tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74051497543747828862024-03-12T18:02:06.520-07:00Knit GangstaThe place where I rant about school, knitting, books, movies, and all that other stuff. Mostly knitting, though.Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-74685093725063171512009-07-19T07:47:00.000-07:002009-07-19T08:33:08.486-07:00Little Things That Make Me Happy: # 1Rereading a favorite book for the millionth time. For me, this means <em>Jurassic Park</em> by Michael Crichton and <em>Many Waters</em> by Madeleine L'Engle.<br /><br />I've read each of these books so many times each that I've lost count. It rivals even the number of times that I've read the Harry Potter books. I've even read <em>Parque Jurasico</em>, the Spanish version of <em>Jurassic Park</em>.<br /><br />The fact that I love <em>Jurassic Park</em> is a no-brainer; I love horror/thriller novels and I'm obsessed with dinosaurs. Not even kidding, I never grew out of the dinosaur phase of childhood. When I was in kindergarten, all the other kids wanted to be teachers and truck drivers and red crayons (uh, long story) and I was going to be a paleontologist. And yes, I knew the word. And could spell it. In <em>kindergarten</em>. So Jurassic Park is a win-win book for me.<br /><br />The funny thing about <em>Many Waters</em> is that I'm not a huge fan of any of Madeleine L'Engle's other books. I find most of them wordy and over-complicated. Sure, I read <em>A Wrinkle in Time</em> and enjoyed it, but I've only read that twice, once on my own and then again because it was required for school. Does it sound cheesy to say that something about <em>Many Waters</em> just speaks to me? Which, in and of itself is funny, because <em>Many Waters</em> is of a semi-religious nature (it's about the biblical flood story) and I'm one of the least religious people you'll meet.<br /><br />So, there you have it, two of my favorite books of all time. I recommend Jurassic Park to anyone who likes horrors, thrillers, action novels, or sci-fi that's not really sci-fi. (You know, it's all science-y without being about spaceships and aliens. It's the only kind of sci-fi I like.) I recommend Many Waters to anyone who likes....well, good books.Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-45795090863475132392009-07-09T16:56:00.000-07:002009-07-09T17:28:49.423-07:00Summer UpdatesHello all!<br /><br />Basically, I haven't been posting a lot because...I just have nothing to say. Sad, but true. Believe me, I've sat down a couple of times trying to write an entry......but nothing comes. An uneventful life + mediocre writing skills = an exceedingly boring blog. I apologize.<br /><br />I guess I can at least make a few updates about knitting progress.<br /><br />I've made good progress on the <a href="http://www.flintknits.com/blog/?p=151">February Lady Sweater </a>considering that I'm up to over 300 stitches per row. I'm on the first row of the lace pattern and am separating the sleeve stitches from the body stitches.<br /><br />I've got another sweater in the queue: <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall07/PATTcherieamour.html">Cherie Amour </a>from Knitty. I've already bought the yarn for it, too, Loops and Threads Impeccable in a gorgeous chocolate brown color. It's acrylic, but really soft. I haven't cast on yet, and I wish that I could claim that it's because of sheer will and my iron resolve to finish projects before starting new ones. But really, it's because I don't have size 13 circular needles.<br /><br />Other projects include gifts, but on the off chance that the recipients read this, I won't elaborate until those birthdays pass.<br /><br />All right, that's all for now...mainly because I'm procrastinating on some summer homework that I should be doing right now...Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-54324389377455553392009-06-11T08:32:00.000-07:002009-06-11T08:36:49.195-07:00You know you're obsessed with knitting when.......the junk in your pockets consists of spare stitch markers, safety pins, a yarn needle, and some scrap yarn from when you trimmed the ends of your last project and didn't have a trash can nearby.<br /><br />Admittedly, I did have my license and a credit card in there, too.Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-41627212903742846702009-05-24T17:11:00.000-07:002009-05-24T17:31:36.771-07:00Wow, a whole year!It turns out that I completely missed my first "blogoversary"! I started this blog last year on May 4th, so I'm late by almost 3 weeks. I totally forgot! <br /><br />Can you believe it's been a year? I honestly thought I would have given it up within a few weeks, so this is pretty cool. Especially since it was started on a random whim and I don't ever really have anything to say. Admittedly, I don't blog as often as I should, but things should pick up over the summer as I have both more time to blog and more time to get some knitting done.<br /><br />Speaking of knitting, I've got a few updates on that front. No pictures, though, because I don't feel like getting the camera out, finding good light, actually getting a good picture, trying to upload the pictures, then struggling with blogger's stupid formatting of pictures for like an hour. (Yeah, i'm a bad knitting blogger, deal with it)<br /><br />The most drastic update is that I'm frogging that blue cabled hoodie that I was working on. I finished the back of it, but the shaping wasn't right, and I ended up with the wrong number of stitches at the end, and it was too long. Plus, I realized that that sweater really wouldn't look good on me anyway, because it's basically a shapeless hoodie, but knitted. Basically, the whole project was a disaster. So, it really wasn't worth finishing it. It's been sitting untouched for about a month in my "unfinished projects" box. (That pink suede box you got me, Staci).<br /><br />So, I looked for a more flattering sweater to knit with that same yarn and settled on the <a href="http://www.flintknits.com/blog/?p=151">February Lady Sweater</a>, which is really cute! I am going to modify it, however, so that it's fastened more in the middle, with either a single button or a shawl pin. The yarn is Caron Simply Soft in a greyish denim blue color.<br /><br />I cast on today, and have about an inch and a half done so far. Another plus for this pattern: It's seamless! It's knit from the top down in all one piece! I'm pretty excited about it, and we'll see if I can actually finish a project for once, despite my long history of suckage.<br /><br />'kay, that's about all I have time to type right now. I'm trying to post more regularly now, so hopefully it won't be too long until next time.Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-10010250814359926332009-04-15T14:08:00.000-07:002009-05-10T17:16:30.622-07:00Hello again!<br /><div><div>Goodness, it has been a while. I have a whole list of excuses, but you'd just be bored. So basically, AP exams are eating my life, but now, the hard ones are finally over! So I have a bit of free time!</div><p>There's actually a lot of news to report this time. First of all, I'd like to introduce you all to the newest members of my family, Hera and Artemis: </p><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334348555209270018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/Sgdpv5Vd4wI/AAAAAAAAALE/YlM8qLFaNKs/s320/Vacation+059.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334350022735783490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SgdrFUTDZkI/AAAAAAAAALM/I3FSOkyRON0/s320/Vacation+060.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>(sorry for the bad pictures, the mice move so fast, it's impossible to get a good one!)</div><div><br />Aren't they adorable? Hera is the dark brown one and Artemis is the white. Don't you think it's ironic to name mice after the queen of the gods and the goddess of the hunt? Me, too. That's why I like it. I got them from my AP Environmental Science teacher. She also teaches an animal behavior class that did some sort of project with mice. Well, their original mice started having babies by the dozen, so she needed to get rid of them. So, I volunteered to take one home.<br /><br />I did some research, found out all about how to take care of mice, bought a big aquarium, set up an elaborate cardboard jungle gym in it, and bought food and litter and stuff for them. Artemis was the first one I brought home, on monday (April 6th). I wasn't really sure whether she was a male or a female, so I looked it up on the internet. My original plan was to have one male mouse, because 2 male mice together will fight like crazy (they're really territorial) and a male and a female will breed at an alarming rate. But, it turned out that she was a female, so her name changed from Bartimaeus to Artemis and I decided to get another female mouse. See, mice are really very social creatures, and a female all alone will get depressed and sleep all the time.<br /><br />So the next day, Tuesday the 7th, I took my little hermit crab cage to school again to pick out another mouse. But when I went to the teacher's classroom after school, the mouse cage was completely gone! It turns out, another student had volunteered to take them home over spring break and had taken them out of the classroom early. So I had to run to the bus loop to find her and pick out a mouse in a hurry. It is extremely hard to determine a mouse's gender, especially on the fly, so I took my chances and just grabbed the prettiest dark brown one. Luckily, she is a female, so her name's Hera. They are so cute!!<br /><br />In knitting news, here are a few updates on my various projects on the needles (no pictures, though, because I don't feel like it):<br /></div><div><br />1) Seascape Shawl<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334351354604866850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SgdsS15YzSI/AAAAAAAAALU/M39yecsaZX8/s320/Vacation+078.JPG" border="0" /><br />I need to come up with a new name for this project, because it's lime green and not ocean-y. Like, Winding Vines or something. Well anyway, I've got quite a bit done, at least, I've exceeded my own expectations for my progress. I finished the border section and now I'm a little over halfway through the first chart. This is going to be awesome when I'm done!<br /></div><div><br />2) Garter stitch cowl<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334352093956849410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/Sgds94MovwI/AAAAAAAAALc/p_ILe9fvU18/s320/Vacation+049.JPG" border="0" /><br />This is a new one! I went on vacation recently to the beach, and we went through this tiny, tiny town called Plymouth, NC. We were going through the pitiful little downtown Plymouth when we passed a store called Yearning for Yarn. So of course I was like MUST STOP. So went in, and was greeted by the store owner, a sweet little old lady named Catherine. She immediately introduced herself and the other woman in the store and took us on a tour of all the yarns she had. It was a little bitty store, and really long and thin, but it had a good selection! Catherine was SOOOO nice and sooo sweet that I HAD to buy something, so I bought a bag of used needles in various sizes (for 3 dollars, what a deal!!!) and a skein of Plymouth Yarn Co. Baby Alpaca Grande. This yarn is so soft I want to roll in it, or knit bedsheets out of it, it's incredible! I could only really afford one skein because it was 14 dollars, but I had to have it. And I didn't feel bad about paying that much, because I wanted to support such a fantastic store!<br /><br />So anyway, one skein isn't enough for a whole scarf, unless it were really skinny. So instead I'm making a cowl. It's completely garter stitch, with 21 stitches per row on size US 13 needles.<br /><br />The only sad thing is that it's getting warmer every day here, so I've got to wait until NEXT winter to wear it!<br /><div> </div><div> </div><div><br />3) 3-2-1 Scarf<br /><br />I just finished this one today! It's based on the pattern here: <a href="http://laughingpurplegoldfish.blogspot.com/2008/10/3-2-1-and-youre-done-its-curlicue-scarf.html">http://laughingpurplegoldfish.blogspot.com/2008/10/3-2-1-and-youre-done-its-curlicue-scarf.html</a><br />Mine is made with purple Caron Simply Soft, with a border of some teal Knitpicks Suri Dream. It's gorgeous! But again, i have to wait until next winter to wear it. :(<br /><div> </div><div> </div><div><br />4) Crochet Earrings<br /><br />I made the first pair of these for my mom for mother's day. They're basically tiny crocheted flowers made from embroidery floss and put on earring wires. I've done the first flower of the second pair now.<br /><br />So, that's about all for now. I'll try to post again in a reasonable amount of time....</div></div></div>Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-63108267974471743112009-03-24T15:42:00.000-07:002009-03-24T16:17:33.143-07:00Life, etc.Hello all!<br /><br />I don't have a lot of time to write blog posts, what with all of the homework and stuff I've had lately, so this won't really be a full post. Just thought I'd update a bit in the meantime.<br /><br />For the kool-aid dyed yarn, I've decided not to do any of the possible ideas I had last post. You know, just to shake things up. No, really it's just because I tried a few of them out and didn't really like any of them. For a first lace project, the branching leaves pattern was just too difficult, at least for me (don't laugh, lace knitters) and I got frustrated VERY quickly. The very first row had types of decreases that I'd never <em>heard</em> of before. And after working a swatch of about 1/2 of a repeat, I had already had to rip back so many times that I had to restrain myself from flinging the whole thing across the room. If I can't handle 1/2 a repeat of the lace pattern, I sure as HELL wasn't going to attempt a whole shawl. I still think it's a very pretty scarf, but I'll probably come back to it much later, after I'm more experienced with knitting lace.<br /><br />So, it was basically back to the drawing board. Or in this case, back to Ravelry pattern search.<br /><br />In the end, I decided on the <a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer08/PATTseascape.html">Seascape</a> wrap from Knitty. It looked fairly straightforward, I could understand all of the charts without having too look anything up, and there are good sized patches of stockinette that make the lace pattern look a whole lot less daunting. Not to mention the fact that it is GORGEOUS. I'd admired the pattern when it first came out (Summer '08 issue of Knitty), but just in a wow-that's-awesome-but-i'd-never-knit-that kind of way.<br /><br />So anyway, I started the pattern, and I'd like to say that this is probably a perfect first lace project. The first thing that you knit is a simple border with basically just knit stitches and YOs in a repetitive sequence. It's a great introduction to reading a chart and dealing with laceweight yarn because it's easy, and every row is the same. Fantastic! Then, once you get past the border section, the wavy pattern is pretty much just the same sequence of stitches, but with more space in between and an extra increase or decrease here and there. It's easy to understand <em>why</em> the lace pattern works the way it does. I mean, it's not just blindly following a chart, the mechanics of it actually make a lot of sense.<br /><br />I've knitted about six inches, impressive progress for about three days of work, if I do say so myself! (it's actually been about 2 weeks, but I only have time to work on it on weekends). I'll put up a progress picture when the lace pattern takes shape a little more. Right now, you can't quite see the swirls yet.<br /><br />Would you look at that, this turned into a pretty decent-sized post. Huh.Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-49871729858596854772009-03-12T12:01:00.001-07:002009-03-12T13:35:41.337-07:00FrustrationI wrote in my last post about trying to knit/crochet a shawl for prom. I even picked out a sort of fishnet lace crochet stitch pattern for it. I crocheted a couple of inches in this stitch pattern when I realized...I really don't like it. It looks too....cheap. I don't know, just somehow it reminds me of a string bag or something. Not glamorous and elegant and prom-like.<br /><br /><br />So, I've been looking for other lacey shawl patterns on Ravelry. I'm thinking of making <a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer07/PATTwisp.html">this pattern </a>from Knitty, just making it wider and longer. That's really a last resort pattern, because I think the yarn I'm using would do better in a more classical lace pattern. I'm also thinking about one of those dragon scale-looking lace stitch patterns. I like those, and I think I have an afghan pattern around here somewhere that I can adapt. There's also a leafy lace pattern called <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTbranchingout.html">branching out</a> that I think would look gorgeous if I knit about 2 or 3 side by side. Especially since the yarn is green and would look terriffic as leaves.<br /><br /><br />Two problems, though.<br /><br /><br />1) It needs to be relatively fast to knit/crochet. I've only got until April 25th to have this DONE. And this is working around the intense workload I've got at school right now.<br />2) I've never knitted lace before. I have never even worked with yarn this thin before. The pattern needs to be simple enough that even a beginner like me can do it with no problem.<br /><br /><br />Not to mention the fact that I have to actually LIKE it...<br /><br /><br />Ideas? Suggestions? All are welcome!Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-85618764471339753792009-03-10T17:55:00.000-07:002009-03-11T02:31:20.858-07:00Pictures!Hey hey!<br /><br /><div><div><div>It's been a while. Yeah, i've been busy, then was out of town, then was really sick for a few days, but all that is behind us now. Because I'M BACK, and I come bearing gifts! Well, photos, but I so rarely add photos to my posts (it's a pain in the...ahem...rear end with blogger) so the addition of photos is exciting, and just as good as a gift! (just nod your heads and humor me, people)</div><div><br /></div><div>First of all, I'm going to prom this year, and I really wanted to feature something handmade in my prom wardrobe. So, I bought some Knitpicks Gloss, a laceweight merino wool/silk blend yarn from <a href="http://knitpicks.com/">knitpicks.com</a>, to make a sort of a stole/wrap thing. The yarn is super soft, and so affordable! </div><div> </div><div>Well, I wasn't really a fan of any of the colors that the yarn is sold in, so I bought 4 skeins of the bare (undyed) yarn to dye with Kool-Aid! I chose the Lemon-Lime flavor, and dyed it Monday while I was staying home sick (i had...and still have...a really bad cold. yuck.) </div><div></div><div>Here is the result:</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311729278297388194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SbcNosf1NKI/AAAAAAAAAKA/XgOWvXrpgIY/s320/yarn,+etc+204.JPG" border="0" /> It was a whole lot of fun to dye! After it was done and hanging to dry, it took considerable self control to LEAVE IT ALONE and not try to do anything with it while it was wet. It's just so pretty!!! </div><div></div><div>Here is the makeshift swift that I used to wind the yarn into a ball:<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311730585821194882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SbcO0zZzKoI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/PtgOrs6JavA/s320/yarn,+etc+196.JPG" border="0" /> (By the way, the fabulous chairs were hand-painted by my mom! Check out her etsy site at <a href="http://maryjostudio.etsy.com/">maryjostudio.etsy.com)<br /></a></div><div>And here is a shot of my ball winder with about half of a skein already wound: <div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311729873228854306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SbcOLUyi9CI/AAAAAAAAAKI/r2I7w_JVUz0/s320/yarn,+etc+199.JPG" border="0" /></div></div><br /><p>I am in LOVE with my ball winder! It makes jobs like this so easy!</p><p>And because I am already adding a bunch of pictures, here's one of my cat, Stormy Llewellyn, asleep on a straw hat:</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311732058505374450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SbcQKhlEavI/AAAAAAAAAKY/s_w9kn1wB7k/s320/yarn,+etc+104.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>Awwww!</p><p>And finally, I leave you with the challenge of the day. What is this picture a close up of?</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311734159612726194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SbcSE00GS7I/AAAAAAAAAKg/CvfEFq9NiKo/s320/yarn,+etc+139.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>First one to guess it right gets a prize!</p><p></p>Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-90262397029540943122009-02-08T15:19:00.000-08:002009-02-08T15:39:41.964-08:00Hat updateI finished the earflap hat! And I modified the hell out of it!<br /><br />Yep, that old urge to mess with the pattern struck again. I went with the two white stripes! And I only really followed the pattern as far as the crown of the hat and the front flap. I totally omitted the back flap and for the earflaps I ignored what it told me to do, went down a few hook sizes, just used one strand of yarn, and made them a lot smaller. Then, when I crocheted the "fur" lining, I realized that it would look great as one of those russian type hats (What are they actually called? All I know is that the girl in Balto got one like it as a present...). So I flipped the earflaps up and tied them. So basically, the finished hat looks ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like it was supposed to. I do like it, though.<br /><br />Only one problem: The hat is waaay too big for me. It doesn't really stay on my head. It doesn't even fit my brother (a.k.a Owen of the Gigantous Noggin). But there is NO WAY i'm undoing the hat to fix it. So whatever.<br /><br />I'll post a picture as soon as I get a good one!Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-40677192530872721772009-02-01T15:01:00.000-08:002009-02-01T15:54:57.629-08:00Dilemma<div align="center"> So, I am currently crocheting this hat from the newest issue of "Crochet Today" (a really cool magazine):<br /></div><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297981039011117298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 303px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SYY1r2EDOPI/AAAAAAAAAJw/RJ5h7i5QDMA/s320/lumberjack+hat.bmp" border="0" /> But I changed the brown to navy blue, mostly because the brown I had looked yellow and sickly with the white trim. Well anyway, I have the crown of the hat done, but I'm afraid that I will run out of the blue yarn. So I was thinking about striping the rest of it to conserve yarn. What do you think of this:<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297981233113915826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 303px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SYY13JJw4bI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/1SZv3cOymKI/s320/lumberjack+hat+paint.bmp" border="0" /> <p align="center">(MS Paint - looks real professional, doesn't it?)<br /><br /></p><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Do the stripes look good, or stupid? I can't decide.</div>Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-51622870234955381322009-01-11T10:56:00.000-08:002009-01-11T11:26:02.082-08:00New Knitty Issue!I've always been a huge fan of <a href="http://knitty.com/">Knitty</a>, an online knitting magazine with tons of free patterns, but the most recent issue (Winter '08), they have really outdone themselves!<br /><br />I realized earlier this afternoon that I hadn't checked to see if the new issue was out yet. When I went to the website, I was immediately blown away by some of the patterns! Never before have I seen so many in an issue that I MUST KNIT right away!<br /><br />My favorites of the issue (there are a lot of them!):<br /><br /><a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTamused.php">Amused</a>, a raglan sweater with a huge cabled collar, 3/4 sleeves, and ribbed bottom and cuffs (This one is definitely my favorite of the issue. It's gorgeous!)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTlittlebird.php">A little bird told me</a>, a felted purse with an adorable embroidered bird<br /><br /><a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTfishy.php">Fish hat</a>, a hat shaped like a fish. Because who doesn't want a hat that's eating your head? Adorable!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTmiittens.php">Miitens</a>, mitts for babies shaped like Mii hands (you know, the little people on the Nintendo Wii)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATToomingmacks.php">Oomingmacks</a>, slippers shaped like musk oxen. I never realized until today how much I <em>need</em> slippers shaped like musk oxen. (Is that the plural of 'ox'? I wasn't sure.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTsocktopus.php">Socktopus</a>, a toy octopus wearing 8 different socks<br /><br /><a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTamelia.php">Amelia</a>, an incredibly cute cardigan<br /><br />and finally <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTmaja.php">Maja</a>, a shawl using a fascinating crossed stitch pattern<br /><br />I really need to finish up all of my current UFOs (in non-knitter lingo, un-finished objects) so that I can start on that Amused sweater. Because I MUST HAVE THAT SWEATER! It's so pretty!!! I also really want to make a fish hat for myself and for my brother, and my mom would really love that shawl!<br /><br />I've got to go get knitting!Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-84768094966195324452009-01-10T12:54:00.000-08:002009-01-10T13:13:28.343-08:00Finally, I'm back......With a brand new computer!!! OMG!<br /><br />I haven't been able to post in a super long time because I have had some crazy computer problems recently. All of our old computers had crashed at some time or another, so they were all moderately "injured", but suddenly all three of them decided to just die on us.<br /><br />Okay, it wasn't all at one time...It was more like one died, then we were trying to fix it and another died, then we tried to take them apart and mess around in there, so we got them both up, and one of them was working properly, just like new, but the other one had a damaged keyboard driver, so you couldn't type anything. We spent several days where all we could do to type stuff was copy and paste individual words or letters from Wikipedia. Anyway, so we had two working computers and one useless one, so we ordered new parts for the broken one, but the new motherboard didn't fit in the old one's CPU case, so we decided, lets put it in the other one's CPU case (one of the working ones, the one that had died a few days before, but had been repaired). Well anyway, that didn't work, and when we were trying to put the other one back together, a wire on the inside broke, so it wouldn't even start up.<br /><br />ANYWAY, we were stuck with only one working computer, in a family where one member spends literally all his free time on Facebook and IM (my brother), another member relies on the internet for her business (my mom sells her painted furniture online, <a href="http://maryjostudio.etsy.com/">maryjostudio.etsy.com</a>) and yet another member has a million essays and stuff to write and spends almost everyday doing homework on the computer until like 9:30 (that's me). Needless to say, it was not a good situation. So anyway, I thought my mom was just going to order new parts for the old computer, but when I got home from school yesterday, here was this brand new PC sitting on the computer desk and my mom looking sheepish.<br /><br />So, now we have this super cool, super fast, super awesome new computer, and I can actually blog again! Yay!<br /><br />So, how was everyone's [Insert whatever holiday you celebrate here]?Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-45303743315801485702008-12-04T15:21:00.000-08:002009-07-25T18:33:36.799-07:00Santa Claus is coming to town!Holidays are right around the corner!<br /><br /><br />And if you're a knitter, you know what that means... Time to knit presents!<br /><br />This year, I wanted to make something easy and quick enough to make several in time for Christmas. What I came up with is this:<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 231px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276079838281402082" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SThmqLddBuI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/a-x3sjilZEw/s320/me+mirror+santa+best.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center">An awesome Santa Hat!!!</p><p align="center">And my Christmas present to all of you in cyberspace is this free Santa Hat pattern! Yay!</p><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 237px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276080033484954850" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SThm1ipm3OI/AAAAAAAAAIY/SxASXfI1mzQ/s320/santa+hat+laying+down.JPG" /></p><p align="left"><strong>Materials:</strong><br />-Yarn<br />A: 1 ball of white eyelash yarn (I used Paton's Cha Cha in color White)<br />B: 1 skein of white worsted weight yarn (I used Red Heart Super Saver in color White)<br />C: 1 skein of red worsted weight yarn (I used Caron Simply Soft in color Autumn Red)<br />- US 11 straight knitting needles, or size needed to obtain gauge<br />- Yarn needle<br />- Scissors<br />- Pom-pom maker (store-bought or home-made, doesn't matter. See <a href="http://www.kid-craft-central.com/pom-poms.html">this website</a> for instructions, if you need them) </p><p align="left"><strong><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SThnLpjfuII/AAAAAAAAAIg/JJXiefZMwjM/s1600-h/DSCF0046.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 229px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276080413295491202" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SThnLpjfuII/AAAAAAAAAIg/JJXiefZMwjM/s320/DSCF0046.JPG" /></a>Gauge:</strong> in st st with two strands of C held together - 11 st and 14 rows = 4" </p><p align="left"><strong>Hat:<br /></strong>With two strands of A and one strand of B held together, CO 48 st </p><p align="left">Rows 1-7: work in garter st (k all rows) </p><p align="left">Rows 8: With two strands of C held together, k across</p><p align="left">Rows 9-23 , work in st st. You should end with a purl row. </p><p align="left">Row 24: k1, k2tog, *k 6, k2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, k5 (42 st)</p><p align="left">Row 25: purl</p><p align="left">Row 26: knit</p><p align="left">Row 27: purl</p><p align="left">Row 28: k1, k2tog, *k5, k2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, k4 (36 st)</p><p align="left">Rows 29-31: Repeat rows 25-27</p><p align="left">Row 32: k1, k2tog, *k4, k2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, k3 (30 st)</p><p align="left">Rows 33-35: Repeat rows 25-27</p><p align="left">Row 36: k1, k2tog, *k3, k2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, k2 (24 st)</p><p align="left">Rows 37-39: Repeat rows 25-27</p><p align="left">Row 40: k1, k2tog, *k2, k2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, k1 (18 st)</p><p align="left">Rows 41-43: Repeat rows 25-27</p><p align="left">Row 44: *k1, k2tog, repeat from * 5 more times (12 st)</p><p align="left">Rows 45-47: Repeat rows 25-27</p><p align="left">Row 48: k2tog across (6 st)</p><p align="left">Row 49: purl</p><p align="left">Row 50: knit</p><p align="left">Cut yarn, leaving a really long tail. Thread yarn through all remaining stitches and pull closed. </p><p align="left"><strong>Finishing:<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SThncSdUXkI/AAAAAAAAAIo/fPBlnQWXo7A/s1600-h/DSCF0006.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276080699153342018" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SThncSdUXkI/AAAAAAAAAIo/fPBlnQWXo7A/s320/DSCF0006.JPG" /></a></strong></p><p align="left">Use tail of yarn to sew up the back of the hat. Make a pom-pom about 2" in diameter, and attach to the point of the hat. Weave in all ends. Wear and enjoy, or give as a gift!</p>Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-88877462951149030212008-12-01T02:43:00.001-08:002008-12-01T12:05:59.222-08:00See? I Told You So!Having decided to stop wrestling with that god-awful yarn, I feel so much freer! I don't even feel bad, really, for stopping because I got three projects completed in the rest of November. That's right, THREE WHOLE PROJECTS, start to finish!<br /><br /><br /><br />And guess what!!! I even wrote a pattern to share with everyone! What do I have a pattern of? It's a surprise!! Yay! But it's awesome!<br /><br /><br /><br />Ah December. I'm so excited! We set up our Christmas tree two days ago! Well, it's not really a Christmas tree. We made it out of bamboo poles set up in a sort of a teepee shape. My mom's an artist, so we usually have unique trees like that. It actually is really cool, though, it looks like something from Dr Seuss books, so we call it our Who-ville tree. I'll put up a picture later!<br /><br />That's all for now! Adios!Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-57055287637082827452008-11-27T15:17:00.001-08:002008-11-27T16:47:08.372-08:00Thanksgiving!<div>Much news to catch up on!!<br /></div><br /><div>First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans out there! To the rest of the world, happy Thursday!<br /></div><br /><div>Next: NaKniSweMo.<br /></div><br /><div>Since I last post, I have given in to all the guilty voices in my head that are saying "It's almost Christmas, and you're spending a whole month on a project for <em>yourself???" </em>I don't want to think of it as "giving up".....I mean I <em>could </em>possibly finish the sweater by the end of the month if I set my mind to it. But then I start thinking, "Yeah, but if I put that much effort into other projects, then I could get multiple gifts done in the same time." So I start getting into this weird guilt thing.<br /></div><br /><div>Yeah.....basically, I suck.<br /></div><br /><div>Not that it was particularly hard to tear myself away from this project. I mean, the project is fast and all with the size 13 needles, but I am getting really sick of the yarn. I have never before seen yarn that caused more dropped stitches. The furry alpaca sometimes glues two stitches together so that only one of the stitches gets knitted. So then I get several rows down, and I notice the dropped one. And don't even think about just ripping back to the mistake, oh no. Once a stitch has been....stitched, the fuzz pretty much glues it in place. So you CAN'T rip back to mistakes. Basically, the yarn is a pain in the butt.<br /></div><br /><div>I have good news, too, however. Yesterday, I finished an entire Jayne hat in one day. Shiny! (By the way, Jayne is a character in the TV show Firefly. In the episode called "The Message" he receives in the mail a hat his mom knitted for him. So he's this big, tough mercenary guy wearing this cute little hat with earflaps. And thus, a nerdy joke is born.) Here's the TV version of the Jayne hat, modeled by Adam Baldwin (the man who played Jayne):<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273502629271219858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SS8-s3vMrpI/AAAAAAAAAII/OL4OYZymqko/s320/jayne.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>And here is my version of the Jayne hat, modeled by my brother (for whom the hat was knitted. Though I'll probably steal it from him like every day.)</div><div> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273499256084523010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SS87oho0aAI/AAAAAAAAAIA/12uMt8RHWns/s320/DSCF0011.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Pretty cunning, don't you think?</div><div></div><br /><p>It's a little (okay kind of a lot) bigger than the original pattern intended because 1) it's supposed to look dorky, and 2) I'm sorry Owen, but you have a giant head. Plus, I think I have a disease where I can't just follow a pattern to the letter. I just have to go make some modification. I mean, look at the sleeves I'm doing for the NaKniSweMo sweater. I just HAD to go knit them in the round, didn't I?? <span style="font-size:78%;">*grumbles incoherently about the stupid yarn*</span></p><p>I fully intended to follow the pattern this time, but the urge to modify is apparently too strong. For the hat, I extended the orange section by one row, shortened the yellow section by one row, worked the decreases at the top of the head differently, and increased the width of the earflaps by two stitches. It turned out great in the end, so I'm not complaining.<br /><br />I've also started another pair of fingerless mitts for my mom's friend Tammy. I'll upload pics of them when they have a little more shape. Right now, they're just garter stitch rectangles with thumb holes. </p><p>All right, I think that's all for now. Don't eat too much turkey, everyone!</p><div></div>Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-90167386207172863452008-11-17T02:28:00.000-08:002008-11-17T02:33:27.206-08:00Nearly there!I have now completed the front and back parts of my NaKniSweMo sweater!<br /><br />This is such an effortless project. I haven't rushed myself at all, just picked up the knitting whenever I was watching TV or something. I have started on one of the sleeves, and I decided to knit it in the round on DPNs to avoid the huge seam up the arm, but I fear that I may be making things to complicated for myself. Skinny yarn does NOT want to be knitted on huge DPNs. I only have about two inches done, so I'm going to wait until it's a bit longer to decide whether I should just frog it and restart the sleeve on straight needles.<br /><br />I will have pictures later!Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-26429088621164064452008-11-10T18:30:00.000-08:002008-11-10T19:25:55.546-08:00I feel a little...betrayedWhen it comes to music, I'm not really that picky. I'm not a big fan of country music, death metal, or those female pop singers who stretch their words waaaay out (like Beyonce), but other than that, I'm not hard to please.<br /><br />My favorite genres, however tend to be rock, like the Beatles, world music, and what I like to call "folkish rock". My two favorite bands (besides the Beatles, who are pretty much a given) are the Waybacks and the Duhks, both of which practically no one has heard of. <a href="http://www.waybacks.com/">The Waybacks</a> tend to be more of a rock band (especially their live performances; they played part of a Led Zeppelin song at the last concert I went to!), with folk and bluegrass influence. They have a banjo and a fiddle, so people tend to automatically stick them in with bluegrass, but really, they defy categorization.<br /><br />My other favorite band is <a href="http://www.duhks.com/">the Duhks</a>. They're a band from Winnepeg, Manitoba that plays what they describe as "fusion of traditional bluegrass, folk rock, Afro-Cuban jazz and soul", which really is a spot-on description. A lot of their songs are instrumentals with a marked Irish influence, while still others are folk songs sung in French. It's a great mix of INCREDIBLE musicians (the violin player is magnificent!), amazing lyrics (check out "Heaven's My Home" or "Mountains of Things") and fantastic vocals.<br /><br />My favorite part of the band was the lead singer, Jessee Havey. She has an amazing, really powerful alto voice. It was a treat to see them perform live, because she would get so into the music and dance onstage. Unfortunately, about a year ago, she quit the band to "pursue solo endeavors" or whatever the words they used were. Just recently did the band release their first album without Jessee Havey, "Fast Paced World". I hadn't even heard the new lead singer until I got an iTunes gift card for my birthday a few weeks ago and decided to download the new album.<br /><br />These were not the same Duhks.<br /><br />Not only was Havey their lead vocalist, she was also the <em>songwriter</em> for the group. The woman who took her place, Sarah Dugas, just doesn't have the same style as Havey did. The very first song, "A Mighty Storm" is a lot more blues-y than their previous CDs. Don't get me wrong, it's not <em>bad</em>, it's just not the same. I actually liked quite a few of the songs. The ones that were just instrumentals are just as good as their old instrumental numbers. But I really can't stand the song "Toujours vouloir". It sounds way too much like pop music, and has too much of that slow, same-y sounding female singing that's heard in so much music nowadays. And I don't even know what to think of the song "You don't see it". I try to tell myself that I would like it if I didn't know it was supposed to be the Duhks. It's a lot more pop and country-sounding than their old songs. It's just so <em>different</em>!<br /><br />I feel almost childish for complaining about the change. I mean, it's the band's choice if they want to play different music. And you never know, the rest of the band may have hated Jessee Havey's songs, and that's why she left and why they've changed now.<br /><br />So, basically, I'm indecisive about the new album. I like a lot of the songs, but it's so different that I'm a little bit in shock. It feels almost as if I had a boyfriend, but then the boyfriend went and got a haircut, and I'm trying to decide whether I like the haircut or not. I liked his <em>old</em> hair!<br /><br />Give me a few weeks to get used to it, and I'll get back with you.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I miss Jessee Havey.Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-66243730297322035112008-11-05T02:54:00.001-08:002008-11-05T02:54:55.182-08:00VICTORY!Obama is our next president!!!!!Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-13712818600023758662008-11-03T17:55:00.000-08:002008-11-03T18:09:02.966-08:00Yay, pictures!Since it is so hard to format text and pictures, I'm just going to type all the text up here, and leave the pics in a group at the end. Sorry, my camera is so blurry. Using the flash is the only way to get clear pictures. However, if I use the flash, the color gets all washed out. So, I'm going with the lesser of two evils here and just taking the darn picture with no flash. These pictures are just of what I got done on the first day because I haven't taken any pictures since then. The last picture here is just a view showing how open the stitches are. Seriously, this sweater weighs nothing at all.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264617933885750562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SQ-uHiNpPSI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/7MFMo2hFNt4/s320/DSCF0018.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264618296174262530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SQ-ucn19OQI/AAAAAAAAAHY/43HK-Z9qEuQ/s320/DSCF0027.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264618471183780546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SQ-umzzeisI/AAAAAAAAAHg/1ghN3eGigwg/s320/DSCF0035.JPG" border="0" />Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-84076612143242980042008-11-02T09:56:00.000-08:002008-11-03T17:41:41.113-08:00A Whole Day of Excitement!Well, have I got a lot to tell you guys!<br /><br />First of all, two days ago was the first day of NaKniSweMo! I stayed up until midnight the night before, and cast on just as the clock struck 12. On Saturday I managed to knit almost 15 inches of the back of my sweater!! I have some pictures, but I'm on a different computer today (my brother commandeered the good one for NaNoWriMo) so I can't upload them. But I will.....eventually. So, anyway, this is probably the fastest sweater to knit, ever. I finished the entire back of the sweater yesterday, and started the front. So I'm predicting I'll be done in maybe a week. This feels like cheating! I'm also going to have a bunch of yarn left over, because I'm still on my first ball. I'm taking a bit of a break today because I have to get Death of a Salesman read and annotated by Wednesday...<br /><br /><br />So anyway, on to the excitement of Saturday!<br /><br /><br />I had originally decided not to discuss politics on this blog, because I didn't want to offend any of the people who read it. However, I'm such an opinionated person that I should have known that I would be forced to bring up the subject sooner or later.<br /><br /><br />So, just to start, I'm very liberal, and proud of it! I support Obama for president whole-heartedly. I'm the vice president of my school's Teen Democrats club. So, yeah, I'm pretty passionate about politics.<br /><br /><br />So, Saturday: There was an Obama rally at Shaw University, which is not far at all from where I live, where Chris Rock was scheduled to speak!!! I went with my parents and my brother to the rally. When we got there, there weren't too many people, and we got a pretty good place to stand where we could see the stage. But then, some guy with an Australian accent (He was a volunteer helping organize the event) comes up to Owen (my brother) and asks him "Do you want some VIP tickets so that you can stand by the stage and meet Chris Rock?" He just randomly chose us to get backstage passes! So of course we accepted, and we went inside this little fenced-in area right next to the stage.<br /><br /><br />But that's not all! You know how in videos on the news and stuff of people giving speeches how there's always a crowd of people behind the speaker? Well, some other volunteer came up to us and asked if we wanted to sit behind Chris Rock while he was talking! Which means that we'd be in practically all of the pictures and videos of the speech!!! And we'd be like 5 feet away from Chris Rock!!<br /><br /><br />So Owen and I went up onto these bleachers that were set up behind the stage. The only spots left were on the back row to the far right. Which means that we had to sit, with no back to our seats, with a 15 foot drop right behind us. If you didn't know this already, I'm TERRIFIED of heights. Like, it's the only thing that I'm really horribly afraid of. I don't mind snakes or spiders or bugs, and I actually really like frogs and thunderstorms, but I HATE heights. So here I am, sitting in front of a bunch of television cameras scared to death of toppling backwards off the bleachers. I just knew I was going to make a fool of myself.<br /><br /><br />We had to sit there for a really long time. Chris Rock was scheduled to speak at about 3:45, but I don't think he even came onstage until almost 4:15. And then, he only spoke for eleven minutes! Seriously. I felt almost ripped off; the whole rally was so anticlimactic. Plus, afterward when Chris was supposed to meet us and give autographs and such, he gave maybe two atugraphs and posed for two pictures, then he left! All the time with this really forced "I really don't want to be here" smile. But, it was still cool to see him speak.<br /><br />Check out <a href="http://www.newraleigh.com/articles/archive/chris-rock-raleigh-speech/">this link</a> to see a few pictures of the event. I'm the person in the top left of most of them.<br /><br />Alright, that's about all, I think. If you're old enough, GET OUT AND VOTE TOMORROW!! If you're not, TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO GET OUT AND VOTE TOMORROW!! My philosophy is, if you didn't vote, you have no right to complain about the government. So, go exercise your rights!Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-72554565458967270852008-10-31T15:24:00.000-07:002008-10-31T15:34:08.601-07:00Boo!Happy Halloween everyone!!!<br /><br />This is just a great day overall, not just because it's Halloween. It's also the day before NaNoWriMo and NaKniSweMo (!!!), and the day before a FOUR DAY WEEKEND!! Yay! And I don't have loads of homework! Double yay!<br /><br />I am sooooo excited about casting on for my NaKniSweMo sweater!! I have the pattern practically memorized because I've looked at it so much, and I have all the supplies I'll need (yarn and needles) all set out and ready. If I stay up late enough tonight, which is likely, I can start it at midnight! Hooray!!<br /><br />Another exciting thing: I've started regularly updating my <a href="http://ravelry.com/">Ravelry</a> account! Look for me (and friend me!) there as browncoat50.<br /><br />Happy trick-or-treating everyone! Be safe!Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-11344775572133951522008-10-28T17:20:00.000-07:002008-10-28T17:21:46.552-07:00*yawn*I really feel like I should post something....but I don't really feel like it....I'm REALLY tired...<br /><br />Sorry for the second lame-o two-line post in a row.Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-17360195279366492772008-10-19T17:04:00.000-07:002008-10-19T17:06:56.527-07:00Birthday!!!Yay! Today's my birthday! Go me! :)<br /><br />yeah, that's all.Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-61495862465908878572008-10-15T14:32:00.000-07:002008-10-15T15:53:10.310-07:00November is coming up fast!<div><div>Yay! Masochism month!</div><br /><div>This year I'm doing NaKniSweMo (National Knit a Sweater Month), the knitter's version of NaNoWriMo, and I am so psyched! <span style="font-size:78%;">(side note: I think that is officially the first time I've ever used the word "psyched"...)</span></div><br /><div>This is technically going to be my first sweater (the pink bamboo top doesn't count), so I kinda wanted something easy. Plus, I needed something I could do while still keeping up with my insane workload from school. So, I've decided to knit this sweater:</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257503156773982530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SPZnRAECEUI/AAAAAAAAAHA/i6G-E3KWn0k/s320/to+dye+for.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>(It's the To Dye For sweater from the book Stitch & Bitch)<br /></div><br /><div>With this yarn:</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257501200135154834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iX0AOVIDSDc/SPZlfHA-7JI/AAAAAAAAAG4/yKStGEXrBJ8/s320/knitpicks+suri+dream.jpg" border="0" /> <div>Knitpicks Suri Dream in Lilac Heather (it's the very middle skein, the darker purple. Yeah, this isn't my picture, but my camera is a butt that can't take any pictures that are worth a darn. Whoa, did you just see me not swear in that sentence? Go me!)</div><div> </div><div>I'm soooo excited to start the sweater! The yarn is incredibly soft and fluffy and cuddle-able, and I am head over heels in love with the pattern! My favorite part is the bell sleeves! Yay! I can't wait!</div><div> </div><div>That's all for now, Adios amigos!</div></div>Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405149754374782886.post-49201449999331540762008-10-07T17:01:00.000-07:002008-10-07T17:18:26.096-07:00Seriously, I'm sick of being sick.There comes a point, when you've been coughing, and sneezing, and sniffing, and congested for TWO FREAKING WEEKS that you just can't stand it any more. God, I wish I could breathe through my nose right now...<br /><br />Yeah that's all.Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00955947693907629130noreply@blogger.com2