Thursday, December 24, 2009

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Obsession

So I said in my last post that I need to start branching out and exploring more with my knitting.  Lately, I've been in the mood for knitting either a shawl or a scarf of some sort.  I've spent the last couple of days alternately scouring the web for the right pattern and obsessively crocheting afghan squares . . . plase don't ask me where the crocheting kick came from, I found a few of these squares while cleaning my room, and I've barely been able to stop.  That's them right there... chilling with my laptop...

But I digress, I've been scouring the internet for the perfect pattern, I've tried a few patterns with several different skeins of yarn, but nothing has been right.  I sat there staring at the computer screen, watching rows upon rows of patterns coming up and I decided that, well, the only way to get exactly what I want is to design it myself.  Bring in example A:

This is the beginning of my first try hanging out with Eragon here.  It probably won't last much longer.  I think I need to change my approach . . . I've decided that I want something somewhere between a shawl and a scarf--a sharf, if you will--something that's long and relatively narrow, but that has more substance than a scarf.  Something that I can pin with a shawl pin off wear like a scarf.  Or both.  I feel like I'm on my way to that ideal.  I think I need an overall pattern on it, though--either lacy or cable-y.  I'm not sure which.  We'll se how it goes.

You know, having this much free time is very conducive to creativity.  Even though I still haven't accomplished a whole lot, I've accomplished more now than I have over the course of last semester.  Maybe it has something to do with the lack of sketchbook assignments hanging over my head.  I don't know.  It just might . . .

Monday, December 21, 2009

Turning Point

I must say that today has been a very productive day.  I made and wrote cards, made brownies, went to two parties, and gained some very useful insight all in one day.  Thanks to a little support session for one of my high school friends who's having a rough time (we love you SW!!!), I realized a few things about what I want in a career, as well.  I think I have two things that I ultimately want to do in life: 1. teach, and 2. have an etsy shop.  To be honest, I'm not really sure what I want to sell on etsy, all I know is that I want to sell something.  I think it's the idea of blending fine arts and knitting that intrigues me.  Heck, I'll even throw English into the mix.  There are so many amazing artisans on etsy, from Baa Hurrah's amazing polka-dot knitting needles to knitting patterns and jewlery, and a whole bunch of stuff that I haven't even thought to look into yet.  It's all so awesome that I can't resist.  Even though I subconsciously try to talk myself out of it, I think I ultimately want to sell things that I make, whether full-time or not. 

I've also decided that I need to branch out in my knitting.  I need to move on from scarves and hats.  I mean, I'm not going to go to the other extreme and start knitting completely obnoxious articles of clothing--uterus hats, as another friend kindly suggested.  But, I feel like I've stuck to the safe path for too long.  I mean what can a few little knitting mistakes do to me?  Other than being strangled by a big, fibery mass that decided to revolt, knitting pretty much can't hurt me.  Or I could be stabbed by my own knitting needles, but that's a whole other story that we won't go into right now.  What're a few dropped stitches and a couple hundred rows worth of frogged* knitting?  I hear that you learn more from your mistakes than your successes. 

I think I've come to this relization at a good time.  I'm at the end of my second day of Christmas break, and I have almost a month ahead of me.  However, philosophical thinking must cease for the night.  I'm too sleepy to continue.  Stay out of trouble, folks, and have a good night.

*frog- (verb) to tear out multiple rows of knitting by removing the needles and pulling past the problem area in a piece of knitting

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Life in General . . .

  1. is unexpected, random, unplanned.  I try to live day-to-day because every day brings its own challenges I need to handle.  Every day has its ups and downs, from an inside joke brought up at breakfast to a bad test grade in the afternoon.  The future will take care of itself until I get there.
  2. is crazy, frustrating, confusing.  People give mixed messages about what they're feeling.  I'm never really sure where I stand with certain people.  I think we're on good terms, and then something happens and they seem mad.  In a single day, one must make many decisions from what to eat for breakfast to what kind of studying should be done.  Even though I try not to worry too much about the future, I still worry about career options, classes I need to take next semseter, the money I need to pay for said classes.
  3. is a whole lot more pleasant when you have your knitting.  I haven't had much time to knit lately, or blog, or write, or anything other than homework, really . . . I'm looking forward to having time to pursue my hobbies over the Christmas break.
  4. is much better with good friends.  I don't know where I'd be without my friends.  We've had some rough days this semester, but we always pull through in one way or another.  They get me through the stressful times and know how to get a smile on my face when I feel like I want to cry.
  5. can be lived long and happily without psycho professors.  I think everyone I know has had one in one class or another.  All they do is make life more difficult in the long run.  But hey, passing their class means that you can get through anything, right?
  6. could use more socks without holes in them.  No, seriously.  For the last month, I can't seem to put on a pair of socks without a toe poking out or my heel, or feeling the floor through the bottom . . . The world is a much better place when your socks are whole and hole-less.
  7. is very fun during Christmas-time, in spite of finals.  The cheerful music, the festive atmosphere at the mall, the bright decorations.  I couldn't imagine a world without Christmas, even in it's sickeningly-commercialized state.  But I love making/getting presents for my friends.  I like making people happy. 
  8. is good.  I've survived my finals with one left to go.  The semester's officially over tomorrow, for me anyway.  I successfully made it through my first semester of college, I've made awesome friends, and I've discovered that I can (for the most part) make it on my own.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Christmas Knitting

So Thanksgiving is almost upon us; I go home for Thanksgiving break tomorrow after my last class.  The air is still surprisingly warm for the middle-end of November.  Christmas songs are already playing on the radio.  And, today, I came to a sudden realization--Christmas is only four weeks away.  Four weeks full of final exams and portfolio critiques and sketchbook checks.  I need to get started on Christmas projects.  Since I'm probably going to make most of my Christmas presents--due to a lack of income--I need to get working.  I've started some fuzzy things for my sisters today.  I got a present for my mom at the mall yesterday.  From there, I have no idea what to do.  We'll have to see how it goes.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Random Lord of the Rings Quote of the Day

"But no living man am I!  You look upon a woman.  Eowyn I am, Eomund's daughter.  You stand between my lord and kin.  Begone if you be not deathless!  For living or dark undead, I will smite you if touch him."
You go, Eowyn.  I love the scene in the book so much better than the movie version.  They tweaked the line a little bit and I don't think it has the same power as it does in the book.  I think it really shows how courageous Eowyn really is.  She's kind of in the background for a lot of the last two books, but she really shows what she's made of in this scene.  I mean, think about it--her uncle is dying behind her and she's facing this evil power that every other human being in the area fled from--and she faced it without flinching. 

Anyway, nothing truly exciting has really been going on around here, just the usual stuff--eat, sleep, homework . . . I am participtating in National Novel Writing Month, though.  You can find more information about it at http://www.nanowrimo.org/.  Basically, the goal is to write a 50,000-word novel in one month--from November 1st at midnight until midnight of November 30.  As a result, I've pretty much signed my death wish.  One half of my says that I should really take it easy, I'm already drowning in homework as it is.  How can I possibly take on another massive project?  But the other half of me thinks that it's a good thing to do, good practice, good to get some writing done for the first time in a while, etc. etc.  The second half won.  Talk about being suicidal.  I'm a day behind, and I've barely gotten any writing done today.  Let's just see if I have any sanity left by the time this month is over.

Happy writing!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Things I Learned from 2D Design:

  1. If something's "phallic" and/or "penetrating," it's probably neither of the two
  2. If it's "masculine," it's definitely perfume
  3. We may be college students, but it doesn't mean we act like it
  4. Everything can be described by the terms "magical" and "nostaligic"
  5. The 2D Design classroom definitely has the worst chairs in the building--you either fall off or they sink down a foot when you sit down
  6. You definitely can--and will--leave the only supply you need for the project you'll be working on for two and a half hours in your room.  And you'll spend those two and a half hours doing absolutely nothing.
  7. Smelling Sharpe's for an extended period of time is BAD
  8. Bringing your knitting to class is a good idea--it's still creative and it's fun
I sat down with the intention of trying to sum up what it's truly like to be in my 2D Design class right now.  I've probably missed a lot (it's not my fault I have a bad memory . . .) but this is pretty much what's been happening in that class lately.  Umm . . . hiking is fun . . . I went on an impromptu hiking trip on Sunday and it was amazing.  Seeing the guys in the car in front of us was funny and seeing a six foot, seven inch guy squeezing into the back seat of a Toyota Corolla--priceless.  The place where we went hiking was beautiful.  It was a little muddy, but not as bad as I thought it would be considering it rained all of Saturday.  Watching Lion King 1 and 2 all afternoon on Saturday was pretty fun, too.  Now on to the dreariness of a wellness paper.  Adios, all.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Random Lord of the Rings Quote of the Day

"I like that!" said Sam.  "I should like to learn it.  In Moria, in Khazad-dûm!  But it makes the darkness seem heavier, thinking of all those lamps.  Are there piles of jewls and gold lying about here still?"
I'm presently working my way back through The Lord of the Rings for probably the millionth time.  I wish more people were able to appreciate the amount of literary genius that went into the writing of that trilogy.  I've read it multiple times and I still find that there are details that I've missed.  I actually went and sat by the pond to read for a little while before dinner, but didn't get much reading done.  There's just so much general activity there, between the people walking by and the ducks and geese . . . It's ok, though.  I really just needed to get outside for a little while.  It was a beautiful day today and I spent 90% of it inside.  In class.  That seemed to last forever. 

Now on to Psych.  I can't wait until 12:00 tomorrow because it means that I will then be done for the weekend.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

10 Things I Learned from College:

  1. People have very different definitions of "normal"
  2. There's no such thing as privacy
  3. There's never enough time to sit down and knit an entire row
  4. If you want to avoid drunk people on a Friday night, close your door
  5. No matter how much time you spend studying, there will always be more homework
  6. You can and will get locked out of your room at least once, and at the most inopportune moment
  7. You will meet many different kinds of people--some crazy in an awesome way and some just plain creepy
  8. Trying to avoid said creepy people is more difficult than it seems
  9. You're not going to become archenemies with your rommates just because you knew them from high school
  10. You will forget about a test and not bring a pencil at the worst time, even though you never did anything like that in high school

Yes, this is a summary of the things I've learned. And none of them relate to class material either, apparently. I know I kind of abandoned the blog up to this point, but I'm trying to keep up with classes and just experience college--work, play, creepers and all... I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Nerves

Classes start today. I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad. Orientation just seemed to drag on and on forever, but I'm still not sure I want classes to start. I'm really nervous. Of course, I don't have anything better to do right now than just sit here and think about it because all of my friends have left. Of course they have. I'm the only one in my wing (that I'm friends with, mind you) that has an eleven o'clock class. That may work out to my advantage later in the semester if I have to pull an all-nighter--meaning I can sleep in later--but that doesn't help me now. So let's talk about happier things, shall we?I've decided that I need an easy project . . . well . . . I have a lot of easy projects going right now. What I mean is the kind of project that I can do while sitting in the dark watching a movie. We were watching Howl's Moving Castle last night with a couple of other girls from our wing and some random guys and I couldn't knit! They insisted on having the light off. Since I was working on this:
And since I need to be able to see the stitches so I can knit without dropping any, I need the light on. So, I need something like a sock or a scarf or something of that sort . . .

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Orientation

So this is my third day at college orientation. I've been learning the in's and out's of life that is college. My triple room is way bigger than I expected it to be and it looks awesome. For example:
My bed and my desk....and the giant shoebox full of cookies from my grandmom (in front of the TV) We've had several RA's complimenting our set-up. And, for probably the first time in my life, my stuff is pretty organized. For the moment, anyway. That's bound to change when classes actually start. But I've gotten a surprising amount of knitting done over the past couple of days during boring sessions. And I've found that it's very difficult to knit while there's an auditorium full of college students waiting for Keenan Thompson. The Orientation Leaders kept sending a wave across, threatening my knitting with every swing of their arms. But my scarf survived without any dropped stitches, fortunately.
I was rather disappointed with the show . . . I found Keenan Thompson very . . . not funny. Even my Orientation Leader, who was really looking forward to seeing him, said that she didn't think he was funny. But whatever. I got a lot of knitting done, so it's alright. And then I got even more knitting done today during our campus security talk this morning. I was listening, I promise. I just didn't feel like looking at the person talking . . .
Unfortunately, I've got to cut this short. There's a department meeting that I've got to get to. Art Ed! Woohoo! Yeah . . . of course I'm normal, why do you ask?

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Productivity



Finally, for the first time in a while, I feel productive. First, I went out to breakfast with the youth minister from my church and a friend who also just graduated. Then, I went to the bank and cashed the last two paychecks I got. I haven't actually done any packing today, but I did order my textbooks online. This means that they'll be waiting for me in the student center for me when I get there next week. I also looked said textbooks up on Amazon and Alibris and decided that I might as well get them directly from the school (partly because none of the books were on Amazon orAlibris, but that's a minor detail). I've decided that college makes you harbor random objects that really don't belong in a bedroom. Other than the obvious books, yarn, bed, pillows--I've got dish soap on my desk and tons of crates full of stuff in front of my dresser (in a way that it's a pain to get clothes in and out of the dresser) and a second bed set (bedspread, sheets, etc.) and a laundry basket. Weird.
Anyhoo, yesterday, I started making Knitty's Shetland Shorty with my Knit Picks Imagination yarn:

Here's the yarn hanging out with the pattern on my laptop as I wound it into a ball. I've decided that a swift would be nice. Really nice. My knees will do in a pinch, and I'm sure borrowing somebody's hands would be great, but a swift would make life so much easier. I've always been stuck using my knees. Despite the fact that I have five younger siblings and two parents, none of them would ever be willing to hold my yarn for me while I wind it into a ball.
Anyway, I digress. I've gotten almost past the ties. Here I was thinking that the 300-stitch long garter-stitch ties would take me weeks. But watching Pride and Prejudice with my sister last night helped a lot. I know the storyline really well (I've read the book twice--first on my own, then in eleventh grade English), so it was easy to knit along with the movie. Maybe I'll talk everyone into watching another movie tonight . . . the perfect way to get lots of knitting done. I never knew 2700 stitches of garter stitch could go so fast. But I better not rejoice too loudly lest someone get jealous and let the rest of the wrap go painfully slow.Let's hope that doesn't happen. :)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Differing Perspectives

Why is it that non-knitters automatically assume that, if a knitter takes out their knitting, they’re bored? I went out to dinner with my friends Friday night (which was super-fun, by the way). We were at this Moroccan/Indian place for a six- or seven-course dinner; I kind of lost count after a while. While we were waiting for the next course, I decided I would take out my knitting and knit a few rows. In hindsight, I don’t think it was a good idea, anyway, because we were eating with our fingers and my fingers were all sticky—but I digress. My friends were horrified, thinking that I was bored! On the contrary, I was having a really, really good time. My hands just felt empty sitting there without an eating utensil. Even my friend who crochets didn’t believe me, though. So, unfortunately, I didn’t get to knit in the restaurant, which was rather disappointing. But I did get some knitting done later. :)
I’ve decided that I want to make a pair of legwarmers. I have no idea what I would do with a pair of legwarmers, but I want to make a pair. Now I just need to find a good pattern…

Monday, August 17, 2009

Once Upon a Time...

Welcome to Just Keep Knitting! Why a knitblog? And why me? Why make another knitblog when there are so many good ones out there? Well, when I asked my friend whether I should start a knitting blog, her response was “do it.” So…here goes. I’m Laurie and I’ve been knitting since I was probably about 10 years old. I’m an almost-college freshman; I’m leaving in 11 days (yay!). I’m currently an Art Education major, though I’m seriously considering switching to English Ed. (and I haven’t even started yet, go figure XD )
As for what I’m currently knitting, I’m working on a shrug in my leftover skein of Gossamer “Blue Jeans” from Knit Picks (pattern from Lacy Little Knits). I’m also making a scarf out of a laceweight, dark red yarn with a name that’s escaping me right now, but it’s a wool-acrylic blend. There’s more but I’m afraid I don’t really have time to talk about those right now because I’m being dragged off to the swimming pool. More will come later. :)
Toodles!