Spring ?

These pretty, green works in progress make me think it's spring.


Of course, the 85° weather would seem to indicate "summer."

More about socks

There's enough of a story behind that second pair of socks from Monday's entry to warrant another post.

I called them "Hundertwasser" socks:


I called them that because the yarn takes its colors from the works of Friedensreich Hundertwasser. He was a truly one-of-a-kind artist and architect who made innovative use of form and color in his works. He started as a painter, but is probably better known as an architect. He once remarked, "A person in a rented apartment must be able to lean out of his window and scrape off the masonry within arm's reach. And he must be allowed to take a long brush and paint everything outside within arm's reach. So that it will be visible from afar to everyone in the street that someone lives there who is different from the imprisoned, enslaved, standardised man who lives next door." Hundertwasser explored biomorphic forms in his work and eschewed straight lines. He wondered why walls and floors had to be flat.

Why, indeed?

Well, when I saw the Hundertwasser sock yarn collection I fell in love with it. My only problem was deciding which colorway to buy; when I couldn't make up my mind I just got on eBay and bought them all:


This is the sock


This is the original painting (it's a pretty poor quality image; sorry):


Here's a detail:


I used Wendy's generic toe-up sock pattern, but for some reason I wasn't getting the heel to turn enough. Also, I didn't particularly like how they fit; there was bunching under my arch. For the second sock I added some shaping to the foot. It's extra work, but I figure if you're going to go to the trouble of knitting yourself a pair of socks by hand, they ought to fight perfectly.



I was so happy with the outcome I cast on almost immediately for another pair:


This pair will always remind me of the Fulbright Berlin Conference. At the reception the first evening I went to chat with a very nice couple I'd met at the orientation, seen once subsequently but never again. At some point they mentioned their newfound interest in who else but Friedensreich Hundertwasser. While they're here they want to visit as many of his buildings as they can; they even took a detour to see one on the way to Berlin. I could hardly believe my ears, and my first reaction, of course, was to pull out my sock-in-progress. At first they gave me some funny looks that said "Why, exactly, did you just pull a sock out of your purse?" but when I explained what it was they were suitably impressed.

On the second day of the conference I cast on for the second sock, and over the course of three panel sessions, two receptions and a musical gala I managed to finish it. It's called "Straße zum Sozialismus" (Street to socialism), and it's so awesome I can hardly stand it:

What I've really been up to lately...

I may have been a lazy blogger of late, but I compensated by being one helluva prolific knitter. (I have a huge project due in a couple weeks. I had to find some way to procrastinate.)

Just check out this January 30 photo. How many recently completed, in progress or planned knitting projects can you spot?


I count five.

Most of them are done by now.

To sum up, in the past six weeks I've made:

a hat that you've already seen,


this nifty little sock-like creation to keep my computer's AC adapter from getting scratched,


socks (Magic Stripes),


socks (Hundertwasser),


and more socks (Yarn Bee Cameo)


That colorway is called cereulean agate. Pretty, isn't it?


I also finally finished the clapotis I started back in June. I'm not overly happy with how it turned out; I mostly finished it just to have it stop weighing on my mind.

FO to show off

I will eventually get around to posting about my trip to Hamburg, but those kinds of entries take time to write, as does uploading the pictures to flickr, so you'll have to bear with me. (I really should work on eliminating run-on sentences from my writing.)

For now I just have this to show off:


It's a direct result of my quick vacation to Germany's beautiful harbor city. Trip to Hamburg = 3.5 hours on the train + 1.25 hours waiting in train station + 30 minutes of movie previews + some down time in the hotel = one new hat.

It's a magic hat, too. With one or two quick motions it morphs from hat into cowl:





I finished it just in time, too, because after weeks of 50° weather winter finally began in earnest; it didn't get above freezing today. Brrr...

Oh, and I got to try out my new lighted knitting needles. They're not the best needles to knit with: the points are very sharp and the batteries weigh down the ends, but it was still fun. Yes, I took pictures:

Needles and Yarn

When I was home I took the liberty of adding to my yarn stash, much depleted over the course of the year. Here is my haul:


Oh, and this, too:



I have many projects planned. A hat, scarf and glove set from the yarn pictured above, some nice washcloths from this:


and some socks from this:



We'll see if I can get all of that done. If, by some miracle, I do, I have other yarn and patterns at home, bagged and waiting:



I also have some finished objects to show off. First, a hat and scarf set I gave my sister for Christmas:


Second, one of two iPod cozies (or iPod "socks," if you will):


In case you were wondering, the Apple logo took forever to knit. The only good thing about having a nine hour flight on Christmas Eve was that it gave me enough time to finish it. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the other one, but it was simpler: black, with a knit 2, purl 2 rib and gray cuff, as well as a pocket.

Third, I have a pair of wrist warmers (also called arm warmers and pulse warmers) I finished yesterday:


Contrary to what you might think, I will actually use these because I (1) am always cold and (2) own practically nothing but shirts and sweaters with 3/4 length sleeves. The pulse warmers are a more affordable option than buying a whole new wardrobe. To give credit where credit is due, I started out using this pattern. However, the beautiful chenille from my stash I chose to knit with wouldn't have shown the pattern, so I improvised as I went along, using a 2x2 rib and adding a picot edge for decoration. In general, I'm pleased with the outcome.


While I was home I also picked up some new knitting accoutrements. My parents gave me a Namaste needle binder:



It didn't fit in my suitcase (it's larger than it looks), so I left it at home. I miss it already, more than I miss my cat, and possibly my family.

I added some new knitting needles to my collection, as well. They might not look like much...


...until you turn out the light.


Cool, no?

My parents gave me one pair of these (size 8) as a gift:


and I loved them so much I went to Michaels and bought two more pair (sizes 6 and 10.5) in a slightly-less-cool version:



I can't wait to use them.

Last-Minute Gifts

Still haven't bought me a present, yet?

Check out this list for some tips, courtesy of the Yarn Harlot.

Because I know you were curious

Even though Halloween is long past, I thought you'd like to know the verdict.


Although the cupcake hat pulled ahead at the last minute, I opted for the pumpkin. It's slightly less eccentric than the cupcake, and from a certain angle it looks almost normal. Orange, but normal. I also think I can get away with wearing it all fall, and it's the perfect accessory to wear to the big, fancy Thanksgiving celebration Fulbright is throwing for us.


Now, I'm not one of those knitting bloggers who painstakingly document every step of the process. When I think of a project, I just dive right in. I got up on a Wednesday morning, went to Ka De We and bought some orange yarn, and then spent the next two and a half days furiously knitting, at home, on the bus, in class. By Saturday morning it was done. The only step I did archive was the one no knitting patterns mention: the head test.


Most knitters I know do this, simply because patterns aren't perfect and every head is different. It's a convenient way to make sure you're on the right track, to gauge how much you have left, and to know when to start decreasing for the crown.

People look at you really strangely when you do this on the bus.

What would you do?

So I was invited to a Halloween party on Saturday (yes, a bit belated, but it's easy to forget about Halloween in this country). I figure I have just enough time between now and then to make a hat. Should I make (a) a pumpkin hat; (b) a cupcake hat; or (c) a strawberry hat? (I could also knit the strawberry hat in blue/purple instead of red to make a blueberry hat and go as Violet from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.)

I'm stumped. Which one should I choose?

Look who was creative this weekend

I thought my walls could use with some brightening up, and a trip to my favorite craft store inspired me:



Here's another view:


And a detail:



What do you think? I'm quite proud. It was a lot more work than I thought it would be, but it's nice to have time to do things like this. I knit a hat last weekend. I likely won't have time to do that again until winter break because classes are starting soon. This is my last week of freedom, and on the way home from the library today (Yeah, I know, it's sick to spend two hours a day at the library during my "last week of freedom," but I can't help myself) I realized this is the longest break from school I've ever had. I've taken summers off before (two of them, I think, in six years of university...or maybe it was only one?), but the lag between the start of the school year back home and the start of the school year here means that it's been more than five months since I've been in school. Granted during my summer "break" I wrote forty pages of my thesis and almost sixty pages of comprehensive exams, but I wasn't actually in class.

But who am I kidding? I can't wait to start school, with all that entails: a crazy schedule, a big pile of textbooks, living at the library, school supplies, oh, the school supplies. Just look in my drawer:


I can't wait to use them.