Moving day

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Ha, bloody, ha


Lady February post blocking, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Grrr. This picture is a little blurry, but I'm lazy and angry at the moment. Of course I didn't block a swatch of the lace or anything. That would have been the responsible thing to do. This ended up a bit longer than I wanted. I wanted it about 2 inches shorter on the body and the arms. I'm happy with the width. I'm going to sew on the buttons and think about it. I will either rip back or convince myself that I like it. I'm not sure which.

I wanted the sleeves a bit shorter so that I could potentially wear long sleeves under it occasionally, but at the length they are it looks a bit silly. I normally love long sweaters, but I was thinking this one should hit more at the top of the pants as the original does. I don't love the creases at the armpit, but I don't think that can be avoided as they seem to be present even in the original pattern. I don't think that will bug me so much later. I wanted this to be done. Oh well. At least it won't be that hard to fix.

Endpaper Mitts, revised

Endpaper Mitts, revised, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

I really wanted to get an updated pic of these on the blog, so I went out in a sprinkling rain and threw these on the bush outside my apartment door. After the input from the last entry and some pondering, I decided that the yellow must go, so I swapped it with the light brown, slightly coppery color. If I make a second pair with the yellow it will be paired with dark grey.

I'm working the garter stitch at the bottom of the February Lady. I hope I can finish it up this weekend and block it to wear next week. The air conditioning at both workplaces is always jacked up and I've been wishing for some wool. i can't wait to start another sweater, but I'm making myself wrap this one up first.

If you feel like some entertainment, and like Ricky Gervais, you should check this out. My two favorite clips from this stand up are here and here, but I recommend watching the whole thing if you can stand clicking on 8 different video links. I think it's definitely worth it. I love him in the British version of The Office. Steve Carrell is great, but Ricky Gervais is just so nasty and wrong it's unbelievable. I love it.

My Cheatin' Heart

My Cheatin' Heart, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Ah! I'm frustrated. I started these mitts loving the colors side by side, but I'm not sure if I love them in the pattern. I need opinions. Does the yellow get too lost in the pattern, or is it ok? I might switch it out for the gray shown a few entries ago. I could just rip back all the patterned section and replace the yellow with the gray. I hate to do that though. I guess this is what I get for cheating on my February lady.

I'm just about to finish the body of the February Lady. I'm trying to decide how long I want it. I usually like long sweaters, but it seems like so many of the swing jackets and sweaters are really cute when cropped.

Seymour was helping me to adjust the mitts. You can see his paw and the tip of his nose in the picture. Cats are really helpful with yarn and knitting projects most of the time.

Lady February Doth Grow

Lady February doth grow, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Yep. Too lazy to clean the mirror. This is closer to the actual color. It's not as yellow as it looks in the first picture. It's going pretty well at the smaller gauge. I think it will block the way I want it. I bought a blocking board from WEBS and I can't wait to use it.

I am being fairly monogamous with this project. I started those socks last week but haven't knitted a stitch on them since the picture below. I thought the socks would be good for the portability factor, but I've been knitting solely at home watching trashy ol' episodes of America's Next Top Model online. I love the drama and the bitchiness. Drew and I have been watching Sopranos off and on a bit too. I get why everyone loves it now. I hated the very first episode, but it definitely grew on me after that one.

In other news...I've been buying all kinds of cute clothes for my counseling internship, including two very professional lady j.crew suits. I love love love them. I had to shorten the pants about an inch and a half. I'm hopeless with sewing, so I sent them away to someone who knows better. Today I'm extremely excited because I found out next week I get to start doing intake sessions with REAL clients. I've been observing others' sessions for the past couple of weeks and all last semester. Now I will be unleashed. I'm not as nervous as I was a few weeks ago when thinking about it. Everybody's got to start somewhere... I'll let you know how it goes.

Lady February, How I Love Thee

Oh, Lady February, how I love thee, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Here is my February Lady. I just want to call her Lady February because it sounds so regal. I thought about a semi-solid yarn, but then found this Berroco Ultra Alpaca, liked the feel and the price and off I go. It's been breezy so far, with one minor irk about evenly placing the eyelet increases around the body. I don't like it when things don't divide evenly and I'm easily frustrated. I eventually started reading the Ravelry February Lady KAL discussion about this pattern and someone provided a link to this wonderful site that does the math exactly for you. I'm doing this on a size six needle instead of the eight. I'm a fairly loose knitter, and I also wanted this to be a bit smaller than the 35" bustline. We'll see if it bites me in the ass or not.

Striped Shibui socks, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Unfortunately, I'm not capable of knitting monogamy right now. I started a pair of socks with Shibui solid and variegated yarns. I'm just going to alternate them every five or six rows or so. I hope they turn out like i want. I'm going to roll with the plain stockinette because I want something mindless for work breaks and reading.

I broke down today and bought some Hunter Wellington boots. I've been oogling them forever and just decided to go for it. I got them in chocolate brown. I think that or navy would be most versatile with my closet, but brown appeals to me more. I ordered them from Zappos this morning and within an hour and a half they had shipped, and upgraded my shipping for free. I'm so excited!

Knitting therapy


Knitting therapy, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

This is Bosco. Doggie extraordinaire that belongs to Drew's parents. He is very intelligent and darn cute too.

I am getting my master's in counseling and lately I have been thinking about how I will combine this will my passion for knitting. I feel that it is crucial for a person to have hobbies to stay mentally healthy and well rounded. I've been thinking that group therapy that involves knitting or crochet would be a good way to combine these things. I'm having a hard time finding examples of this, but then again, someone has to get the train rolling.