Kittens, Knitting, and Random Blah

The Shrug Thing is finished. Seamed and everything. Woo! And because I know you want to see it, here it is:
I used some creative positioning there because the seams are a tad wonky, but they're on the underside of my arms anyway, so nobody's gonna know. Mmm, woo! The good news is that it also matches the new dress I got wonderfully! I know, I was shopping for other people, but it was on sale and the only one left, and i need to give myself a present every once in a while, too, right? No, it is not fuzzy and brown, it is beautiful. Really. See:
I had to hang it from my ceiling fan to get halfway-decent pictures, but I think it worked out alright. Still doesn't do it justice, though.

I just thought, that since my brother made a smart comment about it, that I would make it known that the progress bars are mostly accurate. How? I measure the piece, and figure the actual percentage done it is. Subtract one or two percent for finishing. For example, the Shrug Thing is going to be a full meter long. It is right now 74cm at last measuring. But in the case of the Waiting Scarf and Ugly Scarf II, it's hard to guage, because of special circumstances. The Waiting Scarf I am knitting until I run out of the yarn I'm using for it, and US II is just kind of an ever-developing blob of knitting. Who knows where it'll go?

But yeah. Just thought I'd admit to my nerdiness.

Warning : this one will be picture-intensive. Seriously. I apologize ahead of time for some pictures that are blurry in the larger versions.



Yeah, I know, I promised, so here we go! All sorts of goodies this time! First up is the set of Gift Mittens! Yes, they really do both match and fit just like they're supposed to, the picture's just misaligned. A lot. But to the right, you can see my favorite mitten, (because the seam is not wonky like the other one's is a bit) beautifully displayed on my kitchen table.

Next, we have the lovely Shrug Thing, which is not finished, but is a little over half done! And look at all the yarn I'll have left over afterwards, too! There's barely a dent in that monster ball! I'd also like to share a closeup of the edge, where I made a CORRECT usage of a furry yarn, Bernat Disco, as a TRIM. NOT AN ENTIRE GARMENT! TRIM! Repeat after me, fuzz is for TRIM!
It's done, as I think I said before, on US 9 needles in k1, p1 rib for stretch. The ends are sewn up for sleeves. Loosely based on one of the staff projects from Interweave Knits.

Can you tell I'm getting better at using our photoshop stuff? My pictures are still large files, because I like the clarity, but now I'm cropping them and rotating them and not limited by my camera's idiosyncracies! And I probably just spelled that word wrong, feel free to tell me how it's supposed to be. Seriously, I love to be corrected. I learn things better getting them wrong in the first place.

And this, my darlings, is the Ugly Scarf II. But before I go into details, let me show you its precurser, which actually may be LESS ugly. Yeah, there it is. And mid-section detailing, with all of its non-woven ends and horrible colors and miscellaneous stripe of stockinette, plus one of my Assistant Photographer, the multi-talented Wiskers Ferdinand II, artistically known as W: He also attempted to help me post today, by sitting on the mouse. He thought he was warming it up for me. Anyway, I knit this scarf two years ago to use some crap I had lying around. What's really funny is that the scarf is twice as wide as the needles I used to knit it are long. I ALWAYS used point protectors on it.
But moving on, I've decided you probably don't want ALL the pictures at once, so I'll post Ugly II's details later. So next up: a Knitty FO! Sort of. This is my Anna, one of the Twins from a past Summer issue, I believe. The straps need a little lengthening for what I've decided to do to it, and it needs the ends woven in, and it was just an experiment anyway, but there it is! I knit it last year during school at the end. I was getting bored, so I knit. And I wanted a new bathing suit top, and I weas mostly bored. And wanting to clear stash. I'm thinking I'm going to use the pattern and one for undies to knit that bathroom pass for my English class. I have had requests from classmates for a thong as the pass. The teacher blushed a bit. I don't think she thinks I'll actually knit a thong. Why not? It's quicker than regular undies, and I KNOW Knitty has a pattern for one. I love Knitty. I really do! But up next is the Waiting Scarf!
I've been waiting for a lot of stuff, so yeah, it's much bigger than it was. I'm very proud of how even my color blocks are! And that I've kept track well enough for them to be that way, see:
Oh, by the way, if you couldn't tell by now, that orange thing in some of the pictures is a ruler of mine. I love it. It has cork on the back so it doesn't slide around on my desks. Of course, for some reason, that means the cats try to eat it. Oh well.

And as a finale to this long, long post, I give you: my band gloves! Knit in that blue varigated you have seen in two or three other places by now, they were an edited pattern from an old Coats & Clark book of my Gamma's that I used for the Christmas parade and cold, cold rehearsals in marching band. I love them. I really do. They were my first adventure in circular knitting, on DPNs, and my second real project ever. They will be followed by a volley of kitty pictures. Next time I update. I'm tired of messing with this now. I think I'm going to go knit.

Yeah, I took it today. Whee. No biggie. I mean, seriously, I've been taking about two standardized tests a year since we began MEAPs, in like third or fourth grade. And my PLAN predicted a score in the 31-34 range. Not worried at all. Well, a bit about my essay, because I had to stop in the middle of a sentance. But other than that, no worries.
Now, to get back on those scholarship searches. Oh yeah, and take pictures of those finished mittens and the Ugly Scarf II.

Not really. I mean, we had a freakin' snow day today. Yeah. And now I have to go in pretty much cold to our concert on Sunday.

But in other news, I am excited to be first chair in our county Honors Band second year in a row. Score! And my range has increased a full step.

In knitting, I have decided that since I've been teaching so many people to knit lately, I have to make a teaching swatch. A big long ugly scarfy-thing that uses more stitch patterns than it should. Everything I could think of that wouldn't boggle beginning minds. And no cables. Simple garter, stockinette and reverse, k1 p1, k2 p2, a ridge pattern, basket weave, two easy lace patterns, a big blobby thing to show what happens when you increase a lot very quickly and then deacrease it back down, a bunch of (k2tog, yo)s, a diamondy-sort of pattern I just wanted to try, and I'm not done yet. I'm thinking I'm going to just make it an Ugly Scarf II. It's in a blue worsted-weight varigated acrylic yarn I found about 15 or so ounces of at a garage sale. It seemed to have been intended for a blanket. I'm about to add some orange to it, so they can see that yarn makes a difference, too, and I'll do some minor color work, too, I think. Each pattern is either about 5.5 cm long or a full repeat. Woo.

OK, whoever it is leaving those annoying SPAM comments, PISS OFF! NOW! I am sick and tired of reading about your bonsai crap, I don't care, and as I have few readers, you are wasting your time posting that crap here. Now piss off, before I figure out how to report it.
The first one was slightly amusing, like 'hey, look- my first blog spam!' but the next TWENTY really PISSED ME OFF.
The worst part? They come to my email inbox, too, taking away time I need to be spending checking up on my scholarships. Now Shoo! Get outta here!