Relaxing

So the "fun" class where people climb up on the table and yell at each other has stopped being quite so fun, since we seem to have the same discussion every week (postmodernism vs. marxism vs. modernism) but the bright side is that I finished the second sock (knitting slyly under the seminar table...)

At home, I decided it was a good evening just to relax with the fingerless glove/mitt from Knitty and some soothing music. The yarn is 100% alpaca I bought in Peru; it's somewhere between lace and fingering weight; I double it up and use size 1 or 2 needles, depending on the project.
I think I've got this on 1s.

post-felting!

So, before starting on the bag, I hand-felted the little swatch, shown here so you can see the contrast in texture.
Hand-felting was really fun, but I wouldn't want to do an item much bigger than this bag! I may do the slippers I have planned by hand though. It was also rough on the knuckles - next time I'm definitely going to want rubber gloves. It looks really cool, it's just the right size to go over the shoulder and tuck under the arm, just right to hold the cell phone, keys, and wallet. I think it's going to need a zipper or some kind of close though.

pre-felting

Ok, so here goes another shot at felting - this time NOT using superwash wool! It's Lamb's Pride bulky, 85% wool and 15% mohair, left over from my Valentine's Day sweater (aka Blackberry).

The pattern is from the 2007 Knitting calendar (a new pattern every day!) Knitted up really fast - I'm thinking of hand felting it since it's small.

I *heart* PennDOT (not!)

Here are some photos of the trip south. I tell you, there was a long time when I felt like I was never going to get out of PA.

Here we see I-81 somewhere south of Wilkes-Barre but north of Harrisburg. I was going about 25 mph.

For about 2 hours, I sat in absolutely non-moving traffic. I worked on this sock, read a textbook for class, and wondered how long I was going to be able to hold out before I had to make a mad dash into the little wooded area by the road for a pit stop.

This is actually a street in Ithaca on my way out. Pretty, huh?

I'm just glad to be back in pedestrian mode!

Smiles

I'm sitting in the Library and a woman I've never met just walked up to me and whispered, "I like your sweater!" It's the chunky cable with 3/4 sleeves I made from an Easy Knitting pattern (so, technically not brag-worthy at all), but that just totally made my day!

Pennsucksvania

Note to self: Never attempt interstate travel the DAY AFTER A MAJOR SNOW EVENT!

Evening, Valentine's Day
Me: "Hm... up to two feet of snow... weather hazard advisories... me in a car... Well, it's supposed to stop snowing at 10:00 p.m.; how long could it take them to plow the roads? These northern states have huge fleets of snowplows and tons of salt - they prioritize keeping the highways open, so by, oh, noon tomorrow, things should be fine, right?"

Mother Nature: "BWAAAAAHAHAHAHA!"

Every truck driver from Canada to Mexico: "Dang, I've been delayed a whole day already, I HAVE to get this load delivered soon, I'd better get on the road and make as good time as I can."

Mother Nature: "BWAAAHAHAHAHA!"

Me: "Yeah, if I leave here by 9 a.m., I should still be able to get to Harrisonburg by dark."

Mother Nature: "I'll show these little pipsqueaks who's boss. Dam my rivers? Pave my earth? Who do they think they are? He he he..."

I think the snowplows dutifully made their rounds, all night long on the 14th and into the wee hours of the morning on the 15th. Huge snowbanks were piled up high on both sides of I-81 as evidence of this activity. However...

Tune in tomorrow for the further misadventures of EEP and her faithful '93 Camry as they brave the Black Hole that is Pine Grove, PA, and elude the trusty fire marshalls aided only by HubStar On Demand. Find out how a 7-hour drive turned into a 15-hour marathon!

I tell ya, the Mason-Dixon line never looked so good.

Snow Day

Boy they weren't kidding about the heavy snow... it's not as bad as places further north and closer to the Great Lakes, but this is awesome!
I walked to class in snow that came in over my boots; buses seemed to be running and undergrads were trudging resolutely to campus like a long line of Emperor penguins.

When I got to class though, nobody was there... the professor dashed in about 10 minutes late with a stack of photocopies; we talked for a little while and then she decided to cancel class.

After getting home I decided to work on shoveling out the driveway so hopefully I can leave for Harrisonburg tomorrow...

After about 45 minutes (great workout but I wonder how my lower back is going to feel tomorrow?) the landlady's kids showed up with their dad to finish the job! I was delighted!

Rumor has it the university is going to close but it still doesn't say so on the website...

Valentine Sweater

This is the "Blackberry" from Knitty, size M (perhaps should have done L - but haven't blocked it yet. I just couldn't wait to wear it! Finished weaving in ends this morning!) I changed the cable pattern on the sleeves to a braid (12 st wide) and spaced the bobbles a little farther apart (every 6 instead of every 4 rows). I love it!

Snow Way!

(Sorry, couldn't resist the pun!) LOOK at this white stuff! Every inch on top of that little shed is fresh snowfall; at least 12". It's so cool...and yet, even though all the area schools are closed (and this is upstate NY people! They don't close for a light dusting like they do in SOME other states), Ithaca College is closed, the city has declared a state of emergency... and yet big behemoth Ivy League university thinks the show must go on. Good think I LIKE my classes...

Meanwhile, here's what I did last night during reading breaks:

Yep

Thar she snows!

Unrelated photo: another sock!

Snow Hokai?

(Hokai means "where is it" in Sesotho)
The severe weather warning issued this morning gave a time parameter starting at 3:00 this afternoon... at 2:45 I heard someone say, "it's supposed to start snowing in 15 minutes!" Well, it's still not snowing. The updated forecast puts it at about 8:00 p.m. I just need them to clear the roads by Thursday morning!

Peace, Joy, and all that good stuff

Tonight I taught Blanca to knit! We were at her house having a "study session" (read: complain about the readings, prof, and class while eating homemade pie - did I say pie? I meant carrot sticks) :-) and Claire had brought her sari silk bag that she's finishing, although I totally forgot my sock at home so I was bitter about that. I spent all semester last Fall promising Blanca I'd teach her to knit so finally we took advantage of the moment, grabbed the needles and went for it. She did great! She has a nice little swatch in stockinette stitch, probably knitting about 4.5 st. to the inch or so. We tried to talk Tim into learning too but he didn't believe Claire's claim that it would help him meet women.

Brrr!

Man, it's cold. I'm very thankful for the warm wool coat my mom made me in 1995! Also putting the handknit wool socks to good use. I'm still catching up with myself here at the beginning of the semester. I didn't think it possible but I'm enjoying my courses even more than I did last fall! Conversely, I also miss Terry more than I did last fall. I think of migrant farm workers who only see their families at Christmas time and count my blessings... I really do live a life of privilege.