My Random Monday: Fall Week 4

1. Last weekend was crud.  I didn't want to do anything, which is a kind of bad idea, because that means that nothing gets done (except a lot of knitting.)

2. Today is looking up, though.  I have homemade chicken soup (from yesterday) and I love the weather. It's rainy, but a special type of drizzle that I will always associate with school.  *sigh* It's good to be back.

3. Except for all the freaking work!!!!!!

4. Okay, now that that's over with, they're making a movie out of one of my favorite books, It's Kind of a Funny Story.  It's about a 15-year-old kid who becomes suicidal, goes to a psychiatric ward, and discovers wonderful, warm fuzzy life lessons. 

I totally relate to the main character (the over-pressured kid, not the drug-experimenting-eating-disorder-having kid... though those are all coping mechanisms to the over-pressured-ness) and I can't wait until the movie comes out :)

5. I am almost finished with my knit tie, and progress has been made on Borneo test knits! I'm super excited :)

6. When I was in the bookstore, I was looking through the magazines and guess what I found! Hedgehog cross stitch!!

I love all things hedgehog :)

7. Now for something completely random: the chair in W's apartment has a face.  I swear.  Can you see it?

Maybe I AM having a nervous breakdown.

Thinking, Knitting, Blogging

I've recently been thinking about blogging... specifically, how to make my blog better.  What makes a good knitting blog? Obviously, there's no rubric out there, so how do you judge?

What makes you follow a blog? Any blog - not just knitting - will work, but since I'm trying to blog about my WIPs and designs, knitting-related blogs would be appreciated :)

I have a huge blog roll, and I see a lot of similarities between the blogs I follow.  As I'm getting busier and busier with school, I've noticed that I'm unsubscribing to more blogs than I'm subscribing to! I have reasons, I swear! I think...

My Week So Far

I've been knitting a lot in my spare time (as opposed to cooking...) and I'm very happy with the progress I'm making!

First off, I'm over halfway done with my current WIP, a scarf for the second Knit Princess book! I'm really pumped at this chance to get one of my patterns published, and this scarf is a very easy knit. It's in seed stitch, and after I'm done knitting the body I'm going to embroider pinstripes down it :)

I'm also making progress on my mommy-inspired socks.  I'm almost done and I can't figure out a pattern to use... I want something lacy, of course, but I'm torn between two patterns.

The one on the left is Mermaidia, from Purdy Peas. (Photo from Purdy Peas!)  The one of the right is Spring Pools, a ravelry pattern by the Lovely Linda. (Photo from MomofTwins on Flickr)  Right now, I'm leaning more towards Spring Pools, just because of it's gorgeous but simple look! My mom is not a knitter, so she will have a very small idea of the amount of time that gets put into a pair of socks, so I don't really know if I need to go all-out. 

Oh, also, delicious thing of the week in my kitchen:

I made these cheesy biscuits with the mountain of leftover cheese from a taco night we had.  I also thre in a bunch of leftover thyme and a whole clove of garlic, and, well, they are delicious.  I improvised a recipe that I found online, which is basically a biscuit without bisquick or buttermilk! I made about 20 and all but 3 were gone in twenty minutes.  Success!

Hope you guys on the internet have a not so stressful week... the rest of the week is easy for me, it's practically the weekend already in college-land :)

The Weekend of Buying Lots of Pointless Things

Okay, kids, we're two weeks into school... so why do I feel like we're 8 weeks in!? Really, I'm pooped.  I had a conversation with my dad, and he told me that I shouldn't be doing so much... and I kind of agree.  I guess I've been going a little overboard.

But the past two days I've been good.  I've got all the homework I need to do before Monday done (except one... that one doesn't count.) And I've been sleeping up a storm.  I also have watched a TON of anime on Hulu while zombie-ing out.

Today, I made a weeks supply of chicken nuggets, and then we went to help a friend find a stuffed bird, among other things, for a project.

Well, our search let us to JoAnne's, and I had to buy things. Okay, I spent $20 on yarn, a reusable bag, a chocolate orange, and this wonder:

Here's a close-up of how it's supposed to be used.


I don't know if I'm strange, but if I was a child this would completely terrify me. If I opened my backpack and saw my earaser and glue looking up at me I would FLIP OUT.  I came to this realization after giving some things in my life faces.  Now I'm a little scared.





I hope Lotus isn't freaked out by her cat grass having a face! :O Anyway, I still have a ton of stickers left and nothing to put them on. I'm thinking of maybe placing them in random interesting locations around campus... but if anyone wants them, drop me a line and I'll send them out :)



I also bought something very silly: Pillsbury cookies. They also have faces. And tasted horrible.  Thankfully, they were on sale... if I had paid more than $1.50 for them I would be disappointed. I remember loving these kind of cookies when I was a kid - now, I realize that nothing beats a homemade cookie!

Oh, yarn... oh, knitting! Right.  Here's what I bought.



JoAnne Sensations was on sale, buy one get one 50% off.  That was pretty sweet! The color reminds me of my mom... maybe she'll get some socks for Christmas (snort! Yeah right!)

I also bought them because I would like to have a project to blog about.  I'm not sure about the blogability of my current design venture (as soon as I know, you will, trust me :) ) and the next knit in line is NOT blogable, which will be hard.  So, I'd like to have SOMETHING to talk about.

A Post Full of Hedgehogs

To recap: This is what we added to Lotus's cage a couple of nights ago.

And here are all of the cute pictures of her playing around in it!

I especially like these two. Can you find the hedgie?

I would totally recommend doing this.  It's was relatively cheap, (the plastic fishbowl was only $1.50, the bedding was kind of expensive but we will probably use shredded paper in the future) and Lotus is so happy about it!

Worth the money? I'd like to hear your opinion!

Plus, we have been having some sanitary problems (we don't use a litter box, the cage is just too small) with Lotus ending up sleeping in her own business! Nobody wants that for their hedgehog, and we change the paper in her cage every day, but she just does a lot of  ... business. Now, where she sleeps is completely different from where she goes to the bathroom, so we won't have that problem!

The downside of the whole thing is, if she goes in, we have to wait for her to come out! I guess if we really needed her, we could take the beddign out and "dump" her out... but that would make a rather angry hedgehog.  We're developing a way to lure her out involving meal worms... we'll see.

Lotus's new floor plan

Anyway, this was definitely my crafty thing of the week (though, I admit, it was mostly W's idea.)

My Random Monday - The 17-Hour Monday

1. I feel like I've been up forever.  Really, I've just been up since 7 this morning.

2. I'm starting to feel more at home in my apartment.  The assimilation process has been slow, but there was a huge skip forward with the addition of this:

It's a hutch donated kindly by the lovely Rebecca.  Thaaaankkks :)

3. I did manage to do a lot today.  I went to all of my classes (They all meet on Monday and Wednesday, what an inconvenient coincidence), cooked dinner, met a ferret, baked banana bread, and hung out with Lotus.

4. Apparently this

is like Chuck-E-Cheez for hedgehogs.  W and I have been taking part in "Lotus Recreation Projects" to give Lotus different things to do.  When we were in Petco over the weekend, we saw this bedding.

We snatched it up and a cheap fishbowl and the rest is history.  Lotus loves it, and I have a lot of cute pictures. I know that she can get out of her bedding box... but she doesn't want to.

5. I think I'm going to have to make a separate post of cute Lotus in a box pictures.

6. Knitting? Oh, yeah, this is my current thing:

I was going to start it on Friday, but the skeins totally tangled up on me, and I required the assistance of W to untangle them.  There was much cursing, crying, and gnashing of teeth.  It all ending with me whining "Yarn swift... WHY DON'T I HAVE A YARN SWIFT!?"

The Pitter Patter

So, last week I found out that W's sister is going to be having a little boy or girl! I'm super, super excited for her, but also a little nervous, because I really want to knit something amazing for W's new niece or nephew.

I browsed Ravelry and looked all over for cute things. When I asked W's sis what she wanted she just said "Surprise Me."

I feel like I'm going to be getting into a Knit Princess situation (read the story here if you don't follow the comic) wherein I will end up with a huge box of baby things that will be incredibly ridiculous and embarrass the entire family.

So, I'm going to try and not flip out and make a truckload of baby items. I'm going to make a list. I'm going to come back to the list and make one thing at a time. I'm not going to knit solely baby items for three months. Promise. For real.  Mostly because I have other things to knit for people!

Anyway, here's the list!

Bunny by Jess Hutchinson: I think that this will be super cute, and definitely gender neutral :) Who doesn't want a bunny!

A Log Cabin Baby Blanket: A good idea, but I want to make sure I have a TON of time to make this. It could be very mindless. (I would follow the tutorial here)

Tiny Tea Leaves Cardigan: Okay, I admit, I saw this on another blog, (Grumperina) and it's super cute! It's kind of girly, though.

Converse Baby Booties: Defintely gender-neutral :) And totally adorable!

Cleo Kitten Slippers : I showed these to W, and he said that it was too feminine. But I really want to make them! I guess I can always start if I find out it's a girl :)

Also, Down Cloverlaine has some AWESOME Bib Patterns, my favorite though is this one:  (You may remember her for her sweet mod of my kitten mittens.)

When I went to the yarn shop today after lunch with Ash and Rebecca, I couldn't help but look at the yarn and think about baby stuff! I picked out two skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash :) I think that these two colors are very neutral, and they'll make a cute set!

I think maybe the converse baby booties and this cardigan, called Little Coffee Bean.

I can't wait to make these! First, though, I need to finish up my projects that I've promised off to people. *sigh* Oh, knitting!

How to Make Iced Tea- Cheap and Easy!

So I mentioned on Monday my killer iced tea... So I thought that I'd post up a tutorial! More after the jump.

My Random Monday

1.  The club fair went really well! We got over 75 people onto the mailing list! I hope they don't all come to the meeting Tuesday... it'll get crowded!

2.  Today was the first day of classes, and I feel kind of overwhelmed.  Being overwhelmed, with no time to knit, is not fun! Hopefully after this week things will fall in place... but probably I'll just keep saying that until the end of school :/

3. People like my blog! Rachel S wrote a post about my other (older) blog, Knit Me! and it's really flattering! I think it's the first time I've been mentioned on the internet :)

4. I made iced tea today and it was really good.  Must make blog post about it.

5. I am REALLY tired.  And I need to finish a project tomorrrow! All nighter on the first night of the school year? Sure.

6. Did I mention that I'm really excited to be back to school!?

Remember this?

Hey internet! A while back I test knit these fingerless gloves and had an awesome time doing so. Well, the pattern is here!

The great photoshopped picture.

It's available as a free ravelry download, so if you're interested but don't have ravelry, click here to get yourself a copy of the .pdf :)

Posing with what I was reading.

I want to say that I didn't design these gloves or write the pattern, but I have a place in my heart for them and for the totally adorable designer, Ara.

A not so good picture of the super comfy gusseted thumb!

Enjoy!

(Oh, yes, I'm posting on this blog instead of my shiny new blog because this one still gets more pageviews... fickle, I know, but that's the way the world turns? Make sure to join me on Alyoops! for more about Lotus, my designing, and non-amigurumi knits!)

Defcon 4 1/2

Image from here

So last night, I had this dream.  In it, I was standing at an empty table at the club fair (which is tomorrow).  People were walking by and ignoring me.  I felt pretty confused as to why they were walking by and not (at least) stopping to admire some of Hooks and Needles's fine samples (I have the Kitten Mittens, Baby hats from last year, samples from the Hooks and Needles's pattern book...)

Then, I turned around, and I noticed that I didn't in fact have any of the samples.

I had forgotten them.  The table was empty.  I didn't even have the nifty sign-up sheet that people sign up to the mailing list on.

Then, I reach for my knitting and find that I've forgotten that, too.

And a voice echoes in my head "The Club Fair is tomorrow... tomorrow... tomorrow..."

And then I woke up and realized that, in fact, I have forgotten all of my sample designs... D'OH.  This is what happens when you give away 80% of what you knit and put the other 20% in a box in a closet at your Dad's house.

Image from here

Thankfully Ash has most of the club stuff, and I didn't have to forget EVERYTHING. Anyway, I'm going to rush and try to make things look very nice while I work on them tomorrow.

What I'm Doing Wrong in my Life (aka How Not to Design a Knit Toy)

I'm having one of those days where I'm thinking - WTF. Why am I doing what I'm doing? Why do I keep doing what I'm doing? It works, but it's stressful. Not fun.

Classes are starting soon, and I'm having a lot of fun cooking delicious things for anyone that shows up at my apartment ;) I have all the textbooks I need, know where my classrooms are, and all-in-all don't need to worry about anything in my life.

Except knitting.

**Here are a few lessons for those of you who may ever decide to design a knit toy. These tips will absolutely, positively maximize your stress during the design process.

1.  When writing a pattern, be sure to write as much as you can in completely different places.  Make sure that you use different colored pens, different sized papers, and do NOT number your sheets.  That way, when you drop them on the floor, you will get to put your notes together like a puzzle! This will be a welcome break from knitting.

Find above: Notebook A, Notebook B, Field Sketchbook, and the back of a Vogue Magazine.

2.  When you need to pick up multiple sets of stitches (for arms or legs) make sure NOT to look ahead to see if you have enough room for that last pair of legs.  One side will work out perfectly the same as the other, of course, always.

If you can guess what I'm making... I'll be seriously impressed, then a little annoyed.

(2.1  When in the early stages of the design process, make sure you add as many repeat parts as possible.  Tentacles, legs, arms, antennae, wings, leaves, and flowers are good examples.)

3.  Make sure that you design this toy on a deadline, as part of a swap.  If you stress out about deadlines, you will stress out 100 times more at the thought of some person awaiting for your package to arrive, in vain, since you aren't done yet.

4. Also, make sure that person lives as far away as possible to you.  Like, maybe, Alaska.

5. Then make that person really, really nice and understanding. Guilt multiplier!

6. Then, decide that you really need to knit a hat.

But it's so mindless! And someone asked me to make it! And I was supposed to make it weeks ago!

... So, if you take everything from the double asterisk (**) to here, you have how to design, the Alyssa way! Now I need to get back to work... =_=

Have a good weekend though, really, seriously, do!

My Random Monday - O-Week.

1. O is for oreintation, not for something else. Get your minds out of the gutter!

2. I am super tired, and have made knitting progress but none I can show off because it's supposed to be SECRET.

3. Everyone that has seen me knitting today knows the secret.

4. During my move, my basil plant got knocked over.  I was hoping that it would be okay, but today my hopes were dashed.  Look at it!!

5. I also tried to start a new WIP, but this happened.

6. Also, my favorite 50 cent pants have been ruined.

Thanks, mom, for having an angry and vengeful cat with a full bladder.

7. My feet feel really swollen and hurt :(

8. Other than all that, today went pretty awesome!! I met a lot of people and got a lot of bug bites.  And I'm pretty tired... Good night :)

Moving! Almost Done!

So, yesterday I checked in to my shiny new apartment at UC.  I really like it here, except for maybe the shelves being too high and the microwave being too high and some of the cupboards being too high, but I'm pretty used to that since I'm too short. 

The one minus is that I had to cut my stash down from the usual tub of yarn-y goodness...

To this.  One blue duffel bag which fits my needle box and yarn.

Granted, this will probably supply me with all the yarn for all the projects I want to do in my queue in the next 12 weeks... but STILL.  What if something comes up? My parents aren't going to overnight "that gray alpaca sock yarn" to me.  A birth certificate or passport, or some other essential... maybe. (Heck, probably not.  My parents are busy people! But I'd like to think...)

Other than lack of yarn-ness, I'm psyched for Honors Orientation tomorrow, since I'm an OM (Orientation Mentor).  Today was fancy meetings where we talked about leadership, which I missed half of due to drama.

Hopefully after this next week I can get a schedule in place that works for me and my housemates (none of which have moved in yet) but until classes start a week from Monday, I'm probably going to spend my free time relaxing, reading, and knittingunlessmyarmhurtsthenstopping.

The living room table is a good spot for my plants. Notice the mint? I feel like I just plucked a jar of leaves off two weeks ago... didn't I do that? They all grew back! So, I made fresh peppermint tea.

And it's delicious.