Minnesnowta

I worked a couple of shifts at the climbing gym as this week wrapped up.  When I wasn't clocked in, I was there climbing!

Yes, that is a picture of me bouldering... it doesn't happen very often.  I would always much rather be at the end of a rope.  Bouldering, however, helps you improve at the higher grades.  Since I want to push to the 5.12 range, bouldering can only help me.  Despite how much I grumble while doing it. :)  I've been climbing with anyone I run in to at the gym- coworkers, friends, people I don't know but get to know as we scale walls.  One week from today I'll be down in Kentucky- SO close!

It's especially hard to believe I'll be climbing outside after last night- Duluth got dumped on with half a foot of wet, heavy white stuff.

I got to have a great dinner with my brother and his girlfriend at the local new place, Canal Park Brewery, but driving home turned out to be a slippery adventure.  My car only has front-wheel drive, so getting up the hills can be interesting scary fun when it's crazy out like this.  I was pretty happy to get home, and even better was being greeted by Scott with a glass of wine and a movie.

It was also the perfect time to finish up the baby hat for a friend's expected little one!  Weaving in a million ends is always better with wine and distractions.

It's a pretty ridiculous hat, and all it lacks is the pom-pom on the top.  I'll hopefully get that made this evening after teaching dance, ready to wrap up before the baby arrives!
Time to run errands.  AKA, time to go find my car under a heavy blanket of snow.  Uffda, I'm glad I have a little extra time to dig it out today...

Packing Break

It's been a crazy first half of the week.  One of my classes ended today with a final (and a pile of late work), and I received another round of papers from one of my Comp classes on Tuesday.  I'm now on a hiring committee for my college which starts this week- very interesting to be on this end of the spectrum!
Tonight was therefore a relief when three good lady friends stopped by my apartment for more than just a little lady time.
A week from Friday, I'll be heading down to Kentucky for a few days of climbing.  My lady friends and I are going to climb at the Red River Gorge- 4 glorious days outside, climbing hard overhanging sport lines and the occasional trad climb.

Tonight we got together to go over logistics- food, gear, car, etc.  It felt so good to plan something like this.  Cabin fever has set in hardcore for me, and even though it's starting to get nicer out, I need to actually go outside.  For a long period of time.  Stretch my muscles, push my body, and do it with a bunch of friends.
It's going to feel so good.
I just wish it were this week instead of next...

Just have to decide- what brew from the Brewhouse should come down to the Gorge with me? :)

FO: Mustache March Run 'Stache

Living in Duluth (and Minnesota in general) usually means that around spring, there's a lot of cabin fever going around.  I start to feel it around mid-February, and it does nothing but get worse as the days pretend to get nicer (but really don't).  To combat this, we have a few ridiculous things to keep us occupied.  

One of these is the Mustache March Run, put on by a local running company!

This year was the second year, and I decided to put a little more effort into my mustache for the event.

It took about 3 CSI episodes to whip out my mustache, but I was exceedingly happy with the result!

Not only did it keep my face pleasantly warm the entire windy run, but I won FIRST PLACE in the "Best Imposter Mustache" competition held after the race!  How's that for awesome knitting?

Pattern: "Beard", by Joanna Rankin (link goes to Ravelry page)

Yarn: I used my extra Cascade Yarns Eco Wool (from the Dude Sweater!)- maybe 30 yards tops, and that's being generous.

Needles: 10 1/2 bamboo

Mods: I didn't finish it the way it was intended- instead of making it to wrap around the ears, I simply left yarn strands on the ends of the sideburns and tied it up high behind my ponytail.  Much better for being active.

Worst Part: I just sat here and stared at my keyboard for a full 2 minutes.  Nothing comes to mind.  Creepiest part might be that the 'stache and beard move while I'm talking, giving them a creepy life-like quality that several friends said really added to the experience... :)

Best Part: The number of compliments I got, and the number of times people asked me "Where do you get that?" and seeing their faces when my reply was, "I knit it!".  Probably could have sold a ton if I felt like an entrepreneur.  Or the fact that it took only part of an evening to make.  Or the fact that it's a beard, and it's awesome.

You get the picture. :)

The run was 2.65 miles, and honestly... it didn't go that well.  I mean, I'm in great climbing shape.  I did 4 laps on the hueco wall at the climbing gym yesterday as my cool-down.  I'm climbing hard, too.  But I've been avoiding the elliptical as of late.  And to be fair, it was like 20 degrees out with a bit of a breeze.  Whatever the reason... when I got to the first mile marker (mile marker 1, mind you), I was already ready to start doing a little walking.  

It made me a little more nervous for the Half-Marathon coming up in June.  I still have a lot of training time, but I'm definitely not in running shape right now. 

More like anti-running.  Climbing shape.  Knitting shape.  :)

I ended up coming home yesterday, sticking in Gilmore Girls, and nursed my worries with hot chocolate in my new mug from the race.  This morning, my quads were letting me know that going from nothing to 2.65 miles is not a good idea.

Uffda.  This is going to be a long training season.  Starting Monday, probably, if I don't want to collapse on race course in a few months...

The Dude is... Stylish?

Last night I was chugging along on The Dude, thinking yet again about how ridiculous this sweater is going to look upon completion.  I'm glad that at least Scott would enjoy it... even though it's huge, mildly ugly, and will eventually weigh a lot.
I took a break to check my Google reader blog roll, and what did I find?

That, friends, is from the website of The Sartorialist. He's a fashion photographer, going around New York City, Milan, Paris, and Hong Kong taking pictures of regular people's interpretation of high fashion on the street.
And these pictures show that, beyond any doubt, apparently the style of the Dude is back.
Who knew I was knitting on the cutting edge of fashion?

Book of Mormon Weekend

It was a busy weekend over here.
Sunday morning found Scott and I in the car, heading down to the cities to enjoy his birthday present for the year- tickets to see "The Book of Mormon" at the Orpheum!

It was a great musical to introduce Scott to the world of musicals- raunchy humor from the South Park creators- yet it was so full of singing and dance numbers that I was also completely psyched.

(This is the scene that greeted us as we entered the theater.)
We definitely were laughing the majority of the show, and I have hope that I can trick talk Scott into seeing more musicals... ;)
We didn't head back north until the next morning, since neither of us had school or work for President's Day.  I got to see some old family friends, and (finally!) present Kim with her snowflake shawl.  She loved it, and promised to keep it away from her kitty, Eddie.  After a delicious lunch, we headed to the VE in Minneapolis to give their walls a try. It was great- 2 1/2 hours of hard climbing, mostly on lead, and on all new stuff!
Yesterday and today are back to reality.  I have a ton of grading to catch up on, chores to do, and dancing to choreograph.
I did leave time for some knitting, getting a few stripes in on the baby hat during the long car ride:

and chugging along with the Dude Sweater.  I'd say I'm over 1/3 done with the back section, and still going strong.

It's amazing how fast something knits up when it's huge yarn with huge needles.
I do have another knitting project that's in the works for a "fun" reason, but that'll be for another day. :)

Moving Onward, and FO: Santa Cruz Winter Hat

Finishing the Snowflake Shawl was a really nice milestone, completing the last part of one of my "13 in 2013" goals.  As soon as that project was done, I was already moving onward!  Besides starting the Dude Sweater, I also began began a little hat for a Climber friend's soon-to-come little baby boy.  Susan B. Anderson's book "itty-bitty Hats" is one of my go-to books for forthcoming babies, and never disappoints.  This hat is going to be striped in various shades of blue, which will be really cute but require a lot of weaving in ends (why do I do that to myself?).

It's a really nice "easy" knit right now, especially with school officially being in full gear.  This is what I get to grade this weekend:

even though I've avoided starting like the plague.
Besides finishing the Shawl, I also was able to finish up a (belated) Christmas present for a friend living out in Santa Cruz, California!  Leonie spends odd months teaching self defense for women, leaving her schedule open to do giant trips in the back country of the Sierra Nevada mountains, something I envy.  I knit her a pair of commuter mitts awhile back, and decided to send off a matching hat to keep her warm on her treks!

Pattern: Kathleen, by Jane Richmond (I'm a huge fan of all of her stuff- link goes to the Ravelry page)
Yarn: Cascade 220 in a pretty green
Needles: sizes 6 & 8, bamboo.
Gift/Barter? Gift!  A non-expected gift- one of my favorite types to give ;)
Time frame: November 22nd, 2012-February 11th, 2013

Mods: None, though if I make this for myself I may go down a needle size for the brim.
Worst Part: I shouldn't have taken a month or so off between knitting the brim and doing the cable part.  Oops.  My argument is that I had bigger fish to fry...
Best Part:  I love giving gifts that aren't expected, especially to another knitter who has a lot of the same traits as myself.
I think more often than not, giving knitted goods away is my favorite part of a project.  Does anyone else find this to be the case?  Maybe that's why I knit so few projects for myself- I'd rather give it to someone that either is really excited for the finished product, or has no idea, and I know they're going to like it. :)
Scott and I are having our Valentine's Day celebration tonight, since I had dance last night until 9:30 pm.  We're doing climbing, dinner, and a movie!  Sunday night will be Scott's Birthday present- a trip to the Twin Cities to see this:

SO EXCITED!! Check out the opening number if you've never heard of this musical- pure awesomeness, and a good musical to ease Scott into the world of musicals. :)  I'll post more on that later.  For now, more grading, maybe more coffee, then a pretty sweet date night. :)
Have a great Friday, everyone!

FO: Snowflake Shawl for a Winter Bride

I never thought this day would come.
This is the kind of shawl that not only sets off the "crazy" signals, but made a few of the people immediately surrounding me worried about my sanity as I sat up late nights knitting backgrounds, ripping out sections, re-knitting sections, picking up wrong points on snowflakes, and dealing with six needles in the round with a seventh working needle.  This project is probably one of the most ridiculous projects I've done so far, and may ever do.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the finished Snowflake Shawl!

Pattern: Suri Elegence Winter Wonderland Shawl, by Sharon Winsauer (you have to scroll down to find it on the page), Ravelry page found here.
Yarn: The Snowflakes were knit with Cascade Heritage Solid in White (fingering weight), the backgrounds behind the snowflakes were knit with Malabrigo Yarn in Natural/White (lace weight), and the few rows of the border were knit with Plymouth Yarn's Dye for Me Suri Alpaca Merino Glow, in (surprise surprise) white, with some sparkles thrown in (lace weight as well).  All links go to the Ravelry page for the yarns.

Needles- Size 6, and I ended up buying these bamboo needles that were square instead of round, simply because they didn't fall out of the yarn as much.  If you plan on knitting this shawl, do yourself a favor and knit with wooden needles.  Do yourself an even bigger favor and get the square needles.  Believe me.
Time Frame- May 18th, 2012-February 3rd, 2013.
Gift/Barter? This is a gift- a wedding gift for one of my good college friends, Kim.  She helped start me on my first hat long, long ago, so it's fitting that one of my craziest and hardest projects goes to her.

Modifications/Notes:  All right, here's all the ones I kept on Ravelry:
Center stitches explanation wasn’t totally clear to me for the "base" of all the snowflakes, so here’s what I did: 
CO 6 sts. Split over 3 needles. 
Rnd 1: Knit 
Rnd 2: (K1, YO) all the way around. (12 sts) 
Rnd 3: Knit 
Rnd 4: (K1, YO) all the way around. (24 sts) 
Rnd 5& 6: Knit 
Rnd 7: (K1, YO, K3tog, YO) 6 times 
Rnd 8: (K1, (k1, p1 in YO), 12 times (36 sts) 
Rnd 9: Knit (36 stitches to start)

On Snowflake 8: after knitting the initial 9 center rounds: 
Rd 10- K2, YO 2 all the way around 
Rd 11- K2, K into first YO, P into 2nd YO all the way around 
Work 6 points as written in pattern, then CO 12.

Edging MOD: I had a lot of trouble juggling needles, plus my patience was low, so instead of doing the edging as written, here’s how I finished it: 
I threaded the needle through all of the live stitches making up the outside, then worked it as follows: 
R1- Knit to end of row. Slip marker, wrap yarn around first stitch and turn. 
R2- Slip marker, knit to end of row. Slip marker, wrap yarn around first stitch and turn. 
R3- Slip marker, knit to end of row.
R4- BO all stitches.
There were definitely some areas that I either screwed up or had trouble with, so I mildly made some stuff up  and didn't take notes (the majority of these were in the backgrounds of the snowflakes), but I did get a lot of help from Bereni on Ravelry, and her blog post here with all of her notes and mods.  Anything I don't cover that you're totally flummoxed on may be on her stuff.

Worst Part: ::blank stare::.  I have to pick?  Baaaah, it's probably a toss-up between grafting all of the snowflakes together... or maybe getting to the halfway point of the backgrounds and realizing how many I still had to go... or maybe it was the number of times that the live stitches fell off of the needle when I was trying to knit the border... actually, for me, I think it was primarily not getting this project done on time.  Granted, it is a crazy project, but I really wanted it done for her wedding.
Best Part:  Any time I got a major chunk of the project done.  For instance, finishing all the snowflakes at the end of summer and seeing all of them drying in the sun on my back porch... or when I was finally able to lay out all of the snowflakes with their backgrounds in the "final shape" of the shawl, ready to be grafted... or when I finally wove in the last end, did a last check that I didn't miss any, and held the shawl up to look at it- done.  And (mostly) correct. :)  Though giving it to Kim may be the best part to come...

This was an incredible project that really stretched my limits as a knitter, and despite the moments of frustration, the days and hours and energy and time put in to this shawl, I know that the recipient is going to absolutely love it and treasure it for years to come.
This one was for Kim, and it was completely worth it. :)