kodak pictures

it's been a long time i know. i haven't talked about my knitting escapades or the fun stuff i do day to day. horrid, i know. but i've been running around a lot.

after i finally got well, it was christmas eve. i was invited over to a christmas eve dinner with the boyfriend's extended family, but my mother felt i should be home. though, i did run into him at the farm. i had to pick up pies and his father sent him out to find something that would make the house smell like chrismas (they have an artificial tree). afterwards, he helped me pick up some groceries at our supermarket. good times had by all.

christmas day. my brother woke us up at 7 in the morning. we went down stairs and the brother got a ton of movies, books and clothes (which he didn't want). i also got a ton of clothes, burt's bees stuff, a book, a new james dean calendar and a cell phone! finally! its pretty too! oh! and yarn, needles and a tea pot set. go santa!

afterwards, i went over to the boyfriend's house for about five hours where i met some of his extended family. i knew most of them, but a couple i met. it was fun and i could come home later and it didn't bother my mother because i now have a cell phone!

then i went over my best friend's house wednesday. great fun had by all! and then yesterday (thursday), the boyfriend took me out to a movie and food and to pick him up yarn to make a sweater:


today, i'm heading out to lunch with my creative writer's guild. good times. all the new and current officers are getting to know each other and have some fun. its 10:19 and i have to leave by 11:15, just so i get there in time. so i'll have to hurry the rest of this up.

the boy and i exchanged gifts. i got him the halo book set (three books), lewis blacks' "nothing's sacred" and a book on capoeira, a brazilian martial arts. he got me a book by saul williams, a dvd of andy kaufman, two pairs of bamboo knitting needles (US13 and US15), a bracelet, harry potter jelly beans and tags that i can sew on to my knitting that i sell (have yet to come in though).

the best friend and i also exchanged gifts. i got her picture frame, mug, hot coco supplies, socks, a head thing i made from knitty (pictures soon to come), burt's bees and this scarf:


took me forever but she seemed to like it. i got that pattern out of knit 2 together by ullman and clark. she got me two sweaters and a pair of pants from new york and company and burt's bees.

i have also been working on my "socks." i got the harringbone pattern from knitty. they were meant to be socks, but i realized that the harringbone was just too tight. it was my first time working with fairisle. but here's what it looks like so far:



i'm hoping to finish this one up today. i have so many other knitting projects i have to get to. i'm hoping to finish my leg warmers, gloves and a scarf (for the mother) by the end of break. i'd like to start on the boy friend's sweater and my friend's baby cape.

we'll see how all that goes.

time to run. good day all.

sick days.

i finished my finals thursday. it seems all well and good with grades and all. it also seems like i'll get into ptk which is the community college national honor society. good things, good things.

though i'm home sick shopping and i stayed home to "recover." i made tea (still water in the teapot on the stove), soup and a tuna . really, truly crummy! the family went out to finish up some christmassandwich. me and the dog are enjoying the day home together. she's walking around and eating and starring out the front door. barking at squirrels.

its a beautiful fall knitting several items as gifts and am almost finished one of them. day (for it is not winter yet). though christmas is only a few days away. i'll be so happy when i can wrap it up. i'm so excited to give everyone there gifts! my boyfriend and my best friend. i got them both some really great stuff and i think they'll really like it! and from what i hear, the boy has really gotten me something great! i'm just too excited to see what it is.

actually, it's so beautiful, maybe i'll take a picture with my singular leg warmer and post it. or maybe later. i want to take a couple pictures of the other projects i'm working on too. so i have them.

i'm debating whether or not to take a shower now or later. i figure later, i'll be freezing due to the wet hair. but later it might also help my breathing. i know know.

is it bad to knit when one is sick? maybe. i might pass it on. oh well. i may just wash it before i wrap it up. from me coughing on it and all. just kidding.

not much going on around here. i'm heading off to florida in the states in several weeks. early january. with the school for student leadership conferences. good fun. will keep me busy for five days. and over break i have a lot going on so all will be good.

now, i think i'm looking to have that shower. so i think i will.

good afternoon to all.

so good! i didn't even see you!

tonight was opening night for my high school's play, "A Christmas Story." you know the one, where it plays on tnt or tbs for twenty-four hours on christmas. it was so good! i was so proud. my crew did an amazing job, i can't even explain! i didn't even see them. go crew!

anywho, i just got home from the play and talking to friends and getting tackled and feeling loved. i have a babysitting job tomorrow night with four kids, ranging in ages of one to ten. not too bad. ten bucks. forty dollars total. i enjoy it. then afterwards i'll go to the diner with the rest of the cast and crew and have pancakes. i'm so excited!

now, to update on my knitting:

i finally gave that scarf to that girl who bought that scarf (i'm not sure if i meantioned this before and i don't care to check). she seemed very thrilled and i got twenty bucks out of the deal.

then i finished one leg warmer and it looks really good and it stays up well and it's super warm. i've begun the second but only have an inch or so.

i finished one of the head bands i was working on. it's alright. i wanted to do it in round but could not figure out how to do a rib stitch sideways in round. i did it on two size eleven needles. a rib stitch of knit one, purl one. it's warm and protects my ears but doesn't work well as a head band. i started another one on smaller needles (size US seven), they're coming along with a rib stitch of knit two, purl two which is more common.

my hobo gloves i really haven't touched but plan on finishing during break, when i have the time. i finished two fingers on it and still have the two middle ones and the thumb.

i have so many things i want to knit. i have this really nice speckled grey, black and brown on off white yarn. a great pair of socks! then i have grey and pink yarn. grey socks with pink stripes. then the baby cape thing.

i'm hoping to finish the leg warmers by the end of finals, the head band by christmas and the gloves over break. i'm hoping to start the cape and one pair of socks over break too. and i promise pictures soon.

otherwise, i had my psychology final which was more or less a joke. the time i spent studying was not even necessary. then i found out i have a final exam that has to be written in two hours in class. bah! i have four exams, one each day from monday to thursday. then i'm done. thank the good lord above. i just need a break at this point. i'm tired and i have grown bored with a number of my classes. though, next semester i'm taking eighteen credits (six classes). i'm a little scared about that. but i should be fine. i have a few "easy" classes thrown in there.

tomorrow i have off so the mother and i are going out christmas shopping for the brother. then i'll babysit later that night and then the diner after that. then saturday i'll go to the play again (and probably the diner) and spend the day studying, doing homework, knitting and maybe going out with the family. sunday, hopefully, i'll just stay home and work and maybe even wrap christmas presents but i doubt that.

the other day i went out and finally found my friend a couple small christmas presents. i'm really excited about them. i only buy christmas gifts for two people outside my family and they are my best friend and the boy. and i finally got both of them a couple things which i'm more than pleased about. i think they both will really like them.

so. that is that.

good evening.

good evening old man winter.

the past couple days i have been running and sleeping. not much else. except sunday where i sat and ignored all things, including homework).

thursday: i attended a fancy dinner to honor a superintendent of the area who was a truste of the college. very nice. he actually remembered my family from way back when. good times had by all. i got to dress up in some fancy clothes with some fancy heels and spend time in a fancy manor.

friday: after learning how to get the the president of the college's house, i went back to bed. around five pm, i left for the president's house. he was having a tree trimming party for all the student leaders. and i am one of them! good fun. i sat out in my car for fifteen minutes so i would not have to be the only one in the house. i met a lot of cool people. some half decent food. mainly a lot of good conversation. around nine-thirty, i headed home.

saturday: i dropped the boyfriend's cell phone off at school while play practice was in full swing. later, i went over to his family's house and went the football game with them. we lost, 12-0. what a shame too. i spent the rest of the evening eating and talking on the phone.

sunday: after the weekly chours (which i was not aware of) such as vaccumming, raking leaves and taking the trash and dog out, i intended to do my homework. the key word is intend! i had an english essay (effect analysis) i wanted to be rid of, ganhdi to read and history and psychology to study. what did i do? i watched the all day marathon of harry potter on television. i must say the books are much better. the only book to movie i like so far from the whole harry potter realm is harry potter and the goblet of fire. i also worked a fair amount on my leg warmers.

and finally today. after classes, finishing one leg warmer (though the cast off is a little weird, i never properly learned how to cast off in round and while ribbing) and figuring out my bill for the spring semester (thank god for grant money), i ran over to the other campus in hopes of talking to some people i desperately needed to talk to. although one of the people wasn't there, another was who did just fine. it all deals with isl, which i'll explain in due time.

i wrapped some gifts for angel tree and had some lunch with other student government (sga) senators. i headed home after two hours on campus number two. i stopped by the high school to drop off the scarf that a friend bought from me for $20. also, the boy is sick and i brought him some tea. anything hot would have done fine, i'm sure. it so sad it's tech week, he won't get any rest to attempt to recover.

after that, i came home and had some dinner. though i wasn't much hungry. i finished my english essay (which was pretty easy, only an hour) and i finished my math homework. i just can't wait until finals are over with so i can just lay back and enjoy life for a good month.

if things go as planned, i may be spending new years with the boy and several days in january in florida in the states. that is, if things go as planned. i'm working on it. my main goals are to see my best friend and boy at least once over break. also to finish my leg warmers, ear warmers, scarf and hobo gloves. maybe even that baby cape. at least cast on.

i need a cinnamon bun and tea. and a shower.

old man winter finally showed up!

good evening.

barnes & nobles.

tonight, my old high school had a barnes and nobles night. basically that means that from five to ten pm people who purchase items and ask for a slip from the school, part of their purchase goes to the school library. good fun. there is even a time when some comedians and poets preform in an open mic type forum. only a few showed up to preform. a sad thing. but quite an audience for that type of event (it must also be said that we preformed in the children's section also).

i preformed two pieces. red lion: a poem in sonnet form (abab cdcd efef gg rhyme and iambic pentameter) that won first place in my college's poetry contest (which i'll get paid $50 for, first time being paid for my writing). its a tribute to the times i spent at a particular diner with my wonderful, fun-loving friends. main street follies: a short story. about a page to a page and a half. a little "scene" of my boyfriend and i at our spot in a particular park. a tribute, let us say, to our odd, yet long lasting, relationship.

though i wish i preformed better (time to practice and not such a small audience), i think i did better than i did at my college's open mic night. though i had more options to read. here, i only brought two. main street follies was a little "radical" for the children's section and for the teachers, being that my boyfriend was sitting right in the corner. and they all know who he is. i had to edit out some "sexual" items. like when he says that it's too cold outside and my bed would be warm. or when i explain how his lips caressed my numb lips. also, i cursed in the "scene" and that had to be edited out. "Cindy's a Bitch." you'd have to read the story to understand. but overall, i think it went well.

i ran around to find the knitting section and look at their books. a pretty good amount. i'm not sure if i like border's selection better or not though. there is this one book i've been eyeing and i'd really like, though it cost $33 and i wasn't willing to spend that kind of money at the moment. i'll wait for christmas.

i still have to finish my holiday shopping. there are still some people that i don't know what to get them. i'm figuring next week i'll go to the mall when i get out of class and just look around and find somethings for these certain people.

back to knitting. i picked up my gloves again. those hobo gloves. and started working on them before i left for the barnes and nobles thing. i have two fingers done. i started working on the middle finger but i didn't know how many stitches to pick up 'cause i left the pattern at home (i'm using part of a pattern from Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick). i was looking at the book at barnes and nobles but they didn't have it. this shocked me greatly! this is a very amazing book (wonderful and useful patterns, pretty pictures and random other tidbits)! so in turn, i began to resume work on my leg warmers. it is now about a foot long, i'd like to make it about one and a half to two feet long so that they cover up to my knee and maybe even sag a bit. i'm hoping to get the pair done by the end of finals week. hopefully. otherwise i haven't touched any of my other projects.

(i swear, i'll post pictures of my works in progress soon. once i get un-lazy.)

this week will be quite busy for me. i'm kind of scared. today was a student government meeting along with the barnes and nobles thing. tomorrow i have a dinner to attend at six o'clock in the evening. before hand i have to pick up my boyfriend's cell phone, visit an old teacher (maybe) and get my payment for the scarf. luckily, my first class (psychology) was cancelled (8-9:20am) so instead of waking up at 5:30am, i can wake up at 7:30 or 8 am. this makes me pleased. then friday i have another dinner to attend at the president's house (president of the college) from around six to nine pm. saturday, i'm heading off the a football game and hopefully this weekend i'll get time with my boyfriend. but it depends on our homework, my exams and his college prep.

i'm sure i have more to talk about. but i am starting to crash. (drinking chai late at night, like coffee, is a bad idea!)

thank you for reading and your comments.

enjoy your tonight and tomorrow.

welcome.

hello all! i'm the girl with the bamboo sticks, nice to meet you! quickly, i will just explain why i opened this blog and what i will write about for those interested.

1. i am using this blog as a "knitting journal." every knitter needs a place where they can look at their work and comment on it. what went wrong, how lovely it is, the amount of my blood and tears, was it worth it. also, i would like to keep the reader (whoever you are) informed of my progress on my projects.

2. i am using this blog as a "reading journal." i've always wanted a place to discuss books and give my opinions (good or bad) on a particular book i am reading. i read a lot over the summer but unfortunately, school has slowed down my reading, so this section may not be so often used.

3. i am using this blog to keep up with people. i used to have a livejournal back in the day when it was popular. i found writing those little blerbs about whatever was fun. and funny to look back on. so, i'd like to start that up again. inform friends of my where abouts in life, college, my sporadic work schedule and things of that nature.

hopefully, you will all find this entertaining enough to read and to comment. so let me begin.

currently, i am working on several knitting projects that have been occupying my free time:

1. i was working on a dark green scarf (nothing fancy) in garter stitch for a friend. its work. an extra $20 will pay for half a tank for a week. i have finished this scarf and am planning to give it to the buyer (and receive my payment) later this week.

2. i am using the same type of yarn, gauge and pattern for another scarf that my mother has been hinting at for me to make her. "that's such a lovely scarf," she'd say. "you know, i'd love to have a scarf like that. such a beautiful color, so soft." i finally asked if she wanted one and her reply was the following: "really? yeah!"

3. i am using wool-ease yarn in charcoal to make myself a pair of leg warmers using a k1,p1 ribbing. i found a variation of this pattern out of a book at border's when i was searching the knitting section. i did not buy the book but i liked the ribbing style. i've made several pairs of leg warmers (for myself and friends) using several pattern types but they never stayed up on the calf properly. using this chunky knit on size 11 dpn, the ribbing is very elastic. my hopes are high! though, i'm only on the beginning.

4. in all honesty, i have yet to start this following project, but i've gotten on the materials and i'm hoping i can get it done by the end of January. a high school teacher of mine (back in the day) is preparing to have his first child (the daughter he swore he'd never have). he was really great to me and i still keep in touch with him. I found a pattern in the book Knit2Together by Mel Clark and Tracey Ullman called "daphne's baby cape." it is the most adorable thing every and i figured he and his wife would use it a fair amount. has the usefulness of a blanket and coat! i'm planning on starting no later than after finals week.

5. i've been working on these gloves forever. and i really want to finish them already, my hands are freezing and the other gloves i have are torn. this is my first pair of gloves, but they are fingerless gloves (which i like to call hobo gloves). i've worked different patterns for fingerless gloves but never on dpn and i've worked mittens but i was scared to do each little finger. well, i got my nerve up and it's not as hard as i anticipated it would be. i made one, but the ring finger (or middle, can't remember) was much bigger than the rest, in all honesty i don't know if that's supposed to happen. i tore it apart and began another. this time it looks better but i have to start the fingers. i'm hoping to sit down soon and finish at least the left hand.

i would bring more of these projects into school with me and work on them during my breaks and when classes are cancelled, but most are too bulk or need the pattern (and the patterns are in books). so i normally just bring the leg warmers for they are small and easy to carry. though that doesn't stop people from calling me a dork or asking me if i was raised my my grandmother. why can't a young student knit? craziness!

that is all. thank you.