Sadpants

I haven't been doing a lot of knitting recently because my girlfriend came to visit (for 10 days, YAY)...except she went home today, BOO. I think I might be a bit too attached to her, as it always practically destroys me when she leaves after visiting.

Also, I'm a bit upset as I have two midterms this week and a paper due TOMORROW (also one of the midterms is tomorrow) that I'm not even half done with. I neglected a lot of schoolwork for my girlfriend too, which is now biting me in the ass. But since this is my last semester here and probably the last time she's ever going to visit me here, I figured it was worth it.

I'm not entirely fond of school at the moment, in case you can't tell. I just want it to be over so I can have a job I hate but at least I'll be getting paid (unlike school). All of my friends are talking about grad school and all that crap, and I'm the only person I know who has absolutely no desire for any sort of higher degree. When I was in high school, I was TOLD that all I needed was an undergraduate degree to get a decent job, and now apparently you need to have more and more schooling in order to get a job that is NOT making sandwiches. If only I made gourmet sandwiches for super rich people, this would not be a problem.

Okay, now I am absolutely miserable.

Plus, the dyelots on my Ruffled Surplice are apallingly and clashingly different. The seaming is wonderful (I like seaming once I get around to actually DOING it--I've been influenced by many people to dread seaming, even though I know I like it! I think it is because I have to actually pay attention while I do it), but the dyelot differences make me cry. I will most definitely be buying some of that Rit dye business and dyeing the whole thing some other color. Purple, maybe. I've recently discovered that I love purple. I'm wearing purple right now! Actually, I loved purple from about age 6 to age 10, but then it lost out to green. Which is why I have a buttload of various green yarn. I do have that Sugar n' Cream that is purple AND green. We shall see what happens.

I Want Pizza

I've finished one of the sleeves for the Ruffled Surplice, and the dye lot of my new yarn is drastically different. I really hope that I can just throw this sucker in the washing machine and it will fade to a nice uniform nastiness. If not, I guess I could dye the entire thing so that the color variation is less noticeable. I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

I also started the Camisa from last year's fall Knitscene. I really love basketweave. I've only ever done basketweave once before and it was for a washcloth for my cousin (I made her more than ONE, jeez, I'm not THAT cheap), and I'm really fond of the stitch. I don't know why. I also really love this TLC Cotton Plus, even though it splits like crazy. That's one thing I have to say about the Sugar 'n Cream: it never split on me. That and I got through the entire 14-oz skein with NO knots, which is more than can be said for Lion Brand Cotton-Ease. I have yet to hit any knots in the Cotton Plus, but I have only used half a skein per basketweave panel (which is all I've accomplished on the Camisa).

However, I think I should probably knit a sweater sweater, as I am always freezing to death in my classes (ironic, as it is in the upper 80s outside). Since I've got the Knitscene out, I will probably start the Central Park Hoodie, since I never really jumped on that bandwagon. But I refuse to let myself start another project until I've finished the Ruffled Surplice.

...I also bought some Softee Chunky for one of the Fitted Knits patterns. I haven't decided if I want to do the Textured Tunic or the Short-Sleeved Cardigan. I'm leaning towards the cardigan, though, since I don't have any of those (cardigans). I also don't have any buttons. This will be an adventure!

As for the subject line, I have been thinking about pizza all the time lately. At first I could not figure out why I was thinking and even dreaming about pizza (even more so than a Ninja Turtle), and then I realized it is because every example in my accounting textbook is for Papa John's. So in order to take a break from the pizza cravings, I decided to post about my knitting cravings.

For some reason I really don't like taking pictures. Eventually I'll start doing that again.

EVENTUALLY.

Ribbit.

I had to frog my Mini Cardi for a second time. I'd forgotten to do the YOs at ONE increase point and it was for the second increase row, so it wasn't even worth it to just rip back until I'd gotten to the mistake. Therefore, I have put the Mini Cardi materials into a bag under my bed to get rid of their bad mojo.

I may or may not have started the Camisa from last year's Knitscene. We'll see how far that goes before frogging.

I just remembered that I have the sleeves to do for my Ruffled Surplice. I'm just really worried about the dye lots being NOT THE SAME AT ALL, MAN. Hopefully the color variations will disguise the fact that it's two completely different sets of colors.

Tingling is Not Good.

I still have the tingling/numbness in my pinky fingers, but that does not stop me from being unnecessarily verbose (totally the opposite of my Japanese class, in which I say the stupidest, most boring sentences in the world).

I've already started the Bold and Bulky Mini Cardi, but I had to frog it because my gauge was too tight. Apparently I am a tight knitter (but not with worsted weight on size 8s--for some reason I always come out too big on that), which is probably why I have the hand tingles. I frogged and restarted it a size up, and hopefully that will fit around my ample bosom (I also have an ample midsection, but I don't have to worry about that with this sweater, yay?).

I tried the YOs the correct way, and lo and behold (or, as OCR renders Joel Chandler Harris: "10 and beholes!"), they're all tight and small instead of huge and loopy. I thought I was just a sucky knitter, but it turned out I was a STUPID knitter! Well at least it is a brain problem and not a lack of skill (again, unlike my Japanese class, which is all bad brain and lack of skill--can you tell Japanese has been kicking my ass?).