I freely admit, I am procrastinating

I am technically at work, although I have no work to do until later today. I'm really just sitting here wishing for a snow day, and cursing myself for not wearing my pajamas inside out last night. In the meantime, I can share my most recent knitted work (believe it or not I did actually finish my homework this weekend, by some miracle).

First, I started a second pair of pirate mittens in green and white:

Front:



Back:



I got the stitches for the thumb onto the needles, but my wrist was hurting so I decided to wait to knit that up. I will probably finish the pair on Saturday. It will have to wait until classes are done. Then they will need to be blocked out a little bit larger.

My other project is a hat for my grandmother. She is going through chemo and has lost most of her hair because of it, so I am making her two hats. First, Odessa, pictured below, and the Koolhaas hat, which I'm waiting on the yarn for. I will probably knit up a test hat in Cascade 220 before using the Malabrigo.

Picture of Odessa, and for the record, I hate stringing beads onto yarn with an otherworldly passion:



It looks a bit messy there, and I hope the finished result doesn't. I didn't have the smaller needles for the brim so I also hope that it doesn't turn out too large. Anyone have recommendations for a good (small) fleece cap I can give my grandmother along with it? I think the yarn overs will leave some holes she may not be comfortable with and it might need a lining.

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Class is going okay. The topics seem a lot more advanced and difficult than last semester, but I also had some familiarity with everything I worked on last semester. I also just got the Shakespeare paper I was sweating over last semester back and got a 94 on it. If possible, I'd like to turn it into my Master's Thesis. It was a solid idea, and I could certainly expand on the topic. It would also be something of a relief to have a topic picked out for a thesis. Although, Shakespeare is so much discussed already, I don't know if I'd be adding anything new to the criticism. I'll have to talk to my advisor about it.

My new desk is in plain view of passersby now, and a lot of people are asking me for directions. I'm considering making them answer a riddle before I let them know where their destination is. I'll try and think of appropriate riddles for the next five hours I need to be at this desk.

Monkey, My So Called Scarf

I meant to do a lot more knitting the past few days. I'm not sure what happened. My self got in the way. I've been letting a lot of things get to me lately, and I know I shouldn't. I lost a lot of friends when I left Blacksburg, and it hit hardest at the end of the semester. So many people I just don't talk to anymore, and I don't understand why we don't. I don't particularly want to track their lives through facebook or away messages, so I just won't anymore. Apathy helps.

Now, as for the knitting the past few days. Made a scarf which I'm pretty fond of, color and pattern:



I like making smaller items more because I lose interest after too much time doing the same pattern. My palindrome scarf is only a quarter of the way through and has been for a few months. It is not difficult, pretty simple cable.

The next project is a work in progress, and a bit of an adventure. First they are socks, which are new to me, and second, they have a lace pattern (albeit simple). This is my progress so far on the Monkey socks:



The picture is a little dark. I'm going to try and start taking my pictures outside for the lighting. I put it around an Altoid tin to show the lace best. I know the yarn is a little camo looking but I need something darker because my socks get beaten up and dirty.

I started a second pair Dashing and I am shortening them a bit. I will post pictures when I finish them of course.

Also, today I went through my book collection and removed about sixty books to get rid of. It is a little bit depressing, and I also need to get rid of more I think, or go the library more often. I just read too many obscure books to be found in the local libraries, and I also don't like to read hardcover books.

Classes start soon. I'm not looking forward to the end of my break. Ah well.

Pirate Mittens and Assasins

I can't believe I only have a week and a half left of my break from classes. Where did the time go? I have been knitting fast when I find the time to knit, playing a few video games, and reading some books for myself, but not nearly as much as I'd like.

Ah, bonus, I found Assasin's Creed at Best Buy today on sale, twenty dollars off the normal price. Sweet. I will be playing that some this week. I will try to enjoy the remainder of my break.

I just finished the Pirate Mittens, and they will be on the way to Anne tomorrow hopefully. The thumb could have been a little shorter, but I didn't realize until they were all done. I have a second pair planned in a different color combo, a slightly heavier yarn (DK instead of Sport like this pair) for myself. I will most likely shorten the thumb. Anyway, picture!



I had a little bit of trouble, but I'm getting better with the colorwork.

It is extremely windy outside and there are three bags of trash out on my balcony currently. The dumpster is empty, but the other residents during the week I was gone surrounded it with trash bags when it overfilled so now it is unreachable. I don't particularly want to add to the problem, but tomorrow, those bags are leaving the balcony whether I'm able to get to the dumpster or not.

I hope everyone has had a good holiday.