What I've Been Up To

Well, first of all, I had midterms this week. I started studying last Friday, when my roommate was working from home. Except she wasn't. Working, that is. Suffice it to say, I was quite convinced that I wouldn't be able to get any studying done at my desk (which is out in my living room because my bedroom is too small) due to constant interruptions, so I spent the day at the public library. When the library closed I moved myself to Barnes and Noble and studied in their cafe until they closed at 11 p.m.

But I realised that I couldn't continue doing this. Being out all day and away from home meant that I had to buy my drinks and meals (which can add up very quickly) and, if I needed to go to the restroom, I had to pack up all my books and take everything in with me. So, the next day I went in search of a bed tray/bed desk so I might study in my bedroom. You would think that it would be easy, but I went to Target, K-mart, Walmart, Staples and Linens n' Things before I finally tracked one down at Bed Bath & Beyond. Once I bought it, though, I spent practically the entire weekend - as well as Monday and Tuesday - holed up in my room, apart from time in class, at work, and one instance of fun. And what, you might ask, would that single instance of fun be? I got a call on Friday night from the owner of my LYS. I had expressed interest in learning how to knit on two circular needles, and Pat was having a class the next day at 2:30. Since I had to be at work in the evening, anyway, I figured an hour taken beforehand to unwind, get out of the house, and learn something new wasn't uncalled for.
I have to say, I really like this technique! It allows you to knit small tubes (think socks, mittens and sleeves; things with a small circumference) without using double-pointed needles. This means that you don't have to juggle 4 or 5 needles, with points sticking in all directions, and you only have two seam points rather than 3 or 4. It more comfortable, and a lot faster. However, you do need two sets of circular needles (I bought these two bamboo circulars from Pat), which tend to be more expensive than sets of double-pointed needles.

Time did not stop, of course, while I was studying. I received my order from KnitPicks, which included two of their circular knitting needles (I wanted to try out their needles, and I needed two in a specific size that I didn't have), the much-coveted Victorian Lace Today, a sweater stone (it doesn't seem to work very well, but I'll take a picture of it for next time) and my chart keeper! There's the Peacock Feathers shawl pattern from Fiddlesticks Knitting that I've been working on for Moocow. Those bars are magnets, used to hold the pattern in place. Unfortunately, the magnets aren't terribly strong and are likely to fall of if I move the chart keeper around, which kind of defeats its purpose. But, when I'm working, as long as I don't shift it around too much, it should help me keep track of where I am in the pattern.
The KnitPicks circular knitting needles that I ordered were so that I could finally start the Victoria Tank (by Veronik Avery, in IK Summer 2004), which I had swatched for ages ago. Actually, I've re-started/ripped back and re-knit this three times now. The first time, I managed to introduce a twist before I joined to start knitting in the round, so I had to cast on from the beginning. Then, I managed to drop a stitch that unravelled quite a way down through k2tog, ssk and yarnovers. I couldn't figure out how to fix that without frogging, so frog I did. Then, I managed to mess up the lace pattern somehow, and had to rip back about 8 rows. However, today (after turning in my take-home exam and some housecleaning) I fixed it and got back on track.
But I had a lovely surprise for a stressful week! Greenwithenv and Puri-chan went to Japan and mailed me a little pouch of goodies!
Everything is so cute! I particularly love the owl, because it has a beanie-bottom. Something about the weight and utter pat-ability of a beanie-bottom gets me every time; I really think that stuffed animals are incomplete without them. And see the beautiful ladybug book clip? Thank you!! I don't know what I did to deserve such a bountiful gift, but thank you!