So, I cast on again and things were going OK until I realized that I was knitting a GIANT MOBIUS STRIP!!!

Take 3 on the needles... grrrr...

ARGH! So after furiously knitting away all afternoon and finishing 6 inches on my 3/4 sleeve red cotton sweater, I find that I made 3 grave errors-- mistook my measurements, miscounted gauge, AND cast on too many stitches, so it was HUGE!

I hate frogging.

Hey all! I am back from vacation, refreshed and wonderful... one of the highlights of my week by the lake was talking to other knitters. It was the knitting community I've been needing...

GOOD KNITTING NEWS
1. Yarn store job in Manchester looking more and more promising
2. Just saw one of the KnitU-ers has a U. of Man. email address!
3. My new cotton yarn is here and wonderful and on the needles!
4. My PeaceFleece that I've been worried about will now be a raglan sweater with green body and red sleeves.
5. Tank top is done and ultra-sexy! AND I've been commissoned to knit another one, plush an eyelash scarf.
6. I knit Mom a hat.
7. 11 more days!

If I had a million dollars...
I would buy lots and lots of Lalana Wool and knit luxurious things
I would buy all the things off of my amazon wish list
I would have my own knitting studio
I would use it to pay bills while I established myself as a designer and novelist
I would buy something nice for Dan to entertain him whilst I did all my knitting, maybe a super-nintendo or new musical instrument

I leave Grinnell tomorrow morning!
I will be home in 8 days!
I will move to Manchester in 20 days!

So, I swatched the linen stitch sweater yesterday and decided that I really didn't like the look of it. Maybe just plain stripes? I don't know... either way it's not very British, so maybe I'll just hold it until I get back... gargh. Seems almost like a waste of $$$$.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Can I just say I want the yarn up for trade at My Life in Stitches???

Think she'll take the makings of my linen stitch sweater? How about all that navy blue sport weight?

Catherine's scarf is done! YAY!

No tank top for me until I get a needle... now, what should my next project be? I think I'll knit that hat my mom's been after me about. Then I'll start swatching for the linen stitch sweater...

Well the yarn needle managed to ruin the hook and eye.

So I started fringing Catherine's scarf. Can I mention how much I HATE fringing?

I will try to install comments on here. That should be interesting...

Good Lord. I need a simple sewing needle, and can't find one. How can a woman with a quilting studio and lots of thread just lying around in odd drawers NOT have a sewing needle for me to sew my tank top together... gargh...

Going to now attempt to sew on a hook-and-eye with a yarn needle.

Wish me luck. This is futile.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Someone added me to their knitting blog list! Maybe that means someone reads this!

So, Bagatell:: Spelling Tuesday gets a super shout-out.

Body's up to 4.5 inches long, but I seem to have mastered Contenintal knitting. YAY

I can tell that when I get more practice with it, those needles will fly like the devil!!! yee-haw!

I get to leave Grinnell in 5 days. Oh, the absolute joy!!!

Boob cups are finished. I-cord to attach boob cups to is finised. Body (knit in one long 30*9 inch piece) is 2 inches long (so, 7 to go) then I can sew everything together, and figure out how long to make the boobcup straps for the halter...

I also need to do the finishing on Catherine's scarf, because did I mention I get to leave this godforsaken place in 5 days???

Today got better after a few emails from friends I haven't heard from in awhile, some really fun people coming in to check out the archives. AND it turns out that there's mega prestige attached to the UMan Lib. position. So not only is it cool, it's prestigous! Too bad it doesn't pay.

That, and even though I feel totally guilty about it, dude, cool yarn for a cool project is on it's way!

I AM POOR POOR POOR POOR POOR

I AM DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB

cotton yarn on it's way to me for the 3/4 sleeve sweater... yeesh...

Feeling angry at the world for no apparent reason other than I'm awake. Hmmmm...

Fist boobcup done, second one is 1/2 way done.

Have you ever tried to sell your knitting? How?

This boobcup for the tank top WILL work! The trick is too make it much more full-coverage than you think you want.

I think the tank top is turning into a halter.

Skip the v-neck 3/4 sleeve thing. I'll make that later when I gets some $$$$$... in the mean time, the blue will be a tank top with beaded bottom and top bands and straps. The red will be a beaded stole. The lalana wools will NOT be beaded, as I just looked at the beads and remembered that I bought them for a much thiner yarn. Heh.

In other news, the University of Manchester Archives/Special Collections cannot offer me a paying position, but will offer me volunteer work, which will certainly beef up the old resume and be an amazing experience. NOT ONLY THAT, but they called me CV "impressive" which makes me hold out hope for some other archive to offer me a paying position. I'm also still crossing my fingers on the PA/research position at the EOC. Applications don't close until the 24th, so hopefully I'll find out then. My glimmer of hope: they're hiring 4 PA positions (at least) plus 4 other positions. Maybe enough people won't apply. That, and I told them it wasn't the position, it was the EOC, so maybe they'll stick me someplace else. I just hope it pays!

There's always the pub.

Just thinking about the state of my finances (poor poor poor, and I'm supposed to be SAVING money to take to England. Grrrrr.)

Maybe the kidsilk haze sweater wants to have blue sleeves.

Just a thought.

Frogged the damn thing again. If this final attempt doesn't work, I'm skipping the whole project.

The LaLana stuff came last night. Be warned: the price is PER OUNCE, not per skein and they're 2 oz. skeins. In otherwords, a $23 skein of yarn. But yummy yummy yummy. Ok, a bit scratchy, but bee-yoo-tee-ful. Especially mixed with the silk. Also, I was dreaming up a handpaint colorway to remind me of the night that I first realized that Dan and I were different than any-other-boy and I. Faerie Queen IS that colorway! Hell yeah!

ALSO, applied today for a faboo position in the Equal Opportunities Commission in Manchester. Keep your fingers crossed, because it's secretarial, but also lots of research and around $10,000 for 18 hours a week, so I could still work in a pub or something....

Final attempt... HA ... had to frog it. It just didn't look right when I tried the one cup on, so know I'm going with a whole new design attempt at for the booby cups. This one looks a lot more promising, but I'm not holding my breath. At least it's knitting up more quickly and using less yarn.

So I'm thinking of knitting a bunch of scarves to use up all my acrylic stash and sending them to soldiers in Afghanistan... that's not supporting the war effort, is it? Hmmmm...

Super-faboo red dress came in the mail today and there was some good news, and some bad news. Bad news: dress doesn't fit. Good news: my normal size is too big, so I can pretend that I lost weight, even though I didn't.

No LaLorna wool today, but UPS sent me a postcard saying they couldn't deliver to my PO box and could I give them a street address. I think LaLorna is the only people I gave my PO box to, as I thought they were shipping USPS, anyway, the phantom UPS package (which could also be books, but I think I gave all the book people my street address) comes tomorrow. YAY.

Scarf is off the needles. I just need to fringe away. Of course I have already embarked on the FINAL ATTEMPT to make the supa-fly tank top. I want to wear it the week of the 1st, so I must get a move on.

Did no sewing this weekend. Did do lots of shopping. A new pair of dancing shoes (that I can also wear to work--oh yeah) Dr. Scholl's sandals for $15 (but already gave me a blister! wah!) and a grown-up purse and rock-star wallet (by which I mean red patent leather)...

Here's hoping my yarn from LaLorna wools comes today. I drool in anticipation.

Scarf's only up to 40 inches. I really gotta get moving, but I found the uber-super deluxe sewing machine at the house I'm house-sitting for, so this weekend I will be making myself the new needle cases I so desperately need (pink leopard print with silver trim). The woman I'm house sitting for has a quilting studio. When I'm all done with grad school and the like, and get my own house, I want a studio to do all my handiwork in. I think that means we need a 5 bedroom house, because Dan's going to want an office too, plus our bedroom and 2 kids... hmmmmm... I don't think we'll be able to afford all that.

I have email, BUT the past 3 days worth have been eaten. This makes me sad sad sad. That and I can only send email to other @grinnell.edu addresses, so my inbox has a few "Jennie, where the hell are you??" messages that I can't respond to. I want to scream.

Dan just called. YAY!!!! I haven't talked to him since the morning after Memorial Day! We get engaged on Saturday evening, he leaves Tuesday morning! Aiya

Still no email, but right now I don't care!

OH YAY! My blog looks normal again and I figured out how to put links to other logs on the side! YAY!

If I can figure out how to do pictures, I'll scan in the scarf and show you!

63 hours without email. grrrrrr. It is coming soon, though. They have to bring users back on one-by-one, and have been since 4 am this morning. Of course, I am probably lowest priority and at the end of the list, alaphebetically (one more reason to change my name when I get married!)

I managed to totally mess up my blog's appearance. Hmmmm. I tried to fix it, but it takes awhile for template changes to go into effect. We'll see if it worked.

Linen stitch scarf is now at 37 inches! yay!

I frogged the black shawl I found. I also proved that the yarn used, is, indeed acrylic, which makes me not want to make another shawl with it. I could make a cardigan and might even have enough yarn for such things, but it's so thin I don't want to go there. I'm thinking of making a dress with it--lace dress with some sort of lining.

ALSO! I skipped the idea of the cabled sweater with the chunky green yarn. Instead, I'm going to make a loooooooong cardigan. I have this gorgeous thick-and-thin earthtone varigated yarn I bought in China that I haven't used yet. If I go buy some navy chunky (which should be affordable, as the green in Wool-Ease, so the navy should be, too) then I can do a stripey cardigan. I'm thinking something like 3 green rows, 1 thick and think row, 3 blue rows, 1 thick and thin row, 3 green rows. With all the trim done in thick and thin. Yeah, I like that idea!

Mary comes to town this weekend! YAY! And we will go shoe shopping to for shoes to go with that absolutely faboo red dress I bought last night from Stop Staring!

My new issue of BUST came a few days ago. BUST loves knitting and I love their adds! I'd like to give a shout-out to Fresh Baked Goods. I wanna work for you!

BOOK YOU NEED TO READ Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber (whom I've had the pleasure of meeting. She rules! And was the best lecturer to visit campus all year!) Amazingly well researched with lots of new info written in a very conversational style! Check it out from your library today! (And if you want to buy it, it's not out of print. Don't believe Amazon.)

Dan did call back on my cell, but I didn't get the message until 5 because I turn my cell off at work for 2 reasons.

1. It keeps me out of trouble
2. I don't get any reception down here in the archives, anyway. Why waste battery?

Email and network have been down for 39 hours, 15 minutes and counting now. This is driving me buggy!!!

I am falling in love with the linen stitch scarf (now at 29 inches) Amazingly, it doesn't look like I've used all that much yarn. I normally use 3 skeins of Peace Fleece for a scarf. My balls look barely touched! WOW! But it's not so much the scarf or colors I'm falling in love with, but the fabric I'm making. This winter I bought some bright red, bright green, and dark blue (trust me, they match in an off-beat primary color sort of way--yes I know green is not primary, unless you're talking about light and light color theory is something I still have problems wrapping my head around). Anyway, so I have 2 skeins in each color. What to do, what to do??? I think I could almost make a sweater but, would I wear something that bright? Probably not, plus the red is the same red going in the sportweight linen stitch sweater. Also, the worsted sweaters (this possible one and the green ribbed turtle) will be too warm for Manchester. Orginally, I was going to make a trio of socks with this yarn, but I don't like socks. I mean, I like knitting them, but I really don't like wearing them and I have better sock yarn, anyway. I could make a really neat bag and experiment with felting, but do I need a bag? Pillows? Maybe. Hmmmmmmm. Ideas? Anyone?

A skirt would be an interesting concept. But not with this yarn. Maybe a lace skirt with the blue kidsilk haze? Hmmmm....

Leanne came over last night and took away some yarn. YAY. I was (not) suprised with how much I wasn't willing to part with. Hmmmmm. BAD JENNIE!

Time to go home and Dan never did call back. Boo hoo.

But the red kidsilk haze now wants to be a very fitted low v-neck 3/4 sleeve sweater. Hel-lo sexy.

I have all these little balls of yarn left over from Peace Fleece projects that are eventually going to be an afghan. I should tell Leanee to bring over her leftovers that she was trying to pawn off on me. She's coming over tonight to raid my stash. YAY!

Email and network storage have been down all day. I was going to be soooooo productive at work today, I swear, but without access to my files, it's been really hard. I can do very elementary things on all these projects, but I can't get to the meat of them. Grrrrr.

Then, when I was at lunch, Dan called from Berlin I missed it by 2 minutes, and the message was taken for me, so I don't even get to hear hi voice over voice mail. Gargh. He said he'd call back and I've been afraid to leave the archives for anything or to call anyone. I'm just sitting here, waiting by the phone. I feel like a loser, but not.

37 days until Manchester! And today I noticed that the Manchester City Archives is thinking of hiring researchers at something INSANE like 18 pounds ($26.45!) an hour! To do what I do here for $6.75! Hells yeah! Of course, I can't email them my CV if email's down, now can I? GRRRRRRRRRR.

So, I went back to the scarf last night and realized that it was really really dense (I was doing it with 3 colors of worsted weight, one row stripes in linen stitch, on size 10.5s) and the drape was horrible, so I frogged the whole thing and went up to size 11s. Much nicer. It's now about 15 inches long, which means that it's knitting up much more quickly, too. Makes me happy. I'm doing it in lavender, meduim purple, and sea foam green. It's really pretty in an easter-egg sort of way. I would never wear it, but the colors are still fun to work with, so there's one more reason to knit gifts-- work with colors and fibers that you would never ever wear.

I sorted my stash last night, as I had to upgrade rubbermaid sizes. But I got rid of the big purple ugly bin and got a nice long, flat clear one, but much bigger than the other nice, long, flat clear one. So know I have 2. The smaller one is for projects currently on my list of things that need to be knitted. The chunky wool for the cabled sweater didn't even make it in there... Also, WIPS go in there. I found WIPs last night that I had completley forgotten about. Oops. Now the question is, if I had forgotten about them, are they worth putting back on the list, or should I just frog them and find something else to do with the yarn?? Hmmmmm...

In the bag (in order of importance)
Catherine's scarf
Tank Top yarn (the top half)
Green Ribbed Turtle Sweater (too hot to think about!)

In the box (in order of importance)
Tank Top yarn (bottom half)
Kid Haze (saving for Manchester)
Linen Stitch Sweater yarn (manchester?)
Blue yarn (for gloves and socks--manchester)
Purple yarn for Mom's hat/mittens. Gagh. I really need to do those. I really don't *want* to do those!
Black shawl I forgot about and corresponding yarn.
Log cabin afghan in horrible Red Heart that I was only making to have something machine washable and to get that horrible Red Heart out of my stash. My friends need to start having babies. That's the only solution for such crappy yarn!

Does Catherine's scarf really want to be a pillow???

Realized this weekend that there's a mistake in the bra pattern I've been using for the top of my tank top. How many rows between decreases coupled with how many decreases I'm supposed to do DOES NOT EQUAL what row I'm supposed to end up on. GRRRRRRR. So, I was like, well I now understand the basic design concept of said bra cup, so I shall just make my own. Sadly, I mismeasured and ended up with something that would just be obscene if I were to wear it. So, I had to frog that and decided to do Catherine's Something for a while, then come back to the tank top.

Catherine's Something is officially a linen-stitch scarf. It's about 5 inches long.

Was really sick yesterday. So tired and weak that not only could I not knit, I didn't want to. It was sad. Feeling much better today. Just waiting for the car dealership to call and tell me what's wrong with the car and how much it's going to cost me. Also desperately hoping the fiance emails me soon. It's been a while. I get worried.