Picture of Knit night!

Nepenthe has put up a pic of our hard core groupies! Yay! I look like a total fruitcake in that picture. Yes, finals suck.

And she is too kind about my help with the sock. I'm the one who put her smack dab in the middle of the quagmire in the first place- sent her happily down the sock trail with a pattern for short row heel. Um, I don't have a *@$#@# clue how to do short rows, much less in heel form. Great friend I am! I'm so glad she figured it out!

And yes, I finished the ribbed hat for my nephew last night. That was 2 days. And I'm starting on the one for his dad. Photos... eventually.

Last final is TODAY at 1:30. All I have to say is....
YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~!

Revised bobble opinion

So there's a woman who comes to our knit night that has amazing cabled sweaters (all purchased, alas, but she's getting there...) Tonight's sweater had... bobbles. Now, on HER, they looked ok. But they were sparse and off to the side. No chance of looking like misplaced nipples. So I'm revising my opinion. Like N said in her comment to the last post- bobbles aren't all bad, I just don't want any on ME.

Knit night was good. N began to turn her first heel. I think she's hooked. SO SORRY I was worthless on the short row heels! N also brought her camera and took a picture of the small group tonight- watch for it on her blog!

I'm in a fog. Still haven't gotten much done for torts. And yet, here I am, AGAIN....

Bobbles- what the....?

I'm looking at the tea cozy. Natch. What else would I be doing-- studying for torts? Bah!

I don't get bobbles. I think they look silly. I don't understand the allure. The ONLY thing I have ever liked that had bobbles was a nifty poncho my 8 year old cousin wore when she was here. It was bright red and had little white bobbles scattered over it. Really cute. FOR AN 8 YEAR OLD. I just can't see myself wearing anything with bobbles. Yikes.

YAY! 3 FGs!

Yes, that's FINISHED GIFTS!



First up is the brother scarf. I found the pattern (and got the yarn idea) from Creazativity. I used 3 balls of Lion Brand Landscapes, and ya know what, I think it's great. So there.

Next up are the socks for the Texas beau! I think these turned out great. I hope he likes them.

Finally, the tea cozy from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. It ain't cashmere, as the pattern calls for, but it's still lovely. I used some Brown Sheep worsted superwash that was in the stash. YAY!

Finals are going really, really well. I freaked out yesterday about crim, but I feel like it went really, really well today. And it's OVER! Torts on Thursday is all that's left. As The Little Engine that Could used to say... "I think I can...I think I can... I think I can...."

Almost there....

YIKES! Finals!

One down, 3 more to go. I actually feel REALLY good about my contracts exam yesterday.

I keep thinking I should take the time to share some deep thoughts with you. Not today.

Knitting progress-pictures eventually, I promise.

I finished a really cute tea cozy for my friend K for Christmas. Pattern was in Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

I ran out of yarn on the manly socks! Damn! I still have 3 inches to go, too. Guess I'd better go buy another ball...

Am 2/3 of the way done with the Herringbone scarf for my bro...

That's it! See you in a week when I am DONE with finals!

Knitting is the best procrastination...

Classes ended Tuesday. WOOHOO! So Wednesday was Jenny's day of hair- got highlights and a haircut. I go to different people for each, and they both HATE it. Hehehe. Anyway, had to go to Santa Fe for the cut and I FINALLY got 2 extra balls of DB Cashmerino Aran in off white for the Cherry scarf. Hurray!

Dad called with some exciting news today- he is marrying his girlfriend of 6 years, which is GREAT. She is an amazing woman and frankly, I'm amazed it too him this long to get his act together.

My birthday is Monday. YAY! My friend Katie threw a little birthday/end of school party last night- we had a slumber party! It was pretty darn fun. Pizza, wine, manincures, and 80s John Hughes movies.

What with finals approaching at an alarming rate, I'm doing suprisingly little studying and suprisingly lots of knitting. I turned the hell (doh! I mean heel!) on the second boy sock. I knit a few inches on the cherry scarf. I'm still plugging away on the tea cozy and scarf gifts. Criminal Law? bah! Contracts? Whatever! Torts? Who cares?!?!?

Um, I care. I guess I should get to work...

SNOW!

It's actually snowing here! Woohoo! Too bad I can't stay home and knit!

Socks!

What is it about me and socks right now? SHEESH. The desire to knit socks kicked in right after the election and still has me firmly in its grip.

Last week the Yarn Harlot wrote a tribute to Nancy Bush. Since I am a Harlot-wannabe, I dragged out my copy of Folk Solks after reading the Harlot gush over gussets.

You know what? She's right. I DO want to call the Harlot up to have a deep, meaningful conversation about gussets!

Anyway, I read through all the history and technical info in the book and am even more enamored with simple handknit footwear than I was before. I want to knit socks forever!

I'm waiting for the sock fever to pass.

Yes, I am still procrastinating on my homework. You are so lucky I have blooger. Otherwise, I'd be a straight-A student and you'd never hear from me.

Thank heavens it's Thanksgiving!

I have had a delightful couple of days. YAY! Pictures later in post...

First off, some things I am thankful for this year, in no particular order...

• Friends, new and old. Especially CC, my oldest friend- here's to another 14 years!!! (PS- update your blog!!!), N, my newest friend- yay knitting! and to Katie, who doesn't have a blog, but who is my law school buddy.
  
• The fact that the Texas beau seems to have come around. This time last year we were not in a great place and it's wonderful that we've both been able to open up a little bit. I feel very cherished, which is great.
  
• Being near my family. My Mom's brother and his family are in town from Michigan for the holiday and we have had a GREAT visit. I taught my aunt and my 8 year old cousin to knit. They're both monsters! My cousin is amazing- she picked it up really fast and has done NOTHING since. My aunt is astounding- every single stitch was perfect, even.... Incredible.
  
• Knitting time! See pictures later in post...
  
• Study time! I had an incredibly productive day yesterday and got a ton done on contracts. Which is why I'm writing to you now- I don't want to do the work I need to get done for tomorrow! :-)
  
• Family health. Mom is doing great, brothers are both in great shape. This is such a blessing given some of the bumps on our road in the last year or so.
  
• Finances. I'm so grateful that I haven't had to worry much about money this semester. Whew!
  
• Law school. I love it. So much better than my stinky old job. I feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be and it feels so great to be challenged and engaged!

So pictures....


Boy Sox. These are the Fluted Bannisters from the 6 sox knitalong. Have I mentioned yet that I love this pattern? It's stretchy, easy to remember, and just interesting enough that I'm still loving it, 1.3 socks later.



My socks. These are the Making Waves socks from the 6 sox knitalong in Lorna's Laces. Yes, they're loud. I like them. These are the socks I'm doing for the CABLE ALONG. Have you signed up yet????



And finally, a progress shot of the scarf I'm making for my brother. It's the Lion Brand Landscapes yarn, which is pretty darn cool. Pattern at Sheep In the City, found via Creazativity.
This is a great pattern that produces a really spiffy effect!

Anyway, I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend!

I think I have a cold.

That cruddy runny nose, cough, burning eyes achiness is going around the law school and I think I got it yesterday. YAY NYQUIL! I feel decent today and am about to take some DayQuil to get me through.

I turned the heel on the striped mansock, which is cool. The Fluted Bannister pattern calls for an "eye of partridge" heel, as opposed to whatever the normal slip stitched heel is called. The heel feels HUGE for some reason... Maybe it'll look better when the sock is done. Maybe the heel IS huge since these are men's socks... I dunno.

Anyway, it's a gorgeous day here. We had an insane electical storm last night and the sky today is crisp and clear.

Pictures! Of a finished object, even!

So, here she is:

I really like it.
Details:
Biker Jaacket from Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed book.
Yarn: Katia CotoLan, 50/50 cotton/wool blend.
Needles: Addi Turbo Circs, size 6.

I think the yarn was a bit too drapey for this jacket. Ah well. I worked the sweater at a smaller gauge and am just so relieved that it fits. Whew!

Other pictures:


Current state of my scribble lace scarf (which Mom doesn't want) and my sox.

Mom has decided that she would like a Charlotte instead of either of the scarves I originally planned to give her. DARN! Charlotte was only my all time favorite project. I'm sure making another will be as much fun if not more so!

Anyway, I'm at knitting night now. YAY! Perhaps I'll post a photo later....

FINISHED!

I finished my sweater this weekend! Hurrah! The zipper was a pain in the kiester to install. Can I just say, THANK HEAVENS for BONNE-MARIE! The lovely ChicKnits TEKTalk archive is an incredible resource. I relied heavily on her Zipper installation write up. THANKS, Bonne-Marie!

I do not have photos... Couldn't get a decent one to save my soul. Perhaps tomorrow?

Anyway, the jacket fits perfectly through the waist and is really, really comfortable.

In not so knitty news, finals are fast approaching. At this point, I'm kind of excited. Ask me again in a week how I feel about it.

I think I'm going to be cutting back on knitting and therefore on posting over the next couple weeks. Sorry! But, I AM paying out of state tuition for the priviledge of this suffering, so work with me....

Ooh! Ooh! A cable-along!

YAY! M is hosting a cable along! Hurray! Don't tell anyone, but I'm thinking of splurging on some more DB Cashmerino to make myself a cabled sweater. Just what I need, right????

Nuthin but socks.

I am a sockaholic right now. I know, a picture is worth a thousand words. Unless you're on a dialup connection.

So, I joined the 6 Sox Knitalong a few... months?... ago. Button/link to the left. And this week, in my memo manic moment, cast on for 2 pairs- one of the "making waves" in my hot pink and yellow Lorna's Laces, and one of the "fluted bannister" in a manly-toned sockotta.

I was really nervous that, like my previous attempts with the loud loud Lorna's yarn, I would hate the result. My other try looked like TV static in neon colors- not good. I realized that working on size 2s or 3s was producing a fabric I really didn't like- LOVE the look produced by size 1s. The Making Waves pattern is also perfect for this yarn. It uses cabling to create a really wavy diagonal look- quite cool. Anyway, it breaks up the TV-static like appearance and gives the skinny stripes great character. (Note: I just tried to take a picture but the color defies capturing- it looks like neon TV static.) Trust me- these socks will be great.

Just realized- both M is doing cables, too... Must be something in the water. I hope it's not related to her recent spate of pregnant friends...

I am in luuuuuurv with the fluted bannister socks. I'm making them for the Texas beau. This pattern looks so cool when completed. It's really, really, really easy to memorize, too, which is great. I also love that I can tell exactly where I left off without much pain just by reading the stitches. (Dang, someone, somewhere in blogland had an AWESOME post on this way back when. I want to say it was Yarn Harlot, but I can't seem to find the post....) Basically, by looking at which way the stitches are positioned on the needle, I can tell which row I'm supposed to be doing. It's pretty cool! I'm totally not explaining this well! Point is, this is good knitting for me right now because I can put it down and pick it back up without a hassle, I don't need to carry a pattern with me, it's really easy to do while focusing on something else, and the result looks pretty dang spiffy.

Some sock thoughts.
WOW, I bought a set of Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs- 6" length and I LOVE them. I was using 7" or 8" Clover bamboo needles before. The Crystal Palace needles have nice pointy tips, which makes working stitches in this insanely small gauge rather pleasant. Also, the 6" length makes working the sock way easier as there is a lot less needle to push through the stitches- the needles just sit in my hands much more comfortably, and switching between needles is much easier.

Another thing... I don't know what happened, but I am not having issues with ladders forming at the DPN joins... I used to have MAJOR trouble with this, and I can't figure out what changed. I'd say it was the shorter needles, but I'm using the older longer ones on the Lorna's socks and there are no ladders.... Hmmmm.

Phew!

Done with the stinky memo. Now the last push through finals. Yikes.

I missed knit night last night, and what a night to miss! M got some buttons from a fellow knit groupie. The groupie's sister has one of the best jobs on earth- apparently she gets to go into fabulous old houses in and around Chicago scouring for cool fixtures. She then rescues the fixtures for resale. The sister also scored the buttons that were shared at knit night last night.

No zipper on the Biker Jacket yet. The LYS is going to charge me $60 to put one in, and the woman sounded unsure if she could even do it. WHATEVER! I'll do my own hack job for free rather than let them mess up my sweater. My family friend who used to own a yarn store is apparently retired from finishing as well as feeding knitting habits.

I've started another pair of socks, this time for the Texas Beau for Christmas. He liked my rainbow socks so much it was a little startling...

I'm also taking M's suggestion of hitting an LYS while I'm up in Santa Fe on Friday morning for a few more balls of DB Cashmerino for my cherry scarf.

Mom and I went to TJ Maxx today and she bought me two killer sweaters. Alas, my birthday is in a few weeks so the sweaters are languishing in her closet until then. One is an offwhite fitted zippered cardigan with really, really cool flared cuffs. The other is my favorite- a blood red 100% cashmere cardigan with an asymetrical zipper. It is way cute, and VERY CUDDLY. I think I will live in this sweater.

Anyway, I am obviously feeling a bit more like my self now that this blasted memo is done. YAY!

Crap.

I only bought 2 balls of the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino for my scarf. 200 yards should do it, right?

WRONGO. I can tell you right now it ain't gonna be enough, and now my LYS is out of that color. CRAPOLA! I may have to frog and make something else out of the 2 balls I have... Dang dang dang.

Memo still sucks. Misery will be over at 5:00 Wednesday when the @#@%&$ is due.

Tee hee! Fun with Google and Statcounter...

I love Google.
I use StatCounter.com to track site stats and stuff. Great site.

Anyway, apparently my little rant about Christmas decorations emerging too early makes my blog the #1 Google hit for "outrageous christmas decor albuquerque."

My last post got me thinking about all my knitting failures. I knit 2 different socks that were both SO BAD that I ended up just throwing them away. I think I have learned a TON by jumping in to projects that are way over my head, muddling through, and then destroying the evidence. :-)

Anyway, freaking out about the memo. Catch me in a couple days and hopefully I'll be a tad more sane.

Miscellany

I finished the biker jacket! It is blocking as I speak! The only thing left to do is find someone to install a zipper...

I know I probably should have blocked all the pieces before I sewed them up, but I was so excited! I also felt relieved that I didn't have to face all that seaming- once I sewed on the last cuff, I was essentially done. Pre-blocking, it fit almost perfectly. The neck seems a little wide, which looks kinda strange with the moss stitch band, but oh well.

I really like seaming. On this sweater, I learned mattress stitch- stitch to stitch, row to row, stitch to row. I also had the challenge of seaming moss stitch trim to much smaller gauged stockinette stitch... Interesting.

Dragging this thing out of the washer (I spun it dry, didn't actually WASH it) was interesting, too. The wet fabric felt really delicate and stretchy- I hope it isn't too deformed! The yarn is Katia Cotolan, a 50/50 wool/cotton blend. I can't wait to see what it looks like when it dries. In hindisght, this yarn produced a fabric that is probably a bit drapey for the pattern. As a jacket, it should be somewhat sturdy and stiff, especially since the neckband is supposed to stand straight up. My version is much softer and really cuddly. I'm dying to see how the final product looks....

While this is my first COMPLETED sweater, this is not my first attempt. When I first started knitting, I decided to knit a sweater right off the bat. I picked a simple cardigan pattern, the cheapest Red Heart tweed yarn I could find, and off I went. Boy, was that an education.

First off, I had somehow started knitting through the back loop every stitch, twisting the stitches and making a much firmer fabric than intended. I also had a death grip on the yarn, leading to uber-tight gauge. I got through the back and I think one front before I was so disgusted I just gave up and threw it away.

Anyway, I'll post pictures of the utlimate finished zippered sweater as soon as it is totally complete- hopefully in a week or two.

Legal Memo. Sigh.

So, I'm in the middle of my first open research memo. I think my outline is pretty good. Actually, for the first issue, it's way too detailed. But I don't have a great grasp yet on what's important and what I can ditch. I need to just start writing now so I can get past the initial writer's block and get cranking. Once I have something on the page, I'll feel a lot better about it.

UPDATE: Only 6 hours later and I have a 12 page draft. WOOHOO! Having a really, really detailed outline helps me write relatively quickly. There was still some last minute research and futzing with organization, but the outline allowed me to more or less hunker down and write. I highly recommend writing a detailed outline that puts your thoughts in the right order.
For the record, I also spent about 45 minutes making dinner, and about 45 minutes on the phone to a friend. Not that you should care, but for some reason half an our per page seems kind of lame to me, so I'm fudging my numbers. So there.

Photos... At last!

Yay! Photos!



First, angora babie booties. I think these are just adorable. They're for a prego friend in Austin who is having a girl. They look kinda deformed- will try to correct that before shipping them off... I only have 2 babies to knit for- I hope I don't face a deluge like poor M, who has had 5 friends in 4 weeks announce their prenancies....

Second, the FO! My Squiggle scarf- love love love it. The colors here seem pretty accurate....

Third, the jacket with waistband. I need to finish up the neckband and cuffs, then sew snaps on the band points and get that zipper installed. Almost there... Don't know what the heck is going on in this photo- the color and definition are bad bad bad. Oh well.

Finally, no picture, but I started the cherry scarf. I won't bother posting photos because it's just a white garter stitch rectangle- how boring is that? I will say, however, that I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurv the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. It feels wonderful in my hands- very very soft and a little squooshy. It also has a slight sheen to it- the knit fabric is really nice. I will definitely want to use this again and again and again and again.

In other news, some fellow law students (including one who came to knit night!!!) and I are going to Amerasia for a dim sum lunch. I do love dim sum, and I do love Amerasia.

After Amerasia, I need to get back to healthy body patterns. I've gained 4 pounds since August. Not appalling, but not a good trend. I had lost almost 30 and want to get down to about 150, 155. This is by no means a supermodel weight, but it is 10 pounds smaller than I was in high school. That means, as of today, I have 14-19 pounds to go. I can so do this! I know South Beach is a way of eating that is healthy and that I can do- it's really enjoyable, actually. And it works for me. I also need to start working out again. Good stress relief. Plus, after my knee surgery in 2000, I need the leg strength if I want to ski this winter, which I DO! I DO! So, my goal is to eat South Beach style both days this weekend, and to get in at least 30 minutes of cardio.

I also need to get cracking on my open research memo, due Weds. I have some good cases and a few more to read. I think I'm almost ready to start drafting. I cannot allow myself to sit down and knit during the day- must save it for a reward for the work I need to get done!

Um... I bought more yarn yesterday.

Yep, a little consolation stash enhancement.

I decided that 1 ball of the squiggle and oceana whatever stuff was enough for my scarf, so I returned the second balls of each for a $20 credit. With that credit, and some minor additional cash outlay, I bought 2 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in off-white to make a cherry scarf for ME and 2 balls of pink Belangor Angora to make the Angora babie booties from "Last Minute Knitted Gifts." The booties are freakin adroable. I'm also making a bonnet with bunny ears attached lined with the pink angora. That's my plan, anyway.
So, 2 balls of cashmerino and 2 balls of Belangor, minus a $20 credit. Not TOO bad, considering that it was the day after the election. I didn't even eat everything in sight, either. So there.

I finished the waist band for my Biker Jacket while watching election returns and am about to cast on for the neck band.

I do have a real, legitimate FO, though- I finished the Squiggle scarf last night!!! I need to pick the wormies out of the knit fabric and weave in ends... Plan to wear it tomorrow.

Yes, I recognize that I am now WAY past due on some photos... Perhaps tomorrow?

And now for an off-topic rant.

WHY, oh WHY is Christmas stuff up already? It's hardly past Halloween! I am offended that eBay has already broken out the Christmas decor. I am offended that Starbucks has already started with the holiday cups and the Peppermint Lattes. (Which I LOVE, for the record).

Christmas, in my mind, is wonderful because it is over the top and outrageous. Decoration, food, cheer, magic... All good things. But these things are special because they occur for 3 weeks of the year in December. Starting Christmas in mid-October makes the whole affair tiresome and boring.

So bah humbug!

Yikes...

There are LOTS of 1Ls or others looking for information about how to write a legal memo. More people, at any rate, than are interested in knitting. Sigh.

All of you people looking for memo writing tips- SORRY! You will probably be very disappointed by what I have to say on the topic. In case you haven't noticed, this is primarily a knitting blog.

Anyway, knit night tonight was good.

I am now nervously watching election returns while pretending to research for my... legal memo!

A very knitty patriot...

I voted this morning. I wore my Charlotte around my neck as a big scarf and took the waistband of my biker jacket with me and knit for an hour and some change in line. I got LOTS of comments, all positive. The guy behind me was convinced he could sell Charlotte's for $500 each... Um, not so sure. But it was nice to get such positive reinforcement!

HAVE YOU VOTED YET? If not, WHY ARE YOU READING THIS??? GO VOTE!

Knit night is tonight for all you Albuquerque knitters...
Tuesday Nights
Winnings Coffee Shop
111 Harvard SE (across from the University of Central)
5:30 - 7 ish.

Not a stitch.

No knitting. Zip. Zilch. Zero.

BUT, I did get an e-mail about my memo post from a fellow 1L- GOOD LUCK on your paternity memo due today!

I have FINALLY started the research for my open memo, and the @#$($*@^ Westlaw printer keeps jamming. I think I'm going to give up for the day and head home. I have plenty of cases to read as it is.

Had a wonderful weekend with the Austin guy. Kinda confusing, actually. He was amazing- he is REALLY WORKING on all the things I pointed out as bothering me about the relationship, which is great! But he's there, I'm here... He is looking for jobs here, but so far it's not looking good. I guess we'll just see how it goes. Looks like the next visit will be over Christmas, as Thanksgiving is right before finals and is therefore a bad idea. At any rate, it was great to see him and it felt really good to be able to talk about things.

Pooped.

I. am. so. TIRED.

I spent all weekend learning how to write a brief and then writing one so that I could be the ONLY 1L to apply for Moot Court. I didn't get much sleep.

I found out last night that the administration won't let me participate in moot court. Sigh. Lots of hours that I should have been working on other stuff, down the drain.

So I started to work on my research memo, which is what I SHOULD have been working on all weekend. Lost track of time last night, went to bed around 1, forgot to set my alarm clock.

I was nevertheless alarmed when my poor friend K was tapping on my bedroom window at 6:45... we had agreed to go to the gym. Oy.

Very jolting wake up call, half hearted wake up, and not NEARLY enough coffee.

But my Texas beau is coming to visit this weekend! Long story- basically trying to figure out if he should move out here to be with me, which is exciting and scary all at the same time.

Needless to say, not much knitting going on.

Now THAT's progress.

Alas, no pictures.
I picked up my dreaded sleeves last Thursday and lo! it was time to start the cap shaping! I finished them Friday night and sewed them on Thursday. I'll be damned if the sweater doesn't fit. I'm THRILLED. Now I just have to knit all the seed stitch trim (I'm about halfway done with the waist...) and weave in a bunch of ends- my goal for knit night tonight.

School is good. I did REALLY well on my second memo- woohoo! In a fit of insanity I decided to apply for Moot Court as a 1L (apparently, it's a 2L or even 3L thing here...) I was wiped out yesterday but got my brief turned in, and am now trying to put together an oral argument for Thursday. I'll need to field questions, which is very intimidating. Ah well.

Had dinner last night with M last night at Orchid, a great Thai place. Mmmmm. Green curry with shrimp! I will definitely go back....

Yarnapalooza

Ok, I am CUT OFF from buying more yarn AND pattern books.



So... that first picture is of my latest impulse buy... Crystal Palace Squiggle in color 9291 combined with Lane Borgosesia Oceano in Color 807. The go frighteningly well together. I'm knitting them on size 15s, which makes for a fairly open and lacy fabric. Those ladies at Village Wools are cunning- I intended to get just the Squiggle, but my $18 scarf quickly became a $38 scarf... By the way, The Oceano seems to have variegated colors that match all the Squiggle yarns. Conspiracy? I think so.

Next up is the Colinette Point 5 in Lapis combined with some Rowan KidSilk Haze on size 17s to make Knitty's Loopy and Luscious scarf (it's in the archives on Knitty and somewhere on my site- I'm too lazy to look up the link right now.)

I love the way both of these are turning out. YAY!

I ALSO got 2 knitting books in the mail today, courtesy of Amazon.com. I got Joelle Hoverson's "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" and Emma King's "25 Bags to Knit".

The Last Minute Knitted Gifts book is WONDERFUL. I've ID'd probably 10 things I want to make from this book, including adorable angora baby booties (I have to prego friends- one boy and one girl arriving in January), mini sweaters for ornaments, the pashmina cowl, a cabled purse, ADORABLE knitted toys (bear, bunny, and elephant- so darn cute!) and a gorgeously shaped but otherwise plain stockinette stitch sweater for ME.

The Knitted Bags book is OK. There are 2 I think I'll make. It seems like half the patterns are for the EXACT same bag done in differnt colors. BORING! I may return this one, actually. Very basic stuff, nothing stunning, and it feels like half the 25 patterns are the same with only basic color differences. Ah well. You win some, you lose some. And I have definitely scored some winners in the last few weeks.

Anyway, knit night was GREAT last night. We had a big turnout of largely young blonde women. My 25 year old brother was at the coffee shop where the knitting group met and seemed shocked that such young and attractive gals were knitting in public. Ha! I'm not as square as he thinks I am! Ok, I am. But whatever. :-)

Ok, I still have a ton of reading to do, so I'm going to logoff and get back to work.

How to write a legal memo.

Hurrah! I just got my first visitor looking for legal information- I hope whoever was searching google for "how to write a legal memo" found what they were looking for. I sure know you didn't find it here.

I'm in law school, so if you're out in the real world, so sorry.

My understanding of the process is this:

1. Read over the fact pattern your professor gives you very carefully. If it's a closed memo with included research, skip steps 2 and 3.
   
2. Develop a research plan. ID key words, topics, phrases. Start in secondary sources- ALR, journals, restatements, hornbooks. Get familiar with terminology, concepts, etc.
   
3. Jump in to primary sources. Look at statutes first. If your state/jurisdicition has Uniform Jury Instructions, look there for a concise summary of the law in that area. Then move on to case law. If you don't find much in your jurisdiction, expand your search.
   
4. Step back from your research (or the provided information) and start identifying the law. Synthesize your cases to determine key themes.
   
5. Outline. We use IGPAC (Issue, General rule, Precedent, Analysis, Conclusion).
   
6. Draft.
   
7. Revise.
   
8. Revise again.
   
9. Revise again.
   
10. Revise again.
    
11. Turn in your memo. Cross your fingers and hope for the best.
    

Hope that helps!


EDITED on 2/27/06:
So many people have found this post and I am horrified at the lack of useful information here! Really, I think the key is getting to know your facts intimately. Part of what makes good memos good is really knowing how the law applies to your specific situation.
Some other suggestions:
Memo-Specific:

• Your analysis has got to make sense. Does it explain ll the undeniable facts? Does it account for inconsistencies? Does it have a solid base in the applicable law? Most importantly, does it jive with common sense? If your argument raises eyebrows, it probably won't fly.
  
• Start with the general principle/governing rule. Example: All men are mortal. Then apply that principle to your facts. Socrates is a man. The conclusion should follow logically- Socrates is a mortal.
  
• Edit out waffling- vague and murky writing appears weak.
  
• Make clear where the law is uncertain or scanty.
  
• Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information. Your goal is to be complete, but to address the KEY issues that affect how the issue will be resolved.
  
• Assume a naive reader. This means that your reader presumably doesn't know your facts as well as you do, isn't as famniliar with the relevant law, and is neutral or otherwise undecided on the issue.
  
• IGPAC: Issue identifies the general substantive issue that arises in the situation. The issue is what's important in the case.

  The general rule is a syntehsis of case law/statutes on the subject- rarely found in a single source. Synthesize the case law so you get a more comprehensive view.

  Precedent is the individual instances of the law- each piece. Give examples of how the various courts applied each rule to facts similar to yours. This shows the reader where the rule comes from and what it means. Keep this brief- focus on your case, your issue.

  Then comes Analysis/Application, the heart of your memo. This is where you apply the rules to YOUR facts. Analogize and distinguish your case from precedent. Don't assume that it's obvious how the law applies to your case. Explain your reasoning and support it with cites to your precedent cases.

  Your Conclusion simply states your position- your best judgment about the probable outcome of the issue. You can make this contingent on something else if you need to... Example: Assuming we can prove that throwing a snowball was peaceable conduct, the court will likely find that....
  

• Avoid IGPAPAPAPAPAPAPA. Discuss all your precedent cases at one time. When you're done with that, apply those cases to your facts all at once.
  

Writing in General:

• Topic sentences are key. Give your reader a sign post at the start of each and every paragraph. Tell your reader what the paragraph is about. Break up loger paragraphs so the reader doesn't get lost. Use simple, direct language.
  
• I had a fabulous writing profess who wrote out of order. He'd write his analysis/applicationn, then his precedent, then the general rule, followed by the conclusion, and end with his issue. Then he'd take care of the formalities: framining the questions presented and the "decorations" (formatting.) I find this really helpful- focuses you on the argument and what you need to support it, and you kinda work your way back from that.
  
• Read aloud often. Helps you figure out where your language isn't working, smooths transitions, ensures your writing makes sense and hangs together well.
  
• Avoid: bad page breaks, rhetorical questions, "Jones is a case that...." "In Jones, the court...." (Just say: Felons are prohibited from possessing guns when... Cite.), Phrases like "It can be argued..." (Just argue it!)
  
• Use: pincites. Topic sentences.
  

YAY!

Yarn! Knitting! It was a good weekend!

Pictures:


OK. First up are my sleeves. I have about 6 inches to go and then I am DONE! Except for all the moss stitch trim. I'm about halfway through the neck band.
Next up, I did square #8 on my rug. Love it. This is the pattern from the summer IK.

Next two photos are my internet purchases! I love the Colinette Point 5- the lapis is an incredible color. And I am really pleased with the Chenille! It's delightfully soft and the color is perfect. AND it came with a free copy of the chenille book... I've flagged a couple patterns to think about. I really don't want to do another sweater with vast stretches of plain ole stockinette.....

Anyway, must get back to work now.

so sad...

I had to miss knit night tonight because I'm a major slacker. I have procrastinated so much on my 3 writing assignments due tomorrow. Sigh.

My memo is largely done- just need to write up the conclusion then edit. I want to spend some time reviewing this memo with my previous memo in hand so I can specifically fix the areas where I missed points last time. I wish I had gotten this done in time to trade with someone else for a quick once over sanity check. Alas. Alack.

I still have to do the cite exercise, a self-edit assignment, and write up a small research exercise. Another long night.

But THEN, tomorrow afternoon is the start of fall break! YIPPEEEEE! I'm going to be busy helping my Mom get ready to move, but I'm sure I can squeeze in some knitting time. And my packages of goodies should all start arriving soon. I think I'm going to try to head up to Santa Fe on Thursday to go to The Needle's Eye to pick up some Rowan KidSilk Haze for the Loopy and Lucsious. Needle's Eye a great little yarn store with good selection. It's incredibly well organized. Village Wools here in Albuquerque is fine, but they don't have many interesting yarns- lots of small guage wools.

I saw a girl today walking across main campus wearing a scarf made out of the "Squiggle" yarn. It was really freakin cute. Maybe I'll get some of that for myself... Hmmmm. MORE YARN! Just what I need!!!!!!!

Dinner tonight was really good. I made butternut squash risotto. Took forever, but man did it taste good. Yum. Leftovers, too.

Anyway, enough randomness for now. I promise photos of yarn and reviews of books as they arrive (oh yeah, I bought 2 knitting books on amazon... did I mention that already?)

Toodles!

Yarn, yarn, yarn, yarn.

Well, I don't have any pictures. But I did do a little virtual stash enhancement today!

First of all, I am insane. I don't have time to knit any of my current projects, so it makes NO sense for me to go nuts on eBay.

I bought 2 skeins of Colinette Point 5 in Lapis. I plan to combine these with some Rowan kidsilk haze (yet to be purchased- doh!) to make one of THESE loopy & lucsious scarves for my Mommy for Christmas.

I also bought a pack of Rowan Chunky Chenille in the most fabulous ice blue color. The buy it now price was less than HALF of what it would cost retail- WOOHOO! and shipping was really reasonable, especially considering it's airmail from England. I am not 100% sure what I'll make with it. I found a pattern in an older Rowan mag (22?) for a turtleneck sweater... Not sure if that's what it'll become.

I am also sorely tempted by Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, but there's never enough on eBay to make a sweater out of, and I am DONE buying random skeins or smallquantities. I'm drowning in small quantities of yarn.

Anyway, the fall weather here is really making me want to knit. That, combined with the pressure of midterms tomorrow has caused some major procrastination in the form of yarn shopping/knitting fantasizing.

I originally planned to try to get an inch a day done on the sleeves of my biker jacket. Snort. Yeah. That is so not happening. I hope I finish the sweater before Christmas. And I doubt the camo socks will get done in time, either. Alas and alack.

Anyway, I should study, since I'm paying out of state tuition for this opportunity to suffer. :-)

What a week!

I am SO GLAD next week is fall break. All I have to do between now and Wednesday morning is:
- study for and take 3 midterms
- write a 12 page legal memo analyzing 12 cases
- research and write up another legal writing piece
- do 4 pages of citation exercises
- read 150 pages for class.

EASY PEASY, I tell ya! not...

I know this is random, but I'm telling you now that I have been a very judgmental person this week. I have no patience for idiots or people who act like children.

Today has been very weird. Turns out the police found a body an apartment in the small complex NEXT DOOR to my house. Next door. Scary. I pulled out of the garage to go to a Dr's appointment and I almost couldn't get out because the alley was filled with 5 police cars, the crime investigator van, the mobile "major crime scene" lab RV, and 2 news trucks. Just saw the story on the evening news... Turns out this guy lived there, walked in front of the apartments at midnight last night and stabbed someone in the neck, then robbed the 7-11 around the corner. The stabbing victim called police with the man's name and address. When the police came to the apartment, they found a dead woman's body. Apparently they had been there before on a domestic violence call...
Then, this afternoon I was driving home and saw HUGE plumes of smoke around the Menaul/University area... turns out there was a huge fire at the Little Anita's there... Roof collapsed, building is totalled. It was pretty surreal.

Anyway, I feel like not leaving my house! Except that we're going to the Balloon Fiesta tomorrow. YAY!

I also had a little cash influx so I treated myself to Pam Allen's new book, "Scarf Style." It has some neat projects and neat ideas. I feel like my knitting time is so limited right now that, once the biker jacket is done, I should focus on smaller projects. I think I'll flip through the book a few more times before starting a project. I have a ton of random yarn- various skins, different colors and gauges... scarves would be a good way to use some of it up...

Anyway, crazy day. I'm glad it's over. Going to bed now so I can get up at the crack of dawn to go see some balloons!

I will survive!

I woke up this morning, not feeling 100%, but also not feeling like death was imminent. I felt the worst last night, but that didn't stop me from knitting!


Yes, I finished the other cardigan front. Because I was so paranoid about the fit, I went ahead and sewed up the shoulder and side seams. This is going to be a very close fitting jacket. Not ideal, but it definitely fits well. I won't wear it as outerwear, but it will be really cute over a fitted t-shirt or a camisole. The yarn is really, really soft.

I also started the neck band and I'm attempting to knit both sleeves at once. Wish me luck.

Anyway, I am feeling a little better today. I'm at a local cafe studying for contracts. I'm having a hard time figuring out how to organize the information. Linear outlines are pretty cumbersome, and the information doesn't seem to want to fit in that format anyway. Ah well.

Blech.

I feel worse than expected. But not so bad that I couldn't knit...

I did sit down with the biker jacket for a few minutes last night, and I finished the second cardi front! I think it's going to be a snug fit, but not nearly the sausage casing I feared. Alas, could not find my yarn needle (must have gotten lost in one of the moves) so I must head to Hobby Lobby today so I can find one....

Just finished up my first official memo for legal writing. It's not as good as it could have been, but I've felt like junk all week and it's acceptable. I also have my first practice midterm (torts) today... doesn't count, so given junk state, didn't bother to study. Bad attitude, but I'm over it. :-)

Dang

Well, it's official. I'm sick. I feel like a pile of junk. I still have a lot of work to do for tomorrow.

It's also my Mom's birthday- happy birthday, Mom! I haven't been around for one of her birthdays in years, so it's nice to be in the same city. She's coming over for dinner tonight. I planned a pretty easy meal, and got all the prep work done last night and this afternoon- should be pretty straightforward... I hope.

No knitting news. Knit night was good. I really like this crowd of ladies. I worked a little on the biker jacket and a little on the camo sock. The weather here is cooling down and becoming more fall like- makes me want to fondle yarn and knit up a storm! Alas, my life is filled with law school....

Aaaaaah.

I just spent an hour and a half working out- walked to the gym, lifted weights, stretched, walked home. Feels good now, though I am SURE it will not feel good tomorrow. :-)

You should all go visit Nepenthe. Her encouragement is why I've posted 3 times in the last week. She'll make a regular blogger of me yet! Actually a good number of you readers come here directly from her site, so you know how great she is. The rest of you, go check it out!!!!!

Not much knitting news except that knit night is tomorrow! WOOHOO!



So, when I lived in Austin, I would catch myself driving down the street on a random afternoon thinking to myself, "WOW I love living here." This happened even after 4 years of living there...

I had my first moment like that since moving to ABQ today as I left the gym. It was about 6:30, the light was just right, and I though, "I like living here." And I immediately recognized what I had done and started discounting the statement. "You're dehydrated." "You just worked out pretty hard." "The weather is great, but that's it."

I'm shocked that I thought about how much I like it here because I've spent the last week feeling like I'd be MUCH happier if I was still in Austin. I have been feeling really homesick for my friends.

But I am really enjoying law school, and the friend I have made outside of law school (see Nepenthe, above...), and the weather and the mountains and all that kind of stuff. If I can just get over the fact that everything in Albuquerque is hidden in an ugly strip mall, I just might be able to make a life here......

Pictures! WOW!

Hey! I'm actually going to post some pictures!



First is Scooter modeling the completed back and left front, and partial right front, of my Debbie Bliss biker jacket. I LOOOOVE it so far... I'm using Katia CotoLan, a 50/50 blend of wool and cotton. The yarn is a DK weight, and the pattern called for worsted, so pray for me, will you? So far, I think the adjustments I made are working out fine...

On the swift is some Lorna's Laces in camoflauge that I bought to make Christmas socks for my baby brother. I've started them (no picture, sorry) and I think they're going to turn out great. OH YEAH- I got a swift! I got it at one of my Mom's estate sales. I luuuuuuuuuurv it.

Anyway, not doing much knitting these days. I do love having a weekly knitting shindig. It's great to take some time away from law school.

I LOVE law school, but the work is hard to manage. The professors give us lots and lots of trees, but seeing the forest is entirely up to us. One of the challenges I'm facing right now is trying to find a balance between peparing for class (trees) and organizing/intenralizing the class material (forest). There are only so many hours in a day....

I'm also yearning for the familiar... Part of me is really homesick for Austin. I find homesick to be a very awkward term, since I am home here in New Mexico, where I spent the first 18 years of my life. And the weather and scenery here are undeniably perfect.... I just miss my friends.

Holy cow!

A whole week has passed since I last wrote!

Here's the skinny:
Law school is still nuts.
Knit night rocks.
The sweater is coming along.
I bought Lorna's Laces camoflage sock yarn for my baby brother's Christmas present.

I have pictures, will hopefully post tomorrow.

I'm wearing my Charlotte today and getting tons of compliments- YAY!

Bye!

Bad, bad blogger.

So. I'm a crappy blogger. I hope you'll forgive me!

With a little prompting from M, I'm updating my blog.
M has organized a lovely knit evening once a week that I know will be a lifesaver for me. I'm not knitting NEARLY as much as I was before, and I miss the meditative zone out time.
It was so great to talk to M on Tuesday night about the women's college experience. Other than the gals I went to school with (and a precious few others), people just don't understand the appeal or the benefits. Perhaps this is a blog post for another time.

I am knitting a little bit, working on Debbie Bliss's Biker Jacket. Pictures when I'm not on a dialup connection. I'm reworking the pattern for a smaller gague, which is a disaster waiting to happen- we'll see how it works out! I'm blindly optimistic at this point...


This law school stuff is insane. I'm trying to figure out how much to write about it here... I've already stumbled acrosss a classmate's blog and he seemed suprised... I will say that socially, law school here is eerily like high school. Lots of cliques. Everyone forced into required classes. Everyone knows everyone else's business.

I do love everything about the program, though. Professors are almost entirely fantastic. The classes are all fascinating.

Had dinner tonight with two really good friends from Austin who are in town for a wedding. It was soooo nice to just sit and chat with old buddies who know my stories. Sigh. I miss my friends!

And that date I mentioned a while back- amazing guy, things are getting a little serious. It's kinda nice. Really nice, actually!

Back to the bad blogger thing- I can't promise much right now, but I will try to write at least once a week.

Blog home, sweet blog home.

Howdy! I spent a good amount of time procrastinating on law school work yesterday... So I knit! I started my pair of socks out of Lorna's Laces... LOVE the colors, and the yarn is really soft. I'm making a pair of Wendy's Toe Up Socks. Here's my progress:
.

And that's all the news that's fit to print! I'm still obsessed with knitting, just not making a whole lot of time for it.

I'm not sure why I'm so drawn to socks right now- very simply patterns, like the toe up or the simple 2x2 rib I just finished are really easy to pick up and put down without having to figure out where things are.... maybe that's it.

Socks

YAY! Finished socks!

I love the way these turned out.

I am also LOVING law school. I've started a pre-program, kind of like law school boot camp. It's so exhilarating to be LOVING what I'm doing. Alas, there is a lot of work, a lot of reading, and not a whole lot of time for knitting right now. Oh well. All in good time.

In other news, I had a DATE last night. Very cute. Very nice. Very smart. Very lovely evening. And he wants to get together again. VERY GOOD.  Will keep you posted.

Back fromthe dead!!!!

Hey gang! I'm back! Aren't you glad to see me?!?!?!? 

The last few weeks in Austin were rough. I totally lost sight of WHY I was moving 700 miles away from dear friends and a great freakin town, and began to panic! By the time we got to New Mexico, though, I was back to feeling good about the move.

I am deeply in love with the high desert. I had forgotten how wonderful the sky is- amazing color, glorious cloud formations. I love watching storms blow in. I love dry heat. I love that it cools down so much at night. Sigh.

So... law school. I've started a sort of "boot camp" for law school- 2 mock classes structured in much the same way our regular classes will be structured, complete with case briefs, memos, and a final. Fortunately, none of the grades count- it's just practice. I've met some great people and I even have a date on Saturday night. I'll keep you posted.

In ALL the time I was gone from the blog, I didn't get a whole lot of knitting done. I gave up on the Alhambra socks. The pattern was perfect- REALLY GOOD- but my brain was severely crippled. I screwed up the first sock so badly in my leaving-Austin-panic that I couldn't even hope to replicate my errors on the second sock. So I threw the first sock away. Tragic, but theraputic.

I DID knit AND finish a very basic pair of ribbed socks. They're cute. Picture tomorrow.

Anyway, it's good to be back. Sorry I've been gone for so long!!!

Last day of work.

This is totally surreal. Today is my last day of work! I'm simultaneously giddy with delight and sad to be leaving.

I've been here for over 3 years. We've had a LOT of turnover in that time- fewer than 10 of our 70 employees have been here longer than I have, and probably 30 of those 70 have changed over at least once, if not twice.

One of the company's founders sent me a really nice e-mail. I can remember the day he interviewed me. He came into the room, told a joke. I laughed, and he told me I had the job. He is just a delightful person. I'm going to miss him and his wacky sense of humor.

People are overwhelmingly supportive of my decision to go to law school. It's neat to see. People are also shocked that I'm leaving, and that today is my last day. Because of the layoff weirdness, I've kept my mouth shut about going, so people are understsandably suprised at the abruptness of my departure. But I feel like this was the right way to handle things.

Anyway, it's a day of mixed emotions. Good thing we're getting margaritas tonight. :-)

I'll have restricted and upredictable computer access for a few weeks. I do publish and RSS feed, so subscribe to that and you'll know when I'm back. If not, e-mail me at jennysettle at yahoo dot com and I'll send you a note when I'm back! And if you live in Albuquerque or Santa Fe, LET ME KNOW! I'd love to meet you when I move there in a few weeks!

Alright, Frenchies...

Anyone speak French? I kinda do, but not well enough to figure out where to get the pattern for an incredible sweater I just saw...

Le Blog du Val (scroll down to the women's v-neck cable pullover.)

DROOL. Ok, looks like in the comments the pattern is from the newest BDF magazine. What is BDF, and where do I get one????

UPDATE: BdF is Bergere de France and their website has some GREAT free patterns. Alas, not the one I'm looking for....

The problem with Phildar Onde...

The problem with the Phildar Onde yarn is that the color seems to end really abruptly. Looking at the gorgeous items knit for the Onde Along (link in my left sidebar), I'm annoyed at how the color fades, fades, fades, then STOPS. It's not super obvious on the front of my tank because the color ends less than 5 rows under the neckline...

I guess you could alternate rows of the end of the colored ball with rows of the plain white if you were really uptight about it.

Anyway, just thought I'd share.

Weirdo weather

I got some knitting done last night!



I'm one lace pattern repeat away from starting the toe shaping, which means I'm almost done with this sock! WOOHOO!



And I picked up the mitred rug again last night, and completed two squares. Except for the misery of yarn ends hanging off (tucked under the squares in my oh so lovely photo above), this is really fun.

So, it's been pouring down rain, thunderstorms, and all that good stuff for the past couple days. I looked outside last night, and THIS is what the sky looked like:



Talk about WEIRD! The sky to the west of my house was that vibrant orangey yellow, while the sky east of my house was dark grey.

In non-knitting news, I just feel so 100% about going to law school. I'm reading Sandra Day O'Connor's "Majesty of the Law", and it's amazing. A very easy read, but so full of the history of our court system, so full of the idealism that this country is founded on- very inspiring and very much why I want to practice law. I saw this on someone's bumper sticker the other day:
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin
This pretty much embodies how I feel about the state of our country right now. I also feel like it is impossible to FORCE democracy on a society that doesn't want it or isn't ready for it. If you look at how the US was formed and how our government came in to existence, the circumstances are ENTIRELY different from those seen in Iraq. I don't know why, but I've been thinking about this a lot recently.

Anyway, enough rambling. 15.5 hours left of work... and counting!

Hello!

Wow, people from the following countries have visited my blog!
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Sweden
Czech Republic
New Zealand
Australia
France
Singapore
Poland
Iran
Saudi Arabia
Denmark
Japan
Luxembourg
Germany
Taiwan
Norway
Finland
Korea
Ireland

I think that's so cool!
If you're from another country and I missed it, SORRY! I have a lame free stats tracker that only tracks 100 entries at a time....

Knitting restlessness...

I have no significant projects on the needles. In fact, the only thing that is ACTUALLY ON needles is the sock... I have one square for the mitred rug finished and I cannot bring myself to start the next square. $35 worth of kitchen cotton, taunting me. Sigh.

SOOOO I'm on eBay! Won 2 balls of nifty cotton blend sock yarn that even with shipping cost LESS than 2 balls of the same yarn purchased at my LYS. I'm stalking Rowan Calmer auctions in hopes of snagging a bargain on yarn for Audrey. Scouring elann.com for alternatives to Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Super Chunky to make Travelling Rib (scroll down) into a cardigan- wouldn't that be divine?- without having to sell my firstborn child. Also stalking eBay for Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere for the classic jacket.

Reality is, I'm going to have precious little knitting time for the rest of June. And I have yarn I need to use or ditch between now and then. AND my Mom scored a garbage bag or two of immaculate wools- some purchased, some handspun- at an estate sale of a woman who was a FIBER FREAK. So it's not like I NEED yarn, or a new project... Sigh.

In other news, I've gotten lots of comments on my Charlotte. A woman stopped me in Taco Bell to admire it today- apparently she's in to crochet and just knew my shawl was handmade. Very cool. The great thing about the colors I picked is that because EVERY color is present SOMEWHERE in the shawl, it goes with EVERYTHING. Olive green. Hot pink. Blue. Khaki. Orange. Green. Lovely lovely lovely.

Pictures!

Not very exciting ones, but pictures nonetheless!


The Alhambra sock is moving right along. I messed up the first lace repeat that happens as the same time as the heel gusset. I did an extra 4 rows. Oh well! I'm not ripping because (1) this is a sock, it will be worn under pants with shoes that probably cover that area anyway (2) it's dark colored yarn, and (3) I just don't feel like it. Yes, I ripped Pagan repeatedly, but those errors were seriously affecting the construction of the garment, and they would have been blatantly obvious.


Next up is my Afghanalong square... Yeah, it needs some blocking. I used one of the cable patterns from Leslie Stanfield's New Knitting Stitch Library. I really liked the Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere, but the yarn is not wound very tightly, so it splits a lot. There's a great review of the yarn at The Knitter's Review (a phenomenal resource, if you're not familiar!) I made a big fat mistake on this square- the center set of cables- I crossed the third cable of the set 2 rows early. Oh well! I did learn a lot about cabling with this little project, which was the goal.

I am growing weak in the knees over Audrey. Hmmmmm.....

Anyway, in other news, I had some great friends over for dinner last night. I made my Mom's Margarita Steak, and we had sangria, spicy cole slaw, and divine grilled fruit. Quite the meal. I'm a tidge hungover today, which is not so fun. But last night was a blast, and the last time I'll host this group at my house. Sigh. This is the part of leaving town that I'm NOT looking forward to. I'll just console myself with the fact that I only have 3.5 more days at work! Speaking of which, I'd better get to it...

Light knitting...

I had a delightful weekend. I got to spend a good portion of Saturday out on the lake with some boat owning friends. It was probably the last lake day for all of us- they're moving away to go to grad school (and getting married) and I'm moving away to go to law school. Got just sunburned enough, but not too much. :-)

I am cranking on the Alhambra sock- turned the heel and am about halfway through the gusset decreases. The heel on this pattern is a "slip stitch heel". It was really hard for me to visualize how to turn the heel, but the instructions are crystal clear on what to do. This is a really well written pattern- very little room for confusion so far. Link to the free pattern is in my links on the left...

I also completed a square for the Mason Dixon Knitting Afghans for Afghans program. I did it in the one ball of Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere I bought to play around with, and I did a cabled thing- my first cables! Pictures tomorrow, I promise.

This Friday is my last day of work- hallelujah! Posting after Friday will be light, as I'll have irregular access to a computer. But I'll check in when I can!

I LOVE the internet!

We are so lucky to have the internet as a resource! I'm sure I would have thrown down my knitting needles in frustration long ago if it weren't for the incredible wealth of information and inspiration available on the web.

A prime example of this is Bonne Marie... Not only does she produce really cool patterns, and provide incredibly helpful technical resources, she is totally approachable, really friendly, and just down right stylish! We've exchanged a couple e-mails about my Onde tank this week and I am just so grateful for her advice and insight.

I subscribe to about a hundred and thirty knit blogs. (Not to mention a bunch of law blawgs and some cooking blogs... Good grief- no WONDER I never get anything done!) I'd love to do a "Jenny's top 10 Knitblogs" list, but honestly, I love all of them! Each person has such a unique voice, such personalized taste, such different perspectives. I love that we're all here plugging along and sharing our passion for this wonderful hobby and art!

Anyway, enough of that. I'm plugging away on the Alhambra sock. Less than one pattern repeat away from starting the heel.

I also washed the Onde tank per the ball band instructions. WARNING: if you're working with this yarn, it will shrink. The waist is now shorter but it fits pretty well. I think I'm going to get cracking on Bonne-Marie's suggestion of a knit ribbon to sew in on the wrong side of he bottom hem.... See if that will stop the rolling! The Onde tank was my first garment, and the first time I fudged a pattern for gauge stuff, so I feel pretty lucky that it wasn't an unmitigated disaster. Onward and upward!

Another tank down!

This is a wacky picture- don't know why, but the only decent lighting I could find last night was in my bathroom! I can't seem to get a picture that looks normal in the "boobal" area. LOL. I bought a bunch of new brassieres this weekend, and I guess I'm just not used to looking so... whatever that is. I took 6 pictures and I look either drunk, depressed, or like I'm sticking my chest way out, so this is the best of the lot. I blame the heat and humidity.

Anyway, thoughts on the tank. This was my first Rowan pattern, and I am really impressed. I like the way they did the decreases for waist shaping (exact opposite of the Berocco Lilith pattern I used for my Phildar Onde...Rowan did a K3, K2tog...SSK, K3... Berocco did a K2, SSK...K2tog, K2.)It fits really well. I think the tank is kinda boring looking, but that's ok- it was designed to be a plain tank.

This was also my first attempt at mattress stitch, and I think it went really well. I used Debbie Stoller's "Stitch N Bitch" and Nancie Wiseman's "Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques" as references. Nacie Wiseman has you go under one horizontal bar and calls this a "woven seam", wheras Debbie Stoller has you go under two horizontal bars, and calls it "mattress stitch." Anyone know which is the more common way to go? One bar or two? I used two. Went faster.

The color... I love the Lion Brand Cotton Ease, but Pistachio is precisely the same shade of green as mint chocolate chip ice cream. I don't know WHAT I was thinking when I picked it out. I do like it, it's just .... BOLD.

Cursed

Well. Pagan tank and I had some strife this weekend. I finished the right front and was working on the left front when I realized I had completely ignored the instructions for decreases in the armpit area, resulting in about 3 inches of too many stitches on the left front. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP. Then I did the same thing AGAIN, only I caught it at the V-neck split. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP. Ah well. I've got the shoulder seams done and I have finished picking up stitches/binding off the trim for the neck and both armpits. Now I just have to seam up the sides! Here's hoping I can have some pictures tomorrow...

I also finished the kitty won ton for my friend. Do I make the eggroll, too, to show my knitting benevolence in the face of her taunting? I think so.

AND another friend wants to learn how to knit! WOOHOOOOOOO!

The last laugh...

So I got together with some friends for dinner about a month ago... and of course I was knitting. One woman made it clear she was not impressed.... that knitting was for fuddy duddies and she pitied the fact that I had nothing better to do with myself than sit around and knit.

Well. TODAY I got an e-mail from this woman asking me to make her kitty some dim sum. I shall use my knitting powers for good, and not evil. Her kitty will have at least one piece of dim sum. But she will not mock me again!

The funny thing is, what the #$@* was she doing on Knitty, and how did she find it in the first place?!?!?!?

Alhambra Progress...

I've managed to get a full pattern repeat done on the Alhambra socks...

The colors in that photo are pretty true. I stuffed the sock with kleenex to show off the lace pattern, which didn't work very well...

Sadly, I have done all of that while at work.

Oh yeah- this is a knitblog!

Finally, some knitting pictures!

Here's my finished Charlotte's Web shawl:

I love the way this turned out. I've worn it a couple times and it always gets great comments.

And here's the back of the Pagan tank from Rowan 27:

I'm about 2" into the front- hopefully I'll make some good headway this weekend!

I've gotten some GREAT suggestions on how to fix the size and roll on the Onde tank. I love the web!

In other news, I taught a friend how to knit while "camping" one weekend in February. Little did I know, I have created a MONSTER! I'm so proud. She took to it like a duck to water and she's doing just an amazing job. Go Heather Go! She is getting sucked into the Web- Charlotte's Web, that is! Perhaps I can show her the basic lace stitches before I move.... Mwa ha ha ha......

Shhhh.

I'm knitting at work. This feels infinitely decadent.

I have nothing else to do. I am finished with all my assignments. I have asked my boss for more work. Nada. I have asked my fellow tech writers for ways I can help them. Did a couple things, now nothing. I'm not supposed to be on the internet, so I'm knitting! (I'm SURE that's not what the boss had in mind when discouraging internet use... oh well!)

Anyway, I'm working on a sock. I ripped what I had (barely an inch) of Michelle's Basic Sock pattern so that I could restart and try the Alhambra sock. Everything I have on the needles right now is straight stockinette (more or less) so I wanted to spruce it up with a fancy sock.

This is my first ever sock, so I may have just bitten off more than I can chew.

I've been thinking recently about knitting goals. So here are some random thoughts.
I really want to learn how to do fair isle, and I want to do it two handed. I LOVE the Dale of Norway ski sweaters and always have. I think knitting one would be fabulous. In the mean time, I should start learning how to "pick" instead of "throw". There are some great free fair isle instructionals on the web: Fair Isle 101 and The Fearless Fair Isle Project in particular.
I also want to learn cables and get into some of the cool aran sweater things. I think that would be cool.

I have PLENTY of yarn with which I can learn these techniques. I should sit down and do a couple charity projects (like a square for the Mason-Dixon Afghan for Afghanalong or a blanket for the Crittern Knitathon.)
So, you heard it here! Now hold me accountable! :-)

Not a stitch.

Didn't knit a stitch last night! And I don't have any pictures. Bad knit blogger, bad.

I DID, however, go to the gym for the first time in a month. Man alive, do I feel it today! I was taken over by temporary insanity while doing squats and really loaded up. I can feel the burn moving slowly from muscle to muscle, taunting me. It feels kinda good, actually.

I'm having a bunch of girlfriends over for our monthly girls' night tomorrow. Our theme? Tacky food potluck. So far the nutritious and delicious offerings should include a red, white, and blue layered Jello dessert, Chicken and rice casserole, tuna casserole, shells and cheese, swanky frankies (broiled hot dogs stuffed with cheese), squeeze cheese on ritz crackers, frito pies, and "some kind of weiner". LOL. I love my friends. This should be great.

Onde est fini!

I finished the Onde tank over the weekend. Here she is!



I actually really like how it turned out, EXCEPT for the fact that it's too big from the waist down and it rolls like mad at the bottom 2 inches. I thought I was being really smart by doing the first 5 rows in garter. But the pattern instructions say to go back and crochet a border. Doh! To make matters worse, I have no pink yarn left to do the crochet border. I tried it with the white, and it just looks bad.

Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?? The yarn content is something like 80/20 acrylic/cotton, so ironing/steaming is probably a bad idea. I may try to sew a ribbon along the bottom inside edge, or just tuck it in?? I dunno.

I also finished the back of my Pagan tank. No pictures, sorry. Will try to get one tonight!

Koigu Kitty

As I was fringing Charlotte last night, I snapped this picture:


Yes, he is lounging atop a partial ball of KPPPM. At least he has good taste, right? I can't believe he just cuddled right up with it.

So yes, Charlotte now has fringe. I did 8 strands instead of the pattern's 6, and I regret it! I think I'm going to go back this weekend and take out 2 of the strands. 6 strands look really delicate and go nicely with the feel of the shawl, 8 looks and feels clunky. I didn't think it would make that big a difference, but I was WRONG!

Charlotte chart...

By the way, I completely recharted Charlotte in Microsoft Excel. The original pattern made my eyes cross and I would have given up in frustration without my chart.

Here's what I did:
I set it up so the row numbers correspond exactly to the pattern row numbers.
Column A indicates what color to use- A, B, etc.
Column B lists the number of lace pattern repeats in half of the row.
Column C is the center stitch, always knit.
The rest of the columns make up the pattern.
I charted it so that you start at the far right of the row, move your way to the left/center stitch, then knit back towards the right to complete the row.

I color coded each lace repeat so I could see at a glance what I was supposed to be doing- pink is the last row, yellow is the first, etc.
I left all non-lace repeat stitches with a white background so I could easily see what other stuff was happening in the row.

If you want a copy, I'll be happy to send it to you IF you have already purchased the pattern and promise not to send it off to other folks- don't want to break any copyright laws. Just e-mail me at jennysettle [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Bittersweeet....

My time in Austin really is coming to an end, and that makes me sad.

My Mom needs to have an angeogram done, which involves an overnight stay in the hospital. I asked my boss today if I could take the week after Memorial Day off to go and be with her, and he suggested that I either give notice and have the last day of May be my last day so I don't need to come back, or take the time and give notice so that I'm done mid-June. It's all becoming so final!

My Mom can push the test out, and in fact would prefer to do so... So I think I'll give notice mid-June, with my last day at the end of the month, then leave town in early July- maybe 4th of July weekend? I don't want to leave before then. But I'll need to be in NM shortly after then for a prep class at the Law School (assuming I get a space in the class). If they really want me to leave work before then (sounded like boss was hinting I should get a move on) they can lay me off and give me a severance package.

I guess it is nice to see the possible window of move dates shrink from 3 months to 3 weeks. I've been saying I wanted exactly this for a looooong time. So it is a good thing.

In knitting news, I worked a few rows on Pagan last night and bought yarn for This free pattern from the summer Interweave Knits (it's the mitred square rug, in case you don't want to open the pdf.) I justified this purchase as supplies for a new technique- I've never done anything mitred/domino before and have wanted to learn. I have enough plain stockinette in my life right now- I want a challenge!

Oh WOW.

This coat is absolutely amazing. I am in love and must have one. I found the link on Erica's Smiling Tiger blog. I think Erica's idea of collecting Koigu with the goal of someday making a coat like this is great!

But you look so normal!

So... I went to the yarn store on Friday and the woman working asked how my Charlotte's Web Shawl was coming. When I told her I was at row 130, she said, "But you look so normal!" She would DIE if she knew I finished it on Saturday....



Here she is! I still need to weave in ends, add fringe, and block some more. I'll be sure to post a final picture and write up lessons learned...

In other knitting news, I do not like Phildar Onde. I do not like it all all. I don't like the way it feels, I don't like the way it looks... I just don't like it. I discovered this when I found myself avoiding the tank top like the plague this weekend. But I will finish it and I will have learned a lot. Here's progress:



And I started a new tank- Pagan from Rowan 27 in my Pistachio Lion Brand Cotton Ease. I do like this yarn. A lot. So sue me for liking cheap yarn!

Wisdom once removed...

WELL, I will be MIA from blogland until Monday. I'm having the last of my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow and they're totally knocking me out- none of this local anesthesia crap for me! :-)

Anyway, expect a report of LOTS of knitting progress on Monday. Hopefully I will crank on Charlotte and make some serious headway on the Onde Tank- it's DEFINITELY tank weather here in central Texas.

Have you seen THIS GORGEOUS THING? I'm thinking of making one for myself... Gauge and yarn content looks like it's really close to Lion Brande Cotton Ease, which I HAPPEN to have laying around. Will it become this tank, or Pagan tank? Stay tuned!

For those who read French knitting patterns (I would like to, but we'll see how it goes) the pattern is available for FREE from Phildar....

Fibery goodness

I am a very bad blogger and have not knit a stitch in two nights.

So, to make up for it, I thought I'd share my two non-knitted treasures:



Both are handwoven pieces from one of my mother's dear friends, Louise Lechner. She owns Handwoven Originals in Santa Fe, which produces absolutely amazing pieces.

The first is a scarf that was a gift for my college graduation. As you can see, the colors move from kelly green at one end to firey red at the other. There are irridescent red threads running throughout the whole piece.

The second is a ruana that was a gift for my 12th birthday. It is folded in half lengthwise in the photo. It's almost entirely off-white with varything textures- silky, mohair, etc. There are pastel colored slubbed yarns running throughout, along with pearly irridescent threads. I tried to capture this in close up shot- don't know how well I did, though.

Anyway, if you are ever in Santa Fe, NM, you MUST go to Handwoven Originals!!!

OOOH! A makeover!

Gave things a little facelift courtesy of some new blogger templates.... I hope you like it as much as I do!!!!!

More thoughts on Charlotte.

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what it is that is so addictive about this shawl. Here are some random thoughts...
1. The lace pattern is relatively straight forward. There are 4 rows that repeat. This makes it really easy to get into the zone and just crank on whatever row I'm on. My personal favorite is row 2- knit, slip knit PSSO, slip knit 2 psso, k2tog with yarnovers sprinkled in. It just progresses so NICELY.

2. Each lace row has 8 stitches per repeat. You always have those 8 stitches on the needles, which makes it relatively easy to identify when and where you made a mistake.

3. I LOVE that every wrong side row is straight purl- makes it really easy to count stitches and ID problems that may have happened on the right side. Also gives me a chance to rest a little between lace rows. I don't count all the way across the row- my poor little brain starts getting confused above 20. But by putting stitch markers between each lace repeat, I can identify exactly where I made a mistake if one section has more or less than 8 stitches. Way easier to pin point a problem this way than saying, "OK, I have 127 stitches in this row and SOMEWHERE there is a mistake...."

4. The lace pattern is so symmetrical between sides. I love that you simply reverse the order of the stitches once you pass the center- I'm a dork and I really like symmetry.

5. The colors. Oh, how I could raphsodize about the colors in Koigu! I picked out my skeins thinking I had a pretty good idea of what each would look like as I knit, and each new ball is such a suprise. A ball I thought was predominantly green with rainbow colors is actually vibrant turquoise, pink, and sagey green. Amazing. I could knit with this stuff forever.

So. Those are my thoughts on Charlotte for now.

I knit a lot Saturday night at a soccer game. I didn't think I'd be able to focus enough, but I did, and I enjoyed it. I also knit a ton yesterday- an hour and a half in the car each way to spend Mother's Day with BF's family.

My Mom called and loved the flower washcloth, by the way. But she thought it was a pot holder at first! LOL.

Lots of knitting time this weekend.

I am so obsessed with this #$*&@$*%&^ shawl. I'm now at row 115ish. I think I may actually finish this in the next week or two...
Here's pictures:


The colors are pretty true in the first photo. Scooter absolutely could not stay away once I pulled out the camera, so I've included his mug shot for your viewing pleasure.

This shawl really is a blast to knit. I am really glad I took the time to re-chart the pattern in Excel- I learned a lot about the way the lace pattern progresses, and I'm not pulling my hair out, which I know I would be if I was working from the original pattern.

AND, I felted the Alien:


This is a good sized tote. Can probably fit a regular sized notbeook and lots of other pursey stuff. I bought some fabric to line the bag, but am not sure I'm going to do that. This is a gift, so now I get to call the recipient and tell her it's ready! YAY!

Yippeeeee! It's FRIDAY!

I am so. glad. it's friday.

In knitting news, I missed out SNB last night to watch Friends with the BF and his sister. I swatched for Pagan from Rowan 27 in Lion Brand Cotton Ease color Pistachio (allegedly a dead ringer for Rowan All Seasons Cotton.) Alas, I used the wrong size needles- don't know what I was thinking when I grabbed them as I headed out the door. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to make the cap sleeve version or the v-neck tank version.

Also cast on and got a few rows done on the front of the Onde tank.

AND once I got home, worked on Charlotte some more. I am at row 80, about 4 rows in to the third solid color. I'm starting to get worried about blocking this baby. I've never blocked a lace project before (or much of anything else for that matter) and would love some advice. E-mail addy is in the sidebar on the right....

Knitting Companion...

This is Scooter sleeping while I was knitting last night:

Two half FOs!

I finished the Alien!

I hope to felt it this weekend.

I also finished the back of the Onde tank last night!

This thing is super curly. And it's not as deformed as it looks in the picture- I didn't feel like pinning it down, so you'll have to live with the curly misbehaving photo.

And here's Charlotte's progress- I'm half way through the transition to the third color....

Sigh. I luuuuuuuuuuuve this shawl.

In other news, BF and I went to El Arroyo for a Cinco de Mayo celebration. MMMMM. Margaritas. Then he went to the record store, and I went to the book store. I sat down with the 1000 Sweaters book. You know, the idea is really good, but the reality is not quite what I was hoping for. I'm sure you've read others' comments about this book. I have to echo them. Small gauge, small sizes. I think it might be a good book for inspiration, but for now, I don't really need it.