Keeping Up with the Kelley

Jen posted again after a while, so you know what that means...I have to post to try and keep up with her. Seriously, when she posts it reminds me I have a blog and should maybe write in it from time to time. I get discouraged after a while because I know this blog won't become something huge like YarnHarlot or something, but 'eh. At the very least it organizes my knitting thoughts. So let the organization begin...

Last night I finished a cowl for Lauren and it made me wonder what other projects I have lying around unfinished. So I took stock and realized there are a lot. This doesn't even count the items I've promised people and haven't cast on yet. These are projects on the needles/hooks and languishing in baskets and bags around my apartment.

Jen's '70s Sweater started in...oh...2011?

My spinning...started in 2013?

Super secret fingerless gloves started 2014.

Capelet for Mary started 2014.

Stole for me started 2014

Mountain afghan started 2014.

Megan's skyp socks started 2013.

Bellatrix test knit started 2014.

Plus size sweater started 2014

So there we go. There may be one or two more hiding in the craft room but this is the bulk of it. Now the big question...what to finish?

Cold Librarians Need Warm Cats

I decided I wanted to knit a sock that wasn't evil. So I cast on a new pattern. So far so good (minus the part where I forgot to kfkbkf on the increase row so I was way below stitches and had to rip out over an inch of my work). I really like the pattern (cables...yum) and the needles. And Bubba likes it too. 

Bubba's sexy pose.

Then I got cold. 

So I decided to cast on a sweater for myself. Yes. Myself. The last plus size sweater attempts did not end well for anyone. So I'm using good needles, fabulous yarn (Cascade 220 Peruvian Wool <3), and I'm using a pattern from my Plus Size Knits book that I bought a million years ago. I'm on my way, sweater. Be ready to be toasty come...June?

Who doesn't love turquoise ribbing?

Bekky Tested, Bubba Approved.

Something Productive

Okay, I'd like to point out that I'm anything but original. Jen started up her knitting blog again and made into a spinning/knitting blog because she's just that caliber of awesome. I'm not. But since she revitalized her blog, I figured I should follow in her footsteps and do the same. What can I say? She inspires me.

I'm not sure why I stopped posting. Maybe because things got too hectic. I graduated, moved back to Drummond, worked at APIS for two months, then moved to Iowa. That's a lot in two months. So I didn't have time for knitting. In fact, I think I've only completed two or three projects in the last six months. Which is pathetic. But I also have other reasons for lack of inspiration. My father passed away in October (the morning after my 27th birthday...birthdays suck) so I've been going to Northern Wisconsin and Peotone and Milwaukee and every which way the last couple months (I can't believe it'll be two months this 15th). The grief hasn't made me especially keen on my usual hobbies. But, I want to get back to knitting because when I do and when I work a pattern I love and when I'm watching something lovely and Jane Austen-y or Downton Abbey-y I almost feel normal again.

So let me tell you about my job, because it's pretty spectacular. Well, spectacular for a recent grad anyway. I'm incredibly lucky to be offered a job doing exactly what I hoped to do: Reference & Instruction. That's my title btw...Reference & Instruction Librarian. Doesn't that just make you smile? It makes me smile. I'm in North Iowa in a little town called Forest City at a little college named Waldorf College. It's about the size of Northland which I'm thankful for because it allows me get a well-rounded experience rather than just being a one-trick pony. When it comes time for me to move on, working at a small library will work in my favor. I'll be able to present myself as flexible and experienced. I work with a great group of people. My director is a riot and wonderfully supportive. I get to try new things, learn, fumble, and make a difference (hopefully). The campus is quiet and it has that small, campus family feel. Even though I'd only been here less than three months when my dad passed away, the outpouring of support and love was heartwarming. That's how I know I'm at a good place.

I started a knitting group on campus: The Knit Wits of North Iowa. It's an open community group and we meet in the library every other Thursday night. I was hoping more students would be involved, but it's still early. Maybe we can gather some more interest next semester. The library team was really supportive of me starting this group and we have a good 5-6 people who regularly attend. Everyone's really friendly and it keeps me on my toes. The first night I had to teach two people how to left-hand crochet. Thank God for Google.

Projects. Well. I kind of gave up on the New Years Resolution thing. Maybe I'll finish one project per year until I'm all caught up. That's the rate I'm going. Not even that rate really. I'm not done with Andrew's Socks.

It's still mostly a Soc...I have to finish the gusset and the foot and the toe. And then the other sock. Maybe I should try knitting English and see if that makes the pattern any easier. It's the twists that get me down. My tension is so tight that it's hard to get my needle under the stitch for the left and right twists. Which makes up the bulk of the pattern. Yay. They're pretty though.

I did a test knit to try and get me out of my funk. I figured having a deadline would help. I made Halona by Allison LoCicero. I chose simple colors and really enjoyed the edging. And I love the wingspan because I'm fat. It can actually wrap around my shoulders. :)

I also made a lace shawl, Cassiope by Alexandra Beck, in my beautiful fall yarn that I got at Yarn Harbor in Duluth, MN with Madeline. (Yarn Harbor is one of my favorite yarn stores. What more could I ask for? Yarn and Lake Superior!)

So I'm really into shawls lately. I'm thinking of starting some mittens for Jen and/or Mary's capelet which is kind of like a shawl.

So what's on my knitting needles? Well. Andrew's Socks. A stoll  from Loops & Threads in my beautiful forest green graduation yarn. And I still have a sweater on my hook for Jen. I hit a road block months and months ago and never figured it out. I should look at it again and call Megan, my go to crocheter.

That's probably enough for tonight. I'll try to post more regularly. It'll give me something to do anyway and maybe it'll help get me out of this funk.

Moving On...

So I haven't updated in a while. A few reasons for my absence include lack of knitting mojo, comps, school, work, and the intense desire to sleep. To sum it up, I have last-semester-itis. You'll be happy to hear I passed my comprehensive exams despite the awful questions and the complete void of comprehensive ability needed to complete them. Now that it's over...I have no ambition for anything else. I'm finding it incredibly difficult to work on other projects, papers, and anything school related. I do go to work. Mainly because I need the money and I can read a novel in between helping patrons. My hope is that the weeks will blur together and before you know it I'll wake up and it'll be May 19th (the day I graduate). In the mean time, I have to pass my classes so I work on stuff as needed.

Unfortunately, my lack of school motivation has crossed over into my knitting life. I completed all but one Christmas gift (I hate that hat) and I have yet to give Emma her gift (it's on my couch waiting to be wrapped). So I've moved on to the second part of my New Year's Resolution: gifts I've promised to people. You'll remember that the list is long and diverse. And there's no rhyme or reason for the order of the making of these gifts. So I cast on Andrew's socks a couple nights ago. He wanted a dark red and grey yarn and despite all the websites I searched, I couldn't find one that fit that description. I thought I found one, so I bought it but when I received it (in like 2 days, go Jimmy Bean Wool!) it was more red and purple so I lamented for a bit then put it away in my stash for a pair of socks for yours truly. (Why let the yarn go to waste?) When Jen was in town, we went to Ruhama's in Whitefish Bay and found a lovely dark red and blue yarn that reminded me of Andrew and his red plaid shirts. To add a touch of grey, when I was in Duluth at Yarn Harbor I got a lovely skein of grey yarn to use for the cuffs, heels, and toes. I wasn't sure how it was going to look at first, but now that I have an inch of the grey cuff and a few rounds of the red/blue skein I kind of like it. Hopefully Andrew will too.

I also started Jen's 1977 McCall's sweater with the yarn I bought last spring. I really like the pattern because it's simple and I can watch copious amounts of I Love Lucy while working on it. I do have to change colors every few rows, but that's alright. I do not have enough yarn though. I blame the amounts given...it's amazing how different instructions were written just 30 or 40 years ago. I'll be making a trip to Michael's soon to pick up more yarn despite Jen's suggestion to use the yarn I have lying around. I want it to be cohesive and I'm not that creative when it comes to colors. I don't have an eye for them like some of my other friends who are extremely artistic. (I always thought it was interesting how impressed people are when I show them something I've knit. It's really just a skill. I don't design the pattern and I simply pick colors I like to use in the pattern.) Hopefully it goes well.

That's all the knitting news I have for you. I'll try to keep you posted as things progress. Happy Yarn Folks!

Pride & Prejudice + Sock Knitting = Happy Bekky

Guess what!? I finished the sweater! It took a lot of time, frogging, knitting, freaking out texts to Jen, and movies to complete it. I'm happy with how it turned out, though I am worried about the fit. I'll send the sweater to Memo this week and once she has it, she can have her boyfriend take pictures of her wearing it. Wanna see it? I know you do...

Isn't it lovely? I really like how the cowl turned out. I still think it's inside out, but it was one of those occasions where all was well. Mistakes can turn out okay. Lesson learned.

So now what am I going to knit now that this sweater is done? The red cowl? Yes, but I'm pretty sure it's an unwritten rule that once a knitter finishes a project she has to start another despite how many WIPs are collecting dust. I know a lot of knitters who will corroborate this. So instead of doing homework, working out, or anything remotely productive I pulled out some sock yarn, my Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave book, and set out to start some beautiful lace socks. Did you catch it? One lil super important piece is missing...needles! I knit socks using the Magic Loop method (DPNs are annoying. (Oh, right...DPNs=Double Pointed Needles) For more information on Magic Loop see http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/magic-loop). I use Addi Turbo size 2 circular needles. They are my joy, my salvation, my dream come true! Sadly, I left them in Northern Wisconsin. At least that's my theory since I tore my room apart looking for them. So I settled for my Harmony Wood needles from KnitPicks. They're pretty and rainbow, but I haven't had great success when it comes to knitting socks. My guess is because certain yarns catch on wood needles and my tension is rather tight. I decided to give it a try regardless since I was desperate to start these socks. I'm using Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Weight yarn (50% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Rayon made from Bamboo, and 25% Nylon) in a beautiful variegated purple or "violas" as they call it. It's going well so far. This is my day in a nutshell:

Nothing like knitting socks and some Pride & Prejudice. The good one with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle *swoon*. I have about an inch done on the socks, but I should stop since I have some homework to finish for class tomorrow. I wish I were independently wealthy so I could just knit all day. Oh well. Such is life.

In other news, Jen's coming to Milwaukee this weekend! She recently moved to Chicago and I bugged her to come visit me before I head back to Northern Wisconsin for the summer. I can't wait to knit and drink beer at the bar like the good ol' days. Until then...keep knitting!

Fairy Tale Friday the 13th

Guess what everyone? It's Friday the 13th! Spooky. Anyway, you'll feel some type of emotion (sad, thrilled, unmoved, etc.) to hear that I have not completed the cowl of the sweater. Homework, drinking, and The Hunger Games trilogy have interfered with my attempts. There is a little story of tribulation that goes with the cowl. Allow me to indulge you...so once upon a time there was this beautiful blue sweater that the dark haired librarian was knitting for her dear friend, Memo. Now the librarian worked hard on the sweater for several months. Finally, she was at the part of the beautiful ribbed and open ribbed cowl. She knit and purled and yarn overed and clicked the needles until she had 9 beautiful inches. She gazed at her work lovingly only to realize that the cowl was inside out! The WS (wrong side) was facing outwards! Surely a mischievous gremlin switched the knitting during the night for how could have the fair librarian made such a grievous mistake? She shook the needles towards the sky vowing revenge! After a cup of tea and the comfort of her yarn side kick, Rajah the cat, she decided to fix this most terrible of knitting woes. She started ripping, despite the protests of the Knitting Goddess Jen, and frogged 2 inches of the open rib pattern leaving the 7.5 inches of rib pattern. Carefully she placed the stitches back onto the needles and knit a row. Then she started to knit the open rib pattern so when the cowl was finished the WS of the rib pattern would show on the RS (right side) and the open rib pattern would have the RS facing. She worried about the aesthetic quality of the sweater, what Memo would say, how others would judge her knitting skills. She sought the approval of the Knitting Goddess and she bestowed her blessings. Then she asked the fair Kayla, Keeper of the Kitten Gus, and she praised the change. Megan, the beautiful and talented crochet librarian, also gave her support. And here we are today...the cowl half completed and safely guarded against gremlins. It happens in knitting...we can only learn from our mistakes and frog it. And that, dear friends, is the triumphant tale of the librarian and the cowl. Let's hope I have enough time to finish it this weekend so that I can finally start on those socks! I have less than a month to knit them up.

In other news, I'm reading The Hunger Games trilogy and I'll admit I was a bit hesitant about it. Sometimes, and I'm ashamed to admit this, my inner English nerd gets a lil snobbish and says "puh" to YA fiction. Which is ridiculous since I read books that could hardly be considered great pieces of literature. So I was on Amazon and found the first book, The Hunger Games, on sale for $5. Okay. Read it in a day or two then bought the second book, Catching Fire, on Tuesday and I'm almost done with it. It's really interesting. I have not read a lot of dystopian literature, but I find it most intriguing. Mainly because I'm cynical and angsty towards our current society. Anyway, I highly recommend it. I want to see the movie that just came out too...any takers?

Well, that's all that's new on the knitting front. I'll keep you posted on how things go for our fairy tale sweater.

Bunny Cake, Sweaters, and National Library Week

Good morning! (Don't worry, I'm not usually this perky in the morning.) I hope you all had a lovely weekend -- a lovely Easter/Passover/Peep holiday. My weekend was rather chill. I went to an Orphan Easter party at my friends' place complete with ham, and cheesy potatoes, and deviled eggs, and cupcakes and every good alcoholic thing. I made a bunny cake for the event. I don't think Duff from "Ace of Cakes" will hire me anytime soon, but it was funfetti, delicious, and well liked by all. Our Orphan Easter party was originally going to feature that epic of tales, The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston. Instead we watched Ghost Busters and Tales from the Crypt, which I honestly don't remember being so sexual. But then again, I was between 3 and 10 years old when it aired. I didn't get home until 3ish (I know, I'm such a party animal).

The next day I managed to wake up after 8 hours of sleep which is partially a miracle because I usually get grumpy with only 9 hours of sleep. It was a gorgeous day with the sun shining and birds chirping that I started to feel guilty about staying inside. Judy and I went for a lovely 3-mile walk along the Milwaukee River. Brisk and refreshing! When we returned home I picked up my knitting, of course. I finished the strange rib pattern for the cowl and just completed the first row of the yarn over pattern when I noticed I didn't end on the right number of stitches. So in a bit here, I'm going to rip it and see where I went amiss. Here's a fun fact for you knitters that I didn't know until I worked on this sweater: yfwd (yarn forward) is the same as yo (yarn over). Yarn forward is the British term for a yarn over. It drove me nuts when I first started this pattern because I didn't know what a yfwd was. I thought it was when you bring the yarn to the front, but you usually only do that to purl or slip a stitch. Thanks to the magic of Google (yes, librarians use Google) I found a page that explained this English to English translation conundrum. I'm hoping to finish knitting the cowl tonight so I can assemble it tomorrow. I want it completed so I can send it off to Memo while there are still some chilly days before summer.

Oh, I also remembered another WIP I forgot to mention. BFFFL blanket! Jen is my BFFFL (Best, Friends, Forever, For Life) and we thought it would be an awesome idea to create a blanket knit by the both of us. So we're both knitting squares: different patterns, different colors for each two squares. For example, I knit 2 6x6 squares with cables using a lovely blue worsted weight yarn. I kept one square and I sent the other to Jen. She'll (one of these days) knit some squares and keep one and send the other to me. By the time we're done, we'll be 64 and have enough squares to create a patchwork blanket knit by both of us. It's kind of cutesy but a good remnant buster. I've only made two squares. I blame work and school for not giving me enough time to devote to my knitting excursions.

But I'm off today, I just have to head to campus for an hour or so to help out at a table display to show off National Library Week! That's right! It's an entire week to celebrate the wonderful things your library does for the community and the world! Check out the American Library Association (ALA) site celebrating libraries: http://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek After tabling, I hope to get home and work on that cowl and if I have enough time, I want to CO (cast on) a pair of socks. We'll see how it goes. To all of you I wish you a Happy Library Week filled with book scent and shhhing!