Perfect School Year Knitting

I've found it. Perfect School Year Knitting.

To qualify, the project must be:

• Easy Peasy. Plain garter or stockinette preferred, since I will be "reading" for class while working on the project.
  
• Smooth yarn. Nothing snaggy.
  
• Not totally boring- an increase or decrease every few rows is ok.
  
• Yummy yarn.

I started the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and I love it. The pattern is sooooo simple. Perfect for reading Civ Pro II, Art Law, or Evidence/Trial Practice. Not so perfect for Constitutional Law, which, as it turns out, is pretty complicated, and the book uses really small single spaced text. And packs in LOTS of stuff that I need to take notes on. Oh well.

Yeah. And the Pakucho cotton? Fab. Fab. Fab. I hope I don't run out. EEEEK!

knitting

Lexis and Westlaw- fabulous resources or miserable timewasters?

So, I'm a little busy this semester. Time is crunched. So I'm naturally cranky when, though no fault of my own, I have to waste 2 hours.

This week, I have to waste 2 hours. One hour in the form of Lexis Nexis training on how to select a law review topic (summary: this tab gets you to a database full of already published law review articles, and this other tab gets you to a database of all the news stories ever published.) SO NOT HELPFUL. And, I get to do it all over again with Westlaw on Thursday.

Really, not helpful. Total waste of time, since I (a) sat through 3 training sessions on each product 1L year in which we covered THE EXACT SAME TABS, and (2) have to leave work early to go these things which are scheduled over the lunch hour which means that, two days this week, I don't get to eat lunch. Did I mention cranky? Thought so.

Anyway, that's that. Maybe I can knit my way through Thursday's session.... Hmmmm....

IN OTHER NEWS....
The new job is fan-freaking-tastic. Love it. Want to marry it. It's gooooood. Lots and lots of work (do I see a theme emerging?) but challenging and fascinating work. YIPEEEEEEEEEEEE!

law

New Car! New Knitting! New New New!

I bought a car today! Well, put a deposit down on one. The owner is leaving town till Wednesday, when we will take it to my mechanic for a quick look see, then I will hand over a fistfull of cash and have a new car! It's a 2000 Toyota Corolla with low miles. Wheeee! Fuel efficient and reliable, BAYBEE. Very exciting.

I also cast on for the Hourglass Sweater in my Pakucho organic cotton from Elann.com. It was super cheap and I think it'll turn out really well. I acutally knit 3 swatches for this sweater- hopefully they were accurate!!!!! Hopefully I have enough yarn left after all the swatching to finish the sweater!!!!! No pictures because it's half an inch of off white- totally BORING.

Last week was a really overwhelming week at school. This week should be more of the same. Starting a new job, law review, and 17 credit hours worth of class. Yeah, overachieve much?

Good news is, I LOVE LAW SCHOOL. Every single class I'm taking is riveting, the professors are almost uniformly fabulous (one is slightly nuts, so here's hoping there are more good days than bad....)

Also pondering the Mr. C. situation. Amazing how my feelings fluctuate. Although, they always seem to settle in the same basic place. That's all I have to say about that for now.

Lah de dah. Lah de dah!

Howdy. I'm procrastinating. I did end up dropping that one class, and have 20 minutes until I go sit in on another class I'm thinking about adding. I haven't had good experiences with the professor, so I'm curious to see how this goes. Want to scope it out before committing to misery, if you know what I mean.

So. 20 minutes. Definitely not long enough to get started on my law review work! I mean, there's just no point in dragging it out now, only to pack it up again in 19 minutes. Right? RIGHT?!?!?!?!

Not very interesting today, but pictures!!!!!

Knit night was great, but I was nuked. I am loving both of my scarves. (Oh yeah- I started a couple scarves! Aren't you glad I keep you in the loop?)

First up is my spiral scarf. Pattern from Scarf Style, yarn is Misti Alpaca worsted in a fabby plum color.


Next up is the random impulse yarn I bought with the fabby plum alpaca. Just 17 stitches across on size 17 needles, garter all the way. Just what I need right now actually- brainless.



The yarn is a brown slubby (cotton?) strand, a sparkly variegated strand, and a strand of rainbow and gold eyelash. I LURV it. Meg and I discussed- turns out the BROWN background makes it cool, while black would have made it cheesy. Meg is on to something with this brown thing, I tell ya.

Meg and I both showed up at Knit Night in our Oranginas and NEITHER ONE OF US TOOK A PICTURE! I even had my camera! Bad blogger, bad!

Oh well.

Today was a loooong day. Very intense. But in a good way! I may end up dropping a class. I have extra credits stocked up from my elective last semester, and dropping this class still leaves me with an incredibly responsible 15 credits this semester, and a MUCH greater shot at not having a nervous breakdown before fall break. Hm. Certainly sounds like the reasonable thing to do, especially since I'm not really interested in this course's subject matter.... Why am I having such a rough time with the decision?!?!?!

Mmmm. Yarn.

WHEW! Super busy day. It feels good to be back in school, but I'm already overwhelmed. In an attempt to alleviate some stress, I'm going to talk about.... YARN!


I spent some time and some money in Hill Country Weavers, Austin's primary yarn store.

First and foremost, the stash enhancement:

2 skeins of Cascade 220 in red, destined to become a ribbed beanie for Mr. C, a la Team Zissou, and 2 skeins of Koigu, to replace my Koigu socks, see Sunday's post.

I only bought things I couldn't get at Village Wools.

When I first started knitting, I didn't like Hill Country Weavers. I have since revised my opinion. This is one of the best yarn stores I've been to. It's small, but they have a TON of crack, oops! I mean yarn. All the fabulous names, all the fabulous colors, and tons of things you've never heard of before. It's in a fabulous little house with fabulous landscaping, the staff is pretty darned good (a little overwhelmed by all the new inventory, and you might need to ASK for help, but generally nice). All in all, FABULOUS! I could wander around this place of hours, fondling yarn and dreaming up new projects. Oh wait- I do that EVERY TIME I go there!!!!

knitting

Consolation Koigu

My SockaPalTwoZa plans have been foiled. I ripped and restarted the mermaid socks twice, each time majorly increasing the number of stitches, and they were STILL too small. Since we're approaching the deadline and I start law school again tomorrow, I have made an executive decision.

My sock pal has exactly the same size feet as me. She loves variegated yarn. I have never worn the pair of koigu toe-up socks I made this summer. I love these socks DEARLY. But the right thing to do is to share the koigu goodness with my sock pal and know that she will treasure them as much as I will. Besides, I think anyone would rather have plain koigu socks that are a wee bit too big than a pair of cotton mermaid socks that you can't get on your feet. That's totally a no brainer.

So here they are, my finished sock pal socks:


The colors are much richer and warmer in person- browns, pinks, sagey greens, and some lilac. They really are gorgeous.

I made the decision to send along my koigu sweethearts while I was in Austin, so I hightailed it over to Hill Country Weavers and bought myself some consolation Koigu, to make another pair for me:



All is not lost! I just have knit myself a pair of plain toe up socks with picot trim!!!

knititng

What a week.

I am back in the land of enchantment- hallelujah for dry heat! This is the first time in a WEEK that I don't feel all sweaty and gross. I was driving around in Mr. C's 1980s Jeep Scrambler without any form of air conditioning- thought I was going to die. I knew it was time to get out of the car for air conditioning and a cold drink when I caught myself saying, out loud, my my best Scarlett O'Hara voice, "Ah am uhf thuh upinion thayat it ius the unique cahmbinaytion of heat and huooomiditie thayat maykes suhthuhn wehmun so dayum crayzy."

Yeah. Heat stroke? That would be me!!!!

Five days in Texas and my southern drawal is back with a vengeance, even when not whining about the humidity. I have to remind my family that I spent 4 years in Virginia and 4 years in Texas... Ya'll is a permanent fixture in my vocabulary and no, it is NOT hilarious when I say it.

It is so hard to have one foot in one town and the other foot in another. I love Austin, I love my friends there, but I don't live there anymore. I love New Mexico, I love my friends here, and I'm glad to be near my family, but I may not live here after law school. There are things to love about both towns, and things to hate about both towns. Right now, New Mexico wins on climate alone, but maybe that will pass.

Um, probably not.

I was struck by how similar Albuquerque and Austin are. Both towns have great old neighborhoods tucked behind fairly ugly and generic business/industrial streets lined with strip malls. Both towns have lots of building, both in town and sprawling on the outside, which means cool local establishments are getting razed and replaced by Starbucks.

It's hard to drop in to town and have meaningful interactions with old friends. It's all catching up. My life has changed dramatically, but each of them is doing pretty much the same old same old. Makes it hard to have a real conversation because we don't share the same day to day background information any more. I LOVED just hanging out, but it's not easy when you're just dropping in for a quick hello once every 6 months.

Again, I am starting school in the midst of turmoil. Last year, I had moved and left my friends and had JUST broken up with Mr. C. This year, Mr. C. has JUST quit his NM job and, as of Thursday, is temporarily(?) back in Texas. I'm trying to be ok with it. Right now I am. Thursday night I. was. NOT. ok. with. it. Ask me again tomorrow. He says he'll be looking for a job here, and I need to decide if I'm ok with our relationship if he gets a job in Austin. Because really, our future together probably hinges on that question.

I had some great realizations about myself this week in relation to Mr. C. If he is the one, then I have to stop saying things like, "Well, we haven't broken up YET," and, "We'll see if he stays in New Mexico." If he's the one, then we BOTH have to commit to making it work, and compromise generally means that neither party gets everything they want. I can't do the self-protective it's-all-in-his-hands bit anymore- I have to take an active role in the relationship and take ownership of how I feel.

This all sounds really heavy, but it was a really uplifting insight.

Anyway, school starts Monday. As in 36 hours from now. Yikes. I still have to read the Blue Book for law review- basically 250 pages of how to cite legal sources. Riveting, I tell ya. Absolutley riveting.

A little humid.

Good Lord,it is humid in Texas. Felt good for the first few minutes, now I'm just tired of being sticky. Ah well.

I'm driving Mr. C's 1981 Jeep Scrambler this week. THAT'S an adventure, let me tell you. Makes me appreciate the luxury mobile that was Helga. Speaking of which, still haven't bought another car. Must get on that.

I brought two travel knitting projects, both scarves. One is a simple garter stitch on size 19s. The yarn is brown slubby yarn with rainbow and gold sparse eyelash. I really like the way this is turning out! The other is a corkscrew spiral scarf from Scarf Style in my plum Misti Alpaca. Divine.

Meg, if you're still working on your scarf, we should do a compare and contrast when I get back. This pattern isn't quite what I thought it was going to be, and doing a side by side with yours might be interesting.....

Adios, Amigos. I'm off to eat more TexMex. Ooh, or maybe BBQ.

A couple of WOW days

I spent Thursday and Friday at an Art Law CLE in Santa Fe. It was a fascinating conference.

Speakers shared their knowledge about art world scandals, gossip, lawsuits, and personalities, as well as personal collecting preferences. I learned a ton. Most of the attorneys present started off as corporate litigators and eventually quasi-retired to do art-related cases. Most of the attendees were attorneys, but there were also gallery owners, art appraisers, and auction house people. I think I was the only law student.

Art law is basically a hybrid of business law (contracts, negotiation) and intellectual property law (copyright, trademark, licensing), with the added bonus of dealing with a very creative and eclectic group of people. I was particularly interested in the talks on how digitalization/the internet is/will affect the art world- this is an area ripe for development in the next several years.

The CLE was fantastic from a law student's point of view because I got to see a bunch of people doing wildly different things in very different environments. Kinda makes me want to move to New York and work for one of the big auction houses. Or Seattle to work for Corbis- they are doing some REALLY interesting things with licensing of art and personalities. Very very cool.

Anyway, it was a very stimulating couple of days!

I'm going to be in Austin, TX, all this week, so posting may be light.

Pictures!

So, here is a lovely headless shot of the Ice Cardigan:


Pattern: Ice from Rowan 27, Cardigan Version
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Eease, under 5 balls
Needles: Size 8 Crystal Palace Bamboo (that have seen better days)
Changes: Lengthened the body (glad I did! look how short it is!) and shortened the sleeves.

Verdict? I like it!

I decided it was time to start the hourglass sweater, so I got out a skien of Pakucho and started winding.

You know a project is cursed when it looks like this within the first 2 minutes:


knitting

Good times in knit land.

Yeah, yeah, no pictures yet. But there are some mighty hilarious things going on in the world of knitting.

Last night's knit night was a blast. We had a good group of old timers and we had pretty much taken over our usual corner of the coffee shop. All 15 or so of us hot young things were chatting it up and having a jolly good time. There was a sudden lull in coversation and poor S continued on quoting the portion of a popular rock song that goes, "my *#$& is bigger than your @*#$" (for those not present, *@#$ is a part of the male anatomy that rhymes with kick...). The man next to us got up and left, mumbling that something about needing a cigarette. Priceless.
THEN, when he came back, we were all talking about Bush/Kerry bumper stickers. Well, with all the bush euphemisms, you know how that ended. Poor guy will never think of knitters the same way.

Then there was the poor Yarn Harlot's post from yesterday. I cried while reading it, I was laughing so hard, then I dreamt about it last night.

Let's hope I don't dream about THIS tonight. P is obviously deeply in love with this woman as he KNEW the pictures would end up on the web... That's a good man.

Maybe I can get C to model the Ice cardigan....

knitting

Finish finish finish

I finished the Ice cardigan! It's cute, but I'm not sure how much I'll use it. Glad it's done, though! I have pictures and will hopefully load them tonight.

I also finished Harry Potter last night. This one was really good- enjoyed it immensely. I think Rowling did a great job of telling a wonderful story AND of setting up the next book (which should be the last?)

So, in right around a week I finished Orangina and Ice, AND Pride and Prejudice and Harry Potter.

I am exhausted. I know I can't sleep in on Saturday, but I've got my fingers crossed for Sunday...

la de da de da

You know what is a baaaad idea? Running over a giagantic power cord that is plugged in to an electric lawn mower with said electric lawn mower. Just thought I'd share.

Actually, it wasn't that bad. I'm fine, the mower is fine, and the cord is shot. But it's definitely on my "don't do that again, stupid" list.

I'm ALMOST finished with the Ice cardigan I started waaaay back in early May. I finished the body by early June but haven't touched it since. After Orangina, worsted weight yarn on size 8 neeedles FLIES! I've got half a sleeve to go, then button bands. So... Close... I want to finish it this weekend...

The SockaPalTwoZa Mermaid Socks are coming along really well. I had to rip because they just weren't big enough around, but now I have 3" of the leg done. I LOVE the way they're turning out.

Other than that, my house-sitting gig ends today! That's IT.

knitting

I DID sell Helga!

YAY! For more than yesterday's guy offered! YAY! And I have the cash, he has the car, so it's final! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!

Nevermind

Nevermind about THIS- the buyer backed out. But there's hope- 3 people coming to see it today and tomorrow...

Congratulations, Meg!

Our own MEG has published her first pattern! Check it out, then visit Meg and congratulate her!!!

knitting

A moment of silence...

I just sold my Helga.



Helga, thanks for the good times, the bad times, and everything in between!

AND, this is my 200th post! WOOHOO!

Confessions of a Yarn Hoarder

Ok, there's just TOO MUCH for me to take pictures of all the yarn I've bought this summer. But I need to confess and get it off my chest.

In no particular order, since May 1 I have bought (ignoring books, needles, notions, spindles, or fiber... just YARN):

• 4 skeins of Knitterly Things Vesper Sock Yarn from KnitPixie, one each of aqua melon, sweetwater, algae, and knit and tonic colorways. Destined to become socks. (DUH!)
  
  
• 1 skein of Tilly Tomas Disco Lights in Bluebell, also from KnitPixie. Destined to become a spectacular scarf.
  
  
• 1 skein of a pink rayon thick/thin yarn with colored slubs from Textiles A Mano at the Fiber Arts Fiesta. Destined to become a scarf.
  
  
• 1 skein of a DK weight 50/50 wool silk yarn in variegated pinks/oranges/reds/yellows, also from Textiles A Mano at the Fiber Arts Fiesta. Destined to become the pashmina cowl out of Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
  
  
• 6 balls Rowan Cotton 4-Ply in White that has already become Orangina.
  
  
• 15 skeins of Pakucho Organic Cotton in Natural from elann.com. Destined to become the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
  
  
• 14 skiens of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in off white from eBay. Destined to become a cardigan... I think. Maybe a pullover. I feel like I HAD a pattern in mind when I bought it, but now can't think...
  
  
• 4 skeins Misti Alpaca in a deep plummy color from Miriam's Well/Santa Fe School of Weaving. Destined to become Ruffles from Scarf Style.
  
  
• 1 skein of a random brown slubby yarn with rainbow eyelash, also from Miriam's Well. Not nearly as awful as it sounds. Destined to become a scarf.
  
  
• 4 balls of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport, 2 white and 2 red, to make Norweigian mittens for my Mom (already in progress).
  
  
• 6 balls Lion Brand Cotton in process of becoming a cardigan.
  
  Is that all????
  
  EDITED TO ADD:
  
  
• 1/2 pound of gorgeous white pima cotton slubby stuff from Good Fibrations
  
  
• A whole lot of stuff at my Mom's yarny estate sale. I know I got a cone each of pale beige laceweight, very lightweight boucle in red, a bunch of tealish aranish weight tweed, a skein of tealish thaki donegal tweed, and maybe something else.
  
  

Holy crap, that's a lot of yarn.
knitting

Old School New Mexico Architecture

I love New Mexico. My Mom had an estate sale a few weekends ago in a stunning house right on Rio Grande. For those not from Albuquerque, Rio Grande is a magnigicent boulevard with extraordinarily pricey homes (think million pluss...)

The house was designed by famous New Mexico architect John Gaw Meem in 1937. The family will be restoring the house according to his original plans.



It's over 6500 square feet, adobe in the Territorial Style, on 10 acres just off the river.



While it needs some updating, it is spectacular. All the proportions are right. It's not too pretentious, but when you go inside, it all feels perfect. This is what you see when you go in the front door.



There's a formal dining room to the left, along with the kitchen and a large family room. To the right is a large living room, and a wing with 3 or 4 bedrooms. Straight ahead is a spectacular breezeway.



The tacky sliding glass doors will be replaced with French doors, as designated in the original plans. The light fixtures are original tin work- gorgeous. At one end of the breezeway is a fantastic example of a kiva fireplace.



And here's a close up of the details built in to the fireplace.



It was fabulous to be in this great old house for a day. I really enjoyed watching te people who "got" the house- they were awestruck. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me.

So bad

Just gave my end of summer notice at work. I am AWFUL at breaking up with jobs and boyfriends.

This has really been a phenomenal summer. I have the utmost respect for the firm I've worked at- these people are smart, kind, balanced, and professional. I'm coming away from this summer knowing (1) I can do this kind of work and (2) I'm really going to LIKE doing this kind of work. And I genuinely like every person in this office. Way better than how lots of other law students feel coming off their summer jobs.

Done with Orangina!!!!!

I'm done with Orangina!



Specs:
Pattern: Orangina by Stefanie Japel.
Yarn: Rowan Cotton 4 Ply, as the pattern called for. Used about 4.5 balls, which means I have a full ball to return to the yarn store for credit!
Modifications: None, really. Did the ribbing on size 2 needles instead of size 3. Other than that, knit as written.

Verdict: I love it! The picture is kinda crappy, but I like the way this shell fits. I even have it on over a tshirt in the picture (I was too lazy to run over to my Mom's to find a camisole...) The lace is open enough that a cami is necessary.

It's very form-fitting, which means (1) it will go well under a suit jacket, (2) it's less likely to roll at the neck because it's a little more stretched across the top than a looser version, and (3) there isn't lots of excess fabric floating around.

If I were to make this again, I'd go another 3 inches or so on the lace and cut back on the ribbing. This was a really well-written pattern!!!!

knitting

It's all about MEME!

I'm having trouble focusing at work today, so imagine my delight on getting tagged by MEG! I'm not tagging anyone, though. Cause I'm a party pooper.

10 years ago...
That was quite a summer. My parents seperated, I went to visit my then boyfriend for the Ring Dance at the Naval Academy (worst weekend of my life), spent the summer being a head counselor at Hummingbird Music Camp , my all time favorite place, and got ready to go to college in Virginia.

5 years ago...
this weekend I was moving to Austin, TX. A girlfriend from college was moving to Austin to be with her boyfriend, and I decided to join her. Good Lord, it was HOT. My Mom and baby brother drove with me, and we stopped at Carlsbad Caverns.

1 year ago...
I was about to start law school. I'd had an intense summer- moving, relationship drama, and was very, very nervous about starting school!

Yesterday...
I mowed the lawn, read the NY Times, knit, read, shopped (new bra- whee!), then met up with a friend for dinner with her family and then we saw Fantastic Four.

Today...
I found out I made law review! I am also having a really hard time focusing at work. I have a ton to do, but am not quite up to doing it.

Tomorrow...
is Knit Night! Hurrah! I get to model Orangina!

5 snacks I enjoy...
Fruit! Chocolate! Peanut Butter! Ice Cream! Potato chips and Albertson's Green Chile Dip (and, while I'm thinking about it, Kerby Queso... queso with guacamole)

5 bands/singers that I like...
Oh Lord. I am so out of the loop. They Might Be Giants, Barenaked Ladies (lets see what that does to my google status!), Aimee Mann, Beatles, and Carbon Leaf. There are lots of others, but I'm pretty out of touch with what the kids are listening to these days.

5 Things I would do with $100,000,000...
Pay off my Mom's house and buy houses for myself and my brothers. Buy a newer car. Donate lots of money, not sure exactly what causes. Probably quite a bit to NPR/PBS, maybe some arts foundations, the law school (public institution, not great budget situation), and maybe my college (though they have a larger endowment and don't need it quite as badly), medical research, possibly start a public policy institute to fix the health care situation in this country. Save/invest for retirement and my non-existent childrens' college funds. Have a fabulous round the world vacation, and take a year off to do it. Maybe expand vacation to include a trip to the moon.

5 locations I'd like to run away to...
England. France. Northern New Mexico. New York City. Safari in Africa. um, and Australia. That's 6, I know.

5 bad habits I have...
I bite my fingernails. If there is food near me, I will eat it. I forget that I usually get what I need if I just ask for it. I like people to think I'm smart/perfect, and don't like admitting that I'm wrong/I don't know. I am horrible at saving money- my expenses always seem to match my income.

5 things I like doing...
Knitting. Cooking. Talking with my Mom, girlfriends. Downhill skiing. Being with Mr. C, regardless of what we end up doing.

5 things I would never wear....
Tube top, ultra low rise pants, leather pants, scrunchie, thong.

5 TV shows I like...
Antiques Roadshow, BBC America's What Not to Wear, Sex and the City, That 70s Show, Will and Grace, the A Team.

5 Movies I like....
Amelie, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Criterion Collection (2-Disc Special Edition), When Harry Met Sally..., Bridget Jones's Diary (Collector's Edition), So I Married an Axe Murderer

5 famous people I'd like to meet...
Shakespeare, Bill Gates, Tom Hanks, Katharine Graham, Mabel Dodge Luhan.

5 biggest joys of the moment...
Knitting as a group sport, reading a good book, having a vacation to visit friends booked, knowing I'm doing well in school and laying a strong foundation for my professional future, and not *quite* being back in school yet.

5 favorite toys...
Knitting needles and yarn, skis, eBay, my hand-carved wood cribbage set that was an anniversary gift from Mr. C, and Scooter the cat.

BUSY busy busy

Slammed at work, so this will have to be quick.

1. Finished Orangina. YAY! It fits! Photo shoot tomorrow.
2. Bought yarn this weekend. YAY! Meg and I went to Needle's Eye and Miriam's Well/Santa Fe School of Weaving in Santa Fe. Really liked Miriam's well- but nothing was priced, which was irritating. Attention New Mexico Knitters: Needle's Eye has a TON of Koigu....
3. I made Law Review! Whee! I'm going to be swamped this semester! Ack!