Winter Break 08-09 Knits

So I did a bit of knitting these past 6 weeks... Ya know, just a little...

1. Recycled Ball Shawl
Yarn: Recycled Supermarket Bag Yarn
Pattern: Wisp
Needles: size 10 Straights
Dates: December 12 2008 - December 27 2008
Mods: Obviously, recycled yarn. This thing is pretty much amazing. Its feels strange, but looks beautiful. I impressed everyone. Enough Said.

2. Donation Hat
Yarn: Homespun
Pattern: Basic Hat Pattern
Needles: size 7 DPNs
Dates: December 22 2008- December 24 2008
Mods: So, a Striped Hat that saved my hands from plastic bag knitting.

3. Syd's Hat
Yarn: Bernat's Satin Solid in Plum Heather Mist
Pattern: Odessa
Needles: size 7 DPNs
Dates: December 28 2008 - Jan 6 2009
Mods: None. Just a little mess up one late night in Denver... I started k2tog instead of ssk... silly

4. Donation Scarf 2
Yarn: Homespun
Pattern: None
Needles: size 10 straights
Dates: January 8 2009 - January 10 2009
Mods: A really big seed stitch pattern. 8 st x 9 rows over 16 stitches.

5. Katie's Fingerless Gloves
Yarn: Bernat's Satin Solid in Denim Heather Mist
Pattern: Fetching
Needles: size 5 DPNs
Dates: January 5 2009 - January 9 2009
Mods: So, I eliminated 10 stitches, and added a couple extra rows and an extra twist to the ends. Otherwise, the same.

6. Natalia's Hat
Yarn: Lily's Sugar'n Cream in Rosewood
Pattern: Ruffled Baby Hat
Needles: size 7 DPNs
Dates: January 10 2009 - January 12 2009
Mods: None. I also made this hat for Anna, but I have no pictures because I am silly.

7. Gianna's Hat
Yarn: Lily's Sugar'n Cream in Rosewood
Pattern: Butterfly Hat
Needles: size 7 DPNs
Dates: January 13 2009 - January 15 2009
Mods: Done over 90 stitches, but incredible to knit.


So, there we go. The rest of this week is work on CT's Scarf, Packing, and Internship Hunting. Fun! And I go back to school on Sunday! Hooray!

<3 Katie

So something cool...

Happy New Year

So, it's 2009. Holy Crap.

First off, I've finished all my excitement for this break... I went to Denver last week for an AMAZING conference. AIAS really knows how to throw a party... and I guess I learned some stuff too... j/k I actually met a lot of great people, came in second in a design competition, went to the COOLEST BIPV Lab in the country (no really, it was the National Renewable Energy Lab - the National BIPV Hub) and got some contact info there, met some cool firms that I need to contact this week, and stayed in a room more than a mile above sea level. And I saw the Rockies :-) Pictures will follow this week...

Second, knitting... I finished my plastic bag shall (it is glorious) and knit a charity hat before I left. I got some very specific yarn for Hanukkah, and I started Roommate #1's hat on the plane. I finished the beautiful thing on Sunday, and proceeded to start at pair of Fetching for myself. They are a bluish/lavender color and they look absolutely tiny (I cut out ten stitches around because of my tiny, tiny wrists) but they fit, well, like a fingerless glove. I have about 3 weeks left of break and some intense goals for that time - A scarf for charity (or maybe just a few hats, I haven't decided), two toddler sized pink hats for a step cousin's darling little girls, a scarf for CT, a yet to be determined project for Roommate #2, and a beret for Roommate #3. The last two are none essential, but I figure I can get the first three done next week, and the rest done the week after that. I also plan on going to Three Black Sheep Yarn Shoppe sometime this week, which should be an adventure.

Finally, some New Years Resolutions:

1. To not worry about what I look like: If this semester is any indication, I'm pretty damn hot. And, I tend to lose more weight when I'm not actually trying. So, here's to not trying.

2. To not worry about studio quite so much: As much as I love architecture and architecture school, I need to be way less stressed. So here's to less school work and more knitting.

3. To read some more: I love to read. I do. So it is my goal to read more this semester. And maybe learn to read and knit at the same time.

4. To just be me: Really, I just want to be me. I love being me, and I need to just let things roll by more so I can enjoy being me.

There are more, but hopefully I will blog more so you can find out more about them!

Read on!

<3 Katie

Whooooshh.....

That, Ladies and Gentlemen, was the semester flying by and nearly killing me... I was sick twice, the first time for almost a month. I did next to no knitting, unfortunately, and I didn't finish my red scarf project scarf. Maybe another year. I did, however, finish a scarf that is going to Bristol Good Neighbor Soup Kitchen up by school along with whatever else I manage to knit up before school starts again and whatever my roommates knit up. We are doing our Junior Service project for the Honors Program by knitting warm weather items, so it should be at least a few items.

I also knit hats for my little brother and sister... I will post picks when they open them on Christmas Eve.

And currently, I am experimenting with Wisp, a Ravelry Shawl pattern. I say experimenting because I am knitting it out of Supermarket shopping bags for the Beaux Arts Ball in Denver. At the conference I am going to, they hold a themed ball and this year's theme is Recycling. So I borrowed my roommates beautiful black dress and am knitting up a shawl/scarf out of garbage bags. Its pretty awesome. I'm also knitting a hat for when my fingers get tired of the garbage bags.

Ooo and Happy Chanukkah!

<3 Katie

Three Weeks...

So in the past three weeks, I have successfully finished the bag, packed almost everything I own into my dads truck and my car, moved up to school, finished a retreat, a day of community service, a week and a half of class, 2 1/2 group projects, and 1/5 of a scarf. I have also thrown a party, had several amazing nights, spent more hours on PowerPoint than I ever hope to again, and hung up my pictures. Well, most of them.

So, pictures of the apartment are coming when I get around to thinking about it in the daylight. Maybe even tomorrow. And the FOs for the bag and the hat that's really tiny. But for know, a picture of my awesome handbag.

A Bag has begun...

So, I am officially done with 12 weeks of interning. 12 weeks of doing very little and making surprisingly a lot of money. Which makes my Katie still has to make car payments while in school fund quite a bit larger. This is the exact opposite of your typical internship. Which is why I loved my job this summer. I mean, I got flowers and tee-shirts when I left. How awesome is that?

And, I was totally crafty this week. I made some wall hangings out of Styrofoam and scrap book paper. 4 squares that look beauteous together, and all for about $7 and an hours worth of cutting and gluing. I will post a pic when I get them hung in my dorm next week. I also bought two 11x14 frames for $5 a pop and when I got home immediately found out why they were that much, as I snapped the glass in one. But, I really only wanted them so I could have a clean line around my MET prints, it doesn't really matter. Especially since before that I had just hung them haphazardly on the wall. Now they are a tiny bit protected at least.

To round out my purchases, two skeins of Lily Cotton in Rosewood for a nest bag.


Isn't this the most GORGEOUS colorway?

It was going to be a project bag, so maybe a gym bag. But I knit it on smaller than recommended needles and didn't check gauge, so its looking more and more like a handbag. Which is also very useful. In fact, I am almost done with skein one, and I think I am going to stop it there and use the start of the second skein for the handles. I don't know, I guess I will have to try it out and see what it can hold.


Here it is, althuogh its longer since I took the picture. The diagonal stripes were totally on accident and are very cool.

Finally, the Vine Lace hat has been blocked... it's still not very big. An FO to come, but for now, a blocking picture.


Yes, I did use a shoebox to block my hat.

One last item of business. Scout's Swag, which I only just discovered, is having a contest for anyone who posts about the Red Scarf Project. This project is fantastic, having provided 15,000 scarves to foster students headed off to college. So, I'm doing my part, spreading the word. I am going to try to contribute. I have half a scarf completed that I was going to frog because it is boring me, but I am thinking now that I might keep at it and see if I can't finish it before October. It's not actually a pattern, just garter stitch in doubled Lion Brand Homespun... unfortunately, its black/grey, not red, but they said they will take it anyway. We'll see. It is currently only 13" long, so that's a long way to go. But it's really pretty. SO anyway, if anyone else is interested, here are the guidelines and feel free to send any scarves or monetary donations to:

Orphan Foundation of America
The Red Scarf Project
21351 Gentry Drive
Sterling, VA 20166

Ciao! <3>

Everything and Anything

Count, Count, Count, repeat. That's what I've been doing for the past two days at work. I love my internship, really, but I feel like I'm back to being, ohhh, 8, when for nearly forever I was into embroidery, but could not read a pattern without marking it. Now, I'm marking building tiles with multi-colored highlighters, then counting how many I marked. One side of this building has almost a 1000 big tiles, and 9000 small tiles. That's a heck of a lot of counting. 3 1/2 more days.

Second, Ravelry. I got my account on Monday morning! Hooray! Welcome, new addiction. Besides being obsessed with knitters blogs, now I have a bajillion patterns to ooh and ahh and plan over. 1 day, and I already have 12 things in my queue. This is bad. I go back to school in 10 days...

Third, School. More accurately, school shopping. Which I thought I had finished. Two craft stores, Staples, and Wendy's in one afternoon says differently. Note, being an architecture major is dangerous. It involves me being in close proximity while school shopping to craft items. Look what i bought when I was trying to buy a sketchbook, 2 colored pencils, an Xacto and a triangle.


Some soft, TLC baby in these cute colors.



This fantasticly smooth yarn that my mom made me buy because it was on sale and she touched it. And thought it was amazing.



Bonus! Jars for some of our shells. By some, I mean a tiny portion. My sister and I filled five and we still have a ton left. Did I mention my sister has a HUGE vase that she filled sometime last year? Yea, we have a lot of shells. But, mother was creative and found some candle holders to act as lids, since we didn't want any dust getting in. So, now they are my NOT candle holders since candles are COMPLETELY PROHIBITED at school *giggle giggle hide the candles from the RA*

And I have to go back tonight. AC Moore has photo boxes wicked cheap and I use them for everything, from my hardcover book dust covers to bills and paperwork to *hopefully* some finished knitting projects to keep them safe. Note - attempt to keep room clean and organized for at least PART of the semester. Plus I am going to buy some Lily Sugar n' Cream for a market bag. I want one for yarn and if I like them, maybe I will make some more so we save 5 cents a bag on our food shopping. Hey, 20 or 30 cents each week adds up to... 3.00 or 4.00... that buys like, I dno, something!

And finally, the stash picture. Remember how I told you that my sister has untold amounts of Red Heart Super Saver yarn? Well, Here's the picture. Apparently I am not allowed to take the pink and purple almost full skeins to school. And, I found 4 more 1/4 skeins after I took this.


Look at all this! I think she has every color known to man.

I can see me making lots and lots of hats with this mess. Lots and lots of hats.

Finally, Vine Lace hat was supposed to be done last night. However, that was before my friends decided that we should try and watch the meteor shower. Approx. 2 hours after this decision was made, it proceeded to rain. And Lightning. And Thunder. Continually. So, no meteor shower, but a nice evening watching youtube madness and the daily show. Plus yummies. So, hopefully I will finish that tonight, and maybe start that bag. Really. How else am I going to find my projects up at school?