Calculus or Cables?

Cables.


More Cables.
Quite a lot of cables......

More distraction

This is where I spent the last three days. Don't hate me, it wasn't that warm. Although what with the tennis and the hot tub and the pool and the freeness of the whole weekend, I wouldn't blame anyone for being a little jealous. Let me tell you, the Student Retreat is one of the highlights of the academic calendar here at Grad School.

What's that? Knitting? Um... maybe once the bruises and the hangover fade....

Look! A finished sock!

Ha ha! Fooled you...

Yes, the knitting is languishing a little. I tend to take out the vagaries of my mood swings on my yarn and sticks. Feel sad? Ignore the knitting, 'tis the root of all evil. Feel restless? Ignore the knitting, it's the reason why your friends don't call you on a Friday night to see if you're up to anything interesting because they know you're probably knitting which is neither a team nor a spectator sport. See. It's the knitting's fault you are alone.

But then again, knitting is the friend who is always there on a Friday night when everyone else is out with their boyfriends. Knitting doesn't treat you like crap and then wonder why you're not calling anymore. It just sits around patiently 'til the day you feel like paying it attention again. Knitting lets you while away hours in a happy reverie of planning for the future. Knitting attracts others of a like mind to gather and ruminate in a most pleasant way. Knitting is the way out of the funk.

My God, I need more yarn.

Less Knitting, More Hiking

At least this weekend, anyway...

Big Weekend

Phew! I'm glad today is a holiday so I can justify having slept in 'til noon and all the lounging in my PJs that I'm currently doing.

Saturday was awesome, knitting and BBQ in the sunshine on my gorgeous, secluded campus. I've been telling people ever since that they are really missing out if they don't have a group of knitters in their lives. They really are the best people :) They understand beauty, disappointment, hard work, and also the finer points of guesstimating "tit-mass". It's always going to be a fun time with your knitters.

Saturday night I got gussied up in a very low cut top top, walked into a party where I made heads turn (admittedly more towards the cleavage than anything else), and extracted the apology, while looking hot. Did I mention I looked really hot? Good, because I did. I also left the party after an hour because some of the hotness may well have been fever. Whatever, it worked.

Sunday started off laid back, a leisurely three hour cleaning of the apartment (floor scrubbing included), a pedicure plus foot massage (heaven!) and the spending of about a million dollars at CVS on cold meds, vitamins and shampoo. Then came Baby Dash's first birthday party :) I have to say, I love this kid. A lot.

Playing Peek-a-Boo in his birthday sweater.

After the festivities for Dash there was yet another party to go to, three of my friends have moved in together in a apartment 23 floors below mine (did I mention I live in the penthouse?!). Incidentally I made a cross-stitch for them as kind of a joke housewarming present but I forgot to take a picture of it before the party. Despite the Sudafed/miracle drug I still had to leave the party relatively early because of sickness but it was still a good time. I even got weekend plans for next week sorted, I'm going hiking again in Bear Mountain State Park.

I NEVER STOP.

As for knitting ('tis a knitting blog after all), I did managed to whip out a matching hat to the newly finished Ribbed Baby Jacket for my friend Rachel back the UK...

Pattern: Ribbed Baby Jacket (3-6 months) and matching hat (made up pattern)
Yarn & Needles: Cotton Ease Pistachio, less than two balls. 4,5mm straights for jacket, 4mm knitpicks DPNs for hat.
Modifications: This is a slightly different gauge because it was supposed to be knit on 5mms but I couldn't find any (I get proportionally messier as I get sicker). I short rowed the ribbed button band to decrease the bulk behind the neck and added snaps behind the buttons, there are no button holes. For the hat I cast on 16x4 stitches onto 4 DPNs, knit an K2 P2 rib for maybe 2", plain stockinette for about 1.5" and then did spiral decreases starting with K6 K2tog with a row of K all stitches in between. Very Simple.

Update on the BSD

He apologised, said he was an asshole. All is well again.