Dreaming of Spring

Is Spring here yet?

Warmth and flowers and exercising outside without fear of falling on the ice....
all of these things I presently wish for even though I wouldn't really have time for them until classes are over...

Is it Summer yet?

Parade of Unfinished Projects

I haven't been blogging because there's nothing done.

I haven't yet finished the stuffed elephant that I swear people on Ravelry have been claiming to finish in a night (I do covet a faster knitting speed).
I had some issues with pattern wording. I tried to get help from Ravelry but the comments were all useful, for example: "pattern wording is confusing."
This is the first time Ravelry has failed me.
Luckily, my co-worker's mother is a knitting guru, so she helped me. (Thanks Jess's Mom!) So someday I will finish this, but not today.
They had you knit the arms in one piece and sew a seam. I figured out that this was unnecessary by arm number two...but man I do hate sewing seams.

Excuse the blurry picture, it's hard in the darkness to get a decent picture that allowed you to see the trunk.

I still have yet to seam and sew the buttons on Saartje's Bootees. I feel like the buttons make the booties, so I've been putting off the process of button searching. This pattern takes up almost more time sewing seams than knitting....have I mentioned how much I hate sewing seams? After I finished knitting and seaming the first one I, of course, found a seamless Saartje's pattern.

I realize the saying is live and learn, but sometimes I wish I could skip straight to learn :)

Speaking of learning, after 5 weeks of jewelery class (read as 20 hours in the studio) all I have to show is this silly pendant. I learned soldering, to make a bezel cup, and the process of finishing a piece. I am quickly developing a true appreciation for why any and all unique jewelry costs so much. The process is time intensive, even when you are skilled. Also, silver is expensive, and while I'm normally a silver/white gold person, I find myself appreciating the colors of the new gold (not gold, just golden in color) and copper...probably because of the relative affordability in price.

Matt's Scarf

I finished it awhile ago, but as soon as I wove in the ends, Matt took it and replaced his old scarf, which I have to make "disappear." It took a few days to catch him in the scarf with a camera, and I was not given time to properly arrange the scarf on the model, but you get the idea. It would look nicer blocked, but that'll probably have to wait until spring.

While I like to have options for accessories, Matt really likes to have one, and only one set of everything.

One pair of exercise pants.

One hat, one scarf.

One bathing suit.

A pair of black dress shoes, a pair of brown.

One set of sneakers for running/tennis/walking, which he will not replace until they are literally falling apart.

We've come to a healthy compromise where I sneak new shoes in the house. I remember putting all of my running shoes in the shoe rack when we moved in together and him staring aghast. Granted, there are about 6 pairs of running shoes in there, but only one has enough life for long runs. Another pair I use for short runs, another pair I use for tennis or the gym when I'm not running, another I use for walks, and the last pair I use for anything that's to get really dirty. OK, that's only 5...there may be an unused pair in there....but when you train for marathons, you go through 2 or 3 pairs, depending on mileage, and while they won't have enough cushion to run ten miles, they still feel fine for other activities.

I've almost finished a pair of Saartje's Bootees, but there's still the seaming and buttons to finish, maybe this weekend. I've also been working on an elephant for one of the many babies that will be born this year. It just doesn't look like anything yet.

This is my first week of all 3 classes, to 3hr + night classes on Monday and Tuesday, and it's really exhausting...and the weeks not over yet. Still an exam tomorrow, luckily it's on beer. No really. Wanna hear about the German Beer Purity Act? :)