom and an awkwardly placed small one in the living room) so we've been having trouble with coats and sweatshirts and bags flung willy-nilly about the house.

Solution: stick some assorted knobs, handles, and a sprinklerhead onto a gorgeous old piece of crown molding, and you've got the greatest shelf / coat rack ever.



I also got a set of hooks for the bedroom.

Fresh Like Springtime

Whew! What a month! I don't know what happened in February, exactly, but I seem to have been too busy to post. I haven't been knitting much, but I have been writing my Appellate Brief (a big, semester long paper, that culminates in Oral Arguments in April!), getting a job for the summer, and trying to get funding for that job. Plus, you know, those other four classes I'm taking.

Last night I found myself with a free Friday night- no plans, no pressing schoolwork, nada. So, of course, I made cupcakes and spent three hours knitting on the couch!

I got a gorgeous new cupcake cookbook in the mail from Mike's wonderful mom, and made her basic cupcake recipe, using some frosting that had been languishing in the fridge.

These make me feel like springtime!

Also making me feel like springtime (aside from the gorgeous sun and 60* days we've been having!) is the Hexacomb Cardigan. Due to my lack of knitting time / pure laziness last month, I'm only just now splitting to work on the shoulders. It's a neat pattern, but I'm running into some trouble on the neck shaping - there are 37 stitches, but 8 stitches in the pattern... I'm sure it will work out, but is something I couldn't visualize while watching "Six Feet Under."

Boot Sock & Hexacomb

I also finished one of the Uptown Boot Socks. It will be interesting to see how these come out. I started using stash yarn, two hanks of it. I thought they were the same fiber content, but one is definitively woolier than the other. Then, I went through one and a half of my little balls for the first sock. What to do?

Well, last weekend Mike and I went to a romantic B&B, north of Mt Hood (two years together!). I had noticed a small yarn shop when we were walking the downtown for dinner one night, so the next night we went into town early and made a stop at the yarn shop, Knot Another Hat. I had my sock with me and the woman working helped me look around and find a matching yarn. I got some undyed Licorice Twist, which looks pretty close. The first sock is quite softer (more cotton? more acrylic?) than the second sock, but I don't mind.

I had meant to finish these socks up for an auction tonight to raise money for summer stipends for law clerks (see above, looking for funding for my job), but I didn't feel right about donating socks made out of mismatched yarn. Also, I only have one sock done and the auction is in 3 hours. (See above, no time to knit last month.)

Hopefully, I'm back and will have more regular posts and knitting updates!