The Adventures of Jaxypants and the Yarn Dragon

FAIL.

2008-12-21T19:01:00.000-08:00

Clearly being in Detroit has stunted my ability to make posts on here. Seriously, I completely thought that the post dated Friday had been made Saturday and thus I didn't have to post yesterday... yeahhhh, that's so NOT full of fail. Rack me up with two more posts to make up.

Yesterday I went shopping for wayyyy too long with my mom and sister, and purchased some Christmas gifts for family and for my Babcia to give me (don't tell her, I'm getting a suit!). Today was a Christmas party at my aunt's house and a bowling party at the bowling alley of a family friend. My dad's trying to teach me about bowling and I think it's working, although trying to make a ball without a weight block hook is painful and strangely like parry four.

Tomorrow there are exciting things to be done- my friends from my high school physics club are coming to my house for a party. It will be teh awesome. However this means I need to cleannnn meh.

Shoot! I missed one!

2008-12-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I have a decent excuse for missing yesterday's post- I wasn't anywhere near a computer from 8 am until 1 am the next day, and then I was obviously rather tired. I went to work and sorted fasteners, then to Water Street to hang out for a little, then to my friend Eric's house in Northville to hang out with Eric, Sarah, and some of their high school gaming friends. I tried playing a paladin which was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be, particularly since two of the party members had missed the "I'm a paladin and hence LAWFUL GOOD and not allowed to associate with evil people like, hmm, ASSASSINS." Yeah, that was fun. Also found an area in Die Vecna Die that my character in the other campaign will love... library library library alchemy lab library. She'll just fall over in lust with it.

Um this is totally incoherent. I'm knitting my sister's christmas present- socks to wear with flats- and I'll write up the pattern. They're snazzy.

What I Intended To Post About Yesterday

2008-12-17T19:18:00.000-08:00

I have a few "best friends", well, two to be exact. That would be Eol and Pat, and they both get talked about today.

I sent off my Christmas package to Eol earlier this week, and when I came home from the post office what should I find on my porch but a Christmas gift from Pat.

Candy, a bath poof, new fingerless mitts (very soft and comfy!), an adorable little coin pouch that is now being used to hold my hair clips (I'm growing my hair out, at least this week. I'm debating it still, I may show up at school in January with a chin-length bob or with a spiky punky pixie. Still haven't decided which.)

Oh, and yarn. Soft, pretty, fair-trade alpaca yarn.

There was only one thing left to do...

Pull out some Lana Grossa from the stash and my new Hiya Hiyas and put them into my suitcase:

To take home with me for two weeks. Off to Detroit tomorrow!

Yikes!

2008-12-16T20:49:00.000-08:00

I forgot to blog today! I was in bed with my contacts out, about to go to sleep...

So, have a lolstar.

(This is from when my friend Matt and I were talking about how a supernova becomes a black hole. Basically, when a very large star becomes very old, its core collapses, starting an explosion into a supernova. You really get very little warning about when this is going to happen- the last stages can take a matter of days, which is really pathetically short on a galactic scale. So as far as we can predict from our position here on Earth, a large, old star really does just go, "hai i go splody nao 'k?")

Another half-assed blogpost due to late night shenanigans.

2008-12-15T19:48:00.001-08:00

Today, I returned to Kalamazoo in anticipation of working two or three more days in the physics department before I go back to Detroit for two weeks to hang out with my family and enjoy Christmasy things.

I made another ballband dishcloth while playing Monopoly from 7 to oh, about now... with Joel, John, Chrissy, and Lisa. It's a bit shorter than the others but I doubt anyone will care, even if they notice. That leaves me with three more dishcloths and footie socks before Christmas, plus some homemade candy/cookies. My knitting/baking ability is much greater than my ability to buy storebought presents, so I might as well.

I got a fantastic package in the mail today, but I will wait to post about it tomorrow because one: I need to unpack my camera and two: I'm tired and want to go to sleep instead. Until tomorrow!

Wicked

2008-12-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

Back in Detroit again- this time to see Wicked at the Detroit Opera House! Slick, slick musical... musically I think it was almost TOO slick! Anyhow, my semi-educated review of the production:

Set: EEEEEEEEEEE GIANT DRAGON AND GEARS AND STEEL AND GEARS AND DRAGONNNNNNNN. (translation: the part of Jax's brain that still works in the scene shop had an orgasm over this set. It was awesome, still can't believe it's for a touring production.)

Music: Well, it was well-done. I can't fault any of the musicians, and I love the writer of the show for having a main character whose part is accessible to contraltos (a.k.a. ME!) However, it felt more like an opera- the music was driving the story, and was the story. I love me some opera, but it didn't feel right for a Musical, y'know?

Favorite songs: "Dancing Through Life", "Popular" (who DOESN'T love that song!? It's kind of a cliche now but I enjoy), "Defying Gravity"

Surprised I didn't like: "As Long As You're Mine" - I knew what to expect here, given that I was able to sing Fiyero's part on it while hearing the song for the first time in Laura's car. The staging was just AWKWARD. You can't really stay in one position feeling each other up on stage while still being in a good position to project your singing.

I was lukewarm about the rest of the songs, but the way they came together was awesome. Whenever the ensemble got involved, things got overbusy.

Knitting: Have finished another ballband dishcloth.

Christmas Knitting!

2008-12-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I might as well fess up... I procrastinated on my Christmas knitting. It was going so well- I'd knocked off three presents really quickly... then I just stopped.

I did finish some presents for my friends on time, like this dicebag for Socialist Rob:

And now I'm in the endless purgatory of Ballband Facecloths. They're actually Ballband Dishcloths, but I'm calling them facecloths in hope that people won't be like "eww dishcloth", and packaging them with some handmade soap.

I still have to start my sister's footie socks, which are annoying because I have to make up said pattern as I go along. Looks like this blog might be getting a pattern! Also I have to fix my mom's scarf... I'll grab it on my way out the door tomorrow morning and fix it at home, I suppose.

Three dishcloths down, three to go on the yarn I have, possibly two more. Just keep knitting, just keep knitting...

Migraine and a Dream

2008-12-12T18:26:00.000-08:00

I had a terrible migraine today, so my day was shot- I woke up around 9, thinking "crap, I left my phone downstairs, I'm up an hour past my- OW OW HEAD NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT". Got downstairs somehow, took a Relpax, slept for another hour, dragged self downstairs again, took another. Then waited. By about one my headache was mostly gone but I felt really, really tired. Still do, in fact, but I'm blaming that on it being nighttime.

Last night I had a dream, and I don't remember the details, but I do remember it involving leaving Budapest. I dug back into my iPhoto to find photos from February 29, the day before I left, and found this one:

The Parliament building, overlooking the Danube (or as I want to say, the Duna).

Knitting content: an epic yarn barf.

The yarn is Laines du Nord Cashsilk, in the poetic colorway 676. It's being knit into a narrow version of the Lace Ribbon Scarf, from Spring 2008 Knitty. I have three more ittybitty skeins of this, and although I got them at the bargain price of $4 a ball, they're also only 25 g per ball. Normally, these little suckers are $10. Hey, I'm getting a $40 scarf for $16, but if it wasn't so orgasmically, must-put-around-my-neck-NOW soft, I would be marveling at how much I'm spending on a project of a type I normally hate. Yeah, I hate scarves. But this one is SOFFFFT.

Bah, humbug.

2008-12-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

I'm not exactly in the Christmas spirit right now- mostly exhaustion- and it's probably mostly due to Christmas music. I hate Christmas music- well, that's a lie. I hate THAT KIND of Christmas music. The kind that gets played on those 24-7 Christmas stations and sucks really, really hard.

Hence, this really made my day.

Nine Inch Noels.

Enjoy!

So I end up at home.

2008-12-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

Today consists of a greeting from sisterpants. She says,

"WTF JAX WHY ARE YOU TAKING A PICTURE OF ME EATING MY BAGEL D: D: D:"

I spent today in Detroit, getting a neurological evaluation done. Surprise! I have migraines! Not like I didn't know this, but it was reassuring getting everything scarier ruled out by the awesome Dr. Mitsias, and I get a proper prescription for my migraines now! Three cheers for that- I'm going to go on Relpax, which is in the same family as Zomig and Imitrex. Zomig was the medicine of doom that wrecked my shoulders, Imitrex is the one you've probably heard of. Relpax falls between them in strength and speed so hopefully it will be a happy medium.

I got to see my little bro play basketball, and hung out with my good friend Megan. We stalked Michael's and Jo Ann's looking for sock yarns (verdict: Heart and Sole patterns have hit SE Michigan, Michael's also carries Kroy Sock). We also went to One World Market, a Japanese grocery store in Novi. I got dashi... tea bags, and rice crackers, and INARI~~~~~ I love me some inari. Also socks at Hot Topic. Don't laugh, they're warm, comfy, and knee-high, so I can wear them fencing. You'll eventually get pictures of me kicking Rob's ass while wearing knee-high socks with skulls on.

Bayerische proceeds. I also spent a good part of my day thinking about why you can't map a circle to a straight line in a linear vector space. I'll talk a little about that problem when I get back to my whiteboard :)

"What we need is a LASER CAGE." - Socialist Rob

2008-12-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

I'm working for the physics department over the next two weeks, in the optics lab. I was an optics tech over the summer, which was a ton of fun, so this was sort of a reminisce. Except not. I mean, look at this.

This is a monochromator. This is what people used to make monochromatic light before we had lasers. BEFORE LASERS SERIOUSLY WHY DO WE HAVE THIS!?

Reason my job is occasionally tolerable: I built these!

With the addition of a laser, these become interferometers. The near one is a Michelson interferometer, the far one is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. They're pretty much awesome.

Reason I feel accomplished: the optics went from this (only worse):

to this:

in the course of four hours. It still makes me deeply sad that I had to label a good half of the large boxes "historical optics", because that means we don't have nearly enough modern optics.

My brain has been eaten by a sock.

2008-12-08T19:10:00.001-08:00

IMG_2238
Originally uploaded by thejunkyardbard

I was going to write about cooking today because I made yummeh foodz.

Instead, I knit on my Bayerische Sock. A lot.

Since when is this a graph theory blog?

2008-12-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

So I posted a picture of South America that I could instantly see had way more colors on it than it actually needed. How do I know this? My friends, let me tell you the way of... graph theory.

Having all those funny-shaped countries isn't convenient at all, now is it? Wouldn't it be nicer if they were easier to deal with... say, points?

Let's give Brazil some friends.

Here's where the math comes in- we're going to draw lines if there's a "symmetric relationship" between the two points. In this case, my symmetric relationship is "borders". You can't share a border with someone without having them border you, so I just draw a straight line (more about this at the end).

Now, we can see the essence of the problem. Color in the points such that no points with a line between them are the same color.

(This took me a few stops and starts- note that I forgot a few borders in the first frame, and that Argentina should be black, not green).

I ended up with this, and wasn't able to reduce any further.

Thus, you need four colors to color this map of South America.

The Math:

This is actually a pretty famous problem - the Four Color Theorem. It's generally held that the maximum number you need to color any map is 4, although as the Wiki article says, it was proved by computer so ymmv. Or, mathematically, "the chromatic number of any planar graph is less than or equal to 4."

In this smaller case, I used a branch of mathematics called graph theory. Graph theory runs on vertices and edges: a graph is defined to be a collection of vertices V and edges E, [V,E]. You can also have a directed graph, or "digraph", of vertices V and arcs A, [V,A]. Digraphs don't make much sense in the context of this problem, but they're fun to think about and maybe I'll put up a teaser about them later.

The main concept I used to color South America is chromatic number. It's possible to force a graph to be colored with as many as n-1 colors, where n is the number of vertices; however, the chromatic number (the squiggly X is called a "xi", pronounced "khi") is the least number of colors needed. Given that there exist cycles in the graph of South America, you need at least three; in fact, before I drew in the borders between Argentina and Paraguay, the graph was three-colorable.

They see me provin', contradictin', inductin' and making base cases, writing proofs...

2008-12-06T17:38:00.000-08:00

Today I took the Putnam exam and it went a LOT better than I thought it would. For those of you not in the loop, the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition consists of 12 questions, 10 points each, over six hours. The median and mode score are both a big fat 0. So, getting any points means you're a gangsta mathematician. I totally rocked one question- it was about n-gons, or polygons with n sides, and the look on Dr. Fink's face when I told him I solved it with derivatives was priceless.

Math: it's pretty darn cool. Here's a little brain teaser for everyone, just to show you how awesome math is...

Here's a map of South America. Look at all the colors!

Let's say I wanted to save on color printing by reducing the number of colors used in this map. How many colors do I need to use so that no one country is colored next to another?

I'll give you guys an answer and a proof tomorrow. :)

Now for actual knitting content.

This is Lisa. Lisa lives with me in our big blue house (photos forthcoming).

These are Lisa's mittens. Paton's Classic Wool Merino on my trusty size 4 DPNs, super soft and lofty, knit up really fast and pretty and for $5, and even better... she loves them! She treats them like they're made of solid gold and it truly warms my heart.

Holidailies: Day 1

2008-12-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

Evidently Michigan needs to get its act together. I woke up this morning and it's snowed. Again. I mean, I like snow. I didn't see much of it last year since Europe was freakishly warm. However, this is getting ridiculous.

So I'm done with finals and have moved on to a position as part-time physics lackey. Between now and when I go home for Christmas, I'm going to be organizing physics labs, painting stuff, organizing outings for next quarter, and probably doing more paperwork than I've ever wanted to see, ever.

Also I just found out I got Honors on my SIP! For those of you who aren't in the K Bubble, my college (Kalamazoo College) requires every senior (that's me) to do a Senior Individualized Project. This is a large and impressive-looking paper. I did a 2-unit summer SIP- the rarest kind, because mostly you get one credit per term worked on a SIP.

I can't find my camera cable, so knitting pics after I get the Putnam done tomorrow.

Oh, the holidays.

2008-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

I spent a very worthwhile few days at home, sleeping, eating Polish food, and getting through one of my final papers, all of my grad school applications (yay!) and rereading the book for my other final paper. Yesterday, I drove home from Detroit to Kalamazoo, in the icky yucky snow which evidently sent the fear of God into everyone on I94 and backed up for miles with no evident reason, and wrote my other paper. Two classes down, one class, one hearing, and one thesis defense to go. If I ever convince myself to get out of bed, I'm going to take my laptop over to the bagel place, nosh on a delicious bagel and drink some coffee, and spend about an hour getting my thesis defense together. Then, back to the house to snag my trumpet and go warm up for my hearing at 11:30, then to the library for more preparation with a break for a health center appointment at 1.

Because I am mildly crazy, I am going to be doing Holidailies. Watch me add the button now. Anyhow, the point is to write every day between Dec 5 and January 6. Since I normally write about my knitting, I may have to actually knit things between then too. Essentially it's Nanowrimo for those of us who are too busy in November and too ADD anyway. Hopefully it'll all be awesome 'n stuff!

Soooo um...

2008-11-27T08:28:00.001-08:00

Yeah, I fail at blog postings. To make it up for you, you're going to get a photoessay: what Jax does when she's NOT at school! It'll be awesome.

Wild Developments!

2008-10-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

So my computer went *kerbreak* which meant that I eventually shelled out for a new one. This one, unlike the old one, has a built-in camera and Photo Booth. So, I will be taking a few pictures.

First, Bayerische Socken.

Only a little into the third leg repeat on the first sock. They're still freaking GORGEGOUS.

Second. Remember the Shapeless White Thing?

Now it is a Shapeless White Thing with a Hood:

AND has two friends:

This is a sweater. It just needs to have the ends woven in and be washed and blocked. Sooooooo yeah. That should be happening soon... exciting!

Back from the dead!

2008-09-28T18:24:00.001-07:00

I'm back from the dead- a.k.a, writing my SIP, a.k.a. researching and writing 30 pages of original photonics work, a.k.a. having my brains smashed out with a gold brick wrapped in a slice of lemon.

If I haven't linked her here before... this is the fantastic Holly, a.k.a. knitwithsnot. I was trying to give her big hair like the ~~streetwalker~~ lovely, beautiful high school student two tables down from us at Applebee's.

Holly is a professional zombie hunter. I, if you did not know, am a professional vampire slayer. This was a friendship that was simply meant to be.

We'd heard rumors of undead lurking in West Branch, MI, at the Northerm Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival. Since we have collectively cleared Kalamazoo of undead, we figured we would go lend a hand to anyone further up in the mitten.

After lopping off a few heads and staking a few vampires, we settled in to enjoy the fiber. We contributed our mad crochet skills to assembling a blanket for Hope Lodge:

I also checked out this little gal for Shannon :

Nope, not a vampire bunny. This little "broken chocolate" angora bun's going home with her :D

Shannon also had a surprise for me...

... the RAMMSPINDLE :D :D :D I am soooooo happy to have this. It's one of her awesome Spinsanity Spindles, and the fiber is from Fibers by Em. I learned to spin by firelight (so no pictures of that awkwardness), and here is the product:

Mah first yarn! I dunno what I'm going to make with it, but it will be awesome and I know it. I also got some other goodies from the fiberfest-

Big, floofy, denimy batt of merino.

My sweater. Yes, right now it is yarn, but it is my sweater. Briar Rose Fibers, lovely stuff... and that's 1200 yds.

Two precious ounces of black alpaca. I'm going to get better at spinning before I try this one, it's going to be a cravat so I want a thinner yarn than I'm spinning on the Rammspindle now.

Also, since it's been a while, I owe everyone some project pictures. Since I'm lazy, I'm not digging up all my projects right now, so you just get my works in progress.

I took these socks with me on the drive to West Branch and I have about 15 more minutes of work on them. This translates to, "Jax, just finish your Japanese homework and GRAFT THE TOE!!"

A shapeless thing. This is actually the majority of the body of Rogue. It's made from recycled yarn so it is very eco-friendly and cost-effective.

Bayerische socks. These actually take concentration, hence they go slow.

I'm fatigued now... more entertaining later :D

The Return of the Yarn Dragon!

2008-05-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

The yarn dragon is returning from his lair with a new acquisition... Breeze, from Knitty. The socks are Regia Silk in the leftover 0.9 of a skein from D.A.V.'s socks, knit on size 1s. They took me about 5 days to knit, and I'm quite enamored with them. Now I need to knit some proper, by which I mean over the ankle, socks!

I'm a bad Jaxy.

2008-04-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

Note my extreme lack of posts.

But, now I have my camera cable (it was in my sock box?) and I'm ready to show off a little of what I've been doing!

For example, two out of Three Tams.

This one is for the College Knitters swap. Very classy, in maroon and white Cascade 220.

I made this one for me out of some Kureyon and the leftover white.

I also have most of what I've dubbed the Design Feature Cami done. This is not representative of its finished size- it is in fact finished except for the straps. I just need to break down and go to the bead store and get some beads for the strappyness.

Also, 70's-tastic Noro Legwarmers. These are finished, I'll get a proper pic up soon.

And this is a Mouse.

And this is my hair! It's finally a color I'm happy with :D

As for what I'm working on now...?

Homework. And midterms. And poems for class. And homework.

I have one project on the needles atm- some fantastic red Moseys- but I haven't knit a stitch in a week. Which is sad because I also have some really gorgeous sock yarns- ArtYarns Super Merino in a blue/grey colorway and Jitterbug in Sahara that I still need to wind off. Well, I'll bother Mouse about that when I can breathe.

A Picture-less update. SAD.

2008-03-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

So I need new camera batteries before I can take pictures. This is really annoying because A. my camera flat-out refuses to work on any set of batteries that costs <$10 and B. I am flat broke. Seriously. I have $30 in my wallet, $30 in my checking account, and god-knows-how-much damage to my credit card. The roadtrip that caused most of the damage was totally worth it though.

I'm moving in to my new apartment in Kalamazoo on Monday. I'm very excited! I also have no flippin' idea what I'll do with myself for a week, but I hazard that it will be much like what I do here- knit, go online, organize, and try starting to run (still haven't been successful with that one, but whatev). I will also be attending an MC2 talk about the mathematics of baseball and hopefully checking out Zombie Prom Date Knitters.

Despite the inadvisability of it I'm going on two yarn runs in the immediate future. One to Ann Arbor (which is mostly for the 'hey, let's hang out in Ann Arbor' value), and one to Stitching Memories. Why? Well, I need some yarn for my idea for the College Knitters Swap. Also, I'm in the Sock Knitters Pentathlon, and I am so vastly dissatisfied with how the yarn I was using for Jacobean looks that I am going to buy some solid yarn now. The yarn is an interesting cotton fingering weight made of three shades of pink plied together. Sadly, it looks like crap in the pattern!

Well crap! I was tagged unawares!

2008-02-25T06:46:00.000-08:00

So, I've been off traveling with my family. They came to visit me in BP, then we went to Paris, city of lights and really unfavorable exchange rates. Now, I am reluctantly home. Although I saw Cait which makes everything better!

I was tagged by knittchick and Rachel (a.k.a. fiberfiend6891)

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I've been in 19 different countries over the past 6 months.

2. I have a bit of a talent for languages. English is the only one I speak fluently, but I can get by at a semi-native level in French, I have an intermediate proficiency in Japanese, I can sort of hack Hungarian, and I can read and understand (but not speak) survival German and Spanish. Add my ability to relate stuff to those, and this means I can get by in every European country that doesn't use a Slavic language, and some that do.

3. My first knitaversary is in March! My first project was a pair of Malabrigo ankle socks. My second was the Malabrigo knee socks (a.k.a. Spiked Socks of Battle).

4. I get repeated compliments on my Robert Frost Knucks, which makes me think I need to write up a post on how I did them so everyone else can try making awesome fingerless gloves.

5. I gravitate towards things that are knit in pairs: socks, gloves, mittens, handwarmers, etc. Second ____ Syndrome normally only happens when I'm vastly dissatisfied with the first.

6. I'm a long-time gamer. The Fam and I are Nintendo loyalists to an extent. My favorites are RPGs and rhythm games- DDR, Donkey Konga, Karaoke Revolution, and Guitar Hero! I'm just learning how to play Hard on GH3, I play Standard on DDR, Advanced on Konga and Karaoke Revolution.

7. I fence! My former coach, Akos, was an Olympic pentathlete and he is FREAKING SWEET.

So, TAG!
Mouse
Cait
Kelsey
Kaya and Nabby
Holly
Anne Kaelber
Amanda

Letter from the Yarn Dragon.

2008-02-12T06:02:00.001-08:00

Dear Jaxypants,

You are my partner, my friend, and my personal supplier of yarn and knitted objects to nest in. I love you to death. However, and you know that since I'm qualifying this with 'however'... get the fuck over yourself.

See? You crocheted a belt. It's a very nice belt. Yes, I know that you use crochet as a substitute for Prozac, but see? Belt.

You also buckled down and knit new cuffs on your Knucks, which you'd been intending to do for months. Yay you!

Also, you finished the first Stashbuster Spiral, and you've started on the other one! You'll be able to have them finished in time for your parents to come on Saturday with the size 2s you need to finish Baudelaire!

So what if D.A.V. is being unhelpful re: California on top of being his usual insecure self? You're going to Georgia on a roadtrip with Eol, and knowing you two you'll have a great time, and maybe even get some knitting done.

Your awesome parents also are in the process of finding you an apartment so you don't have to go back on the meal plan. You've even found an afghan designer's page that does math-inspired afghans you're deliberating between! And if you live alone you'll be able to have quality time with all your friends without John sneering at the ones he doesn't like.

You also have a great job offer, and even if you're turning it down, it means you have prospects. You also have a booklet of Caltech admission info they sent unsolicited waiting for you at home. Quite frankly, you're doing great.

So, stop being so angsty, get the hell down to Tesco to look for the cotton twine you want for making these grocery bags on the planes, and live a little! You'll be back in Budapest, but you won't be able to live today again!

Much love,
The Yarn Dragon.

A general sort of blah.

2008-02-05T06:51:00.000-08:00

I really don't feel like doing much of anything lately- not even knitting! I think it has something to do with the looming arrival of my family... because that marks the end of this adventure. Hungary has been a life-changing experience, and knowing that as soon as they get here I have to stop living like an independent Hungarian is really bringing me down. I really miss K and my friends and family in the States, but as February 16 gets closer and closer the less I want to leave. Couldn't they all just come here?

I did the first really "touristy" thing I've done for a while today- souvenir shopping at the Nagy Vasarcsarnok. I don't intend on bringing many people souvenirs, although Pat is getting paprika and my sister's getting a set of Magyar kartya for her birthday next month. I also bought myself a Ferencvaros soccer scarf, and I may go back to Vaci utca and get a Magyarorszag soccer scarf as well- I saw a really nice-looking one at a "dark shop"-like souvenir stand. I love my Hungary, and I love my scarves, but I HATE knitting them. Even if soccer scarves look like they'd be fun at a larger gauge- they're essentially two seamed intarsia pieces with a fringe- I just don't really like scarves!

I actually haven't knit a stitch since last post. This isn't good... I think I'm going to drag out my Knucks and do the repair knitting on them I've been intending to do for a while. Some mindless knitting sounds good to me now.

With apologies to Peter Venkman.

2008-01-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

There's too much yarn
Not enough suitcase
What you gonna do?
STASHBUSTIN'!

So I'm just trying to get rid of as much yarn as is humanly possible over the next few weeks, since I'm going back to the States March 1 and would like to have more suitcase space. Hence...

Out of my Filatura di Crosa Kid Mohair, Branching Out for my mom.

Out of my La Droguerie Surnaturelle, Endpaper Mitts for me.

Out of some leftover Sisu and scrap Lorna's Laces, SOCKS OF PURE WIN! (aka Hipknitism's Stashbuster Spirals)

I love these socks so much, and they're perfect for using up that leftover LL from my Jays and Stephisox. Who would've thought the colors would be so perfect together?!

Also I'm attempting to crochet... something... out of this Noro Kujaku I got in a destash from the lovely Holly, aka knitwithsnot. I don't really know what. Maybe a belt?

It also seems that I may be heading to California over spring break. I mention this here because it's inspiring a pair of socks I'm working on... I may take them to Bratislava tomorrow or I may wait for my trip with my family. The Stashbusters might be a little too much for a bus!

A Traveling Sock Retrospective

2008-01-16T04:10:00.000-08:00

I made it home on Saturday, absolutely exhausted after getting on the most uncomfortable night train in all Europe behind an Italian nun who hadn't brought her passport because she thought Croatia and Slovenia were part of the EU open travel zone. WRONG.

I also made it home with these.

I hear you- "Jaxypants, those are very lovely socks. However, that is a total of SEVEN socks. Four pairs of socks requires EIGHT socks."

Well, here's my excuse:

The skein for the second Baudelaire... doused in honey. There was no way that was coming out, so I trashed it and spent the last two days of my trip swatching for what may be this blog's first pattern... all of the swatching was ripped out, but I'll figure out how it needs to be done soon enough.

Sunday I spent the evening with D.A.V. (his last night before returning to the States) and the three boys taking over his flat (Wes, Garet, and Johannes). There was a distinct air of melancholy in the room, however, D.A.V. and I made tenative plans for spring break upon my return to the States, and parted with "See ya", rather than "goodbye". Maybe this end is little more than an unconventional beginning.

My new and temporary flatmate is named Alyssa, and she's a knitter too! Maybe when I get home I can get a picture of her and the FANTASTIC Muppet-ful scarf she's knitting. Also, Selene, one of the other new arrivals, was wearing some gorgeous handknit socks when I met her. And Natalie and I talked about knitting as well- apparently she made a dress! Also, the girl down the hall from me, Erin, is crocheting a fantastically eye-searing hot pink scarf. I'm excited about all the fiber artists here now :)

Shortly, I shall post a five-part series explaining the story of each of the traveling socks. Keep an eye out for them :)

More Sock Tales.

2008-01-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

I survived New Year's in Copenhagen and cast on for Baudelaire while waiting for my train. LOVE the figure-eight cast-on. It's all seamless and pretty-looking. Anyway... apparently only the FOOT made it onto my iPod. LAME. So, I stashed the foot of the first Baudelaire into my bag and started Monkey.

Monkey 1 was finished in Cait's boyfriend's living room. Cait's boyfriend's name is Manuel, and I highly approve of him. He's kind of like what would happen if you took D.A.V. and threw him through an inverter- shy, quiet, laid-back - except retaining the talented-but-still-self-conscious part. Except Manuel is so laid-back that he doesn't get stressed/uptight about the self-conscious part. I really hope he doesn't get too much culture shock coming to Michigan (BECAUSE HE IS :O), but I think that's a bit of a vain hope- K is so crazy uptight. Anyhow, I've been thinking I should brush up on that Spanish I learned in sixth grade (which means learn Spanish). I know what it's like to be thrown into a country where you don't speak the language or understand the culture (*koff* HUNGARY *koff*), and he won't even have a group of like-minded and languaged people like I did. Even if I can only say "the cat sat on the mat"...

Monkey 2 is at the gusset decreases. Hopefully I'll be able to get a good copy of the Baudelaire pattern soon- knock on wood, if I do I will have risen to the Great Sock Challenge!!

2007: A Year in Knitting

2008-01-01T00:18:00.000-08:00

Early March: Cait tackles me in the library coffee shop and tells me that if I buy her a skein of Malabrigo she will make me socks. We go to Stitching Memories and buy the yarn... and needles for me!

March: Mouse and Cait teach me to knit.

April 5 (my birthday!): I cast off on my first pair of socks, which are promptly given to Eol.

The next day I get three piercings. This is not relevant.

Then...

Spiked Socks of Battle: knit at D+D.

Plane Socks: given to Aunt Dorry.

Dashing: I think I left these in the LIGO van.

Fetching 1: Given to Babcia.

Green Lantern Scarf: Still not finished.

Punk Rock Duffer Cuff: Given to Megan.

Robert Frost Knucks: Mine :) at 8 Rav favorites and rising.

Stephisox: still not given to Stephi.

D.A.V.sox: Probably the most beautiful thing I made this year.

Jaywalkers: I love these :)

24h Hat: Eva's ridiculous hat.

Heading North: My less ridiculous hat.

Raglan: Still sitting at home... needs a few more inches at the base and some sleeves, but it's on its way to being done.

The Sock Challenge: I finished two of the four Sock Challenge socks in 2007. Looks like I'm right on track!

Goals for 2008:

Learn to knit continental.
Start writing patterns for the blog.

I thought about designing stuff in Oslo and came up with the idea of knitting some traditional Norwegian stuff substituting the Metallica star for that dorky flowerything. Fender isn't my bf, I could make him a sweater? :)

2007-12-25T10:51:00.001-08:00

Frohe Weihnachten from Munich everyone. Me and Snicket 1 hope you and your family are happy and healthy for the holiday season and the new year. :)

And we´re off!

2007-12-23T21:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I dragged myself out of bed at the ungodly hour of 4.25 (eeeww), showered, and headed for Keleti. I found my train, but was convinced I was at the wrong platform since I could only see sleeper cars (that´s what I get for hopping on the night train from Romania). So I meandered purposefully back to the head of the platform, where who should I meet... D.A.V., on his way to Croatia. I was necessarily pretty happy about this, since I thought I wouldn´t see him again (or for at least three weeks) when his train from Bratislava came too late for him to join our final farewell. It was relatively cathartic.

So, after kissing him goodbye (on the cheek), I finally found the right car and headed on my way to Wien, Österreich - that's Vienna to you!

I think I did a decent job of checking out the major sights in one day. Snicket 1 and I checked out Schloss Schönbrun, the Hapsburgs' summer palace... and even though my hands were freezing I knit a couple stitches for the novelty. Then into the city to see Neue Hofburg (another Hapsburg palace) and the museums of arms and armor and archaic musical instruments contained within. Also, I went to MUMOK, a museum of modern art that I'm soooo glad D.A.V. isn't with me for- I found most of it aesthetically pleasing (although the Vienna Group was a bit out there for even me), and he HATES modern art. Like, anything Impressionism and later. I checked out Stephansdom (not really much to see- a very beautiful church like the scores of beautiful churches in Europe, and you can't go more than maybe 50 feet in), and the Opera (I don't have Opera-appropriate clothing or an Opera-appropriate wallet, sadly). I also had espresso and Sachertorte at the famous Cafe Sacher... WAY too classy for how I was dressed, but the cloakroom guy helped me put on my coat and the younger of the two waiters was very courteous (the older stared daggers at me and my hoodie). Just a hint, though- if you really want to buy me a nice cup of coffee and cake and spend way too much on it, get me the Esterházy torta at Cafe Gerbeaud in Budapest instead. Sachertorte is good, but I didn't actually think the most famous chocolate cake in the world was all that special.

I then returned to my hostel and met some people! Nina and Dimitrios from Greece, Maki from Japan, and SEVENTY-TWO THOUSAND HYPERACTIVE ROMANIAN CHILDREN (one of whom, incidentally, was fluent in three languages). It was a good time, and I made it about halfway through the second pattern repeat on Snicket 1. I think I'm still on pace with the socks!

Off to Munich today at noonish with a stopover in Salzburg. I haven't checked exactly how long it is, but I might get a chance to check out a little bit of the city.

Auf Wiedersehen!

The Prologue, or, Ice Skating

2007-12-19T15:35:00.000-08:00

I, Jaxypants R. Sanders, was way too smitten with D.A.V. This is a fact. In fact, my smittenness-to-reason ratio is still way too high. However, I have an analogy- ice skating.

Being happy on your own is a lot like ice skating. Some people never learn. Some people get really good and stay that way. Some people, like me, learned how to do it when they were young, but never mastered it.

When I get out to ice-skate, there's always that lurch in my stomach- "do I remember how to do this?" I'm nervous. I don't want to go on the ice...

Then I do. And everything comes back to me- I remember how to switch edges, skate backwards, cloverleaf, turn...

I'm going ice skating. Both literally and figuratively- literally at City Park Friday, and figuratively Sunday, when I depart, Eurail pass in hand, on a three-week backpacking trip. This backpacking trip, since I mention it here, has to have something to do with knitting...

Welcome to the Great European Sock Adventure.

Herein lies the challenge-

4 pairs of socks.
11 countries.
21 days.

Although as D.A.V. said, I'm trying to take half the stuff and twice the money, my DPNs and notions take up almost negligible space, the yarn will provide hours of entertainment, and the socks will be immediately usable.

The Countries:

Hungary! Ok, this teccccchnically shouldn't count since I live here. But it does.

Austria! I'm spending December 23 and part of Christmas Eve in Vienna- one of the most beautiful towns for Christmas in the world!

Germany! Christmas in Munich, followed by adventures in Berlin!

Denmark! Visiting a friend in Copenhagen as I pass through to the north, then New Year's on the way back!

Sweden! Because Stockholm is there!

Norway! I've had an enduring desire to go to Oslo since the Winter Olympics! I don't care if it doesn't make sense, D.A.V.!

The Netherlands! Because Amsterdam is there!

France! Because I haven't seen the Louvre yet despite having spent more than a month total in Ile-de-France/Loire!

Spain! Visiting Cait in Caceres and going to Madrid and Barcelona because they're there!

Switzerland! Chocolate, CERN, and a new Swiss Army Knife!

Italy! Because Venice will be awesome and has direct service to Budapest!

The Socks!

Socks the First: Sabine Riefler's Snicket Socks from the September '06 MagKnits.

I saw this yarn and thought "hmm, Snicket socks". I didn't remember they were knit in grey, but at any rate... they will be lovely socks. A nice easy warm-up pattern.

Socks the Second: Suzanne Kitzmann's Rainbow Socks from the October '07 MagKnits

A bright, cheerful sock yarn to carry me through the darkness of wintry Scandinavia. Also, I've been dying to try this pattern for ages, now I can!

Socks the Third: Cookie A's Baudelaire, from Summer 2006 Knitty

I love black, but not much shows stitch-wise... lacy black socks, however, will be ridiculously sexy.

Socks the Fourth: Cookie A's Monkey, from Winter 2006 Knitty

This yarn reminds me of Venice for some reason. Maybe it's the "Italian Collection"... even though it's named "Maine", as in where D.A.V. is going back to soon enough.

I'm pretty sure the socks will go in this order, although that's up for change at any time. And the best thing...?

After pouring 2.1 skeins of gorgeous Regia Silk and way too much knitting time into my last pair of socks, when I'm not even sure if D.A.V. appreciates them, these are ALL FOR ME :D. All size seven, all with long legs and narrow feet... I'm getting misty-eyed just thinking about them! Also, major stash-busting means I don't have to feel guilty about any 'acquisitions' I make... and maybe if I'm a good knitter Maman will bring me some Noro sock yarn when she comes to visit in February?

Knitting!?

2007-12-03T15:42:00.000-08:00

Well, let's see. Broke up with D.A.V. a few days after Prague, szomoru.

but damn have I been knitting.

- replacement Fetching for Babcia
- hat for me
- hat for Eva
- my Jaywalkers
- started RC's scarf again
- knit one Eolmitten
- cast on for a sweater

YAY Package!!

2007-10-17T13:31:00.000-07:00

I liberated my package from customs today, which puts me at a lot less dire of a knitting position. So, here's the checklist of stuff I'll be knitting here in Hungary (take me up on these if I don't finish them!!)

- 2 lace scarves/shawls of indeterminate pattern
- RC's scarf
- Eol's socks
- My Jaywalkers
- Davidam's socks
- a hat for me (which may happen sooner than later, it's cold!!)
- mittens for me and Eol

I finished the first Davidamsokja and have started on the second one. It looks exactly like the one in the post below right now. I have also started a pair of Jaywalkers with my Lorna's Laces I got for myself, and will probably be taking them on the train to Prague. That or the hat. I'm debating, because although I want to get stuff off the needles, I can't take the Davidamsokja and the hat is good for the cold. However, traveling sock group might want to see the sock in Prague... ok, I suppose I'm taking the sock.

So yeah, I'm going to Prague this weekend Daviddel. I am also writing Magyar endingekkel. Time for me to stop.

You Know What They Say About Big Feet...

2007-10-07T06:34:00.000-07:00

It takes way too many stitches to make a sock!!

I present to you... Davidsox.

David is 6'2" and wears a size 12 shoe. I'm knitting Alice Bell's "Boyfriend Socks" in size large. TWENTY STITCHES PER NEEDLE. I'm just starting the cables, and would have more on them if I hadn't left my fifth size 1 DPN at home when I came to the kaveso to post.

The dragon decided that I should just cast off and make the toe a hat for him.

The Long-Awaited Knitting Post

2007-09-30T09:41:00.001-07:00

Currently on my needles:

STEPHISOX!!

The socks are top down, the leg pattern is Chevron from Sensational Knitted Socks, the foot is stockinette, the yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Jungle Stripe. One is done, one is yet to be cast on.

THE RIDICULOUSLY PHALLIC EPEE BAG!!

Yeah, I didn't quite get how phallic this would look until I was already knitting it. It's improvised, using a basic toe-up sock technique, and the grey Palette I was going to use for argylesox.

This should be done by Wednesday. Actually, it needs to be done by Wednesday.

2007-09-27T00:21:00.000-07:00

So I've been working on these argyle socks for over a month. Argyle is lovely to knit and very soothing. Then I realized...

FUCK.

These are never going on my feet. I stared at them, frowning, for a long, long time.

Then I took them off the needles, and started knitting a different sock. A new sock for a new era. A bold sock- top-down, unlike my previous toe-up efforts. With a stitch pattern, unlike my previous stockinette efforts. With a forethought heel, unlike my previous flapped efforts. In three days, after not casting anything off for a month... I had a sock. The most obnoxious, amazing purple-and-lime-green sock with Chevron leg and stockinette feet. It fits me perfectly, which means it will be just as lovely for my little sister Stephi.

Pictures, sadly, are not yet forthcoming, as I continually forget to make my camera, my link cable, my computer, and a wireless network all be in the same place at once. However, once I have cast on for the other sock, great deeds shall be done!!

Budapest is a yarn sinkhole. There is not one skein of yarn that I have seen and wanted to buy. In fact, I have seen less than 100 skeins of yarn in less than 6 types in a month of dedicated searching. It is quite depressing. However, I have a parcel from the Loopy Ewe on the way- 3 skeins of burgundy Regia Silk for Davidsox and 2 skeins of ShibuiKnits for the Ravelry Caffeine Addicts yarn swap. It will be difficult giving away the lovely electric blue sockyarn, but I know I will be getting some in return, which I will make into socks for me! I actually have some yarn for myself sitting in my desk drawer- Lorna's Laces in Sassy Stripe (hot pink and yellow). I just need to find a pattern for it- I was thinking RPM maybe?

Also, I have found the button in Blogger that makes all the writing be English and not Magyar. This makes me happy. What makes me unhappy is I have to rewrite/format my entire paper for LIGO between today and tomorrow D: No casting on for sock 2 tonight (if I'm good ^_-)

A Mini-Update!

2007-09-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

I have dial-up. Dial-up is slow. Dial-up is expensive. Hence, you will be getting one image-low post for a while.

Budapest is beautiful. I can't find a yarn store D:

I'm knitting argyle socks.

And one other question- is it considered bad luck to knit socks for one's boyfriend?

I'm looking in Sensational Knitted Socks for inspiration no matter what the answer is :D

This is NOT FAIR.

2007-08-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

I finished my beautiful lovely punky "Robert Frost" Knucks yesterday. They are slightly uneven and I forgot to go down a needle size for the ribbing on one side, but they are so thoroughly embroidered with bright and shiny colors that no-one will notice except me.

The unfair part is that I can't find my camera cable to show you! It does strike me now that I haven't looked in the cable pouch that came with my Brookstone laptop sleeve (that saved my ass in Las Vegas when I noticed that the strap of the one I bought before freshman year was maintaining its structural integrity by approximately ten very fragile-looking threads), so I'll check there when I get back home and see if I can take pictures.

I'm going to Seattle tomorrow! However, I am going with non-knitters, so I am hoping that I will be able to stumble across a yarn store and sneak in for yet more sock yarn. Yes, more. Even though I just bought enough Lorna's Laces to make two pairs of lovely socks- hot pink and highlighter yellow for me, lime green and purple for Miss Stephanie. I am being somewhat good though- I'm trying to cast off on everything I can. Fetching will be finished tonight or Sunday, and I'm taking what I've dubbed the Kerr Kilt Hose on our road trip to Seattle. I do wonder about the wisdom of knitting Aran braids in the semidark.

Still doing too much. ><

2007-07-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I DID cast off on that cuff. Then I decided "my hands are cold. I have no idea what to do with this skein..." TADAH! Fetching.

THEN I got a Box of Yarn! :D 10 balls of cotton that will become a baby blanket for Isabelle, the first member of the next generation on my dad's side of the family! I haven't seen pictures yet, but I'm sure she's very cute ^^ 11 balls of wool that will be sockses. I cast on for one of the pairs of sockses... worsted on size 1 needles!? That's crazy- like a very thick, very warm-feeling socktoe. However, I need to go to Knitty Gritty and buy more needles in general, and more size 1s in particular. And/or resurrect Vinnland so I can get them off the needles. But I do need a few straights for that blanket, so I'll do that.

Also got a package from the Budapest Semesters, and I may stay there and never come back purely because of their chocolate. They sent a bar that was like eating a perfectly blended hazelnut mocha. *bliss*

OMGEEZE RAVELRY.

2007-07-15T18:55:00.001-07:00

I'm going to go sit in the virtual yarn fumes now kthxbai.

An Acute Case of Startitis.

2007-07-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

I think I may have a love affair with argyle. It's so nicely geometrical and clean and fun to knit. Also, I am imposing a rule on myself that I am not allowed to post this blog until I finish my little argyle project. So, my break from the loving of argyle will be spent phreakowting over how I have too much yarn and too many ideas.

With that being said:

I have a bunch of cotton that's going to become a sweater at some point before the end of time (the pattern's been frustrating, so sue me). I have two luscious balls of handdyed laceweight that I have no idea what to do with. I have some green alpaca I similarly have no idea what to do with. I have a lovely ball of yarn that was going to be a beret, but I may just give up on that delusion and make it into socks.

I also have socks on the needles, my special argyle project, and a scarf for RC:

I blame my lack of progress on this:

If all of this isn't enough, I'm expecting a package from KnitPicks this week. Crayon in Azure and Yellow (for a baby blanket for my new cousin! :D She was born on July 10, luckily the shower isn't until September). Wool of the Andes in Cream for a surprise for my Eol. Palette in Fawn and Navy for a surprise for my Eol. Palette in Green and Fog for a similar project for me. Oh, and the Harry Potter pattern book. I am teh geek. >>

So, here's the argyle. Love it.

Also, I got to use Ravelry's cool "antsy" feature... OMG it's almost here!!111!!eleventyone11!!!!!1!

* You signed up on May 27, 2007
* You are #5588 on the list.
* 208 people are ahead of you in line.
* 10611 people are behind you in line.
* 32% of the list has been invited so far

Knitting.

2007-07-03T13:41:00.001-07:00

I love knitting. Knitting makes my life better. Knitting is instant gratification- you can see your piece coming together with each stitch! Knitting is soothing- repetitive motions without much mental taxation. Knitting is challenging- just look at these! Gorgeous. Knitting makes for great gifts- give me a $6 skein of merino from Hand Painted Yarn, my #5 bamboo double points, and a few spare hours (in a coffeeshop, on the couch, while commuting, between classes, on a plane...) and I can turn out beautiful socks (sure, for this yarn you have to be a woman's size 7 or smaller for me to get two socks out of one skein. But the point holds). Knitting is a community- I'm anxiously waiting for Casey and Jess to get to me on the waiting list for Ravelry. Knitting is a great hobby for me- I've got just enough perfectionist to make things nice, coupled with the intellectual stamina to pick up new skills well-nigh instantly and the ability to get fascinated with simple things to keep me focused.

What I am currently knitting:

* This sweater (for me! ^^). The band is green with a white contrast stripe, the rest is burnt orange. Sounds strange, but you'll have to see how nicely the colors mesh when it's done. Knitting it in Mandarin Classic cotton on Addi Turbo #3 circulars.
* A double-knit scarf of my own design for RC. It's made of deep green and black Cascade 220 superwash wool, and it has a Green Lantern motif. I'm stuck as to whether to stripe it all the way around or to have a solid panel with stripes and motif at either end.
* The Vinnland Socks. I'm going to try to finish something tomorrow (since my plan is to slather on some sunscreen and sit by the pool most of the day), and since I'm done with one of these I think that it's a no-brainer to get them off the needles... so I can start another pair of socks! :D

What I want to do with the yarn I have:
# Make socks for my little sister. I don't know what pattern, but it's going to need to be fine-gauge since it's laceweight merino.
# Make a beret to replace the one I felted.
# Make a lacy scarf or stole for either me or my mommy.
# Decide on something to do with that red yarn. >>

What I want to make but don't have yarn or pattern ideas for:

* Something (a blanket? a layette?) for Isabel, my cousin's proto-daughter due in September. She's my grandma's first great-grandchild, so naturally the entire family is rather excited. I intend to send her handknits and tony intellectual gifts for each birthday and holiday. Because she is the first of the many fetuses I shall wreak my influence upon, now that I am an adult and my non-Mark-the-jackass cousins are reproducing (actually, Mark-the-jackass' oldest daughter is not only succeeding despite her circumstances, she's the sweetest, most down-to-earth person I know, and she actually started me knitting- Mouse and Cait finished the job). Suggestions for either the type of handknit or the type of tony intellectual gift are always welcome. Actually, what I really need right now is a suggestion for childrens' books that have pretty pictures and nice stories, in order to subtly nudge Aimee and her husband into reading to her. Tell me your favorites.
* A special surprise for miss Megan that will probably have to wait until I have scrap multicolor sock yarn.
* A scarf for me. A stylish, warm one for traveling in Europe.
* A sweater for me. A stylish, warm one for traveling in Europe. Either of my own design or one from Knitty.
* More socks. Sock sock sock.
* Christmas gifts. It's never too early to think about Christmas gifts. But who gets them? What will they get? Decisions, decisions...

Morning rants.

2007-06-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

A recent BBC article on Facebook and MySpace as "class divides"

I think they're conveniently forgetting that Facebook was originally supposed to be a tool for college students. Including a requirement of a ".edu" e-mail address. Hmm, wonder why more college students are on Facebook? IT'S OBVIOUSLY A REFLECTION OF THE CLASSIST NATURE OF AMERICAN SOCIETY! D: It can't be that Myspace lets any chatspeak-abusing emo camwhore over the age of 13 get a profile! Good job missing the obvious, Danah Boyd. Or should I say Dr. Danah Boyd? Why does she get a Ph.D. from noticing that a site designed to cater to college students has a greater amount of college students?

A ridiculous story about pants.

Um. Someone stab this guy in the face. He wanted $54 million over a pair of temporarily misplaced pants!?

I have been knitting too, I swear. A photo survey of the yarn taking over my apartment will follow.

Jax is are eejit! D:

2007-06-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

I was taking laundry out of the dryer this morning and felt something staticy. A little poking around revealed...

it was my beret. D: Sure, I bought it at Meijer for $10. However, I was rather attached to it before I went and shrunk it. It looks absolutely ridiculous now, and I feel silly.

This brings me to the question of what to do about it. The obvious answer? Knit one!

This one is adorable, although I'm not one for flowery bits. I do like the shape, so I'll borrow that... and find a yarn that I don't have to make myself. I don't have a decent selection of needles yet, much less a spinning wheel!

I have a headache...

2007-06-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

because I knit for four hours straight with my contacts in. >< Should've switched to my glasses.

Today I went to the farmer's market and bought yummy food. I have carrots, cucumber, and asparagus, which will be consumed individually and possibly in vegetarian sushi if I can get to the Asian grocery for nori and sushi rice. Bok choy will be cooked in soup, lettuce will be used for sammiches and salad, and potatoes and onions... make me wish I'd bought ring bologna. :) Maybe I'll stop by Safeway and see if they have any tomorrow.

Right, back to knitting.

Proof that holding both hands in front of the camera and hitting the shutter with your tongue DOES NOT WORK.

That's better! These are Knitty's Dashing (Spr 2007), made in Universal Yarn Inc. Classic Worsted Tapestry, colorway Forrest. Yes, it is 80% acrylic. However, it is 100% machine-washable, so these lovely fingerless gloves shall never be accidentally felted by their lovable recipient! :D I think I might try this pattern again in a different yarn- although you can feel the cables and see them up close, it might look nicer in a tighter-knit solid.

As an aside, it seems that the apartment has recognized I am a knitter... observe the trail of yarn.

(Yes, that is a Hot Topic bag. I'm cold at work, and where else do you find a sweatshirt in the middle of a desert in the summer?)

I'm possessed, I say!!!

2007-06-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

So, remember that tiny little three-row thing last post?

This is the left half of Dashing. It's a little big on me, which means it'll probably be perfect. I find the yarn's Nordic pooling very satisfying. Also, I may have to wear these around after I finish the right and before I ship them. It's marvelously warm, and AC + Raynaud's is never a good combo.

Easier to see it in this picture.

Hangin' out on my couch.

Also, I received the largest check I've ever seen in my lifetime. I immediately started thinking about what yarn I'd buy now that I have a spending cap only limited by reason. And the need to eat and pay rent. :)

Viva Las Needles!

2007-06-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

I KNOW I've been a tad absent. That's because I was moving across the country, from Kalamazoo to Richland, WA.

See how pretty? :D

It was a long journey- from Detroit to

LAS VEGAS!!!!!!!

See the Strip off there in the distance? Above the glare?

I was going to take a picture of my Plane Socks on a slot machine, but they wouldn't stay. :(

The Plane Socks are not the Vinnland socks, which are sitting patiently waiting for me to engineer a way to bind them off that will still go over my ankles. The Plane Socks are thoughtless-knitting socks, which I'm promptly shipping back home for my aunt.

They were finished in Portland, with a nerve-wrackingly small amount of yarn. The quarter is for scale.

They're made out of www.handpaintedyarn.com 's handpainted merino, colorway Mares y Cielos. Not quite as OMGEEZSOFT as Malabrigo, but it's about half the price and has quite a nice texture.

Today after a long day at work, I went to the yarn store here, Knitty Gritty Yarns. It's very nice and I might just go to their Fair Isle class next week Saturday. I picked out a couple of new yarns for projects...

and Taco Bell on the way back. I can only cook healthy food, almost vegetarian but definitely low-meat. The fattiest thing I'd had all week was string cheese. Also I don't have anything sweeter than orange juice around. This tasted so good.

So good, in fact, that I felt inspired to start knitting.

Because Matt is in fact, very Dashing.

I'll take some pictures of the Hanford Reservation (where I work) as soon as one of the other students gets here so I don't have to be driving. :)

Hello World.

2007-05-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

I'm Jax. I'm 18, I'm a college student, I claim no home since I'm going to move more times than I care to over the next several years. I got introduced to knitting three months ago, and now I'm ready for a blog. :)

My first blog-worthy project: the Vinnland socks from Anti-Craft.

I started this sock yesterday. Like, went to the yarn store, bought too much green Sisu (also known as the "God Yarn"- it's fairly standard fingering-weight wool/acrylic, but it's special 'cuz it's made of 80% GOD. (god is the Norwegian word for wool, apparently.)

My first attempt to make something of this yarn was a spectacular failure. I mean, look at it. It's unattractive and unremarkable.

I was thinking about another fingering-weight yarn- a wool/silk/acrylic blend- but at almost $10 for a ball that the instructions said would be enough for one of two socks (I think they lied. Yay having a beginning of a stash?), I figured that I'd try the God Yarn once again, since it was more on the order of $6. Grumbling about how I just had to be too impatient and transient to order this project's suggested KnitPicks yarn for $4, I paid for my yarn and needles.

Casting on took ages. However, the sock itself progresses apace. It's a pleasure and an addiction to knit. :) I just hope I can manage the short-row heel. I substituted a different toe style for short-row, but I don't think that I want to muck about with a flapped heel and ruin all the pretty pattern work I've done so far.