Only 66 weeks in the making

Of course it spent some time as an Unfinished object. That's probably an understatement. No particular reason, I started it thinking I might get it done in time for Chuck's 2009 birthday, and when I didn't make that goal, perhaps it effected my motivation. But I've recently been trying to eliminate the UFOs. Of course that didn't stop me from starting and finishing a small project in the meantime:

And I was thinking about calling this post something or other to do with pencils since the yarn in Chuck's sweater was a graphite colorway, and mine was a kind of pencil yellow.

Anyway, it occurs to me this was actually my first full sweater project, with full length sleeves. I guess I tend to be drawn to the 3/4 or short sleeve length projects, or even sleeveless. So next time I stash for a sweater project, I might consider that a project with sleeves might be a good idea. Meanwhile I think I have plenty of yarn lined up for more short sleeve projects, which I suppose is fine considering it's spring now! Right...sorry Chuck that I didn't finish up the sweater with better timing for the season. On the other hand it did snow yesterday, so he might get a wear or so out of it before it gets too warm!

Making Progress

Happy Pi Day & happy the daylight savings day I don't like because you lose an hour. Also Happy Birthday to Einstein. The Chicago St. Patrick's Day activities were yesterday, though the holiday isn't until Wednesday. It was cloudy and rainy, which I thought was nice, but not so great for going up to see the festivities. Oh well, it was sunny and we made it last year.

I got my score back from my last test, Construction Documents and Services, one that I'd heard was pretty difficult from friends who have taken it. I passed! I'm still pretty excited about it. I'm more than half-way done now with 4 down. There are 7 tests total, so I figured the time between taking the test and getting my score for it was exactly half-way. It's actually supposed to take 6-8 weeks to get your score back, and I got my report within 3. It's always fun to go to the testing center and watch most other test takers in other fields get their scores back on the spot....on the other hand the tests themselves are stressful enough, and I kind of like having to wait a little bit. But I sure get nervous when I get that envelope in the mail. Anyway, all that's left now are the very difficult ones with calculations...hm.

I'm mostly still spending my time studying, but I did start a simple project that I think I can do fairly mindlessly while I review and review my study materials...and while I take a break here and there from doing so. It's the Ribbed Lace Bolero which has a near seamless construction, you knit up a rectangle and then simple do a tiny bit of seaming at each end for little sleeves. It seems like the perfect project for someone wanting to take the next step up from knitting rectangles, but maybe isn't ready for a full sweater just yet. Or, if you're like me, a quick & satisfying project with minimal seaming!

I'm working in a nice yellow cotton-ease color, maize, that I picked up on sale. Again, I feel a little skeptical of yellow w/my skin tone, and now I'm making a second yellow-ish sweater! But I really like this color, it is much more autumnal as opposed to the bright lemonade of the Frontier Jacket. I'm sure I'll find uses for them both. I plan on wearing this one with more brown, and the awesome kindle cover (it has a little stand, for reading hands-free) Chuck got me recently matches perfectly and helps prove those colors go together nicely! (pictured together here)

Recommended for Viewing: The Garden

A few nights ago we watched the documentary The Garden about the urban farm in South Central L.A. (it's available streaming on Netflix for members.) The farm was 14-acres, making it one of the largest urban gardens, in a neighborhood that sorely needs community-building spaces and activities. Needless to say this isn't the happiest movie, but it's one that as someone in planning/design profession, I feel is very important to see. It did get some recognition as a nominee in the documentary category of the Academy Awards last year, but nonetheless, I hadn't heard of it before Chuck pointed it out to me (it relates somewhat to the thesis project he's wrapping up this semester.) So I just wanted to bring it a little more attention. There's also a great entry about the farmers on wikipedia that includes a listing of some of the types of plants that were in the garden, which in itself is quite amazing. There's is a bunch of stuff on that list I've never even heard of, and all I eat is plant life. Clearly I need to learn more about farming. Watch the film! And also check out the South Central Farmer's website for updates; they even have a twitter if you are so inclined.

Green Finished Sweater

Yesterday I finished the Little Green Sweater pictured above. I actually started this ages ago, back in August 2009, and picked it up again more recently in an attempt to eliminate my collection of U.F.O.s. In actuality, I started over. I was attempting to take a pattern written for front & back pieces and knit it in the round, but I was unhappy with how the sides were meeting up. It's a good thing that I decided to start over, because once I pulled the first try off of the needles I found out it was gigantic, so I bumped it down a size. I had okay gauge, but I guess I tend to think my size is larger than it actually is, and I suppose I forget about the whole ease thing with knits.

So though it looks like this took me forever on ravelry it was really only about a 2-3 week project. (many of my projects seem to become long term ufos for some period of time...) And the timing is fortuitous, you know I'm going to wear this next week on St. Patrick's day! Next UFO up on my list, I swear, is to finally finish Chuck's sweater, all it needs is some seaming, and he might have a few more cool days on which it would be useful, before spring sets in.

The pattern is Little Blue Sweater, by Simona Merchand-Dest from Interweave Knits Fall 2008. I used up most of the 6 balls of GGH Samoa, which I picked up at a sale at the Fiber Gallery back in Seattle. I believe they were on sale because the color had been discontinued, so I've very pleased I could find a project that worked out well for the amount of yarn I grabbed!

And lastly, just another little reminder again that you can find me over on tumblr too, where I'm posting much more frequently because it's quick and easy and I'm supposed to be studying for tests....