Up to Something

Aside from schoolwork, I've been doing a decent amount of knitting lately. Though, somehow I have less to show off now that I have a slower quarter than when I was crazy with classes last quarter. Go figure. I think I'm actually getting pretty good at this knitting thing, such that people now want me to make them all sorts of stuff. On the one hand, I'm pretty flattered that after about 6 months of knitting, people already think my stuff is good enough to be gifted. I've gone from "made it myself" to "handmade", if you know what I mean, which is pretty gosh darn cool. On the other hand, I don't think most people have an idea of the time and concentration that goes into making even little things like mittens and scarves, so they're being very forward with their demands requests. I also don't think people understand that decent yarn costs a significant amount of money. If I gave in to all of these people, I'd really have no money left for projects I wanna do. So here's the new rule.

If you're a friend/relative and you want me to knit you something, you must:
A. Understand that I will not be knitting on a deadline. I don't do deadlines for hobbies. You get it when I'm done.
B. Give me money for yarn before I buy it.
C. Understand that the time I put into making it is a gift. For you. If the item is not for you or someone I love, I need to be paid for my time as well as for the yarn.

A little harsh, maybe, but I want to make it clear to people that my hobby is not a free "make me a sweater" service. But I'm digressing.

My latest FO (finished object) is a lovely pair of magenta socks, using the pattern Monkey from Knitty - a super cool, FREE online knitting magazine. These are my first socks ever! I admit I wasn't terribly impressed with the pattern when I first saw them online, and probably still lack the appropriate enthusiasm that a pattern with over 9000 projects might elicit. Even so, I figured this was a straight-forward enough pattern with enough techniques to keep my interest, perfect for a first project. I think the real charm of this project was the finished product itself - warm, comfortable, and brightly colored. I think I'm really starting to love superwash wool. I mean, what's not to like about cozy, soft, machine-washable yarn?

The project I get the most compliments on is actually still designated as unfinished, even though I've been using it for nearly 2 months now. This was born out of a need for a new messenger bag for school, since my old one is at least 10 years old and falling apart literally at the seams. This comes from another pattern from Knitty, called Satchel. The bag was knitted in the round, extending to a flap that was knitted flat. The strap and pockets (pockets not shown) were knitted separately and intended to be sewn on. It was then shoved into the washing machine with some jeans and ran it for one cycle. As it is wool (and non-superwash), it shrunk and thickened to make it stronger and less stretchy. It's kind of ironic that I get more compliments on this bag, since it was not very complicated to knit. And, again, it's not done. I mean to line it with some fabric I've had stashed away for a while, and the pockets need to be sewn on as well. And, yeah... Even though sewing sparked my foray into garment-making, I'm not very good at it yet. So I'm procrastinating because I'm afraid I'll ruin it. Though, the straps are attached okay, so maybe it won't be as disastrous as I imagine it might be. I'll probably end up tackling those last details after finals.

Something I've been meaning to do for the past few months is make Sam some slippers. I don't really know why this hasn't worked out for me yet. I've made at least 2 separate attempts to make him these dang slippers. I think there are a few reasons for the delays. 1) Men's apparel is inherently boring because apparently it's not manly to have ornamentation of any kind. It's boring to knit, and not very interesting to look at either. Nice and functional, but not interesting. 2) The decided lack of cold weather makes it difficult for me to justify making big, thick woolen slippers. They wouldn't get worn until November at the soonest. 3) I didn't really understand sock construction until now, and his slippers are based off a very big sock pattern. And I've been trying to tweak the pattern so they'd fit Sam better, but without that basic understanding of how a sock is constructed, I found it very frustrating. I think now that I've actually made a pair of socks without modifications, it might be easier for me. I'm going to try this project again soon, maybe after experimenting with another pair of socks.

I'm really looking forward to the summer, since I'll presumably have time for many more knitting adventures, including more socks and my first sweater! I hope to be doing other things of course, like light research, recreational reading, playing video games, writing, exercising, and (with luck) working part-time. I really would like to stay busy over the summer, as I have a tendency to get really lazy over vacations. I haven't had a summer vacation in 5 years! This should be interesting.