New Free Pattern!

The Zig to My Zag is up. It’s a bag, in case anybody didn’t know. Find it here or by clicking ‘Free Patterns’ above. There are some stunning pictures courtesy of Alethia, too!

Whoosh!

The recital was awesome! There were, as expected, a few blips, but overall, I’m extremely happy. And I’m usually very self-critical of my playing, so that’s a big deal.

Also, check this out:

Flowers!

On a sadder note, my pattern was rejected from Knitty. So I’ll be posting it with my other free patterns here soonishly, but for now be contented with this tantalizing preview:

The title’s ‘The Zig to My Zag.’ And I’m working on that other design prototype!

It’s better than crashing…

(Sorry again in advance for the lack of pictures…)

So, story of my day so far:
My senior violin recital is this afternoon, so I was printing programs. I told it to print 50 (perhaps a tiny bit optimistic) and left it. But when I came back…3 printed programs, and 47 pages with those lovely little lines that are the printer’s way of saying “INNNK! Please!!” Aaand…I’d wasted 47 sheets of the fancy paper. So I decided to drive to Staples to get the ink, since I was the doofus. Little did I know, the doofusry had barely begun…
So I drive to Staples, pick up the ink and some photo paper for my dad (expensive stuff!), and decided to go to the sub shop nearby for lunch.
First, I drove the wrong way. Oops. Then I get there, go in, buy my lunch, and realize – Ohhhh sh*t. I locked the keys in the car. Not only that, but the car was RUNNING. Yeesh.
So my dad picked me up and lectured me for longer than was really necessary considering how embarassed I already was.
Here’s hoping the rest of the day is better. Wish me luck in my recital!

P.S. I’ve started a sample of another design. Again though, no pictures because I’m hoping to submit it somewhere.

Some Stuff

In bullet, form as inspired by Samantha’s many intriguing posts like this.

• I’m leaving tomorrow for Bulldog Days at Yale. I hate packing, because I always think I’m forgetting something.
• I’ve decided that if my pattern gets published in Knitty (no, I still haven’t heard from them), I’m using part of the $1,000 Intel check (which finally came in the mail a few days ago!) to buy an SLR camera. These two things seem unrelated, but there is a thin thread of logic connecting them: a) I love blogs with amazing photography. b) It’s easier to take amazing pictures with a good camera. c) If I get published, I anticipate blog traffic increasing a lot. d) I want people to like my blog.
• I’m thinking of changing the blog’s name/theme, but every time I think I’ve thought of an original, clever name, I Google it to find that someone else has gotten it first. So I’m still thinking. What do you think of ‘Flying Monkey Knits?’
• It’s hard not to think about next year all the time. I’m madly excited, bittersweet, sad, and terrified, all at once. Yes, I am aware that this is totally normal. Excited: to get a MacBook for graduation, to finally be consistently challenged for the first time, along with a whole bunch of other people in totally over their heads together, to live on my own (ish), to live somewhere new. Scared/sad/etc.: to leave the school I’ve attended since I was 4 and LOVE, to leave my friends, to be in totally over my head, to live on my own (ish).
• I should study for AP’s and stuff. It may or may not happen. So it goes.
• This is my 99th post (!), and the blog so far has received 250 comments. Whoah.
• I should spin more. Maybe this summer…which, incidentally, is going to be insanely busy…
• I don’t have any more bullet points, nor do I have any photos. Bad blogger.

Lined and all!

So I started THIS thing ages ago. And finished the knitting ages ago, too. However, because of the yarn and intended use of the thing, I decided it really wouldn’t be kind to gift it without a lining. Here’s the catch – I both suck at and hate sewing. So I asked my mom to do it. She was perfectly willing but…she procrastinates. Result: My friend’s birthday present, delivered several months late.

Yes, that’s a sock inside. I didn’t want it to look empty!

And how about the snazzy handle? Isn’t it perfect? Found it very inexpensively at M&J Trimming.

Want a close-up of that LINING?

I thought so. (Can you tell I’m excited about this? I’ve never had anything lined before.)

Specs:

Pattern: Brea by Norah Gaughan (I acknowledge I am jumping on the bandwagon a bit with this pattern, but it is very nice, and in my defense, I gave her plenty of pictures to chose from, and she chose this one, without any input from me!)

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed held double – not sure how much exactly…

Needles: US 7

Notions: handle as previously mentioned, gorgeous button from LYS, some random fabric from my mom’s stash

Ravelry: project page here

Despite being somewhat unhappy about being forced to pose for photos (my standard payment exerted from every giftee), Sarah loved it!

That last one isn’t terribly color-accurate, but it shows the pattern really nicely.

My only (minor) complaint on this is how the gussets on the edge don’t stay flat, but rather pooch outwards and downwards. Not really sure how that would be avoided, but probably won’t be as prominent once the bag has more than two socks in it…

Eurotrip!

So pretty much right after graduation, a bunch of kids in my class are going to Scotland to complete our Scottish Exchange (we’re staying with the people we hosted when they were here). We get the option, however, to postpone our plane tickets, home, which a couple friends and I have elected to do for a week since we’re basically only in Edinburgh on the ‘official’ trip and it seemed silly not to explore other parts of at least Britain when we’re so close. So we’re getting Eurorail passes and plan to romp around Scotland, Ireland, and England for about a week after everyone else leaves.

Which brings me to the point of this post. I need cool suggestions for stuff to do! I don’t know specifically what cities we’re going to, and I don’t think we’ve planned really besides for we know we all want to go to London. So suggest stuff! Go!

Some FO pics probably tomorrow…

BOOLA BOOLA!

Well, it’s over.

The college admissions nightmare. FINISHED.

I’m going to Yale!

Now that’s just hilarious.

So I get home today and bring in the mail. First I notice my official acceptance letter from Yale. MAD cool. But I also see a package from Bennington, one of my safety schools. What were they sending me? I opened it, and inside…*drumroll*…a luggage tag, a pin saying ‘Bennington 2013,’ some info about field study term and…

…

A cookie. A homemade chocolate chip cookie in a ziploc bag. Is that not the most hilarious thing you’ve ever heard? I mean, maybe I’m just sleep-deprived from pit rehearsals ’til 10PM every day this week, but I laughed for…awhile.

Anyway, now some knitting!

I told you I was making Alethia a Thorpe. Well, her payment was to work her photographic magic and take me some awesome pictures of that hat and the beaded wrap thingie I’m working on:

It’s made from Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn held triple.

She insisted that I model it.

But then I insisted that she model it, it being her hat and all.

And I wanted to play with the camera…

And like the fabulous giftee that she is, she’s worn it (around school, not just to school) every day since I finished it.

Now for the shawl/wrap/stole/whateveritis:

Obviously not a fantastic photo, but you can see the stitch pattern realy well.

And, being silk, it has incredible drape to it, but that was difficult to photograph.

Right now, this beast is about 1/3 done. The silk is a bit frustrating to work with since it doesn’t stretch, and the beads are incredibly tedious to thread on, but I love how it’s coming out. It’s definitely more of a ‘product’ than a ‘process’ knit.