Catch Up

Haha, it always seems that you have great plans for the summer – not having as much to do, you have a lot more time for things like blogging, you’re home more. Then when it comes down to it, you’re actually equally busy, if not more, than you were during school. This is the current state of me right now, haha :-P

This past week lots has happened… we went to College Station to look at places to live (Waaaat?!), found the most brilliant place (so we’re currently working on buying it right now. I’m SO EXCITED!!!) and my younger brother graduated from highschool! Which is crazy to think about because 1) that means I graduated a *year* ago and that’s weird. and 2) he’s the last out of the four of us siblings… my mom homeschooled all 4 of us through all 12 grades. She’s amazing – that is no easy feat.

But I have had a fair amount of time to get knitting done… and that knitting time is not wasted! I’ve been surprisingly successful – gotten a lot done! d^_^b

I have my Pogona… Which I don’t think I’ve mentioned…

I’m using Malabrigo Sock in the Ivy colorway. I think that’s the most stitch markers I’ve ever used in one project. I have 20 stitch markers in it (I just counted ^_^)… that’s quite a lot, haha.

I’ll also be doing Stash Dash with the KnitGirllls… which looks happily upon my WIP collection because of this particular statement in the rules…

“If you finish a WIP after 5/24 that you started before 5/24, you get to count the yardage for the entire project.”

That would be like… every WIP I have pretty much, haha. The goal of Stash dash is to knit 4K of your stash yarn. Which calculates out to 4,375 yards. Spinning counts. Then counts for double if you knit what you spin. BRING IT ON!

I’m also about 2 raglan increases away from separating the sleeves from the body on my Reverb cardigan . (Once again, more Stash Dash stuff! d^_^b)

You probably noticed this, but my cabling is kind of off on the back pannel of Reverb, haha. It’s symmetry is not quite there… yet. I’m working on it, haha. It’s not *that* noticeable though… It could be intentional… Its my own little design element ^_^ My goal in this sweater isn’t perfection (though, its always nice to have that though, heehee). My goal is to enhance my cabling ability, to make the adorable sweater, to make my first maroon sweater, and to enjoy the process ^_^

So, among my many goals this summer, one of them is to read lots and lots of fiction and fun things. Read new and reread the old.

I read Strands of Bronze and Gold on the way home from my sister’s wedding. That was epic – its a retelling of the Bluebeard story… which I had never heard of before, so the whole story was extremely enthralling. Definite thumbs up!

Now I’m working on rereading the Eragon series. Which I loved and adored when they came out. Which was in 2003… which makes me feel old, haha.

My original copy is fairly old and rather beat up – both my brother and I read it several times. Pages are falling out left and right… so I got a new copy, haha. (^^^ thats the new copy, haha. In all it’s pristine glory)

What are you guys reading this summer? I’m all for suggestions! I love finding new book gems ^_^

Reading in the Rain

We had a nice rain yesterday. A wonderful thunderstorm. So, I decided to read. It was blissful. (It makes me happy that you can see the rain on the window ^_^)

So I sat there and read for about 2+ hours. And it was so amazing. I opened my window, and it had cooled down so much.. there was a nice breeze coming into my room. (Which resulted in many hilarious texts from me to Hannah.E… “Oh, honey dear.. please remove your shoes, for I love to see your footies!!”. Yeah… We’re special ^_^)

I’m a big fan of this summer. For multiple reasons, but one of which is that I’m rediscovering the amazingness of getting lost in a fiction book. During the school year, I have a tendency to forget how awesome it is. I’m going to do my hardest to have at least a *little* bit of fun reading during the school year… that’ll be happy ^_^

Cabling, I love it.

I’m not going to say a whole lot about this… Because it’s going to be a gift. But I’m doing a little cabling right now…

and I’m really really enjoying it ^_^

Also…

I am reading this right now, and I’m lovingggggg it! But that’s not really a surprise, because we all know my love and adoration for L.M. Mongtomery, haha :-P

Summer Book Recommendations ~ Part 1

The summer is coming. People, hopefully, have free time. More free time than normal, anyways, those who were in school. Unless you’re doing summer school, then you’re probably not as free as you’d like. Anyways, I digress.

The summer is coming, it’s pretty much here. I’ve completed *both* graduations. I’m officially a college student now (got my student ID, whaaaaat) I’ll be at our local community college this fall, and then after that I’ll make the big decision of which major university I’ll go to. Once again, I’m digressing.

THE SUMMER IS COMING. And you know what this means? Besides more knitting time, heh heh. More reading time!

I know I’ll have lofty goals of reading at the beginning, and it’ll actually come down to me reading probably only 5 out of the like 20 book list that I come up with. But hey, it’s 5 more than I was able to manage during the school year.

I’m really… not going very far with this post, it’s kind of just… rambling, haha. But that’s this blog is, right? The Ramblings of a Knitting Goddess, haha.

Long story short, I’m going to give you some book recommendations. Just one, right now, in this one post. But there’ll probably be more coming.

I will be re-reading, for probably the 15+ time, the Emily of New Moon series by L.M. Montgomery.

I know I’ve expressed my love and adoration for this particular series and this author many many times. But it’s just one of those things that has to be done every so often… because I love these books and this author so stinking much.

Why do I like these books? Why do I like L.M. Montgomery in general?

Her writing is so personable. It’s real. It’s full of amazing descriptive-ness of everything and anything. But not in a flowery, over-the-top way. Her characters, in all her books, aren’t perfect. Which bugs me, when authors start off with their characters, who obviously aren’t perfect, then slowly they become more perfect, till it’s kind of silly and it’s like “wat”.

I don’t really find that in L.M. Montgomery’s writings. They have their problems, and they still have their problems at the ends of the books. Obviously, some problems are fixed, but they go through hardships and trials. They’re very believable. And I like that. These characters have dreams, passions, goals, and strive to reach those goals.

“When I read that the flash came, and I took a sheet of paper. . .and I wrote on it: I, Emily Byrd Starr, do solemnly vow this day that I will climb the Alpine Path and write my name on the scroll of fame.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Emily of New Moon

Another thing is that the romance that she writes is just perfect. Like, oh my goodness, I love it. Sure, I like that kind of stuff. I’m not afraid to say that I am :-P

The books are some of the most quotable books as well. There are so many good lines and paragraphs, it’s almost ridiculous. In a really really good way, of course :-P

These are also the kinds of stories that once you start them, you have the hardest time putting them down. They pull you in, and you’re then part of the story. You live and breathe the characters and their adventures.

Plus, another reason why I love these books is that they remind me of when I was younger. I remember what I was going through when I read different parts. I remember learning lessons from the stories, and then rediscovering what I learned. Then discovering brand new things I didn’t see before.

These books, especially the Emily of New Moon series, are full of treasures for everyone of any age.

*end rambling-rant-whatever-you-wanna-call-this*

I know I didn’t really like say what the Emily of New Moon series is about, but I’ll just say that they’ll make you laugh. They’ll make you cry. They’ll make you cling on to the nearest cat due to scary situations. You will love these books.

Don’t know what to read this summer? Read these books, you definitely won’t regret it. :-)

What have I been up to?

I do apologize for my absence over the past couple of days, haha. I’ve been swamped with school stuff and getting everything ready for graduation (WHICH IS SO EXCITING) So, there will probably be spans of no posts for a couple of days in the future. Stuff has got to be done!

So what have I been doing? Actually, not a whole lot of knitting… *gasp* I have been knitting stuff, but nothing that’s like really… speaking to me, haha. Or anything that has had a ton of progress on, heh heh :-P

I did pick up that Granny Square blanket yesterday..

So that’s awesomeness! I’m still far far away from finishing it, but it is fun… good way to work on my crocheting skills :-P

I’ve been studying for various tests and working on various last papers… which Bertie has been helping me with, haha

He sits with me, so when I feel the need I can lay my head on him, haha. And he gives me a little chirp, then I get back to work.

To releve some of the stress of studying, during my breaks between subjects I’ve been treating myself to some P.G. Wodehouse. Which always puts me in a better mood, and I feel ready to conquer whatever I have left. Plus, I got that particular book in London… and my bookmark is a receipt from something in Paris. *happy Europe memories* That was almost a year ago in a couple of months..

And, more fiber oriented, I’ve been spinning! Hallelujah, I finished my first Loop batt! OH MY GOODNESS, IT’S SO AMAZING.

This was my first shipment of the Loop Bullseye Bump Club that I got my birthday. The colorway thing was called “Nature Chic” and it was 5.0ish oz. Which spun into an absolutely gorgeous 454yds of probably a DK Navajo ply.

Which, I’m pretty proud of myself… 454 yds is the most I’ve gotten to date. Of something that’s pretty nicely balanced, if I do say so myself :-P

Also, on Sunday, Joey, extremely nicely, took some senior pictures. Some of which included various knitted FOs and this skein of yarn…

It’s pretty happy happy. Plus, it’s got some sparkle (which makes me think of “sprinkle” but that’s something *totally* different ^_^) so that’s just awesomeness right there.

Bertie is also pretty happy for me too, haha. He, obviously, loves the sparkle, haha. Or maybe he just loves napping. Haha :-P

Book and blanket progress

Finished The Northern Light last night. It wasn’t… my favorite. I mean, it wasn’t horrible. But it wasn’t amazing either. I did enjoy reading it though, haha. Haha, it’s one of those books where you know it liked it, but you don’t know *why* you liked it. If you *do* read it, there are some parts that *I* personally didn’t think necessary.. they’re kinda “Ohhh my, moving on” and you skip a paragraph or two. Just a warning :-)

So I’ll be starting The Morning Gift this afternoon/evening/whenever I get the time. I was able to get a little more sleep last night, thank goodness. So I don’t feel like I was run over by a huge truck. More like a mini-van, but I’ll take what I can get :-)

Happy thing, school, I got it all done for today. And there was a lot O.o, but it’s all done… for today anyway, haha.

I worked a little more on the blanket…

I’m finally getting the hang of, I think, haha, of making the inside part. I was able to get all the garter ridges to line up how they’re supposed to… without getting too horribly frustrated, haha. Actually, it just kinda happened, and I didn’t even notice until I was about to finish the last one.

After being on break, and having pretty much the ability to knit/spin 24/7… going back to where school comes first is rather a let down, haha. Oh well, that’s what nights, breaks, and weekends are for, I guess :-P

Also, while I was trying to get to sleep last night, I discovered what a comforting sound your cat half moaning half snoring in his sleep at your feet is.

Call me crazy.. (I mean, I *am* the crazy cat lady :-P) but… it was a nice sound :-P

More books than knitting…

Yaaaayyy… obviously a lot of progress since yesterday… Yeahhhh, no. Oh well. I tried.

It look me literally three tries to get the third block thing connected in the right place. Which was only mildly annoying. I’d start it, thinking I was totally in the right place, get more than halfway through the block thing, and then realize, oh it’s pointing in the wrong direction -_-… so out it came… twice. Finally, I got it right. Third time is the charm, I guess, haha.

I’ve also been trying to read more fun stuff recently. Instead of knitting. Which is a insane thing to understand, I know. Me? Not knitting? Yeah, I’m astonished too. Haha :-P But I’ve been reading some pretty good books.. and have more on my list.

I’m reading The Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, and so far it’s proven to be really really good. Bits of it are confusing, because it keeps switching between times… (like, flash back for several chapters, then it goes back to present day. And there’s not a whole lot to tell them apart. Though.. this is not the end of the world, haha) but I’m really loving it. It’s some kind of mystery.. that I.. don’t quite understand.. now, haha. Hopefully I will later.

And after that.. I’ll read The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson and Gone by Michael Grant

….and a spinning magazine, haha. Maybe not a book, but it’s fun reading. Don’t judge ^_^

That weird bug thing I got is… stupid. Its causing me to not get a lot of sleep… or enough for me to function happily and correctly through the entire day. Alas. I really hate it. Makes school a bit difficult… and this is only the second day back :-/

Bertie sends a sleepy greeting your way, and hopes you’re having a good day :-)

Daybreak, SAT, Designing, Revelation…

So…this morning. I woke up at 6:10…to take the SAT.

I really don’t like getting up early. I don’t like taking tests either. So when you add those two together, it’s not cool, haha.

Anyway, so we got up. Got a Starbucks on the way. Got there…

Long story short, during the middle of the last math section…I was thinking about what I had to do on this problem…while I was looking at this Vincent Van Gogh poster that was right in front of me.

And the past two days, I’ve been trying to decide what other design element I want in this shawl thing. but I had no idea…besides the basic stuff, and this particular stitch pattern that I had already picked out.

So, I’m sitting there. Staring at Vincent Van Gogh, trying to decide what to do next in this hard math problem…then….

BINGO!

I knew what I would add to my shawl. Not what I was should do next in the math problem. Noooo. But what I should add to the shawl pattern. Cause it was totally relevant to my current situation… O.o

I don’t know if it was Vincent….or if it was the math that caused my sudden idea. Or maybe all the SAT prep had finally gone to my brain, and I was going insane (but…everyone knew that already, haha) Well, whatever it was, it was definitely an amusing time to think of it, haha.

On that subject… the whole designing a pattern is going pretty well for my first time…I think, haha.

I ripped it out a couple times last night, while watching Dr. Who (which I’m now definitely addicted to…haha) and after maybe 5 tries, I finally got it to do what I wanted it to, haha.

It’s definitely looking like what I want it to… I found a fun stitch pattern in an online stitch dictionary…which was sweeeeet.

So I’m really happy with that :-P

I’m…finally jumping on the Daybreak (by Stephen West who is absolutely brilliant) bandwagon, haha.

I’ll be using the rainbow stuff (Zauberballs FTW!) for the stripes…and then the grey color for the main color…(so technically the purple parts of it in that picture…)

I’m….EXCITED to start it. It’s knit on size 4s…and so is Emma…and so is something else that I want to start. So, I think I’ll…do Emma first. Then Daybreak. THEN the other thing, haha. Which…I haven’t mentioned at all yet, haha.

Nail polish = one of the best things in the world. Just one, haha.

AAAAHAHAHAHAAAA. the SAT is OVER. O-V-E-R.

I’ll need to knit for a week+ to recuperate, haha.

Trillian Mint Chocolate Chip

I’ll admit it. Those side seams and sleeve seams haven’t gotten done yet. I’m sorry. It’s true.

But I have been knitting! And reading! And…just living an awesome life in general.

So, I started something with that mint chocolate chip yarn that I got.

And…I’m pretty much in love with the yarn and the pattern. <3 <3

Pattern: Trillian by Martina Behm
Yarn: Mint Chocolate Chip by Jitterbug
Needles: size 2

This has been on my queue on Ravelry for FOREVER. but I hadn’t really found any really variegated yarn that really….spoke to me.

When you’re a knitter, it does happen. I’m serious. Yarn can speak to you. Or move you. Either way, it happens.

But I found the right yarn! Annnnd…it’s ammmazing!!

But when I went to start it…and I went to find size 2s. Circular or straights were NOT TO BE FOUND. I was horrified.

So I thought to myself…”Self. You are GOING TO START THIS. Right now. Who cares that you can’t find the needles you want. You just have to….you have to make it work!”

So I did….

I found size 2 DPNs (English translation: Double pointed needles. Basically…a stick, haha) and…got two hair elastics (we call them “pony-tail holders” haha :-P) and stuck them on the ends.

But this situation doesn’t bode well for when I have around 150+ stitches…on that little DPN all squished on there. This might need to be fixed..haha :-P

Non-Knitting Knote(I think this is becoming a thing…haha :-P) : What have I been reading? Welllll…

I got an AMAZING birthday present from an AMAZING friend (and when I say amazing, I really really mean amazing)

A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery!

L.M Montgomery, I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but she is SO STINKING AMAZING. And that’s…just to say the least.

(and yes, this is definitely personal preference. But this is what I think :-P)

So I started that, and so far….like always…it’s sooo amazing :-)

Something about her writing makes everything seem so real…and life like. *really bad way to describe her writing because it’s overused*

It seems that a lot of writers, when they string a bunch of adjectives together, it doesn’t always sound good. But the way that Montgomery does it…it’s just perfect!

*end ramble* :-)

I’m also starting a 4-week blogging class tomorrow….which I’m SO EXCITED about!! …to say the least :-)

Quotable Friday!!

“A home without books is a body without soul.” ~ Cicero

<3 <3

Haha, I didn't know that Cicero said this…but it's very true.

When we moved, the movers remarked on how we only had one tv, and about 20+ boxes of books. “Ah, we are homeschoolers” we said, haha.

Oh, and also all the winter clothing and snow shovels. They told us we wouldn't be needing those, haha.

The weather today is perfect for reading a book, with a cat and a cup of tea. Alas, after all the school is done though…

Knitting Knote: (:-P) I got the sleeves and the body divided for my Cranberry Leaves, which is realllly exciting. And I only need to knit half an inch more before I start the waist shaping. Moving right along! I hope to take pictures soon, so look out for that :-)

Haha, I hope your Friday is/was/will be amazingly awesome. Go grab a book and read it….like knitting, reading is really soothing, haha. :-P