Magic Loop 4-Eva!

My knitting has slowed to the speed of molasses in January since finals time and the move. I don't know what's wrong with me- I don't have anything to do after work, so theoretically, I should just sit in my backyard and knit all evening, but I don't.

Since I'm uninspired by the Boot Socks (and my substitute yarn is too cottony and not wooly / acrylicy enough, so I have to find a different yarn with which to finish off the foot of Sock #2) and I can't bring myself to figure out the sleeve-cap shaping on the Elizabeth Bennett cardigan, I cast on for some more socks last night.

Except I had left my Addi circulars at my office, attached to the Boot Socks, so I cast on with dpns. I used to love dpns. I swore by dpns. I scoffed at magic looping.

No more.

Five needles, ten needle tips. No thank you.

It's all magic loop, all the time for me now.

I may have to skip over to the yarn shop on my lunch break - it's one block away and I haven't gone even once yet! How's that for self control? - and use my gift certificate to stock up on Addis. (The G.C. is from helping out with inventory back in March. $40 for four hours of yarn fondling? Yes, please.)

Me! Me!

I may or may not have posted a rule at the beginning of this blog, stating I would never answer a silly questionnaire just to fill up a blog post. Well, consider that rule amended. I was tagged by lupinbunny for this one. That makes me quite excited, because I love her blog and aspire to her gardening and sewing greatness!

"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was a sophomore in high school, 14 years old. School probably hadn't let out yet, so I was probably reading my yearbook, thinking of creative things to write in other people's yearbooks and trying to figure out how to get a cute boy to sign mine. I was also scheming how to meet these guys. Don't judge me.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Figure out the shoulder shaping on Elizabeth Bennett, go to the farmer's market, vacuum the carpets, have some friends over for board games.

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Chocolate chips; honey dijon Kettle chips; stove-top popcorn with nutritional yeast, parmesean cheese, oregano, cayenne, and garlic; apples; Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Pay off my house, get another bike for cruising around town, travel (Australia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and a return trip to Mali are on my short list), pay for law school without any more loans and pay off my existing loans, donate & invest.

5) Places I have lived:
Ann Arbor, Michigan; small town New Hampshire; small college town Massachusetts; Senegal; Berkeley, California (and some in the north bay); small rural town California; Portland, Oregon.

6) Jobs I have had:
Working at a homemade candy shop, drive-through bagel shop, TJ Maxx, receptionist, payroll assistant, administrative assistant, Pelican (waitress, hostess, garbage hauler / compost expert / landscaper, front desk supervisor at a hotel), baker, and law clerk.

7) Bloggers I am tagging who I will enjoy getting to know better:
Jenne and George, Claudia, Molly, Feministy, Neither Hip Nor Funky

Presenting... my home!

We finally have internet in the new house, so I can share some pictures!

These are just snippets- I haven't gotten the house in a clean enough state for long enough that I can take pictures to share with you! But, we do have furniture in all the rooms and can stop trawling Craig's List constantly.

The view - The mantel (wood burning fireplaces! Two!) - Our bedroom


Banana muffins (new gas stove!) - Reading chair - Flowers on the table


The bathroom and cat - Baker's cart - Dream stove

All in all, we absolutely love this house. We couldn't have asked for a better home. As someone who hasn't lived anywhere for more than six months since my first year of college, I am very excited to nest and be here for many years.

I've also been knitting, although not as much as I imagined. I thought once finals ended, I'd have the Elizabeth Bennett cardigan finished in no time. But you'd be surprised (or probably not surprised!) at how much time moving and starting work takes up!

I had the cardigan out blocking a few days ago (back and two fronts), and took pictures, but apparently I deleted them before uploading. Ooops! Photos soon, I promise.

Now that I have internet, nothing can get in my way!

Home Sweet Home

This is our home. Apologies for the small picture. Our camera (specifically the cord connecting the camera to the computer) is packed somewhere, and this is the photo from the listing).

We got the keys yesterday and made a fantastic celebratory lamb dinner on our new gas range. In our new kitchen. In our new house.

It feels a bit like that ?Talking Heads? song - This is not my beautiful house! This is nt my beautiful wife! How did I get here? Or something like that.

Anyway, it's fantastic. More pictures when there are fewer boxes in my life.

J'ai finis!

Two things: baby booties (just in time- the baby is 9 days old today!) and my first year of law school! Wooohooo! The baby booties are way cuter than law school, so let's cut straight to the chase.

I got the buttons from Bolt, a fabric store in NE Portland. I love them. I hope Allison and her baby Evan love them, too!

The buttons stirred up a bit of controversy in the "boys-don't-wear-pink" crowd, but I think two things: Number One. Who cares? Babies will not be harmed by the color of button they wear. I promise. Number Two. Marching Elephants! Every baby should be adorned in marching elephants. All babies are cute, and all babies deserve cute buttons.

The pattern is Saartje's Bootees (pdf), an incredibly popular pattern. I'm not the world's biggest garter stitch fan, but it's a stretchy stitch, which is good for growing baby feet.

The yarn is Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Beach Glass, leftover from my Embossed Leaves.

I've also been working on my Knitting Law Students Summer Knit-along project, the Mrs. Darcy sweater. I'm calling mine the "Eliza Bennett" because she's not ever called Mrs. Darcy in the book (I don't think) or in the amazing BBC version, just in the Keira Knightley version, which was not that great. So, Eliza Bennett it is!

This is the back.

I know a black wool sweater doesn't seem like a very summery thing to knit, but I'll be working in an air-conditioned office, starting Wednesday, and my current black cardigan is getting quite ratty.

Feliz Seis de Mayo!

I know I missed the actual holiday, but who doesn't love a margarita any day of the week?

I'm probably being very annoying with all these non-posts lately, and I apologize. Just two and a half more days until end of finals and real life can begin again. And by real life, I mean beginning my internship and moving into the new house. But hopefully I'll spend at least some time knitting.

Also- go over here and enter the blog contest! Tell her castonacupcake sent ya. I really want that green handspun from Brooklyn Tweed. Also, finding potential summer reading material is good, too.

I took some photos of recent knitting and posted them on Ravelry, so if you're a raveler and feel so inclined, you can check that out.

Indulge Me

I can't handle this- I want to be knitting, not studying! Whoever invented one-exam-to-rule-them-all style finals deserved to be poked in the eye with a very sharp knitting needle. Grrrrr.

I have my first final tomorrow (Contracts) then one Monday, Wednesday, and Friday next week. Somebody put me out of my misery.


End of whining. Thank you for your indulgence.